Weekday lunches were crowded with children, but weekends were still often spent at the library with my familiar camping buddies. So, we were sitting around in the library’s small meeting room from morning, studying and waiting for everyone to arrive.
Everyone was greatly surprised to see Ivan enter the meeting room with a dispirited face, dragging his feet listlessly. It was Ivan who had said he would spend Friday evening with his fiancé, so the children’s reactions were even more dramatic.
“What’s wrong, Ivan?”
“Wow… You’ve lost half your face. What happened?”
“Well…”
Ivan paused for a moment, then opened his mouth.
“My fiancé has become a man.”
“Huh?”
Jenny was the one who responded reflexively. All the children sitting around the table blinked in surprise at what they had heard. A chilling silence settled on the table. Knowing that they shouldn’t be intrigued, they couldn’t help but let out sighs.
“…No, how could that…?”
“…Well.”
Ivan sighed deeply and told us his situation.
The Eldos Merchant Guild wanted a Hereditary Peerage to pass on to the next generation, so they made a marriage agreement with Viscount Holmos. Since commoners without titles were restricted from moving between territories, the Sierran Empire’s merchant guilds absolutely needed a Single-rank title or a Hereditary Peerage.
Therefore, Merchant Leader Eldos intended to marry his daughter to Ivan and bring in a Baron title… But it seemed that his daughter had run away to find true love.
So, the only person left in the Eldos Family to marry was the eldest son, but most of those who married commoners had Single-rank titles. Now, they couldn’t find a woman with a Single-rank title of suitable age, and even if they did, she wouldn’t compare to Ivan, who had a Hereditary Peerage, so the Eldos Family was in great trouble.
Also, Viscount Holmos’s family was in a difficult situation because they had started a business relying on the dowry.
When asked what to do about this, the Eldos Merchant Guild begged and pleaded, asking if they could just change the names of their eldest son and eldest daughter. Same-sex marriage was not allowed on paper, but if only one of them was listed as female, marriage registration was possible.
“…Does the Department of Noble Lineage Management… allow such things?”
“These days… they are not strictly enforcing things regarding same-sex relationships. If there are no problems on paper, they will pass it. However…”
“However?”
“The first condition is that the names must be completely changed with a full sibling to avoid any issues with the family tree, and the second condition is that it must be a true marriage. Only if they sleep together and truly regard each other as spouses will they be recognized as not having illegitimately inherited the title.”
“…”
I imagined borrowing Asdel’s name for a brief moment, then quickly shook my head to forget it.
All the other children were at a loss and held back their words. Marianne, who couldn’t keep her hands still, folding and unfolding the corner of the book she was reading, carefully opened her mouth.
“…Um. Ivan, do you dislike it if the other person isn’t a woman?”
“Ah, it’s not that I dislike it…”
“Huh? It’s not?”
Ivan opened his mouth to say something, then closed it, and again anxiously ran his hand over his troubled face. Damian, seeing this, worriedly grabbed his arm and patted it.
“Is it difficult to talk about?”
“No, no. Um… I’ll tell you separately later. I can’t say it now.”
“Okay. Anyway… I hope it works out well, Ivan.”
“Me too. I’ll support you.”
Ivan, receiving the children’s support, couldn’t concentrate as much as usual even after opening his book. It was only natural.
Later, when Ivan excused himself to go to the bathroom, I asked if this kind of thing was common, and all the children shook their heads.
“Well, it’s possible, but… it’s almost an urban legend.”
“It’s the kind of story that would only come out in a male-male romance novel. I’ve never actually seen it happen.”
“This actually happened… No, what do we do? What if he runs away after seeing his face?”
Ivan, returning to his seat, asked if we could all eat grilled meat together, so we ate abundantly that evening. Ivan ate and ate until the color returned to his face, then shrugged with his usual calm expression, saying he was fine now.
However, even I, who wasn’t good at reading other people’s expressions, could clearly see that the child’s problem wasn’t resolved. I was worried and kept thinking about it.
❖ ❖ ❖
And so, on Monday, the fourth week of August.
During the business class, even though Galeph Fisher Professor was emphasizing several times that it was a part that would definitely be on the exam, Ivan couldn’t concentrate on the class. It was understandable since it hadn’t been long since the incident happened.
Instead of Ivan, I took notes on the exam and, after diligently finishing the notes, I grabbed the child.
