Chapter 77
v2 Epilogue Part 1
Epilogue
It was the day after the duel and I was inside my room within the boys’ dorms .
I sat on top of my bed .
“I didn’t intend to break it . But, Luxon said that it would be dangerous unless I dismantled it, and anybody would pull the trigger if they were told that Greg could die in front of them . Anyone who wouldn’t pull it would be inhuman . Yet, everyone looks at me with disgust for pulling the trigger . Did I do something wrong? Is this my burden to carry alone?”
While I was grumbling to Luxon, I was looking at the people who would be participating in the ceremony, my parents, my brother Nicks, and my sister who no longer had ties to the viscount household .
My sister’s cat-eared exclusive servant, Meole, was standing by outside the room .
There were guests outside of my family as well, making the relatively spacious room feel cramped .
Anjie looked at me with a troubled expression .
“You’ve been like that since yesterday . Not a good image for a baron . You at least changed into your ceremonial suit, though . ”
An apologetic Livia had already talked about my circumstances to my family .
“Leon, a lot of people have been condemning you about yesterday’s duel . ”
Everyone had been telling me that I had crossed a line . My mentor was the only one who didn’t criticize me . Being the extraordinary gentleman he was, he kindly said “You must have had some reason for doing it,” to me .
I couldn’t stop my tears in face of my mentor’s kindness .
“Ah~, your tearing up . Look, your ceremonial suit will get stained with tears, so go put a towel to your eyes . ”
Clarice was also here for some reason .
It seemed the reason for that was somehow related to the Atlee household . She had spoken about her reason, but at that time I was zoning out and had ignored whatever she said .
In addition, standing there while folding her arms was the queen──no wait, it was Deirdre .
Why was she here?
“How pathetic . The great ambition of the one who fought against the principality is nowhere to be seen . ”
“What kind of guy are you?! Can you not hold a dignified appearance just for today?! Also, there have been an increasing number of girls who I don’t know about . What in the world have you gotten yourself into?”
My father, who wore a knight’s ceremonial uniform that didn’t match with his bearded appearance, scolded me while troubled about the group of women . It seemed that he couldn’t help but feel confused about why there were so many wealthy girls in my room .
“Who knows? I’d like to ask that question myself . ”
My mother was wearing a dress that she normally wouldn’t wear . It seemed that she felt bothered by all of the prestigious girls .
“R, right . You’re about to receive a medal . You’ll be the star of the show today, so you should be more firm . B, by the way, what are you to these people here?”
Deirdre answered while rolling her hair around her hand .
“He’s the first man who laid his abuse towards me . ”
I immediately denied it . What was with this easily charmed upperclassman, and why did she seem so delighted?
“Stop phrasing it so weirdly . Also, why are you all glaring at me? I don’t have any strange hobbies . ”
I pulled myself together and sighed .
“Why do I even have to wear a specific suit for today’s ceremony anyways? Wouldn’t my uniform be enough?”
Today’s ceremony only involved handing out congratulatory medals to the students who participated in the battle with the principality .
I was told that the whole school was gathering in the morning to publicly acknowledge them .
So, why were my parents here?
When I made an expression of bewilderment, my brother looked at me with an exhausted face .
“Did you, by any chance, not hear what they said?”
When I nodded my head, Anjie glared at me . She was pretty scary .
Or rather, she had been maintaining a frightening glint in her eyes ever since Deirdre spoke .
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Did I do something?
“Oh──I explained it to you yesterday, but did you not listen to it all?”
Livia stood up for me to the angry Anjie .
“Wait . Leon’s hurt . He really planned on losing against his Highness and the others, but ended up winning . So──please forgive him!”
When Livia said that, Anjie once again explained the situation to me .
Thank you for the help, Livia──I’ll get you an amazing necklace for a present . It was supposed to be yours from the start, though . Though, what reason should I come up with to give it to her?
While I pondered about such things, she spoke .
“You were the one who had accomplished the most, Leon . ”
“Huh? That’s supposed to be Chris, right?”
Anjie didn’t understand what I was saying .
“It’s true that Chris drove away the Black Knight──at least that’s what people were led to believe, but you were the one who seized her Highness Hertrude, Leon . You also plundered the enemy nation’s new airships and armor . Presenting them to the royal palace was a grand feat . You also saved the students and sailors . Looking at it as a whole, both you and Chris were extraordinary . So you’ll be awarded a genuine medal . ”
Livia looked glad .
“You rushed to rescue Anjie by yourself! The people of the duke household praised you for being a knight among knights!”
Huh, that happened? I had those kinds of achievements? What?! Wait a minute!! I never heard about that!
I couldn’t believe what Clarice then said .
