TCHB 23

Chapter 23

“……What is all this?”

The next day, countless letters arrived in front of me. And they were from all sorts of families.

What kind of chaos has broken out since yesterday?! I mean, is being able to use a sword and a bit of magic really that big a deal?!
Okay, it looks like a big deal—but it’s not! At least not by my standards!

“There are even marriage proposals and tea party invitations,” Lina said. “I think the rumors spread because of your magic and sword skills, Miss, plus the Duke of Serbia visiting yesterday and the fact that you stayed at Duke Richard’s estate for about a month before. They’re probably trying to get on your good side. Well, of course, most of them are probably because you’re pretty and kind too!”

At Lina’s words, I immediately burned all those scraps of paper to ashes with magic.

Looking at Lina calling my name in shock and Heather staring at me with wide eyes, I curved my eyes prettily into a smile.

“I’m not getting married! I’m going to live with Lina, Heather, Mom, and Dad!”

I couldn’t be bothered to read and reply to each one, so I brushed it off with some half-hearted aegyo. I’d gotten used to doing this sort of thing.

Why had I gotten used to it again?

Clinging to the two of them while acting cute, I briefly recalled the past. I’d once relied on aegyo just to survive Kiel. And because of that, acting cute had now become as natural as breathing.

Ah, seriously. I was trying not to think about it. Why does everything lead back to Kiel?!

I slipped out of their arms. I told Lina to call Ventus and asked Heather to brew some tea.

Right on time—or maybe already on his way—Ventus entered the room. After sending Lina out, I spoke.

“Let’s go.”

“Where to?”

“To the Kingdom of Hedeliron. Their desserts are famous.”

I said it seriously, and Ventus chuckled.

As if he didn’t like desserts himself. I shot him an annoyed look, but his laughter was contagious, and I ended up laughing along with him.

“Your hand.”

“…Huh? We don’t need to hold hands, do we?”

“You never know.”

—Ventus… how impure.

At the holy sword’s words, Ventus glared at it. I watched the two of them in confusion, then took his hand.

And so, my dream—living as a rich, unemployed person—began.

“Alena.”

“Told you how many times—call me Shuri. Alena doesn’t exist in this world anymore.”

After rubbing my aching chest, I locked the door of the house I currently lived in.

It had been almost five years since I left the count’s estate—five years and one month, to be exact.

The time when the duke and duchess would die was slowly approaching.

At first, I’d left the ducal house in a fit of anger, fed up with the idea that I had to seduce Kiel.

Even though traveling was incredibly fun, Kiel kept lingering in my thoughts. I couldn’t figure out the right timing to go back, and I worried he might have forgotten me.

The Kiel who hadn’t visited me even once when I was sick—would he even care about me? Ugh, thinking about it again just makes me angry!

Get out of my memories, you cold-hearted bastard! Anyway, once I save the duchess and disappear, we won’t meet again… it’ll be fine.

When I set out on my journey, leaving Kiel behind, I’d only left a single note, so I kept in touch with my parents through letters during my travels.

They’d been shocked when they learned through my letters that I could use magic. But when I told them that meant I could take on an adult form, they gave permission surprisingly quickly.

The biggest factor was that Ventus—who could change his appearance to an adult—and I returned to the count’s estate once to formally ask for permission.

That had been hilarious…

“Ventus is unwell right now and staying in the capital, and this is Ventus’s older brother—uh, Ventusu! We’re traveling together, so don’t worry!”

I’d invented a brother out of thin air and even named him Ventusu. It sounded like something out of baseball.

Even after granting permission, the longer I stayed away, the more my parents urged me to come home out of worry. They say no parent can beat their child—and that really was the case.

“So what? He’s still short and loves food just the same.”

“I’m not short! I grew a lot, you know?!”

I’d grown 28 centimeters in five years! Of course, when going out, I switched to my adult form.

Naturally, traveling as children would’ve been dangerous, so whenever we explored places, we always took on adult appearances.

First was the dessert-famous Kingdom of Hedeliron. Then a charming small island nation surrounded by the sea. After that, the Habrion Empire, nearly as large as our own empire.

And now, we were in the Kingdom of Asiltaon—a place that loves animals and nature, with mild weather all year round. It was perfect for healing, surrounded by cute animals.

