Ch.5959. Adelheid Aisilia (1)

I was walking through the garden when I spotted Sione.

My one and only childhood friend whom I hadn’t met or spoken with for years.

During Sione’s most difficult time, even though I knew why she was suffering, I offered clumsy words of comfort that only made things worse. Our broken relationship has remained a great regret for me.

That’s why I gathered my courage to call out to her, hoping to correct my past thoughtlessness and make amends for my mistake.

“Sione…!”

At my call, Sione looked at me.

I hurriedly approached her.

“…Hello, Sione?”

“…Yes. Hello, Noah.”

The awkwardness was unavoidable.

Sione is someone who was hurt because of me. It’s only natural that she would resent me.

We continued our awkward conversation.

Come to think of it, Sione used to dislike flowers… Why would she come all the way to the garden to look at them?

“By the way, the garden… Don’t you dislike places like this?”

“…Not at all. I rather like flowers and gardens.”

Sione seemed embarrassed as she said this. As if she were conscious of someone.

I smiled at her response, reminded of how shy Sione used to be.

Now that I think about it, Sione really didn’t like flowers…

“That’s a lie. You always said flowers weren’t womanly enough and hated them. Whenever I asked you to go flower viewing with me, you always ran away.”

Why would Sione tell such an obvious lie?

Come to think of it, it’s strange that Sione, who preferred resting to the hassle of going outside, would bother looking around the garden…

And from the unpleasant rumors I’ve heard about Sione…

They say she hates leaving her room, let alone the mansion… There must be a reason.

Then that reason is…

At that moment, a thought flashed through my mind.

Could it be… she wanted to see me?

I know I’m jumping to conclusions. But the truth is, Sione wouldn’t have any other reason to visit the garden.

Besides, the Sione I knew was unique enough to occasionally try things that others would only think about.

If this time too, she had been waiting here continuously thinking I might come to the garden…

The question of “maybe” begins to take shape. Hope sprouts and grows, making my heart pound.

I asked Sione if what I was thinking was correct.

“Is it… because of me?”

It was just a shot in the dark.

But Sione was startled by my words. Just like when I used to discover her secrets.

…So Sione hasn’t forgotten. She remembered that I like flowers and thought I would come to the garden.

“I thought you had forgotten everything about me… but you still remember. That I like flowers.”

“Huh…?”

“You came all the way to the garden thinking I would be here, right?”

Sione chose silence instead of answering.

It seems her shy personality remains unchanged.

Instead of answering, she turned her head as if hiding her embarrassment.

I gave her a bright smile.

“Thank you, Sione.”

The atmosphere was good.

Definitely different from yesterday. Almost too good to be true.

I wished this pleasant tension between us could last longer.

I’ve heard plenty of nasty rumors about Sione—that she’s extremely fat, that her personality is terrible.

But the Sione before me is neither fat nor difficult.

I felt that the real Sione must be quite different from her rumored image, so I wanted to hear directly from her rather than those petty rumors.

“By the way, how have you been lately, Sione…?”

“Lately… nothing much has changed except I started practicing archery.”

“Archery?”

Sione practicing archery… that’s unexpected…

The people of Sianella always insisted on swords, or if not that, spears—that one must become a proper knight.

“Didn’t you want to become a knight? But archery…”

When I gently questioned her choice, so different from the knightly ideal she used to dream of,

Sione looked at me with an intensely serious expression.

I stared at her, mesmerized.

“…My thoughts on what makes a knight have changed a lot. At first, I thought knights were swordsmen who wielded Sword Auras, like our family’s ancestors.”

Sione explained how her values had changed.

“But now I think a knight is someone who has the strength to save and protect others, regardless of what weapon they use.”

She revealed her newly established conviction.

At the same time, a faint memory from the past resurfaced.

-I’ll become a splendid knight and protect you, Noah.

Words Sione used to tell me every day when I was indecisive and barely knew how to do anything.

