59. Romance Fantasy Means Festival, Festival Means… (1)

Bang!

‘Bothering me? What nonsense is that.’

After parting with Barbarossa, I entered my private study and frantically read books. It was the annual genealogy of kingdom nobles that I had selected beforehand.

A person who married at age nine.

A person who married at age ten.

The younger the age of marriage, the more likely it was that their parents had died early. They had welcomed new guardians through marriage. Among the unusual cases recorded in the noble genealogy, there were even instances where marriage was chosen instead of adoption.

A noble girl who became an orphan at eleven with no relatives to protect her married a marquis who was at least twenty years her senior, but this marriage was a fake one.

When the woman became an adult, the original husband personally found her a new husband and gave her a clean divorce.

For the second marriage, she took the same dowry she had brought to her first marriage at eleven.

Through this method, the girl’s relatives couldn’t touch the inheritance her parents had left behind. A legal husband was a better guardian than blood relatives.

In reality, the noble genealogy simply stated who married whom and when, and the circumstances surrounding these marriages had to be referenced from history books.

“This person became a lord at age nine and welcomed a ten-year-old wife, and because they married so young, the two lived happily like siblings for their entire lives. Both when they were young and when they grew older. Just like real siblings.”

〈You have to love me.〉

〈No matter how we got married, spouses love each other, right?〉

She shook her head vigorously to erase the voices echoing in her mind.

‘Spouses must love each other? What nonsense is that!’

Look. Darius said married couples naturally come to love each other.

But there were so many real cases where people lived well without romance.

People search for love because they immerse themselves in the roles of husband and wife. All you need is a bond between people for them to be family!

「Anette.」

Sylphid looked at her with pitying eyes.

“Next time Darius brings up love again, I’ll shut him up with this.”

「Anette.」

“Why are you looking at me with eyes that say ‘you’re forcefully denying something that’s true’?”

Sylphid removed the noble genealogy that she was clutching like a sacred object. No, my case collection!

「I’m not interested in human history. I know it better than you do. What I’m curious about is when you’re going to study spirits. Have you forgotten your promise to me?」

Gasp, she inhaled sharply. Oh right! I promised!

The Wind Spirit King’s power that I had freely used to reform Barbarossa came with a price.

Sylphid was now looking at her like a parent who had discovered a pile of vacation homework hidden under the bed the day before school started.

Darius and everything else no longer mattered.

“Who said I forgot! I’ll do everything when the time comes! Ah, I was actually going to do it today, but you forced me and now I don’t want to!”

「Again! Again! You’re a smart kid, but whenever I try to make you study, you always act like this. Is this for my benefit? It’s all for your own good!」

“What do you mean ‘always’? That’s not true! I was really going to do it, but you brought it up and now I’ve lost the motivation! Wow, you’re a genius at ruining the mood.”

There was a downside to having the Wind Spirit King as a parent.

He could nag me in surround sound from both sides even if I covered my ears.

“Don’t waste your abilities on nagging!”

「I’m saying all this because I care about you, so listen to me who has lived at least a day longer than you! Don’t struggle later when you grow up!」

What’s the point of me studying spirits diligently? Is there anything more to it than being able to nag more effectively like you?

“This is why I don’t want to do it!”

After a while of Sylphid chasing me around and nagging, I completely forgot my original worries. What’s the use of talking about it? I lost in the end.

「Shut out external sounds. Close your eyes and focus on the sounds coming from within you. Meditation begins there. When you can hear all sounds while not hearing any sounds, you will be able to find the spirit power within you.」

As the Spirit King grandfather started the lesson despite my refusal, I eventually closed my eyes and sat with proper posture. And tried to concentrate.

Sylphid kept instructing me to find the power flowing within me.

「Try to maintain a peaceful equanimity. Wind is invisible. Imagine a vast prairie and the flow of air that shakes it. That is wind.」

Hmm, wind pouring over a prairie.

「The wind coming down from the mountain range will carry a cold energy and bring new tidings to the beings on the ground. The wind crossing a river will be laden with moisture.」

A scene both peaceful and dynamic.

I imagined that nature, and imagined, and imagined, and at the end of my imagination…

Snooore.

Nod, nod.

「Don’t sleep!」

“Tch, I wasn’t sleeping! You told me not to make any noise and concentrate!”

I wiped away the drool I almost spilled and shamelessly lied that I was just about to reach a higher level.

