MCWTV 64

Chapter 64…………….

If you only listened to Archibald’s words, you’d think it was nothing more than two kindergartners fighting.

Maybe, to that idiot, even Mars trying like crazy to kill me right now would just look like a sibling quarrel.

That fool had a knack for irritating people with the flower garden he nurtured in his skull.

“You think this is something that ends with reconciliation?”

This wasn’t the kind of thing that could be solved with a “Sorry” and a “No, I’m even sorrier,” followed by a hug.

Because there had never been a fight to begin with.

It was just a difference in temperament.

Just because you were playmates didn’t mean you were destined to get along for life.

Minerva had known that from the start. And yet, she had chosen Gabriel as her playmate anyway, because…

“Mom?”

“Huh? Oh…?”

When I came to my senses, I was rubbing my face with my hands.

What had I been thinking about just now?

It wasn’t only my thoughts that had stopped—the carriage had halted as well.

Did the wheel break? That fleeting thought was shattered by Aslan’s innocent question as he pointed out the window.

“Mom, what’s that?”

“…Huh?”

At the end of his finger was a large four-legged animal.

A four-legged animal that was standing upright, blocking the road.

Yes. A bear.

Even though we were in the forest, the path was wide enough for a carriage—it wasn’t supposed to be that wild.

And yet, a bear had appeared?

I was a little startled, sure, but I didn’t really feel any sense of danger.

Why else did we have the Imperial Knights here?

I leaned my cheek on my hand by the window, expecting they’d deal with it quickly. But suddenly, the carriage door flung open.

“Please dismount, Your Highness.”

“…Me? You’re telling me to get out?”

A bear had appeared—so why was I getting out?

Maybe it was because Theodora’s manner was so confident and natural, but before I knew it, I was stepping down from the carriage.

I thought maybe she wanted to show me how the knights would take care of it. But instead, the knights just stood around idly.

Worse still, Theodora shoved a sword into my hands.

“Why are you giving me this…?”

“It’s a bit early, but it’s time for real combat. Now—deal with it.”

What the hell! She wanted me to take it down?!

If it were a joke, that would have been great. But from both Minerva’s memories and my own, I knew—Theodora was a merciless teacher.

This was no joke.

My survival instincts kicked in, screaming that provoking a bear was the worst idea possible. I swallowed my voice and protested with my eyes.

But to her, even my desperate pleading was nothing more than childish whining.

“Once we reach the Duchy of Eckhardt, we must part ways. So I’ll give you some condensed training now. Go on, take the sword.”

“N-no, you said training after reinstatement!”

I barely managed to lower my voice, but right then, the bear dropped to all fours.

It was preparing to charge.

Grrr.

With that low growl as the soundtrack, Theodora helpfully drew the sword from its scabbard—for me.

“After seeing that man yesterday, I changed my mind. If we wait until reinstatement, it’ll be too late. If they learn you’ve grown weak, it’ll become troublesome. You must regain your strength quickly.”

I hated to admit it, but she wasn’t wrong.

If I were truly as strong as Minerva had been, I wouldn’t have been beaten down so badly.

I understood her reasoning, but still!

“What if I waste time dealing with that thing, and he catches up to us? With my current strength, I can’t take it down!”

Every second counted right now.

And here she was, acting like this was training camp!

But as I said before—my teacher was a merciless one.

“That’s why you need to deal with it quickly. You can do it, Your Highness. Whenever the hunting festival was held, you always brought back a few bears like that with ease, didn’t you?”

That wasn’t me!

I had never once attended a hunting festival in Minerva’s body.

I wasn’t exactly fond of meaningless killing, thank you very much.

Theodora’s teaching style, though, was unwaveringly Spartan.

This was exactly why I had put down the sword the moment I left the palace.

I never wanted to go through this again.

But of course, Theodora paid no mind and shoved me forward.

“Don’t worry—we’ll protect young master Aslan!”

ROOOAAR!

As if Theodora’s booming voice had been the signal, the bear charged at me.

Thud! Thud!

The only one worrying about me was Aslan, who was pounding frantically on the carriage window. But the soundproofing was so good I couldn’t hear his voice.

I couldn’t bear to show him weakness twice. So, crying inside, I raised the sword.

They say leaving home means hardship—how true.

“Theodora, when I get reinstated, I swear I won’t let you off easyyy!”

Right now, no one in the world missed the peaceful days at the Fran estate as much as I did.

* * *

Around the same time Minerva was yearning for the Fran estate…

As she passed through the gates of a mansion grand enough to be called a castle, there was another child who longed for the Fran estate just as much.

“Uh, Father? This place is…?”

“….”

Lloyd pretended not to hear Ayla’s question.

In the end, without saying a word, they arrived.

And still, he said nothing.

But Ayla was perceptive, even if her foster father stayed silent.

The “village” they had passed through was closer to a city, paved with bricks and bustling with people.

Had the Golden Castle been there, she would have mistaken it for the capital itself.

But instead of the Golden Castle, which could be seen from anywhere in the capital, what stood before her was this massive mansion.

Without so much as a check, Lloyd and his daughter passed through the enormous gates.

The guards even saluted Lloyd, and the carriage proceeded familiarly down the long entrance road.

Finally, they arrived before the mansion.

“…Shall we get down?”

Lloyd still hadn’t said where they were, but Ayla could tell—it was his family home.

He had said when they departed that they were going to the place where he was born and raised.

He works in a house this grand? Ayla thought nervously as she held Lloyd’s hand and stepped down.

Up close, it was dozens of times larger than the mansion in the Mente territory.

And its scale was proven by the sheer number of servants lined up to greet them, all bowing deeply in unison.

“Welcome back, Your Grace the Duke.”

“D-Duke…?”

The words shattered Ayla’s hopeful assumptions into pieces.

She looked around frantically, but it was obvious—the grand welcome was directed at Lloyd alone.

Yes, her father had just been called “Duke.”

She knew the title from books.

It was higher than the common five ranks of nobility.

A title granted to close relatives of the Emperor when they left the Imperial family—a rank so prestigious that foreign countries regarded them as equivalent to kings of small nations.

And according to the books, there was only one ducal family in the Empire.

The butler, Lawrence, who had followed in the carriage behind them, approached Ayla and bowed.

“Lady Ayla, you must be tired. Please, let’s head inside.”

The old butler she saw every day had just used a completely different form of address.

No one was laughing. Everyone was serious.

As Ayla stood frozen, a woman who seemed to be the head maid stepped forward.

“I am Susan, head maid of House Eckhardt. Lady Ayla, are you feeling unwell?”

Ayla quickly averted her eyes and tugged at Lloyd’s sleeve.

Duke’s daughter? Me? Impossible! There’s no way someone like me could be a duke’s daughter!

Her wide eyes begged Lloyd for an explanation.

If only I had told her earlier…

Even though he’d had plenty of chances in the last three days, he had kept his mouth shut like a clam. Now, Lloyd could only grit his teeth, squeeze his eyes shut, and finally confess.

“My real name is Lloyd Eckhardt, Ayla. …From now on, your name won’t be Ayla Mente, but Ayla Eckhardt.”

“W-what?”

“…I’m sorry for deceiving you, Ayla.”

Lloyd bowed his head low.

Ayla stared blankly at that round head for a long while.

Then, she remembered the question Lloyd had asked just a few days ago.

‘Didn’t you ever want to live in a better house?’

Ah. So this situation was real.

That was why he had asked.

But still—a duke’s daughter?!

This was…

“This doesn’t make sense!”