To hear such words now, at this moment,

As she smiles at me like that…

Surely Sione had treasured every memory we built together, forgetting nothing.

“What do you think? When you look at it that way, archery isn’t so bad, right?”

* * *

After what could be called a small commotion ended, the sun was already setting.

As the red sunset replaced the blue sky,

The nobles were busy preparing for tonight’s banquet in their own ways.

For the banquet that would begin when the stars became faintly visible.

I too was busy urging Sione.

“Lady Sione, please hurry and change into the dress we bought yesterday. We don’t have much time, as you need to have your makeup done and many other preparations for the banquet.”

“It’s already annoying enough to attend the banquet, but makeup…? Do I really have to do that?”

“Of course. No matter how much you dislike it, since all the nobles of the kingdom will be gathering, wouldn’t it be better to make yourself look more beautiful?”

“But isn’t makeup… something men do? Putting powder on my face and adding color. If I try so desperately to look beautiful and end up with a skin disease instead, it would all be for nothing…”

…Really, what kind of woman talks this much?

Women in this world are supposed to be typically taciturn and rational.

I have no idea why I ended up serving such a troublesome master.

“…These days, even ladies do basic makeup as a standard practice.”

“Tsk, the world is going to ruin. Women these days…”

Sione was muttering nonsense.

I couldn’t bear to listen to her mind-numbing complaints any longer.

So I cast a spell that would instantly shut her mouth.

“Moreover, I… would like to see Lady Sione become even more beautiful with makeup. Your usual appearance is lovely, but appropriate makeup could enhance your charm even further.”

“…Really?”

“Yes, you’ll certainly be much more beautiful than now.”

“Are you saying I’m beautiful even now?”

…She really has a knack for catching every little thing I say.

It feels like dealing with an annoying junior or younger sibling.

I’d like to smack her and tell her to stop messing around.

But the shackles of my social status bind my wrists, so the thought of giving her a good smack remained just that—a thought.

I rubbed my temple as if to suppress a headache and said:

“You are beautiful.”

An objective assessment.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Though not a subjective opinion, of course.

“Hmm, if you insist that much. Fine. I’ll try this makeup thing.”

“An excellent choice.”

And finally.

After draining my mental energy, I managed to get her promise to wear makeup.

After that, preparations proceeded smoothly.

Sione changed into the black dress we bought yesterday, and I changed into the formal wear I had casually selected and purchased with it.

Then we called servants and had our makeup done separately.

As Sione said, I wondered why a man needed to put powder on his face, but this is a gender-reversed world.

Seeing the occasional male noble with a floating white face and heavy color makeup, it seems that men wearing makeup isn’t strange here.

Worried I might end up like that too, I requested only a basic hairstyle and minimal makeup.

Fortunately, the result wasn’t excessive—just enough to enhance my natural features.

After finishing our outfits and makeup, when I met Sione again, sure enough,

She couldn’t take her eyes off my face.

“Is something wrong?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“My face. You’re staring so intently…”

“Ah…”

Sione quickly turned her head away.

“…No. It suits you well.”

I gave her the same compliment in return.

With her makeup done, Sione was much more beautiful than before.

After exchanging brief words, we walked silently toward the banquet hall.

And the closer we got to the hall, the more Sione’s expression hardened.

“Haah…”

Well now, she’s even sighing.

It seems she’s starting to find the prospect of entering the banquet hall quite bothersome.

“Are you that reluctant to attend the banquet?”

“Isn’t it tiring? I’d prefer to show my face only on the day of the coming-of-age ceremony.”

Sione was already tired at the thought of the conversations with various nobles and the act she would have to put on.

Her expression was souring by the minute.

If she gets fed up and drops the act during the banquet, that would be a problem.

If my master fails to manage her expressions and conduct properly at such a public event, and Ainel sees it,

I might be held accountable for not taking proper care of Sione despite being entrusted with her.

So I proposed a bet to motivate Sione.

“If you dislike the banquet so much… how about making a bet with me?”

“A bet?”

