And only after two days had passed did I finally crawl out of my room.
It was probably because I had devoured all the food I received as get-well gifts and needed to restock.
“Ugh, what a pain.”
Once you start slacking off, even just moving around feels like a hassle.
I called out, wondering if Yuna might be around, but she didn’t show up.
Tch, I was hoping to send her on an errand. Guess the timing’s off.
Well, it’s not like Yuna’s stalking me, so it’d actually be weirder if she appeared every time I called her.
“Whoa…”
And so, I finally took the great step out into the world again—
And saw the half-destroyed school buildings and the staff working to repair them.
Some students were even voluntarily helping out, making it hard to tell if this was a school or a construction site.
If I had to choose the most accurate word, it’d be “terrorist attack site”.
“Not sure this is okay…”
I wonder if the cafeteria made it through. What if it collapsed too?
With the Under Chain guys launching such a large attack, eating out wasn’t an option right now.
People probably haven’t returned yet, so even if I head outside, nothing’s likely to be open.
Still, considering I received fruit and other gifts, there must be something available somewhere.
The only problem was that I would have to go looking for it.
I got plenty of rest, but now I’m hungry enough to want to rest even more.
“Well, let’s check the campus cafeteria first.”
Unless everyone was planning to starve, at least one dining hall should be open.
I wasn’t even hoping for anything tasty. Just something to fill me up will do.
With that humble mindset, I made my way to the cafeteria.
“Ah, hey. Take this, student.”
I received rice, eggs, meat, and vegetables from the cafeteria lady.
“……?”
They were all uncooked.
I couldn’t exactly chew on raw rice. The vegetables seemed edible as they were, but still…
“There’s a free spot in the kitchen, so go ahead and cook whatever you like.”
“…Thank you.”
I bowed my head for now.
I wasn’t tactless enough to ask if she could cook for me.
It was a busy time, after all.
This seemed to be the only cafeteria still standing, and it felt wrong to show up late asking for a meal.
“How long has it been since I last cooked for myself?”
Me, a noble.
Part of the privileged class where the concept of cooking one’s own meals didn’t even exist.
Well, I was joking.
But it was true that Johan Damus had never cooked before.
Actually, that was probably true for most nobles unless it was a hobby.
“Hmm…”
Between rice and flour, I figured rice would be easier to cook, so I had chosen that, but now what should I do with it?
First things first, I had to cook the rice.
So I washed the rice, set it to cook, and began chopping vegetables.
Now, what should I make?
Johan Damus was just an ordinary noble who had never cooked in his life,
But my past self was a different story.
“Fried rice should work.”
When things get troublesome, the easiest solution is to throw everything in together. I decided to make a simple fried rice.
I tossed in a bit of this and that with the rice and stir-fried it, and ended up with a pretty decent-looking meal.
Maybe I had a hidden talent for cooking.
Just as I was about to enjoy my pleasant mealtime—
“Hello, Sir Johan.”
“Ahem! Cough, cough…”
I choked the moment I lifted my first spoonful of rice.
I hadn’t seen her around lately, and I never imagined she’d show up here of all places.
“It’s been a while.”
She glanced at me coughing nonstop, gave a wry smile, and then sat down across from me.
Looking closely, I could see she was wrapped in bandages, as if she was injured in several places.
She already had a frail impression, and looking like that only made her seem more pitiable.
Especially that short-lifespan hair.
That short-lifespan hair was particularly bothersome. I’d have to tell her to let it down or something later…
“Sir Johan, can we talk for a moment?”
“Well, sure.”
Staring into her sunken eyes, it wasn’t easy to say no.
At least she wasn’t giving off that strange vibe like last time.
This time, if anything, she looked deeply troubled.
“Ah, first of all, I’m glad to see you looking well, Sir Johan.”
“Thank you.”
“I heard you were bedridden for several days, and I was worried, you know?”
“Well, I am rather fragile. But honestly, Lady Ariel, you look even more unwell. Are you alright?”
“This battle was a difficult one.”
Ariel let out a long sigh.
Gone was her earlier air. She felt like the ordinary Ariel again.
Had something changed in her heart?
Well, when you’re apart for a long time, feelings tend to drift too.
“To be honest… I got quite the scolding from my family over this whole affair.”
Ariel’s voice was downcast.
Did she get chewed out by Tronius Ether or something?
…Now of all times?
From what I knew, Tronius Ether didn’t really care about her.
That’s why he left her alone no matter where she went or what she did.
“It was actually the Senate.”
“Ah, that makes sense.”
Even if Tronius Ether didn’t care, the elders of the family would surely think differently. Like it or not, they had to be paying attention to Ariel.
And for good reason. After all, Ariel was currently staying with Lobelia.
“Sir Johan, what do you think it means to be a noble?”
“That’s a difficult question.”
It was also the kind of question too bothersome to think about. A noble is just a noble, after all.
Still, if I were to give a textbook answer—
“Isn’t it someone who bears responsibility in proportion to the wealth and power they enjoy?”
“…I suppose so?”
Did my answer line up with what the elders believed? Ariel seemed to hesitate for a moment, then reluctantly nodded.