At the words that I would show him the notes, Ivan thanked me and sighed again. Wanting to comfort him somehow, I patted his back and shoulders. The child said that being in a crowded place was difficult, so I told the other children and went to the cafeteria with Ivan alone for a meal.
It was a quiet meal for the first time in a while. The cafeteria had wide spaces between the tables. I chose a seat where it was difficult to hear the voices of other tables unless you were listening closely.
Beyond the wide-open terrace window, the early autumn sunlight swept through the leaves.
Ivan ate three sandwiches filled with only meat and cheese between the bread. He was quiet the whole time, so I didn’t bother to open my mouth either. The sound of the paper wrapping the sandwiches rustled through the silence filled with concern.
It was well past the halfway point of lunchtime when the child opened his mouth.
“…Thank you for caring, Michael.”
“Ivan has always helped me. This much is only natural.”
“Yes…”
“Are you thinking of… refusing the wedding?”
Ivan stared at me for a moment, then sighed deeply. His voice still had a troubled air, making me even more worried.
“Well, um… It’s not that I am…”
Seeing Ivan hesitate, I ordered another drink to comfort him.
“If it helps, you can confide in me.”
“…Well, Michael is fifteen now, so I guess I can talk about this.”
“…Um?”
“Actually, nothing else is a big problem. But…”
“But?”
“I can’t decide whether I’ll be the one doing the inserting or the one being inserted.”
“Inserting what?”
Ivan grabbed my palm and wrote a word on it.
I didn’t understand it right away and only blinked. So, he wrote the same word again. Only then did I understand and pull my hand back in embarrassment. I shook it off as if something dirty had touched it. I was so surprised that I couldn’t give any answer.
Ivan sighed deeply, then swept his hair back and looked into the distance.
“I was thinking that maybe it’s right to decide on a position between men. When I met him on Friday… the original fiancé was a small woman… but the person who replaced her is quite… well-built.”
“No. What. That.”
“I never intended to be on the receiving end… so I think I need to talk to him about it.”
“Uh. Wh. What.”
“The other person… is so sorry… and distressed, and embarrassed… that I couldn’t bring it up there.”
“…”
My mouth dropped open. It didn’t make sense. Between men, no, how, where does it go? I had never imagined it. Ivan Holmes’s neat face looked unfamiliar.
The child, no, this crazy bastard sighed deeply and took a few sips of the newly received drink.
Then he continued.
“It’s not like I can just push through with my physique… But it’s also too rude to say, ‘Your family messed up, so I want you to give yourself to me.’ We’re going to be together for life, so it’s not polite.”
“Of course, it’s not polite…”
“So, I’m worried.”
What should I say to this? It was very difficult to close my gaping mouth.
I should scold him. It seemed very strange to think about such things before even getting married. Or is it? Well, can’t you decide after getting married? No, that’s not it either.
What kind of world law is it to contemplate what happens in bed in front of a fiancé you’ve just met?
However, the words that popped out of my confused mouth were different.
“That, no… That. …That, where does it go?”
“…Hmm.”
Ivan grabbed my hand again. I looked down at the letters written on my palm again.
…I clenched my fist tightly.
I couldn’t imagine it at all. Even if I didn’t know a woman’s body, I roughly knew the method of intercourse since I was getting older. But, that, how does it go there? That’s where it comes out, not where it goes in. Ivan, seeing my confused expression, slightly raised one eyebrow.
“…You didn’t know at all? You call Second Prince Ruben…?”
“…”
There was no way to answer. Ivan ran his hand over his lower face, sighed briefly, looked at the distant sky once, looked at the towering Magic Tower in the distance once, and looked at the drink again. I couldn’t take my eyes off his face and was lost in thought.
Ivan continued in a firm tone, as if he had made a big decision.
“Michael, you’re fifteen now, so it seems like you need sex education. Should I help you a little?”
Oh my god.
I was speechless. I was very curious, but I also didn’t want to know at all.
Ivan Holmes said that he had to attend the afternoon class right away, so he told me to come to his room after dinner. What kind of secret… story does he want to tell?
I pondered for a long time, but it would be better to know than not to know. I nodded in agreement, trying to convince myself.
Monday afternoon’s class was the day I went to the Magic Tower with Maelo Sanson. I kept spacing out while learning about the difference between Goblins and Gremlins, so I was scolded severely. I slapped my own cheek to come to my senses and tried to concentrate on the class again.
Edwin Kiadris asked if something was wrong today, but I couldn’t answer and just shook my head several times.