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Dear my dear friend Damian,

Ah, I was told not to use this expression. Sorry about that.

But if I erase it now, it’ll only make the paper dirtier, so I think I’ll just leave it. Finding new paper is a hassle anyway.

As you pointed out in your last reply, the first line was too cringeworthy, yet whenever I grab a pen, I can’t help but write this way. It’s such a long-standing habit that it doesn’t change easily. Habits can be quite scary, you know. If there are any mushy expressions scattered throughout, I hope you’ll just brush past them.

By the way, it’s been almost a year since we started exchanging letters.

It’s quite bothersome to fool around with a pen outside of work, but it’s been a somewhat enjoyable time. Father didn’t encourage me to make friends for nothing. Thanks to you, it feels like I’ve gained another way to breathe in this stuffy place.

Of course, every time I remember that the one receiving my letters isn’t a beautiful lady but a guy like you, it does sting a little. But at least I had an excuse to chat, right?

As you know, our father tends to be a bit strict with his children, but he’s quite lenient in this regard.

Seeing that he’s slowly starting to pull me from work, it seems he intends for me to focus on my studies from this year onward. No matter how close the academy is to the palace, honestly, balancing study and work feels a bit unfair.

Well, enough of that; let’s get back to the topic we talked about last time.

I agree with your opinion that there may still be rat-like creatures left in the capital.

Perhaps a few of those ministers who constantly annoy me could be their underlings. Ah, this isn’t a joke. It’s a conclusion I’ve come to after some thought. It’s a shame I don’t have solid proof, though.

Still, what you mentioned about the academy was completely unexpected.

After all, where is Estellia Academy? It’s known as the Sanctuary of Learning alongside the Seven Magic Towers. The requirements for staff there are quite strict, so I must have overlooked that aspect entirely.

However, experiencing the cleaning myself this time made me realize something. Those guys are hiding in places you’d never expect. Well, they’ve been around for as long as the history of the imperial family, so even if it’s the academy, there might be a few who’ve snuck in pretending to be teachers. It must be at that level to have survived for so long, right?

As the time to enroll in the academy approaches, I’ve seen a truly diverse range of requests for approvals regarding that matter.

Naturally, the first topic that comes up when the new semester starts is funding. I focused on filtering out those who’ve been outside the academy lately or have unclear reasons for outings.

With several faculty members to consider, including part-time instructors and various job positions, it became somewhat cumbersome. But splitting the workload with Noel made me uneasy, so I ended up doing it alone.

Ah, this isn’t to toot my own horn.

The names listed here are simply those who raised my suspicions. Therefore, the number of names can’t be helped. It’s definitely not a sign of the imperial family’s incompetence.

But I remembered to note down only those who would be useful to remember, so don’t forget the names written here. For now, these are just for recognition.

We can discuss the new info regarding the temporary staff in detail when we meet.

Given the nature of the information, sending it via letter feels a bit off, and if I were to inscribe it like this, I’d have to write it all myself, which is quite a task. Anyway, you’ll have to come to Ruden for your admission, so this will likely be my last letter to you this year.

Let’s chat next time in person, my friend.

But let’s not focus solely on serious matters when we meet.

There’s a new board game I got recently, so it would be good to play that when we meet. It’s a game that really demands some brainwork, so I’m confident I could win even with Elena as a substitute.

The rest is just a letter from Noel as usual. I don’t think it requires any protection spells, so don’t toss it out just because I didn’t write it.

Honestly, the content is almost the same as last time, so you might as well not read it.

No, still read it and write me a response. Otherwise, it’ll become a nuisance for me.

My fingers are starting to ache.

There are still plenty of things left to discuss, but let’s save those for a face-to-face conversation. I’ll arrange to go with Noel if I send someone to the palace. Anyway, I look forward to the day when we can see each other in Ruden again, sooner rather than later.

Your friend.

*

The flow of time is indeed quite relative.

Sometimes it feels like it’s moving very slowly, and at other times, it seems to be racing by.

Just looking at the stack of letters piled in front of me shows that much.

At first, there were only one or two sheets, but now it fills a whole drawer, making me ponder how time slipped by so quickly. Considering that we’ve exchanged letters approximately every two weeks, I can imagine how much time has passed since then.

