“Miss!”
“Hm?”
“Do you like my brother?”
&
It was a pure and direct question, just like a child.
“Oh my, does it look that way?”
Risel folded her arms and shrugged.
“Hehehe. I’ve got a pretty good eye when it comes to romance, you know!”
Eileen found the sight so adorable she couldn’t hold back her laughter.
“Ahaha, really? Hmm. Then what Risel saw must be accurate, right?”
“Wow...”
Risel’s expression immediately turned strange.
“But why? He’s my brother and all, but you’re way out of his league.”
Then she even shook her head.
“Hiss! I kind of want to object.”
“Oh my, but your brother is such a wonderful man.”
“Mm... no, he isn’t.”
Risel spoke with a gravely troubled expression.
“He’s ordinary. Way too ordinary. A man’s face is what matters, after all. Sir Ian Luchebalt would be perfect for you!”
Eileen smiled, stroked Risel’s head, and gently crouched down to meet her eye level.
“Then how about our Risel takes Ian, and I take Rayon?”
“Ah! I like that! Deal!”
“Good. Deal complete.”
The two of them even shook hands for real and laughed.
And when they started walking again, Risel asked quietly.
“But why do you really like him?”
Her expression said she simply couldn’t understand.
“Oh? I don’t recall saying I liked him.”
When Risel looked surprised, Eileen smiled and added,
“There aren’t nobles like him these days.”
“My brother?”
Risel tilted her head.
“There are a bunch of them, though? People who look like that.”
Eileen swallowed a laugh at those words.
“For his family... no.”
She paused to choose her words, then spoke in a lower voice.
“A man who can even lay down his life for his wife.”
Risel blinked.
“If it’s my brother, he probably wouldn’t even hesitate.”
At Risel’s immediate agreement, Eileen’s eyes widened slightly.
Then, this time, a far more pleased smile than before spread across her face.
“Exactly.”
Just as Eileen, satisfied that she had judged correctly, was about to keep walking,
Risel casually added,
“Even if she bullied him.”
That was something even Eileen had not expected.
“Hmm. I see.”
“But if my brother bullies you, throw him away right away.”
“Oh my, of course. Even if he treats me well, if I don’t like him, I’ll throw him away. There are plenty of men like that, after all.”
Risel stopped for a moment.
Only then did Eileen feel the slightest sting of guilt.
“So what you mean is...”
“Wow.”
Risel looked genuinely impressed.
“That’s so cool. I’m going to be like you too. I’ll seduce lots of men, and if I don’t like them, I’ll dump them on the spot and seduce another man right there.”
“Th-that’s not quite what I meant...”
For some reason, Eileen felt as if she had committed a rather serious mistake.
It was the moment she understood why adults said one should not speak carelessly in front of children.
And a short while later, the mansion came into view.
“It’s my brother!”
Risel waved her hand and pointed ahead.
Over there stood Rayon, raising his hand toward them.
The sunset poured down behind the mansion.
And Rayon stood before it.
Looking at that sight, Eileen suddenly stopped walking.
“...”
With a smile whose meaning could not be read, she lightly touched her chin.
Then she gazed at Rayon for a while.
“This much... wasn’t part of my plan.”
The words slipped out very softly.
Perhaps the only person who knew what they meant was Eileen herself.
***
Even as Eileen climbed into the carriage, her expression carried a hint of lingering regret.
“I don’t want to go.”
“You’ll forget all about it once you return.”
“How hurtful.”
Eileen rested her chin on the window and gave a small laugh.
“Mr. Rayon, it seems you’re relieved that I’m leaving?”
True.
I should be.
“Does it look that way?”
I said it without avoiding her gaze.
If anything, it was Eileen whose brow narrowed subtly for an instant.
“No.”
Thump.
Damn it, why am I like this?
“When will we see each other again?”
“Ah. Uh... I wonder?”
“Mr. Rayon, won’t you miss me?”
She looked at me with an expression I couldn’t tell was deliberately made, or one of genuine regret.
Under that gaze, I grew needlessly rushed to answer.
“N-no, that’s not it.”
“Then you will miss me?”
“Huh? Ah, yes.”
I feel like I’m getting completely swept up in this.
“Good.”
Eileen smiled faintly and held out a box.
“Since you’ll miss me, I suppose it can’t be helped.”
I looked at the box I had received.
“What is this?”
“Open it.”
The moment I opened the box, light flashed from within, revealing a plaque engraved with the emblem symbolizing Belmardian.
The emblem was different, but it was the same kind of thing Serafinrie had given me.
However,
Serafinrie had given it to me so I could request aid from her family,
while Eileen said something entirely different.
“If you want to see me, come find me anytime.”
She said it lightly, but for some strange reason, it did not sound like a mere joke.
That did not mean I could decide it was sincere, either.
I glanced down at the plaque once, then subtly raised the corner of my mouth.
“Should I use it now?”
“Pfft.”
In the end, Eileen burst into laughter.
It was a short laugh, but somehow, it carried a trace of something she had failed to hide.
Whether she was amused,
flustered,
or feeling something else, it was not easy to read.
“See you again.”
Before getting into the carriage, she also waved at Father, Mother, and Risel, with whom she had already exchanged farewells.
Judging by how she had intentionally had them stand a little ways away, it seemed she had wanted to say the final goodbye to me separately.
