Betty, with a slightly nervous face, brought out steaming coffee for me and Rizel.
I personally didn’t prefer drinks like coffee, but it wasn’t the atmosphere to point that out.
Of course, the same would go for Rizel, who was a tea enthusiast.
“Uh, um… Please, feel free to talk…”
Though she had been captured by bandits and was in a sorry state, we managed to get her some clothes in a hurry… Still, a fancy dress suited Rizel better.
“Did anything strange happen to you?”
“Huh, uh…?”
“That way, I can decide how to deal with those scoundrels.”
As soon as I saw Rizel tied up, I unconsciously broke one of their arms.
Now, what to do with them depends on Rizel’s answer.
“They didn’t do anything… They said I was a valuable hostage for ransom.”
“I see.”
If she’s unharmed, that’s enough.
I should apologize separately for breaking their arms.
“Big brother…?”
“Now that you mention it, it’s rare. You calling me ‘big brother.'”
“Well, that’s…”
I was just happy. The fact that she called me ‘big brother’ made me so happy that I almost smiled without realizing it.
After that unfortunate incident, she had rarely called me ‘big brother.’
I brought it up because I was glad, but Rizel shrank back.
“By the way, you must be busy taking over the family head’s duties. What brings you here?”
I had left a manual, but it wasn’t something that could be mastered in such a short time.
I had handled the major tasks, but there were still minor budget issues, so she shouldn’t be this free to enjoy coffee.
“Uh… I came to see you…”
“I see. Eliminating future troubles, huh? If I were to have a child, it could become a problem later. Good mindset.”
It was almost a noble’s duty to eliminate any factors that could cause issues in succession.
So, I praised Rizel for finally realizing her role as the family head, but she only shrank back more, looking troubled.
“I came to apologize to you…”
“Apologize…? I can’t understand what you’re saying. To me?”
“Yeah… I said a lot of harsh things to you. You only killed that person to protect me.”
“Ah. That’s what you’re talking about.”
I wondered what she was referring to, but it seemed she was talking about the Second Prince I had killed earlier.
I did feel guilty about that incident. I thought Rizel wouldn’t understand, so it was my mistake to act on my own.
I still regret it. If I had talked to Rizel properly, eye to eye, this wouldn’t have happened.
“Unnecessary talk. I don’t need your apology.”
“W-what did you just say…?”
“I said I don’t need to hear your apology.”
I thought she didn’t need to apologize since it was my fault.
So, I refused her apology. I wasn’t innocent enough to deserve an apology. No matter how much I suppressed my emotions, I couldn’t kill the hatred. I was a pitiful man.
“Yeah… It couldn’t be that easy.”
Rizel lowered her head, looking sad.
“But where did you hear about that incident? If my friends told you…”
“I, I looked into it myself. There were some suspicious points.”
“……. It’s too late now.”
If there were suspicious points, she should have looked into them right away. But investigating years later seemed a bit late.
“Yeah. It’s… it’s… too late for me.”
“I see. Anyway, is that all for your visit?”
“No, not just that… Her Majesty the Empress told me your location and asked me to deliver this…”
Rizel took out a medicine bottle from the bag at her waist and said this.
“But are you hurt somewhere…? You didn’t take such medicine before…”
I quickly snatched the medicine bottle from Rizel’s hand.
I was afraid Rizel might figure out the nature of the medicine. I was afraid she might notice my condition. I was afraid she might uncover the whole truth.
I was afraid Rizel, with her loose lips, might spill everything to others.
“About my medicine… don’t tell anyone… not a single soul.”
“Big brother…?”
“Understood?”
“I understand, but what is it…”
I couldn’t tell her.
That the only calendar left in my life was one.
I had thrown myself into the battlefield, prepared to die, because I didn’t want to see their crying faces. But if my death caused them to cry, that would be a contradiction.
I could brush off my own death, but my family’s sorrowful faces were an exception.
“By the way, Her Majesty the Empress is quite careless. Not even giving you proper escorts to deliver the medicine.”
“Ah, that’s…”
Rizel hesitated for a moment, then said this.
“She said to wait until she could find a skilled escort, but I couldn’t wait and came on my own…”
For a moment, my train of thought stopped for about 30 seconds.