I close the drawer and turn my gaze to the window.

The fog on the glass and the snow falling beyond it show a different scenery than before.

Even after the season has changed three times, it doesn’t feel like that much time has truly passed. In fact, it feels like time has sped up compared to before.

Someone once told me that when a person feels happiness, they perceive that time passes more quickly. While my time with Father and Alphonse wasn’t unhappy, it seems to have accelerated with the addition of Elena.

If there hadn’t been any special events in the winter until the New Year, maybe I’d have thought my luck ran dry at the start of the year.

It’s just the monotony of everyday life, a series of peaceful and happy days without significant incidents. If I think about how to spend the remainder of my life, these would be the most fitting examples.

If you ask whether there’s been any progress in my relationship with Elena, that would be a separate matter, but every day seems special enough that I’d rather not include it.

I flipped through Noel’s letter and glanced at another one still sealed.

The wax sealing it bears the image of a wolf standing beneath three stars, the emblem of the Duke House of Edelweiss.

Naturally, seeing this would bring to mind Joachim, the head of the Edelweiss family as the sender, but surprisingly, this letter isn’t from him. It’s unlikely for a letter from Joachim in the North to arrive along with one from Orcus so far from Ruden.

“Haah… why am I so nervous about this?”

Given that there are people from the Edelweiss house currently in Ruden, figuring out the sender’s identity isn’t hard.

The name was also mentioned in Orcus’s letter earlier; currently, in Ruden, there’s Elteman Edelweiss and his mother, who would be my mother-in-law and brother-in-law.

Knowing Elteman’s personality, I don’t think he would write a letter, so this must be from my mother-in-law.

With less than a month until the academy entrance, it’s only natural for a letter to arrive from family since Elena and I will be going to Ruden soon.

Still, it feels a bit odd. I’ve grown accustomed to the conversations with Joachim and witnessing countless disputes with my father, but having yet to meet my mother-in-law makes me feel a strange pressure emanating from this unopened letter.

In the original work, Elteman and Joachim were rarely mentioned, almost absent, so I feel more like I’m dealing with the concept of a mother-in-law rather than a character from the story.

I hadn’t even met her at the engagement, so I even wondered if she might dislike me, but I’ve since realized that the meaning of an engagement in this world isn’t very significant, and I’ve shelved those thoughts.

If she really disliked me, she wouldn’t have permitted the engagement in the first place, right?

Last year, Elteman was busy preparing for graduation from the Golden Tower, so she must have been pretty busy supporting him. That’s likely why there’s been a lack of contact, not just with Elena, but with Joachim as well.

But now that Elteman has been appointed as an academy assistant professor, she must have a bit more leisure time. Hence, writing this letter is justifiable.

Still, the timing of a letter from my mother-in-law now feels a bit out of the ordinary, as I have no information about her. I have no way of knowing what she thinks of me.

Last time, Elena and Joachim mentioned that the other family members don’t view me negatively, but can I take their word for it?

“Ugh… I can’t open this.”

Of course, knowing that logically doesn’t completely dispel the unease, so I was unable to break the seal of this letter. Naturally, I was curious about what was inside, but the trembling overtook that curiosity.

I don’t think I felt this nervous even with Joachim’s letter.

It seems that, unlike with Joachim, the lack of presence from the original story makes me think more in terms of “mother-in-law” than as just another character.

Holding Noel’s letter in one hand along with the still-sealed envelope, I headed toward Elena.

Just to clarify, this is absolutely not me trying to escape.

How could an outsider open a letter before family? Reading the letter first would be a blatant breach of etiquette. Undoubtedly, Elena would be happy to receive a letter from her mother after such a long time.

Although my name is written as the recipient on the envelope, who can say that the contents inside would be the same?

“Oh, Damian. Mother says we can stay at the Edelweiss villa instead of the Kraus family’s secondary residence when we come to Ruden. She mentioned that since your older brother’s been less home since his appointment, it’s felt a bit lonely…”

Someone once said that whatever will happen will happen, so there’s no need to avoid it, just accept it.

Right now, that feels incredibly relevant to my situation.

 

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