After getting past that black joke I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at.
I fell into thought, wondering if there was any way to somehow get Lyriette out of this place.
'If I remember correctly, Lyriette should be forbidden from going out.'
Of course, if I, her uncle, were the one taking her, there'd be a legitimate pretext.
The problem was the psychological resistance Lyriette carried inside her.
If I suggested we go for a walk, or take a look around the duchy.
No doubt, because of her stepmother's words, Lyriette wouldn't readily agree.
Can't be helped.
Sorry, my cute little niece.
Guess we'll go with the "make her impatient" strategy here.
Having set my plan, I let out a loud sigh, as if for Lyriette to hear, who had once again slipped into study mode.
"Ahh, this is troublesome."
"Troublesome? Did something happen?"
"Actually, I meant to buy a new doll today. But none of them really caught my fancy. So I thought I'd borrow my dear niece's help and came to see you."
"My help?"
Lyriette tilted her head, as if she didn't quite understand.
It was as adorable as if a doll itself had come to life.
"By any chance, do you know there's a famous doll shop in the duchy?"
"No. This is the first I've heard of it."
Right, of course it's the first you've heard of it.
Because I made it up, actually.
Figured, since it's a duchy and all, there ought to be at least one shop like that.
"I was hoping to stop by there with my niece and get some recommendations for a new doll to bring home."
"...Ah!"
"But who knew my niece had no interest in dolls. This is quite the predicament. I was hoping to swing by while we were out and gift my dear niece a cute doll too, to show off a bit as her uncle."
"U-um, that's..."
Had she only just now realized her mistake?
Lyriette's small hands wandered, not knowing where to put themselves, as she called out to me in a trembling voice.
She must be at a total loss.
Since she'd said with her own mouth that she wasn't fond of them.
Which meant she'd accidentally ruined her uncle's plan out of nowhere.
And on top of that, she'd surely feel a pang of regret deep down.
If she'd played it right, she could have used me as an excuse to pick up an adorable doll.
But now even that path was blocked.
I felt bad for tormenting Lyriette needlessly like this.
But it's all for the greater good, so please bear with me just a little.
There were only two ways to go from here.
Either she mustered the courage to admit honestly that she actually liked dolls too.
Or she volunteered to tag along, using me as her excuse.
"If Uncle needs my help, then I suppose it's fine..."
And, sure enough, my clever little niece chose the latter.
Rather than become a liar, she decided to tell one more lie.
What a naughty little niece.
But this uncle forgives you completely.
"No, it's fine. I shouldn't burden my niece so much when she should be focused on her studies."
"Uuu..."
But saying I forgive you doesn't mean I'll fall for it hook, line, and sinker.
Forgive your contrarian uncle.
It was all so that Lyriette would learn to be honest, so I hoped she wouldn't hate me too much for it.
"U-Uncle."
"Yes?"
"I... want to see the dolls too. Could you possibly take me with you?"
Oh-ho.
That response came faster than I expected.
Perhaps tearing down the wall around Lyriette's heart would happen sooner than planned.
Looking down at my niece, who gripped my sleeve with her small hand and asked, her ears flushed a deep red—
"Gilbert, are you outside?"
"Yes, young master. You called?"
I summoned Gilbert, who was likely waiting outside.
And then, glancing briefly at Lyriette, who was probably just now struck by a sudden pang of anxiety—
"Tell them I've taken Lyriette out for a moment on important business. If anyone objects, use my name."
I said it a little loudly, as if for Lyriette to hear.
At that instant, both Lyriette's and Gilbert's eyes widened at the same time.
Well, of course they would.
The "Baal Argent" I originally knew was a man who had no interest whatsoever in the household's internal affairs.
Naturally, he wouldn't have known that Lyriette was being oppressed by her stepmother.
Or that she was being bullied by her own brother.
But the way I'd just spoken made it sound, to anyone listening, like I was well aware that there were factions who'd try to make an issue out of a ten-year-old briefly stepping outside.
"Understood. Please enjoy your outing."
Still, sharp as ever, Gilbert didn't look too surprised and simply nodded.
Now all that was left was to take Lyriette out.
And for this, I ought to follow the standard tropes of a romance-fantasy novel.
