Ch.80Long Days, Long Nights (5)

Recently, Rofena’s gaze toward Aileen and me has become quite peculiar.

When our eyes meet, she bows her head deeply, stammers to herself, and then suddenly disappears claiming she has urgent business to attend to.

I’ve wondered many times what could be causing this sudden change in behavior. I couldn’t figure out why Rofena’s attitude had changed, and Aileen had no idea either.

“Don’t you think Rofena has been acting strange lately?”

“Yes, she was never such a shy girl before.”

Though I couldn’t determine the exact reason for her behavior, the birthday celebration was now our priority. A successful performance and uncovering Roman’s true identity were our main concerns. The performance itself had been polished quite nicely.

All that remained was exposing Roman’s connection to the black mage and eliminating him cleanly.

I just hoped everyone would remain unharmed when it was all over.

Aileen and I… it would be wonderful if we could look at each other with smiles at the end of this.

I stared intently at my fingers that had just been pressing the piano keys, then smiled bitterly and sighed.

Everything would work out fine. There was no need to worry prematurely.

#

The day of the birthday celebration arrived. Perhaps it was because my mind was too cluttered, but I hadn’t slept at all.

I grabbed my throbbing head and exhaled heavily. Today needed to go well.

Worrying about the performance was natural. But more important than that was dealing with Roman.

I needed to use the artifact naturally without being discovered.

Then hand it over to the Crown Prince to secure the imperial family’s support.

The Crown Prince surely had some suspicions already.

I believe he wouldn’t simply accept that Aileen and I were performing at his birthday celebration just to congratulate him.

He wasn’t that foolish, and despite his seemingly frivolous exterior, he was quite capable of making cold, calculated judgments.

Today’s task was simple. Use the hand mirror to capture evidence of Duke Roman.

Pass the evidence contained in the artifact to the Crown Prince.

With these thoughts in mind, I slowly got out of bed and took a deep breath.

“Let’s do this well.”

Though today wouldn’t be the end of everything, it was still an extremely important day.

I had been waiting for so long. To finish Roman, and to break off that cursed engagement binding Aileen.

Just thinking about it made my heart race.

There was still much to be done before I could think about the future… but never mind.

Focusing on today, I stepped into the hallway and immediately locked eyes with Rofena who was passing by.

She froze like a statue when our eyes met. Fidgeting with her lips and unable to hide her trembling pupils, a strange sound escaped her mouth.

“Ugh.”

“…Why are you so startled?”

I had been thinking how strange it was that she’d been looking at Aileen and me oddly lately and reacting so sensitively.

What could be troubling her? When I quietly spoke, Rofena rolled her eyes around and stammered a response.

“Oh, y-you woke up late today?”

“I couldn’t sleep. There’s no time to train anyway since we’re leaving in the morning.”

Looking at the rambling Rofena, several thoughts crossed my mind. The reason she’s been so noticeably flustered recently.

Blushing and her heart rate increasing dramatically whenever she sees Aileen and me. What could be the reason?

The conclusion was surprisingly easy to reach. If I think about when Rofena’s attitude changed, it must have been the day Aileen called me a pervert.

“You heard, didn’t you?”

I said with a slight smile, and Rofena jumped in surprise, her tiny shoulders flinching.

Her trembling pupils told me everything. “I heard that,” they seemed to say.

It was understandable that she might misunderstand what happened that day. With the strange sounds Aileen was making and the things she said to me afterward, anyone who didn’t know the context would find it suspicious.

“It’s understandable that you’d think it’s strange.”

“N-no, that’s not it… I really didn’t hear anything that time…”

I thought I had sensed someone at the door then, and it seems Rofena really was there.

I didn’t want to cause any unnecessary misunderstandings. After all, Rofena’s help had been significant in bringing Aileen and me closer.

She had given me a little push when I was hesitating, and Aileen’s strange behavior that day… there must have been some encouragement from Rofena.

“It’s all thanks to you. That it turned out that way.”

“Weren’t you just barely holding hands? But then suddenly doing th-that…”

“We can’t just keep holding hands forever.”

Honestly, after four years, I thought it was about time we kissed.

I finally gathered the courage at the seasonal festival and succeeded. After that, Aileen became quite proactive too,

and now we could engage in light skinship without hesitation.

