Chapter 38
The reception room of the Northgard Grand Duchy's lord's residence was bustling with guests.
Beneath the splendid chandelier, the suffocating scent of perfume mingled with the sound of laughter.
‘Noisy….’
Under the pretext of congratulating Kairen on his upcoming admission to the academy, the influential nobles and merchant guildmasters of the territory had swarmed in like hyenas.
Yet they were orderly enough to be irritating.
No one shoved anyone else or raised their voice.
They were assigning invisible ranks according to their families' prestige and influence, waiting their turn.
Just like trained predators waiting their turn before their prey.
‘Have I gotten used to it? To that greed and flattery, too.’
That orderliness made his stomach churn even more.
The deftness with which they wrapped even greed, something that should belong to the realm of instinct, in etiquette felt like hypocrisy lodged in his bones, and it disgusted him.
“Young Master, our family's second son, Lucas, is entering the academy this year. It is nothing compared to you, who are entering three years early and as the top student, but please look kindly upon him.”
A baron with a bulging belly bowed and fawned.
“This is a rare treasured sword acquired from the East. I brought it because I thought it would suit you, the youngest Swordmaster.”
The guildmaster held out a sword wrapped in silk and poured out flattery.
Kairen looked down at them with his chin propped on his hand.
‘No, I haven't even entered the academy yet. What Swordmaster?’
He swallowed his irritation.
‘Disgusting... How can my elder brother smile at people like that?’
His stomach churned.
These faces were not unfamiliar.
They were the same people who had clung to his elder brother Karl just a few years ago, praising him as “the Sun of Northgard” when he entered the academy as the top student.
Yet the moment his elder brother injured his leg and fell out of their father's favor, those bastards switched to Kairen without even looking back.
‘Father only said such harsh things to my elder brother a few days ago... Have they already caught the scent and flocked here?’
It was laughable to see them praising him as the “next Grand Duke.”
If he became like his elder brother, these people would leave to seek out someone else as if they had never acted this way.
‘I want to shout at them to get out right now, but….’
Kairen stopped the fingers tapping on the table and took a breath.
‘If my elder brother were here... Would he say that, in politics, suspecting one's opponents should come first?’
If it were Karl.
He considered that possibility.
‘No, perhaps he would say that even if hypocrisy is involved, good is still good... That even if their loyalty is false, a true lord must know how to use it.’
The advice that his elder brother Karl might have given him circled in his head.
‘If Master were here... He would teach that a true lord must know how to put even these vulgar people to use, wouldn't he? That simply casting them aside isn't enough. That was what it meant to have the capacity to rule.’
He also recalled the teachings of his master, Count Eisen.
The voices of both men brushed through his mind, but Kairen could not be certain.
Whether that was the right answer, or merely an excuse for him to endure.
‘All right. I'll endure for now. Becoming an adult means... perhaps being able to swallow and handle even this kind of disgust.’
Kairen hid a razor-sharp blade within himself.
Then he placed a gentle smile on his lips.
“Thank you. I will not forget your thoughtfulness.”
“Oh! It is an honor, Young Master!”
The nobles bowed their heads, deeply moved.
No matter whom he met, he raised the corners of his mouth to the same height and lowered them at the same pace.
But as the tedious reception dragged on, Kairen's patience was nearing its limit.
He toyed with his teacup, clenching and unclenching his hand.
‘My fingers are itching.’
He wanted to swing a sword right away.
In the past, sparring with Sesk, his swordsmanship teacher and bodyguard, had been enough.
Sesk was strong and represented the goal Kairen needed to reach.
But everything had changed after he saw “that man” in the borderlands.
Varg.
That overwhelming physique—and the utter lack of hesitation in his movements when he saved Kairen from being hit by a carriage.
A presence that had far surpassed the limits Sesk had shown him.
‘He’s too high... So….’
A ceiling that might be too high for him ever to reach.
‘I want to reach it.’
But after witnessing that strength, an undying flame had been burning in Kairen's chest.
He was going mad with frustration at wasting time on this kind of hypocritical conversation.
Creak.
Just then, the reception-room door opened.
“......!”
The din in the room subsided in an instant.
A woman entered, her elegant dress trailing behind her.
It was Karla von Northgard, the Grand Duchess of Northgard and Kairen's birth mother.
At the Grand Duchess's appearance, the nobles rose as one and bowed their heads.
“We greet Your Grace, the Grand Duchess.”
Karla returned their greetings with a gentle smile before walking straight toward her son.
Tap.
Then she gently placed her hand over the restless hand tapping against Kairen's table.
“Kairen. You must mind your manners in front of the guests.”
“Ah... Mother.”
Kairen flinched and corrected his posture.
Karla signaled to the maids.
Soon, a dessert on a silver tray was placed before Kairen.
It was a plump grapefruit tart with a reddish hue.
“It has always been your favorite. Have some to ease your nerves.”
“Thank you.”
Kairen picked up his fork.
Grapefruit tart.
A treasured snack his mother used to make herself whenever he was worn out and crying from his father's harsh lessons as a child.
Kairen unconsciously looked at his mother's hand as she set down the plate.
“......”
The back of her hand was smooth and fair as white jade.
Yet reddish burn marks remained on every finger joint.
They had scarred over by now, so they probably hurt less.
‘Mother....’
Kairen's heart ached.
In the past, she had summoned the master pâtissier Patiss from Eisengard and learned to make that tart, burning her hands because she wanted to feed it only to him and his elder brother Karl.
Today, just as she had back then, she had stood before the oven herself.
His mother's plain, devoted love stood in stark contrast to the nobles who did nothing but spout hypocritical words.
The warmth conveyed through the scars on her fingers melted Kairen's bristling heart like snow.
He took a bite of the tart.
