Chapter 54
A few days later.
Spring had fully arrived in the Eisengard territory.
Tension hung over the mansion's front courtyard from early morning.
Ronas paced in front of the main gate, anxiously checking his pocket watch.
‘Thank goodness.’
Just moments ago, he had heard from a messenger that his father's party had entered the territory.
They had returned earlier than expected.
‘If they only went to get the letter of recommendation, then nothing major could have happened. It seems His Grace the Grand Duke handed it over more readily than expected.’
Ronas let out a sigh of relief.
He had suffered a great deal of worry in the meantime.
Taking charge of the territory's affairs was easy compared to the recent incident, so that part had been fine.
But having to nurse Alina and attend to Her Highness the Princess had left him exhausted.
‘Now that Father and Varg are coming back, I can finally breathe.’
Ronas straightened his clothes.
He and a few servants would be enough to greet them.
After all, it would surely be a simple return with only his father and Varg coming back.
There had been a time when he thought that.
Toot-toot-!
Along with the guardsman's trumpet call, a procession of carriages began to appear in the distance.
Ronas was about to run toward them in delight.
But.
“......Huh?”
Screech.
The lead carriage, Carriage One, came to a stop.
A knight jumped down from the driver's seat and opened the door.
The familiar face of his father was the first to step out.
“Father! Have you returned?”
“Yes, Ronas. Has anything happened?”
Despite his tired expression, Eisen greeted his son warmly.
Then the huge Varg stepped down.
“I'm back.”
“You're safe. Your wife worried every day.”
So far, everything was as expected.
It was as expected, but…
* * *
“Now, please be careful getting down.”
I politely extended a hand toward the inside of the carriage.
“Hmm? Is there someone else?”
While Ronas looked on in confusion, I carried a wheelchair out of the carriage.
And a pale yet dignified young nobleman sat in it.
“......?!”
Ronas doubted his own eyes.
Though his sickly appearance was unmistakable, there was no way he could fail to recognize that face.
The future ruler of the North.
Karl von Northgard, the eldest son of the Northgard Grand Ducal House.
“H-His Highness, the Grand Duke's eldest son?!”
Ronas's mouth fell open.
“Oops, let me down too. Come on, friend.”
Following Karl, a blond, handsome man hopped down with a bright smile.
A man dressed in a flamboyant tailcoat.
The Empire's Fourth Prince, Radiance von Croa, had also stepped down.
“......”
Ronas rubbed his eyes and looked again.
The Grand Duke's eldest son and an imperial prince were standing in his family's courtyard.
“F-Father...?”
Ronas trembled as he looked at Count Eisen.
“You were supposed to be going to get Her Highness the Princess's letter of recommendation, weren't you? What on earth did you do to bring the future Grand Duke of the North and an imperial prince back with you... both of them?!”
“Ho ho, it's a long story. First, prepare to receive our guests.”
Eisen spoke as though he were calm, but neither he nor I had expected things to grow this large.
‘I thought the most that would happen was Karl coming along…’
Ronas clutched the back of his neck and staggered.
Ceremonial duties for the Grand Duke's eldest son and an imperial prince.
Ronas, who had been worn down by the sheer amount of work until now, looked destined to waste away from the quality of it this time.
“Oh... what a fate....”
Radiance spotted Ronas and his eyes lit up.
“Oh! Who's this?”
He strode over and patted Ronas on the shoulder.
“Isn't that our junior, Ronas?”
“Y-Your Highness...?”
“Don't you remember? Back at the academy, you were the legendary man who said, ‘To hell with theory!’ and even made the dean clutch your trouser leg before tossing down your withdrawal papers with a flourish! It's good to see you here!”
“......!”
Ronas's face turned bright red.
That was the greatest dark chapter of Ronas's life.
He had boldly withdrawn from the academy to learn practical work, but that had earned him the professors' hostility, ruined his marriage prospects, and opened the road to a life of hardship during his foolish youth.
“Y-Your Highness. Please forget that....”
Ronas lowered his head, sweating nervously.
“Oh, there's no need to be embarrassed. I thought highly of your decisiveness. You even made me want to drop out too.”
“......”
“Well, somehow I ended up taking a professorship and joining forces with the dean. Ha ha ha!”
Ronas looked ready to cry at Radiance's teasing remark.
An imperial prince who enjoyed dredging up someone's embarrassing past the moment he arrived.
While Ronas was being tormented by the prince, I quietly helped Karl move.
The front courtyard of the lord's castle had a dirt floor, so it was not suitable for pushing a wheelchair.
“Your Highness, excuse me.”
I reached for the wheelchair handles, then stopped.
Instead, I slipped my hands beneath the wheelchair's frame.
“Hmm?”
‘Heave-ho.’
I lifted the wheelchair, Karl and all, with ease.
“Oh....”
Karl exclaimed in admiration.
