Chapter 12: Have You Ever Read a Romance Novel?

“Where do you think you are going at this late hour?”

“?!”

The moment he leaped out of the window.

A voice rang out from the front garden of the Family Home, as if waiting for him.

“…….”

As his feet hit the ground, his mother, dressed in simple attire, cast a steady gaze upon him.

Her sunken eyes, illuminated by a small lantern, felt incomparably eerie.

“Are you planning to go out for another midnight stroll?”

“…….”

“Why is there no answer?”

His excited heart was suddenly cast down to the depths.

“Lueld asked me to overlook it, so I played ignorant for a while… but the situation has changed. Kariel. You are now the fiancé of the Princess Highness.”

“…The engagement ceremony hasn’t even taken place yet, has it?”

“The moment His Majesty announced it publicly, it became a settled matter.”

In that short span of time, the saliva in his mouth dried up.

“Impure rumors are circulating.”

“I….”

“I know. I know that you haven’t crossed the final line.”

However.

“The eyes of the world will not see it that way. I am saying that even the smallest flaw must no longer be permitted.”

“…….”

“Because you are the son of Lueld and me.”

He almost bit his tongue.

He clenched his teeth hard.

His breathing became ragged, but he lowered his head as much as possible to suppress his agitation.

“And I heard you showed a negligent attitude during your swordsmanship lessons. What is the meaning of that?”

She knows about that too?

No, she ignores the things she should actually care about, so how did she find out about this?

“…….”

“Answer me. How long do you intend to remain silent? Do you think the situation will be resolved by doing so?”

“I thought it was… meaningless.”

“Meaningless… Wh-what did you just say?”

Normally.

He would never, ever have offered an excuse driven by such emotion….

No, a blunt statement? A rebellion?

Regardless, he would never have displayed such an attitude so directly.

But for some reason.

He simply could not endure it.

Besides, he was right, wasn’t he?

Screech—

“What could be more foolish and inefficient than clinging to something that shouldn’t be done?”

“…….”

As if struck speechless, she blinked for a long time with a look of utter bewilderment.

“Do you… call that an excuse?”

“Do you truly think it is an excuse?”

“Then what is with that insolent attitude?!”

No sooner had she flared up in anger.

“M-Madam! Please calm down! Agitation is not good for the fetus!”

A woman who approached anxiously barely managed to restrain her.

‘Patina?’

The woman who had become a member of the Knight Order—where her father served as the commander—at the youngest age.

The Golden Dragon.

In contrast to her epithet as the Golden Dragon, she was clad in a Black Formal Dress, and for some reason, she had arrived here.

“…….”

Stroking her swollen belly, Ermina took a short breath to compose herself.

In just a few seconds, she regained her composure.

“I have shown an unsightly side of myself.”

“N-no, Lady Ermina. How could you say such a thing….”

Then, Patina glared at him.

“I will make sure to speak with the Young Master. So… please do not worry, and come! Please enter the Family Home. Quickly.”

“But….”

“Lady Ermina. Please trust me.”

“Sigh.”

With a sigh, Ermina entered the house, pretending to give in.

She cast one last lingering look at Kariel, but even that was cut off the moment the door closed.

“Young Master. It has been a long time.”

“…….”

Even her light brown hair looked pitch-black, swallowed by the darkness.

When it was touched by the moonlight, it shifted into a pure white hue, much like his father’s.

It was all an optical illusion.

However, within that, her two eyes—which possessed a vivid green light, like leaves scorched by sunlight—were staring intensely at him.

“I am disappointed.”

“……?”

What?

“No matter what those around me said, I tried my best not to listen or believe it. But why have you become so arrogant and lawless?”

“…Sister. It seems your personality has twisted a bit while we were apart?”

At that, she looked as if she were about to be appalled, but then she groaned and let out a bitter smile.

“Still… you still call me ‘Sister.’ If you had forgotten even that, it would have been… very difficult for me to handle.”

“…….”

His chest felt strangely tight.

It wasn’t a shock like his heart falling to the floor, but in another sense… it was something beyond a bitter feeling, as if his heart were collapsing.

It was simply hard to describe.

“Sir Lueld asked that, if you have the leisure, you might keep an eye on Lady Ermina… and you, Kariel.”

“…….”

What a waste of effort.

