On the morning of our departure from the royal capital, the soldiers were busy preparing for the journey home outside the lodging quarters from early on. Packed into the carriages were not only the equipment used in the tournament, but also alcohol, food, and souvenirs for their families bought in the royal capital. The men, who just a few days ago were making a racket about winning or losing, were in high spirits now that they could finally return to the domain, and bursts of laughter could be heard all around.
Watching them, I looked back on the past few weeks.
...It really was an eventful period.
When I was told to participate in the Military Tournament, I thought it would be enough to take fifth place and bring home fifty gold coins. But once it started, the soldiers fought far harder than expected, and before I knew it, even I had gotten wrapped up in the outcome... Even after winning the championship, we handed out rewards, Elsa's arm ended up costing an outrageous amount of money, the master blacksmith suddenly announced he was retiring... and to top it all off, I even made the acquaintance of some bizarre guy who carries a rose around to hit on women.
Honestly, it was a string of things I could never have imagined before coming to the royal capital.
The gold coins I had gone through so much trouble to obtain were no longer in a state where I could spend them however I pleased, but it wasn't a total loss either. The soldiers won the championship, and the army was far more unified than before. Once we returned to the domain, I could just have everyone get back to work.
...Well, was it surprisingly not that bad? All that was left was to return to the domain and spend some quiet time for a while.
This time, for real...!
"Lord Vain!"
Hearing a voice call out from behind, I turned around to see Lydia walking toward me. I figured she had come to check in before departure, but when she arrived right in front of me, her movements became strangely stiff for some reason.
"What's wrong? Are your preparations finished?"
"Y-Yes! Of course! All the luggage has been loaded, and the soldier headcount with Raisa-dono is complete! So there are no issues at all!"
Her reply was strangely emphatic. She had been acting oddly since yesterday.
"That's fine, then..."
The moment I replied, Lydia's gaze dropped slightly below my face. I thought she might be looking at my chest, but no. She was clearly looking at my lips.
"...What is it?"
"Eep?!"
Lydia's shoulders jumped, and she took a step backward.
"I-It's nothing! It's really nothing at all!"
"...Does someone with nothing going on get that startled just looking at a person's face?"
"N-No! It's not like I was looking at Lord Vain's... that is... y-your lips or anything!"
"Huh...? My lips?"
"P-Please forget ittt!"
Despite bringing it up herself, Lydia turned bright red all the way to her ears and practically fled toward the carriages.
...What is with her?
A short distance away, my eyes met Clarice's as she checked over the luggage. Thinking she might know something, I looked at her, but after glancing at me once, Clarice looked away without saying a word.
She's suspicious too... hey.
Well, things will settle down once we're back in the domain. While I was thinking that, the area near the entrance of the lodging quarters suddenly grew noisy. The soldiers parted to clear a path, and from beyond them walked a familiar woman accompanied by guards.
"...Alecia?"
"What's with that look? Is it wrong for me to come?"
"No, it's not wrong, but... what are you here for?"
"To see you off!...You're leaving today, aren't you?"
She stated it as if it were obvious, making me involuntarily look around. I didn't know whether a monarch was supposed to go out of her way just to see off a single duke, but the soldiers were visibly tense.
"Are you sure it's alright for you to come to a place like this?"
"I came because it's fine. Besides, I wanted to come, so what's wrong with that?"
With that, Alecia turned her gaze toward the soldiers preparing for departure. Perhaps because we had stayed in the royal capital for a while after the tournament ended, seeing the soldiers outfitted for travel rather than in armor seemed to make her truly realize that we were actually going back.
"...You're really going home, aren't you?"
"Of course I am... I don't live in the royal capital, you know."
"I know that. I am the queen, after all... I understand that much."
After replying with a slightly sulky face, Alecia looked at me as if she wanted to say something. Expecting some sort of order to come flying my way as usual, the words that actually came out were completely unexpected.
"...It's going to be lonely, not being able to see you for a while."
I never expected to hear something like that so directly from her. She was always spouting off whatever she pleased about being queen and giving orders, yet at times like this, she became strangely honest.
"Hm?"
"...I said I'm going to be lonely!...Don't make me say it over and over."
Struggling slightly for a reply, I answered plainly.
"We can still send letters, can't we?"
"That's not the point!"
She snapped at me after all.
"Letters and meeting in person are completely different, aren't they? Ever since I became queen, it felt natural having you here in the royal capital. When I summoned you, you'd come complaining, and when I left you alone, you'd do whatever you wanted on your own... When I think about you being gone, it's lonelier than I expected."
"Even if you say that, I can't just abandon my domain."
"I told you, I know that."
Though Alecia said so, she still looked dissatisfied. However, having no intention of going so far as to tell me not to leave, she eventually let out an exasperated sigh.
"Oh, whatever. Instead, send a letter every once in a while, alright? Even if you don't have any official business!"
"What am I supposed to write if I don't have business?"
"What you're doing in your domain, what you ate, anything at all, right...?"
