The mark of the Love House Construction Guild.
The moment he saw it, his eyes had widened as far as they possibly could.
After that day, no one ever saw that construction guild again.
&
Father and Mother once again became so busy they had no time to breathe.
After the territorial war ended, the party invitations actually increased.
Most of the invitations came addressed to Mother,
while Father was so swamped with all sorts of documents and contracts,
as well as meetings with newly attached nobles, that he could hardly sleep properly.
I had no time to rest either.
I went around the sites with Albert in Father’s place,
checked on the newly recruited soldiers,
and concerned myself with everything from architectural designs to district organization, until I had no idea how the day had passed.
Even so, I never skipped training.
“Young Master.”
After night training ended,
Miles spoke with his sword resting on his shoulder.
“Your body seems just about complete now,
but if you want to learn proper swordsmanship, it’d be much better to invite a teacher or go to the capital to study.”
“You can teach me.”
“Ugh.”
Miles looked appalled.
“If I did that, my master would kill me.”
I chuckled.
“It’s not as if I want to become a knight any—”
I stopped mid-sentence.
I did not want to become a knight.
That much was certain.
And yet, strangely,
the sensation I had felt during the territorial war kept lingering.
The exhilaration, as if my blood were boiling.
The thrill when the board I had set up fell perfectly into place.
And in that brief moment,
the feeling that the entire world had become clear.
What was regrettable
was that the strategy itself had not been perfect.
So I wanted to properly set up the board one more time.
This time, predicting even those variables.
But I shook my head.
“Anyway, this much is enough. Just spar with me once in a while.”
“I refuse.”
“Why?”
“Because now, if I face you, Young Master, I have to concentrate quite a bit too. It’s a bother.”
For a moment, laughter escaped me.
“Oh.”
“So invite a teacher. I’m already busy enough as it is, and I’m not exactly good at teaching either.”
He grumbled,
but it was unmistakable praise.
It meant I could rise even higher if I learned properly.
“I’ll think about it.”
After washing up, I lay down right away.
I thought I would fall asleep the moment I closed my eyes.
But then.
My eyes suddenly opened again.
The tree.
That strange movement I had seen on that mountain back then.
It came to mind.
At first, I thought I had imagined it.
The situation had been so urgent and tense that I wondered if I had seen things.
But no matter how many times I recalled it, it could not have been my imagination.
Without a doubt.
It had hidden us.
I remembered what Angelina had said.
Ent.
A spirit and guardian in the form of a tree.
Could it be?
Did the mysteries found in books truly exist in this world?
Thump.
If I were to be born again one more time.
Then I thought I would like to travel to many places.
Mysterious things.
How ecstatic would it be to see them with my own eyes?
Once my thoughts reached that point,
only then did my eyelids slowly begin to sink.
For some reason, I felt like a mystery would appear in my dream tonight.
***
Not long after the territorial war ended, Marsha came to visit.
“I heard the news. I was really... really worried. I prayed every day. I asked them to please keep you safe, Oppa.”
I could tell just by looking into her eyes.
They were not empty words.
“Thank you.”
“Haa... Now I can finally live. I think I can finally sleep now.”
Marsha collapsed into a chair as if all the strength had left her body.
“My father had soldiers and knights on standby too. He was going to send support right away.”
“Really? Please tell him I’m grateful. And I’m glad that situation didn’t happen.”
A smile escaped me before I knew it.
Who would have thought we would grow this close to the Lynn family?
Building this level of trust among nobles was no easy matter.
That was why it felt good.
“But if I had been caught there back then, something like that might have happened.”
“What?”
Marsha’s eyes widened.
“Don’t tell me... you went out there yourself?”
“I did?”
Smack!
I was suddenly hit on the arm.
“Ugh.”
“Are you crazy? Seriously?”
“I’m not that weak—”
Smack! Smack, smack!
“Ow.”
“Don’t ever do that again. Understand?”
With both hands planted firmly on her waist,
Marsha bit down hard on her lip and glared at me, making me roll my eyes in disbelief.
“Ahem! Answer me!”
“Uh, yeah... Honestly. Fine, I got it.”
For some reason, the sight felt familiar.
It was like seeing the old Marsha.
Of course.
In a good way.
***
It was about a month after the territorial war ended.
Shocking news arrived.
Viscount Doren Halsen.
He was dead.
The cause of death was suicide.
They said he had even left behind a will written in his own hand.
It said that he had caused a territorial war out of his own greed, bringing misfortune upon the people of his territory,
and had committed a grave sin against the Signal family as well, so he wished to atone for that sin.
That was roughly the content.
Father and Mother let out long sighs.
Though he had been the one to point a blade at them,
the two of them still felt pity in the face of his death.
But.
I did not believe it.
Because
the one thing Doren had muttered to himself back then kept lingering in my mind.
‘I only did it because I was ordered to...’
The Old Dynasty.
Could it have been them?
I could not be certain,
but it was more than enough to suspect them.
If that was the case.
Why did it have to be around me?
I did not want to become involved with the Old Dynasty.
They were not people I dared to face,
and above all, my family could be put in danger.
Damn it.
Had I been marked?
Had they tried to use me because their approach toward Belmardian failed?
Or had they sent a warning to Belmardian through me?
Or perhaps chaos itself was their goal.
Whatever the case.
There was only one thing I could do right now.
Make the territory even a little stronger,
and increase the influence of the Signal family’s name.