“Sir Johan. I… I might be getting married soon. A political marriage.”
“Oh, I see… Wait, what?”
I had been half-listening, but her words still hit me like a shock.
So that was it… I supposed it made sense.
At this point in the original timeline, Ariel should have already been dead. But now, she was very much alive.
She was a highborn daughter of the Ether Duchy, but she had also completely relinquished her claim to succession.
In other words, everything she enjoyed now had to be earned by proving her own worth.
Normally, political marriages were rare for someone of a Duchy, but Ariel had been pushed out of the line of succession entirely.
As far as I knew, the next head of the Ether family after Tronius was Rascal Ether.
I had no idea what Rascal thought of Ariel. Maybe he saw her as nothing more than a thorn in his side.
“I had always braced myself for the possibility of a political marriage,”
Ariel said, her voice calm. Too calm. That flat tone felt painfully sad to me.
She was someone who had only just gained her freedom. And now, to think she might be chained all over again…
“Still… lately… I started to wonder, just a little… what it might be like to marry for love.”
Ariel gave a bitter smile.
I knew exactly what she meant by love.
I couldn’t say a word.
If I tried to comfort her now, it would only feel like a lie.
“Sir Johan.”
“Yes.”
I put aside the annoyance I had felt just moments ago and responded to Ariel’s words with a bit more seriousness.
“What does it mean to be a noble?”
“……”
It was the same question as before, yet this time, no answer came out.
It didn’t feel like something I could answer lightly.
I hesitated, unsure of what words would be right for her.
And after thinking it through…
“A noble is someone who bears responsibility in proportion to the wealth and power they enjoy.”
“I see……”
In the end, my answer was the same as before.
At the very least, once I inherit my family, I intend to live my life for the sake of Count Damus’s territory.
The devotion of the servants who wake me each morning, prepare my meals, and take care of me…is not something to take for granted.
I believe I should be grateful and repay that devotion.
“But, Lady Ariel, there isn’t only one way to do that. If you dislike a political marriage, couldn’t you try negotiating by some other means?”
It might be easier for her to just step away on her own. But I didn’t think that was right.
Taking advantage of this situation would be wrong.
Using me as a pretext to make Ariel give up… was just as bad.
“You could try showing them the potential of rising to a high position in the Magic Tower, or perhaps appeal to His Highness…”
“Sir Johan.”
I had started rambling in my attempt to persuade her, but Ariel calmly cut me off.
“What about you, Sir Johan?”
“…I would probably accept it, as long as it wasn’t too unreasonable.”
“I see.”
Ariel smiled.
It was a strangely mature smile.
At my current level, I had no way of knowing what she was thinking.
I just hoped she could find happiness.
***
Since that day, I hadn’t seen Ariel again.
Of course, being someone on the Lobelia side, she was always a busy person. But after everything I heard recently, I couldn’t help but worry.
What had become of her?
Honestly, if she spoke to Lobelia, she might help Ariel no matter what it took.
But the problem was… Ariel almost never asked Lobelia for anything.
It was hard to imagine someone who hadn’t even disclosed her own illness making a personal request.
“Hmm…”
Should I go and drop a subtle hint?
That much might be fine.
Though I couldn’t help but worry about how it might come across…
“Hmmm…!”
I messed up my hair and slammed my head down onto the desk.
I had no idea what the right thing to do was.
Bzzzt!
As I sat there, clutching my head, a strange vibration rippled through the air.
The silver mirror placed on the corner of my desk was trembling with a faint glow.
“Oh, right.”
This last terror incident was serious, and I hadn’t even contacted home…
I was completely swamped with my own problems. Too much to worry about.
I activated the silver mirror.
“Father, it’s me.”
“Oh, Johan. I heard the news. You must’ve had a hard time. Are you feeling alright?”
“Well, as you can see, I’m healthy enough to be talking with you like this.”
“I heard you got caught up in it this time. They say you were out cold for three days?”
“So, you do worry about me after all, Father.”
“What do you take me for, son? I’ve always worried about you.”
Yeah, right.
When I kept reaching out saying I wanted to quit the Cradle, he ignored every message.
And now that something finally happened, he’s trying to fix his image?
“Ahem, just to make it clear. Quitting the Cradle is not an option.”
“You’re truly consistent, Father. Your way of showing concern is so unique, it makes me grit my teeth.”
“Ahem! Hmph!”
Unbelievable.
I wasn’t even planning to ask, but I didn’t expect him to say that.
Honestly, with everything that’s happened, shouldn’t he be saying I can quit now?
“You know, don’t you? Things are chaotic on our end because of what you did.”
“What did I do?”
“What do you mean, what did you do…?”
My father looked at me with a face full of dismay. He looked genuinely appalled.
No, seriously—what did I do?
“Wait… don’t tell me… you haven’t heard?”
“Father? When you say it like that, it makes me nervous. What on earth happened? What did I do?”
“You…”
His expression hardened.
Then he actually covered his mouth.
What the hell is going on? I can’t even begin to guess, and that makes it more scary.
“There’s talk in the Ether Ducht… about marrying you to their young lady…”
“…What?”
“They say it’s time for you two to get married.”
“???”
What the hell is going on?!
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