TRL 51

Chapter 51

“You really are sharp, my lady. Just from one hint, you can guess two. That’s right—the late Emperor’s river festival was an annual event to display the imperial family’s wealth and grandeur and reaffirm the nobles’ loyalty. They say there were so many boats on the river that it looked like it was crawling with water striders. Even the citizens came out to watch. It turned into a kind of festival.”

“Ah, so the Dracanis river parade was a symbol of the prosperous era under the late emperor. The current emperor doesn’t hold the event anymore, but now the crown prince wants to bring it back… That must have sounded like a declaration to carry on the late emperor’s legacy.”

“Exactly, my lady. This river festival is a message that he will revive the late emperor’s glory after skipping a generation. I bet all the nobles are falling over themselves to impress His Highness, like peacocks.”

“And there are probably people who want to ruin it, too.”

“…You don’t just guess two things—you guess three.”

Lindsey grinned. Rita sighed lightly and changed the topic.

“What about the investigation results I asked for?”

“So far, there are no missing persons around the Crown Prince.”

“Even counting attendants and servants? Not even people who went missing and came back?”

“No, none at all.”

“…I see.”

Seeing her mistress disappointed, Lindsey asked cautiously.

“Should I expand the scope? Maybe include deliverymen or laborers who enter Onyx Palace?”

“Yes, try to find out.”

“Understood.”

Lindsey bowed and left. Left alone, Rita resumed walking.

Soon, her destination appeared—a small training arena in the corner of the Cream Dome’s garden. Richard was already waiting in comfortable clothes and grumbled.

“You’re late.”

“Sorry.”

She had promised to do physical training with Richard during the hunt. Now that the debutante ball had passed safely, today was the day they would finally begin.

“By the way, I saw your invitation pile getting out of hand. Did you look at them?”

“I just handed everything over to Lindsey.”

“You didn’t even open them? Of course.”

Shaking his head as if he expected this, Richard stretched.

“Alright, let’s start with a basic fitness check.”

He had her do simple exercises like running, push-ups, and balancing on one leg. As he watched, his mouth gradually fell open.

“Wow… I can’t believe this.”

“Huff… Huff…”

“Your form is perfect, but your strength and stamina are awful. How can someone do textbook push-ups and still not manage three? That’s… impressive in its own way?”

“I told you… huff… I needed… training…”

Even while trembling and gasping for air, Rita stayed upright without collapsing. Watching her shaking shoulders, Richard clicked his tongue.

“You’re about to pass out. Sit down and rest.”

“Then… huff… my muscles… will stiffen. You know that, don’t you?”

“…”

As her breathing steadied, Rita began to stretch slowly in place. Richard propped his chin in his hand and murmured.

“You really did train properly before.”

“I was in something like the military.”

“Do you even need my help? From the way you held your form, you could probably train on your own just fine.”

“Physical training is better with someone else. They can check your form, help plan workouts, assist with stretching… and you motivate each other.”

After finishing her stretches, she looked at Richard.

“Which means—it’s your turn now. Want me to give you a test?”

“You? Who couldn’t even do three push-ups?”

“So you don’t trust me?”

Richard stared at her for a moment before snorting.

“Ha. This was your goal from the start, wasn’t it?”

“Busted.”

“You don’t even try to hide it. You knew I’d figure it out.”

Grumbling, he began stretching anyway.

“So, we’re doing a test you learned from that other world?”

“Yup.”

“Alright then. What’s first?”

Rita smiled slightly at his cooperative attitude. He didn’t seem offended or skeptical—instead, he trusted her.

“There’s no point in a basic fitness test for a top-ranked knight like you.”

She smiled sweetly and drew Silver Grace from her waist. Richard’s face went a bit pale.

“…Why are you pulling out a gun?”

“It’s a test I used to give rookies when I was a squad leader.”

The silver revolver shimmered with faint golden light as it aimed at him. Behind the barrel, Lillietta smiled faintly.

“First is a reflex test, big brother. Dodge well.”

“WHAT THE HELL?!”

“It’s fine. These are non-lethal rounds.”

