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“As you may know, the battle of the heir has been heating up in my family’s main household. Since no clear successor has been nominated, four to five people of the eldest sons in my wife’s lineage, including myself, are considered to be the actual heirs to the family. Like it or not, a family quarrel will be taking place soon.”
“Which means you will want the support for it, is it?”

When Ms. Christy spoke unfiltered, seemingly to have understood the bone of the matter, Mr. Eilmer smiled ambiguously, neither affirming nor denying it.

“Hah, if that’s all, then he’ll just gather all the influential people in his own damn country under him. Since he bothers to establish relations with someone from the neighboring country, a Frontier Count at that, he’s got another objective in mind.”

When Regina spat her words reproachfully, Mr. Eilmer only chuckled.

“Nothing escapes you, great founder. Indeed, my purpose is not to win the succession dispute. I am never interested in the seat of power. All I want is to return to my comfortable, easy-going life… After all, in exchange for having no land or tax collection rights, I receive a nominal title that allows me monthly living expenses from the state. Unfortunately, that won’t be from now. So what I am aiming for right now is to lose on favorable terms.”
“And the marriage between Luke and Ragweed Princess is a necessary condition for it, huh?”

Mr. Eilmer hesitated slightly before nodding to my question.

“It’s not an absolutely necessary condition, but it is the best option that I have right now. My objective is to legally withdraw from my position within the Imperial Capital and become the lord of this land, seeing that it is absent of any lord, and devote myself to its development. The preliminary step to that is negotiating behind the scene with the Aulanthia for free trade with no tariffs.”
“After all, what is a woman but an excuse or a tool for negotiation?”

In a highly critical tone, Ms. Christy glared at Mr. Eilmer.

♢♦♢♦♢

“「O Light, Shine upon My Arm」”

I folded my robe and placed it under my pillow, relying on the illumination from the Light on the tip of my staff.

The discussion in the living room continued over dinner, with the three adults still engaged in a “lively” debate. With that being said, Regina was basically being completely indifferent, while Ms. Christy was mainly snapping at Mr. Eilmer.

As the night was getting late, I was sent back to my room where I lay on my bed and thought about all kinds of things.

What concerned me the most was this “Syltianna” who was currently in Cultura, Aulanthia. Just, who could she possibly be?

The most likely explanation was that she was a fake who was prepared for the bounty. That, or a substitute the Aulanthia House prepared to conceal the fact that the daughter of a powerful noble family had gone missing. Well, it could also be a simple case of mistaken identity.

Either way, since the real Syltianna is right here, things might turn ugly in the future…which brought up another question into existence. I’m not sure if I, the person right here right now, truly am “Syltianna”.

Syltianna died once, and what resided inside her body was replaced with me upon her revival. Now, even her outer appearance had considerably changed. Wouldn’t that mean that the true Syltianna, the real Syltianna, no longer existed? I don’t think I have any right to act as if I am the true Syltianna and butt into the family business anymore.

So, what do I do then? Is there anything that I want to do or dream of doing in the future?

I asked myself those questions and recalled the same question that had been asked to me before—on the day Regina picked me up. “I suppose, all in all, I haven’t made any significant progress since 8 months ago.”

And then there’s the talk of betrothal that is being pushed forward without Luke’s clear consent…

Suddenly it occurred to me to take out the letter Luke sent me (we had actually exchanged letters twice, but I took out the first one he sent me), and, lying on my bed under the illumination of my Light, I went over the text again.

“Dear Jill, how are you?” His meticulous nature was conveyed through his writing.

“I do not know when this letter will reach you, but I am writing this as soon as I return to the Imperial Capital after losing to you that day.

Have there been any changes since then? Father told me later that the Tenebrae Nemus is a dangerous place, and it would have been dangerous for us to wade through that day had it not been for you and great-great-grandmother’s familiar.

I worry about my lack of maturity for being so ignorant, and I am also worried about you and my great-great-grandmother who are living in such a place. I wish I could provide you with a place to live closer to us if possible, but I think it is not going to happen. The truth is, that day my father visited my great-great-grandmother to discuss her moving in with us, yet she refused him outright. He griped about it after returning home.

If so, then we might as well move so that we live closer to Tenebrae Nemus, but as long as we bear the title of the Dragon Knights, our family cannot leave the imperial capital. The wyverns we Dragon Knights mount, including Fubuki, are not our personal property. They are nominally property of the state, and since we are entrusted to raise them, we basically cannot leave the imperial capital except for work. Therefore, we had to use an excuse of familiarizing Fubuki with a sustained flight mission the last time we visited you.

My father is proud of his duties as a Dragon Knight, and becoming a respectable Dragon Knight like him is also my dream, so unfortunately, I don’t think I will ever leave the imperial capital.

Come to think of it, I had heard that my father put my frightened mother on the back of a wyvern to calm her down, and he proposed to her right away up there. I find myself yearning to do the same thing. I hope someday I can marry the person of my dreams on a wyvern just like that… Aah, I do need to be a Dragon Knight before that, however.

If it is not too much trouble, I will write to you again. Take care.

P.S. One day, I will definitely visit you on a wyvern where I hold the reins myself.

• From your dear friend, Luke.”

The boy who cheerfully promised to fight me again as we parted ways…this letter contained his dream for the future—to become a splendid Dragon Knight like Mr. Eilmer. However, the way things are standing today, it is hard for me to see his dream will ever come true.

“…I wish there was some kind of magic that would make everything work itself out perfectly.”

I closed my eyes, waiting for sleep to take me, wishing for the moon.