kscans

Chapter 29 - Difference in Temperature

"Don't you dare mess with me!"

It was the very first thing he said. Liam had been summoned to the King's Office, and just as the door closed and he was about to turn around to ask what was going on, the King, who had walked up to him without him noticing, sent him flying with a powerful punch. A dull thud echoed, and Liam collapsed to the floor.

"Oof..."

"Your Majesty, what are you doing?!"

"This fool! He's gone and done something unforgivable!"

The King paid no mind to the aide who rushed to stop him and viciously stomped on Liam, who was just trying to push himself up from the floor.

"What's this about a 'royal command'?! Do you think you're the king already?!"

Being pinned down and ground underfoot, Liam, who had been about to argue back, could only open and close his mouth like a fish out of water. But the naive thought that this couldn't possibly be something worth getting punched over still lingered in his mind. That was because Liam still believed he was connected to Lupia in some way.

In fact, he believed that Falty and Lupia were friends. That's why he hadn't given it much thought. He had always been on the 'receiving' end of things, and while his education as Crown Prince had been strict, he had managed to handle it properly.

He couldn't just stay pinned down. Forcing himself out from under the King's foot, Liam glared up at his father, the King.

"It was certainly a slip of the tongue. But one day, I will be king, will I not?!"

"Then tell me, where did you commit this blunder?"

A bone-chillingly cold voice made both Liam and the aide freeze in place.

"Answer me. Where did you say it?"

"Where...?"

Remembering, Liam's face instantly turned pale.

"...In a corridor... of the royal palace..."

Liam's wife, Falty, had also made her share of blunders. But her situation was completely different. Falty had repeated her slips of the tongue only in front of her Crown Princess tutors. That in itself was quite a problem, but Liam, on the other hand, had done it in a place within the royal palace where there were many people—not as many as in the city, but still full of palace staff and other nobles.

"...!"

A cold sweat broke out and streamed down Liam's back.

"How are you going to take responsibility for this...!"

"Th-that... I... ah... um..."

"It seems various people witnessed your little slip..."

With eyes bloodshot with anger, the King glared at his son.

"And the one who told me was the very person you directed that foolish remark at!"

"...Duke... Calmond...?"

"Yes, that's right!"

Remembering the Duke's face at that moment, the King slammed his fist on Liam's desk.

"We can't silence every mouth...! No, it's impossible to silence them...! You truly are..."

Glaring fiercely at his son, the King continued, his voice packed with as much regret, shame, resentment, and every other negative emotion he could muster.

"If only I could do it over... I wish I could go back to the moment you made that blunder to the Duke... While the Crown Princess is working so hard to gain even a little recognition from the high nobility... you pull a stunt like this?!"

At the screaming, almost shrieking voice, Liam couldn't help but collapse to the floor.

Royalty must not make mistakes, yet he had made an enormous one, a tremendous slip of the tongue, in front of the one person he absolutely should not have.

Starting with the King, the royal family seemed to be mired in blunders and was making remarks that could easily be seen as clinging to the Calmond Ducal Family. In fact, watching the royal family's actions, which were practically begging the ducal family for something, many high-ranking noble houses were wondering what to do. Some houses had already begun to make their moves, hidden beneath the surface. The royal family and other nobles, unaware of this, paid it no mind. They would likely only notice after the moves were made.

The King himself knew this was bad and that he needed to come up with some countermeasures, but he remembered there was one other important thing he had summoned Liam for.

"...By the way, about Falty."

"Y-yes."

"Tell me again, what is her relationship with the daughter of Duke Calmond?"

"Huh? What do you... They're friends, aren't they?"

"Are you certain?"

"Y-yes..."

The air didn't just chill; it felt like it had frozen solid.

"...The Duke says there was no such thing as friendship between Falty and Lady Lupia. Or so he claims."

"What?"

Liam let out a cry of disbelief. He tried to recall the events at the academy, but since Lupia was never the type of woman to be clingy with her friends, he had simply thought, 'Oh, that's just how she is,' even when she wasn't with Falty.

"Not... friends?"

"The Duke stated it without a hint of hesitation. What would he gain by lying about something like that?"

"Isn't it possible Lupia is just saying that out of spite?!"

"For what reason?"

"We were engaged! Th-that's right, she's bitter because the engagement was broken!"

"She likely feels nothing for you whatsoever."

"...Huh?"

