"....You're finally here."
Greeting at the entrance of the estate was Julien's father. He wore the sa formal outfit from the closing ceremony a few days ago, carrying an aura of calm.
"We expected you two to arrive earlier, but this is fine too."
He turned around to glance at the nurous servants that lined up behind him. I glanced at them, but none of them glanced at .
It was as if they were trying to avoid my gaze.
"They probably are.'
Leon had warned in advance that my reputation within the household wasn't very good.
'... It's a good thing I saw this coming.'
From the mont he closed the curtains when we passed by the city, I knew.
"Linus is currently not here. He's currently training sowhere else in preparation for the entrance examination for Haven."
Linus was Julien's younger brother.
At least, this was what I rembered Leon telling .
'So he's planning on entering Haven?'
The news didn't really affect all that much. It was a little troubleso at best since I'd have to interact with him at the Academy.
"Make yourselves comfortable. We have several important things to discuss in the next few days."
Such were the last words Julien's father said before leaving with a few servants.
From the start, he had only spared a single glance. He was mainly addressing Evelyn the entire ti.
A strange silence ensued after his departure.
We stood awkwardly for a few seconds before I finally opened my mouth.
"What are you doing here?"
"....I want to know that myself."
Evelyn replied with a bitter smile.
"I was invited out of nowhere, and I couldn't disagree since my father ordered to attend." "Wait, could it be...?"
My brows jumped up as I ca to a sudden hypothesis.
"It can't be that-"
"Don't say it."
Evelyn stopped before I could finish my words.
She appeared to have her own guesses, but seeing the frustrated look on her face, I knew that she wasn't all too pleased with the situation.
I couldn't bla her as my heart sank.
'A marriage alliance...'
Though it was just a guess, it was the most probable guess.
Evelyn's family was quite powerful, and considering the history between the two households and how they had once been close to arranging a marriage between Julien and her, it wouldn't be surprising if they tried it again after my recent achievents at the Summit.
This was an annoying developnt that I had to put a stop to as quickly as possible.
Thankfully, things hadn't appeared to progress to an advanced stage. It was rely just in the beginning stages, and so it could be quickly stopped.
"Y-young master."
A soft voice echoed before .
Lifting my head, a young girl with soft brown hair, glasses, and an overall shy disposition greeted . She didn't dare et my line of sight as she wore clothes that the other servants
wore.
I looked at Leon.
'Who is she...?'
'Your personal servant.'
'Oh.'
"Um."
I faintly nodded at her as she shuddered slightly.
My face twitched at the sight. It really looked like she was scared of .
What in the world did Julien do to her...?
"I-I'll escort you to your room... I-f you would f-follow ."
Her voice was hard to hear as she spoke in a soft whisper. I had to strain my ears carefully in
order to hear her properly.
Still, I didn't give her a hard ti.
....I just nodded my head indifferently at her, which seed to relieve her as she turned around and headed toward the insides of the estate.
I glanced at Leon and Evelyn for a brief mont before leaving.
'Whatever, I'll take this chance to rest for a bit.'
***
"...."
Leon and Evelyn stood in silence, watching as Julien silently entered the estate. They both could feel the tension that lingered around them as everyone around Julien stood on edge.
His entire presence felt suffocating.
It was only when he disappeared from view that the atmosphere eased.
A few of the servants wore pale faces while others wiped their foreheads as they sighed in
relief.
Evelyn stared at the sight before turning to look at Leon.
"...He really is disliked by everyone here."
"You weren't that different from them not so long ago."
"Um, I guess."
It was true.
She used to be the sa.
....And she couldn't bla herself. Julien... the 'real' one was a lot different than the current
Julien.
He was soone who would hurl abuses for the smallest of things. Whether it was because he didn't like the weather or because soone locked eyes with him, he would always find faults
with people. He was a tyrant.
"Right..."
Evelyn's eyes remained fixed on Leon who avoided her gaze.
It was as though he already knew what he was going to say to her. But she wasn't going to let
it slide.
Not this ti.
She... wasn't going to let herself be played by the two of them.
"....."
And for that reason, she grabbed his arm and dragged him with her toward a more isolated
area of the household.
Having been in the Household since young, she knew the place like the back of her hand and
they soon arrived inside of a familiar room.
It was small, containing only one bed and a wooden wardrobe.
But this was a place the two were all too familiar with. It was Leon's childhood room.
Bang!
Evelyn smacked the door behind them as she finally let go of Leon.
"Tell the truth."
Her voice was low, her eyes narrowing at the sa ti.
"He's not the real Julien, right?"
|| ||
"You said it before. Treat as though the Julien I knew is dead. I didn't understand your words
back then, but now I know. He's 'that' Julien."
"....That?"
"You know what I'm talking about."
Evelyn's eyes narrowed further.