No, it’s not a waste.

Let’s say guarding his mother is necessary.

No, if you look at it that way, is this current situation also proceeding according to the natural order?

“…….”

So what?

Why do I have to care about every little thing like that?

“Exactly what kind of attitude is that toward the Madam?”

“…You’ve only just arrived after a long time, so you probably don’t know the circumstances. Leave it at that.”

“What is it that I don’t know? Isn’t the situation crystal clear?”

“Crystal clear?”

Why is she poking around blindly without even knowing the full story?

‘Sigh….’

Right.

Rationally and objectively… it must look like a rebellious son defying and talking back to his pregnant mother, who is currently very sensitive.

Ah, put that way, I have nothing to say.

This basically makes me the villain, doesn’t it?

Patina’s words only solidified that suspicion in his mind.

“Even your excuses have become pathetic. To think that a wise person like you would give up on the very attempt to make someone understand or be persuaded. Shall I simply accept that you fully understand your own faults?”

“Ha!”

God damn it…….

Still, he couldn’t bring himself to spit out a curse.

“Young Master. You made a promise to me.”

Together.

“…To succeed Lord Lueld and alleviate some of his hardships and burdens.”

“…….”

Did I?

When on earth did I say that?

Ah, I don’t want to think about it.

If it had come to mind spontaneously, that would have been a curse in itself.

Regrettably.

Coincidentally.

…Nothing came to mind at all.

“Have you… forgotten?”

Why that expression?

Why…….

Why do you look as if you’ve been betrayed?

The one who was betrayed by the world is me.

“I see.”

The sequence from anger to resignation was far too smooth.

For example.

She had hoped for him, but had given up on that hope long ago.

Still, just in case.

Just in case.

“I was the only one working hard. How foolish of me.”

“…….”

“Until rumors spread that you had even given up on holding a sword, I tried not to believe it.”

Young Master.

No, Kariel.

“You really… now….”

“Why are you deciding to be disappointed on your own?”

If it were before.

If it were usual.

I.

Would have said nothing, let her misunderstand on her own, let her be disappointed on her own, let her resign on her own, and told her to just get lost.

Muttering inside, grumbling internally.

Like that.

Staring intently at the floor, enduring the rotting of time, and longing for it to pass.

====

Oh?

A windfall is walking right in.

I was just feeling that some real-world experience was exactly what was needed.

‘That kid just triggers problems by breathing.’

Well… being born with misfortune was already a settled matter the moment he became entangled with me.

Normally, he would have taken a barrage of harsh words and curled up like a loser, but he actually talked back to Ermina.

I wonder what would have happened if it ended there, but the situation has become interesting again.

The Demon King, positioned appropriately high in the sky so as not to enter Kariel’s field of vision.

Being denounced and resented by a woman he has a connection with, eventually unable to endure it and reacting, then talking back again.

“Draw your sword. I shall properly correct your mindset!”

“Why should I? Aren’t knights supposed to protect the weak? Or is it that you can’t even convey your opinion properly without resorting to violence?”

“You certainly have a silver tongue. In the end, which one of us is the one trembling in fear and putting on a facade?”

Stiff.

That woman was furious as she looked at Kariel.

And that anger….

‘He betrayed my expectations. He broke his promise. No, to think he forgot it entirely!’

The feeling of betrayal was being transmitted vividly.

In this case, Kariel must be going crazy.

‘Why do you expect things on your own, and why do you get disappointed on your own?’

Truly, even if they crossed, they would miss; even if they tangled, they would never blend.

A mess!

A disaster!

-Hehehe!

Watching someone’s misfortune from a lazy distance is, as always, a joyful thing.

Eventually, unable to endure it any longer, Kariel succumbed to the provocation.

Following the woman in the formal dress, he headed toward the open space behind the Family Home, the outdoor Training Ground.

The two faced each other, holding Wooden Swords.

-Realize for yourself what has changed.

Also.

-…And what is necessary.

Necessity is something one only truly feels after experiencing a situation where it is required.

A person who is full and sated.

Can never truly realize the necessity of food for survival at any time.

-Still, it’s a relief that he’s regained enough confidence to talk back, even if only a little. A slave mentality or a deep-seated defeatism is quite hard to wash away.

Even if it is a humble step to some.

It is surely a necessary process.