CH 99

Characters in this chapter:

Sapphiras Perfectio, 2nd son of the Earl of Aldridge

Percival Belisario, 3rd son of Margrave of Vanderwall on the Eastern Frontier

Aurora Steinfeld, daughter of the Duke of Bloomfield

Theodore Belisario, 1st son of Margrave of Vanderwall on the Eastern Frontier

Curtis Belisario, 2nd son of Margrave of Vanderwall on the Eastern Frontier

Sandrion Timberlake, daughter of Earl Timberlake, Theodore’s fiancée

Percival’s POV

“Sorry I’m late.’

I sent Sapphiras back to his room and hurried to the salon to find the family already there.

sister-in-law Sandrion is temporarily back at her parents’ house for a rest and recuperation, so she is not here. She had used white magic so much that she almost ran out of magical power.

“What’s wrong with Sapphiras-san?”

Mother has a concerned expression on her face. I’m used to it as expected, Sapphiras uses transfer magic all the time. No wonder she’s worried he’ll run out of magical power and collapse.

“He’s already rested today, and I’ve asked the maid to serve a leisurely meal in the room.”

“I see, I’m glad to hear that. I was worried because every day since he came here, he hasn’t come back to the castle until after dark.”

Early in the morning, Sapphiras brought supplies and human resources to villages in need of assistance and set up a kitchen and finally went to see how Cleo and the children were doing in Morris village. Since he was on the way home, he stopped at a temporary dismantling site for magical beasts and brought the materials to the material shop in Oriens.

AD

After the day is over, he eats well and rests, but the fatigue from his daily activities is starting to build up.

Sapphiras is a kitten-like creature with dragon powers, and although he can wield endless amounts of powerful magic, he is not a tough warrior in his own right. When his strength runs out, he is just an ordinary boy. I think it’s my role to assess his limits. I’m sure he won’t collapse from exhaustion, because he listens to me.

“……Sapphiras-dono saved our Vanderwall. If he hadn’t come, I don’t know what would have happened now. The rebuilding of the surrounding area, including the Oriens, is progressing at an amazing speed. But we cannot rely on his help forever.”

“It’s certainly as Father said. Besides, we can’t stay absent from the academy forever. If he helps us this far, we can manage the rest on our own.”

“Father and Brother Theodore are right. It’s been almost a week since I returned to Vanderwall with Sapphiras. Despite all the damage, the surrounding area, including Oriens, has regained much of its original appearance. All of this is thanks to Sapphiras.

However, given Sapphiras’ state of mind, he still has no intention of returning to the royal capital. Even if I forcefully took him back to the academy, he would definitely tell me that he wants to return to Vanderwall after school. On the contrary, he could even work for Vanderwall behind our backs. It would be less of a burden to stay here until Sapphiras is satisfied, rather than forcing him to do so.

“Sapphiras is helping Vanderwall because he wants to. Until he himself is satisfied, he will not return to the academy no matter what we say. He is reckless beyond our expectations, so I would be more worried about forcing him back.”

“Is that so……our Vanderwall has indeed gained an invaluable ally.”

AD

Both my mother and brothers nodded deeply. That’s right. I wonder if there are people who will do their best without any calculations and without asking for anything in return.

“By the way, when are you going to unveil it? The situation is as such, and it won’t be right away, but the sooner the better, isn’t it? The Belisario family can’t go ahead on our own accord, right? You’ll also need to talk to the ducal family, who is behind him.”

At Brother Curtis’s words, Father and Mother have subtle expressions on their faces.

“……Yes, the unveiling, right.”

“……”

“Eh? What are those faces of the two of you? It’s about accepting the proof of sworn friendship, isn’t it? Right, Percival.”

Everyone’s eyes are on me. I’m sure Father and Mother have already guessed, but Brother seems to think that Sapphiras has accepted to be my partner.

“Brother, Sapphiras does not know the true meaning of the proof of sworn friendship.”

“Ha?”

“I only gave it to him as a bond of companionship.”

AD

“Haa?”

“……I see, no wonder.”

Theodore stroked his chin as if convinced. At least, there is no such air between me and Sapphiras. From Sapphiras’ point of view, if I showed him the ring, he would feel a little bit absurd.

“No……but……is that enough for Percival?”

“Sapphiras has grown up locked up in the Earl’s family’s detached house from the time he was five when he received his magic appraisal until he reached this age. During that time, he was severely mistreated by his family and fiancé. So I’m sure he doesn’t have good feelings about being a partner. I don’t want to bind Sapphiras, who has finally gained his freedom, either. I just wanted that ring to be one of the things that would protect him, so I gave it to him.”

The whip marks on Sapphiras’s slender back showed how badly he had been treated as a child. The Earl of Aldridge is a man who could do such a terrible thing to his own child. His fiancé, whom the man appointed, was equally disrespectful of Sapphiras and tried to trample on his dignity.

How could I bind Sapphiras with the chains of partnership when he was finally free from them?

