Nothing Changes

After introducing the interior of the small mansions that would serve as their accommodations, Headmaster Albert left.

‘This is where it begins.’

It would be a lie if Yuria said she wasn’t feeling nervous about the start of her first day at Minst Academy.

Although the background of House Arsein wouldn’t completely disappear from her, as she was in a foreign country, its influence would drastically decrease, and in this place, she would prove her abilities.

But despite her determination when coming here, unsettled feelings had settled in Yuria’s mind.

‘Lord Theodore…’

It was because of the matter of Theodore Skyroad, which she hadn’t even thought about before coming here.

‘I didn’t expect to be worrying so much about Lord Theodore’s affairs…’

Theodore Skyroad was her fiancé.

However, if someone asked if she knew him well, Yuria would answer that she just knew him a bit better than others.

She knew that Theodore Skyroad was always someone who hid his true self.

Though he wore a gentle smile, in reality, he wasn’t sincere to anyone except the people of House Skyroad, and he was terribly arrogant.

Of course, she acknowledged that he had the talent and ability to match, and that he worked hard himself.

At least, he was incomparably better than those who behaved arrogantly based on their family and background, as he behaved arrogantly based on his own talent and ability.

This thought might have occurred to her because she had just seen William, a human who committed actions and insults beyond common sense toward her, relying on his background as the Chosen One.

‘It’s the first time I’ve seen him make such an expression.’

For Yuria, who had always seen his relaxed and confident appearance, Theodore’s appearance of hiding his anger was quite shocking, though she didn’t show it due to the situation.

His appearance of quietly containing his anger and trying not to express it felt so different from his usual appearance, which was always sleazy, full of confidence, and incredibly arrogant like his handsome face and abilities, that it even felt unfamiliar.

‘The possibility that Lord Theodore’s past is as Theodore Artin is high… but I can’t ask him directly, nor can I induce him to speak about it indirectly.’

What bothered Yuria the most wasn’t whether Theodore’s identity was Theodore or not.

Rather, what kept bothering her mind was how Theodore would evaluate her inside.

If she didn’t ask, he might think she was an indifferent woman.

If she asked, he might think she was an insensitive woman.

Or he might evaluate her in a way she hadn’t even thought of.

Amid this contradiction, she was concerned about how he would evaluate her.

‘Ah, really! Why do I keep caring about this?’

Yuria was frustrated because she couldn’t understand why she was paying attention to this evaluation aspect.

No, even before that, it was strange why she had become so concerned about Theodore.

‘I thought that person… was someone who lived for his own superiority, so I wouldn’t care this much. Ah, really!’

As Yuria was slightly irritated with herself inside, she composed herself when she heard someone knocking on the door.

“Lady Yuria, I’m coming in.”

“Yes, please come in.”

It was Theodore’s voice.

Having finished simple organizing in his own accommodation, he had come to help with her sword training as promised.

He looked around after opening the door and coming inside.

As it was a two-story mansion, everything was well-equipped, from a bathroom with soap, shampoo, toothbrush, and warm water, to various other amenities.

There was a dining table, a soft sofa, a kitchen, and a refrigerator.

“We should do it outside. And we need to adjust to not cause any damage to the surroundings.”

“Let’s just do it inside.”

Theodore said he would train in the garden area, but Yuria replied that they should do it inside.

There was an empty space on the floor, and if they were careful enough not to break the furniture with proper adjustment, there would be no problem.

“Alright, if that’s what you want.”

His tone of speaking as if he was gladly permitting it was still annoying. However, Yuria was rather comfortable with that annoying tone, perhaps because she had become accustomed to it.

“Yes, thank you.”

The reason Yuria wanted to talk inside rather than in the garden was that she felt more comfortable inside the accommodation than in the garden.

If they were outside, even in the garden, someone passing by might overhear, making it difficult to speak comfortably.

“First, take your stance. Then attack me from that position.”

“Yes, I understand.”

As instructed by Theodore, Yuria first held her sword, took a deep breath, and concentrated.

After pushing away all other thoughts, focusing everything solely on one sword, she felt her mind become momentarily peaceful.

As a swordswoman, she had a high passion for the sword, and therefore, even if Theodore didn’t think of it as anything special, she was genuinely thankful for him teaching her swordsmanship.

“Haaaaah!”

Therefore, Yuria thrust toward Theodore with all her might.

And although her sword came charging toward Theodore in a precise, straight thrusting posture, Theodore lightly deflected it with his sword and before she knew it, had his sword pointed at her neck.

“If this were a real battle, you would have died immediately with that move.”

Though Yuria was frustrated at Theodore’s words, she nodded her head and acknowledged it.

“That’s right. It’s frustrating, but in a real battle, I would have certainly died.”

After acknowledging the fact like that, Yuria cautiously began to speak.

“By the way, Lord Theodore, don’t you have anything you want to say to me?”

“Something I want to say to you? Do you want to discuss sword training?”

“No.”

Yuria shook her head.

At her words, Theodore withdrew his sword and smirked.