He had exactly the same expression Kairen had worn in the storeroom of the Grand Duke's castle.
‘The brothers really are alike.’
My axe, 「First Snowflake」, which I had been fiddling with throughout the journey, rested on Karl's knees.
Though it was a rough iron axe, Karl had become fascinated by the stories of what it had gone through in Norheim as we traveled.
This was just like his younger brother Kairen as well.
“Thank you, Sir Wintersword. Your strength amazes me every time I see it.”
Karl said this while stroking the axe.
“This axe too... Though it looks rough, its balance is perfect. Like you, it is a weapon that is rugged on the outside but delicate within.”
“Thank you for the compliment. I will escort you the rest of the way.”
I grinned and started walking.
Whoosh!
At that moment, the mansion's front door flew open, and someone rushed out.
“Varg!”
A woman came running with silver hair streaming behind her.
It was Kara.
Behind her, a little girl, Alina, came scampering out as well.
Ordinarily, she should have greeted the Grand Duke's eldest son or the prince first.
But Kara's eyes saw only one person.
“You're back!”
Kara rushed past the wheelchair and threw herself at me.
Without hesitation, I carefully lowered the wheelchair with one hand and caught Kara in my other arm.
Whoosh!
“I missed you!”
Kara wrapped her arms around my neck and clung to me.
“I missed you too, darling. You didn't get hurt, did you?”
“No. What about you?”
“Me? I'm perfectly fine.”
The married couple paid no attention to the eyes around them as they basked in each other's warmth.
Then Alina came running as well.
“Daddy!”
“Oh, my daughter!”
Eisen knelt and opened his arms.
Alina nestled into Eisen's embrace.
“Daddy! I can see your face now! Nothing's blurry at all! I can even see that you're wearing glasses!”
“Yes... yes, thank goodness. Thank goodness....”
Eisen hugged his daughter, his eyes reddening.
When he saw his daughter's clear eyes, her vision fully restored, it felt as though all the worry he had endured melted away like snow.
“Daddy, you smell. Did you not wash?”
“...I'm sorry. We were a little busy on the way here.”
A daughter who burrowed into her father's arms even as she grumbled, and a father who did not know what to do with how adorable she was.
And a barbarian couple gazing at each other with eyes full of adoration.
No hierarchy, no formality.
Only the love of family filled the scene.
Karl, seated in his wheelchair, quietly watched the moving reunion before him.
‘......’
It was beautiful.
It was the warm scene he had so desperately wanted to protect and make his own.
The warmth that could never be found in the cold Grand Duke's castle existed here.
A corner of his chest throbbed, but it was not the pain of an injury. It was the pain of healing.
It was hope.
‘Could I... someday create a family like that?’
With his father and mother.
With his younger brother.
And with someone in the future.
A faint smile spread across Karl's lips.
Then he turned his head and looked at Radiance, who was standing beside him.
“Your Highness.”
“Hmm?”
“May I ask you a favor?”
“Go ahead.”
Karl spoke with a smile.
“Here... would you stop addressing me as ‘Your Highness’ and treat me as a friend, like before? Formality doesn't belong in a scene like that....”
It was his wish to be part of this warmth as a simple friend, rather than being kept at a distance as an imperial prince.
Radiance's eyes widened, then he broke into a broad smile and grasped the wheelchair's armrest.
“Ha ha! That's exactly what I wanted! I told you we should have done that from the start!”
Then he lightly tapped Karl on the shoulder.
“Yes, Karl. We're friends. Here, let's forget about rank and just enjoy ourselves.”
“Thank you, Radiance.”
The two friends looked at each other and smiled.
The front courtyard of Eisengard was filled with a warmth greater than that of the spring sunlight.
Meanwhile, as I held Kara, I whispered while breathing in the scent of her hair.
“Still, I came back quickly, right? I kept my promise.”
“Yes. I was surprised it was sooner than I expected.”
Kara lifted her head and looked up at me.
Her blue eyes, which did not melt even beneath the spring sunlight, gleamed seductively as she brought her lips to my ear and whispered.
“...Strawberry juice.”
“Hmm? Do you want some? Should I make it now? Is your morning sickness still bothering you?”
I asked worriedly.
But Kara shook her head and lightly nipped my earlobe.
“No. It's not because of the morning sickness.”
“Then?”
“What you made for me... I want to drink it tonight. In bed.”
“......!”
“From one glass. Together.”
Kara's hand stroked down my chest.
Ah.
The twelve-week period of caution we had discussed still had a little while to go, but....
The temptation to stay pressed close to each other after being apart for several days....
‘Ha... this woman, honestly.’
My heart pounded.
I had missed Kara too.
I had missed this warm body and sweet scent enough to drive me mad.
I pulled Kara tightly against my chest as though she were unbearably cute and pressed a deep kiss to her forehead.
Smack.
“...I'm back, Kara. I won't let you sleep tonight.”