“Yes, the condition is that until Lord Ainel Sianella finishes his business and appears at the banquet hall, you must have decent conversations with children from other families. As a reward… I’ll grant you one simple request within reason.”

At the mention of a reward, Sione’s eyes lit up brightly.

I wonder if she’ll shoot beams from them.

Seeing Sione suddenly overflowing with energy makes me a bit queasy.

Kid, you’re probably thinking about kissing me right now.

But kissing? Not a chance.

The reward I’ll grant is only what I deem acceptable.

If she demands something so shameless, I’ll simply refuse.

“Really?”

Unaware of my thoughts,

Sione took the bait I had thrown, and I smiled as I answered.

“Would a man speak with two tongues?”

“They say a man’s heart is like a reed…”

“Am I just any man?”

I’m a man who does what he says.

I have no intention of wavering like a reed and breaking my word.

When I spoke so firmly, Sione seemed to accept it.

Thanks to that, I was able to lure Sione into the banquet hall with quite a pleasant atmosphere.

“Excuse me for a moment. May I know which family you belong to and who you are?”

A man guarding the entrance to the banquet hall asked about our identities.

After a simple verification, he opened the doors and announced:

“Lady Sione Sianella of the County of Sianella is entering!”

Since coming to this world, every man I’ve met has spoken in a tiny mouse-like voice as a matter of course.

Hearing such a resonant male proclamation after so long felt like something blocked had been cleared away.

With his announcement, Sione and I entered the banquet hall.

“…This is too much pressure.”

“Please don’t waver and compose yourself.”

The gazes of everyone around fixed on Sione and me.

With the first daughter of Sianella nowhere to be seen, the second daughter Sione, surrounded by rumors, had arrived.

Even those engaged in conversation over wine and light refreshments would surely begin discussing the County of Sianella while observing us.

I looked around, recalling the personal details of people Ainel had told Sione to speak with.

As I was earnestly scanning the surroundings, Noah approached Sione.

“Sione!”

While Sione and Noah exchanged brief greetings,

I stuck close behind Sione, watching the nobles and checking each of their faces.

Feeling an inexplicably persistent gaze, I turned my head in that direction.

I was able to identify one of the nobles Ainel had mentioned.

With pitch-black hair like the abyss flowing down to her waist.

Usually projecting a modest image, but capable of expressing various vibrant colors depending on her expression.

It was Feira Feiosha, the eldest daughter of the Marquisate of Feiosha.

And this Feira Feiosha…

“…What’s her problem?”

What on earth did we do?

She was glaring fiercely at Sione and me, and even Noah, from beside Yulia Feiosha who was conversing with other nobles.

…Just as I began to sense things were taking an unpleasant turn,

The doors of the banquet hall opened wide.

“Her Highness Princess Adelheid Aisilia, First Princess of the Kingdom of Aicilia, is entering!”

Feira, who had been glaring at us murderously, turned toward the entrance of the banquet hall.

Sione and I also turned our heads, just like Feira.

When a princess of the nation arrives, one must at least see her face.

“Adelheid Aisilia…”

I whispered the princess’s name very softly as I observed her appearance.

Adelheid’s hair wasn’t a bright purple but had a soft light to it.

Her hair, dyed in a pale violet and neatly arranged, fell to her chest, adding to her mystique and nobility.

The princess, beautiful as if sculpted by God, surveyed the banquet hall with an expression suggesting everything was tedious.

Even though she was merely turning her head slowly, her actions were imbued with dignity.

Her eyes seemed to glow mysteriously each time they captured the image of a person.

And when Adelheid Aisilia’s mysterious eyes moved past Noah to take in Sione,

Her bored expression broke, showing slight interest.

And when Adelheid looked beyond Sione to me.

“…You?”

She fixed her gaze on me with a frown on her beautiful face.

First Feira Feiosha, and now this Princess Adelheid.

Do I have the face of a criminal or something?

Why are they acting this way toward me?

Something has gone terribly wrong here.