"Just whose fault do you think it is that I'm making a scene?!"
Marquis Perkin's furious roar echoed down the street, prompting nearby pedestrians to look back and see what the commotion was about. Yet the person being yelled at didn't panic in the slightest; seeing his father's disheveled clothes after sprinting at full speed, he actually lowered his eyebrows in concern.
"Father, shouldn't you catch your breath first? Running like that isn't good for your health, you know. Your voice has been far too loud for a while now... You're startling the people around us... Besides, it isn't beautiful."
"You have no right to talk! I was wondering where you'd disappeared to since morning, and here you are hitting on women again! The Military Tournament just ended, yet you can't even think about the family's—"
Marquis Perkin's gaze finally landed on me mid-sentence. Apparently, he had seen nothing but his son until now. He froze for a split second, then glanced at Clarice and Serena before letting out a massive breath and adjusting his posture.
"...Vain... No, Duke Razgrim. Pardon my rudeness! I had no idea you were here... Please forgive the disgraceful display..."
"I don't really mind. Arguments between parents and children happen everywhere, don't they?"
"This is no argument! It is merely me scolding this foolish son of mine!"
Kieza tilted his head with a nonchalant look. "Isn't that even worse than an argument?" Marquis Perkin's brow furrowed once more. In the past, his eyes had held a much pricklier edge when looking at me, but I didn't feel outright hostility anymore. Still, it didn't seem like he was completely letting his guard down around someone who had not only become a duke but also won the Military Tournament; a lingering wariness remained deep in his gaze.
"Belated though it may be, congratulations on your victory the other day. It was truly magnificent. To defeat House Eldran, the previous champion... To be frank, even I was astonished."
"Your side was pretty tough, too, wasn't it? It's not like we won easily."
"Hearing you say so makes it worthwhile for my soldiers... Since we lost, I must acknowledge it. The Razgrim army was formidable...! Including that final formation, it was truly brilliant."
It wasn't sarcastic; he genuinely acknowledged the outcome. In that case, there was no need for me to needlessly bring it up again.
However, the moment Marquis Perkin finished greeting me, he turned right back to his son.
"Compared to that, look at you! You refused to even participate in the Military Tournament this year, and the day after it ends, you're out chasing women—what on earth are you doing?!"
"It's not as if I was walking around hitting on everyone, you know. I simply happened to spot a beautiful lady and invited her to a meal. If both parties can spend an enjoyable time together, isn't that a splendid social interaction?"
He didn't reflect on his actions in the slightest. Clarice had been watching the two of them, but then, as if suddenly remembering something, she turned to Marquis Perkin.
"Lord Kieza mentioned earlier that he had little interest in military affairs or politics... Yet did he still participate in the Military Tournament last year?"
"Ah... This foolish son of mine did enter last year....And led troops, no less."
"Huh?!...Lord Kieza did?"
When Clarice looked at him in surprise, Kieza merely shrugged as if it were no big deal.
"Father insisted on it no matter what, so I had no choice... He begged me repeatedly, saying just once was enough, so I merely went through the motions."
"And that 'going through the motions' was enough to put up a decent fight against House Eldran—that's why I'm saying this!"
I couldn't help but look at Kieza as well. House Eldran was an opponent we had struggled so hard to defeat yesterday. The condition of the troops might have differed between last year and this year, and it wasn't as if they had fought on equal footing. Even so, if he had led troops with virtually no motivation and still hadn't been easily crushed, then he wasn't just the playboy he appeared to be.
"Father, you always exaggerate! I merely held on for a bit, didn't I? In the end, I lost normally."
"That is precisely why it infuriates me! Without even preparing properly, you still fought that well... The same goes for the sword. From a young age, you mastered whatever you were taught immediately, and when given command of troops, you could direct them far better than average... Possessing such talent, why won't you apply yourself seriously?!"
Marquis Perkin's voice was laced far more with frustration than anger. His son could do so much more. Precisely because he knew that better than anyone, seeing that talent squandered must have been utterly agonizing to watch.
However, the smile gradually faded from Kieza's face.
"...In the first place, I believe I told you many times that I have no motivation for it."
"That is why I am telling you to fix that mindset! To hold talent like yours, yet do nothing and just fool around—!"
"Haaah... That again?"
He hadn't raised his voice. Yet Marquis Perkin fell silent. Rather than angry, Kieza looked somewhat tired.
"If I just took it seriously... Because I have talent... Because I'm the son of a marquis... Because I can wield a sword... Because I can lead troops... It isn't just you, Father. Everyone has been saying the exact same thing for as long as I can remember."
"I never said I couldn't use a sword, nor did I say I knew nothing of the military. If necessary, I can grip a blade, and if given soldiers, I can direct them reasonably well... But isn't what one is capable of doing different from what one wants to do?"
Marquis Perkin tried to say something, but Kieza offered a troubled smile and continued.
"I do not wish to become a renowned knight. I have no desire to make a name for myself by commanding an army... Far less do I wish to stand at the center of politics. I simply want to converse with beautiful women, eat delicious food, and end my day pleasantly! Is that really so wrong?"
What he was saying was astonishingly simple. He didn't want to become great, nor did he want to move the kingdom. He just wanted to live as he pleased. Apparently, that was all.
"It was the same last year. Father said just once was fine, so I entered. I took it easy, put up a decent fight, and lost in the end. I thought that would be the end of it... but because I held my ground a little, people began telling me I could do even more. To be frank, that makes far less sense to me."
"However, it is precisely because I have high hopes for you that I—!"
