By Zephyria 
On the journey, I ate fish dishes twice more.
The tender flesh was quite delicious. Seeing me eat well, Father suggested we try fishing ourselves once we arrived at the villa, and I agreed.
When I added that we should make a bet, he readily nodded, which was amusing and cute.
He must have readily agreed because he didn’t know that I had been called the Fisherman (*an old man who catches fish) in the Central Plains.
Riding in the carriage, stopping to eat, then riding again and stopping to sleep, was neither difficult nor boring.
Even when I was at the family estate, I was busy with training and lessons. This was the first time I had spent such a long time together with my family.
I learned that Father was a more talkative person than I had known.
I also newly learned that Mother enjoyed teasing people with her playful nature. Every word she spoke was filled with affection, making it pleasant to listen to.
We arrived at the Count Servel Family’s villa.
It was unusually large for a villa.
With the four-story main building at the center and a three-story annex on each side, a total of three buildings stood in a ‘品’ shape within the low walls.
Red flower clusters hung abundantly from vines on the walls. Their appearance, resembling fruit more than flowers, was quite lovely and caught my eye.
The carriage stopped in front of the wide-open gate, so I hopped out first and helped the others disembark. I helped Father and Mother down by holding their hands, and then lifted the two children down to the ground.
The faces of the House Cervelle members who had come out to greet us were all familiar.
Count Servel greeted Father warmly with a hug, so I embraced the one approaching me and patted his back. The one in my arms hesitated before stroking my back.
I let him go after a moment.
“How have you been, Michael? You seem a bit… brighter.”
“Thanks to you. You’re Logan, right?”
“…You really… I heard you got into the Academy, your personality has improved so much.”
Logan Servel looked down at me with a seemingly emotional expression. We clasped hands and shook them up and down, in Sierren’s style.
I thought there would be nothing awkward or new, having known him since we were about five years old, but I was briefly puzzled when I detected awkwardness in Logan’s eyes.
Then again, I only saw him once a year. Even if he visited to send his regards in between, we never spent much time together.
For me, meeting my friends in the Central Plains once a year was common, so I felt a sense of closeness even when seeing him after such a long time. However, the young boys and girls here, with Sierren, often exchanged letters to ask after each other. My feelings might have been different.
I hadn’t made any effort to maintain contact with Logan Servel. I felt a pang of guilt.
Thinking I might reply to the letter he sent three years ago, I looked around.
As if by prior arrangement, the Count attended to Father, the Countess attended to Mother, Logan attended to me, Leila attended to Asdel, and Evan attended to Michael.
Seeing them like this, it was as if that family, just like ours, had given birth to two sons and one daughter, as if it were planned.
I remembered that when their youngest, Evan Servel, was born, I had pestered Father for a younger sibling and ended up with Michael.
At the time, it was just a hasty wish born from a desire to have a large family and many descendants, envying the Servel family’s abundance of children. Thinking about it now, it was a good decision.
“Welcome, Young Master Ernhardt. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I heard the news about you entering the Academy, but I haven’t had a chance to congratulate you yet.”
“Thank you, Count Servel.”
After the adults finished their greetings, the Count and Countess turned their gaze to me.
Following the etiquette learned at the Academy, I offered a simple bow with a humble greeting. It was similar to the greetings I had given before, so there was no need to add any further remarks.
Following the Count’s lead, we entered the main building.
Father politely declined when they offered to let us use the main building, but since it was the custom of House Cervelle, there was no way to refuse.
They mentioned that House Cervelle would be using the east wing mansion and to inform a servant if we needed anything, to which I agreed.
After being shown the bedrooms, reception rooms, dining room, and lounge areas, they excused themselves, saying we should rest from our journey. The Count and Countess left, but the children remained.
While the servants and maids moved our luggage, the children energetically ran around.
Evan Servel, just one year older than seven-year-old Michael, kindly held Michael’s hand, pointing out the swing and fun play equipment, which was endearing.
Logan Servel, standing idly beside me watching the children, said something that was utterly amusing.
“…There’s no martial arts training ground, but there’s an open space. Shall I show you?”
“Ahem!”