“Fine, let’s say that.”

Ventus chuckled.

It wasn’t “let’s say that”—it was true. Turning my head in disbelief, I quickened my pace, increasing the distance between us.

“Rena, are you sulking at Ben again?”

Mr. Aton, the fruit vendor, tossed out the question. Smiles instantly spread across the faces of passersby in the busy street.

We were using aliases here. I was Rena, and Ventus was Ben.

At home, I preferred using my real name, so I only used the alias outside. Why? Because it was the easiest name to answer to.

It felt like reaffirming who “I” was.

“Not at all.”

“Sure, sure. That’s what I’ll believe. Siblings grow up fighting. Here—this is for you.”

Mr. Aton tossed me an apple, which I caught easily.

Ah, right—another thing I forgot to mention. We were pretending to be family. I was the older sister, and Ventus was the younger brother.

Just so there’s no misunderstanding, we decided this through a very serious, fate-determining game of rock–paper–scissors. Best of three.

“Older sister. Are you upset?”

“I’m not upset, so shut it. Everything I ate today is about to come back up.”

Covering my mouth, I mimed gagging.

Whenever we went out, Ventus spoke formally to me, and I hated it every time. They say people die if they suddenly change—but then again, he’s a dragon.

“Hm, yet you never actually do that.”

“Stop it. It’s awkward.”

When I replied stiffly, the people around us burst into laughter at our strange, awkward exchange.

It struck me then—how long we’d lived here, how close we’d grown to the people. That must be why we could laugh together like this.

“Rena, noona!”

“Huh? Oh—Eugene.”

Turning at the familiar voice, I saw Eugene—nineteen years old, four years younger than my adult-looking self, who claimed to be twenty-three.

He was smiling brightly as always, wearing a silly, adorable grin. His light brown hair and brown eyes always reminded me of a golden retriever.

What type was Kiel again? If I had to say—maybe a cute Pomeranian with the personality of a proud cat? Wait, why am I thinking about Kiel again?! Go away, Kiel!

“Good morning!”

“It’s lunchtime,” Ventus corrected flatly.

Despite Ventus’s blunt tone, Eugene cheerfully tried again.

“Good afternoon!”

At his look—clearly fishing for praise—I smiled awkwardly and reached out to pat his head. Unfortunately, Ventus blocked me.

“Be—en!”

Dragging out Ventus’s alias, Eugene complained, then turned back to me.

Even if he looked at me like that, my wrist was firmly held by Ventus. When I gave an awkward smile, Eugene quickly looked dejected.

Cute…

“Noona, are you busy today?”

Translated automatically: Do you have time today?

Um… well… When I glanced at Eugene, Ventus mouthed, No.

Today was actually a day I’d set aside for Ventus. That sounded weird, but anyway.

I’d been here almost two years now, and it felt strange to just have money coming in without doing anything. So to stay active, I’d temporarily taken up work as a mercenary.

It was mostly easy jobs—clearing monsters near borders or capturing wanted criminals—so calling it a “profession” felt like a stretch. Others might say it wasn’t easy, but… let’s skip that.

Anyway, after work I was usually so tired that I’d just laze around my room and fall asleep after eating, so the time I spent with him had decreased quite a bit.

“Well, today is kind of…”

When I smiled awkwardly, Eugene started digging himself deeper and deeper into despair.

“No, it’s fine. You’re always busy and tired—I’d probably just bother you anyway… I kept waiting for you to have time, but Ben is family, so I understand he comes first. I understand, but… you don’t dislike me, right? The last few times I brought cake to your place, Ben said you weren’t home every time…”

“Wait.”

I stopped Eugene, who was no longer digging with a shovel but with an excavator straight into an underground tunnel.

“First, Eugene—I don’t dislike you. Sometimes you’re a bit much, but if I truly found you annoying or hated you, you wouldn’t even be able to talk to me. Second, I didn’t even know you came to our house. And after work, I’m always home. That must’ve been… Ben’s mistake.”

Eugene’s eyes widened. He bit his lip lightly and lowered his head.

“There’s really… no escape, is there. I can’t give up…”

I tilted my head at his muttering but let it go. When I looked at Ventus, he was glaring at Eugene with an extremely displeased expression.

“Ben!”

