[Sylvester P.O.V.]
“… Let’s stop here today.”
“Thank you very much.”
“Your Highness has gotten a lot stronger.”
Elvis has remained expressionless since we met, but he still gave me a rare compliment. I know that he won’t flatter me, so I was stunned and happy that he had complimented me. However, there was another feeling that gushed up from within me as well.
“I’m still not strong enough yet.”
Elvis praises me as much as he did when I was younger.
Compared to his sons, Cyrus and Isma, I still have a long way to go.
When I thought that, I heard a familiar laugh from behind me.
“Haha, you’re usually sincere, but you won’t accept your master’s compliments… Apparently, my son has finally reached his rebellious age.”
“Father.”
I was a little surprised that father was here since he usually didn’t come here.
“Sylvester, you should accept compliments. It’s good that you want to improve, but it’s rare for Elvis to compliment someone, so you’ll be punished if you don’t accept it.”
“Your Majesty.”
“Oh, did I say something wrong? But, I came here today because I heard that Elvis started praising Sylvester recently.”
“Huh…?”
“Oh, you didn’t hear it directly?”
I reflexively looked at Elvis when I heard that. Elvis had no expression on his face and remained calm. His attitude also stated that he hadn’t particularly said anything special about me.
I blinked, and father laughed.
“I still remember that day when you asked me if you can have a match with Elvis.”
“Father, now that’s…”
I haven’t forgotten that I demanded this of father because Dilly liked knights. However, it felt uncomfortable to say that in front of Elvis. However, father doesn’t know the real reason behind it anyway.
“Your Majesty, if you’re going to enjoy each other’s companies, then I’ll step down.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it. I also came here to discuss something with you.”
“With me?”
“Yeah. Why don’t you accompany me for a while tonight? I got some good alcohol. Your beloved daughter is in Weltoria, so you don’t have to rush home, right?”
Elvis frowned at father’s words.
“I’m sorry, but…”
“Oh, my bad. I’m not teasing you. I just want to thank you in advance.”
Father continued with a smile to the Earl, who was baffled.
“It’s about time for me to choose a new sword for Sylvester. There are probably things that Sylvester and I can’t understand if we went alone, so won’t you come with us, Elvis?”
“His Highness’s sword?”
“Eh, my sword?”
My voice and Elvis’s almost overlapped. I don’t remember asking my father for a sword, but Elvis accepted father’s words with a nod.
“It might be a good time.”
“Ah. He seems to like what he has now, but he’s coming of age. I want to give him something good at this turning point in his life.”
Of course, I know that I’m approaching adulthood.
But receiving a new sword for that… makes me feel like I’ve been recognised as an adult, and I became speechless. Father laughed at how I was acting.
“Let’s choose a good sword that people will vow to. A sword that will allow you to overcome any difficulty…!”
“Th-thank you very much…!”
I still don’t know what kind of sword I will receive. But I know that I was so pleased with this that I had trouble breathing.
I returned to my room, and Vernoux was sitting on the edge of my desk.
“Hey, you look happy today.”
“Yup, something good happened.”
“Did you finally get a hit on the Earl?”
“… Not yet.”
I smiled wryly at my friend who had dragged my happy mood down.
“More importantly, Vernoux, that’s not a chair, it’s a desk. Clay will get angry when he gets here.”
“Oh, he’s not coming yet, so it’s fine. I can’t sit on your chair, and this chair is pretty high and easy to sit on.”
“But it’s not a chair.”
Vernoux stated his argument, and I gave up on persuading him… or rather, I don’t care since his sitting position doesn’t bother me. However, I warned him since he might make Clay angry again.
“But it’s not easy getting a hit on him.”
“Don’t say it so easily. Elvis is powerful.”
“Well, I know that. I definitely wouldn’t want to have a match with him.”
I don’t think he has to refuse it to that point, but his eyes are serious. Vernoux has always liked sword training, so he probably really wanted to avoid having a match with Elvis.
“Gille, what would you do if the Earl says, ‘I won’t give my daughter to a man who isn’t stronger than me’?”
“Before that, the problem is whether she would accept me or not… If he does say that, then I can only try my best.”
“Hmm? You’re really positive today, is it because of the ‘good thing’ that happened?”
