Unexpected.
No—beyond unexpected.
I hadn't expected Father to come, and my two younger siblings hadn't even crossed my mind.
At best, I'd thought maybe my brother or Mother might show up, but…
Of all people.
*Alfred.*
I truly hadn't imagined it would be him.
Whether he sensed my bewilderment or not, Alfred still wore that easy, good-natured smile as he pushed back his chair, rose to his feet, and gave a small bow.
"Young master, you've grown even more dependable since I last saw you."
Only then did I collect myself and meet his gaze properly.
Alfred.
One of the few people at the manor who had ever spoken to me.
He had already been a man of considerable age when I was born, but seeing him now after two years, he looked truly on the threshold of his twilight years.
"I'm glad to see you too. I am, but… how did you…"
At my flustered expression, Alfred smiled gently.
"Sit down first. The refreshments here are quite good."
He appeared to have already sampled a few of the sweets on the table—there were crumbs at the corner of his mouth.
I managed a nod and sat down across from him, watching him.
"Is it all right for you to be away like this? It's spring now, so the farming preparations… I thought you'd be in the thick of it."
Given the nature of our domain, which primarily cultivated wheat, Alfred as head steward had always stood at Father's side, managing the fields and overseeing everything.
Leaving his post like this couldn't have been easy.
"…Young master."
Alfred looked at me with a smile.
"Yes."
It was the same smile he had always shown me, yet his face carried the quiet sorrow of years passed.
"I am no longer a member of House Liperto."
…
"…Oh."
A short sound.
Before my mind could even process it, breath left my lungs on instinct.
"You've… retired?"
Alfred gave a quiet nod at my words.
"This time, I completed the handover to the new head steward and retired. As of today, it's been two months and three days."
"I… see."
A new head steward.
"Extremely reliable. Capable, sharp, decisive…"
Alfred began singing the new steward's praises, but the words didn't reach me.
I simply sat there for a while, looking at his aged hands and face.
So that's how it is.
Alfred is moving on now too.
"…What are you doing these days?"
"These days, I'm traveling the continent."
Traveling the continent.
"An adventure, then."
"An adventure, heh heh. That's a fine word for it. But how could this old body of mine venture into deep forests or treacherous terrain? I'm simply enjoying a leisurely tour."
A tour.
I recalled a conversation we'd had once—he'd mentioned that if he ever retired, he'd like to visit cities across the continent.
"So you're going from city to city?"
"Yes. Having spent a lifetime in service to House Liperto, I find there are many places I've wanted to see."
A bright smile had settled on his face.
Was he happy?
"…That's good to hear. I'm glad you're doing well. Though your hair has thinned a bit more."
"Heh heh, young master. Even with these few remaining strands, a variety of styles are still possible. Please don't underestimate them."
His hair was, admittedly, meticulously arranged.
"It does suit you."
The faint scent of pastries and tea drifted through the visiting room, warming the air and easing the mood between us,
and we began to talk at ease.
"The night view of a village called Blue Moon in the north was beautiful…"
"I bought this bracelet at a festival I passed through on my way down. Isn't it lovely?"
Over the past two months, Alfred told me of the many places he'd visited since leaving his post, and I listened quietly to every word.
*Come to think of it.*
Even when I was young, he was always the one who told me stories like these.
Once a week, he'd come at night and share exciting tales of heroes, or point out the stars in the night sky.
*'Young master, look at those stars. Don't you find that gazing up at the sky like this makes your worries melt away?'*
*'Not really.'*
*'You still lack a certain sensitivity, I see.'*
Even on the day I set off for the academy, he was the last one to make sure my luggage was in order.
…He had been one of the faces I'd most wanted to see when I returned.
And yet here we were, meeting like this, out of nowhere.
"Young master."
"Yes."
Perhaps because I'd been drifting, Alfred called me back with a gentle voice.
"I feel as though I've been talking about myself too much. I'd like to hear about you as well. How have you been?"
"Oh."
Only then did I nod and take a moment to gather my thoughts.
How have I been…
The events of my time at the academy began to flash past like a reel. First year, when even adjusting had been a struggle. Second year, when I'd simply gone wherever the current took me…
"Me? Well…"
I just lived, I suppose.
Playing when there was time to play, studying only when the fire was already at my feet.
Making interesting friends, skipping lectures when I felt like it.
Getting caught and scolded for it.
Having a big falling-out with a friend once, being misunderstood.
Nearly giving up when assignments got too overwhelming, and marveling at people who were so much more talented than me…
Spending a stretch of nights in the dormitory watching the stars, going through all sorts of things—
And then…
"…Alfred."