There was no need to think about it in a complicated way.
***
And another three months passed.
I looked down at the territory from a high place in the mansion.
Brennan Territory, which had once been little different from a rural village.
But now, it was different.
Completely.
Brennan Territory was not large.
We had expanded it a little,
but compared to other territories, it was still the size of a frontier region.
But that was why it was better.
It had not spread out awkwardly.
There were no collapsed districts like slums,
and the buildings, streets,
plazas, and shops all continued together as if they were one flow.
It was a small territory, but it was very refined,
and the vitality flowing through it was by no means small.
As a result, the satisfaction of the territory’s residents and immigrants had nearly reached its peak.
On top of that, those who came to sightsee were all full of praise.
The rumors spread much faster than expected.
Even nobles of the kingdom came in person to look around.
And what was even more interesting
was that nobles who wanted to settle here began to appear.
Most of them were baronial families.
Nominal nobles, barely scraping by on noble pensions.
But even that carried tremendous significance.
For nobles to say they wanted to come and live
in a frontier like this
meant that the value of the territory had been recognized and had risen greatly.
And it did not end there.
Siege equipment designed by the engineers also began to be installed all over the outer wall.
Large ballistae.
Devices that could pour boiling water all at once.
Even traps where blades suddenly sprang out when someone stepped on a pressure plate.
The engineers must have talked so much,
because other engineers came flocking in as well.
“I should have applied back then!”
“Ah, I’m going to regret this forever!”
Not only were there engineers who actually said such things,
but there were also far more people who wanted to become immigrants.
Also,
the number of soldiers had surpassed two hundred before I knew it.
Every morning, the soldiers’ shouts rang out from the newly built training ground.
Whenever I heard that sound, the corners of my mouth rose on their own.
Brennan was still changing,
and even at this very moment, it was becoming better.
As time passed.
It would certainly change again.
***
Clatter, clatter.
Right now, I was leaning back inside a carriage, heading for the capital.
When I opened the carriage window, I realized the season had already changed.
Since the day I first went to the capital to file our tax report,
a year had passed before I knew it.
In that time,
the territory had now entered a fairly stable stage.
Naturally, the reason I was going to the capital now was to file our tax report.
But the feeling was completely different from a year ago.
How should I put it?
It felt like my shoulders straightened on their own,
or like something was soaring upward.
It could not be helped.
Last year, I had been far too shabby.
The carriage,
the clothes,
and the name.
But now it was different.
The clothes I was wearing were different,
and the carriage I was riding in was different in size, as well as in appearance and quality.
And above all.
This time, I had party invitations.
Quite a lot of them, at that.
“I’m really looking forward to the parties in the capital this time.”
“Why are you more excited than I am?”
Miles grinned.
“Back then, even if I spoke to the female knights, they didn’t pay any attention to me, so it was tough. But this time will be different, won’t it? Ah, this is going to be fun.”
“...”
He was truly consistent, so I could not help laughing.
“When we arrive, you’ll be busier than me.”
“Yes. And anyway, Young Master, you’re fairly strong now too. There’s no need to worry about you, is there?”
This time, I was so dumbfounded that a hollow laugh escaped me.
“Fine. Go do whatever you want. It’s not as if anything will happen in the kingdom anyway. And I won’t exactly be intimidated just because you’re not there.”
“This is why I like you, Young Master.”
My eyes met Miles’s,
and both of us chuckled.
But.
My smile did not last long.
I slowly withdrew my gaze.
Brennan Territory had now laid its foundation.
It would continue to develop.
Even without me.
Even if, by some chance, I were to suddenly disappear.
“...”
So.
It was time to confirm it.
The trace of laughter that had remained until just now quietly vanished.
In its place, several emotions tangled together and rose all at once.
A few days later,
we arrived at Albarest, the capital of the Kingdom of Elstragard.
I finished filing the tax report right away.
It was my second time, and it was not something that took long,
so there was still time until the next party.
I wondered briefly what to do.
And I did not think for long.
I walked straight toward a certain place,
and shortly afterward, I arrived at a café filled with the rich scent of coffee.
It was the very place where I had first had a proper conversation with Aileen.
Strangely enough, the outdoor seat I had sat in back then was empty.
I sat there and ordered coffee.
The street visible from the high ground.
The people coming and going.
As I stared blankly, my heart gradually settled.
I had thought too much lately.
So at least for now, I wanted to think of nothing.
While I was gazing idly,
I sensed a waiter approaching.
Without lifting my gaze, I tried to receive the coffee cup first.
But then.
There was the sound of a chair being pulled out, and someone sat down.
Puzzled, I turned my head.
“...”
“...”
I stared at the other person with a blank expression.
Aileen.
Resting her chin on her hand,
she was looking at me with a very quiet smile.
Then she spoke.
“I missed you.”
At those words.
My eyes shook greatly.
Those unexpected words that came at me so suddenly
pierced straight through, as if my defense mechanisms were laughable, and broke down the dam of my emotions.
Once that dam collapsed, truly countless emotions rushed in all at once.
The emotions of now.
The emotions of the past.
Even things I could not explain, all of them.
Really.
She was a frightening woman.
I had thought I would not be shaken so easily anymore.
Or was I just too easy?
Aileen watched my trembling eyes,
quietly looking at me without saying a word.
Until I barely managed to steady my breath,
and until my gaze no longer shook.
And then.
Only then did I smile faintly and answer.
“I missed you too.”