Thinking about it made me feel shy, and I scratched my reddening cheek. Rofena, who was standing there with her mouth slightly open, struggled to speak.

“B-but this is the Duke’s residence?”

“…What does the location matter? As long as no one sees, right?”

“The location doesn’t matter… ugh.”

Rofena’s face turned completely red as she covered it with both hands.

Stomping her feet, she barely managed to open her mouth before fleeing with the laundry she was carrying.

Why was she reacting like that? Scratching my disheveled hair, I moved to change my clothes.

“Hmm.”

It didn’t take long to wash up.

As I shook the moisture from my wet hair and looked at the clothes I would wear today, the corners of my mouth twisted as memories came to mind.

Though the style was a bit different, and there was no bow tie, the black formal suit always reminded me of a performance outfit.

I wondered if Aileen would also wear something comfortable for playing the violin today.

…Women’s performance attire tended to reveal quite a bit of skin.

Often sleeveless, which made me a bit concerned. Could I somehow get her to wear something over it?

Since it was summer, I couldn’t use the excuse of cold weather. What could I do? There weren’t many options.

I could divert people’s attention to myself. Looking in the mirror, I practiced a gentle smile that I rarely showed.

In the past, doing this always drew attention to me. Whether it would work now… well, I think it probably would.

Not much has changed in my appearance since then. If anything, I might look even better now.

Aileen probably wouldn’t like me doing this, but I disliked the idea of others looking at her even more.

‘…I’ve become strange lately too.’

When I first became her knight, all I felt was pity for Aileen.

She reminded me of my past self, and I just wanted her to find some strength.

But now? I was trying to satisfy my own selfish desires regardless of what she wanted.

A slight laugh escaped me. I was finding a certain pleasure in this.

Anyway, this peaceful time wouldn’t last much longer. At least until we finished the performance,

no, until we reached the imperial palace where the birthday celebration would be held, I thought I should enjoy this tranquility.

I got dressed. I buttoned up the shirt that clung tightly to my body and put on the black jacket over it.

Though it had quite elegant patterns embroidered with silver thread,

it was somewhat plainer compared to what I usually wore.

After getting dressed and stepping out, I locked eyes with Aileen who was standing in front of the door.

Coincidentally, quite by chance. I wondered how long this young lady had been standing in front of the slightly open door.

Surely she hadn’t watched me change clothes? As I smiled faintly, Aileen, who was looking at me with an expressionless face, slowly opened her mouth.

“…I was a bit late in preparing, so I came to check on you.”

“I see.”

I thought it best not to inquire further.

We weren’t officially a couple yet, were we? Even if Aileen thought of us as lovers,

I wanted to deny that relationship, at least a little. At least until after this matter was settled,

after I properly expressed my feelings out loud. If she accepted them, then perhaps I could acknowledge it.

After that, I could tease her all I wanted without any problems.

With that thought settled, I finally noticed the dress Aileen was wearing.

A design where purple and black mixed like splattered paint, like a violet flower blooming from the ground,

the combination of colors rising upward was pleasing to the eye.

However, the part I was concerned about remained unchanged, and seeing her almost exposed shoulders, I could only smile bitterly.

In this case, I would have to act as I had planned.

“There’s not much time left until the celebration. Do you still have preparations to make?”

“No, I’m all done now.”

As I straightened the wrinkles in my shirt while looking in the mirror, Aileen, who had been staring at me, suddenly grabbed my wrist.

Was there something else? As I paused momentarily, she approached me and quietly moved her lips while pulling at my collar.

“How can you not even dress properly? So careless.”

“…Indeed.”

I liked the shortened distance between us, but it was better to stop here for now.

If the atmosphere heated up any more, we might be late for the celebration.

Aileen seemed to understand this too, as she tapped my collar and then moved away from me.

Eventually, we called Rofena to gather Aileen’s instrument, and we began to make our way to the imperial palace.

#

The Crown Prince’s birthday celebration – the atmosphere in the banquet hall was quite different from usual, with tension beginning to loom.

Was the celebration simply to congratulate the Crown Prince on his birth?

No, all the nobles present knew that this was not just a simple congratulatory banquet.

It was the first time that the heads of all five great families had attended without exception.

Garoth of Yuris, Biltain of Roman, Shurika of Hatan, Caligo of Medive, and Ain of Kilrog.

