“What? Riersha is going to the imperial palace party?”
Riscal’s face twisted into a scowl the moment he received the news.
He simply couldn’t understand why Riersha would be included in something like that.
Father is far too soft when it comes to that girl.
He snapped shut the book he’d been reading with a loud thud.
“At any rate, it means that idiot has finally learned to use her ability properly.”
He’d assumed she was nothing more than a useless half-wit.
Apparently, that wasn’t quite right.
Knight shifted uncomfortably beside him, at a complete loss for how to respond to Riscal’s cutting indifference, a cold sweat forming on his brow.
“And when is Father giving her a family name?”
“His Grace said he would bestow it on the day of Lady Riersha’s birthday.”
“I see.”
It would take time to formally grant a name, so that made sense.
Riscal snorted and rose from his seat.
“Where are you going? Your lessons are about to begin.”
“Forget it. I already know everything they’ll teach. It’s boring.”
“But it will get back to His Grace!”
Knight glanced at the clock anxiously and moved to stop him.
Every week, Carden filed a report to Arcmund on the heirs’ progress.
Skipping lessons would bring a storm of fury down on Riscal’s head.
“Where is that idiot right now?”
But Riscal was already opening the door, throwing the question back at Knight as he stepped out.
Knight exhaled deeply and gave in.
“She has gone to visit Young Master Risideon, I’m told.”
“To see our brother?”
Riscal’s expression hardened like stone.
⁂
Word had spread through the ducal estate that Riersha had finally learned to control her ability.
Yet Riersha herself had left the congratulations behind and was already on her way to find Risideon.
She had received permission to enter the heirs’ wing, which made the visit possible in the first place.
Now, which estate does Risideon oppa live in?
Riersha turned in slow circles, scanning her surroundings, then came to a stop.
“Oh no, I dunno nothing!”
And there it was.
Riersha knew absolutely nothing about this part of the estate.
She had come rushing over without a second thought, and now she had no idea who to ask for directions.
“My wegs hurt.”
At this rate, she was going to end up going home without ever finding Risideon.
She was patting her legs and making her way toward a nearby bench to sit down when a voice stopped her.
“Riersha, how did you get in here?”
“…Ricador oppa?”
Ricador was approaching from behind with someone she didn’t recognize, calling out to her with easy familiarity.
From the look of his clothes, he seemed to have just come from training.
That must be Ricador oppa’s personal instructor.
The man was large, with an eye patch over one eye.
When he saw that Ricador intended to stay with Riersha, he gave a slight bow and stepped back.
“Then I’ll take my leave, Young Master Ricador.”
“Yeah.”
“Good day.”
Once the instructor disappeared, Ricador fanned his collar against the heat and dropped onto the bench beside her with a thud.
Looking more closely, she noticed thick calluses on Ricador’s fingers.
He trains hard.
It was an unexpected discovery, and Riersha’s eyes went wide.
Ricador seemed to notice her gaze fixed on his hand, because he shifted with a touch of embarrassment and tucked both arms behind his back.
“Everyone’s got calluses like this.”
“I don’t.”
“You…”
Ricador started to say something, then turned his head away.
“You don’t need to.”
“Why?”
“We have the rest of the family. There’s nothing you’d ever need to step up and handle yourself.”
“I see. But I’m gonna have a teacher too now.”
Ricador reacted sharply to that.
“You can use your ability now?”
“Mm-hm. A few days ago I told Daddy I wanted to go with everyone to the Crown Prince’s birthday, and he gave me a condition.”
“…Don’t tell me the condition was using your ability.”
“Mm-hm. Ta-da!”
Riersha held out her hands and conjured a scatter of orbs into the air.
Translucent bubbles shimmered in the sunlight and floated upward, catching the colors of a rainbow as they drifted through the sky.
The control she showed now felt far steadier than what she had demonstrated for Ricador before, when she’d only been trying to reassure him.
“You.”
Ricador’s mouth fell open, and then a bright, unguarded grin broke across his face. He reached over and thoroughly ruffled Riersha’s hair into a mess.
“Mmph.”
Riersha caught a glimpse of her destroyed hair and pouted.
But she knew this was just how Ricador showed affection, so she gave only a composed little shrug of her shoulders.
“Anyway, what are you doing over here?”
“I came to see Risideon oppa.”
“Then why are you sitting out here instead of going?”
“’Cause I don’t know where he is.”