“Yeah.”
I answered immediately, and Vernoux shrugged.
“Well, it’s great that you’re in a good mood. And something to make His Highness Sylvester happier.”
“A letter from Dilly came?”
“… So you know about it. Here.”
Vernoux threw the letter at me even though it was important, so I quickly caught it. Then, I swiftly took out the paper-knife from my drawer and opened the letter.
“What did she write?”
“Wait, I’m reading it now.”
Vernoux seemed to enjoy my reaction more than the contents of the letter, so I lightly brushed him off as I read the letter I hadn’t received in a while. As expected, we send letters to each other less frequently than when Dilly lived in the royal capital, but even though a year has passed, we still send each other letters at a fixed interval.
“… It looks like Dilly’s working hard on a lot of things. She went with Countess Weltoria to meet various feudal lords last month. She said she wants to help with trading, and the wives love her.”
“Eh. Travelling, huh. Sounds like fun.”
I briefly told him what I had read, and Vernoux raised his voice in envy, so I tilted my head.
“Does Dilly not tell you anything?”
“It’s a miracle if she writes five lines in her letters to me.”
“I see.”
I was a little surprised since Dilly is an excellent writer and she had only written that much to Vernoux.
“She sends me different kinds of preserved food instead of a letter. She wrote, ‘I think it’s better for Vernoux-sama to receive products rather than a letter’.”
Thinking about it carefully, I can’t imagine Vernoux writing a proper reply to Dilly no matter what she writes. He finishes things he has to submit, but when they’re private letters, he ends them in two sentences. Well, it’s probably because it’ll be quicker for him to meet the person than write them a letter.
To sum it up, Dilly replied appropriately since Vernoux doesn’t write much in his letters. However, please forgive me for feeling like I talk to Dilly more because of this.
“Oh yeah, the dried shellfish that I received the other day was pretty good. I had it made into soup, and it tasted pretty good.”
“Oh.”
Maybe I’ll get her to send me some next time, so I can try it. I read the second letter as I thought about that.
“… She’s made a herb garden in Ertiga.”
“Are the fields and greenhouse in the royal capital not enough for her?”
“It’s probably not enough for making essential oils. She also started making a workshop. I wonder if she’s going to make that a speciality product.”
It’s pretty widespread that Dilly is making fragrant essential oils.
However, she hasn’t debuted in high society, and her guardian, Elvis, is pretty hard to approach. Even if people know that they can contact her through Countess Weltoria or Marquis Flantheim and his wife, they wouldn’t expect to be referred for free.
Therefore, more women are looking forward to Dilly’s appearance than she could imagine.
Rumour has it that people have tried to imitate Dilly and have been making new aromas, but they haven’t succeeded, and the products that she has produced until now are still priceless treasures. I don’t know if it’s a perfect mistake, but Dilly is still a child, and she’s clad in pleasant aromas, so incomplete products were forced to be recognised as failures.
I’m sure Dilly anticipated a situation like this when she announced her product back then. She’s able to come up with things that I couldn’t, one after the other, so it wouldn’t be strange if she thought this could happen.
“Hmm…”
“What’s wrong?”
“Well, thinking about it again, Dilly tries hard in a lot of things, right? So, I also want to write to her that I’m doing my best too, but it’s disappointing that I can’t come up with anything.”
All the things I’m doing my best in are as 『Sylvester』. Honestly, the only thing that 『Gille』 is doing his best in is going incognito. I think it would seem insincere if I only write about going incognito, having said that, I can’t write about the things I do as 『Sylvester』.
“『Actually I’m Sylvester』, you can write that, can’t you?”
“You can say that lightly… but what is the probability of her not replying to me after I write that?”
I’m sure she’ll stop replying to me. I thought, and Vernoux tilted his head.
“100%, she’ll definitely reply.”
“Huh?”
I widened my eyes in surprise since he didn’t take long to reply. Did Dilly tell Vernoux something…? However, my expectations were shattered in an instant.
“Do you think Dilly is someone who could ignore a letter from 『His Highness』?”
Vernoux said in a very natural way, and I sighed with all my heart.
“… Which means she’ll send back a really reserved letter?”
“Well, yeah.”