“The Atlee household had been vouching for your promotion before as well, but with this event, your merits were acknowledged . Also, Chris’ household had vouched as well . The Field household and Seberg household too had also written a letter of recommendation for you, Leon . Lastly──the Roseblade household as well . ”
Deirdre made a loud laughter .
“If you were just all bark and no bite, I would done everything in my power to crush you . However, you carried out your words──just like a genuine knight, and proved yourself as a noble . If we didn’t recognize you, the Roseblade name would lose meaning . ”
──Why did they all do this to me?! I wasn’t happy at all!
While I stiffened, Livia spoke to me with a smile .
“You’re amazing, Leon! From today, you’ll be in the ‘lower fourth rank’ as a ‘viscount . ’ Rumors have spread about you in the royal capital, and you’re like a hero, Leon . ”
I couldn’t comprehend what Livia had said . My mind refused to comprehend .
A, a viscount? A hero? How strange . That was impossible! That shouldn’t have happened!!
My sister was there in the corner of the room, getting smaller and smaller . She was distressed when hearing about me being a viscount . She was probably remembering about the boy she definitely couldn’t marry . She was letting her feelings of resentment show .
I calmed down a bit after seeing my sister like that . Right, now that I had regain my composure, I would be able to cope with most of these things .
“Why? Even though he said he’d get married, he rejected both my friend and me . Wasn’t he a little too cruel to say ‘No, not a chance’?”
As a matter of fact, I was actually acquainted with the upperclassman my sister had a crush on . The place I sold the sky pirates to was the household that both my sister and her friend wanted to get married into .
I heard a lot, but it seemed that there were other partners than my sister and her best friend .
I smiled and spoke as if I didn’t care about my sister .
This would make up for how much a nuisance she had been . As her brother, I will make her apologize for being an awful sister .
In addition, it seemed that my sister had reconciled with her friend .
Apparently, that they reconciled once they both complained about their anger towards the man they had been aiming for .
──Who was it that said a friendship between girls would be short-lived? Their relationship had gotten stronger!
I collapsed onto my bed and lied down .
“This is just a dream . Once I wake up, I’ll be at the beginning of my school life, the school entrance ceremony . Daniel, Raymond, and I will all grumble about how hard it is to get married . My mentor will guide me towards the Way of Tea, I’ll challenge the dungeon in order to buy a new tea set, then I’ll find a modest but kind girl with big breasts, save her when she’s in a pinch, and have her fall in love with me . I’ll safely spend three years with the those breasts, marry her, and then return to my home town . We’ll happily spend our time soaking in hot springs and eating Japanese food . A viscount? You must be mistaking me for someone else . ”
Seeing my desires leaking out, my older sister clicked her tongue .
“You really a hopeless man . Just what do you think of women? You’re the worst . ”
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My older brother was cruel as well .
“In the end, you’re just getting married for her breasts . ”
My father also acted cruelly .
“What matters most is her bottom, you know? A round bottom, just like the one your mother──ouch!”
“You!”
My mother slapped my father, who had ended up saying something extreme . Way to go, do some more to him .
Clarice showed some interest .
“Oh, you have a hot spring? How nice . ”
Anjie glared at her .
“What do you mean by that?”
Clarice maintained her composure towards Anjie .
“Oh my, could it be that you’re bothered?”
I thought of Clarice as being a little cute, but Anjie’s glare was staggering, so I averted my eyes .
Deirdre heard about the hot springs .
“So that’s what suits your fancy . I can buy each and every floating island with one for you . ”
Livia seemed troubled .
“Huh? Well, but, buying an island is a bit much . ”
“The Roseblade household has that much fortune . ”
Anjie spoke quietly .
“Oh, you’ll just buy an island? Leon has a relationship with a duke household . Do you not know that, Deirdre?”
“Anjielica, that face of yours──it’s giving me the shivers . ”
This person was definitely abnormal .
Anyways, could I not bail out of this ceremony and make everyone go home?
Livia was slightly angry while trying to have me get up .
“Leon, the ceremony is about to begin, so hurry and get going! C’mon, get up . ”
Anjie averted her gaze from the two she had been glaring at and turned towards me .
She pulled on my arm, getting me off of the bed with Livia .
“Look, you should go . Your father and older brother will be participating in this ceremony . They both admire you, Leon . ”
──This wasn’t how things were supposed to go!
It was the first day of winter break .
A grand ceremony was held at the academy .
The young students were awarded medals for their efforts, beginning with a baron who played an active role in the battle against the principality .
Many schoolboys were recognized as knights, and many girls would be receiving just the medal, but would also get an annuity .
The boys weren’t given an annuity, but that just went to show how severe this world was .
In addition, Leon Fou Baltfault had risen in rank .
