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After class, we met Elena and headed towards the mansion.

The first place we decided to visit was our family mansion, to meet Alphonse and take him to the House of Cromel. Since arriving in Ruden, I had only stayed at the House of Edelweiss, so I had never seen what the mansion looked like and was curious about it.

Actually, there were a few more reasons… none other than Lizorote, Reinhardt’s sister.

“Lizorote is excellent at stealth.”

“What does that even mean all of a sudden?”

Why was he suddenly talking about his sister’s stealth skills while bragging about her?

It wouldn’t be strange for the children of a noble martial family like House Cromel to learn martial arts from a young age, but it felt odd to hear Reinhardt say that his sister was better at stealth rather than swordsmanship.

Like most martial families in the Empire, House Cromel is a knightly family.

In fact, they are famous for their swordsmanship.

So introducing a child from such a family as being excellent at stealth seems a bit off. It’s not that I couldn’t understand, but it was rather sudden.

As I looked at him as if to say, “What are you talking about?”, he began to explain the reason.

“We used to play hide-and-seek a lot when we were kids, and since I kept finding her, at some point, she picked it up. Of course, she didn’t play with me anymore after that… but when playing with others later on, she was skilled enough that the castle servants and knights had a hard time finding her.”

“Why not just let her win a little? It’s why your sister won’t play with you.”

When I hit him with the facts, Reinhardt momentarily looked gloomy and stopped talking.

His competitive nature is a problem that knows no bounds.

Though, not completely embarrassed, he cleared his throat a few times and continued.

“…Anyway, this means Lizorote shouldn’t go outside the mansion. She loves wandering around so much that I’ve heard she still sneaks out frequently even after I came here. She’s usually a well-behaved child, but since this is her first time in Ruden, if she were given even the slightest chance, who knows where she might run off to?”

I gestured toward myself and Elena, asking if he still wasn’t feeling relieved, but his resolve was firm. It might be overprotective, but I can somewhat understand why Lizorote wants to go outside so much.

Honestly, it wasn’t really my place to say anything about overprotection.

Alphonse had only been exploring the territory ever since Elena came.

If we’re talking about overprotection, I suppose both him and I are similar. However, seeing that Alphonse hasn’t complained much until now compared to Lizorote, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride as an older brother.

“…? Why are you suddenly smiling?”

“Nothing. It’s fine.”

I brushed off Reinhardt’s words and changed the subject.

While there was surely some reason for him wanting to visit our mansion first, I also thought the presence of our father played a role. It was similar to how Noel was all excited when she first came to our house; he was in a similar situation.

Anyway, our first destination is Kraus Mansion.

Upon arrival, I was surprised to see that the mansion looked so much like our main residence that it felt like it could have been built by the same person. Excluding the servants inside, one could easily mistake it for the main house.

Having never been here before, I had naturally never met the servants, but they all seemed to recognize me due to my appearance. After a simple proof of identity, I finally spotted some familiar faces inside the mansion.

“It’s been a while. How have you all been?”

The first ones I met in the mansion were Robin and Louis.

I knew they were coming here, but seeing them in person made me feel happy. Both of them welcomed me with beaming faces, but their expressions turned to shock when they saw Reinhardt behind me.

They instantly recognized Reinhardt, likely not because they were curious about why he was here, but because his level was higher than they expected.

I think I wrote something about that in my letter, but maybe they didn’t believe it. To be honest, Reinhardt had grown stronger since the first time I met him, so I couldn’t blame them for their reaction.

“Are you two going somewhere?”

Since they were both dressed casually rather than in Knights Order attire, it seemed they were planning to head out.

At my question, Robin wore an exasperated expression and complained to me.

“Well, Louis is going to meet a friend, and he asked me to go with him. I mean, why would a third party tag along to meet a friend? …Ouch! Why are you pinching me?!”

“Please be quiet… um, it’s because of earlier. To greet someone…”

“Oh.”

Hearing Louis, I suddenly recalled that I had an appointment with her in Ruden.

