I, Edward Gran Etherdam, stood in the private chambers of my father, the King of Etherdam, receiving a stern reprimand.
"Edward, you are forbidden from leaving the castle for the duration of your summer vacation. I will permit you to attend the Academy, but given your past indiscretions, I expect you to maintain the highest standards of conduct."
"I understand."
I accepted his decree with humility.
"That is all. Dismissed."
"Yes, Father."
"Good grief. How did it ever come to this...?"
Behind me, my father let out a heavy sigh as he stared at my glistening silhouette.
I had lost much since that incident in the Brave Territory.
First, there was Patricia.
I had faithfully fulfilled the contents of the written promise I made to Laguna Ver Brave and his companions. Once you have been betrayed and brought to the brink of death, you have no choice but to sever ties, no matter how deeply the affection lingers.
However, the memories of her certainly remain within me. Until that incident, she had truly healed the hole in my heart. I will not deny the happiness of those moments. But I intend to take to heart my own weakness and lack of foresight in allowing myself to be deceived.
Second was my hair.
It was gone—utterly, completely, and beautifully smooth. A high-ranking Recovery Mage had been summoned to the palace immediately, yet even they could not restore my scorched hair follicles. Still, as far as I am concerned, I am simply glad to be alive.
The burn scars remain as a painful reminder across my upper body. My face, which had likely taken the brunt of the blast, must have been in a far more wretched state initially. I owe a profound debt of gratitude to Mariana Ocean for saving me from a situation where instant death would have been the expected outcome.
Third was my right of succession to the throne.
Between my lifelong selfishness, the annulment of my engagement to the House of the Duke, and my scandalous school life with Patricia, a commoner, I was well aware that I was already held in low regard. The events in the Brave Territory had finally pushed my standing to the very bottom of the line of succession.
I don't particularly care about that. If anything, I would have been fine with renouncing it entirely. In a Magic Kingdom, the blood of the Royal Family is highly valued, even in one dismissed as a "foolish son." Presuming that some modicum of value still remained in me, they stopped at merely demoting my rank.
...In the end, nothing had changed; my blood was the only thing about me with any worth. I suppose I got exactly what I deserved. After all, what flows within my veins is merely the tedious essence of one who walks a preordained path. No matter how much I struggle to deviate, I lack the power to change anything.
Not like the power of the Hero—a force whose very record was erased from this country.
"Heh... Hehehe!"
And yet, I had gained something too. I couldn't help but let out a laugh.
Patricia, the succession, my hair—none of it matters anymore. I have found it. Perhaps everything was designed to lead me to this single point.
I thought back to the Ancient Hero's Records I had pored over in the castle’s Forbidden Library out of sheer curiosity. After I was caught and severely scolded, I was banned from the library. When I snuck back in later, the ancient record papers had already been discarded.
Everyone underestimates my memory. To someone like me—who by the age of five had memorized every escape route in the palace, the patrol rotations of every servant and guard, and even the carriage schedules in the castle town—memorization is trivial. Granted, I am hopelessly inept when it comes to things that don't interest me.
But that is neither here nor there.
I have been interested in the Brave Territory for some time. I was too preoccupied with Patricia to investigate Laguna Ver Brave thoroughly, but seeing him scatter hundreds of ants that day without even breaking a sweat confirmed it.
He is the Reincarnated Hero!
Within the Royal Family, I pride myself on being close to a Reincarnated Sage, capable of wielding magic at a high level, but his power far exceeds my own. If he isn't the Hero, then who is?
The more I researched upon my return, the more the abnormality of the frontier region known as the Brave Territory stood out. I recalled the verbal abuse he endured at the Academy and wondered why no one had realized the truth sooner.
Laguna Ver Brave had stood beside Alicia as if defying fate itself despite years of oppression. He looked exactly like a Hero from a story. Honestly, I admired him.
I had once believed that my "fateful" meeting with Patricia proved I was a protagonist who could carve out his own destiny rather than follow a set path, but that was a colossal delusion. Compared to a True Hero, I am merely a Sage, destined to hide within the Guardian Barrier that shields our skies.
"Hmm. How can I manage to become friends with him?"
I want to see the Hero from up close.
"No... perhaps my first priority should be revealing his identity to the world?"
Wait. I just realized my own lack of foresight. I must stop myself from rushing headlong into things.
"Wouldn't it be better to simply smirk from the shadows for a while and savor the Hero's growth to the fullest? That is a man's romance, is it not?"
It’s settled. Everything requires a record of achievement. I shall nominate Laguna Ver Brave for the Sage Festival after the summer break.
By rights, my grades would dictate that I represent the Academy in the magic tournament. It’s some vague event where students pit their refined magic against one another, but if I have him take my place, I can witness the Hero’s true power firsthand while the rest of the world watches in awe.
"Yes, let's do that."
The destiny surrounding me was about to change significantly. I failed to change my own fate, so I intend to remain quiet and repentant. But surely, there is no harm in watching someone who can resist fate from the sidelines?
Meanwhile, around that time—.
"Ugh... I just got a sudden chill."
"Is it a cold? Let me see."
"Oh, I'm so jealous! Pressing foreheads together to check for a fever is a classic page of youth! Just watching you two is making me blush!"
"Don't be ridiculous, Mariana. He doesn't seem to have a temperature."