“I'll look forward to it.”
“Oh my, oh my! Look at that! They're starting again!”
Behind us, Elysia made a fuss and pretended to cover her eyes.
Of course, she was still watching everything through the gaps between her fingers.
“Such shameless behavior in public...!”
Ronas turned his head away and grumbled, but there was a smile at the corners of his mouth.
It was a happy moment of reunion for everyone.
* * *
That evening.
The grand banquet hall of the Eisengard mansion.
A formal banquet was held to entertain the imperial prince and the Grand Duke's eldest son.
A table laden with delicacies from land and sea.
But the atmosphere was not heavy.
Thanks to Eisen's consideration, formality had been kept to a minimum, and the seats were arranged comfortably, like a family gathering.
Karl sat in a comfortable chair instead of his wheelchair and held up a wineglass.
“Thanks to all of you... I found the courage to stand again. Thank you.”
Karl offered a heartfelt toast.
“Especially you, Sir Wintersword, and Count Eisen. Without your help, I would still be lost in the darkness.”
“Think nothing of it. It was possible because of Your Highness's own resolve.”
Eisen replied humbly.
Everyone clinked their glasses together.
Clink-.
A clear sound rang out.
After taking a sip of wine, Karl spoke with a solemn expression.
“So... I've made up my mind.”
“About what?”
“Four days from now. At precisely that time, I intend to visit the academy in person and force them to hear our case.”
“......!”
Everyone's attention focused on him.
Four days from now.
Just before the academy's entrance ceremony.
The time when the dean and faculty would be busiest and most sensitive.
He had declared that he would storm in then.
“A patient, and the eldest son of the Grand Ducal House at that, is coming in person to make a request.... They surely wouldn't be so heartless as to refuse me.”
Karl grinned.
The instincts of a seasoned gambler were evident in his willingness to turn even his weakness into a weapon.
“Wow....”
I spoke in admiration.
“Four days from now... that's right before the entrance ceremony. Your Highness, you've become quite shameless.”
“I'll take that as a compliment.”
Karl replied with composure.
“I have to use everything at my disposal. Sympathy, the family's influence, anything. For the sake of my people, I will use whatever I can.”
He looked at me and added firmly,
“At that time, I will make certain that I push through the matter of Sir Wintersword and Lady Kara sharing a bed. I will use my name... and the precedent of Her Highness the Princess here.”
“......What?”
Elysia, who had been giggling with her half-brother Radiance beside her as they caught up after so long apart, blinked wide-eyed.
The knife she had been cutting her meat with scraped against the plate.
Screech.
“M-My precedent? What does that... mean?”
Elysia blinked in confusion.
It seemed she had missed the important strategy meeting while chatting with her brother about what they had been doing lately.
I grinned and did not explain.
Instead, Eisen kindly explained.
“Ah, Your Highness the Princess. To make it possible for Sir Varg and Miss Kara to share a bed, you have decided to stay in a special dormitory with His Highness Prince Radiance.”
“......Pardon?”
Elysia's thought process came to a halt.
For the Wintersword couple to share a bed...
I have to serve as the precedent?
That means....
‘I have to share a room with my brother?!’
Elysia's gaze turned toward Radiance, seated beside her.
Radiance pretended to be absorbed in cutting his steak, but the tips of his ears were bright red.
‘He knew!’
Elysia was horrified.
“E-Excuse me? Wait a moment! What about my opinion? I haven't even prepared myself mentally yet... No, does it make sense for siblings to live together?! I mean, it does make sense, but... anyway, what about my opinion?!”
She protested frantically, but....
“It is the best option for the safety of the imperial family as well.”
Eisen drove the final nail in.
“That's right. Thanks to Her Highness the Princess, we will be able to share a bed too. Thank you.”
Kara and I piled on as well.
“No, that's not what I mean! Brother! Say something too!”
Elysia shook Radiance.
But Radiance chewed with his mouth full, feigning innocence.
“Hmm? I like the idea. I won't be bored with you around, Ellie. I'll take good care of you. I'll do all the cleaning and laundry too.”
“That's not the issue!!”
Elysia puffed out her cheeks in distress.
“What about my opinion!! Why does nobody listen to me?! Hmph!”
Sulking, she poked at her steak with her fork.
But no one comforted her.
Instead, everyone at the table burst into laughter as though they found her utterly adorable.
“Ha ha ha!”
“Don't worry, Your Highness the Princess. My brother says that His Highness the Prince is a professor, so he practically lives in the research building.”
Alina's attempt at consolation became another part of the laughter.
A noisy evening overflowing with love.
And so the night in Eisengard deepened.
With this, all preparations for heading to the academy were complete.
Now, all that remained was the real story that would unfold at the academy.
‘It took so long.’
As I sipped my wine, I savored the passage of time finally flowing normally again after so long spent in a tightly packed rush.