Crunch.
Sweetness spread through his mouth.
The Sweetie version, made with plenty of condensed milk and honey.
It tasted just as it had in his childhood.
‘Delicious.’
He glanced around the room.
There were hyena-like nobles who had gathered for their own gain, but there were genuine people at his side.
His elder brother Karl, who, though physically impaired, was wiser than anyone and cherished his half-brother.
His kind mother, who cared for not only her own son but also her husband's son from a previous marriage as if he were her own child.
His loyal master, Eisen, and his bodyguard, Sesk.
And... the benefactors who, despite their brief acquaintance, had inspired him deeply and saved him without seeking anything in return.
The Wintersword couple.
‘That's right. With people like them beside me, there's no need to worry about sycophants like those.’
Although his father was treating his elder brother harshly now and the family had frozen over,
Kairen wanted to believe that, surrounded by such warm people, his father would someday return to the gentle man he had once been.
As Kairen chewed his tart, he recalled what had happened at the restaurant last time.
‘......’
When seated, his eye level had been about the same as Mrs. Wintersword's.
‘But when I stood up... I was much smaller.’
He had put those feelings aside, but he could not help feeling his pride wounded as a man.
Everyone at the academy would be close to adulthood.
Since Kairen was entering three years early, he would be smaller than everyone else.
‘I want to grow up quickly. In body and in mind.’
Kairen asked as he looked at the tart that remained.
“Mother. Did you give some of this tart to my elder brother too?”
“Of course. Karl tasted it first.”
“Then... I want to try the same kind my elder brother ate.”
“Hm?”
“I'm tired of sweet things now. They make me feel like a child. Give me the bitter one my elder brother had.”
It was the petulant request of a boy who wanted to imitate an adult.
Karla burst out laughing.
“Oh my, our Young Master has grown so much!”
Then, with that teasing form of address, she gently pinched Kairen's cheek.
“Ow…!”
Kairen lowered his head, avoiding his mother's expression and the gazes of the other guests.
The cheek Karla had pinched just gently enough not to hurt still grew hot.
Karla continued in a slightly husky voice.
“I'm proud that you're entering the academy three years early, but... I'm also sad that it feels as though you're already leaving my arms. Don't try to grow up too quickly.”
“Ah, Mother! People are watching!”
“And unfortunately, your elder brother ate all the bitter one, so there isn't any left. I'll make it for you next time.”
“......All right.”
Kairen was embarrassed by his mother's affection, but he was also disappointed that he could not taste the grown-up flavor his brother had eaten.
That was when it happened.
“Young Master, a letter has arrived.”
The butler brought over a letter on a silver tray.
“Ah, that's right. A letter from Count Eisen arrived for you.”
“From my master?”
Kairen accepted the letter.
The envelope bore the Eisen family crest and the familiar handwriting of his master.
‘Is it a congratulatory letter?’
Kairen tore open the envelope, brimming with anticipation.
But its contents were different from what he expected.
There were no splendid congratulations or words of greeting.
Instead, it was filled with sharp admonitions and advice for a disciple about to enter the academy.
『Have you learned etiquette sufficiently?』
『I am less worried about your swordsmanship since you have been taught by Sir Sesk, but….』
『In politics, a sword is merely a symbol. The only sound a sword can make is the sound of striking the floor to draw the crowd's attention.』
And so on…
‘As expected, he hasn't changed. He doesn't have even a speck of flattery in him.’
Though he grumbled, a smile spread across his lips.
In the middle of the letter, he came across news that Varg and Kara were getting along well with his household retainers, along with polite thanks for the clothing bill he had paid last time in the borderlands, and his mood brightened.
There was not a single word of flattery, so he could feel the sincerity in it.
Then.
At the end of the letter, his gaze stopped at the 「P.S.」 appended in a manner unlike Count Eisen.
‘Master added a P.S.? How unexpected.’
『I hope you will share your experience at the border with your elder brother Karl and clear up his misunderstanding about our new ally in the north. That will be the duty of a younger brother who is to support the future Grand Duke.』
Then came one more sentence.
『A brother's time is not eternal. While you are beside him, have one more conversation, allowing a little silence between you; while you are beside him, attend to his heart. That is a more important form of courage than wielding a sword.』
“......!”
Kairen's hand stopped.
‘A brother's time….’
He remembered how he had kept his distance from his brother, who must have been depressed after their recent conversation with their father, using preparations for the academy as an excuse.
‘Master... You knew everything.’
Even from afar, he had seen through Kairen's most painful wound and the problem between the brothers that Kairen had been avoiding.
As expected of his master.
And for some reason, Kairen felt as though he could sense another person's gaze behind those words.
Kairen shot to his feet.
“Mother, please send the guests away for now. I don't think I can greet them myself.”
“Hm? Where are you going?”
Karla asked in surprise.
Kairen held the letter close to his chest and answered with a determined expression.
“I have to see my elder brother. I have something to say to him.”
“Now?”
“Yes. Right now.”
He could not put it off any longer.
It was time to summon his courage.
Kairen left the reception room without looking back.
He headed for the annex, toward his elder brother Karl's room.
Throb.
As he turned, a sharp pain flashed through his knee joint.
‘It’s been happening especially often lately….’
But Kairen did not furrow his brow.
Nor did he hesitate or limp.
He simply straightened his back and walked on.
Karla quietly watched the proud figure of her son as he walked away.
‘When did he grow so much?’
His shoulders had grown quite broad.
His eye level had risen as well.
She was proud of him.
Her son was so talented that he could enter the academy three years early.
But at the same time, something tightened in one corner of her heart.
‘I'm anxious….’
Was it because of the back of her departing son?
Karla's gaze wavered.
‘Did Karl... eat all the tart?’