Chapter 50

Will You Regret It Later?

“Aaron!”

Gissley, bursting into the mansion without waiting for a servant to open the door, called Aaron’s name. The old butler, who was a step late in greeting him, couldn’t hide his flustered expression as he took Gissley’s overcoat and replied, “The young master went straight down to the underground training ground after returning.” The butler, who had been momentarily dazed watching Gissley move at the same speed he arrived, open the door to the basement, and disappear without a word, managed to regain his composure thanks to Egil’s appearance, who placed a hand on his shoulder.

“What happened? The young lord didn’t cause any trouble, did he?”

“Didn’t you hear Gissley yelling Aaron’s name loud enough to echo through the whole mansion?”

“If it were the young lord, perhaps, but there’s no way the young master would cause any trouble, is there?”

“What? What makes you so confident?”

“It’s the intuition of an old man who has served both young masters for a long time.”

The butler, who had regained his usual composure after talking with Egil, responded softly as he took Egil’s outer garment, who was smiling playfully. Egil, who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the sight of the butler, burst into hearty laughter. He then whispered mischievously to the butler, deeming it fortunate that his brother was absent from the mansion, “Unfortunately, your intuition is wrong. Aaron caused a huge ruckus today!”

“What kind of…?”

“By tomorrow morning, everyone in the capital will be talking about the trouble Aaron caused, so just wait and see! Hahaha!”

Egil slapped the butler’s back with a resounding thud and then began to walk leisurely towards the underground training ground. Gissley, unaware that Egil was enjoying this situation immensely, was practically running down the stairs.

The underground training ground was a space accessible only to the direct descendants of the ducal family, a place where outside gazes were completely blocked. It had the great advantage that even internal affairs could not leak out, making it an excellent place to master the swordsmanship passed down through generations of the family.

“Aaron!”

Gissley burst through the training ground door and immediately yelled, finding his brother standing in the middle of the spacious area with a sword in hand.

“Ah, brother. You came quickly?”

“‘Ah, brother? You came quickly?’ You damned rascal! Is this the time for such nonchalant talk?!”

Aaron’s face, as he set down his sword and greeted his brother, was as calm and beautiful as ever. The only thing different from usual was Gissley, who was clutching his chest in frustration at the sight of that face. Looking at his brother, who greeted him with a face that seemed to have no idea what trouble he had caused, Gissley literally felt like his insides were tearing apart.

“Why did you do that?”

“You knew I intended to refuse Her Highness’s feelings, didn’t you?”

“I knew! Yes, I knew! But I explicitly told you to be careful, as it would be difficult to remain in the capital no matter how you refused!”

“Ah, you didn’t tell me to be careful.”

“Why are you only pretending not to understand now?!”

Gissley, who had begun to tear at his hair as well as clutch his chest, shrieked, looking at his brother, who stood there blankly, still seemingly unaware of the trouble he had caused.

“Even when one has to carefully choose every word, every syllable, you practically advertised that you were dumping Her Highness!”

“I didn’t realize there were so many eyes watching. Now that I think about it, it was certainly a discreet location, but unexpectedly not a secret one.”

“…Seeing as you’re being long-winded, it seems you do know what your mistake was…”

Gissley groaned, crouched down, and began tearing at his hair again. Aaron’s eyes darted towards the training ground entrance, watching his long, beautiful golden hair being messed up by Gissley’s large, rough hands. It was because he heard someone’s leisurely footsteps approaching.

“Are the brothers done talking?”

“You seem very amused, Uncle?”

“Hahaha, it’s quite amusing to watch you tear at your hair!”

“This is not the time to be laughing!”

Aaron was a problem, but Egil, who had clearly followed him out of sheer amusement, was also a problem. Why was a man who couldn’t even properly handle his own romantic affairs so interested in someone else’s?

Ah… Is it because he himself can’t have one, so he wants to see someone else’s? …No, that’s not it!

Gissley, who had tried to escape reality for a brief moment but quickly regained his senses, looked at his brother without even bothering to fix his messy hair. He acted like a bear, but was in fact a fox; there was no way he didn’t know how serious this situation could become.

“Don’t worry, brother.”

Aaron spoke as if he had read Gissley’s thoughts.

“Normally, gossip only lasts three days.”

“You have no idea!”

He probably didn’t really have no idea. He was just pretending not to know. Gissley began to pound his chest again in frustration. He would surely have a dark bruise tomorrow morning, but if he didn’t hit his chest like this, there was no way to relieve this stifling frustration.

“Want to spar for old times’ sake?”

“Gladly!”