"Yes, young master."
Alfred, who had been listening, looked at me steadily.
"I… have someone. A partner."
"Is that so."
Alfred gave a calm nod.
"You're not surprised?"
"What reason would I have to be? The academy is a place of learning, but it is equally a place of society. And with a face like yours, young master, it was rather to be expected."
"Am I that handsome?"
I rested my chin on a V-shaped hand in mock vanity, and he laughed.
"In my eyes, you are the finest."
"You always know what to say."
"So then—what is she like? I'm curious."
What is she like.
I turned the question over for a moment, then began to call her image to mind.
Elline…
"She's frightening."
"Pardon?"
For the first time, Alfred's eyes went wide. He'd just been told I had a partner, and the first word out of my mouth was *frightening*.
"Her expression is always blank, she's exceptional in every way, and she feels like an entirely different kind of being. Just yesterday she was pummeling me with magic all day long."
"My, my…"
Alfred listened to my account with a look of mild bewilderment—the expression of a man wondering whether this was really how one spoke about a partner.
"But underneath all that, she's genuinely kind. Even with that blank face, you can see everything, if that makes sense. She smiles sometimes, and gets angry sometimes… Oh, and I'm better at chess than she is."
"Your chess, young master—I know it well."
After that, I went on at length about Elline, and Alfred listened to every word, nodding along.
"She sounds like a wonderful person."
"Yes, she's… she's a good person."
And then.
I took a slow breath and looked up at the ceiling before lowering my gaze.
"Alfred."
"Yes."
I told him everything.
"I did something wrong. Something that could be called… a sin, I suppose."
"…A sin."
He laced his fingers together and settled into a quietly attentive posture to hear me out.
"The truth is, I thought nothing of it at first. It was a forfeit, so the only guilt I felt was a vague sense of sorry for dragging someone into something inconvenient."
I spoke plainly.
"…I should have told her when I confessed—that it was a forfeit. I assumed she'd turn me down without a second thought, so I said it without really thinking, and she accepted. That's how we started."
"I see."
"She really did. She gave me her time, helped me… But the more she did, the more it hurt."
I clenched my fist, then opened it.
"Because the beginning was wrong. So I tried to tell her, but she asked me to wait—to tell her when I'm no longer wavering."
I looked at him slowly, and Alfred still nodded without any change in expression.
A brief silence passed, and then Alfred opened his mouth.
"Young master."
"Yes."
"Do not weigh love too heavily."
"…"
The words didn't come.
Because I had never been on the receiving end of it.
I had always thought it was something terribly difficult to receive.
Alfred took a sip of his tea, cleared his throat lightly, and looked at me.
"That is the nature of feeling. For some, a single brush of sleeves becomes a bond that lasts a lifetime. For others, a lifetime spent together still cannot bring two people close."
"…"
"Of course, I don't claim to have the right answer. It is simply how I see it."
Alfred gave a faint cough and took another sip.
"She made a request of me."
"A request?"
"She asked me to come up to Alpha Class."
"…Oh my."
Alfred raised and relaxed his eyebrows with a mischievous look, running his thumbs across the backs of his hands.
"Quite the demand. Truly befitting someone remarkable."
"Yes, she has me completely outmatched."
I smiled faintly, and at that, Alfred smiled too.
"Young master."
"Yes."
He asked a question.
"Does she keep coming to mind?"
…
"Yes."
"How do you think you'd feel if she were hurt?"
Elline, hurt.
I'd never thought about it. She was always so strong.
Even so—if she were hurt.
"I think it would hurt me too."
"Do you want to keep being by her side?"
"…Yes. I think so."
"That is what love is, young master."
"…"
Is it.
"It's nothing grand. Pledging your life, trading your entire domain just to have her, saying she matters more than the honor of the imperial court, claiming the wheat fields are yours when they aren't—but since you manage them, they're essentially yours."
"What was that last one?"
"That was one of my old lines. Back in my prime, I got married using that one."
What on earth.
"Anyway—whether you dress it up with grand declarations or flowery words or all manner of eloquent phrases, it all comes down to the same thing. The desire to keep seeing someone."
"…"
Alfred looked at me over his tea.
"But the beginning was certainly wrong."
I nodded.
"After you've told her everything—what do you want to happen?"
"…I'll do whatever she says."
I had already made my peace with that.
"Even if it means the end of things between you?"
…
A sharp ache bloomed in my chest.
