By Zephyria 
Just moments ago, the child had been acting so unusually that I had unconsciously tensed up. What on earth was he trying to say, and how? I wanted to stop Ruben immediately, but I was also itching to know what he was going to say.
Rubel hesitated even after starting to speak, then continued in a cautious voice.
“I have decided to climb the Yuil Mountains with Young Master Ernhardt this time.”
“…Huh?”
I made a dumb sound without realizing it.
He put on such a solemn face just to say that? Unlike me, who was merely puzzled, my parents’ eyes widened. I was taken aback by the gazes fixed on my face. It was the first time in my life that I had received such looks from my parents. I couldn’t understand what they meant.
“…No, Your Highness…?”
“Mika, did you know?”
Ruben had given various explanations, but none of them were things I could bring up to my parents now. What could be more awkward than talking about Ruben in front of him?
Once the New Year Festival was over, they and I would soon be moving into the townhouse, so I thought it would be good to tell my parents then why Rubel had decided to go to the Yuil Mountains and ask them to be close to Uncle.
So, I simply nodded and replied politely.
“Yes, I knew.”
“Perhaps, Mika. Did you…?”
“Yes?”
“No, never mind. Let’s talk about it later at the townhouse.”
What was he trying to say?
Rubel waited until my parents had calmed down enough, then continued in a surprisingly gentle voice. The redness on the child’s face had mostly faded. I was very curious to know what kind of implications he was putting into his words with that neat face.
“I will make sure to assist Young Master Ernhardt well so that you two have nothing to worry about.”
“Ah… No. It is right for Mika to assist Prince Rubel.”
“If you ever need anything in the future, please feel free to call on me.”
“Yes…”
Rubel’s sudden display of kindness was highly suspicious.
I looked at Father in puzzlement as he let out a shallow sigh, and he looked straight at my face again and sighed deeply. What was this about? It was utterly bizarre. I felt dazed, as if I had stepped into a goblin’s den, and found it difficult to open my mouth.
After that, we shared some small talk before wrapping things up at an appropriate time.
As soon as my parents’ figures disappeared down the path, I grabbed the child’s wrist. I needed to know what had just been said before we entered a crowded place. The child obediently followed my lead, hiding behind a tree in the dark shadows.
In the dim shade of the night, I asked.
“What did you just say?”
“…Mika, are you angry?”
“No, it’s not that… Is this also something with a meaning, like the jewel button?”
Rubel shook his head slightly.
“It’s not that…”
“It’s not?”
“Usually, when you go to the Yuil Mountains… very close friends go together.”
“…Is that so?”
“Since they are people who protect each other’s backs… it also means that they will share life and death together.”
“Yes.”
“So, it’s just as I said. I told them that I would protect your back when I climb the Yuil Mountains. Young Lady Philodendor also told your parents that she was going to the Yuil Mountains with you.”
“…That’s…”
Now that I heard it, it seemed that way.
I didn’t feel like I had received a sufficient explanation, but I held back because I didn’t think I could get an answer by pressing the child right now. Suppressing a sigh, I pulled the child out of the tree’s shadow.
The fact that the kid looked so happy all the time was suspicious, but it was a big problem that even that looked cute.
❖ ❖ ❖
The next day. As soon as I had Rubel seated in a high position, I went to the lounge and called the two children.
Shayden, who opened the door and entered behind the servant, had a hollow smile on his face, and Marianne had a bright smile. It was embarrassing that they seemed to already know what I wanted to ask, but who else could I grab and open my mouth to about this?
Perhaps because I had been restless all night with various worries and hadn’t been able to fall asleep, my fingertips were clumsy as I scooped out the tea leaves. I didn’t bother to hide my sigh and let it out with a puff.
Marianne, who was very excited, put a cushion on Shayden’s chest and hugged a large cushion herself before sitting down on the sofa.
“Why are you being so wistful again? What is it, what’s wrong?”
“Wistful, my foot.”
“If you called this group, it’s that, isn’t it? What did our Prince do again?”
“Yes.”
Shayden sighed softly, and Marianne put down the cushion that she had forced on him on one side.
They gestured that they were ready to listen, so I opened my mouth without further delay.
Marianne, who had been listening with great interest to the story of how I had met my parents while taking a night walk with Rubel the night before, and how Rubel had acted politely and guided them to the spring shade garden, squeezed the cushion and groaned.
