[Side Story 7] Always at Important Moments

"Ba… baa."

A cute sound reached Neris, who had been sitting lost in thought for a while after sending Talprin away.

Even if twelve dragons were dancing around her, she wouldn't have missed that sound. Neris got up from her office chair with a bright face and approached the baby who had just been put in her father's arms.

"My angel."

Cledwin's bangs were messed up, as if the baby had been playing with him for a while. He handed the baby over to his wife with a regretful expression, as she started to wriggle as soon as she saw her mother.

"She seems to like you more than me."

"She says she'll come to you when you're not around, but then she'll come to you when you're around."

"So you have to have both? The next Emperor should be that greedy."

Sure enough, Arbyone, now in Neris's arms, was contentedly clutching Cledwin's hem. The couple exchanged happy smiles.

The baby was growing by the day. She couldn't even open her eyes properly, but now her babbling was quite articulate. Two weeks ago, when Arbyone first said "Papa"—Neris thought it was "Upba"—they had a festival.

'But she said "Mama" first.'

Neris thought. She kept the fact that her daughter had said the word "Mama" three weeks ago to herself. At first, she was afraid her husband would be upset, and after her daughter called her father, she didn't want to spoil his happiness.

But she was secretly proud. Yes, even though she was busy and couldn't always be by her baby's side, her mother was still the best, of course. When she asked the language teachers at the academy, they also testified that "Mama" was easier to say than "Papa."

Arbyone laughed, let go of her father's hem, and clapped her hands. Then she looked at her mother for a long time and snuggled into her arms.

Neris happily savored the feeling of the baby's soft cheek against her neck. As Arbyone cooed "oo-oo-oo," she asked Cledwin.

"What do you think Duke Ganiello is thinking?"

Cledwin brushed his bangs back with his hand and kissed his wife's forehead. Then he shrugged nonchalantly.

"He must have something in mind."

He already knew what his wife was asking for an opinion on. How could he already know that? Talprin wasn't the type to gossip to Cledwin, was he? When Neris widened her eyes, Cledwin quickly confessed.

"Aidan was worried, so I found out."

"Oh, I see. The three of you seem very close."

"We went through a difficult time together."

"It seems so. You don't talk much about your past, I'm a little curious. Was Talprin your subordinate since he was a child?"

"He was. I picked him up from the village below the castle."

"I've heard before that you took him in when he lost his family and was wandering. Did the three of you, including Earl Pickering, become close from that time?"

Aidan Pickering had also been given the title of Earl. In his case, he had already been the deputy commander of the Knights of Platinum and often appeared in public as Cledwin's close associate, so it was just a change of title.

Cledwin gently stroked Arbyone's back and lowered his eyes for a moment. Then he carefully chose his words.

"Yes. Aidan had been going in and out of White Swan Castle with Sir Pickering since I was a child, so in the Southern style, he was my playmate. I only saw him once in a while when I was very young, but I saw him more often around the time the castle was ruined. Looking back, I think Sir Pickering deliberately increased the number of times he came to the castle because he was worried about my safety."

"In that situation, a subordinate lord protecting the heir, the elders wouldn't have liked it, would they?"

"That's right."

The baby, lulled by the familiar touch, breathed softly and closed her eyes contentedly. Her tiny fingers twitched.

Cledwin, unusually, was lost in thought about the past. The dark times, the deep swamp where the more he struggled, the more he seemed to sink… He didn't like to think about those times. And he thought it was simply because he didn't need to remember.

But maybe it was because he had someone he loved by his side.

He could now vaguely understand that he might have been struggling back then, that the memories of that time were so painful that he didn't even want to think about them.

"Sir Pickering almost died several times back then. Even so, he took risks every time, even bringing his young son with him. Now that I have a child of my own, I understand how brave he was."

"Now that he's gone, I can't repay him, so I'll have to treat Earl Pickering well."

"I intend to. Anyway… I met Talprin not long after I started seeing Aidan's face often. He's been with me ever since I entered the academy."

Cledwin didn't say it, but Neris guessed that there were others besides those two who were with Cledwin, but only those two remained. He had seemed like someone who was used to betrayal and spies from the moment they met.

Cledwin Meindlandt was no longer a boy struggling to survive, but a relaxed adult man. But Neris felt sorry for her husband, who was subtly avoiding talking about the past, so she gently stroked his cheek.

Cledwin could almost feel his wife's kind intentions. After her revenge, she had become more open about her soft heart. As if she had finally come to believe that if she cared for others and was ridiculed for it, the fault lay with the other person.

As if she had finally come to love and trust him completely.

Cledwin thought he had no reason to feel sorry for himself. He always had someone. He had Ellen, Talprin, and Aidan and his father. Besides, he was inherently arrogant and had never doubted his own worth. So even if he had struggled, he could overcome it.

But he didn't dislike his wife's pity. At least when he pretended to be pitiful, her gaze was completely focused on him.

With a satisfied expression, Cledwin gave Neris a surprise kiss. Then he whispered softly.

"Talprin is a smart guy. He's just used to thinking negatively, but he always did his job right at important moments. Believe me, it's the words of someone who survived with him."