"Um, Uncle? This hand...?"
"It means take my hand."
"Is it all right for me to? Someone like me..."
"Someone like you, nothing. Escorting a beautiful lady is, as a matter of principle, a man's greatest joy."
In front of the hesitant Lyriette, I deliberately dropped to one knee with an exaggerated flourish,
"My lovely niece. Would you grant your unworthy uncle a moment of your precious time?"
"......."
I held out my hand, my tone practically dripping with butter and oil.
It was so cringeworthy my hands and feet felt like squid legs curling up on a grill.
But—
Softly.
The moment I saw Lyriette gently place her hand on mine and nod quietly, all that cringe melted away like snow.
"...Yes."
The faint trembling of that fragile little hand was so pitiable that.
Still, I felt a smile tug at my lips, thinking there was some reward in doing things I never usually did.
I hoped, with all my heart, that this child would find happiness.
Wishing that deeply, I led Lyriette out of the room.
***
Clop. Clop.
Every time the horse's hooves struck the ground in a steady rhythm, Lyriette, held in my arms, flinched slightly.
She must be uncomfortable being held by an uncle she wasn't used to.
"Are you very uncomfortable, dear niece?"
"Huh? Ah, no. I'm fine. It's not that it's uncomfortable, it's just..."
Not uncomfortable?
I'd thought her usual "pretend everything's fine" habit had kicked in.
But judging by her expression, it really didn't seem like that was the case.
Lyriette, stammering, glanced back over her shoulder to peek at me, and then—
"It's my first time riding a horse alone with someone. I was just a little awkward, that's all."
"Your first time?"
"Yes. I've ridden in carriages before, but..."
If a duke's daughter said something like this, most people would think:
Ah, she's been raised so preciously that she's only ever ridden in carriages.
But knowing her circumstances as I did, I couldn't let it pass so lightly.
If anything, it made me feel even more sorry for her.
'Even my strict father took me riding on horseback to play with me at least once.'
Even when travel wasn't the purpose, in this world, horseback riding also served as a kind of pastime.
For children of noble families, this usually meant that.
At some point in their childhood, they'd have experienced riding a horse held in their father's arms.
But this child didn't even have such a trivial memory.
Perhaps that was why Lyriette, held in my arms, seemed strangely happy.
"I'm glad it isn't uncomfortable. I was worried I might have dragged my niece into one of my few hobbies without meaning to."
"A hobby?"
"Yes. Since I spend so many days alone in my workshop just reading, riding out for a walk now and then became something of a hobby."
Truthfully, calling it a hobby was a stretch.
I'd been badgered relentlessly by a certain nagging person nearby about needing to take walks.
But I didn't want to walk on my own two feet, so this was the best compromise I could come up with.
At first, I'd tried just riding around the neighborhood in a carriage while reading a book.
But I got scolded for that not counting as a walk, so I had to negotiate down to horseback riding.
I found it a bit unfair that a carriage wouldn't count but a horse would.
But since the fundamental argument was that a walk meant getting sunlight, I couldn't win that one.
I once asked if opening the carriage door would solve that problem, but she just chucked a book at me without hesitation.
"By workshop, do you mean the place where Uncle does his research?"
"That's right."
"It sounds like an incredibly cool place."
"Not particularly cool, no. It's a place that reeks of ink and rotting paper every single day. 'Cramped den' might suit it better than 'workshop.'"
"Not a workshop, but a cramped den... pfft."
Oh, she laughed.
I hadn't really been aiming for that.
Or maybe Lyriette's taste ran toward dad jokes?
I didn't recall anything like that in the original setting.
Well, whatever.
Just seeing this cute kid laugh cutely was more than enough for me.
"Speaking of which, I heard the news. That you reached the 7th Circle recently, Uncle... Belatedly, but congratulations, truly."
"Thank you. My niece's praise makes me happier than any old geezer at the Association's compliments."
"O-old geezer?"
"They exist. Wrinkled old men and women who've become slaves to their budgets."
"Aren't they all very impressive people, though?"
"Hmm... well, I suppose so."
They're fairly well-regarded people, in their own right, I suppose.
Though to my eyes, they're just old drunks obsessed with budgets.
There were a few among them I used to respect.
