Ch.2928. Conferment Ceremony (1)

# 28. Investiture Ceremony (1)

After the tumultuous days came to an end, I truly returned to my normal life.

And now, a special routine had been added to my daily schedule.

Naturally, it was related to her.

“You were a bit slow, but not bad. Let’s take a break.”

Right now, I was sparring with her.

Since becoming party members, it had become our routine to stay after academy classes to spar or clear dungeons together.

I dragged my exhausted body to a bench and barely managed to sit down.

“You’re really strong… I can’t even get close to you.”

I’d known this before, but after her awakening, she’d become truly insurmountable.

Every time we sparred, I gave it my all, but she always maintained a calm expression and relaxed tone.

Despite both being second awakeners, there was an uncrossable wall between us.

“That’s perfectly normal. If I were to lose here, what would that make me? The matchup is heavily in my favor too.”

As she said, I was at a disadvantage in terms of compatibility.

From the start, [Michael’s Blessing] prevented my ability reduction, and [Ice Magic] itself was optimized for defense.

Moreover, while I had to carefully balance my low health, her [Absolute Zero] made even that strategy ineffective.

“The compatibility really is extreme. Your skills counter mine in every aspect.”

“Thank goodness we’re on the same side.”

I’d thought this many times before.

Watching her magic sweep away enemy armies during the war naturally made me think, ‘I’m glad she’s an ally.’

“I feel the same way. Talents like yours are rare.”

“That just now, you sounded like the Emperor.”

“Really? Did I?”

“Of course.”

She pondered for a moment.

Then she looked at me and asked:

“What do you plan to do after graduating from the academy?”

I asked with a foolish expression.

“Me?”

“Is there another Albert here besides you?”

Since that question was related to my ‘goal,’ I answered it with complete sincerity.

“I want to stay by your side, Your Highness.”

Some might interpret that as a sweet confession, but that wasn’t my intention.

‘Though I wouldn’t mind if it turned out that way…’

But she seemed to be one of those people.

“T-that… could it be…”

“It’s not really a confession or anything. I genuinely want to do that. Actually, I’m considering a career in the Special Forces.”

“I see… So you’ll protect me in the future?”

Not all Special Forces members are assigned to guard the Emperor.

At most, only one or two people, and only the strongest among the Special Forces, are entrusted with the Emperor’s protection.

She was confident that I would rise to that position someday.

“You really trust me. For all you know, I could be a spy trying to assassinate you.”

She smiled and said:

“An assassin who sheds tears of longing while looking at their target… You’re disqualified.”

“I guess that’s true.”

“And the investiture ceremony will be held next Saturday.”

Next week?

That was sooner than I expected.

‘I thought it would be at least a month away.’

I was a bit taken aback by this unexpected news.

“Usually they don’t even hold ceremonies for this, but this time is a special case.”

“Who will attend the ceremony?”

“Almost all the imperial family members will be there, and many nobles too. Especially since it’s on a Saturday.”

It seemed I would meet more people than I expected.

‘I’d like to use it as soon as possible…’

I needed to use [Regressor’s Privilege] when everyone had one less skill.

The higher the probability, the better, and I needed to acquire and level it up quickly.

Of course, it would be nice to get easily rankable skills like [Mage’s Heart], but the chances were slim.

“Will the heroes come too?”

“Probably?”

“I see.”

Riel suddenly appeared and spoke to us.

“You’re still at it?”

“We just finished for today.”

Riel asked her:

“What were you talking about?”

“About the investiture ceremony next week.”

“Oh, that reminds me, I wanted to ask something.”

Riel shifted her gaze to me.

“You don’t have a suit, right? You can’t go wearing your school uniform.”

“How did you know? I was planning to buy one this weekend.”

I could guess how she knew I didn’t have a formal suit.

‘Aelin must have asked.’

I had naturally told her I didn’t have one, and Riel must have heard about it from Aelin.

“Let’s go together. Is that okay with you, Your Highness?”

“Yes, let’s go together.”

But going shopping together… I hadn’t imagined that.

The thought of going to a suit store with her, having her adjust my tie, made me a little excited.