Riersha answered with a deflated look.
Ricador blinked at her as if that were the strangest thing he’d ever heard.
“His estate is right there in front of you.”
“Huh?”
Riersha looked up at the building standing directly before her.
⁂
Riersha stepped inside the grand estate.
“Welcome, Lady Riersha.”
“Where’s Risideon oppa?”
The staff recognized her at once and greeted her with respectful bows.
Beyond the entrance hall, a floor of pale, polished marble stretched out before her, and a wide staircase with a deep red carpet runner rose at the far end.
One of the maids stepped forward.
“Young Master Risideon is currently in the study.”
“The study?”
“Yes. Go to the second floor and turn left. However, may I ask if you had a prior appointment?”
The maid asked with a slightly troubled expression.
She had opened the door, of course, but without a scheduled visit she couldn’t bring a guest directly to her master.
Receiving unannounced visitors without warning would earn her a scolding.
Perceptive as ever, Riersha stopped walking toward the stairs.
“No. Just let oppa know I’m here.”
“Of course. Then I’ll show you to the sitting room.”
“Okay.”
Riersha followed the maid to the sitting room.
Perhaps it was that the estate had sat without its owner for quite some time.
There was a cool, hollow feeling to the air, as though the rooms breathed emptiness.
“Please wait here, Lady Riersha.”
“Mm.”
Riersha waved the maid off with a little flutter of her hand.
The maid smiled softly and left the room.
She wasn’t sure how long she waited.
Then the door opened, and Risideon walked in.
Riersha straightened up at once.
“Risideon oppa!”
She called out to him as he entered, and Risideon took a seat across from her.
“I didn’t expect you to come find me, Riersha.”
“We’re going to the imperial palace together this time!”
“I heard. Congratulations.”
Risideon smiled faintly.
“Did you not sweep again today?”
At Riersha’s question, Risideon reflexively brought a hand up and rubbed his face.
He seemed genuinely surprised that she had noticed something no one else ever did.
He shook his head right away.
“There was just something I needed to take care of. Nothing worth worrying about.”
It was a learned habit, of a kind.
Heirs of noble houses generally had an instinct for hiding their troubles.
“You said the same thing last time.”
“…”
“You have to eat well and sweep well.”
The word “sweep” came out in Riersha’s small voice with the absolute weight of a decree. Risideon felt a laugh threatening to rise in his chest.
A four-year-old, lecturing him on health like a seasoned elder.
“Alright, Riersha. And you have to sleep early if you want to grow tall.”
“I’m gonna grow this big.”
Riersha thrust both arms upward into the air with fierce determination, stretching as far as they could possibly reach.
They say the trivial and the adorable are directly proportional.
Her short little arms trembled with the effort.
Risideon had been watching her fingertips in silence. He quickly dropped his gaze, as though he had seen nothing at all.
Then he bit down gently on the inside of his cheek. She was so earnest about it — he couldn’t bring himself to laugh.
“Is that why you came to find me? To check whether I’m eating and sleeping properly?”
“No!”
“Then why?”
“Just… I missed oppa, so I came.”
It was half the truth and half a lie.
How am I supposed to convince Risideon oppa?
The outcome of whether he stayed or returned to the imperial palace would depend on Risideon’s own decision, she had been told.
But what can I actually do?
What could she possibly accomplish when they had barely spoken before?
Even working up the courage to come here in the first place had cost her something.
At the last family dinner, Risideon had not looked at her once.
“I came to your house and I’ve barely seen you at all. I want us to be close, so I came.”
Riersha rested her chin in her hands and chattered on. Risideon stared at her, a blank expression settling over his face.
A moment passed.
His lips parted slowly.
“…With me?”
“Mm-hm. And I heard oppa might be going back to… the imperial palace.”
“So you wanted to see as much of me as you could before I left?”
Riersha nodded.
At that, Risideon found himself recalling the conversation he’d had in the young duke’s study not long ago.
“I know you’re deliberately avoiding Riersha, but explain it to her properly later. I won’t have her spending another moment feeling hurt and confused on her own.”
“…”
“Children are perceptive. She’ll already know you’re keeping your distance.”
She had known he was avoiding her, and she had still come.
Risideon looked at Riersha with an expression he couldn’t quite name.
Perhaps it would be better, even now, to tell her the truth — to let her know that she should keep her distance from him.
He was on the verge of opening his mouth when —
The sitting room door burst open.