A foolish sound escaped Liam's lips. He was so steeped in the mindset that being engaged meant she must have at least some affection for him that he looked at the King with an expression of utter incomprehension.

"That engagement was arranged because the Calmond family was 'just right' to be your guardian."

"J-just right?!"

Just as Liam was about to say what a ridiculous thing that was, the King cut him off and continued.

"She is a 'ducal daughter,' after all. It means she herself chose to become a tool for her family. That was all there was to it. ...Well, perhaps there was some degree of affection."

The King's continuing words didn't reach Liam. He had been so convinced that Lupia felt for him just as Falty did. It was only now, at this point, that he, too, understood. Ah, their paths would never cross again.

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

"...That's a bit of a stretch."

Inside the once again moving carriage, Lupia murmured with a straight face. Of course, Vernella and Rupert didn't miss it and picked it right up.

"What is?"

"I was just talking with Uncle earlier... and he said they'd probably prepare a duchy for us after we move to the Qua Kingdom."

"Ah."

"It's unreasonable and impossible, I'm sure."

"...A count, or maybe a baron, I wonder...?"

"But you know, Big Sis, there's something I'm more curious about."

"What is it?"

"I'm not trying to deny your path or anything, but what you wanted to become was..."

After a brief pause, Rupert continued.

"Duchess Calmond? Or was it that you wanted to succeed Father, regardless of the 'Duchess' title?"

Lupia, who had just been venting to Gerald about the direction of her future, widened her eyes. Rupert wasn't joking; he was completely serious.

"I don't mean it in a bad way. Once we leave where we're living now and it's decided we'll officially move to the Qua Kingdom, I think you should try doing whatever you want. But if you're hung up on the title of 'Duchess,' then I think it might be better not to move. So, I just wanted to know what you want to do."

"Rupert..."

"I wasn't blessed with the aptitude to be a duke, so I focused on mastering what I could do. In the end, if you were to become Crown Princess, I wanted to be by your side, as your staunchest ally, to protect you. The royal palace is full of people you can't trust, hiding who knows what in their hearts."

"..."

"I think I'm better suited to serving in a support role, or as a knight, rather than living as a typical noble. That's just my personality."

When the twins were young, they both underwent a screening before beginning their education as the heir to the duchy. The result was that Lupia became the first candidate for heir, followed by Rupert. After considering what was necessary to become a duke and what qualities were required, Lupia was chosen as the primary candidate.

However, if they left their current country, moved to a new one, and were granted a new title, the very foundation of what Lupia had been aiming for would crumble. If her goal was simply to succeed her father, there would be no problem, but did she cling to the 'duchy' or not? Rupert, having asked his question, continued.

"But in this situation, is there any need to be hung up on the ducal title anymore? Even if you succeed Father, his work itself is likely to change if we go to the Qua Kingdom. There will be other paths, won't there?"

"...You have a point."

Oh? Rupert thought for a moment, but Lupia looked at him and Vernella with a somewhat refreshed expression. He had been braced for some kind of argument, but it never came.

"...I have more futures available to me than I thought."

"You can do all sorts of things, Big Sis, so you're adaptable, right?"

"Yes."

Lupia declared it so decisively that Vernella couldn't help but stare with wide eyes.

"Uh, um... S-Sister-in-law?"

"Vernella. My sister has had so much stuff drilled into her that she can do all sorts of things now. It's almost pitiful."

"Huh...?"

"Martial arts, academics, embroidery, dancing... what else was there... horse riding... magic, and... what else was there again?"

"Big Sis, stop. You're freaking Vernella out."

"But it's the truth."

She counted her skills on her fingers, but the list was so long it was as if to say, 'What are you going to do with all that?' By pursuing each and every thing, she had ended up in a situation like a jack-of-all-trades, but her achievements in every one of them were at a high level. As for magic, since she had a certain level of innate talent, she couldn't quite reach the 'high level!' mark, but she was still proficient to some degree.

"...Sister-in-law, isn't your future a veritable buffet of choices?"

"I'm surprised myself. ...And you know, I was just having a similar conversation with Uncle, so... I was just a bit taken aback."

Lupia let out a small laugh, the gloomy air from before now gone. Her eyes were shining, and it seemed that with some proper rest, she would be able to walk straight toward her future. For now, she decided to push the existence of Falty, the one who called her a friend, out of her mind. More important than that, the thought of how she would spend her time in their approaching domain, and then later in the Alcioni Count's territory, brought a bright expression to Lupia's face.