1. The First Letter (45)
It didn’t take long for my mouth to open again. Delphine’s suggestion was unexpected, but her words were not so unclear that I couldn’t read her intentions.
I carefully answered her question.
“… … It’s a recruitment offer of some sort.”
Delphine-senpai smiled satisfied with my answer. Her white hand tilted the bottle. Soon, the empty glass was filled with alcohol. It was the cup she put on.
Instead of lifting the glass again, she patted it again and pushed it away.
Slowly, another drink arrived in front of me. I looked at Delphine as if he meant something.
Delphine-senpai was looking at me with bored eyes with her chin resting. A languid voice came out of her mouth.
“In the North, we pour a large horn full of wine and share it as a sign of being together. It is a ritual shared among comrades. But what, you can’t do that in the middle of the academy, can you?”
A bit barbaric, she added, pointing to the glass with a wink.
“Don’t think too hard. I just think it makes for a slightly more friendly relationship. Then if you like… know?”
At that time, it meant officially coming under him.
I struggled again at this point. To be honest, I thought I would have a small talk or a few words, but I didn’t expect to receive such an offer from Delphine.
It was because the pace was too fast.
Around the 4th year of the academy, high-ranking nobles tended to assemble their own gang. It was to recruit talented people to work with after graduation. However, this was usually done when people who had known each other for a long time naturally came together around someone.
It wasn’t surprising that the aristocrats repeated their alliances as needed. However, the word ‘together’ has a slightly different meaning. This means that they will soon become friends, but in order to do so, the process of building trust was essential.
There were no idiots in the academy who would turn their backs on untrustworthy opponents. Even if an idiot like that sometimes comes in, you won’t be able to avoid failing the exam.
Therefore, it was necessary to interpret Delphine’s proposal in two ways.
However, it means that I liked it that much.
And one more thing, it means that there is some reason to recruit me right now.
Either way, it wasn’t a bad suggestion for me. After all, I was only the second son, and it was obvious that the title would be succeeded by the older brother, the eldest son. Then I had to find a way to live separately.
If that road was one of the five most prestigious families in the empire, it would have been good without question. Didn’t he even receive an offer directly from the successor?
I pondered as I fiddled with the glass she gave me. It was enough to drink a glass like this. Like Delphine, I can even indirectly kiss a beautiful woman, how good is it?
However, the reason why I had no choice but to stop was because I still had a doubt that stuck like a stone in a corner of my head.
After hesitating for a moment, I let out a sigh and removed my hand from touching the glass. Then, Delphine looked at me as if she was surprised. Oh, with a faint exclamation, a smile of interest spread across her lips.
“Is it because the conditions are not clear? Unexpectedly, he’s strict, Mr. Confucius with the hatchet.”
“… … I have a question for you.”
As if to say something, Delphine nodded silently. I decided not to hesitate any longer.
“Did you know that Seria was being bullied recently?”
At those words, Delphine sighed and burst into laughter. As if she was curious about that much, she corrected her chin resting posture and took out a new glass.
The wine pours into the glass Delphine senior opened her mouth as if she was insignificant.
“Yeah, I did. But you said you cleaned it up before I even left? Huhu, good tricks too. The story of Seria’s mother hurts me too… … .”
“Then why did such a story suddenly circulate?”
Delphine-senpai’s hand, which was about to tip the glass, stopped. Her crimson eyes stared at me.
I’m sure I didn’t get it wrong, but it was a given.
I continued my reasoning, feeling my lips dry.
“Common sense makes no sense, doesn’t it? Seria took the surname of Yurdina and is a high-ranking noble. It is said that Seria’s mother is a taboo in the Yurdina family, but it’s unnatural for lower nobles to mention the shame of the family so directly.”
Then, Hmmm, Delphine made a strange sound and slightly looked away. she said in an uninteresting voice.
“The higher you rise, the more enemies you have. That’s the nature of power. Could there have been a high-ranking aristocratic family that envied me, like the Rainella?”