A bright voice called out from behind. Ventus didn’t even have time to turn around.

Because the woman who called him—Rien—had hugged him from behind, clinging to him.

Wow. Hot stuff in broad daylight.

“Don’t hug me.”

Ventus immediately escaped her arms, his face twisted in disgust. I burst out laughing. Even the holy sword joined in.

—Look at that face! Hahaha!

With our laughter, Ventus’s face naturally turned red.

The problem was that Rien misunderstood, thinking she’d made him blush, and tried to hug him again. Ventus dodged, and Rien ended up falling.

“Ugh.”

“Are you okay?”

I reached out my hand worriedly, but Rien slapped it away.

She always does this. Does she really hate only me? When I offered my hand again, she snorted.

“You offer your hand again after I slapped it away? Are you stupid?”

“Still, getting up comes first. No matter what, sitting on the ground in a white dress will ruin the skirt.”

When I smiled, Rien’s face twisted in frustration.

I just wanted to get along, but it wasn’t easy. She ignored my hand and stood up, brushing dirt off her knees and hips.

“Ben! Go on a date with me today!”

“I already have plans.”

“With who? Don’t tell me—with her?”

Rien pointed at me with her index finger.

Pointing fingers, huh… Should I get angry once so she snaps out of it? I’d held back because she seemed to like Ventus.

“Rien!”

Eugene shouted her name. Her expression crumpled instantly.

“Eugene, don’t embarrass yourself. Watching you drool over that woman is disgusting. And a woman mercenary? Ha! As if she’s that good with a sword. Ridiculous.”

At Rien’s smug expression, I immediately pressed the holy sword against her neck.

No one saw when or how I moved.

“W-What is this?! What are you doing?!”

“How does it feel—almost getting cut by a sword wielded by a mercenary who ‘can’t be that good’?”

I smiled gently as I withdrew the sword, and the area fell silent in an instant.

Who dares judge my sword?

When I stepped closer, Rien instinctively stepped back.

Should I scare her a little more? Or stop here? As I smiled and pondered, she shouted at me.

“Do you know who my f-father is?! You think you’ll be safe after doing this?!”

“Pfft—hah… seriously.”

Bending over as I laughed, Rien clamped her mouth shut.

Straightening up, I put on a proper social smile and moved gracefully closer to her.

“I never even revealed my family name. What if I’m a princess of the empire? A marquis’s daughter? A count’s daughter—what then?”

Leaning down slightly, I whispered so only she could hear.

She was the daughter of a viscount in this kingdom. And me? A count’s daughter of the empire. It was obvious who held the higher status.

“If you understand, go home quietly. It’ll already be humiliating enough that you were defeated by a ‘mere’ mercenary.”

I spoke gently, wearing a benevolent smile that was really a mockery.

Tilting my head slightly, I saw Ventus and Eugene in my field of vision—both frozen in shock. It was amusing.

“B-Ben… take me home. Please…”

Rien clutched Ventus’s sleeve. I watched expressionlessly.

Maybe it was too much for a young lady to experience. But I didn’t regret it.

In Alena’s life, I’d risked my life with a sword, and saved countless lives with it. The sword had given me both bad and good memories. Alena’s life had been completely intertwined with sword and magic.

So asking me how good I was with a sword was the same as denying that entire life.

Still, pointing a sword at her wasn’t exactly right either.

“…Ben. Take her home. I’ll walk around with Eugene for a bit. And… Rien.”

She flinched at her name.

“I’m sorry for suddenly drawing my sword. But I’d like you to apologize for mocking me by saying a mercenary like me couldn’t be that good with a sword.”

At my words, all eyes turned to Rien. Some sighed; others rubbed their foreheads.

She barely managed to nod.

“…I’m… sorry.”

She trembled as she spoke. It looked pitiful—but that was all. I just hoped she wouldn’t treat others so rudely in the future.

“Ben, please. And Eugene, could you spend some time with me?”

“Huh? Yes! Of course!”

Eugene answered twice as energetically as usual, trying to lighten the mood.

I apologized to everyone for causing trouble and did my best to restore the atmosphere. Then, to Ventus, I clasped my hands together and mouthed a sincere apology.

What is this—one incident a day? I’m exhausted.

As the mood finally eased, I walked off with Eugene.