I couldn’t help but admire Riel’s thoughtfulness.

“Thank you.”

“You’re one of us now, so we have to take care of you. It’s only natural.”

Riel’s tsundere-like response automatically brought a smile to my face.

She was wearing the same expression beside me.

Riel grew tired of our reactions.

“Why are you both looking like that?”

“Now you know what kind of person Riel is, right?”

“She’s a tsundere.”

“Exactly.”

Riel was startled by the word “tsundere” and protested.

“Tsundere!? That’s not it at all! I’m just doing what’s natural! It’s not for your sake…”

“For my sake? Thank you.”

Riel fanned her reddening face with her hand.

She asked Riel:

“How does it feel to be on the receiving end?”

“It’s annoying. It gets under my skin.”

“That’s how I felt too.”

Her face was smiling, but somehow it felt a little scary.

Riel seemed to realize this as well.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. Now Riel has experienced it too.”

Her smile contained a sense of satisfaction.

She must still be holding onto that incident from before.

‘She’s surprisingly the type to hold grudges.’

I was so happy to be learning more about her as we grew closer.

Aspects of her that I hadn’t noticed before were revealing themselves to me in pleasant ways.

‘I hope it continues like this.’

I watched them chatting amicably while making this modest wish in my heart.

***

“Hey, you. Is that for real?”

A rather boisterous voice greeted me first thing in the morning.

‘But…’

As I always wonder, why do people start conversations with phrases like “Did you hear?” or “Is it true?” without specifying what they’re talking about?

While I was spacing out with this meaningless question, Chris, who had spoken first, spoke again.

“I asked if it’s for real!?”

“What are you talking about?”

I could guess what he’d heard, but I didn’t want to say it myself.

Just a bit of petty pride.

‘So what?’

Only after I asked did Chris finally explain what “that” was.

“About you receiving a title.”

“Of course it’s real.”

“But why a count?”

That was something I was curious about too.

Even for the great achievement of saving the Empress, it would be normal to receive a baronet title like Aelin’s, or perhaps a viscount at most.

However, the title bestowed upon me was neither baron nor viscount, but count.

It’s clearly a high nobility rank.

“How would I know?”

“I guess you’re right… Ah… I’m so jealous. Really…”

I couldn’t understand his reaction.

Titles can be received in recognition of achievements, but they can also be inherited from parents.

And Chris’s father was a duke.

Even at his young age, a mere count would be nothing to him…

“You’re jealous? It’s a bit absurd hearing that from the eldest son of a ducal family.”

“I wish I could earn even a baron title through my own achievements like you…”

In truth, whether he received the duke title or remained the son of a duke, there would be little difference in his wealth and power.

Yet he considered it very important.

In my past life, he had passed on the title inherited from his father to his sibling and risen to the position of duke through his own strength alone.

Chris let out a somewhat hollow laugh and said:

“When’s the war coming? With the current situation, it feels like a real war could break out soon…”

“We can’t even go to the battlefield yet.”

Forget achieving merits in war; it would be fortunate just to avoid dying.

I pointed out his thoughtless words.

“And seeking achievements just to earn a title? You’d better abandon that mindset.”

“It was a joke, just a joke…”

He seemed to realize his words were a slip of the tongue and looked embarrassed.

To change the atmosphere, I shifted the topic.

“By the way, are you coming?”

“To your investiture ceremony?”

“Yeah.”

“Of course I am.”

As expected.

Then I asked the expressionless person beside us who might or might not have been breathing.

“What about you?”

Reicle showed an annoyed reaction.

“Why should I go to celebrate someone else’s success? It’s ridiculous.”

I was a bit taken aback by his sudden complaint after staying quiet all this time.

I asked Chris:

“Why does he hate it so much?”

Usually, at such events, there are few people who genuinely congratulate me.

There would probably be more people wanting to network with me or propose party invitations.

Of course, some attend just to socialize with others, regardless of me.

“I don’t know. He says it’s bothersome.”

And then there are those like him who attend despite disliking it.

After Chris brought this up, I found myself looking forward to the investiture ceremony even more, as well as tomorrow’s suit shopping with her.