The others shared the same bewilderment. Haydin and Johannes wore expressions of equal incomprehension.
“You don’t understand, do you? I know. I was the same way at first. I thought it was enough just that Lady Riersha had awakened. I was so grateful for that alone.”
“…And now?”
“Now it’s different. Lady Riersha seems to give strength simply by existing.”
“….”
“The Duke and the Young Lord have both changed. So naturally, what Arachrene as a house strives toward will change a little too.”
Small things, when gathered together, had a way of bringing about great change.
And Sona was glad for the change that was happening now.
The old Arachrene household had been cold even among its own retainers — everyone treating each other with a strictly professional distance. But now, the house showed a flexibility that would have been unimaginable before.
There were even moments when retainers who normally had no reason to speak to one another gathered together, exchanging jokes and easy conversation.
“Right, then. This is where my tour ends. I hope you all come to love the new ducal castle as much as I do.”
“Why. You came all this way with us — you might as well come inside too.”
Sona had turned to leave immediately, and Aska made no effort to hide his disappointment.
But Sona shook her head without hesitation.
“I can’t. I have to go prepare Lady Riersha’s snack.”
“…Her what?”
“Her snack. And I need to check over her homework, and hear about what happened to her today. Keeping track of the young lady’s daily routine is a very important duty for her personal knight.”
Every one of the corps commanders was struck speechless.
This was Sona — the same Sona who had once swept through Declair’s western border by force, who had ranked among the very best in intelligence operations, boasting an unmatched mission success rate…
“Sona’s turned into a completely different person. She used to be so sharp.”
“…I’m incredibly curious now about who Lady Riersha actually is.”
Milia spoke first, and Aska nodded in wholehearted agreement.
Haydin and Johannes said nothing, but their silence was answer enough.
A lot has changed about the Duke and the Young Lord?
And because of that, the direction of House Arachrene would change too?
Because of a single four-year-old child?
They still couldn’t bring themselves to believe it.
⁂
“I present myself before the Young Lord.”
“It’s been a while. Have you been well?”
“Yes, quite comfortable, thank you.”
“The border can’t have been particularly comfortable.”
Pernoa gave a faint smirk, and Haydin lowered his head in response. The other corps commanders followed with quiet bows of their own.
Among themselves, Pernoa had long since given them permission to observe only the bare minimum of formality, which was the only reason they could.
“Sit.”
“Yes, Young Lord.”
Pernoa rose from his seat and gestured toward the sofas. Haydin answered and the four corps commanders settled in, two to each side.
It was then that Haydin flinched, glancing down at what his hand had closed around. A dainty yellow cushion.
To be precise — a very plump, very small yellow cushion that looked as though it had been made exclusively for a child.
Embroidered at its center was a rabbit so impossibly adorable it made the eyes swim. As it happened, the rabbit was identical in appearance to Riersha’s beloved stuffed animal.
“…May I ask why you have called all of us here?”
Haydin set the cushion back in its place with an unreadable expression, then raised the subject just a beat too slowly.
By nature, corps commanders could not leave their posts without extraordinary cause. Each of them was a force capable of wiping out a standing army on their own, which made them the greatest military assets stationed at the borders.
Haydin and Oskar held the most dangerous post at the southern border. Milia, gifted in geographic intelligence, guarded the northern border.
Johannes, who could hold his ground alone against many, was assigned to the eastern border. And the western border, where Pernoa himself had been stationed for four years, had previously been divided between him and Sona.
And yet he had summoned all of them at once?
“Ah, about that. As of this moment, none of you need return to the borders.”
“…I beg your pardon?”
“House Arachrene is disbanding its private forces.”
“Disbanding — does that mean we are no longer of use?”
The quiet Johannes was the one who asked.
House Arachrene had always valued usefulness above all else.
And the corps commanders had each been cultivated for one purpose — to be deployed at the borders.
Their first duty was to protect House Arachrene, but for all outward purposes, that was their function.
“What makes you think that?”
Pernoa clicked his tongue and asked the question back.
But Johannes could not answer easily. He wasn’t entirely certain himself why that thought had surfaced in him.
“Because the fact that we’ve been recalled means House Arachrene is going to advance into the capital. If that’s the case, the private forces must be disbanded — which means we, as corps commanders, would be…”
Milia stepped in to give voice to what Johannes had left unfinished.
Pernoa crossed his arms with a look that said go on, but Milia found she couldn’t complete the sentence.
That is… what is that?
Milia’s crimson eyes flew wide open in shock.
There on Pernoa’s wrist was a flower bracelet, utterly out of place on him.
Since when has the Young Lord taken to wearing something so sentimental?
Milia stared at it, thoroughly unsettled.
This was a man who had once declared that anything touching his skin was a nuisance — who had never even worn a watch.
“Ah. You mean this.”
Pernoa shook his arm out as though he’d been waiting for exactly this moment.
And in that instant, Milia understood.
…He crossed his arms on purpose.
He had folded his arms deliberately, just to show off that bracelet. She was certain of it.
Because what Pernoa was displaying right now was the perfectly textbook behavior of someone who desperately wanted to show off something they owned.
Aska raised a hand and rubbed his eyes. Then she followed the line of the flower-braceleted wrist upward and confirmed the face looking back at her.
The man in front of her was, unmistakably, Pernoa Arachrene.
“Ahem.”
Aska began coughing as though something had gone down the wrong way.
Only then did the corps commanders start to take in the rest of the study.
That was when they noticed it — tucked neatly in the corner was what appeared to be a small footstool, placed there with quiet intention.
“Ah, my daughter is quite small, you see. When she stands at the desk, her face doesn’t quite reach the top.”
“…Pardon?”
“So I had one made.”
The corps commanders were thoroughly disoriented. Only now did Sona’s words from moments ago begin, piece by piece, to make sense.
Pernoa had changed — profoundly so. The cool, razor-edged quality he had always possessed was still there, unmistakably intact, but alongside it lived emotions that had never been there before.
“Well then. That’s enough of pleasantries.”
Pleasantries.
He had distinctly said pleasantries.
All four of them stared at him in open surprise. This was a man who had always pursued efficiency above everything, who had despised any waste of time…
“Let’s get to the point. In terms of outward duties, you have nothing to do.”
“Nothing, meaning…?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. Do nothing. Stay still.”
“….”
“You’ve come home after a long time away. You should have time to rest.”
Pernoa smiled, and the warmth of it ran deep.
The corps commanders doing nothing — simply remaining where they were — was more than enough.
That alone would be sufficient to make the Empress spend each passing day feeling as though her blood were running dry from anxiety.
But Pernoa had no intention of stopping there.
This was only the beginning.
“Aska, Johannes.”
“Yes, Young Lord.”
“There is something I need the two of you to do quietly.”
⁂
“Would you be able to spare me a moment?”
The moment they met at the annex, Oberon had requested a private audience with polite composure, and was now leading Riersha toward a place where few people passed.
Why has Oberon come to see me?
Riersha followed behind him, her face drawn tight with unease.