“I can’t have that. No.”
That would hardly be a letter from Dilly. Vernoux sighed a few times at me.
“It’s your fault for not saying it on that day. You finally took her out and created an opportunity to do so, but you didn’t.”
“… I missed the chance because it was too cosy.”
“Good grief. You good-for-nothing.”
It was a horrible thing to say, but unfortunately, I don’t have a reply to him.
I was really going to tell her that day.
I wanted to tell her since we were going to be separated for a long time.
I don’t know what kind of encounter is waiting for her at Weltoria fief, and there have been rumours that she will be adopted by Countess Weltoria from long ago, so I was really going to tell her that I’m Sylvester.
But, Dilly was pleased and was enjoying herself, so I hesitated to tell her something about myself. I wanted her to make happy memories, but it could have been ruined.
I was also worried that if I were to be rejected at that time, then I wouldn’t be able to justify myself because of the distance between us. I don’t know why she’s been avoiding me since long ago, but I can still make a comeback if she’s in the royal capital.
However, that wasn’t a reason to deny Vernoux’s ‘good-for-nothing’ comment, but it’s certainly my fault for not being able to make up my mind in a hurry.
“It just had to happen right after she started visiting the castle. I wanted to get along with her a little as ‘Sylvester’ when she received the permit.”
“Oh… I’m sorry about that.”
Vernoux averted his eyes.
However, I don’t think it’s all Vernoux’s fault at that time. I was a little happy, so Clay found out that Dilly was coming, and things ended up like that.
“There’s no use crying about it now.”
“Your depression at that time was amazing. You were really worried about Dilly too.”
“It doesn’t matter how I felt, but whose fault was it that Dilly got injured?”
“My bad.”
I was jealous that Vernoux could change his mood so easily, but he probably wanted to avoid talking about this. Without concealing that feeling, he brought up a different topic.
“Oh… Come to think of it, it seems like Dilly won’t be back for the New Year celebrations.”
“Yeah. Isma and Elvis will be working anyways. She said she met Cyrus in Ertiga.”
“Ertiga isn’t close enough for us to go incognito.”
“It’s not that far that I wouldn’t be able to go if I make up some ridiculous excuse.”
“Don’t do that. Clay will get angry if you do.”
Vernoux shrugged, and a knocked echoed in the room.
“Excuse me, Sylvester-sama.”
It was Clay who Vernoux was just talking about.
“Wow, speak of the devil…”
Vernoux said in a small voice, but fortunately, his voice died down before the door opened.
Still, Clay sent an icy gaze to Vernoux when he came into the room.
“Vernoux-dono. Where on earth are you sitting?”
“Well, it’s a good position to look at paperwork right now.”
“Even children understand that a desk is not a chair…”
Ah, he’s angry after all. However, Vernoux, who had made Clay angry, didn’t seem like he would put up with it at all and got off the desk in disappointment.
“Why didn’t you tell Vernoux-dono to get off the desk, Sylvester-sama?”
“No, His Highness did tell me to. I just didn’t get off.”
“Why don’t you obey what your Lord tells you to do!?”
“Well, isn’t it fine when no one’s around?”
“You don’t know when someone would enter the room! I entered, didn’t I?!”
“I knew it was you from your voice and didn’t get off.”
Ah, they’ve started already.
However, when I see them interacting, I remembered Dilly again.
Come to think of it, Clay also thinks of Dilly as a threat.
Clay hasn’t said anything about Dilly in particular since their first meeting. Well, he probably doesn’t say anything because he doesn’t know that I’m exchanging letters with her as 『Gille』. Even so, he didn’t like it when I had matches with the Earl before, but it doesn’t seem like he minds now.
It’s good that he doesn’t hate it anymore, but I’m a bit curious to know if something happened between him and Dilly. However, if he suspects something because I brought Dilly up, then Dilly might be troubled. That’s why I’ve been trying to find the right timing to bring it up, but…
“Oh, Clay. What’s that?”
“… It’s nothing.”
A letter slipped onto where the documents were placed from Clay’s chest pocket, and Vernoux’s gaze was glued on it. Clay immediately picked it up and put it into his inner pocket, but that letter is definitely from her.
“That sealing wax. I recognise it.”