He had received a large promotion to the lower fourth rank .
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Leon was the only one in the history of the kingdom to get promoted this much in such a short period of time .
There were reasons for his promotion, but the fight with the principality was the largest factor .
In addition, his promotion had also resulted from the letters of recommendation by numerous prestigious families, beginning with the Field, Seberg, and Arkwright households .
On this day, Leon carved his name into the history of the kingdom .
After the ceremony ended, I loosened up the collar of my knight uniform and fled towards the back of the school building .
The back of the school building was in the shade, and that combined with the weather made it cold .
I was getting a headache from both the party and from my thoughts about what would happen from now on .
“Why did things come to this?”
Luxon, who was by my side, acted the same as ever .
[It would have been better if you hadn’t done anything . ]
“The stupidity of those guys has gone beyond my expectations . I’m not getting involved with them again . ”
Was it bad to get involved with Julian and the others? At any rate, my heart calmed down while speaking with Luxon .
I was at my wits’ end .
“What does being a viscount mean? What about the lower fourth rank? What in the world am I expected to do?!”
Even if people were expecting a lot from me, there wasn’t much I could do!
As I was wallowing in sadness alone, Livia came to the back of the school building, looking for me .
Come to think of it, this was the place Livia originally occupied when she had been in low spirits before .
“Ah, so you were here, Leon . ”
“Livia──”
I suddenly became embarrassed since this was the first time we’ve been alone ever since the fight with the principality . Somehow or another, we had been operating with Anjie there as well .
No, we had been deliberately operating as a group of three .
However, I remember what she confessed to when we were alone .
Perhaps remembering the same, Livia’s face turned a little red .
“U, um!”
“Y, yes?!”
Since Livia had raised her voice, I replied while surprised .
Livia took one deep breath and then made a very wholesome smile .
“Perhaps I may be a bother to you Leon, but what I said back then wasn’t a lie . ”
“──You’re not a bother . However, I don’t know what’s the best thing to do . ”
Livia made an awkward smile .
“You’ve been avoiding me, haven’t you?”
“I just wasn’t sure on what I should say . ”
As I dropped my shoulders, Luxon beside me said something along the lines of [You’re quite pathetic, Master . ] I wanted to throw this ball thing .
Livia held onto my hand .
“Please give me your answer someday . I’ll be waiting until then . ”
“──Livia . ”
“Now then, let’s go . Everyone’s waiting . ”
With Livia leading me by the hand, I was taken out from the shadow of the school building .
It was winter break .
I returned home, looking at the new residence .
The countryside was nice . It felt like the events that transpired in the city were all lies .
This location was tenderly welcoming me .
“Quite the large residence . ”
My father, who was embarrassed yet prideful, was very delighted .
“The number of visiting guests have increased . I wanted to greet you to our tidied home, so I had been working hard . I owe it to you . ”
My parents had a large amount of money, so they had been sending me a small allowance, but it seemed that most of it went towards rebuilding the residence .
The former residence was──how do I say it? Oh, I got it . Let’s just say that it had only kept up appearances .
My older brother made a complex facial expression when hearing about our rooms from my father .
“Though I won’t be able to come back here that often after graduation, this feels a little nice . ”
My older sister, who seemed dissatisfied, broke the serene mood .
“──What about Meole’s room?”
My father was troubled . It seemed that he didn’t think Meole would need a room .
“Huh? We have a room for servants . ”
My sister got mad .
“Are you saying that he’ll use the same room as the residence’s servants? Normally, people would prepare exclusive-use rooms . Besides, if you were going to rebuild the residence, then tell me . Since there’s room, I could have brought Meole . ”
It seemed that this time Meole was house-watching back at the academy .
“W, well, I wanted to surprise you . ”
“You need to pay more attention to people’s needs . Leaving that aside, did you touch my room without permission?”
My sister scolded my father .
My mother stood up for him .
“I was the one that tidied up your room . So don’t worry . ”
“No! Why did you touch it without my permission?! If you were going to rebuild the residence, then you should’ve contacted me! Leon could have dropped me off here!”
I spat .
My brother criticized me .
“You idiot . Stay out of this or you might complicate things . ”
“Is it okay if I knock some sense into her?”
“I know how you feel, but control yourself . Look, she’s only angry because she was rejected by a boy . ”
I suppose . She gave me a good laugh when I saw her getting rejected along with her best friend, so I decided to turn a blind eye to this matter today .
──I’ll use this topic to poke fun at her for a while .
After watching my sister angrily enter the residence, we placed our hands on our depressed father’s back and made compliments about the mansion .
Coming back to look at the status of the territory after a long time, a lot of development had happened .
At this rate, it seemed that it would make for a splendid baron household in a matter of two years .