#27
I grasped one of the most eye-catching fountain pens, trying my best not to show any reaction to Yutis. His eyebrows twitched, but I decided to ignore it. What could I possibly do that would please Yutis?
I suppressed the humming that threatened to burst out. I wished the entrance ceremony would come quickly. That day, I would be able to meet Iria again. Imagining my future days of watching Iria from afar made my steps naturally lighter.
I don’t know what state of mind I was in while purchasing items. Moving according to Yutis’s guidance, I chose things at random, and by the time we boarded the carriage with our luggage, the sun was already setting. Upon arriving at the mansion, I asked the waiting employee to organize the luggage and headed to my room.
The sword was probably angry, wondering why I had returned so late. As the day of school enrollment approached, the sword wanted to spend as much time with me as possible. Since I didn’t mind that sentiment, I always spent time in my room unless there was something special to do.
Just as I reached my room, I encountered Kara coming out.
“Ah, you’re back?”
“Is your busy work all done?”
“Yes.”
Kara nodded and moved aside so I could enter my room.
“Young Master.”
“Yes?”
“A gift has arrived, so I placed it on your bed.”
“A gift?”
“Yes. A gift from the royal family.”
Cold water splashed over my excited heart that had been elated from meeting Iria earlier. I stared at the tightly closed door of my room, holding my breath.
The royal family occasionally sends gifts to the Duke’s household. I also receive a gift about once a year, and the sender was always the same.
“Yes. Thank you.”
I answered lightly and entered the room.
“What took you so long?”
As soon as I entered, I heard the sword’s voice addressing me. I didn’t answer and approached the bed. Then I picked up the small gift box on the bed. The neatly tied ribbon was so pretty. Until a few years ago, it had been quite untidy.
When I pulled the ribbon, inside was a new book by a novelist I often read. On top of it was a card that looked expensive. Opening the card, I saw a sentence written in neat handwriting.
[Congratulations on your enrollment.]
[Persis Keinan]
The first time I received a card was on my birthday. Though it only said ‘Happy Birthday,’ the handwriting was so poor that it was difficult to read. It was quite moving to see how much that handwriting had improved.
This was the first time Persis had sent a gift when it wasn’t my birthday. I sat on the bed and kept looking at the card. What always captured my attention more than the gift he sent was the card with its simple message.
In the past 10 years, these were all the words he had sent to me. Why was I holding onto a card that was probably sent out of obligation? Especially from a child who had so resolutely cut me off.
I got up and opened the drawer in the room. Inside were the cards Persis had sent. After placing today’s card on top, I looked at them briefly before closing the drawer.
If I looked any longer, I might take out each card he had sent me again. I thought how foolish I was, dragging this on when he had cut me off so cleanly.
* * *
Tying a necktie wasn’t difficult for me. I used to do it every morning in my previous life, so even if I hadn’t done it for a long time, I would remember quickly after a few attempts. Nevertheless, the reason I didn’t do it myself and borrowed someone else’s hands was because I couldn’t stop Kara, who had a dark expression.
Kara tied my necktie without saying a word. The sound of the long tie fabric creating a knot, going in and out, echoed in the quiet room. After lightly tightening the tie, Kara gently patted the neatly tied necktie.
“It’s done.”
“Thank you.”
Kara, whom I once had to lift my head to meet eyes with, was now below my eye level. Nevertheless, she was still such an important person to me. She stood by my side whenever I wavered and was there for me more than anyone else. She was my proper guardian.
Kara stared at me silently. It must feel special for her. It would be surprising to see how much a small child had grown. I often thought the same when I saw Rikin, marveling at how much he had grown.
“I’ve grown well, haven’t I?”
“Yes. You’ve grown well. There’s no one quite like our Young Master.”
“I think so too.”
No matter what I had seen in the game, everything in this world was unfamiliar. The Duke, whom I knew as a villain, never felt like a father no matter what, and the Prince I met with difficulty was different from what I knew. Just when I thought I had become a bit attached, I had to distance myself from the Prince.
It was Kara who continuously protected me. She checked my uniform several times to make sure there were no wrinkles. She smoothed it out and dusted it off.
“It’s because Kara raised me.”