Clay probably didn’t intend to talk about it, but he sighed at Vernoux’s words and took it out again to show Vernoux.
“… Of course, you would. It belongs to the Pameradia House.”
“Eh, who are you writing to?”
“It doesn’t matter, right?”
“No, wait… Well, it isn’t the Earl, and if you’re not writing to Cyrus-dono, then you’re not writing to Isma-dono. Which means… don’t tell me it’s from Dilly?”
“So what?”
Clay put the envelope away while showing his disgust to Vernoux, who didn’t hide his surprise.
Clay didn’t notice, since he wasn’t looking this way, but I think I looked stupid too.
“Huh? Clay and Dilly are on bad terms… I mean, Clay you hated Dilly a lot, didn’t you?”
“We don’t have a good relationship now either. We’re just communicating for gains.”
Clay replied indifferently, but Vernoux and I were surprised since we hadn’t heard about this from Dilly.
“What? Weren’t you saying she’ll cause harm to His Highness or something like that before? So, why are you interacting with her?”
“I still have concerns about her now, but she’s a little weird and has bad taste, so I don’t have to worry.”
“What?”
“Anyway, His Highness and Earl Pameradia aren’t alike at all, so it’s fine, right?”
The words that Clay had clearly stated were correct, but they pierced my heart. I know we don’t look alike, but I want him to respect my feelings since I’m trying my best to reach her ideal type. Well, Clay doesn’t know about this, so I guess he can’t respect my feelings.
“Besides, it’s not like Cordelia-jou doesn’t listen to what people say. At least, she listens more than you, Vernoux-dono.”
I stopped moving reflexively when Clay said that.
Vernoux opened his eyes wide, then grinned.
“Hey, what do you mean…? Is what I’d like to ask, but 『Cordelia-jou』, huh? I should ask you more about that.”
That’s true, I’m sure Clay called her Pameradia-jou. Clay frowned at Vernoux’s question, but I didn’t stop the conversation because I wanted to know as well.
“It’s not a big deal. She just told me to call her that.”
“『Just』. If you don’t want to call her that, then you would have definitely refused.”
I agree with what Vernoux had said. I was also shocked that Dilly had said something like that.
Dilly and Clay haven’t known each other for very long, and they’ve met as much as 『Sylvester』 had met up with Dilly, but they’ve talked enough for this type of conversation to pop up. It doesn’t feel like they would have that type of conversation. I felt a little frustrated when I thought that, and I wanted to know how he got her to ask him to call her that.
Clay sighed unpleasantly at Vernoux when I thought that.
“You know about it too, right? We talked because of what happened with the miss from the Clydereine House.”
“Oh, that? So that’s where your interests match.”
“What else is there?”
Vernoux sounded shocked, and Clay replied indifferently. But, judging from how Clay was behaving, he wasn’t writing to her against his will. If he was, then he would be angry.
When I see how Clay is acting, I thought that I would hate it if he became my rival in love, though I wouldn’t say it out loud. Clay said that he was writing to Cordelia for gains, but Cordelia is away from the royal capital, so how could she get information about the Clydereine House… when I think about these things, I felt that they could talk about other things as well.
Leaving that aside, I’ve also heard from Clay that Clydereine-jou had falsely accused Dilly. The day when she came to the castle with Earl Clydereine, she quarrelled with Dilly… or rather, she criticised Dilly one-sidedly. Clay was quite angered by Clydereine-jou’s etiquette, but I think he was furious because it had something to do with me… It seems like he was worried about Dilly too.
Honestly, if what Clydereine-jou said was true… if Dilly really came to see me, then how welcoming would that be? However, Dilly would stop interacting with me unless she needed to if that were to spread.
I get a headache when I wonder what she would do.
I’ve never met Clydereine-jou, so I can’t complain about her… but, it’s quite annoying that someone whom I don’t know at all is doing something I don’t want, for my sake.
I thought that and suddenly realised.
I wonder if Dilly avoided me since long ago to escape from such troublesome things.
If Dilly’s type is someone like Earl Pameradia, then I wouldn’t be her type, but she wouldn’t avoid me just because I wasn’t her type.
