Chapter 43
Oops, I seem to have startled them.
If I had explained things properly, they wouldn’t be so shocked.
Look at their exhausted faces.
Their expressions are completely different from when they first saw me.
“Roa… I mean, Duchess Greenton might be a bit overwhelming, but you don’t have to treat her too formally. Just relax.”
I doubt my words will completely erase their worries.
“But she’s the daughter of the Greenton Dukedom…”
“Yes, she could suddenly turn on us.”
I don’t think that’s going to happen…
“Anyway, why is the Duchess following you around like that?”
Hmm, it’s a bit awkward to say she likes me.
It’s obvious to everyone that Roa’s feelings for me go beyond simple friendship.
“There doesn’t need to be a reason to like someone. She probably just recognized what a good person Yuri is.”
Well, there is a reason.
She suddenly switched her affections from Dustin to me.
Wait, isn’t that a bit dangerous?
If she switched to me for no reason, couldn’t she switch to someone else just as easily?
Hmm, Roa is a troublesome enemy.
I need to make sure she’s deeply infatuated with me.
But how?
I don’t even know why she likes me in the first place…
“Yuri? Why the sudden serious expression?”
“Is it because of Duchess Greenton…?”
Well… yes, but no…
“Anyway, it’s fine, so don’t worry too much. Just treat her like my friend. Okay?”
My parents reluctantly nod, and I leave the study.
I head towards the drawing room, where I left the girls, and find them sitting there, not exploring as I had suggested.
Well, they might have already finished the tour.
“I’m back. Shall we head to my room?”
“Yuri’s room…! It’s so amazing…!”
“Wahaha! Great! I wanted to take a bath!”
Wait a second…
If we share a room, we’ll be taking baths together, changing clothes together, and sleeping together, right…?
Isn’t this a bit inappropriate?
Hold on, hold on, hold on…
No, no…! I might look like a girl, but I’m a guy!
That’s why I was so relieved when I got a single room in the dormitory. But now this flag is suddenly being raised?!
I can’t deny that I’m tempted by Roa’s incredible figure.
That’s just natural for a guy.
But I never imagined I would actually get to see it.
“…Uh, should I get you guys separate rooms?”
“Huh?! Suddenly?”
“No! I want to sleep in Yuri’s room!”
Oh, shit… how do I fix this?
“Th-then I’ll sleep in a different room, and you two can…”
Or I could just bathe and change alone, like I did at the villa…
Yes, I just need to avoid those two situations.
I’m a gentleman, after all.
“Let’s go.”
I lead the two girls, who are looking at me with pleading eyes, to my room.
“You guys go ahead and bathe first. I have some things to do.”
“Things to do?”
“What kind of things?!”
Well… like writing a letter to Dustin…
“Anyway, I have things to do, so you guys go ahead and bathe.”
I try to sound nonchalant as I instruct the maids to prepare the bath and assist the girls.
Then I sit at my desk, take out some stationery, and start writing a letter to Dustin.
Roa and Lia seem a bit disappointed, but they eventually head towards the bathroom.
“Phew… that was close.”
I didn’t send them to bathe alone because I’m asexual.
It’s just wrong for a guy to use underhanded tactics to see a girl’s body.
That’s all.
“Sigh…”
But writing a letter to someone I was just with feels a bit strange.
Aren’t letters supposed to be for people you haven’t seen in a long time?
I slowly scribble something down…
‘How are you doing? I’m doing well. Roa and Lia arrived safely. My parents were shocked to see Duchess Greenton, but I managed to calm them down.’
It’s practically a daily report.
Like a little girl’s diary entry: “Dear Diary, this is what happened today!”
I almost crumple it up and throw it away, but I decide to finish it quickly and send it.
I summon a maid and instruct her to send the letter, then I collapse onto my bed.
“Ahhh… my bed is the best.”
After Roa and Lia finish their bath, I take mine, and then we have dinner with my parents.
My efforts to avoid bathing with the girls are successful, and the day we return to the academy arrives.
“Master Yuri.”
“Oh, Lia. Are you ready?”
“I’ve been ready for ages!”
I stare at Lia, who approaches me with a serious expression.
“I want to bless your territory. Is that okay?”
She can already cast territory-wide blessings?
Well, our territory is quite small.
