116 – There Are No Parents Who Can Win Against Their Child

The investiture ceremony concluded with surprising haste.

Merely a few benedictory words echoing from the veiled Saintess,

a nimbus of light blooming behind her,

and the Emperor, with a sword cleansed in holy water,

tapping my shoulders twice. That was it.

“Jennison, by my name, Siegfried Pravel, I bestow upon thee the title of Baron.”

“….”

“Thy strength shall be wielded for the Empire,

and thy fealty must be directed solely towards me.”

“….”

“Dost thou swear this?”

“..I swear.”

Aside from the somewhat cloying words exchanged now and then,

it was all quite tolerable.

In any case, I wasn’t particularly invested in titles;

Aria’s well-being weighed far heavier on my mind.

I intended to seek her out the very instant this charade concluded.

“Hahaha… so you’re the Jennison I’ve only heard whispers about… or rather, Baron Jennison now?”

“And how fares your acquaintance with my daughter?

I knew of your worth early on, and planned in advance to…”

“Let’s get to the point.

Would you perhaps consider forming a bond with our family─”

Yes, that was certainly my intention.

Until a moment ago.

Before this throng of nobles descended,

I was quite resolved.

“Ahem, dost thou recall me?

I saw thee once when thou wert but four years of age…”

“Oh my… You’ve grown into the very image

I saw within that social gatherings from before?”

“Beholding thee brings to mind the late Lady Reinhardt…”

Men spouting nonsense about a time when I, at four years old,

was barely seen,

elderly women claiming to have witnessed me at social events they never attended,

The noble ladies, they spoke of my mother, who could only lie abed.

Strangers, really, acquaintances barely –

gathering before me like this, eager to strike up conversation.

“Haha… Say, have you… perhaps received anything privately from His Imperial Majesty…?”

“I have matters I’d like to discuss with you in private. Perhaps a visit to my estate sometime soon?”

“…If it wouldn’t be too presumptuous,

I would be honored to extend an invitation to you, to visit our family.”

…Suffocating.

These nobles crowding before me like hounds unleashed.

Their eyes, brimming with every conceivable ambition,

focused upon me, desperate to unearth some connection between myself and the Emperor.

What charm did this mere boy possess, to have so captivated the Emperor’s favor?

Had he perhaps employed some clandestine trick?

Or did I, in truth, hold some hidden

worth that they perceived?

It was as if their thoughts were bleeding into my own.

‘…You can stare all you like, but I did nothing special, really.’

“Stand aside.”

“Hey, who do you think you’re giving orders to… urgh…!”

“…Is there a complaint?”

“N… No, not at all, how could I ever…

address Duke Reinhardt in such a way… haha.”

That was when it happened.

The nobles who had been thronging me

parted like the Red Sea before Moses.

And at the same moment, a man’s voice reached my ears.

“…It’s been a while.”

“…”

A voice, deep and resonant,

that held little welcome for me.

*

The moment Jennison received his title,

the nobles descended upon him like ravenous wolves.

And observing them from afar was a lone man.

“….”

“Reinhardt, have you lost your mind?

Why are you suddenly behaving so out of character?”

He paid no mind to the sharp words spoken from beside him.

The man’s head turns slowly.

Wearing that peculiar, emotionless expression,

neither joyful nor sorrowful.

“…Pay it no mind.”

“As if I’d concern myself with the likes of you?

Just continue what you were doing before.”

“….”

“I’ll hit you for real this time.”

Once more, from Melissa’s small frame,

a blue mana surges.

Directed solely at one person.

Yet, he takes no action.

Truly, no action at all.

Even as the vibrant blue mana,

which merely being near it is enough to provoke, surges around him,

he takes no action,

merely gazing elsewhere.

“What is your game?

Even if you take my attack, there will be no forgiveness—”

“….”

“Uh, wait…hold on, where are you going? Hey?!”

After what felt like endless exchanges,

finally, his body moves.

Though not towards her,

but towards the distant swarm of nobles.

“…Ignoring me has its limits.”

Behind her, an icicle erupts.

Honed, sharpened, refined

into something akin to an arrow.

“I don’t know what you’re so preoccupied with…but…”

And it vanishes.

