SS #36 Regina Bayer (6)

For Regina, every day in the royal capital was like a festival.

No one scolded her for spending all day playing with friends she rarely got to see.

‘Plus, I even got an allowance!’

The Bayer family was raking in the wealth of the North, but both the Grand Bayer Count and the de facto head of the house, the Young Bayer Count, were diligent and sincere warriors. As a result, Regina had naturally lived a life far from luxury.

She usually received just enough allowance to get by, forcing her to keep a detailed spending journal to be efficient. This time, however, was different.

Adelia had given her a hefty sum, telling her not to feel intimidated anywhere she went.

Scarlett, who had been watching from the side, was flabbergasted, asking, “What noble in their right mind would ever look down on a Bayer?” But Adelia had her reasons.

“It’s precisely because she’s a Bayer.”

What would people say if Regina, the young lady of the renowned House Bayer, was seen pinching pennies and writing in a spending journal?

They wouldn’t praise her for being frugal. It would undoubtedly start with “Count Bayer is so stingy,” and escalate to “The rich are always the worst,” or even bizarre rumors like “Countess Bayer is mistreating her late-born child.”

“And… it’s the Founding Anniversary Celebration. You’re in the capital, with your friends, for the first time in a while. Have fun.”

To Adelia, Regina was like a daughter, and to Regina, Adelia was like a second mother.

Regina beamed, giving a spirited reply to Adelia, who handed her the money pouch while stroking her hair.

And Regina wasn’t the only one who was happy.

“You’re finally seeing your friends, right? Leave your brothers to me and go have fun, Sis.”

Walter Hresvelg.

Vivian was moved to tears when he said that, stopping their younger brothers who were whining about wanting to play with their big sister.

“You know, you know. Isn’t our Walter just the coolest? He’s handsome, tall, has a great personality, he’s amazing at swordsmanship—he’s really the best, the absolute best.”

“He’s always so considerate. Sometimes it feels like I have an older brother, not a younger one.”

“He’s already so popular around the Hresvelg territory. Hah, seriously… When he brings home a fiancée or a girlfriend someday, I’m going to interview her and give her a test.”

“Hoo… my Walter. I want to hang out with Walter, too.”

“He’s built like a mountain, but he’s still so cute, you know? When I kiss him on the cheek before bed, he gets all shy, but he still smiles like a little kid. It’s adorable.”

“Have I told you about the time our Walter won the ‘Good Boy’ award?”

“Ah, seriously! Stop it! You damn brocon! You have no right to say anything about Aiden!”

It had been all Vivian until that last outburst from Regina.

To be honest, Regina had tried to hold it in at first.

Even from a third-party perspective, Walter’s consideration was heartwarming.

And thanks to him, she was able to hang out with Vivian.

But still, there had to be a limit!

“Do you realize you’ve been talking about nothing but Walter this whole time? Why on earth do I need to know how many types of underwear Walter has and in what colors?!”

“No, more importantly, isn’t it weirder that Vivian knows that in the first place?”

As Regina shouted, unable to take it anymore, a quiet Yuria added a sharp jab.

Vivian’s face flushed, but she replied with surprising shamelessness.

“Hmph, I’m his big sister. This is perfectly normal.”

“No, it’s not. It’s absolutely not normal. It’s completely weird.”

“Bathing with your little brother when he’s over ten… is a bit strange,” Yuria added another common-sense remark, and Regina immediately nodded in agreement, muttering “weird, weird.”

But Vivian was undeterred. She huffed again and said,

“Our whole family bathes together. That’s how close we are. We even have a hot spring at home. What’s the big deal? It’s family. Regina, you used to bathe with Count Bayer, too.”

“That was when I was a kid!”

“Hmph, you’re still a kid now, aren’t you?”

“Ugh… I can’t get through to you. It’s like talking to a wall.”

Regina shot a pleading look at Yuria, but it was no use.

The quick-witted Yuria had already given up on the conversation and retreated into her own world.

Her body was here, but her mind was somewhere else.

Vivian seemed to realize this too, as she ignored Yuria and directed all her words solely at Regina.

“Anyway, it’s a fact that our Walter is handsome, cool, kind, and the best! Isn’t it?”

“Augh… Ugh. It’s true, so I can’t even deny it.”

“Heehee, you finally admit it. That our Walter is the best. Still, for old times’ sake, I’ll permit someone like you, Regina, to be a candidate for his fiancée.”