"I know. I know that you are thinking of my well-being, Father... That is why I do not resent you. It's just... everyone looks closely at what I am capable of, yet hardly anyone ever looks at what I actually want to do. If even you cannot understand, Father, then it cannot be helped, I suppose..."
In the end, his usual smile returned, but it looked slightly different from before. I had thought he was just a massive weirdo, but it seemed he carried his own burdens in his own way.
"Hmm... I don't really know your family circumstances, but isn't that totally fine?"
When I said that, not only Kieza but even Marquis Perkin looked over at me.
"If you don't want to do it, you don't have to force yourself. Just because you can swing a sword doesn't mean you need to practice every day, and just because you can move troops doesn't mean you need to lead an army your whole life. Can't you just do it when the need arises?"
"But Duke Razgrim, this boy possesses undeniable talent! To let it sit idle without utilizing it is far too—!"
"Having talent and what a person actually wants to do are two entirely different things, aren't they?"
Honestly, Kieza's perspective made far more sense to me. If someone told me to do everything myself just because I could, I wouldn't be able to stand it! Even I leave the ledgers to Clarice, the military matters to Raisa and the others, and the estate to Mylene. If you hoard everything for yourself, you'll never get to take it easy.
"You should just leave things to the people who can do them and do what you like. Well, in exchange, you have to take proper responsibility when it counts, but... Even I leave troublesome work to other people as much as possible... Because if I did it all myself, I'd never get to live in comfort."
"Excuse me? Could you stop looking at me when you say that?"
A cold remark flew from Clarice, but I pretended not to hear it. Kieza stared at me in silence for a while. Instead of his previous smug expression, his eyes looked as though he had just discovered something exceedingly rare.
"...Do you truly believe that is fine? I am saying that rather than making use of my talents, I wish to live as I please, you know?"
"What's wrong with that? A life of decadence is my dream, too."
"...Oh?"
Kieza's eyes, which had looked weary until just a moment ago, shifted unmistakably.
"Did you just say 'a life of decadence'?"
"Yeah. Drinking fine alcohol, eating good meat, being surrounded by women, leaving the troublesome stuff to capable people, and living comfortably. That's my dream."
After staring at me in silence for a while, Kieza slowly curled the corners of his mouth upward. The tired air from when his father had been lecturing him about talent was completely gone.
"...I see. That philosophy is truly magnificent...! Duke Razgrim, I would love to sit down and have a long talk with you sometime."
"Absolutely not! What fun is there in talking about a life of decadence with another guy?"
"Rest assured! I, too, prefer conversing with beautiful women. It's just... you have piqued my interest quite a bit."
"Having a guy take an interest in me doesn't make me happy in the slightest..."
"I agree completely on that point."
Unable to hold it in, Clarice let out a small laugh. Once I actually talked to him, he was far simpler to understand than I had thought. In the end, this guy just wanted to live however he pleased.
"...Well, you're an odd one, though."
"Oh? Hearing that from you, Duke Razgrim, somehow feels unconvincing."
Even when asked why, Kieza simply laughed pleasantly and said, "Just a feeling." I hadn't intended to say anything profound, but it seemed something had struck a chord with him.
"...Enough... We're done talking. Duke Razgrim, pardon us for taking up so much of your time. This time we are truly going home, you foolish son of mine!"
Letting out a massive sigh, Marquis Perkin finally grabbed Kieza by the scruff of his neck.
"Aah! Please do not pull! You'll stretch out my favorite clothes! Father, there's no need to rush like that—I won't run away, you know?"
"As if I could trust that! The moment I take my eyes off you, you'll go hitting on another woman!"
"Well, I cannot deny that!"
Marquis Perkin's face twitched, and he dragged his son away without allowing any further argument. Kieza seemed to have no intention of resisting; after taking a few steps, he simply turned back toward us and gave a meaningful smile.
"Until then, Duke Razgrim. —We shall meet again soon."
"Huh?...Soon?"
Before I could ask what he meant, he turned his face toward Clarice and Serena.
"Farewell, beautiful ladies, until we meet again!"
"You're like this right to the bitter eeeend?!"
Along with Marquis Perkin's furious roar, Kieza was dragged straight past the crowd and out of sight.
"...What was with that guy? The royal capital sure has a lot of eccentric people..."
"At the very least, he didn't seem like a bad person at heart, but... are you really one to talk?"
Clarice shot me an exasperated look, and even Serena beside her nodded slightly while munching on a baked treat. I didn't quite get why I was being treated like a weirdo too, but I had more important business right now.
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean...? Whatever. For now, let's go find Elsa and the master blacksmith! Surely they haven't left the royal capital yet."
The Military Tournament had only ended yesterday. The two of them hadn't said they were returning immediately either, so they had to be around somewhere. First, I needed to track down Elsa and discuss the mechanical prosthetic arm.
...Now then, I wonder what kind of face she'll make when she hears it costs over two hundred gold coins?
◇
In the history of the kingdom in later generations, the name of a certain knight remained.
A man who never lost his elegance, repelling enemies time and again with his magnificent swordsmanship, said to always bear a single rose upon his chest... In time, people came to call him:
—The "Rose Knight," Kieza Perkin. And he would also become widely known by the name of the "Rose Marquis."
Later, he would take action alongside Duke Vain Razgrim on numerous occasions, and it was said the two of them became close companions who traded banter with one another without reserve.
And at this point in time, no one yet knew that this very day's encounter was the catalyst that would engrave his name so deeply into history.