Let go of tension and keep regulating your breath. Who wouldn’t fall asleep in that situation? And what’s with all that incomprehensible muttering? That’s why people fall asleep.

Sylphid lamented.

「You’re overflowing with talent but refuse to study, and when I finally coax you to sit down, you just sleep.」

“Who said I’d naturally awaken just by sitting down? Ah, you need to make sense. ‘Hear all sounds while not hearing any sounds’? Are you going to keep talking nonsense? Does that make any sense? Does it?”

「What’s so difficult about that! It’s all because you haven’t been studying diligently! If you had, you would understand.」

“If a student has so much potential but hasn’t shown results so far, isn’t that all the teacher’s problem? I think your lectures are too convoluted.”

Even a cult leader would make more sense!

Bleh, I stuck out my tongue.

I focused on spirit training under Sylphid’s guidance to go beyond just summoning a sylph and reach a higher level, but whether it was impossible to get full from the first spoonful or not, the results weren’t good.

But this teacher, while saying “Spirit training is something where progress stalls and then one day you suddenly have an awakening…” was dying of frustration watching me struggle.

How am I supposed to concentrate with a teacher who’s so anxious? Huh?

「The kid I taught before wasn’t like this. When I taught him one thing, he understood ten.」

“Yes, yes, let’s end the morning training with this. I need to go to Darius now.”

Knock, knock, I heard Apple’s knock from outside, signaling her presence.

It was the sound of my release from this hopeless spirit training.

“Madam, the lord is waiting for you to attend the meeting.”

A cold breeze was felt behind Apple as she opened the door and entered. It was fully autumn.

Harvest autumn. Even in the poor Inkheart, hearts warmed in spring when the harsh cold retreated and in autumn when grain kernels were piled in the storehouses.

“I’ll be right there, thank you.”

As I was about to pass by, I noticed Apple wearing an accessory I hadn’t seen before and asked.

“Apple, what’s that ribbon on your wrist?”

“I just bought it. Is it pretty? Does it suit me?”

“Yes. It’s pretty, but why a ribbon all of a sudden?”

Apple blushed and twisted her body.

“This is a secret…… I’m seeing someone. So we’re going on a date during the festival.”

“Who is it? Is it someone I know? Someone from our castle?”

“We’re just getting to know each other. I won’t say any more.”

How curious.

“It’s not someone from the mercenary group, is it?”

There’s a dangerous character there whom I wouldn’t recommend as a boyfriend for anyone close to me. Actually, as long as it’s not Barbarossa, I approve of whoever my precious maid wants to date.

Apple didn’t answer and just giggled, “Heehee.”

I guess it’s not him. That’s good.

On my way to the meeting room, I could feel the excitement in everyone I met.

“I’m going to take leave during the festival. I’ve been working without a single day off until now, saving it for this time.”

“Lucky you. Do you have someone to meet?”

The maids’ conversation made me smile involuntarily.

Everyone was excited preparing for the fun festival, though the actual staff in charge were about to burst their heads.

* * *

“During the autumn harvest festival, the Grand Duke and Lady Anette will appear before the people. The festival officially begins with speeches from both of you.”

Sir Lucion explained while mapping out how the lord and lady should move safely among the gathered crowd.

“I’ve arranged the security personnel in three shifts on standby.”

Festivals bring in many people. While it helps stimulate the economy, it must be a nightmare for those in charge of security.

Following his words, Rose Temeri, who didn’t consider her brother’s troubles her own, spoke cheerfully.

Despite her appearance, Rose Temeri was an experienced member of the ‘Inkheart Autumn Festival Committee.’

“Before, when madam wasn’t here, I gave the congratulatory speech as the lady of Inkheart territory! But this year, you will be by brother Darius’s side, Lady Anette.”

If the Rose Temeri who used to stand by Darius’s side as Inkheart’s representative lady giving congratulatory speeches was the same as the child next to me now, she would have hated me very much, but her eyes looking at me now were full of sparkles.

“After your speech, play with me. There will be lots of fun things.”

“You’re busy, Madam.”

“I didn’t ask Sir Lucion. Madam, if you have any questions about the speech, please call me anytime.”

I patted Rose’s head as she linked her arm with mine.

Anyone watching might think I was her real family, not Lucion. But…

‘She’s cute, so it’s fine.’

Anyway, Rose was cute, and that was enough.