"...Is reading that kind of stuff actually fun for you?"
"I want to read it!"
When pressed that hard, I had no reason to refuse. When I told her I would write if I felt like it, Alecia made a face that made it unclear whether she was satisfied or not.
Then, her expression turned slightly serious, and she pointed a finger at me.
"Also... don't go causing trouble without me around, alright?"
"Huh?"
"Aren't you the type to get dragged into some kind of trouble? Well, I suppose part of it was me dragging you into things, but... it always feels like something that shouldn't have been a big deal ends up blowing up before you know it... Make sure you don't stick your nose into unnecessary commotions even after returning to your domain."
"Don't talk like I'm the one causing the trouble! It always comes to me from out of nowhere!"
"Yet in the end, you're always standing right in the middle of it."
"It's not like I'm doing it because I want to!"
All I wanted to do was drink alcohol, eat meat, and live a life where I left all the troublesome work to other people.
Alecia laughed at my defense, then lowered her voice slightly.
"...Well, I'm sure you'll be fine. Just don't do anything reckless. The next time you come to the royal capital, make sure you come show your face to me, understood?"
"Yeah, if I have free time."
"That's where you're supposed to say 'definitely'!"
As she complained right until the very end, a familiar, hearty laugh echoed from the entrance of the lodging quarters.
"Gwahaha! You're quite energetic from early in the morning!"
Turning around, I saw that this time, old man Galvas was walking over. First the Queen, and now a duke coming to see us off—what was going on today?
"...What are you here for, old man?"
"How rude to ask what I am here for! To see my daughter off, of course. Even if I have entrusted her to you for half a year, if she is returning from the royal capital to your domain, I must at least see her face!"
Barely answering me, Galvas looked around the area, nodding in satisfaction upon spotting Lydia near the carriage. He probably wanted to confirm that she was doing well and hadn't been injured in the tournament.
However, Lydia's reaction upon spotting her father was completely different. The moment she stopped in her tracks, she glared at Galvas with an intensely resentful look in her eyes.
"...Father."
"What is it?"
"'What is it?' is not the right response! After sending a letter like that... Do you have any idea how troubled I was yesterday?!"
"A letter like that?"
When I asked without thinking, Lydia hurriedly whipped around to face me.
"I-It has nothing to do with you, Lord Vain! This is a matter between my father and me!"
"Gwahaha! Well now, it seems to have been quite effective! Was I not simply trying to give my daughter a little push?"
"Who asked for that kind of push?! Please keep the contents a little more normal!"
Her face was red, but in a different sense than before. Galvas, on the other hand, showed no remorse whatsoever, seeming all the more amused by his daughter's reaction.
"If I did not do at least that much, you would never make a move no matter how much time passed! Well, there is no need to rush... Just as I wrote in the letter, see that you do it properly!"
"Father! Please do not say another word!"
...Seriously, what was written in that letter?
With a smirk on his face, Galvas alternated his gaze between Lydia and me. It was obvious he knew something, but asking here would only make Lydia kick up an even bigger fuss, so I decided against asking.
"Honestly..."
Still glaring resentfully at her father, Lydia puffed out her cheeks slightly.
"The next time you send a letter, please at least consider the aftermath of me reading it!"
"Gwahaha! I shall take it under advisement!"
"You have no intention of considering it at all, do you?!"
Glancing at the bickering parent and child, a voice called out announcing that preparations for departure were complete.
Well then... guess it's about time to go.
As I headed toward the carriage, Alecia looked at me once more.
"Vain—!!"
Hearing her call my name, I looked back. Alecia seemed about to say something, but after a moment of hesitation, she lightly raised a hand.
"...See you."
"Yeah. See you."
Without saying anything unnecessary this time, I climbed straight into the carriage.
Before long, the lead horse began to move, and the long, trailing Razgrim party slowly departed from the royal capital. Looking back through the window, Alecia was still standing in front of the lodging quarters. Even with guards beside her, she showed no sign of heading back, watching us until our carriage faded into the distance. A little behind her, Galvas was waving his arm broadly, making me understand just a bit why Lydia had cast such a resentful look at him right until the end.
—Neither of them could possibly have that much free time...
Inside the carriage, Lydia sat across from me with Clarice next to her, while Serena looked out the window at the receding cityscape of the royal capital. Clarice had her eyes cast down at some documents she brought along, but she had been staring at the same page for a while now, barely turning them.
When I shifted my gaze back to the seat across from me, Lydia's eyes dropped to my lips again for just a split second. Realizing it immediately, she snapped her head toward the outside of the window with tremendous force.
Her ears were red.
Seeing that, Clarice glanced at Lydia from over her documents. Serena by the window also glanced over once, checking my lips and then Lydia's face in sequence, before turning back outside as if she had reached some sort of understanding.
...Why are all of them making faces like they know something?
"...You really have been acting strange since yesterday, you know?"
"I-I am not acting strange!"
—Is it going to be like this the entire way back to the domain? Give me a break... I let out a small sigh and leaned back against the seat.