Due to these representatives of splendid families gathering in one place,

the banquet hall, which should have been filled with noisy sounds, had a somewhat solemn atmosphere today.

‘…Roman.’

Garoth Yuris quietly looked around.

What came into view was, as always, the head of the Roman family, Biltain Roman, silently keeping to his place.

With his clean appearance without a single beard, his sharp gaze reminded one of a hawk,

making some nobles flinch just by looking at him.

Among the noble family heads, he possessed the most powerful knights and was in charge of the empire’s offensive power.

If Roman were to turn against them, what losses would the empire have to bear?

However, it was almost a confirmed fact that Roman was connected to the black mage.

His eyes narrowed. Between those thin slits, Garoth’s pupils were directed solely at Biltain.

The curse he had experienced before, the timing was quite coincidental, wasn’t it? If he had died then,

it would have taken quite a lot of time to stabilize the duchy.

Yuris had expended the most forces in the black mage incident.

What if he had died in that situation? Not only would morale have been damaged by a death from a curse,

but it would have taken considerable time to reorganize the forces and find stability.

Among the five great families, it was clearly Yuris that “protected” the empire.

The shield of the empire. The gateway guarding the north, and the entrance that must be passed to reach the imperial capital.

But that was only how it appeared on the surface.

In reality, it was Hatan and Kilrog, moving secretly, that contributed to the empire’s safety.

If a force like Extinction truly wanted to bring down the empire, they should have targeted families other than Yuris.

‘This means it’s not just a problem limited to Roman.’

Extinction was eating away at the empire much more than he had thought.

Roman working with the black mage? Even if they were eliminated, the problems related to Extinction wouldn’t end.

The problem was growing. Perhaps even more than he knew,

even more than the Extinction crisis that had nearly brought the empire to ruin decades ago.

Then what should he do?

He still remembered the oath he had taken when he first became the head of Yuris.

The oath to protect the Emperor and defend Evangelium still remained in a corner of his heart.

But if he now said that he was concerned about his own flesh and blood, wouldn’t other nobles laugh at him?

As one ages, even iron-like will begins to rust gradually.

In the days when he thought his will would never bend, when he thought red blood had been replaced by iron blood in his body, he wouldn’t have even considered this.

But now, what came to mind most was, quite amusingly, his daughter who disliked him the most.

He thought he wouldn’t regret it. At that time, he thought she would understand him later.

Of course, there were moments when he felt a twinge of regret when he acted too harshly,

but he still thought that someday she would steel her heart like he had.

But thinking about it now, he couldn’t distinguish between the father he had resented and himself.

It had left his hands. It was now irreversible. He now knew that once a heart has departed,

once it has turned into resentment, it cannot be reversed.

In such a situation, what he should do was… at least help his daughter,

and the knight she had feelings for, to remain safe.

Garoth Yuris, recalling the Emperor’s face, burst into laughter.

He had been loyal to the empire for well over 40 years.

He had wondered when he would be rewarded for that loyalty, and it seemed that time was coming soon.

At that moment, the sound of applause broke Garoth’s reverie.

The fact that applause could be heard in the banquet hall, which had been quite quiet until just now, could only mean one thing.

The Crown Prince was already here, so it must be his daughter who had left with her instrument to celebrate the birthday.

And the knight who had stolen his daughter’s heart.

Garoth maintained an expressionless face even when his daughter appeared.

He had no right to smile in front of her. Until his daughter forgave him, he could not smile at her.

He knew he didn’t even have that right.

But when Evan, who appeared with Aileen, smiled at the other young ladies,

he couldn’t help but roughly grasp the tablecloth. Damn it.

Garoth, swallowing his curses, narrowed his eyes and suppressed his anger.

To act like that while knowing full well that he was here.

He wanted to immediately revoke the permission he had given earlier for Evan to call him father-in-law.

But at that moment, when Aileen’s eyes met Evan’s.

Seeing the gentle smile she had never shown before, Garoth finally let out a sigh.

He couldn’t interfere between them. All he could do was sit here and watch.

Watch as they looked at each other, communicating with their eyes, and conversing through their performance.

He drank water, but somehow it tasted as bitter as alcohol.

Releasing the tablecloth he had been gripping roughly, Garoth once again turned his gaze toward the stage where his daughter stood.

He could only pray that whatever those two wished for would come true.