"You would've killed him straight away if not for that fact."
|| ||
Leon bit his lips and remained silent.
He neither confird nor denied her words. But the silence was enough of a confirmation to
Evelyn as she sighed before heading for the bed and sitting down.
Her tone grew a little softer.
"Since when? Has he shown signs of coming back to his old self like before? Has he... Has
he..."
Evelyn bit her lips.
"Has he really changed?"
11
||
Leon still remained silent.
He didn't really know what to say. Has he really changed...? The answer was obvious. She knew
the answer herself.
It was just that that she probably couldn't fully trust what she saw. Especially since Julien had changed so many tis in the past. Perhaps the first ti it was
understandable, but the second...? Third...? Fourth...? And fifth tis...? It would make anyone question whether it was a temporary thing or a real change.
Leon also struggled to co to terms with the situation at first, but after observing Julien for
as long as he did, he was confident.
The 'old' Julien was nowhere near in sight.
He had changed.
....And he wasn't leaving.
"Can you answer ...?"
Finally shifting his attention toward Evelyn and seeing her expression, Leon closed his eyes
for a brief mont.
Then, after a long pause, he nodded.
"Yes."
He answered,
"...He's changed."
***
"W-we're here."
The large wooden door swung open, revealing a finely decorated room.
A grand bed stood at the center, frad by expansive windows that let soft light stream in.
The curtains fluttered gently as a breeze flowed through, and to the side, a sturdy wooden table sat beside a tall bookshelf that appeared to be filled with books.
'So this is Julien's bedroom...'
I had to say.
It was rather grand.
....While it wasn't as good as the room the Academy offered , it was still a very good room.
Enough to make relaxed.
"If there's any problems... f-feel free to tell ."
After a few more words, the servant imdiately turned around and left.
"Huek!"
On her way out she bumped her head against the side of the door, and I had to keep myself
from bursting out into laughter as tears stread down her face.
"Uwuwua."
She looked at and then at the door before rushing out.
"....Hoo."
It took a good minute to calm my trembling shoulders as another servant ca in shortly
after, delivering my luggage.
"You can leave it here."
"...Yes."
The exchange was short as he dropped my stuff down and directly left.
Clank!
It was only then that the room fell silent as no one bothered anymore.
"Haa."
Dropping onto the bed, I raised my head to look at the ceiling.
I was less exhausted than I had been after the tournant but I was still quite tired. Especially
since the carriage ride had been quite long.
I thought about going to sleep and was about to when my eyes fell on the bookshelf by the
side of the wooden desk in front of the bed.
"...."
A thought crossed as I looked at the bookshelf.
'....Just what sorts of books did Julien read?'
Could I perhaps be able to figure out more about his personality if I looked through them? It
was just a thought, and looking outside the window and seeing that it was still sunny outside,
I decided to have a look.
I had so ti to waste anyway.
"Let's see."
The first book I picked up was about swordsmanship.
"....Swordsmanship?"
I frowned but didn't think much of it until I took out the next book.
"Again swordsmanship..."
Pausing, I put the book to the side and took the next book. It was... again swordsmanship. One
after another, the books were all about swordsmanship.
The more I looked through the list, the more I realized.
Julien...
He was obsessed with swordsmanship.
Though I sowhat had seen a few hints of this in the past, I never really bothered to check up
on them.
There were a lot of things that were taking my taking my full attention.
"This..."
By the ti I pulled out the twentieth book that was about swordsmanship, I had no choice
but to pause. At this rate, all I was going to see were books of swordsmanship.
"....Is this all there is?"
I looked through the hardcovers of the book in front of before shaking my head.
"Well, I guess I did find sothing."
The fact that the previous Julien was obsessed with being a swordsman.
I was just about to put all the books back when I paused.
"Hm?"
Tucked in the far corner of the bookshelf was another book. It was red in color and felt a little
different than the others. I recognized the book at a glance... or more than a book, it was more
like a diary.
"Isn't this...?"
There were certain diaries one could purchase that featured a special lock, which could only be opened using the owner's unique mana wavelength.
Everyone possessed their own distinct mana signature, and if anyone with a different wavelength attempted to open the diary, it would instantly incinerate on the spot.
I had seen many of them being sold in Bremr since diaries were quite popular among the
noble households, and...
Right at this very mont, I found one in this room.
"This..."
'I think I just found Julien's diary.'
Ba.. Thump! Ba... Thump!
Feeling the steady beat of my own heart, I picked up the diary and stared at it for a mont
before taking a deep breath.
Then, I channeled my mana into it.
'I hope this work.'
I was nervous it wouldn't work, but as I channeled my mana into the diary, a soft glow
erged from the book. Monts later, a gentle 'click' echoed in the air, signaling it had
unlocked.
I didn't waste a second and opened the diary.
The mont I did, my eyes widened as my heart froze.
"Ah."
What in the...
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