But for a first-year student to be capable of such a feat…
She’s a true genius.
Well, she is the next Saint.
That explains it.
“Of course, I would be grateful.”
“Then I’ll choose some good blessings and cast them.”
She closes her eyes and assumes a prayer position.
She looks like a true Saint.
A holy aura surrounds her.
“It’s done, Master Yuri.”
She opens her eyes, smiles brightly, and speaks in her usual tomboyish tone.
What a strange contrast…
“Thank you, Lia.”
“It was nothing! That was easy! Wahaha!”
With Lia’s blessing complete, we board the carriage and head back to the academy.
***
The Imperial Knights are incredibly busy during the Harvest Festival.
Various incidents and accidents occur throughout the Empire.
“Good work today. Everyone, go back and get some rest.”
Dustin finally relaxes after a long day of running around, watching the exhausted knights return to their quarters.
“I wonder if Master’s letter arrived today.”
He heads towards his dormitory with an expectant expression, and a single letter on his desk catches his eye.
His heart pounds as he sees his name written in Yuri’s familiar handwriting.
“Master… I wanted to go with you.”
He had wanted to abandon the Imperial Knights and everything else to be by her side.
“But I’m your disciple, so I must obey your orders.”
He liked being Yuri’s disciple.
Her first disciple.
He cherished that bond.
But lately, he had started to dislike the word “disciple.”
He wanted to be someone special to her, not just another disciple.
That’s what he had been thinking.
“When will I become someone worthy of you?”
Will that day ever come?
He swallows his words and carefully opens the envelope.
A single letter, filled with Yuri’s daily life.
‘I need to find a way to preserve this forever.’
He vowed to protect this letter, to make it his family heirloom.
His eyes glinted with an unsettling intensity.
“I should write a reply.”
The Harvest Festival was almost over.
If he sent a letter to the Elliot estate now, Yuri probably wouldn’t receive it in time.
‘Should I send it to her dormitory?’
Dustin sat down and began writing, his expression softening.
The Imperial Knights under his command would be shocked to see their usually stoic leader like this.
“Hmm, this isn’t quite right.”
He crumpled up several sheets of paper.
No matter what he wrote, it didn’t seem worthy of his precious master.
“Writing letters is difficult.”
He was happy that she had written such a difficult letter to him, and only him.
Even though they couldn’t be together, it felt like they were.
He couldn’t wait for the Harvest Festival to end so he could see her again.
He poured his heart into the letter, writing all night, and only after sending it to Yuri’s dormitory room did he finally fall asleep.
The sun had already risen, but he didn’t feel tired at all.
***
The day before the end of the Harvest Festival.
We finally arrive back at the academy.
“Ugh, my body is so stiff.”
“I know, right? Traveling is always the worst.”
“Agreed.”
We step out of the carriage, stretch our stiff muscles, and head towards our respective dormitory rooms.
I manage to convince the girls, who wanted to stay another night, to go back to their own rooms and stretch out on my bed, enjoying the peace and quiet.
Sharing a room at the mansion was manageable because it was spacious, but squeezing everyone into this tiny dormitory room would only prolong our fatigue.
“I should get some sleep… and then go see Celia.”
I close my eyes, deciding to check on Celia and make sure she’s eating properly, since she said she would have time after the Harvest Festival.
And when I open my eyes, the sun is already setting.
“Sigh… my precious break is over.”
New tasks await me at the student council.
Like that safety officer duty.
I can’t help but sigh at the thought.
I secretly wished the Harvest Festival would last forever, but…
That’s just wishful thinking.
“I should go see Celia.”
I slowly make my way towards Celia’s laboratory.
I reach her lab after navigating a deserted, eerie hallway.
I hesitate to knock, afraid of interrupting her research.
“Hmm… maybe I should just go back.”
I want to see her, but what if my knock disrupts her train of thought and ruins her research?!
I can’t take responsibility for that!
“Master. You’re back.”
I’m about to turn around and head back to my room when…
The door opens, and Celia appears, dark circles under her eyes reaching her knees.
“…Celia, what happened to you…?”
Now that’s what I call looking haggard.
“Things happened.”
“And your research?”
“It’s in the final stage. I’ll be done after today.”
I’m glad I didn’t knock.
Phew… that was a close call.