But after raising disciples, setting up something resembling a research institute or workshop,
they'd all turned into budget slaves eventually, which was rather sad to witness.
"I heard reaching the 7th Circle at Uncle's age was unprecedented in speed. Is that right?"
"It's embarrassing to say it myself, but somehow, that's how it turned out."
"Who reached it the earliest before you?"
"My teacher. I believe he achieved it at twenty-five."
"Even earlier than someone so amazing, by a full three years..."
Lyriette murmured her admiration softly, her eyes carrying the sharpness of a bright child.
But somehow, there was a touch of loneliness in them too.
Seeing her pout slightly, lips pushed forward almost to her nose, I could roughly guess what was on her mind.
"Don't worry. My niece is going to become someone far more amazing than I am."
"N-no, I couldn't possibly be more than Uncle..."
So I slipped in a bit of encouragement, and her ears went bright red as she waved her hands frantically, too fast to even see.
She probably thought it was just the usual empty flattery an uncle would give.
The funniest part being that she'd never even heard such common flattery from anyone around her before.
"It's not empty flattery to win my niece's favor. I mean it truly. So please believe me."
But ironically, my words weren't some tender lie meant to build rapport with Lyriette.
Because it actually appears in the story, you see.
Lyriette's real talent, that is.
Actually, there's a very important setting in this world of 'The Beloved Young Lady.'
It's called the 'Star's Blessing.'
Those who inherit this Star's Blessing are each born with one unique ability of their own.
The male lead, Leon, is a representative example.
Leon possessed a trait called 'Incomprehensible.'
This was the only ability capable of stepping outside the world's laws and order.
Literally, becoming an existence the world itself cannot comprehend.
The effect of this ability was simple.
Unbound by fate, one gains tremendous power when resisting fate.
Because Leon had this ability, in the original story, whenever some outcome was bearing down inevitably.
He had the power to shatter it and save those around him.
It was a broken kind of ability, fitting for the original protagonist.
But conversely, when he wasn't resisting fate, it meant nothing at all.
That's why Leon's ordinary combat strength wasn't as outstanding as one might expect.
In the early days of the academy, he was even beaten in a sparring match by Lyriette.
Meanwhile, it's only revealed just before her death that Lyriette, too, was a bearer of the Star's Blessing, and its name was...
'Sword's Yearning, was it.'
An ability where, the stronger the bond and feelings grow toward someone one yearns for, the more exponentially one's power rises.
And in the original story, the object of Lyriette's yearning was, of course, the protagonist, Leon.
The problem was that this feeling wasn't love or affection, but mere yearning.
Just before her death, upon learning this truth through the female lead, Tiana, Lyriette fell into despair and ended her own life.
Because she was struck by the shock of discovering that the emotion she'd raced toward, believing it to be love, turned out to be nothing more than yearning.
Compared to Leon, one might say it seems lacking.
But according to the author himself, it was a power so tremendous that, had Lyriette followed a normal route, she would have become the Empire's Greatest Swordsman.
'If I extend my hand to her, that power will likely awaken sooner.'
It doesn't necessarily have to be me she yearns for.
In fact, there's no real need to rush this along at all.
Even if things simply flow along as they were meant to, Lyriette will meet Leon at the academy and face that fate regardless.
It's simply a matter of greed, I suppose—as her uncle, as the person she's most attached to.
There's just this personal desire of mine, hoping that she realizes that power a little sooner, achieves faster growth,
and that the day comes sooner when those around her recognize her worth.
"Understand? Remember what I said, Lyriette. That you are more special and precious than anyone else."
"...Yes, Uncle."
Lyriette's face, as she answered, still looked confused.
It felt as though she were saying, 'Someone like me?'
I didn't force myself to try to hammer those words into her head just now, either.
She'll come to realize it in time, regardless.
Because I'll make sure it happens.
Neeiigh—!
Soon after, when the slowly walking horse finally came to a stop.
We had arrived at the duchy, and dismounted together side by side.
"U-Uncle...!"
"Kh!"
No, let me correct that.
More precisely, I left her be for a moment, unable to dismount and not knowing what to do, because she was too cute like that.
Look at her flailing her arms and legs about.
So adorable I could die, seriously.