Kara’s eyes looked up at me as she was tending to my clothes. Seeing her slightly surprised face, I gave a small smile.
“You can be proud.”
Kara, who had been staring at me, shook her head and lightly hit my shoulder, not enough to hurt.
“Not yet. Young Master still hasn’t fully grown. You need to grow taller too. So don’t skip meals at school. Don’t stay up late. Young Master doesn’t take care of your body enough. What would have happened if Yutis hadn’t gone with you?”
When I heard the name of the person accompanying me to school, my body stiffened unconsciously. Thinking of Yutis, who was probably already outside waiting for me, made me want to sigh. It would be fortunate if he even acknowledged me at school. Now that there was no one to be mindful of, he probably wouldn’t even come near me.
There was no point in saying this out loud now, as Kara wouldn’t believe me. She had often said that while she would nod in agreement with my words at other times, it wouldn’t be the case for matters related to the Duke and Yutis.
Maybe it’s because they’re workplace colleagues. She can’t speak ill of people she works with.
“Alright. I’ll eat well, sleep well, and rest well.”
“Yes. That’s all you need to do.”
Kara, standing one step away from me, gave me a final look-over and then turned around, telling me to get ready and come out.
I was the only person standing in the room after Kara left. However, there was still someone in this room I needed to say goodbye to. The black sword placed on the well-organized desk caught my eye.
The sword hadn’t said a word since yesterday. It seemed sulky and also somewhat depressed. Though it was hard to believe a sword could have such emotions.
“I’m going now.”
The sword didn’t answer this time either.
“I’ll come back on weekends or during vacation.”
I had to visit home to check if the Duke was doing anything different and also because I was worried about the sword.
“Wait for me until then, okay?”
The sword didn’t emit even a flicker of light, as if it was asleep. The sword’s behavior made me worried too. Did I want to leave it behind? If possible, I wanted to take it to school to keep it away from the Duke. However, the spatial limit of where I could keep the sword was only within this Duke’s mansion.
“I also…”
“Hm?”
“…Take care.”
The sword ended the conversation with different words, not finishing its first sentence. After that, the sword didn’t glow or speak again. Sighing, I slowly stroked the blade of the sword. After staring at the motionless sword for a while, I turned away.
If I stayed any longer, I might regret it and skip the entrance ceremony. Although it would be fine to miss the entrance ceremony, there was a scene I absolutely had to see today. After taking one last look around the room I had stayed in, I went outside.
The luggage had already been moved to the dormitory using a carriage. Since the distance between the school and the Duke’s mansion wasn’t far, it seemed moving the luggage wasn’t too difficult.
Some nobles had requested that students be allowed to commute from home for short distances, but the school had a policy that students must live in dormitories. I, as a Young Master, was no exception.
I could see the carriage parked in front of the mansion. Yutis, who had been outside for a while, frowned as soon as he saw my face. Kara, waiting beside him, smiled at me, unlike Yutis. Most of the employees working at the Duke’s household were also standing with Kara and Yutis, waiting for me.
My steps halted because of the employees who slightly bowed their heads to greet me as I approached. I thought getting through these people and boarding the carriage might be the most difficult task among all the things I had to do today.
As if knowing my feelings, Kara made a path toward the carriage and pointed to the carriage door.
“This way.”
Only after hearing her call did I manage to move. Yutis followed me onto the carriage as I boarded.
The Duke didn’t come out to see me off. He wasn’t the type to come out here and say goodbye to his son in the first place, and he had already moved to deliver a congratulatory speech for the school entrance ceremony. If that was the case, he could have waited and gone with me, or told me to prepare earlier. He was such a stubborn man.
“Take care, Young Master.”
“Yes. You take care too.”
After briefly talking with Kara, I opened my mouth toward the employees who were looking at me.
“I’ll be back.”
Once again, the employees bowed their heads to me. I wasn’t someone who deserved such respectful treatment from them. Feeling increasingly embarrassed, I couldn’t bear it and sank into the carriage seat. I had wanted to stick to the carriage window until the end to see Kara, but I couldn’t even do that.
I tried rubbing my reddened cheeks with my hands, but the heat wouldn’t subside. I thought this was all too grand from the start.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
