Even a Scoundrel Gets Tired

174 – A Rather Quiet Night

To abandon one’s family.

What would that even feel like?

Most people wouldn’t know that sensation.

Unless you were born into a family that’s just a little bit,

off their rocker.

Or, if you’re someone whose head is,

screwed on right,

almost everyone only worries about

the family abandoning them,

not that they would consider abandoning their family.

Well, some might say that if you’re fed up with the family, you might do it,

but the advantages the family

brings are greater than they think.

It becomes a backdrop that

takes responsibility for your actions themselves,

and it ensures authority is granted to your every word.

Furthermore, if that family

is at least a Count’s household,

The fortune and assets that would follow,

they wouldn’t be meager either.

Only a madman would

reject all this, and then declare,

“I’ll conquer this world alone!” There’s no way such a fool exists.

Yet, every now and then,

those with aberrant minds,

possessing ways of thinking beyond comprehension,

sometimes embark on such runaway escapades.

Though even those actions are now,

among their circles, relegated to

a regrettable, youthful folly…

There’s no need, really,

to explain how meaningless these acts are.

So then, what

choice should she make now?

Still nestled, peaceful,

within the blankets in her room,

Aria Reinhardt

bowed her head deeply.

‘The Imperial Family will

take action separately, before long…’

‘I may not be able to

fully grasp your feelings, but

I will grant you some time to deliberate.’

‘However, I do hope you

decide as quickly as possible.’

Thump, thump.

With each replay of

his words inside her head,

her heart thrashed wildly.

Abandon the family.

Abandon the home where she was raised.

Abandon those who offered

morning greetings and catered to her.

Abandon the glory of times past, and

forsake the backing that, until now,

had provided every possible support.

And now,

it was her turn to abandon her father.

Her own father

had imprisoned her.

So the truth could not be revealed,

he’d confined her to the manor,

and because the revealing of truth

terrified him, he had her abducted.

Since the man who was her father had already forsaken her,

she was merely

returning the favor.

Yes, only that, and yet…

Strange, even to herself,

she found she could not

bring herself to make that single decision.

The memory of his rough hand

stroking her hair resurfaced,

the memory of his deep voice

calling her name echoed within her,

because of the bond of blood,

not yet fully severed,

she remained unable to resolve her inner conflict.

‘I… the family…’

If she turned her back on the family like this,

abandoned her very name…

The servants who had followed her all this time,

as well as the family’s knights,

would inevitably be

forsaken as well.

And more than that.

The Reinhardt Dukedom

was to this day known as a family of knights,

one that had produced

a great many knights.

But what if word spread that the family had dealt with demons?

Without a doubt, those knights

who hailed from her house

would suffer greatly, wouldn’t they?

And if that were the case, where would their resentment turn?

“What… what am I supposed to do…”

*Knock, knock—*

The more she pondered, the more

the bleak landscape of the future

threw her into a momentary daze,

when a light rapping at the door

echoed within the room.

“W-who is it?”

“M-miss, it’s Ella…!”

“Ella…? Why are you here–”

“Miss, the young master

isn’t near me right now, eeeep!”

A sound like something bouncing.

Accompanied by that, the door

to where Aria was standing

was rapped on even more forcefully than before.

“So, please open the door…!”

“…Sorry, Ella, go ba–”

No matter that the other party was a servant

whose face she had seen countless times,

no, perhaps precisely *because* she was a servant,

Aria all the more

didn’t want to show her

her current state,

and tried to refuse her visit in a roundabout way,

but again, even this time,

her words didn’t reach completion.

“….”

“Ah, thank you… Miss!”

And by the time she came to her senses again,

her hand was already

pulling at the door handle.

“W-wait, that’s not what–”

*Whoosh—*

Having finished making a swift

assessment of the situation in that instant,

she tried to immediately

send Ella, who had slipped

into her room, straight back outside,

but before she knew it, Ella

had already started throwing open

the curtains in the room.

A violet curtain, crafted from the finest fabric,

*shhh*ed along the rod,

and with that sound, the sunlight,

though it was evening, still clinging

to the horizon, flooded the room.

A warmth, truly, it seemed,

but Aria’s face twisted at the intrusion.