I steadied my breathing and pressed a hand firmly against my sternum until it began to settle.
The words didn't come right away.
But.
"…I'll accept it."
Alfred studied my face for a long moment, then nodded.
"If that is your choice, I won't say anything more."
He didn't. He supported me and believed in me—but only that.
It meant he would go no further, watching from the outside as a third party.
"The reason you came here… was there something nearby that brought you?"
"Something nearby, you say—the academy is so far out of the way, what business could I possibly have nearby?"
That was true enough.
The academy, being the pinnacle of education and a gathering place for talent, was kept thoroughly isolated to prevent any outside intrusion.
"I came because I wanted to see you, young master. Before I leave."
…Before I leave.
The words landed with a heavier sadness than I expected, but I had no grounds to ask him to stay. I quietly accepted it and asked,
"Where are you going?"
"I believe I'll be heading to the Holy Nation."
The somewhat unexpected name made me slowly lift my head.
"The Holy Nation…"
A country in the southern part of the continent, built around faith in a god.
"I think I'll spend my remaining years there. Finding rest in the presence of the divine seems like a fine choice."
He spoke with the calm of someone who had already settled everything,
and I simply nodded in reply.
"Thank you, Alfred. And thank you for coming to see me."
"It was truly a joy to see you one last time, young master. And… to hear that you have someone."
"…"
He took my hand firmly in both of his. His hands were rough, worn with years, the palms thick with calluses.
"Young master Rutess—of all the people I have known, you have the most radiant and warmest heart. Please do not lose that as you go forward. Whatever choice you make, regret will always follow. But the most important thing is not to lose that heart."
"…Yes."
A clear bell began to ring.
The sound signaling that visiting hours were nearly over.
Alfred nodded, put his hat back on, and rose to his feet.
As he always had, he wore his suit with practiced ease, and when he pulled his coat over it, there stood a distinguished old gentleman.
"…I've never seen you in a coat before. It suits you very well."
"Does it? Heh heh."
Alfred.
Now that I looked—he had always been tall, someone I'd looked up at, but somewhere along the way his back had curved, and I was looking down at him.
"Please, take good care of yourself."
With Alfred's final farewell, I gave a nod in return.
"Will we see each other again?"
"I'll be in the Holy Nation. If you graduate and… come."
Alfred looked at me and left the rest unsaid. I simply nodded and saw him off.
I remained in the visiting room after he left, sitting quietly for a moment before rising and walking out into the corridor.
After graduation, I would have to return to the domain,
and then I wouldn't be able to go see Alfred.
That must be why he'd held back.
The look he'd given me before leaving—it was a look of quiet, tender sorrow.
*…Why am I.*
Thinking about going back.
*"Stop with the foolish ideas and just come home."*
Right. There was nowhere else to go.
*"Just stay quietly by your brother's side, Rutess. Don't go wandering off."*
It wasn't something I'd thought about.
*"Hey, look at this. Father bought it for me. You don't have one, do you?"*
I didn't know.
The more I thought, the more tangled everything felt. I just had to follow along—so why were these thoughts stirring up my head again.
*Noisy.*
I shook my head,
and then—
"Rutess."
A voice reached me through the noise in my mind.
…
Blunt, yet somehow warmer than anyone else's when it spoke my name.
"Rutess."
The voice came again.
Elline.
What was she doing right now? Probably catching up on the assignments and studying she hadn't been able to get to yesterday because she'd been helping me.
*She said she was busy.*
I should head back and study too.
"Rutess."
The voice came once more.
Right behind me.
"Wah—!"
I spun around in a panic, and there they were—a pair of blue eyes staring straight at me.
A familiar silhouette, and… that same expressionless face, as always.
"…Elline?"
It was Elline.
What was she doing here?
*Didn't she say she was busy today?*
I couldn't make sense of the situation.
Was I seeing things?
But even after blinking, Elline was still standing right there.
"Why are you here…"
"I had something to take care of. I told you yesterday."
Something to take care of? Here?
*This is the visiting area…*
Before I could finish piecing it together, a woman walked up alongside Elline.
A woman with dark hair braided and pinned up,
dressed simply enough, yet unable to conceal the air of refinement that ran through her—an unmistakable aura.
"Elline, why have you stopped?"
The woman placed a hand on Elline's shoulder and met my eyes. Her gaze moved quickly, sweeping over me from head to toe.
One second.
Two seconds.
And then.
"My…"
Those gentle eyes curved into a warm arc.
"…Is this him?"
Elline turned her gaze aside and gave a small nod.
"Yes, Mother."