Mother and Son
Someone once said:
Marriage is the graveyard of life, so do not carelessly step into it.
Both my past self and my current self agreed with those words.
In the past, I sought to overturn the continent, and now, I sought to restore the House of Berkel.
In such circumstances, creating a wife or family was no different from creating weaknesses with my own hands.
But how could I have known?
That in the imperial capital and the territory of Ailasis—places I had never even considered—
two highly skilled undertakers were digging my grave...!
"Ahhhhhh...!"
Three days after Priscilla arrived at the estate, inside the Leinrant manor.
Arin's palm waved back and forth before my lifeless eyes as I sat blankly in my chair.
"Young Master, your eyes are dead."
"Swallow your drool, Young Master. It's disgusting."
My unfocused gaze drooped to the sides, and my thoughts, spilling endlessly through my head, wandered aimlessly through empty air.
"If you hate it that much, can't you just break off the engagement?"
"If I could have, I would've done it already."
It wasn't like I had never tried to call off the engagement.
I went to see Heinkel, and of course I also visited Duchess Priscilla.
"There's a mountain of things I need to do—how could I possibly have time to get married?!"
I pleaded with all my might, but Heinkel's response was truly a masterpiece.
"It's admirable that you wish to work for the family, but you are still young. It won't be too late even if you wait a little longer!"
And as he said that, he put on a tearful melodrama performance.
"No, Father. That's not it. I just want to cancel the engagement—"
"You've already done more than enough!"
"No, I mean...!"
"If you keep pushing yourself like this, you'll only ruin things! You need to seek your own happiness!"
...This was how the conversation kept going, and it was driving me insane.
'It's nice that he cares about me, but the timing couldn't possibly be worse...!'
When even Heinkel, my only hope, was like this, there was no need to mention the others.
'And to think she had even won over Priscilla of all people...!'
Whether it was an expression of her obsession with me or not, Ciel's planning was meticulous.
She knew Priscilla was the one who handled all major family affairs, so she approached her first and turned her into an ally.
At this point, even if I demanded the engagement be annulled, there was no chance they would approve it.
"Besides, because of the movements from the Paul wyvern side, the entire territory is on alert. There's nowhere for you to go anyway."
"No. There is."
As I said that, the words Heinkel spoke to me immediately after returning from the wall replayed in my head.
'It is the family's acknowledgment that you possess sufficient qualifications as a knight. It is also one of the requirements for taking the Imperial Knight Examination.'
'Take it in the near future. You will have much to do from now on.'
The knight examination.
If I became an official knight instead of a knight apprentice and joined the knight order—
'I can use joining the knight order as an excuse to run away from the wedding!'
While marriage discussions were underway, I would leave to take the knight examination.
I didn't know about other noble families, but in the knightly House Leinrant, this was definitely a plausible method!
"Dunkel!"
"Y-Yes?"
Startled by my sudden shout, Dunkel asked back in surprise.
"As of right now, when is the soonest knight examination?"
The knight examination.
Dunkel thought for a moment after hearing those words, but his answer came quickly.
"There should be the Northern Knight Examination held in the Great Berkel Forest near the western frontier. But..."
"That's it!"
Cutting off whatever more Dunkel was about to say, I immediately pulled a sheet of paper from the desk.
'I originally planned to take it in the Empire like everyone else, but this isn't the time to be picky!'
Thinking that, I moved my pen with all my strength.
I wrote as neatly as possible, filling it with every flowery phrase I could think of.
After finishing the letter I would leave for Ciel, I immediately shouted toward Dunkel.
"Prepare the carriage! Hurry!"
非非非
"Delline is still the same. Upright and untainted."
As Priscilla looked through the report from the wall and spoke, Heinkel's voice followed shortly after.
"That's exactly what worries me. He's too untainted."
Answering her words, Heinkel handed her a steaming cup of tea.
"He's the type to let emotions come before practicality, so he sometimes makes the wrong judgment at crucial moments."
"He possesses excellent character, but not the qualities of a politician."
Even though they were speaking about his own biological son, Priscilla's evaluation was without the slightest error.
Leinrant as the hero of the North, and Leinrant as an imperial ducal house.
One side had to be a noble hero, while the other had to be a ruthless politician.
The previous duke, Rudel Leinrant, failed to achieve that balance and died on the battlefield.
The current duke, Heinkel Leinrant, accomplished it together with his partner.
