“Then tomorrow...”
“Then now...”
Our words overlapped at the same time,
and silence fell for a moment.
&
For an instant, I wondered if I’d misheard her.
“R-right now?”
“Ah! I’ve kept you too long, haven’t I? You must be tired. I’m sorry.”
“No.”
I smiled faintly.
“That sounds good. Let’s go.”
I was a little flustered.
Still, there was nothing bad about it.
If I pointlessly put it off until tomorrow, she might change her mind,
and more than anything, at this hour, there was a high chance I might run into Ervain Pimale, the head of House Pimale and her father.
If anything, that was better.
There was no reason to refuse.
But.
“Really!? Great! Let’s go! Hurry!”
Why is she so happy?
Angelina took the lead with a face that looked as if her toes might spring forward at any second,
and I followed her into the Pimale mansion.
The mansion, too, was neat and elegant without a single excess detail.
It didn’t feel ostentatious or showy,
but that didn’t mean it lacked dignity either.
It felt exactly like House Pimale.
“Then should I greet the family head first...”
“Ah, Father is...”
Angelina’s eyes darted for a moment.
“He must be busy, so for now, just the two of us...”
There was no need to rush things unnecessarily.
I nodded and followed her.
And the moment I entered the study,
my eyes widened slightly despite myself.
It was far too large to call a study.
It was bigger than the libraries of most noble houses could even compare to,
and the bookshelves filling the walls were packed without a single gap.
It wasn’t simply that there were many books.
It felt like a space built from one person’s tastes and obsessions, stacked in perfect order.
“This one isn’t even in the library!”
Angelina pulled out a book with an excited face and showed it to me.
“Is that related to mysteries too?”
“Yes! This one is really fun.”
Every time she opened a book, the look in her eyes changed.
The excitement unique to someone showing off something they loved was plainly visible.
Thanks to that, I couldn’t help but be drawn in naturally as well.
And so we spent quite a long while flipping through books and talking.
“So, that person’s identity still hasn’t been revealed...”
I didn’t even realize how late it had gotten.
Then, suddenly, the door opened.
“Ah, Father.”
Ervain Pimale.
He entered the study.
Angelina and I had been sitting side by side, looking at the same book.
For an instant, both of us stiffened visibly, but I immediately rose from my seat and bowed my head.
“I am Reion Signal, eldest son of House Signal. I should have greeted you first. I apologize for being late.”
Ervain looked at me once, then shook his head.
“My daughter must have brought you straight here.”
“No. Even so, I should have greeted the family head first.”
At my words, Ervain Pimale looked at me for a moment, then soon gave a faint smile.
“Please don’t misunderstand. I didn’t come to scold you. Haha.”
He slowly looked around the study.
“Rather, I came to see for myself because I found it curious that Angelina let someone into her study.”
At those words, I turned to look beside me.
Angelina’s face had already turned red, and she was covering her mouth with a book.
Ervain added gently,
“To Angelina, this is a place she wouldn’t trade for anything in the world.”
I smiled faintly and said,
“Lady Angelina truly does love books.”
“She does. Very much.”
Ervain looked around the study once more as he spoke.
“Beyond liking them, her obsession is frightening enough that even I have to ask permission to enter this study. Hahaha.”
Seeing how she could talk about them like that without ever getting tired,
it really did seem plausible.
“I see. We met once before at the party, didn’t we?”
“You remember me. Thank you.”
“How could I forget? Our Angelina mentioned a man’s name for the first time, aside from talking about books.”
As soon as those words fell, Angelina cried out in a panic.
“F-Father...”
“Hahaha. All right, I understand.”
I smiled faintly and bowed my head to Ervain again.
“First, I will visit you formally again tomorrow. It’s late, and I don’t think greeting you in this manner is proper etiquette.”
At my words, Ervain’s expression softened even further.
“Very well. Then tomorrow, come with our Angelina. I’ll be waiting.”
“Thank you.”
I could have continued speaking with him right away.
But if I did, it would be difficult to leave a good impression.
Obtaining information was important,
but I believed that leaving a good connection with House Pimale was just as important.
“Then...”
“I-I’ll! I’ll see you to the entrance!”
Ervain blinked for a moment as if surprised by those words,
but soon smiled.
And so, guided by Angelina, I arrived at the mansion entrance.
“Then, I’ll be going.”
“M-Mr. Reion.”
“Yes.”
She fidgeted as if she wanted to say something,
then barely managed to open her mouth.
“What you said... about expressing that you like the things you like.”
“Ah, yes.”
I understood what she was trying to say.
“I think... it was a really good thing to say.”
“I’m glad if it helped.”
Perhaps embarrassed, Angelina adjusted her glasses slightly.
Even so, her gaze kept drifting toward me.
“See you tomorrow. I’ll be at the academy tomorrow too... so you have to come. All right?”
“Yes, I’ll come.”
“You have to.”
For some reason, that feeling was a little strange, but I nodded.
“All right. I’ll make sure to.”
Only then did Angelina smile very faintly, as if relieved.
And for a moment,
she stared intently at me.
It was a little different from when we first met.
It was hard to explain exactly what had changed,
but it definitely wasn’t the same gaze.
“Go on inside.”
“No. I’m at my own mansion anyway, so...”
She shook her head.
“I’ll watch you leave.”
It was still a little strange,
but I nodded without saying anything.
After turning around and walking some distance,
I suddenly looked back.
Angelina was still standing there.
When my gaze reached her, she waved her hand,
and I lightly raised mine in return.
...
No way.
For a moment, that thought crossed my mind, and I let out a small laugh.
