“But they were so thorough that maybe they simply didn’t find any evidence of collusion with others.”
“I considered that too, but there’s no one who would benefit from my death. Killing me wouldn’t reduce the number of Espers, after all.”
Raymund shook his head.
He had no right to the throne anyway, so even if he were killed, his powers would just be passed on to someone else.
Unless it was about claiming the throne, there was no royal who would want to inherit such a curse.
Something had clearly happened, but none of the reasons made perfect sense.
The only explanation was that the guards had suddenly gone mad and attacked.
On top of that, the captured guards died abruptly before they could be tortured for information.
Just like that, all the leads were cut off.
Just as the Count was feeling dissatisfied with the unclear conclusion—Cough!
Raymund suddenly let out a loud cough.
He coughed several more times, as if he were about to collapse, and then took off his robe.
As his robe fell away and his hidden figure was revealed, the Count quickly averted his gaze.
He suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable, like he’d seen something he shouldn’t have.
At the same time, he grew irritated—why would Raymund suddenly take off his robe and startle him like that?
But this was something Raymund couldn’t help.
“Apologies. Wearing this makes me feel unwell.”
And indeed, Raymund’s skin, caught in the corner of his vision, looked extremely pale.
Hearing Raymund explain that he only wore the robe briefly when he absolutely had to avoid others, the Count felt a bit sheepish.
He had assumed it was just arrogance that kept Raymund from dressing properly, and now he felt guilty for thinking so poorly of him.
Raymund sighed as he looked at the mansion.
He had hoped to speak with Seiana one more time…
‘It’s fine to accept sympathy for looking weak… but if I make her worry too often, she’ll only see me as someone who needs to be protected.’
It seemed better to stop here and return for today.
“Count, I’ll take my leave for now. Please tell Seiana I’m sorry I couldn’t say goodbye.”
“Yes!”
“To be honest, seeing how much she likes you makes me want to change my mind.”
“In any case, please don’t burn the next letters. Burning them only makes me appear rude.”
***
That day, I heard from father that Ray had returned due to poor health, and I became worried.
If he left without even saying goodbye, he must have been really unwell.
‘Will he be okay?’
I even wondered if it was somehow my fault.
Maybe the initial shock from me trying to push him away had taken a toll on his body and mind.
Should I write a letter to check in on him?
But even if I wrote one, I didn’t know how to send it.
I was still thinking about it when, surprisingly, a letter of apology came from Ray the next day.
It said he was sorry for leaving without a farewell due to feeling unwell.
He also asked if he could visit again next time.
I glanced at the person who brought the letter.
Since they hadn’t left after handing it over, it seemed they were instructed to wait for a reply.
Then I looked to my father.
Though it seemed the talk had ended well yesterday, he had been strict about blocking Ray’s letters in the past, so I worried he might not welcome another visit.
But Father simply nodded, his face untroubled in response to my gaze.
That was permission.
‘Guess their conversation really went well.’
I quickly wrote a reply.
Normally, I would have included pleasantries and formalities, but since Ray’s letter had been brief and straight to the point, I felt I could keep mine simple too.
‘So, when should we set the next meeting?’
Since I just sent the reply, it would take a couple more letters before the schedule would be finalized…
‘The soonest would be in about three days, right?’
My heart fluttered a little.
It was the first time in my entire life that I was inviting a friend to my home.
To be exact, it was the first time I ever had someone I could call a friend.
Everything goes back to Pedro.
It’s all because of that guy. In my previous life, the Saxen family used their engagement with me as an excuse to enter high society in the capital.
Naturally, the whole family tried to socialize with the capital nobles—but…
‘It didn’t go well.’
I don’t want to speak ill of them, but their personalities were kind of…
They tried to form connections with the long-standing noble families of the capital, but those nobles responded with wry smiles and distanced themselves.
The only reason they weren’t completely dismissed was because of the Estarote family’s reputation.
Failing to become part of the capital’s noble circle, the only connections the Saxens made were with others like themselves—nobles who came to the capital hoping for success.
Their results weren’t even half of what they originally planned, and the Saxens were deeply displeased.
Pedro would lash out at me, wondering why I didn’t help when their family was being ignored by capital nobles.
