I swallowed a sigh.
I resented Banshees and Estio anew.
I don't know why those guys, who hate me so much, insist on hanging around in front of me.
'No.'
It was the Duke who invited me to the banquet in the first place that was wrong.
'Since when have I been included in such things?'
Doing things I don't usually do must have caused problems.
'……No.'
Blaming others is meaningless.
The fact that things went wrong so easily means I'm still weak.
'I need to train harder.'
So that this kind of thing doesn't happen again.
I reaffirmed my resolve and was about to slowly open my eyes.
Thud.
Suddenly, something lightly landed on my forehead.
Startled by the unexpected sensation, I reflexively held my breath.
Soon I realized what was covering my forehead.
It was someone's hand.
Someone's hand, warm in temperature and soft in texture.
That hand was carefully stroking my forehead.
'Who?'
The question arose, but it soon calmed down under the touch.
'Feels good…….'
Is it because I'm in pain after being sick? Or is it because I recalled memories I didn't want to recall?
The touch of someone's hand, whoever it belonged to, that gently stroked me felt even more tender.
So, without realizing it, I tilted my head towards the hand.
Then the hand paused for a moment and then stroked my hair.
'Like a child.'
Feeling a sense of stability from a single touch.
But well…….
'I am a child.'
Because I'm 10 years old now.
So, it's okay to act like a child once in a while, right?
I started to fall asleep again.
As my fading consciousness slipped away, I heard someone's voice.
"I'm sorry, Miss. I..."
Who could it be?
What are they sorry for?
I don't know what it is, but whatever it is, it feels like it's okay now.
With that, I completely fell asleep.
Time passed in an instant.
From early morning, the Rodbel ducal residence was very noisy.
This was because the Rodbel ducal family's senate and key figures had flocked in for the qualification exam.
'Wow, there are so many.'
I, who was preparing for the exam, was inwardly impressed by the rows of carriages lined up to enter the ducal residence.
I felt anew how great Rodbel's power was.
Then, Marin, who suddenly approached, pointed out the window and shouted.
"There, there's the imperial family's carriage too!"
I looked for the carriage that Marin pointed to.
'It's really the imperial family's crest?'
I didn't expect even a member of the imperial family to come to observe.
Ah, well.
'It's her fiancé's important event. He can't not come.'
It's only been a year since Miracle made her engagement promise with the Crown Prince.
As is the case with most arranged marriages, the engagement promise between the Crown Prince and Miracle was in fact a transaction between the imperial family and Rodbel.
It is to balance power through arranged marriage.
Although it was a promise made due to the circumstances of adults, Miracle genuinely liked the Crown Prince.
'And it seemed like the Crown Prince liked Miracle too.'
That's probably why. The Crown Prince often visited Rodbel to meet Miracle.
'I often saw them taking walks together.'
I used to watch the two of them walking in the garden through the attic window.
Even from a distance, the Crown Prince and Miracle looked like a very well-matched couple.
Anyway, if even the imperial family is coming to observe, the Rodbel qualification exam must be quite a big deal.
Well.
'It's not held often, and it's an opportunity to see Rodbel's future with your own eyes.'
The qualification exam, as the name suggests, is an exam to verify whether Rodbel's children are qualified to be recognized as direct descendants.
It started from the spirit that only the strong can become members of the family, as befitting a knight family.
That spirit has continued to this day, and if you don't pass this exam, you won't receive the treatment of a direct descendant even if you are one.
The representative example of this is the non-open area of the library.
Well... even if that's not the case, Rodbel can boast the family's power in front of many people, and they can estimate Rodbel's future in advance.
In many ways, it can be seen as having intertwined interests.
'And me too.'
Pride in being a direct descendant of Rodbel? I don't need that kind of thing.
I only need the authority and power that only recognized direct descendants can have.
It was then.
Knock knock.
The door opened with a knock.
I smiled happily when I saw who had entered.
"Captain."
The person who visited was Aen.
"Good morning, Miss."
"I'll prepare tea."
Marin left, and Aen naturally sat on the sofa.
I also sat across from Aen.
"How's your condition?"
Aen, who heard the story of me collapsing a week ago, came running the next day.
I had a hard time stopping him from nursing me by my side.
I nodded lightly.
"I'm fine."
It wasn't empty words.
I paid special attention to managing my condition from two days ago to prepare for today.
Thanks to that, my body felt light as if I could fly.
Aen smiled in relief at my answer.
"I'm glad to hear that."
Soon Marin brought tea.
While sharing tea, Aen told me things to be careful of.
It was mainly content that was covered in class.
I listened attentively to Aen's words.
"So, when you grab the spear……."
Aen, who had been listening carefully, suddenly stopped talking and shook his head.
"No. Forget everything I said."
"Yes?"
Suddenly telling me to forget what he said, what does that mean?
When I looked at him with a puzzled face, Aen said with a serious expression.
"If you try to follow along while thinking about the theory in your head, you might ruin even what you're good at."
Besides, our Miss is already doing well.
Aen added playfully.
While staring at him, I asked without realizing it.
"Will I be able to do well?"
The anxiety that I had been trying to ignore raised its head.
Will I be able to do well?
What if I make a mistake?
I have worked hard and improved that much, so I have faith in myself, but I inevitably started to feel pressured as I faced the final battle.
This qualification exam was also the first exam that I bet my life on.
"You can do it."
"……."
"I know better than anyone. How desperately Miss has tried."
Aen smiled playfully again.
"But if you're still worried, trust me. Miss said it before. That you trust my choices. Do that again this time."
Ah.
You're talking about that time.
When the Duke, who summoned me to his office, pressured me with the matter of taking swordsmanship lessons from Aen.
To the Duke's pressure of whether it was worth spending Aen's time on me, I…….
'Because the Captain chose me, I trust the me that the Captain chose.'
Yes, I definitely answered that way.
"My choice was right back then."
"Captain……."
"And my choice will be right this time too. So don't worry too much. If it doesn't go as well as you want, you can blame me then."
Aen gave that playful smile of his.
I blankly stared at him and murmured.
"It's amazing."
I gently raised my hand over my chest.
Dugun dugun…….
My heart was beating steadily.
The nausea had disappeared long ago.
"I'm not nervous anymore."
Just talking to him, how can I become so comfortable?
Not just this time.
All the time I spend with Aen is like magic.
How can this be?
'Is it really magic?'
Aen is an amazing person, so it's not impossible.
If not, this change doesn't make sense.
I asked carefully.
"……Captain, do you perhaps know how to use magic or something?"
"What? Puhahahahaha!"
I asked seriously, but Aen burst into laughter.
I stared at him expressionlessly as he laughed until tears streamed down his face.
"Ahaha, I'm sorry. It's not that Miss is funny, so I laughed."
"Liar."
If it wasn't because it was funny, how could you laugh so hard that tears came out?
I asked him quite seriously, but Aen laughed so much that I didn't feel good at all.
Then Aen said as if asking me to believe him.
"It's not that, it's because Miss is so cute, that's why I laughed."
"……."
"Huh? It's because you're cute? Really. Miss is really cut- Ugh."
"I know. I know, so stop……."
If I left him alone, he seemed like he would keep saying 'cute', so I covered Aen's mouth with both hands.
Aen blinked and looked at me, then smiled softly.
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