I tried to hide my laughter with a cough, thinking I shouldn’t laugh too loudly, but my face was already smiling, so it was of little use.
Logan Servel’s cheeks turned bright red with embarrassment, so I patted his shoulder reassuringly.
“No, I was just about to ask. Since it’s a family trip, I don’t intend to focus on training, but I thought I might get bored in the early mornings. Please show me, Logan.”
“…Alright.”
“If you have something to say, feel free.”
“Ah, uh, that… When did you start calling me by my name?”
“Hmm?”
Seeing his awkward expression, my question was immediately met with a question in return.
Had I never called the boy by his name? I tried to recall, but nothing came to mind.
Indeed, before I entered the Academy, I would casually drop formalities, but I never called anyone by name in public. I worried about causing an embarrassing situation by mistake.
Among them, a few names that persistently urged me to call them by their names remained vaguely in my memory.
Danbi must have been one of those boys. When he pestered me to call him by his name, which I couldn’t remember, I must have just given him a nickname that came to mind.
“Before, there were many other children, so I thought they might get jealous. I knew your name, Logan Servel. I saw you often, and you helped me mingle with the other children.”
“…Wow, ah, no. Is that how it was…? This is incredibly honorable… Ah, this way. It’s faster to go through the back gate than the front. It’s a section planned to be spacious for picnics, so there are fewer flowering trees.”
“Mm.”
Following him, I looked around.
As befitting the name ‘villa,’ flowering trees were planted all over. The sight of white, red, and blue flowers intertwined haphazardly was captivating.
Logan Servel didn’t walk too fast, so as we walked, we fell into step side-by-side.
Logan was about half a span taller than me. He was on the shorter side for a boy his age.
When I met him at my birthday banquet, I thought he was quite cheerful, but now that we were alone, he couldn’t meet my eyes, seeming quite shy.
He chattered about the names of the passing trees, the distance to the nearby lake, and games one could play at the lake, but I cut him off to ask what I was curious about.
“But why are you here? I heard that after fifteen, everyone goes to the matchmaking parties.”
“…”
Logan Servel, about to answer, bit his tongue and covered his mouth with both hands, so I just let out a laugh.
His flustered face and neck turned as red as tomatoes. Whether he had gotten a tan since last year, the boy’s already tanned face looked as if it had been completely smeared with ink.
“Ah, that… that’s. Um, a little, because of various things…”
“Various things?”
“Mm. Just for personal reasons… it was better not to meet this time…”
“Did the other party say that?”
“…Th-that’s not it…”
It seemed he wasn’t without a partner, but I couldn’t understand why he was so flustered.
Seeing his flushed face, I lost the desire to ask further and closed my mouth. Logan Servel, fidgeting, soon brought up another topic.
“How is life at the Academy? Have you made many friends?”
“Mm, quite a few? First, Shayden Rose and…”
“…! Finally?”
“Mm?”
“Ah, no. Young Master Rose tried very hard to become friends with you. It’s good that you’ve become quite close at the Academy.”
“…That child tried to become friends with me?”
He had consistently sent birthday cards with his name on them, but anything beyond that was news to me.
Logan Servel, fanning himself to cool down, blinked with a puzzled expression.
“Uh… he did? You really don’t remember?”
“Not at all. Did he speak to me?”
“…He must have spoken to me more than a hundred times.”
“…Mm.”
I needed to hear more about myself.
Knowing that Logan Servel knew more about my social life than I expected, I took his wrist and pulled him along.
We sat side-by-side on a bench placed at a suitable distance.
Logan panted a little, and I realized belatedly that it was because I had walked too fast, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Logan took out a handkerchief, dabbed his forehead and temples a couple of times, then carefully held the handkerchief in both hands.
Everything he did was so careful and gentle that I found myself speaking in a calm voice.
“Do you know anything more about Shayden and me?”
“Huh?”
“I feel like he’d be too proud to ask directly.”
“…You’re even considerate of that now.”
Logan’s expression seemed to say, ‘He’s finally become human.’
Awkwardly, I ruffled my short hair and swept it back.
Logan Servel pondered for a moment, then cautiously began, thinking it would be alright since I was the person involved.