---

After taking Alphonse to his room, I promised Elena we’d meet tomorrow and turned back toward the Isilia Pavilion.

Upon arriving at the Isilia Pavilion, I walked through the nostalgic corridor lined with portraits of past mistresses. There were many portraits, reflecting the long history of the family, but I only recognized one face.

At the end of that row of portraits hung the portrait of my mother, still covered with a cloth.

Thanks to the painter’s exceptional skill, she looked just as she did in life, so lively that one might think she would get up from her chair at any moment. Naturally, this stirred memories of her that I still held dear.

When I opened the door to the room where Alphonse had been, I saw the familiar arrangement of furniture.

Though several years had passed, this place remained unchanged, just as it was back then.

However, perhaps because Alphonse had just been here, the bed’s covers were somewhat rumpled, and something that looked to have been hastily hidden beneath the pillow was sticking out.

As I approached the bed and lifted the pillow, I found an old book that appeared to have been left halfway through reading.

The handwriting was familiar.

No, it wasn’t just the handwriting; the contents inside felt familiar too.

This was Arwen, my mother’s diary.

I had occasionally seen her writing something alone back in the day, but whenever I asked about it, she would always say it was a secret and never showed me that book. I had forgotten about it until now, but it seemed Alphonse had found it left here in my mother’s room.

The writing began after Damian was born, but it was not consistently written.

It felt like she only wrote on days when something special happened, capturing her intense feelings from those times. Because of that, it was easy for me to recall memories from the past as I read.

The Damian mentioned in her writing wasn’t me, but her memories with me were clearly imprinted here.

What I felt from this writing wasn’t a sense of loss for my mother’s absence, but rather happiness for being able to recall the warmth I felt in the past. However, not everyone reading the same writing would have the same thoughts, and Alphonse might have felt differently than I did.

Arwen Kraus passed away when Alphonse was just two years old.

At that time, a plague was sweeping through the south, and it was the cause of her passing. Many people died before a cure was developed, and among them was the mistress of the Kraus family.

A two-year-old baby like Alphonse wouldn’t remember anything about his mother.

When Alphonse saw this diary without any memory of her, he probably felt the absence of their mother even more acutely than I did.

Perhaps it was because he stood between a brother and a father who couldn’t forget a mother he never knew.

For Alphonse, who lost his mother at such a young age, our family consisted only of me and my father. Yet those people who could be considered his only family were already searching for the shadow of someone who had left.

We could reminisce, but we must not be consumed by that shadow.

Perhaps knowing this fact is why my father forbade Alphonse from coming to the Isilia Pavilion. But that was not for Alphonse’s benefit.

What about me? Could I say I was a good brother to Alphonse?

Impossible.

It was too late to realize that now and say I was a good brother.

Saying I needed to prepare for the future that awaited me was just an excuse.

Let’s admit it honestly.

Unlike the villain I am, Alphonse had his future ahead of him as a hero, so I was indifferent to him.

*

I left the Isilia Pavilion, holding my mother’s diary.

Though I possessed a physique that could be described as superhuman, my body lacked strength. The small diary in my hand felt like it weighed as much as a heavy steel beam.

If I knew I had made a mistake, I should correct it.

However, having a family and being someone’s brother was all new to me in this life. I wasn’t familiar with the ideal image of an older brother, and even if I were to change, I didn’t think I could fill all the emptiness that child felt.

Having set down the heavy stone of my engagement with Elena, another stone rolled in and weighed down my heart. Yet this was due to my own mistakes, not some destiny.

As I walked lost in thought, pondering what to do, I quickly arrived in front of my room, where Ken appeared as if he had been waiting for me.

“Master. You seem troubled today as well.”

“Oh? Ken, what are you doing here?”

“I was waiting for you as your personal attendant. But why do you look so gloomy, like the sky on a rainy day? Oh, if it’s about Lady Edelweiss, you need not worry. The young lady is already deeply infatuated with you…”

“It’s not like that.”

Does this guy assume that if I’m feeling down, it must be related to Elena?

Seeing the cheeky smile on the old butler’s face, my heavy mood lifted a little. Come to think of it, it was probably Ken and Maria who had observed Alphonse and me the longest. So, perhaps Ken knew the answers to this dilemma.

But I couldn’t bring myself to ask Ken about it.

If those two had noticed something strange about Alphonse, they likely would have informed us right away. Furthermore, it wouldn’t have been in Maria’s nature to leave Alphonse unattended.

With Maria’s personality, she would surely have taken pity on Alphonse, who didn’t know his mother, and would have been caring and considerate. Yet still, Alphonse’s emotional wounds hadn’t healed.

To resolve this, it wasn’t enough for outsiders; family had to step in directly. I felt that certainty.

Then a man’s face came to mind.

As I envisioned that face, I immediately said to Ken, “Ken. Please go tell father that it’s been a while since I wanted to spar a bit.”

“Pardon? All of a sudden? But given your current state, are you sure that’s alright? You often end up resembling a slime even when you’re in good condition. You seem very tired today; would it not be better to rest and do it tomorrow?”

Ken replied with a worried expression.

“I’m fine. I don’t intend to push myself as usual today.”

I just wanted to have a ‘conversation’ with my father. Upon hearing this, Ken had no choice but to nod, saying he understood.

“This could be problematic when it comes to cleaning up afterward.”

“I don’t intend to do anything like that…”

“Even if you say so, consider your father’s personality; it’s unlikely to end normally, is it? Still, please be as careful as possible. Lady Edelweiss might be taken aback.”

“I’ll try to keep the noise down.”

“No, I meant to say, please don’t get hurt. If you end up in a bloody mess, what will happen to the young lady?”

“…..”

I found myself speechless.

After a moment, Ken headed off to inform my father, and I walked toward the training grounds behind the castle.

*

As a noble family of a renowned martial lineage, the Kraus family had several training grounds. Among them, the one situated right behind the inner castle was exclusively for the use of the Kraus bloodline; even knights who had sworn allegiance under the house’s name were prohibited from entering.

Upon arriving at the training grounds, I selected one of the practice weapons prepared at the back.

A spar is a spar. There’s no need for live steel when no lives are at stake. In the past, there were many who lost their lives using real swords, which is why they began to use practice swords without sharpened edges.

Still, one could consider practice swords similar to live blades if wielded by swordmasters capable of channeling their aura.

The wait wasn’t long.

The mana, which had been subtly still, started to stir. It seemed as if the flowing mana, meant to be free, was being drawn toward something powerful, concentrating in one place.

“Welcome?”

At the heart of that massive flow stood a man.

The Sword Master.

The overwhelming presence of one who had reached that exalted level was unmistakably revealed.

“Indeed. However, to think you were the first to request a spar… how surprising. Have you had some kind of epiphany?”

My father looked intrigued, and I shook my head in denial.

“No, not that. I just wanted to have a conversation with you after a long time and found a need for an outlet for frustration.”

 

---