Having been cloistered in

the curtained darkness until mere moments ago,

the brightness was unbearable.

“M-mademoiselle?”

“…?”

“A-ah… is something

troubling you, perhaps?”

“…Troubling?”

“Yes… young master was

quite insistent I ask…”

Whether it was the scowl,

Aria’s tone emerged,

sharper than before,

and it served only to shrink

Ella, a mere servant still,

into herself.

Like prey before a predator,

anyone witnessing the scene would

likely describe it as a rabbit before a lion,

so severe was the chasm, the awkwardness, between them.

“…Do you want to hear it?”

But honesty, always,

blooms from just such chasms,

such awkwardness.

Like beginning with, *It’s not me, it’s a friend who’s got this problem…*,

and letting all your

worries tumble out.

“Yes, I want to hear!”

“..Come over here, let’s sit and talk.”

Well, truthfully, in Aria’s case…

Ella, too, was after all,

a member of the Reinhardt family,

and someone who knew

some of the internal affairs,

so she could speak so openly.

“..You see, that time, when your brother was hurt—”

And just like that, the day within the room

began to flow by in a flash.

*

With a request to Ella

to look after Aria,

I bolted from Charlotte’s mansion.

Holding such a

large sum in my hand,

I couldn’t focus

on anything at all.

I headed straight

back to my dormitory,

quickly constructing a safe.

From the materials to

being made of solid metal,

and with quite a bit of

magical enhancement plastered all over it,

only then did I feel a little relieved.

Before long, I realized

that evening was approaching.

“..She’s not coming, I wonder if something happened?”

And the fact that Ella,

who would normally have already returned,

wasn’t by my side yet.

“….”

The sun, beyond the horizon,

slowly reclines,

and the sky is dyed a beautiful indigo.

A signal that the night is deepening.

And yet, even so, Ella had not returned.

Truthfully, Ella was now almost…

Reaching the age where one might say, “All grown up,”

I pondered if such worries were truly

Necessary at all…

Yet, caution never hurt anyone, and besides,

The world was, after all, teeming with

Fools of every stripe.

This much concern, at least,

Seemed permissible.

And her beauty was,

Let’s say, remarkable, needing no particular praise.

Ever since she followed me

To the academy dormitories,

Several noble scions, smitten

By her appearance,

Had even gone so far as to

Request, on bended knee, that I surrender her service.

Of course, pride, such as it was,

Appeared to have been a factor,

For these supplications came in writing, not face-to-face.

Regardless, I refused each

And every offer, and now that

I was a Baron,

Such letters ceased altogether.

“..Ella, are you alright?”

“Nooo…Today, too,

Strangers kept

Asking me things…”

Having witnessed firsthand how much Ella suffered because of it,

I could do nothing but

Worry for her well-being.

“I don’t know if she’ll agree, but

I’ll contact Aria first…”

*Ding─*

“…?”

It was then.

The crystal orb, left casually

Upon my desk, for I found it

Too bothersome to tidy it away right away,

It was beginning to glow a cerulean hue.

Upon the crystal sphere,

these words were neatly inscribed.

[Oppa, Ella’s asleep now.]

“….”

So short, so simple, so concise

as to make the worry I’d harbored

feel almost absurd.

“..Still, I suppose that puts her mind

somewhat at ease, doesn’t it…”

Relieved, first and foremost, that Ella was safe,

I was also glad that Aria’s troubles

seemed to be somewhat alleviated.

I typed a quick reply into the sphere,

then turned away without another thought.

Understood, take care of Ella, and so on.

Not a single mention of

Aria’s concerns, only,

strictly speaking, a simple word

of encouragement, hoping that

her troubles would be resolved.

“Aria will manage, I’m sure..”

She was, after all, nearly

an adult now.

I couldn’t interfere in

her life forever.

I could only hope she wouldn’t stray too far.

The day’s exhausting

schedule had taken its toll;

my body was completely drained.

The moment I collapsed

onto the bed, I fell asleep.

So deeply, that I didn’t even notice Ella’s absence,

for the first time in a while.

It was a remarkably quiet night.

*

“..Could you repeat that, please?”

“Uh… I’m supposed to go with you for the underclassmen

training…”

“….”