If he said so. Neris nodded.

❖ ❖ ❖

As always, Diane was showered with attention from the banquet hall as she stepped out of the Ganiello family's carriage.

'What's different about this?'

She thought, unimpressed, as she linked arms with Edward. Even the pretty dress didn't make her excited, since she wasn't particularly trying to impress this man.

"Lady Diane, Duke Ganiello."

Duchess Hilbrin, the hostess of tonight's ball, hurried out to greet them. She liked Neris very much, just like her husband, and naturally, she liked Diane, who was close to Neris. Their connection had lasted since the time when the Empire was still called Bista.

There were many people who wanted to get close to the McKinnon family, which had risen in status, and Diane only showed them the bare minimum of courtesy. She would run out of energy if she entertained everyone. But she was friendly to the people of this family.

"Thank you for inviting me today. Is Giberta asleep?"

"She's probably not yet. She's sulking in her room. She's so whiny about wanting to grow up and attend evening gatherings."

People in Meindlandt were more relaxed about social etiquette than those in the South, but even so, children under the age of eighteen were not allowed to attend formal events like today's ball.

"Really? I wanted to see her. If she's sulking, I'll have to come back to play with her another time."

"She'll be happy to hear that you're here, even if she's sulking, but she's probably already started getting ready. Please come back again. Now, come in, you two. Everyone's waiting for you."

"Thank you, Duchess. You are very beautiful tonight."

Edward, who had been smiling politely while the two women were talking, bowed gracefully. The duchess's lips curled up at the sophistication that was rare to see in the rough men of Meindlandt.

"Oh my, you always have such kind words, Duke."

Diane thought the same thing. What a smooth talker. As they entered the ballroom, following the instructions, Diane whispered to Edward.

"So, what am I supposed to learn by coming here? Tell me now that we're here."

"Ah, I've confirmed it. You don't have to worry."

"What does that mean? You said I would learn something, why are you keeping it to yourself?"

"You'll know when you leave later."

Is this guy trying to sound old by talking like he's in a philosophy class? And why is his voice suddenly so low?

Diane didn't like complicated things. She frowned and leaned closer to Edward's ear. Maybe someone who shouldn't hear this kind of conversation was around.

"What is it really? If you keep acting weird, I'm just going to leave. Don't you want to talk to Joan?"

Joan Morie was now a baroness, so she needed a title other than "Miss Morie." Diane, who had seen Joan's face often since she was a child, naturally called her "sister."

Most of society didn't know that the enigmatic Edward was so interested in the commoner baroness. Edward looked startled at Diane's words.

"Oh, were you listening?"

"You're not the type to get involved in someone else's love life without any benefit. I was thinking about what that benefit might be, and then I remembered that you suddenly joined us for dinner with Joan last time."

It had been about two weeks ago. Joan, who was usually busy with her trading company, had come to Penmerwick to spend the winter. She and Diane, who happened to have some free time, decided to go to a high-end restaurant that had recently opened in Penmerwick.

Penmerwick was severely lacking in facilities for Southern nobles. The nobles of Meindlandt usually had homes in Penmerwick, or could rely on nobles who had homes there, so there had been no need for such facilities to be built. But now that Penmerwick had become the new capital of the Empire, many nobles who were neither of those two types were making frequent short visits.

That restaurant was one of the pioneers that emerged to meet the new demand. So when Edward approached Joan during their dinner, Diane didn't suspect anything, thinking, "It's a popular place, so it's possible to run into each other."

But now that she thought about it, wasn't this guy trying to approach Joan using Diane as an excuse? Diane's eyes narrowed, as if she were looking down on him.

"Hmm."

Just before entering the ballroom where the ball was being held, Edward led Diane behind a slightly shadowed pillar in the hallway where people were bustling about. A look of embarrassment, rare for his usually relaxed face, appeared on his face.

"First of all, this isn't a situation where I benefit and Lady Diane loses. It's about coming to this ball together."

"I'll believe you if I see how things turn out tonight."

"I'm serious. It's true that I told you to fix Earl Wirtam's mental state. He needs to feel a sense of urgency. Speaking as a man, if there's no proposal under the current circumstances, there's a problem. He thinks he still has time to think about it."

"Keep talking."

"If he just realizes that that thought is a delusion, the situation will be resolved immediately. And since we have rumors going around, everyone in the ballroom saw you whispering to me earlier. How could that story not reach Earl Wirtam's ears, wondering why you didn't become his partner tonight?"

That sounded plausible. Diane thought for a moment and nodded.

"Well, alright. I'll believe you for now."

"I'm serious. Everything is ready, but if we show the other country that has not ratified the treaty our other options, the situation will be over. It's a method often used in diplomacy."

Really? Diane pouted.

"I said I'd believe you. So what now? What does it mean that you've confirmed it?"

"That's what you'll find out as we go in."

This is so annoying… Diane thought. But she didn't doubt Edward's words. He wasn't the kind of person who would lie about something like this, going to such lengths.

"Alright. I'll believe you, so let's go into the ballroom. I don't think we need to add the rumor that we've been standing behind this pillar for a long time."

"I agree with that."

The two nodded resolutely.