Even a Scoundrel Gets Tired

171 – Is Avoiding the Choice a Postponement? (End)

To state the conclusion first,

Aria did not emerge from her room.

In truth, she might have

come out by now, but

at least until I was waiting before that door,

I did not see her face,

so it would be right to say

that she did not emerge from her room.

An inky darkness rises slowly from within my chest.

A viscous feeling

feels as though it’s oozing

from every pore, every hole, in my body.

Yes, perhaps I could even say I am crestfallen.

Though the extent of it feels, perhaps, a bit

extreme.

Returning directly to the room I was just in, and settling back into my seat,

I lift my gaze,

staring at the oppressively closed-off ceiling.

A white, an unblemished,

pure pearl-like color greeted me, but

my mind was still

so filled with dark hues that it

could not accept

those pristine white shades.

Aria, my younger sister.

My precious, irreplaceable family.

To think that she, who was always said to be overflowing with talent,

and was always

lauded by the family,

became like that because of me…

An inexplicable ache began to settle, heavy, in a corner of my chest.

She was meant to be on a gilded path, that one.

With her talent,

she surely could have entered the Magic Spire.

And, with a bit of deftness,

might even have secured the Magister’s position for herself.

Of course, that Magister’s

seat was no simple thing to claim.

The weight of that title, Magister,

wasn’t something you could carry around

like a handful of marbles.

Still, she would have done it.

Within the ramparts of the Reinhardt family,

one of the four great houses,

receiving every conceivable kind of support,

growing steadily, step by careful step,

then one day, for her to inherit the

title of Magister,

it wouldn’t have been a chimera,

a fanciful dream, that much was clear.

Countless mages would have

flocked to her banner,

and she would have dedicated

herself heart and soul

to acquiring all the

knowledge of this world,

living such a worthwhile life.

Then…what of her now?

She, swearing she’d reveal

the truth of my plight,

exposed everything at the Academy.

Even if it wasn’t something I

ordered her to do,

it doesn’t change the fact that

she became entangled in my affairs.

Thanks to her, my own fate

has eased somewhat, but what of her?

Her and my own father,

Duke Reinhardt, has imprisoned her.

No longer would he allow her to be associated with the family.

It was, in effect, an unspoken message:

*We won’t treat you merely as a prodigy.*

What must she have felt then?

Knowing her own father

had abandoned her brother,

and to correct that fact, even now,

to reveal it to everyone,

she would have to expose her family’s

and her father’s shame before all.

What, truly, must her heart have held?

Knock, knock—

Lost in such

reverie for a time,

a sound reached me

from beyond the door,

a knock.

Someone, no doubt,

with business for me.

For if the source of that tapping

were a servant,

they would have announced

themselves from outside first,

then sought permission before

daring to enter.

Though, perhaps it was

the mansion’s butler.

“You may enter.”

“Actually, I’m already here!”

“…We meet again, young lady.”

When she had entered, I couldn’t say,

but the moment my permission was granted,

Charlotte’s voice,

along with a surge of pink hair,

erupted from behind my chair.

The speed of her ascent

caused her hair to tremble

with energetic agitation.

If this were a game,

her arrival would surely have been accompanied

by a distinct sound effect,

so dramatic was her entrance.

“It’s been a while!…Though perhaps ‘a while’ is a bit much, considering we just saw each other?”

“Indeed, it would seem so.”

Clearly, applying the phrase

‘It’s been a while’

To our acquaintance felt rather strained.

As she said, we’d practically

Seen each other’s faces this morning.

If anything,

One might worry this was

Becoming far too frequent.

‘…Did young ladies normally

Have so much time to spare?’

“You departed so swiftly after

Gathering your belongings, was there

Some reason for your return?”

“The Duchess Charlotte

Requested my presence, you see.”

A voice bubbling,

Almost bouncing with energy.

A stark contrast to

The heavy, sinking feeling within me.

My own voice, therefore,

Was inevitably swallowed

By her ebullience.

Perhaps it was her

Experience in society,

But she seemed to sense my mood,

Tilting her head slightly.

“..Really? Hmm…Father did?”

“Yes. Ah…but, milady.”

“Hm?”

“Has something befallen Aria?”

But I was averse to

This sort of atmosphere,

And I steered the conversation away,

So abruptly it was

Likely quite obvious.

To continue on this topic,

It didn’t seem as though pleasantries were in the offing,

So perhaps it was best if I

Leapt straight into the

Topic that most consumed my thoughts.

Besides, she was the daughter of Duke Charlotte,

And looking at Aria, plainly something

Had transpired with the Duke,

I wondered what in the interim,

Had occurred.