“In that case, you would have slandered Delphine-senpai, wouldn’t it be meaningless to slander Seria? Not even Seria’s mother is a member of the family. It’s not the Yurdina family, it’s only Seria’s weakness.”
Delphine sipped the wine. Her eyes never looked back at me. However, I was rather annoyed by his calm attitude.
It was a strange intuition. My voice fell a little more seriously.
“The reason why I was able to be so confident even after touching the shame of the 5 noble families of the empire is probably because I have such a backbone.”
“Right, so?”
“But no matter how much I think about it, I can only think of one person like that.”
Even then, Delphine’s eyes were looking out the window. A look that is bored like honey, that look that shows no interest in worldly affairs.
So, at the last moment, I had no choice but to ponder one more time.
Delphine looked so normal. It was as if the emotion of ‘interest’ had evaporated, as if he were listening to a story that had nothing to do with it.
How could a suspicious person make such a face? But now it was too late to stop.
The reason why I accepted Delphine’s invitation, that one question was spit out wearing the clothes of language.
“… … Did Delphine-senpai do that?”
Delphine didn’t say anything. She sipped her wine in silence and admired the scenery outside the window. The scenery of the Aidalos Pavilion with lights on gave off a cozy atmosphere.
I also kept silent. I said everything I wanted to say.
I had no reason to say anything more, just as Delphin-senpai affirmed if he affirmed or denied if he denied. Because what I said was nothing but clumsy reasoning.
If it were Leto or Celine, they might have come up with a more specific framework. Now that I think about it, I thought it would have been nice if I had taken the advice of those two, but if I had really done that, I would have been called ‘crazy’.
That Delphine Yurdina, even though she’s a half-brother, takes advantage of her sister’s painful family affairs?
Even its purpose was unclear. Without a motive, even the best reasoning is useless. Even more so, isn’t the opponent the heir of the Yurdina family?
The mere suspicion was a grave sin. For nobles, honor was more important than life. And this suspicion in itself was enough to damage Delphine’s honor.
In other words, I did something crazy today. Now, I am waiting for the result like a prisoner’s feeling before the verdict.
Thirsty, I took my own of the two glasses. There was some wine left. I ingested it in one go.
It was after a long time had passed that Delphine-senpai’s mouth opened.
“… … Is there any reason why I should?”
Her words hit a sore point in my guesses. I answered with a sigh.
“That’s it, I don’t know. I was just a little curious.”
It was only then that Delphine’s eyes turned to me. Her eyes were as beautiful as ever. That fiery crimson, reminiscent of ruby.
A thin arc was drawn at the corner of her mouth, which was making a nonchalant expression.
“Do you know how rude that word is?”
I sighed, avoiding her gaze and slightly lowering my eyes. The atmosphere didn’t look bad from Delphine’s blurry smile, but I didn’t know how it would change.
However, I couldn’t pick up what I had already said, so I nodded my head slowly.
“… … Yeah, I know.”
And in the next moment, a small laugh burst out of Delphine-senpai’s mouth.
It was a bright, clear laugh. I couldn’t figure out why Delphine was laughing, so I looked at her with puzzled eyes.
Her eyes, which had burst into laughter for a while, contained me. Deep interest lingered in her ruby-like eyes.
“It’s interesting, no matter how much I think about it, the wall is too big, right? Is it not enough to threaten that Elsie Rainella with a hatchet, to bring such suspicion out in the face of this Delphine Yurdina?”
“I-I’m sorry if I was rude… … .”
“no no. Courage has a price to pay. Like a northern noble, I will answer you honestly.”
And then, Delphine-senpai spoke to me without erasing her smile. Such a calm expression.
“… … That’s right, I did.”
So, I didn’t understand her words for a while.
It was a casual voice. The flat tone and the gap between the content momentarily messed up my thinking circuit. My stupid gaze turned to Delphine.
She was smiling softly. Just like the day you first met me.
“I did it, like you said.”
Despite the unchangingly beautiful smile, the sentiment I had was the exact opposite.
If it felt like facing the brilliant sun in the north wind back then, now, yes.
As if facing the gaze of a beast, it felt like the blood was hardening coldly.