Clarice returned her gaze to the documents without a word, though her brow furrowed ever so slightly. Serena remained staring outside as usual... and Lydia, despite keeping her face turned out the window, showed no sign of the redness leaving her ears.
...Whatever. Once we're back in the domain, I have to clear through the backlog of work, and check on how the master and Elsa are doing... I just entrusted the army to Raisa as well, so there's plenty of things to do.
Sigh... Just when is my peace and quiet ever going to come...? Please, I'm begging you, let nothing else happen...
A lot of things happened, but our business in the royal capital is finally finished... For now, that was enough.
◇
Around the same time, in the Empire, a member of the royal family was preparing to head for the kingdom.
"I can't take it anymore! I'm going back! I'm definitely going back!"
Estelle raised an irritated voice as she shoved clothes into a large bag. Beside her, a lady-in-waiting tried repeatedly to stop her, but she had no intention of listening whatsoever.
When Estelle first saw the imperial prince of the Empire, she had fallen in love at first sight. Things progressed rapidly from there, and because the rumors she heard from those around him weren't bad, she hadn't hesitated to marry into the distant Empire. The only one who had strongly opposed it was her brother, Regnard.
Don't make a decision without truly knowing the person. Don't judge someone solely by the face they show to the outside world—she had been told countless times. Even so, back then, it only seemed to Estelle like her brother was worrying over nothing.
"...Brother was completely right...!"
Now, those words hit home painfully hard.
She had thought he was a kind and sincere person. She had thought he was looking at her. But once she actually married him, what that man cared about was not her, but her position as the "imperial prince's wife wed from the kingdom." Even in their conversations, it was always about relations with the kingdom, caring more about how she ought to conduct herself as an imperial prince's wife than about what she actually thought.
"This is completely different from what I was told! At this rate, it wouldn't have mattered if it were me or anyone else, would it?!"
Shoving her clothes roughly into the bag, Estelle finally slumped down on the spot.
At first, she thought it couldn't be helped because it was an unfamiliar country. She even thought that if she endured, they might eventually come to understand each other. But the longer they lived together, the more she began to doubt whether the man she first met and the husband before her were even the same person.
"Love is blind... It really was true...!"
"Your Highness, are you truly returning to the kingdom?"
When the lady-in-waiting asked timidly, Estelle snapped her head up with vigor.
"I'm going back! I've already decided! Argh, honestly, I want to see Alecia! Once I'm back, I'm going to make her listen to everything!"
Whatever the imperial prince might say was none of her concern right now. Sitting atop the overstuffed bag that wouldn't close, Estelle pressed the lid down with both hands as she somehow continued her preparations to return to the kingdom.
◇
Even further away—in the Republic of the Holy City.
In the morning, the lady-in-waiting who visited the saint's private chambers froze in place with the door left wide open.
"...Lady Saint?"
There was no reply.
There was no sign of her on the bed either, and though the surrounding rooms were immediately checked, she was nowhere to be found. The guards had not seen her leave the premises, and once that became clear, the quiet interior of the building erupted into chaos all at once.
"The Lady Saint is missing, you say?!"
"Search for her immediately! Check with the gates as well! Do not let the people learn of this!"
Priests ran through the corridors, and guards were summoned one after another. Never before had the saint vanished without telling a single person.
At that time, the person in question was in a town far away from the Holy City.
Wearing plain clothes unlike her usual attire, a cloth covered her head. Even as she walked through the marketplace, no one bowed their heads upon seeing her. No one rushed her when she stopped, and if an intriguing shop caught her eye, she could walk over on her own two feet.
Delighted that no one was asking for her destination, the saint turned down an adjacent street for no particular reason. Though she walked for a bit, there was nothing special there, and she ended up returning to the original street.
Yet, for some reason, she couldn't help but smile. Deciding for herself, walking by herself, and turning back on her own when she thought she made a mistake. That simple freedom was something she had never experienced until now.
Strolling through the marketplace for a while, she spotted a shop lined with freshly baked bread. Her eyes lighting up, the saint drew near the storefront as if pulled by a magnet.
"May I have one of these, please?"
When the shopkeeper stated the price, the saint's movements came to a halt. Peering into the small pouch she had brought along, she alternated her gaze between the coins inside and the shopkeeper, tilting her head in bewilderment.
"...Um, for this... I pay money, right?"
"...Eh?"
The shopkeeper froze, and the saint froze as well. It seemed she had asked an odd question... Realizing that, the saint smiled a little embarrassedly.
It wasn't that she disliked saving people. Nor was it that she wanted to discard being a saint. It was just that choosing her own path, choosing what she wanted for herself, and paying money on her own... She had simply never done those commonplace things even once.
"Just once... I wanted to try living an ordinary life."
Murmuring to no one in particular, the saint took a single coin from inside the pouch. Neither of the two women yet knew even the name of a man called Vain Razgrim. And Vain, likewise, had no way of knowing of their existence.
—For now, at least...