Perhaps she would know.

Indeed, thanks to her family’s dedication to the gathering of important information,

Even at the academy, rumours

Had spread of her buying and selling

Such things.

If it were anyone else, I may have doubted it,

But she would surely possess

Information about this situation.

“Hmm… I think I know…”

“Then, tell me…!”

“No, but… perhaps

The reason Father has summoned you

Is for that very reason?”

“…?”

“There is no need for me

To repeat it, wouldn’t you agree?”

She said this as she

Languidly reclined

Into the chair that sat opposite me.

With a cross of her legs, she offered

A bewitching smile.

Well, to be truthful, it didn’t

Affect me to any substantial degree,

But it was the sort of smile that could

Enthrall most men, no doubt.

“…What? Why are you staring like that?”

“It’s nothing at all.

Then, when will the Duke be arriv─”

*Screech* –

Before my words could escape my lips,

Once more, the door to the room swung open.

At that very instant, the figure of her,

who had stood before me just moments ago,

vanished in a blink.

‘…No matter how I ponder it,

that seems to be a magic of

remarkable utility… I wonder if I could learn it?’

I’m not quite sure by what

principle it operates,

but judging by the effects

I’ve witnessed thus far,

the worth of learning that magic

seems more than sufficient.

It seems to encompass both

spatial teleportation and the function of a sub-space…

Of course, even learning it would by no means be an easy task, but

even if I, with hardly any

magical talent, couldn’t manage it,

might Aria be able to learn it?

‘Later, using that magic as

a catalyst, to speak with her again—’

“What thoughts occupy you so?”

Lost in thought, seeking a way

to coax Aria, now entirely

holed up within her room,

to venture back outside,

a voice startled me.

I raised my head, which had reflexively dipped in acknowledgement,

and in the seat directly across from me, where Charlotte had been sitting just a moment ago,

sat another Charlotte.

Like daughter, like father, I suppose.

Crossed her long legs

with a dramatic flourish.

“Haha, you seem to be burdened

by quite a few worries of late, eh?”

“..Pardon?”

“I called you several

times, and not once did I receive a reply…”

“….”

“Was it not due to worries, then?”

She seemed to enjoy my obvious

He chuckled, as if enjoying the sight before him.

It was a smile so joyous and pure,

that one could hardly believe

he was the master of this underworld.

Yet, the smile belonged to a man

clearly past his middle age,

and that very fact

created a rather jarring disconnect within me.

‘…He deliberately masked his presence, it seems?’

“Well, it’s alright. I’m the one who

summoned you here and arrived late,

so I must bear with it.”

“..My apologies.”

Honestly, if you asked me

what I was apologizing for, I wouldn’t know,

but having lived for quite a while,

I knew that in this situation, acting

high and mighty wouldn’t be wise.

So, I decided to

avoid upsetting him as much as possible.

To begin with, the difference

in our status was immense,

and I also felt personally

grateful to him, as he was the one who

had saved both my life and Aria’s.

“Why apologize? It’s only

that I was late, don’t worry about it.”

“….”

“Hmm, it seems neither of us has much time, does we?”

“….”

“As it happens, a sudden, urgent matter has arisen for me today.”

“….”

“I had intended to chat a little longer,

get to know you and then inform you..tsk.”

It certainly seemed that an urgent

matter had indeed arisen,

because if it were like normal,

His uniform, while seemingly immaculate,

bore the faintest mark

of recent dusting-off.

Yet, grime clung to it in patches,

earthy smudges here and there,

and weariness swam deep

within the pools of his eyes.

Moreover, a ghost of blood

tainted the air around him,

suggesting some manner

of prior incident

before reaching the manor’s gates.

The instant the metallic scent registered,

my brow furrowed,

almost imperceptibly,

and the corner of his lips quirked,

a subtle upward twitch that betrayed

he’d been studying my reaction.

“So you noticed?”

“..A simple cleansing spell,

if I may be so bold..”

“No, that won’t do. I’ve little taste for such magic.”

“….”

“Your true nature grows more

intriguing by the moment.”

“….”

“To discern such a faint trace of blood…

that is no trifling matter.”

“….”

“..Never mind. Let us proceed

to the reason I summoned you.”

In that instant, my mind, racing

with a thousand ways

to deflect his question,

could find nothing but relief

in his normally aloof

and disinterested demeanor.

“Well…perhaps not immediately…”

“…?”

“You know, it seems you’ll have to make another trip to the Royal Capital soon.”

“..Pardon?”

And just like that,

the careless way he tossed bombshells onto others,

his indifferent nature was truly aggravating.