CH 92

After the Competition

The day after the competition was a holiday.

On a day when everyone would be taking a rest, Sheila was in the medicinal herb garden in the mountains.

While pulling out the weeds growing in the ridges, she thought about the impending graduation.

It was now the middle of the first month of autumn. Sheila heard that the graduation ceremony would be held around the end of the third month of autumn, so there were only two months left.

‘In two more months, I will hardly see Seiryuu at all. Come to think of it, I wonder where the dorm leader’s place of work was decided. I don’t even know that…’

The cold wind that blew through remarkably strongly smelled of autumn. The rustling and rolling dead leaves stopped at her feet.

Sheila felt sad. Everyone else was moving forward, but only one person was standing still.

She joined the academy with a dream. Every day, she strived hard to become a knight.

Sheila thought she understood that everyone had the same aspirations. She wanted to congratulate them with a smile on their wonderful start…. She knew that her feeling of loneliness was wrong.

‘In the first month of winter, the 6th graders will turn 18 years old. They will be adults.’

Her hands stopped pulling weeds.

As Sheila stared blankly at the ground, she heard footsteps approaching.

“Sheila!”

She turned around to see Wilfrecht with a tender smile on his face. His luxurious blonde hair was fluttering in the wind.

“I’m sorry. I was the one who invited you, but I kept you waiting.”

He came alone as usual, and Sheila stood up hurriedly.

“It’s okay. I’m the one who is sorry for being so selfish. I’m sorry that I asked you to come in the morning if possible.”

“You have something to do, don’t you? I don’t mind.”

Sheila planned to go to Felix’s mansion in the afternoon, so she ended up adjusting Wilfrecht’s offer to match the time. She knew it was a disrespectful thing to do, but she felt she had to see Felix today.

Bending down next to Sheila, Wilfrecht immediately began pulling weeds as well. For a while, only the sound of them pulling weeds resounded.

“… I’m sorry to call you out when you’re tired. I heard that you did very well at yesterday’s competition. How are you feeling?”

“I don’t get tired from that much work, so I’m perfectly fine. Your Highness must be tired from your official duties, too, right?”

“Yes. It’s amazing that Sheila doesn’t get tired even after moving around all day. I’m a little envious.”

After that, the conversation was cut short again.

Even Sheila could tell that he had not yet gotten to the point. He must have something to say to her, but it seemed to be difficult to say.

He continued to walk along the ridges like a crab, and when he had a pile of weeds in his basket, Wilfrecht hesitantly opened his mouth.

“…. How did you feel when you learned about Felix’s true identity?”

Sheila responded to the cautious tone of his voice, puzzled.

“Um…. I was very surprised.”

What was the right answer?

Looking at Wilfrecht, whose blue eyes blinked, Sheila tilted her head.

He looked at a loss for a moment, but then repeated his question.

“…. Just surprised? Nothing else?”

“What else is there?”

Sheila didn’t understand the intention of the question and furrowed her eyebrows.

Then, Wilfrecht unintentionally burst out laughing. He covered his mouth with his fist, but he couldn’t help but let out a laugh. It was the first time she had ever seen him so truly enjoying himself.

“No…. you’re right. You are that kind of person. If you were going to put people off because of their titles, you wouldn’t have been so friendly with me either.”

When the laughter subsided, Wilfrecht wiped the corners of his eyes and mouthed an apology.

Sheila wasn’t offended because he didn’t intend to mock her like Jornwerner, but she was rather worried about his posture when he laughed. Was it acceptable for royalty to bow so easily to commoners?

As she thought about this, a certain person suddenly formed in Sheila’s mind.

‘Felix…..’

He was her older brother, with whom she had grown up together.

Although it still didn’t feel realistic, it could be said that he was one of the people who had a certain ease about him that was uncharacteristic of the royal family.

He never looked down on the villagers and always treated them as equals. He took the initiative to help in the fields, cook, and wash clothes. His hands were warm as he stroked Sheila’s head, and his narrowed eyes were full of love.

‘Even though one is royalty, they really aren’t any different from us. That’s probably true not only for Felix, but for His Highness as well.’

Felix’s gentle smile overlapped Wilfrecht’s smile. Although they had different atmospheres, they were certainly related by blood.

“…. If Felix was the younger brother of the previous king, that makes him your uncle, doesn’t it?”

The gentle Felix and the flowery Wilfrecht. The two were so different that Sheila hadn’t noticed it before, but there were many similarities in their facial features.

Would Wilfrecht sometimes call Felix ‘Uncle’? Sheila laughed secretly, imagining her brother’s face as he tightened his cheeks at being called ‘Uncle,’ but then she noticed the boy in front of her had lost his smile.

“…. Your Highness?”

The air was tense, and she wondered if she had misspoken something. Sheila couldn’t make out the look on his face as he looked down.

His tied golden hair swayed loosely over his shoulders.

As the wind passed, Wilfrecht slowly raised his face. His azure eyes, which looked straight at Sheila, held a quiet resolve. It was a somewhat lonely look, like the surface of a lake sinking into darkness.

“――Do you know any details about the political upheaval?”

Sheila nodded cautiously at the question.

“Yes. The village where I live was not so much affected by the political upheaval, and I did not even know that such an incident had occurred until I came to the royal capital. I was curious, so I looked it up in the library.”

Wilfrecht removed his gaze and smiled wanly. It was the same self-mocking smile he had shown only once before. Somehow, there seemed to be a sense of danger that he was about to break down.

“Then, didn’t you notice something unnatural?”

“Unnatural….?”

Sheila wasn’t good at guessing. She couldn’t anticipate what the other person was going to say.

It was precisely Wilfrecht’s serious attitude that puzzled her because she didn’t understand. What in the world could have made him look so sad?

When Wilfrecht noticed Sheila’s confusion, he opened his mouth. Perhaps he had not wanted a response from the beginning.

“Uncle Felix was born the year after the former king…. my grandfather passed away. At that time, my father had already passed away due to an unforeseen accident.”

That’s right. The death of Wilfrecht’s own father, the First Prince, was the catalyst for the Vladsaliam Rebellion. This was before the fall of the previous king.

“…… Huh?”

If Felix was the Seventh Prince who survived the previous rebellion, then there was only one strange thing.

Felix was currently 18 years old. Counting from the year the previous king died, there was no particular inconsistency. But what about Wilfrecht?

Wilfrecht was in the fifth grade, so he should be 16 years old. However, that would result in a considerable error from the year of the death of the First Prince. What was with that―?

As Sheila held her head in total confusion, Wilfrecht opened his mouth again. As if giving a clue to a lost child.

“Have you noticed? It is impossible for me to be younger than Felix.”

His serene smile was distorted with bitterness.

A cold autumn wind blew between them.