I told her to laugh if she wanted to, but she said she would laugh when I was done, so I continued.
My throat was parched, so I kept reaching for the teacup.
“…So, I’m curious how my parents understood Rubel’s words. What was so special about the declaration that he would climb the Yuil Mountains together that they reacted like that…”
“…”
“…You can laugh now.”
Marianne couldn’t speak because she was silently laughing, so I looked at Shayden. Shayden kindly refilled my empty teacup with tea. I drank this cup in one gulp as well.
“Well… from what I hear, Your Highness…”
“…”
“Seems to have been diligently appealing as a son-in-law candidate to Count Ernhardt, Mika.”
“What? No, why?”
The answer to that was given by Marianne, not Shayden.
“Look, Young Master Ernhardt. How old is Young Master Ernhardt now?”
“This year…”
It was always awkward to count my age. I hesitated for a moment before answering.
“Now… sixteen?”
“That’s right. What do we do after debuting in society at the age of fifteen?”
“…Find a partner…? No, but I.”
“That’s right. We climb the Yuil Mountains. But we have to come down from the mountains someday, right?”
That was true.
Marianne straightened the corner of the cushion she had been squeezing and continued.
“Unless you get early admission like Michael, most people graduate at eighteen. In the Sierran Empire, it’s common to get married before twenty-five. If you can’t find a fiancé before climbing the Yuil Mountains, the family elders usually arrange a marriage.”
“…”
“They find a suitable partner from a decent family in advance and compare fiancé candidates, and they also send portraits to the children in the mountains. Count Ernhardt probably tried to find a good marriage partner for you as soon as Michael climbed the mountains.”
“…”
That’s not likely.
But I didn’t stop Marianne, who was excitedly chattering away. The child’s explanation continued.
“Prince Rubel asked them to postpone that.”
“…No, how?”
“If you climb the Yuil Mountains without a fiancé, your parents will look for a marriage partner, but if you climb the Yuil Mountains with a lover, that person often stays at the Duke Widro Family and supports you from behind.”
Shayden let out a hollow laugh and twisted his bangs with his thumb and forefinger before blowing on them and pushing them back.
“If you can’t stand to be apart, you can even join the Special Imperial royal guard together.”
“What?”
“That’s right. Prince Rubel graduated more than a year ago, and he had no plans to join before that. Anyone would have heard it as Rubel climbing the Yuil Mountains to take your lover’s place. And you said you knew about it. And you allowed it.”
“…”
I was stunned.
Come to think of it, Ruben had been acting very strangely in front of my parents yesterday. He had been so polite and respectful, like a virtuous daughter-in-law serving her in-laws, that anyone would have been suspicious. Even William and Seiren, who were not very perceptive, would have noticed.
But I couldn’t believe that Ruben, that sly fox, had been plotting behind my back while sitting next to me and pretending to be right. I was just dazed and sat there blinking, unable to say anything.
“So… that’s.”
“He’s not your lover now, but he asked your parents to postpone looking for a fiancé because he’s trying so hard to follow you to the Yuil Mountains. He also asked them if they would consider having a son-in-law instead of a daughter-in-law.”
“…”
“And you confirmed in front of them that it was already decided, Mika.”
“…”
I was confused for a moment before opening my mouth again.
“Actually, I already told my parents that I was in love with Rubel.”
“Yes?”
“So, is there any reason for Father and Mother to be surprised?”
Marianne coughed, choking on her tea. Shayden calmly took two sips of tea and put it down. The child’s eyes widened and stared straight at me. My heart fluttered every time Shayden’s eyes narrowed, and I avoided his gaze.
“Why… are you looking at me like that?”
“Again… Well. It ended like that, didn’t it?”
“No, what do you take me for?”
I had to rack my brains for a long time to recall the story of that night, which had only been filled with obvious words.
But as I recounted the story in a calm voice, I could see why William and Seiren had been so surprised. My mouth was spitting out the answer on its own.
“…I said that the child might still be young and mistaking friendship for love, so we would talk about it again after I became a Grand Sword Master… I would tell them again then… So… not to worry for now…”
“Oh. They must have been surprised.”
“They had every reason to be surprised, Mika…”
I was so embarrassed that I couldn’t lift my face.