Eileen was someone whose thoughts I couldn’t read,
and Seraphinlie was the type to make it openly obvious.
Recently, even Marsha had been showing her affection quite plainly.
I wasn’t so dense that I couldn’t notice that much.
So, for just a very brief moment,
the thought crossed my mind.
Could Angelina perhaps
like me too?
But I soon shook my head.
I know myself.
It might be different with someone in a similar position to mine,
but House Pimale was on a level that couldn’t be compared to me.
There was no way.
She had simply found a conversation partner she had never met before.
If your hobbies match, it’s only natural to grow closer.
Eileen had always made good use of that point too.
She was skilled at digging into what the other person liked
and using it as bait to tie people to her side.
I had watched that from beside her very closely,
so I was extremely good at viewing myself objectively.
If I let my guard down for even a moment,
I would harbor useless expectations and make another mistake.
***
The next day.
Today as well, I was waiting for Angelina in front of the academy.
But there was someone who came to find me before she did.
“You. Let’s talk for a moment.”
It was Dven.
Beside him was not the friend he had been with yesterday, but a different one.
He was fairly large,
and he was clearly of a different sort from the students at this academy.
His build was one thing,
but his gaze was quite sharp too.
“Do you have a reason to see me?”
“If you don’t want to be humiliated...”
“Dven.”
I cut him off and shook my head.
“I know what you mean. But to be honest.”
I sighed briefly, then continued.
“Let’s look at our faces. Dven, you are genuinely one of the most handsome men I’ve ever seen.”
Since I had ended up praising him, Dven’s expression wavered subtly for a moment.
“If you think I could be your opponent in that regard, then it’s an honor. Shouldn’t I be grateful?”
“...”
Not only Dven, but even the man beside him was at a loss for words for a moment.
It must not have been the reaction they expected.
I shrugged lightly.
“Besides, I’m someone who will soon return to my territory. I’m not even an academy student. Could I really be your opponent?”
“You’re... going back?”
“That’s right. I have no reason to keep staying here.”
Dven’s momentum visibly diminished.
I took one step further.
“And if the plan is what I think it is, do you really think Lady Angelina won’t find out?”
“...”
“She will find out in the end. And she’ll be very disappointed.”
Dven’s eyes shook.
I quietly drove the point in.
“Lady Angelina likes intelligent people. But behavior like that isn’t intelligent. It’s what a ruffian would do.”
At that moment, Dven’s face flushed red.
His expression said I had hit the mark.
People like this couldn’t stand looking stupid above all else.
Especially the more they believed themselves to be clever.
And if they were still young, all the more so.
“Ahem... Wh-what do you mean, what was I trying to do? I was just going to talk to you for a moment. About what kind of relationship you have with Angelina.”
“Ah, I see.”
I nodded.
“For a moment there, I thought you were going to drag me somewhere secluded, beat me, and threaten me.”
With those words, I looked at the large man standing beside him.
And in that moment,
I wiped the smile from my face.
“If you had.”
My voice sank low.
“You’d be dead.”
The change was very brief, but it was enough.
He was just someone who had learned a bit of knightly imitation at home.
He was big,
and around here, that alone had probably been enough to intimidate people.
So he must have been fearless.
But someone like that
could never withstand the aura I carried.
A chill ran through him.
My gaze had turned terribly cold and frigid.
When his eyes met mine,
his face instantly turned pale,
and he unconsciously took a step back.
Seeing that reaction, the corners of Dven’s mouth trembled slightly as well.
“Th-that’s why I said it’s a misunderstanding. Ha, haha... Ah, right. You said you came to see Angelina, didn’t you? She’ll probably be out soon. Then!”
They turned and left, practically fleeing.
I stared coldly at their backs for a while,
then slowly let out a breath.
To be honest, I had been a little flustered just now too.
I hadn’t meant to react to that extent.
After being attacked twice,
I wondered if I had become overly sensitive.
No.
Perhaps
it had something to do with death.
Because I had truly died before.
That horrific experience
must have inflicted enormous damage on my mind, whether I realized it or not.
I closed my eyes for a moment, opened them, and swept back my hair.
Just then,
Angelina came running toward me.
“I-I’m sorry. Haa, ha... I’m a little late, aren’t I?”
“A little?”
I said with a smile.
“I almost left first.”
“I-I’m sorry.”
Angelina’s face instantly turned white.
“Don’t go.”
She grabbed my arm almost reflexively.
“You can’t leave me behind. We promised to hang out together.”
Her voice was so desperate
that it actually flustered me instead.
“I-it was a joke.”
“Ah...”
Only then did Angelina flinch and let out a small breath.
“Phew... You scared me.”
Even as she said that, she couldn’t immediately take her hand off my arm.
Only after a beat did she withdraw her hand and adjust her glasses.
I thought her reaction might have been a little excessive,
but I deliberately didn’t show it.
“That friend Dven spoke to me for a moment.”
“Dven?”
Angelina’s expression stiffened subtly.
“He didn’t do anything to you, did he?”
“No, not at all.”
I smiled as if it were nothing.
“If anything, he seemed to think a lot about you, Lady Angelina.”
“Ah~ We met a few times when we were young because of our families.”
With those words, she walked forward and said,
“Hurry, let’s go! To my house!”
I wondered if it was a relationship similar to mine and Marsha’s,
but Angelina didn’t seem interested in him at all.
“Oh, right!”
Her eyes sparkled again.
“Do you know about ents? They’re spirits of the forest...”
Even as we walked together, Angelina’s sparkling eyes and excited voice did not cease.