It took more effort than expected to restart my thoughts and understand Rizel’s words.
By now, Her Majesty must have been cursing under her breath, smashing a table.
Surely, when Rizel returns, she’ll be met with a barrage of curses that would make anyone dizzy. Normally, I would have stopped her, but since it’s about safety, she deserves that much scolding.
“… There’s nothing to be done.”
I took out a ring I had brought from the mansion and tossed it to Rizel.
“If you want to come again, go to the Imperial Army headquarters and show them this ring.”
It was where a subordinate I had taught various things worked.
If she showed the ring, they would surely come out personally to escort her.
“What does this symbol mean…?”
“It’s the highest-ranking officer of the Imperial Army’s Intelligence Command. It’s a ring made for convenience from a seal.”
It was something I had been forced to take on to manage the chaotic military after the rebellion.
“What is that…?”
“Let’s just say they handle miscellaneous administrative and management tasks.”
“Ah, so it’s an office job…”
Actually, it was a bit more complicated, but explaining further seemed pointless.
Originally, it was prepared in case Neil caused trouble, but now it had become useless.
Unlike Camilla, I disliked violent solutions, so I sought peaceful resolutions through them.
“Now that the conversation is over, you should head back. I’ll lend you a coachman and some escorts.”
“The conversation isn’t over yet.”
“I have nothing more to say.”
“I know it’s late. But I can’t end the conversation like this… I…!”
Rizel made an indescribable expression and grabbed the hem of my sleeve.
I couldn’t understand. I had given her everything. Now, she had a position where she didn’t have to bow her head to anyone.
I gave her a position close to the top of the empire, as she wanted. So why was she making such a sad face?
“I want to talk more…”
“Rizel.”
“I want to talk harmoniously with you…! Like before… like when we were siblings… so… big brother…”
Tears began to form in Rizel’s eyes.
For a moment, I wanted to wipe them away, but I stopped, knowing she would hate it.
“Come back home… You’re the one who fits the family head’s position.”
“That’s too late now.”
The family head succession ceremony was over, so it would be quite ridiculous to return now.
Besides, I had found some stability in this village, so I said it was too late.
Yet, for some reason, those words seemed to hurt Rizel, who began to look utterly lost.
I didn’t want to see that.
“After all, my words must have hurt you deeply…”
“No.”
I didn’t want to see Rizel crying.
I had fought to avoid seeing that.
To make my fight meaningful, I needed to stop her tears.
“Your words didn’t hurt me at all.”
“What…?”
“Everything you’ve said since that day.”
I spoke to Rizel properly, eye to eye, to comfort her.
To avoid leaving the same regrets as before.
“They didn’t reach my heart at all.”
Those words had just become nourishment for ‘familiarity,’ not affecting my heart much.
“I, I see… I’m sorry. Was I too hasty…?”
Then, as if not wanting to show her face, Rizel quickly turned her back, trembling, and hurriedly left the village.
I had asked the coachman and adventurers separately, so there shouldn’t be any major issues, but something still felt off.
It felt like sediment had settled at the bottom of my heart, hardening into residue, making me a bit uneasy.
What should I call this feeling? Did I say something wrong? I don’t know. I don’t even understand my own heart, so how could I understand Rizel’s?
But when Camilla heard the story, she found it so funny that she clutched her stomach and burst out laughing.
“No, you did well. Very well. Even if it gets resolved later, she needs to experience that much.”
“I don’t understand. What needs to be resolved and experienced?”
“We understand your way of speaking, but that young lady is still inexperienced. Nothing hurts more than a lack of communication, right?”
“… I think it’s a bad habit to speak in riddles only you understand.”
“That’s not a line for you to say.”
She said that and downed a distilled liquor with over 50% alcohol in one go.
“You’re starting to resemble Master.”
“… Do you really want to die?”
“I’m already on the verge of death, so don’t push me.”
“Really, how did I end up with such a fool…”
Camilla, as if her insides were burning, started gulping down the remaining liquor.
Normally, I would have avoided such strong liquor, but today, even this bitter distilled liquor tasted sweet to me.