“You’re saying it still hurts—GAHHH!”

With a sound like hail, the gun fired several times. Richard rolled frantically across the ground.

After a string of bizarre tests with no time to rest, the siblings finally sat side by side on a bench, cooling down.

While Richard gulped down water, Rita scribbled something and handed him a paper.

“I’ve drafted our training plan. What do you think?”

“…These reflex drills… Are these from earlier?”

“Yup.”

“Why are there so many?! You’re trying to torment me, aren’t you? No—this is revenge for that night ten years ago, isn’t it?!”

As Richard shouted in protest, Rita responded in a flat tone.

“Stamina decline, recovery slowdown, impaired balance from nerve damage, slower reaction time, decreased flexibility due to joint weakness, reduced cardiopulmonary endurance, muscle atrophy, and loss of strength.”

“…What?”

“That’s what’s happened to your body after four years of drinking. Especially the nerve damage—it’s caused a serious drop in your reflexes. That’s why you need so many reflex drills.”

She pulled out another sheet and held it up.

“My amethyst got your old fitness results from your amethyst. I wrote today’s results beside them. Take a look.”

Richard silently took the paper.

Rita knew that ever since she returned, Richard had stopped drinking and tried hard to recover his past skills.

She also knew he had been failing… and had grown so discouraged that he’d even stopped rehab. That he hadn’t told any family member about his struggles.

She stared at him for a moment, then spoke softly.

“Let’s do rehab together, Rihi oppa. It’ll be better than doing it alone.”

“…”

“I need rehab too. My body doesn’t move like I want it to. I get tired too easily.”

“Damn that Jeremy… Loose-lipped bastard, going around spilling things about his master…”

“He did it because he cares. You know that.”

“Yeah, I know. Damn it…”

Grumbling at his gemstone spirit, Richard sighed deeply and threw down the paper. He slumped along the bench and looked up at the drifting clouds.

“…I feel like I keep showing you how pathetic I am.”

“So what? We’re family.”

“Still… I want to be a reliable big brother. Someone you can lean on no matter what happens…”

“Is that why you trained like a madman?”

Rita took a sip of water and added casually,

“After I disappeared, I mean.”

Richard, still leaning back on the bench, turned his head to look at her. Her amethyst eyes, damp with sweat, were shadowed beneath her red hair.

“Lili… No, Rita.”

“Yeah?”

“I…”

He began, but couldn’t finish. As he buried his face in his hands with a groan, Rita spoke up.

“You were thinking you were a hopeless piece of trash?”

“…What?”

“You cried and told me that. ‘I’m garbage,’ remember?”

“Oh.”

“But my disappearance wasn’t your fault.”

“…Don’t say that.”

“I mean it. It really wasn’t your fault.”

“Don’t say that.”

“Why not?”

She looked at him—still hiding his face in his hands, refusing to look at her.

And then she finally voiced the suspicion she’d had ever since learning what his past ten years had been like.

“Is it because… at first, you thought the same? That it wasn’t your fault? So now when I say it, it just hurts more?”

“…!”

Richard looked up—his face, for once, that of a frightened boy. Rita held his gaze and continued.

“You didn’t talk to the family. You threw yourself into sword training. You struggled to become a full knight. Wasn’t it because you wanted to deny it all? To believe you weren’t the reason I disappeared?”

“Wait, that’s not…”

“You told yourself you’d protect me if I came back. But that was just a reason to convince yourself, wasn’t it? You wanted to forget that night. You wanted proof that you were innocent. That’s why you aimed to be a great knight.”

“Lili, stop.”

Richard groaned, but Rita didn’t stop.

“You tried to become a top-tier knight for the same reason. Of course, part of it was wanting to find me—but deep down, you also wanted to prove you weren’t the reason I vanished. You wanted to hear it from the Pope, even.”

“Stop. Stop talking.”

“I can guess what kind of prophecy you got. First, it must have said it couldn’t tell where I was. If it had, you wouldn’t have become a drunk. And about that night—”

“I said stop!”

Richard leapt to his feet, shouting.