But, what if she wanted to distance herself from me because of my position as 『Prince』 and not because of me personally? She might not have been able to predict the things that would happen because of Clydereine-jou, but she might have guessed that people would criticise her if she got close to me. I also intend to understand what my position is.
Of course, I’m not confident that this is true, nor do I have any proof, but I can’t deny the possibility.
But after thinking a bit, the things I can do won’t change, even if that’s her reason for avoiding me.
After all, no matter the reason, if Dilly doesn’t take an interest in me then nothing will start. That’s why I have to become someone who she will be interested in, so I need to become someone who I can be proud of.
No matter how big I talk, the biggest problem right now is talking about my identity, and it’s pathetic since this problem started before I even reached the start line.
“So, how often do you two write to each other?”
“Not that often. If you ask how often, then it’s about as often as before.”
“I don’t know how often that is.”
Vernoux and Clay continued talking even while I was thinking.
I should stop them soon since Clay was gradually looking gloomier, but I was also a little curious, so I decided to wait until the last second.
Then, Clay sighed deeply.
“I’m not the only one who writes to Cordelia-jou. She writes a lot to the Hale sisters, and to the people who are doing welfare work with her.”
“Why do you know that?”
“…”
I’m sure Vernoux wanted Clay to say it because he knew that they were chatting in their letters.
“Vernoux, you shouldn’t insist on knowing what people write in letters.”
“Are you saying you’re not curious, Your Highness?”
Vernoux, who was grinning and speaking in an unnatural voice, also seemed to be saying 『If you're going to say something like that, then I won’t tell you even if you ask about it』. But Clay would get really angry if things carry on like this, and the words I said were my true feelings. Even I want to hide the things said in letters.
“You can just ask Cordelia-jou about it yourself if you’re curious. It’s not weird to send your childhood friend a letter, right?”
“By myself, huh. Well, that’s true.”
Vernoux had easily backed down, so he was probably going to stop teasing Clay soon. Clay, who was no longer entangled with Vernoux, sighed and turned to me before speaking.
“Your Highness. About Clydereine-jou… She’s still doing dream fortunes and is apparently respected by the people.”
“Are her dreams true?”
“Basically. Therefore, some people want to introduce her to you, including Earl Clydereine, her father.”
I shrugged at those words.
“We will meet somewhere if they just want us to meet, but that’s probably not what they want.”
“Yes.”
“I’ll keep in mind that I might not be able to avoid it. The Clydereine House is a house that can’t be taken lightly.”
Clay nodded at my words, bowed, and then left the room.
I’m grateful that he’s a workaholic, but I’m more concerned about what I’d just heard instead of being deeply grateful.
“It would have been great if all her dreams were false. Only the part about Dilly is different… I wonder why that is?”
“Who knows? She’s pretty vicious if she did it intentionally, and if her fortunes are like other fortunes, then they’re not always correct. In any case, it’s a little too dangerous for you to rely on that power considering your position.”
Vernoux said as he shrugged.
Her power is preposterous if she could really see the future.
But…
“I want to be able to create my own future without being deceived by other’s dreams. Of course, I’m not going to rely on dreams that trap people.”
“Well, do your best to convince those around you if you want it to be that way. Fortunately, Their Majesties aren’t positive about marrying you to Clydereine-jou, and you just need to persist. I can help you too.”
I nodded.
I know some people want Clydereine-jou to become queen, and I can imagine that Dilly would receive harsh treatment from others the stronger those voices get. Considering Dilly’s position as Earl Pameradia’s daughter, it wouldn’t be surprising if people viewed her as the number one obstacle for Clydereine-jou.
Dilly has used her own power to get people to recognise her ability and personality. So, she has a lot of allies, and it probably won’t be easy for her to fall into a predicament.
But if she were to be hurt by unfounded words, then I want to help her either as 『Sylvester』 or 『Gille』.
And, if I want to protect her, then I have to let people realise that my words are trustworthy. If they think my words are too light, then they would only react to it like how I’m reacting to the words of the Dreamer Girl right now.
Thinking that, I dropped my eyes onto the third page of the letter I was going to read.
『I look forward to going to the flower field again when I get back.』
That one sentence blew away the dark feelings inside me.
I can only try my best right now.
So that she would think of me as someone she could rely on a little when she gets back…