“You’re a sly young lady. With an innocent-looking expression, but with a fox-like interior. Did you quickly create this private situation under the pretext of sword training because you wanted to have a different conversation?”

“…When you put it that way, it sounds strange. I do want to train in swordsmanship. Learning directly from someone stronger than me like you is a valuable experience. But it’s also true that I want to talk with you.”

“Well, I suppose it’s natural to develop interest after recently experiencing and learning firsthand that your fiancé is too excellent to be judged by your own caliber.”

“…You really are annoying.”

Yuria shot back slightly like that.

“But honestly speaking, I’m curious. I’m curious about what kind of person you truly are.”

At those words, Theodore looked at her for a moment and asked:

“Really?”

“Haven’t you noticed? Normally, you would have been smiling confidently… but you’re not showing that arrogant smile you usually wear at all, though you are forcing a smile slightly.”

At those words, Theodore showed a startled appearance for the first time.

“Oh my.”

He clicked his tongue softly and muttered.

“I made an unexpected mistake.”

After saying that, he looked at Yuria and asked:

“So you want me to tell you if I have any information about why I look like that ruffian William, and who this Theodore that the Duke and Duchess of Artin are looking for is?”

“No.”

Yuria immediately shook her head.

“I do want to know that too, but that’s not the important part.”

Theodore stared at her with an unreadable gaze as she spoke with strong determination, then asked:

“Then what do you want to know?”

“What I want to know is not important. I am curious, but I think Lord Theodore will tell me on his own if it’s something he can answer, so I plan to wait.”

“…So you weren’t trying to ask questions?”

Theodore seemed to have understood why she had spoken to him.

“Yes.”

Yuria gazed at him with eyes full of firm determination and spoke.

It was true that he was annoying and irritating, and their engagement relationship was close to an obligation.

But it was true that she was always indebted to him, and it was also true that she was grateful to him.

“Thank you for protecting me from William today.”

And the first thing Yuria said was a word of thanks.

“I should have said this earlier, but I couldn’t because of the situation.”

She hadn’t been able to express her gratitude at the right time because she felt intimidated by Theodore’s atmosphere being different from usual, but this was also something Yuria had been concerned about inside.

As she suddenly started with words of gratitude, Theodore responded this time without wavering:

“I just did what was natural.”

“Yes, I also did what was natural. And I’ll say one more natural thing.”

Yuria smiled slightly and said:

“I’m sincerely grateful for you taking the time to teach me swordsmanship. Lord Theodore, I still think you’re annoying and I still want to land a hit on that smug face of yours… but I’m always grateful.”

“Gratitude for a fiancé’s dedication mixed with jealousy toward an excellent fiancé. This is refreshing.”

“Ah, really! You as a person…!”

Yuria’s smile momentarily shattered.

But she quickly cleared her throat and composed her emotions, saying:

“A-hem. I’m trying to have a meaningful conversation here, could you not interrupt the flow?”

“Alright. I’ll listen to what you have to say.”

Though his willing-to-listen tone made her feel slightly irritated, Yuria suppressed that emotion and spoke:

“What I want to say is… I wanted to tell you that regardless of what Lord Theodore’s identity might be, that’s not important. The fact that you are my annoying, and though I hate to admit it, annoyingly excellent fiancé that I know, won’t change.”

“Is that so? Can you really maintain that thought?”

Theodore asked with a provocative, cold smile.

“What if everything is true as you suspect? What if I say that I am the Chosen One and my identity is Theodore Artin? Surely you wouldn’t cling to me for those benefits.”

“No.”

Yuria couldn’t conscientiously do such a thing.

“But I absolutely refuse to feel any strange sense of duty or responsibility arising from sympathy after hearing about an unfortunate past.”

At this statement from Theodore, Yuria instead smiled as if she had been waiting for it.

“Ah, is that so? That’s fortunate.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t pity you.”

Yuria Arsein looked directly at Theodore Skyroad, smiling slightly, and said:

“Nothing changes. Pity you? How could I? You who are better than me in swordsmanship, good at magic, and even the top student in all departments except the Divine Arts Department? The heir to House Skyroad, a family doing better than even our House Arsein, and if you’re really the Chosen One, wow~ that’s amazing. The hero who will save the world, so your fame would be enormous. Pity you? According to you, someone as insignificant as me?”

“Hey.”

“Don’t jump to conclusions, Lord Theodore. I admit that you are annoyingly excellent, but my heart is more complex than your imagination allows.”

Yuria raised her head slightly and said with a relaxed smile:

“You seem to have imagined this and that, but I’ll definitively declare that nothing changes in the end. Whatever your real identity is, such things don’t matter. To me, you will always just be Theodore Skyroad.”

“……”

As Theodore silently stared at her, Yuria again emphatically said:

“The fact that you’re annoyingly handsome which makes me irritated, and an annoyingly excellent person who shows off his excellent abilities, making me irritated because I can’t refute it — that fact doesn’t change.”

Having finished speaking like that, Yuria felt relieved.

“Whew~ That feels better.”