…His brother was a problem, but his uncle was also a problem. Egil, who had pushed Gissley, crouching as if he were cleaning up garbage, with his foot, now held a practice sword in his hand, a sword he must have picked up at some point. Since the training ground was only accessible to direct descendants of the ducal family after they had attained a certain level of skill, it was, naturally, a real, sharpened sword. The flickering torches illuminating the edge of the training ground reflected off the sharp blade of the sword.

Aaron, after taking a short breath, swung his sword in a beautiful arc towards Egil. Egil easily parried it, quickly took a step forward, aiming for Aaron’s side, and Aaron swiftly returned his sword, blocking it and rotating his body. It was an elegant display, like a dance, but the power within it held an undeniable force, not to be easily dismissed.

“Why did you do that?”

Sword met sword, creating small sparks, but Egil’s voice was calm. No, he seemed amused. Aaron, who had pushed back his uncle’s sword and retreated half a step, swung his sword, aiming for Egil’s shoulder.

“I judged it best for Her Highness to cut off those feelings before they grew larger.”

Egil didn’t know about the arrangement between Legina and Aaron. So Aaron, answering only to the extent that Egil could understand, swiftly swung his sword, pressuring Egil. Egil, who had easily parried Aaron’s sword, began to push his nephew, not bothering to wipe the sly smile from his face.

“You truly had no interest in Her Highness Legina, not even a speck?”

“No.”

“And Her Highness truly pursued you unilaterally?”

“Yes.”

“Do you dislike Her Highness that much?”

“I never said I disliked her.”

“Then?”

“I am simply not fond of her.”

“Did you learn that kind of wordplay from Gissley?”

“…”

Egil, looking at his nephew who remained silent, his lips pressed tightly together, now with loving eyes, abandoned his playful demeanor and began to wield his sword seriously. Aaron was a knight of excellent skill, but facing Egil, who was known as the Empire’s First Sword, was still too much for him. Egil, having easily subdued Aaron with a couple of serious swings of his sword, looked at his nephew who obediently acknowledged defeat and retreated, then spoke, “No matter how much you frame it as being for Her Highness’s sake, you were very rude to Her Highness today.”

“Yes.”

“Your rudeness will be apologized for in the name of Vestein to Her Highness.”

“Thank you.”

Gissley, who had been watching Egil, sighed deeply as Egil subtly indicated his intention to use his influence to prevent Aaron from facing an uncomfortable situation, despite Aaron’s mistake. Egil, who enjoyed playing pranks and often appeared frivolous, was sincere in his affection for his nephew, so his words were also undoubtedly sincere.

“Why are you speaking as if you’re a big shot? In the end, I’m the one who has to clean up the mess, aren’t I?”

“Who are you to interrupt me when I’m trying to act cool in front of my successor for the first time in a long while?”

“Your eldest nephew.”

“No wonder you’re so annoying. Hahaha.”

Gissley, shaking his head at Egil, who quickly returned to his lighthearted self, having seemingly forgotten his previous solemn demeanor, groaned and straightened his body. He had rushed from the Imperial Palace to his home in a tense state, and now his body ached as if he had the flu.

“Aaron.”

“Yes.”

“From now on, you will prepare to leave for the border with Uncle.”

“Yes.”

“Cleaning up… Haa… Yes, I will clean up. I don’t know how His Majesty will react, but there will be no major problems with what you have to do.”

Aaron needed to fulfill various conditions to become Egil’s official successor, but the most important was the Emperor’s permission. He might be sulking right now about his daughter being rejected, but gaining the Emperor’s permission was the very last step, so if he could manage to clean up well until then…

“Haa… Yes, cleaning up… Cleaning up is the problem.”

Gissley began to tear at his hair again, remembering that not only the Emperor was a problem, but he also had to convey what happened today to Duke and Duchess Vestein. Egil, who had been happily watching Gissley, approached Aaron and stood by his side.

“You’re leaving your brother with a big task, aren’t you?”

“I am reflecting.”

“You boring fellow. Well, anyway, Aaron.”

“Yes.”

“You actually rejected Her Highness, the Imperial Princess. Will you not regret it later?”

“Regret?”

“It’s not something to say about Her Highness, who is still young, but… do you know how rare it is to find a woman with such character, knowledge, and dignity? Are you truly confident you won’t regret it?”

Aaron looked at Egil, who was staring at him with sparkling eyes, whether teasing or concerned, awaiting his answer, and replied slowly but firmly, “I will absolutely never have anything to regret.”

Aaron was certain of that.

– Mochinuna.