The person I helped out with the Elteman situation last time was Louis’s associate, who had asked me to contact Louis and ask her to visit. Of course, it wasn’t forced, and it was only on the condition that Louis was willing.

Now that I think about it, I vaguely remember mentioning it in a letter.

In a way, I’m the one who set up the appointment, and I can’t believe I forgot about it. I guess I’ve had too much going on recently. I nodded to Louis, indicating I understood, and then looked over at Robin.

He had a face that clearly showed he couldn’t comprehend why he had to go along.

What should I do with this guy?

I shook my head and sent them off.

In cases like this, it’s better for them to figure it out for themselves rather than having a third party explain it. Instead, I patted Robin’s back a few times as he continued to annoy me.

“Ouch! Why are you doing that?”

“Just don’t say anything and hurry up.”

Since I put some force into the pats, it must have hurt quite a bit.

‘I’ll have to ask later what happened.’

After sending the two off, Reinhardt, who was behind me, stood next to me and spoke up.

“Were those two knights of the family? They seem quite polished and not ordinary.”

“Well, of course not. Becoming a knight isn’t something anyone can do.”

He paused for a moment before looking at me intently. It seemed he wanted to say something but wasn’t quite able to express it. Did he realize something after hearing our conversation?

After a brief pause, Reinhardt said, sounding somewhat envious, “…You seem close.”

That came out of nowhere.

This could be misunderstood just by the words alone, but he was envious of me, not those two.

It was a bit surprising, but I understood why he said that. It seemed to imply he wished to be closer with the knights of his family. Given his usual demeanor, it wasn’t hard to see why he’d feel that way.

On the surface, he appears stoic and cold.

Adding to that, with Reinhardt’s sharp aura, it might have been a bit daunting for anyone to approach him, even as a knight. Besides, he is the son of the lord and someone who will be a master in the future, so being stared at with cold eyes in silence must have been quite the pressure.

Once the conversation opens up a bit, it should get better, but the problem is that he rarely speaks first. He might muster up the courage to talk, but it usually happens after forming a bond, so it’s safe to say he doesn’t initiate conversation.

I nudged him with my elbow.

“Don’t worry. You’ve been talking more these days, so the atmosphere is much friendlier than before. The people around you won’t find you so difficult anymore.”

“Is that so…”

“Yeah, and if you want to get closer, you should make an effort to talk first. Don’t just wait for them to approach you. You were the same way when I first met you, staying quiet.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I remember that.”

Reinhardt smiled faintly and nodded, as if recalling that time.

Seeing him smile made me feel like he had changed considerably from his original self. In the original story, it wouldn’t have been strange if all of his dialogue was just ‘……’.

Thinking back, I realize I had considered him the male protagonist due to the way he overlapped with Elena.

Both possessed unique talents compared to others, and their aura felt similar. While it’s different now, in the original story, Elena was only slightly better than Reinhardt, which likely contributed to that strange overlap.

“Well, in reality, they were just bumping heads against each other all along.”

Now that I know more about them, I understand what the scenes in the book actually were and can only find it amusing.

“Speaking of which, Elena too…”

“What were you two talking about that’s so amusing?”

Suddenly startled.

Just as they say, speak of the devil, and she shall appear, Elena walked between me and Reinhardt.

Elena immediately crossed her arms and casually took the seat next to me as if it were her original spot. Since this wasn’t the first time, Reinhardt seemed used to it and naturally relinquished the seat.

“We were just talking about the two people we met earlier. They seemed like excellent knights.”

“Oh.”

She seemed a bit shy about revealing her thoughts to the others, trying to divert the conversation. I nodded along to her words, and she seemed to accept it, especially since she was aware that Reinhardt was obsessed with swords.

“…..”

Given her fabricated excuse, it was easy for Elena to accept, and Reinhardt appeared somewhat hurt by that.

What an annoyingly bothersome fellow he is.

It’s only natural, considering he usually shows no interest in anything other than martial arts.

I suppose I ought to help him cultivate a hobby later on.

 

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