“I heard about it in the royal capital. It is right that Sapphiras concealed his magical talent. If the Earl of Aldridge had known that he was a magician with such magic, he would have remained tied to the Earl’s family. Unfortunately, the Earl is hardly a good man, and I don’t wish to speak ill of the deceased, Sapphiras’s former fiancée, the second son of the Anderson, was not a man to be admired either.”

If the information is from Mother’s sources, it is likely to be quite accurate. She must have heard the Andersons’ side of the story in particular in detail. I don’t think I’d want to hear it from anyone other than Sapphiras himself, which would be unbearable to hear.

“In any case.”

Father, who had been listening quietly until now, opens his mouth.

“It is certain that Sapphiras-dono is a benefactor of our Vanderwall. Belisario must never forget that.”

“I fully understand.”

“Of course, Father.”

My brother and I correctly understood the implied meaning that we should never betray our benefactor, Sapphiras.

AD

“But Sapphiras looks like that, and he’s also a one-man magician equivalent to a thousand. There will no doubt be many people, regardless of gender, who will want to be his partner soon. If he were a nobleman, if he were to be noticed by a more powerful being, he would still be a commoner, no matter how much he has the backing of the Duke’s family. A ring that only has shape may not be enough to protect him.”

“Theodore, you are right to be concerned. Kingsleigh-dono was concerned about the same thing. However, Sapphiras has already refused the Second Prince’s consortship and has been allowed by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to register as an adventurer with the Adventurers’ Guild here in Vanderwall.”

“Eh? In this land? Or rather, the Second Prince’s consort?”

“What does that mean, Percival? Please explain in detail.”

Mother’s eyes flashed. Regarding this matter, I didn’t report it because I wasn’t directly involved in it. Mother likes Sapphiras. Even if he doesn’t become my spouse, she may want to welcome him as her son. Knowing that Sapphiras was about to be taken away by the royal family in the worst possible way, just as Mother had feared, she would not be at peace.

“Yes. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, as a reward for his work at Worstitters, has tried to give Sapphiras royal status as the Second Prince’s consort. Of course, he said that this would only be a formality and that the second prince would never return to the royal capital. However, Sapphiras refused and instead wanted to register as an adventurer with the Vanderwall guild. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince granted it, and the Duke had no objections.”

“I see. That’s how it is……”

Mother looked overtly relieved.

“But I didn’t hear anything like that from anywhere. Does that mean it was really a private conversation?”

“Because His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would have been in a rather delicate position at the time of the Beast Kingdom uprisings. It must have been between the Crown Prince and the Duke.”

The Crown Prince is a thoughtful and understanding man. And there is also Miss Aurora at his side. Even though it was an unofficial occasion, he would never break a promise he made once.

“Having been expelled from the Earl’s family, Sapphiras has gained a free position without fences as a result. If he really feels bothered, he will use his speciality of transference to leave everything behind and disappear to somewhere else. After all, he is that good at magic. He can go anywhere. So when he decides to leave everything behind and go somewhere, I’d like to at least be an existence that won’t be left behind.”

I took out the small bag that I always carry with me from my pocket and showed the contents to my family. In the red stone set in the centre, a shimmering flame is flickering and burning. What a mysterious stone.

“Isn’t this……the War Maiden’s Oath……is it real?”

“Where on earth did you get that?”

The two older brothers turned their devouring gaze to the War Maiden’s Oath. It’s a relic-grade magical tool. The two brothers looked at each other and then at the War Maiden’s Oath.

“Sapphiras gave it to me in return for the ring. He got it from a Nomad merchant in Oriens.”

I tell them that Sapphiras did not use any of the support money from the Duke, but obtained this War Maiden’s Oath with the money he got from hunting the magical beasts that occurred in the royal capital and selling the materials.

“……Wait a minute. Doesn’t that, for all intents and purposes, amount to a promise of partnership? Certainly a ring with the Vanderwall crest on it is worth a good deal of money. And for that matter, isn’t the return a War Maiden’s Oath? And he got it by hunting his own prey. He’s even planning to register as an adventurer here, isn’t he ready to come to you?”

“No. This was given to me as a token of my adventuring companionship. Besides, Sapphiras wanted to be registered as an adventurer at Vanderwall because he knew the value of the adventurer’s guild here.”

Sapphiras wouldn’t have the faintest idea of such a thing. He felt bad about keeping it, so he prepared the War Maiden’s Oath. A registration card from Vanderwall will give him an advantage as an adventurer. But that’s it.

“No, no. No matter how you look at it, Sapphiras-dono’s actions seem to be acknowledging Percival as his partner……Or am I reading into it too much?”

Brother Curtis puts his hand to his forehead and looks up at the ceiling.

“Just giving him the ring is a big step for Percival. If people around him misunderstand it on their own, as Curtis did, there’s no chance of Sapphiras-san receiving family charts and personal histories1. Let’s just accept it for now.”

Mother puts the matter to rest by saying so.

I don’t think Sapphiras would have thought that he was being talked about like this in his own absence.

In any case, I don’t want Sapphiras to worry about something unnecessary. I have to get Father to say a few words to Mother and older brothers, so as to not touch on the matter of the ring too much.

I sighed softly, thinking of Sapphiras, who was probably resting in his room, unaware of what was going on.