The arrow of ice that, until moments ago, waited only to be launched.

The mana dancing around her also dissipates,

and she slowly turns her back to him.

Because she saw.

Where he was heading.

And who waited at the end of that path.

‘…Still, I should let her finish.

Though, she’ll probably be chased away quickly.’

*

The old ones, they who had blocked my path,

swept aside, every last one of them, somewhere.

And a regret, forgotten since long ago, came seeking me out.

“…It has been a while.”

“…”

Uttering words, oh, so trite.

The Duke’s face, after all this time,

was no different than before.

If one *had* to quibble, perhaps it was that

I no longer held any expectation of him.

“…I have heard all the rumors concerning you.”

“Have you, now?”

The same impassiveness as before,

yet within it held a subtle gentleness,

and those surrounding us, it seemed,

noticed, their eyes widening.

“Do you resent me?”

A single phrase.

A phrase seeming to hold within it so much meaning, issued from the Duke’s lips.

Still with those eyes devoid of all feeling.

“Then, I asked, do you resent me for giving you that order?”

Resentment, is it.

How should I respond?

Should I unleash my fury, asking if he hadn’t only ever

seen me as a pawn of the family?

Or should I simply, silently, continue this conversation?

Or, failing that, simply and meekly

bow before him?

The silence accompanying my ponderings,

as if it thought to answer in my stead,

caused his mouth to open once more.

“Truly, I have lived through regret upon regret.

Truly, more times than I can count.”

Regret, is it.

A word truly unbecoming of him.

Even now, like this,

he regards me, expressionless.

Where, on that face, could even a trace

of regret remain?

“Why did I do that to you.

Why was I so cruel.

I’ve pondered countless times if there wasn’t another way.”

“….”

“But, the conclusion remained the same.”

His foot, it moved

a step toward me.

Without a single change in expression.

“Even if I could go back to that time,

I would have made the same judgement.”

“..Is that so.”

“Yes, back then you were certainly

worthless enough to make me make that choice.”

They say parents can’t beat their children,

who spouted such nonsense?

Here before me,

is a parent gritting his teeth, desperate to defeat his own child.

A man, clawing and scratching,

trying to prove that his own choice

was the right one.

“I don’t know if you’ll resent me for this, but it is the fate of the Duke—”

“..I know, now.”

“…?”

I answer him then.

Clearly, so that anyone could understand.

That I no longer resent him.

The honor of the family, the responsibility of the Duke, which he always held so dear.

That I can even understand him choosing

me as a sacrifice for all of that.

So, he doesn’t have to explain anymore.

The Duke’s expression, upon hearing my words,

brightened, just a little.

Like a father, watching his young child grow,

with a contented gaze.

“Yes, I’m glad you understand.”

How am I reflected in his eyes?

Am I seen as the proud son, who didn’t spare his own body

for the sake of the family?

Or still, just a convenient pawn to be used?

The almost imperceptible upturn of the Duke’s lip, just so, irritated me fiercely today.

“Then return, you were always of our house.”

As if it were owed him,

he tries to reclaim me.

Like a lost thing, rightfully retrieved.

“And lend that power to the family.

You have grown strong enough, haven’t you?”

Grown strong, you say.

Who is he speaking of?

I haven’t changed since before.

Not even after leaving that house.

I wanted to ask him.

Whether he judges people by their strength.

Whether he desires beasts who live by the law of the jungle, instead of humans who help one another and live together.

More than ever, on this day,

I desperately wanted to ask.

‘…Though I know he’ll answer yes, without a doubt.’

“I will, most generously, permit your return to the family.

Abandon that paltry title. And…”

“….”

“The family should all be together, shouldn’t it?”

A paltry title…

So that’s how you see it.

Without knowing what it means to me.

You could say such words, too.

To return to the family,

to live together as family.

A man capable of such a warm utterance.

Words he could not offer me

when I was much younger.

Words he offers only now.

“…What a load of bullshit—”

“…What?”

“…Ah.”

Damn it. It slipped out.

The word I’d been swallowing as thought alone, the entire conversation.

…This is bad.

I don’t think I’ll ever forget that expression.

In a good way, of course.