“No, I’m good. I’ll pass. Why don’t you just get engaged to Walter and marry him yourself, Vivian?”

Shaking her head in exhaustion, Regina had a flash of inspiration. ‘What if I bring up her other siblings?’ She put the plan into action, only to regret her decision within three minutes.

‘Vivian is such a doting chatterbox!’

Her stories about the other siblings weren’t as long, grand, or overflowing with affection as the ones about Walter, but Regina had overlooked one crucial fact.

Vivian had a whopping eight younger siblings.

Moreover, having inherited traits from both Scarlett and Lucas, Vivian’s love for her siblings was boundless, and her stories about them were endless.

“We’re here.”

Just as Regina was on the verge of tears, listening to a lecture on Angela’s cuteness and Walter’s coolness for taking good care of her, Yuria, who had been gazing aloofly out the window, spoke up as she removed the Magic Tool – Earphones from her ears. Regina shot up with a gasp and looked out the carriage window.

“It’s true! We’re really here! I’m free! Free!”

“Tch, I still haven’t told you about Walter’s first kiss.”

“I’m not interested in some peck he shared with his sister when he was a baby! It’s not romantic at all! That doesn’t count!”

“Aunt Regina is so diligent.”

Regina, Vivian, Yuria.

To not only listen to all of that hopeless, severe brocon’s stories but to also provide sensible replies.

Regina really is kind and diligent.

Just like someone from the Bayer family.

Quietly impressed, Yuria calmly opened the carriage door. The moment it opened, Regina practically threw herself out, escaping the brocon-hell carriage.

“Hmph, too bad, but today isn’t the only day.”

Huffing like a member of the Chase family, Vivian stepped out of the carriage and stood next to Regina.

The three of them were in front of a large building in the capital’s city center. They had an appointment to meet the owner of this building.

“Mister! I’m here!”

“Oh, Lady Vivian, you’ve arrived! I’ve been waiting for you!”

As Vivian burst through the door to the chairman’s office with a cheerful shout, the middle-aged man inside greeted her with an equally bright smile.

The man’s name was Jupe.

For those who might not remember him from just that, he was the guild master of the “Blue Moon,” which ruled the capital’s underworld, a huge fan of the Rogue Master, and the man who had finally married his secretary and second-in-command, Jennifer, ten years ago.

The reason Vivian had brought her friends all the way to see Jupe was simple.

“Then I shall be your guide. Let us embark on our pilgrimage together.”

“Great!”

The Pink Bomb Pilgrimage.

A meaningful event to tour the places where the previous Rogue Master, Pink Bomb, had been active in the capital, satisfying their inner fan hearts and making them grow even stronger.

Vivian, who loved Pink Bomb second only to the characters of Bildwein’s Heroic Saga, was so serious about it that she even owned a Pink Bomb costume at home.

“My mom gets disgusted whenever Pink Bomb is mentioned.”

“Hehe, well, she was a rival to Lady Scarlett.”

The fact that Scarlett was the Rogue Master of her time was, of course, a secret, but a few people knew the truth.

Vivian, who was being raised by Scarlett to be the next Rogue Master, also knew her secret.

‘I wish she would just tell me who Pink Bomb is.’

There were so many stories, like the “Duel of the Night” between the previous Rogue Master, Pink Bomb, and the current one, Scarlett, but Scarlett would never talk about Pink Bomb.

Not even when Vivian begged her, mobilizing all her younger siblings.

“In the first place, the fact that there are even Pink Bomb fairy tales circulating is all because of that black-hearted bastard, Black Cloak.”

That’s what Scarlett had once said, pounding her chest with a look of utter frustration.

‘It doesn’t seem like Mom truly hates Pink Bomb and Black Cloak, though.’

It was more like a love-hate relationship, perhaps? Though in Black Cloak’s case, the ‘hate’ part seemed much, much stronger.

In any case, the Pink Bomb fairy tales existed and were extremely popular, so Regina and Yuria, who had read them since they were young, were also very fond of Pink Bomb.

“By the way, what about your parents? Do they hate Pink Bomb?”

“Huh? My parents don’t really care. They don’t seem to like or dislike her.”

After Regina answered, Vivian turned to Yuria with a ‘what about you?’ look.

Before answering, Yuria recalled a conversation she had overheard a few years ago.

“Look, Pink Bomb is the name of a novel protagonist, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. She’s a novel protagonist. Our family’s swindler managed to turn another lie into truth.”