‘Actually, I did have people I could call friends…’
But they weren’t people I made on my own.
They were ones I became close to as a child thanks to our families’ relationships.
We didn’t arrange to meet on our own, but during social events, we would play together while the adults talked.
If nothing had gone wrong, even if we weren’t best friends, we could have confidently called each other friends.
‘Pedro ruined all of that.’
Pedro, being the embodiment of narcissism, couldn’t accept that he was insignificant in the capital.
I’m not sure, but it seemed he thought becoming close with my acquaintances would help him break into society.
The problem was, all my old acquaintances were girls.
Gender shouldn’t matter in friendship, but in reality—it did.
If your interests don’t align, conversations fall flat.
Some girls enjoyed outdoor activities like swordplay or horseback riding, but unfortunately, none of my friends did.
They liked quietly sitting and playing with dolls, or sharing dreamlike stories from the night before—things Pedro would never enjoy.
He mocked them for liking such things, bragged about how superior he was, and in the end, even those gentle girls distanced themselves.
‘Stupid Seiana Lovely Estarote chose shallow love over genuine friendship.’
I recalled the way they turned away in disbelief as I made excuses for Pedro, claiming he wasn’t a bad person, just a little harsh.
Because being friends with me meant being around Pedro too, no one new ever tried to befriend me.
As I got older and started working in trade, my network was all about mutual benefit, not childhood innocence…
‘At this point, it’s not even all roads lead to Pedro—it’s all roads lead to my eyeballs.’
Looking back, the real issue was that my eyes had failed to see Pedro’s true nature.
Though the sudden realization hit hard, it was immediately followed by a flash of insight in my mind—
There it was.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t gotten involved with Pedro in this life.”
In all my past lives, every complication stemmed from him, but this time, he didn’t get involved.
Which meant that this time, I wouldn’t have to lose my friendships.
‘Maybe in this life, I can actually have something like a “best friend.”’
I trembled with excitement at the thought.
Yes, this time, I’m going to make 100 close friends!
And we’ll have pajama parties at my house!
With that resolve in mind, I started thinking about what I could serve for my first meeting with Ray, who would be my very first friend.
‘The homemade desserts from our house are fine, but… this is the first gathering with my first friend, so I should prepare something proper.’
I decided that tomorrow, I’d go to the capital to reserve a dessert to serve at the gathering.
The next day.
“Hello, Seiana?”
“…?”
I couldn’t understand why Ray was here when I hadn’t prepared anything.
***
‘Why are you here…?’
I thought, staring at Raymund’s face peeking over a massive bouquet.
I had just eaten breakfast and was resting when I was told someone had come.
I assumed it was a reply to the letter from yesterday, so I came down—only to be met with him.
Raymund greeted me with a bright smile and suddenly thrust the bouquet forward.
Not only was the bouquet enormous, but each blossom was enormous too.
I’m not exaggerating—each flower was the size of my second brother’s fist.
Maybe because of their size, the bouquet was also incredibly heavy.
I staggered under the weight and wondered, Can a bouquet really be this heavy?
I looked around.
My mother wasn’t there, probably because she was looking after my younger sibling.
With my father and second brother off at work, my eldest brother greeted Prince Ray on behalf of the family as its head.
The rest of the unoccupied staff had come out and were all bowing with their heads practically buried in the ground.
‘Isn’t this a bit excessive?’
Inside the imperial palace, such a scene was normal, but I wasn’t sure if this was how things should be outside of it.
Since I had never met a royal outside the palace before, I didn’t know if this was over the top or not.
Ray was smiling brightly, as if he had no thoughts on the matter, but seeing even my eldest brother bow made me think this must be the proper etiquette.
Even though we were friends, the difference in our social status made me try to greet him formally.
But then Ray suddenly looked surprised and grabbed my shoulders.
“What’s wrong?”
“Uh… I thought I should greet you properly…”
I started speaking informally but quickly added polite speech at the end, realizing others were around.
I didn’t understand why Ray was stopping me, so I stood there confused.
His expression darkened.
“Seiana, you don’t have to. Everyone, please rise and return to your duties.”
Despite his command, the servants didn’t move and continued to glance around nervously, but after my eldest brother repeated the order, they finally dispersed like scattered leaves.