Then Eileen turned back toward me, smiled brightly, and the carriage departed.
The carriage had set off, but she still rested her chin on her hand and stared fixedly at me.
Thump.
Ugh.
Calm down.
It’s really not that.
Whether that gaze was a joke,
a habit,
or truly held some meaning,
even after living through my past life, I still found it confusing.
No.
If anything, even more than back then.
Even when she had grown quite distant, she never withdrew her gaze.
I was the same.
Only after the carriage had completely disappeared from view did Father, Mother, and Risel approach my side.
“Good grief. You never took your eyes off her until she vanished. Are you truly saying there is nothing there?”
“Was our son... always this dense? My insides are burning to ash.”
“Sigh. My brother is done for.”
I must look frustrating.
But I can’t help it.
That woman and I are ill-fated.
No.
She is ill-fated for me.
Yes.
Even so.
...
For an instant, I struck my own head.
I really am an idiot.
People often say it.
That if they were given a new life, they would never live as they did before.
Yet just now, I had been about to think I wanted to live the same life again.
How stupid.
To think, maybe this time would be different.
She was Eileen.
No matter how well I treated her, I could not change her,
so I had to come to my senses.
“Father, Mother. I have something important to tell you.”
Even if I don’t know about myself,
at the very least, I have to make sure my family lives a different life.
***
After hearing my story, Father and Mother were both shocked at the same time.
“Is that true? Rayon. Do you truly think such a thing will happen?”
I had carefully brought up the matter of the territorial war.
“Yes.”
“Haa...”
“What should we do, dear?”
Fortunately, the two of them did not dismiss my words.
Now that I had shown them certain things, I could feel that my words carried a different weight than before, at least.
Father was lost in thought for a moment, then calmly opened his mouth.
“Do not worry, dear. It will not happen immediately.”
Father’s eyes were already looking toward the next move.
“We can strengthen the territory in the meantime. Fortunately, thanks to our Rayon, quite a bit of money will be coming in before long.”
Father rubbed his chin and added,
“Most importantly, Lady Eileen came here in person. From the outside, it will look as if we have ties to Belmardian, so it will be difficult for anyone to touch us rashly for the time being.”
Father had certainly grasped the core of the matter.
Even if he was a noble of the borderlands, he was a man who had lived his whole life leading a family.
He was not someone who possessed only empty appearances.
Father soon looked at me.
“Rayon, what do you intend to do?”
“First, once the rice is harvested, I want to use the down payment to start on construction right away. I think expanding the territory should come first.”
I spoke exactly according to the order I had drawn up in my head.
“After that, together with Redek, I think we should bring in more blacksmiths, expand the smithy, and build lodgings as well. That way, it should be much easier when we recruit soldiers.”
Father slowly nodded.
“The idea is good. However, it would be better not to sign a contract with a guild right away.”
“Pardon?”
“Guilds like that, once they join hands with a borderland like ours, are bound to lord it over us. For now, even if it is a bit more expensive, it would be better to entrust only the buildings separately. It may seem like a loss at first, but later we will be able to properly contract with a better guild.”
The moment I heard that, my heart suddenly felt at ease.
At some point, I may have begun to think I had to do everything myself.
Arrogantly.
“Yes, Father. Then I will speak with Redek and look into the blacksmith side of things.”
“Good. This father of yours will look into the construction side.”
Father’s eyes came alive, and if anything, he seemed even more vigorous.
Thinking about it, it made sense.
Living as the head of a border territory,
at some point, the things one could do gradually dwindled.
The path toward the kingdom’s center was effectively blocked,
and there was no room to grow the territory any larger.
All that remained was to hold on to the peaceful days as they passed one by one.
For such a father, a clear purpose and goal had appeared after a long time.
When Father grew lively,
Mother naturally began to feel energized as well.
***
The next day.
I went to Redek and discussed our future plans.
Redek said he would first contact the blacksmiths he knew,
and before I realized it, Denzel was beside him learning the work of a blacksmith.
“Denzel.”
“Yes.”
“If you learn diligently, I’ll set up a smithy for you next door too.”
Denzel’s eyes widened at once.
“R-really? I’ll work hard!”
The basic structure would be
Redek at the center, with several blacksmiths under him moving together.
“Sir Redek, if there’s anyone who doesn’t listen for no reason or tries to run off, cut them loose immediately.”
Redek, too, was no longer as lifeless as before.
“Hahaha! Do not worry. The hierarchy among blacksmiths is far more... frightening than you might think.”
At his smiling face, I flinched slightly without meaning to.
Thinking about it, that was true.
In a place that handled blades, there was no way hierarchy could be left unsettled.
They were already swinging terrifying hammers around, so if things went wrong, someone’s skull might really get cracked first.
Wait.
Maybe the reason there are so many bald blacksmiths isn’t for nothing...
Ah, it might not be because their hair got burned off by fire.
After that, I went to the rice paddies where the rice was growing and spoke with the territory residents managing them about various things.
Later on, there was a possibility someone might try to steal the rice, so we had to strengthen the vigilance around the area.
Of course, even if they stole it, they would not be able to sell it.
The larger the territory grew and the more people there were,
the more certain protective measures would become necessary.
While we continued making preparations day by day like that,
an unexpected guest arrived.
“...”
For a moment, I could not say anything as I stared at the person before me.
“Hello?”
“Ah, hello?”
It was Serafinrie.