Her father, speaking with uncharacteristic coyness, and her mother, looking at him with an expression that said she couldn’t be helped as she let out a laugh.

“Yuria?”

“Hm? Oh, my family likes her. We even have a Pink Bomb costume at home.”

“Really? I’m so jealous.”

It wasn’t just words; Vivian’s blue eyes looked like they were about to drip with genuine envy.

A few hours later, after finishing their pilgrimage, the group bought a load of snacks for Vivian’s siblings and returned to their lodgings.

*

The Sword Banquet, a long-standing tradition of the Sailun Kingdom, was held again this year without fail.

“Brother! I got an invitation too!”

Regina ran to Gale, holding an invitation stamped with the Spencer ducal crest, and jumped up and down on the spot. Gale smiled and patted his sister’s head.

Regina wasn’t the only one invited to the Sword Banquet.

Vivian and Walter, considered the top prospects of the North, and William, Walter’s immediate younger brother, also received invitations.

“What about Yuria?”

“I’m from the Holy Kingdom.”

“Ah…”

That was right.

The Sword Banquet was for the promising youths of the Sailun Kingdom, so Yuria, being a foreigner, wasn’t eligible to participate in the first place.

“I’m fine, so go have a good time. And tell me all about what happened when you get back.”

“Okay, I promise.”

Regina squeezed Yuria’s hand and made her promise. For a moment, she flinched at the thought of having to ride in the same carriage as Vivian again, but the quick-witted Yuria quickly solved her dilemma.

“It’s fine, Walter will be going with you.”

“Oh, right.”

With Walter himself present, Vivian probably wouldn’t talk about him right in front of her.

After exchanging a glance with Yuria, Regina boarded the carriage with a much lighter heart. Less than five minutes later, she realized she had overlooked one thing.

‘Stop being so cutesy with each other!’

Why are you acting all lovey-dovey with your own brother!

Even William is looking on with a pathetic—no, that’s an envious look.

In any case, Regina once again had to suffer at the hands of the Hresvelg family, a collection of brocons and siscons.

The Sword Banquet itself concluded without much incident.

As always, it began with a gathering where prospects from various regions exchanged light greetings, followed immediately by a tournament.

Regina and Vivian had both huffed that they would be the one to win, but sadly, neither of them made it to the finals, let alone past the round of 16.

The Sword Banquet was open to all prospects who hadn’t yet come of age, so it was teeming with participants four or five years older than them.

“If anything, making it to the round of 16 is amazing. You both did great.”

Dahlia tried to console them with a cheerful smile, but Regina and Vivian just pouted.

‘What if Yuria had participated?’

Regina had never even seen Yuria fight with a sword, but for some reason, she had a feeling Yuria would have won.

The days continued to pass, one by one.

And finally, it was the day before the Founding Anniversary Celebration.

“Mm, lovely. It suits you well.”

“Hmph, you look somewhat presentable.”

Amber smiled elegantly at the sight of Regina in the blue dress she would wear to the Founding Anniversary Ball, while Aiden, as usual, huffed with a slight blush on his cheeks.

Regina’s dress was a mini-dress with a short but poofy skirt that gave it a very cute feel. She especially liked the blue rose ornament on the chest.

“It’s pretty. It suits you, Regina.”

At Yuria’s composed voice, Regina’s face turned bright red.

She was partly embarrassed by Yuria’s compliment, but mostly because Yuria, the one saying it, was breathtakingly beautiful herself.

Yuria was wearing a pink dress, and it was truly astonishing.

Regina had thought that cute or lovely clothes wouldn’t suit Yuria, who had a fundamentally aloof air about her.

But as expected, the face completes the fashion, and a good frame can pull off any outfit.

Every time Yuria smiled faintly, it felt like her hidden cuteness was exploding, making Regina’s head spin.

‘Yuria is a total angel!’

And standing behind that Yuria, smiling fondly, were actual angels.

After admiring the outfits Amber and Aiden would be wearing as well, Regina went to bed early.

The next day was a very important one, so getting a good night’s sleep was crucial.

But Regina couldn’t fall asleep easily.

She suddenly remembered something Yuria had said.

“Regina, you will meet your partner too.”

Who was she talking about?

What kind of person would she meet?

A partner.

A person of destiny.

Her heart pounded as if it would burst. Clutching her chest out of habit, Regina squeezed her eyes shut and tried to force herself to sleep.

And the next morning.

The day of the Founding Anniversary Ball dawned.

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Translated By: Meher (RaidenTL)

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