Then what about the next generation?
"As a knight, he is an unparalleled talent, but..."
"Still, it's not as though there's no solution."
At Priscilla's words, Heinkel asked as if to confirm something.
"You mean Klein?"
"Yes."
Priscilla recalled her first conversation with the second son, Klein.
Thinking of everything he had accomplished, she continued speaking.
"The way he dealt with Count Cornwall and Hector. On one hand, it seemed extreme, but at the same time, it was also the cleanest method possible."
Cornwall ended in confession and mental collapse.
Hector died from friendly fire between the Imperial Army and the Paul wyverns.
They were ruthless schemes to a degree unimaginable for the knightly House Leinrant—
but they were just as efficient.
"So you believe Klein can fulfill your role?"
"For now, it's merely wishful thinking. But..."
Trailing off, Priscilla looked over the evaluations previous tutors had left regarding Klein.
'Administration, statistics, mathematics, political science, military studies... even magical theory...'
Unlike Delline, who only stood out in certain subjects, Klein recorded near-perfect scores in almost every field.
'If he completes a proper education at the Imperial Academy, he could become an official without any issue.'
To the point that being born into a knightly family could be considered unfortunate for someone with such talent.
Decisiveness and drive unfitting for a fifteen-year-old.
And enough martial strength to defend himself as well.
From the perspective of Priscilla, who had spent years weathered by the political world, Klein's qualifications were more than sufficient.
'To be honest, I almost want to take him back to the Empire with me.'
Thinking that inwardly, Priscilla raised the tea Heinkel handed her to her lips.
The conversation between the two paused briefly, and the sound of sipping tea filled the study.
"...It's remarkable."
"Remarkable?"
Heinkel asked back as Priscilla spoke after taking a sip of tea.
"No matter when I come here, the aroma never changes."
"Haha, how sudden."
Feigning modesty at Priscilla's praise, Heinkel also took a sip of his tea.
"Isn't this your only talent aside from swinging a sword?"
"Well, that is true."
So he wasn't even going to deny it?
A small grumble could be heard, but Priscilla merely laughed it off.
"...Claire liked this tea as well."
"She used to say the scent brewed from nameless flowers reminded her of the people here."
Heinkel did not answer.
This time, the heavy silence lingered between them even longer.
"Priscilla..."
"Don't worry, Heinkel."
As though trying to comfort her, he reached out his hand, and Priscilla clasped it.
"I'm alright now."
Wearing a faint smile as she said that, she set down the document she had been holding and picked up the one beside it.
"Hmm?"
As Priscilla flipped through the report sent from the wall, her gaze stopped at a certain passage.
"Hmm? Is there something unusual?"
"Ah, this part right here."
A report sent by Corax, commander of the Great Raven Order.
One section of the report detailing Klein's actions was written as follows:
'Used fortune-telling on the wall's knights and soldiers to build familiarity.'
"Fortune-telling..."
Murmuring those words inwardly, Priscilla recalled a distant scene from long ago.
The unfamiliar Leinrant manor.
Herself, still a sensitive and immature young lady at the time.
And...
'Oh, Lady Priscilla~!'
'You look troubled. How about getting your fortune told~?'
The second duchess, hanging upside down from a tree while speaking to her.
'Claire...'
"Hehe."
"Hm? Why are you laughing, my lady?"
Heinkel asked in confusion, but Priscilla seemed unable to stop the smile continuously spreading across her face.
"Honestly... he's the spitting image of his mother."
A woman who had been her friend, her teacher, and her rival in love.
Thinking of the woman who remained in her fading memories, Priscilla looked up toward the sky.
Knock knock.
At that moment, the head butler, Berkman, entered with a polite knock.
"What is it? Has the Helian side started moving?"
Recalling the information Priscilla had previously shared, Heinkel asked that question, but fortunately Berkman shook his head.
"Young Master Klein has disappeared."
However, only for a moment.
At the news that followed, Heinkel remained speechless for a while before asking back in utter confusion.
"Dis... appeared?"
To the bewildered Heinkel, Berkman pulled a letter from his chest and presented it before him.
The contents stated that Klein would be taking the Northern Knight Examination held in the Great Berkel Forest, and that they should not search for him.
Reading the letter, Heinkel could only stare blankly in silence.
Watching the scene overlap with memories of the past, Priscilla pressed a hand to her throbbing forehead.
"You really didn't need to resemble her in this too..."
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