Chapter 165: Departure Festival (3)
Artiac Gwendil.
Truthfully, even Lian had somewhat anticipated this encounter.
After all, Artiac, who had originally been under the First Imperial Prince, had temporarily come under Velita’s command. Velita herself had told Lian that he would be handling various tasks during the Departure Festival.
He simply hadn’t expected Artiac to show up so suddenly, and especially not of his own accord, like this.
In contrast, Artiac didn’t appear the least bit awkward, as if he had deliberately come to see Lian.
“You must be Lian’s friends.”
Artiac Gwendil slightly bowed his head as he looked at Cecilia and Allen standing beside Lian.
“I’m Artiac Gwendil. Pleased to meet you.”
“Ah, a-ah…! I—I’m Cecilia Everglenn…!”
“…Allen Amiel. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Cecilia looked incredibly tense, likely overwhelmed by the fact that she had suddenly met Lian’s family.
Her voice even cracked as she spoke, making all her hard-practiced greetings in her room seem pointless.
Allen, on the other hand, was extremely cautious, knowing that Lian, much like himself, had complicated family and personal circumstances.
“…”
Artiac looked exactly as Lian remembered him.
With his expression barely changing, he politely dipped his head once more in response to their greetings.
Then, turning to Lian, he spoke in a quiet voice.
“It’s a relief to see you doing better than I expected.”
“Yes, I’ve been well, thanks to your concern.”
“I see.”
At Lian’s reply, Artiac nodded.
“Sorry to show up all of a sudden without any notice. Were you surprised?”
“Not at all. But… weren’t you busy?”
“Fortunately, I still have a bit of free time.”
Artiac answered calmly.
“So I took the opportunity to come see you.”
Lian nodded in understanding.
Artiac, staring intently at Lian, spoke again.
“…First, let me thank you. I truly appreciate you not ignoring my request.”
“A request?”
“For writing to Mother.”
As he said that, a faint smile crept onto Artiac’s lips.
“She was so happy that you replied to the letter she sent through me. She was also worried about possibly burdening you if she wrote too frequently…”
He trailed off mid-sentence, pausing.
Then, as if realizing he had slipped, he furrowed his brows slightly and said,
“…Please forget what I just said. She specifically asked me to keep it a secret.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Thank you.”
As Artiac had said, Lian had been exchanging letters from time to time with the Countess—his stepmother.
In those letters, she had been exactly as Lian remembered her, so what Artiac had just said only left him puzzled.
The idea that she was that happy just from exchanging letters with him felt hard to believe.
“And…”
Artiac opened his mouth to speak again, then fell silent.
At that moment, Cecilia awkwardly interjected, “Ah, aah. Right. I just remembered—we had something urgent to take care of.”
Then she nudged Allen’s foot.
Only then did Allen react a beat late and nod.
“…Ah, yes. That’s right. Something very important.”
Cecilia bowed slightly toward Artiac and Lian as she added,
“Please excuse us. We’ll be going now. The two of you should talk comfortably.”
With that, Cecilia and Allen tactfully left to give the two some space.
Seeing them go, Artiac muttered in a rare tone of embarrassment.
“…We’ve been given some consideration.”
Then, looking a bit sheepish, he turned to Lian.
“I must’ve made your friends uncomfortable without even realizing it.”
“They’re not the kind of people to be bothered by something like that, so you don’t need to worry too much. Brother.”
“Still, please pass along my apologies later.”
He let out a quiet sigh.
“Since they’ve been considerate, and it feels odd just standing here like this… shall we take a walk?”
“Yes.”
And so, the two began to walk slowly.
Artiac glanced around as he quietly murmured,
“Not much has changed since my time here.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. The people have changed, but the place itself hasn’t at all.”
Then, his gaze fell on the sword strapped to Lian’s side.
“That’s a fine sword. May I ask where you got it? It looks like the work of a remarkable craftsman.”
“Ah… I was lucky to receive it.”
“Oh.”
Artiac’s eyes lit up as he nodded.
“They say that a worthy blade finds a warrior who’s found purpose. Does that mean you’ve decided to become a Holy Knight?”
“Actually… I’m still undecided.”
“Taking your time isn’t a bad thing. A quick decision isn’t always the best.”
He spoke gently.
“It may sound silly, but… if you ever need my advice or help, don’t hesitate to ask. I’ll always be here to support you.”
“Yes, I will.”
“Good.”
“…”
“…”
Suddenly, the two fell silent, as if by unspoken agreement.
Artiac, who had always been a man of few words since childhood.
And Lian, who had always felt uncomfortable around him because of that.
In that awkward silence, the two brothers simply kept walking for a while.
“…The head of the family.”
At last, Artiac broke the silence.
The head of the family.
The moment the name of their father, Count Gwendil, was mentioned, Lian’s eyes narrowed.
“No, it seems Father has been concerned about you.”
“…About me?”
“Yes. The Academy has been unusually noisy with incidents lately. The rumors must have spread and eventually reached the family.”
Artiac nodded.
“He told me himself to personally check how you’ve been doing and report back to him.”
“…”
At those words, Lian remained silent, unsure how to respond.
How should he express this feeling?
Yes—‘perplexed’ was the most fitting word.
‘Why…?’
In his previous life, even when he’d caused all sorts of problems and scandals, that man had shown no reaction whatsoever.
And now, to hear he was concerned about him? Lian couldn’t help but be confused.
“…”
As for the Countess—his mother—
Lian had to admit that he had misunderstood her in many ways.
Looking back, she had merely been blunt, but she had always looked after him and quietly cared for him.
But that man—
“You seem surprised.”
Artiac let out a small chuckle.
Then, uncharacteristically, he muttered with a slight awkwardness.
“To be honest, I felt the same. Father… he’s honestly impossible to read, even for me.”
“…”
“But still… I suppose, in his own way, he’s always kept you in his thoughts and worried for you. What happened in the underground aqueduct was no small matter, after all.”
“…You knew?”
Artiac gave a small, dry laugh.
“Did you really think I wouldn’t know? About something that serious?”
“No, I meant… did you know I was involved in it?”
“Yes, I did.”
He nodded.
“In fact, that’s part of why I came to find you.”
“…”
“Lian.”
“Yes, Brother.”
“If possible, don’t get involved in things like that again.”
He spoke quietly, but with enough concern that anyone could hear it.
“Even getting slightly entangled with the Cultists of the Evil God is a headache. And this time, the Capital Guard, the Dragon Knights… even our side got wind of it. Just skimming the overview, I could tell it was serious. If someone looked into it deeper, it’d only become more troublesome.”
“…”
“Besides, even I had no trouble hearing your name, so I’m sure there are people paying close attention to you. And that’s not really… a good thing.”
Artiac muttered quietly.
“Perhaps that’s why Father asked me how you were doing.”
Lian nodded silently.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Good. That’s enough. Regardless of everything else, I’m truly glad you’re safe. And…”
“…”
“…”
Another silence.
Soon, Artiac gave a small shake of his head, as if to dispel the awkwardness.
“…I meant to just see your face and ask how you were doing, but I ended up rambling.”
“Not at all, Brother.”
“I shouldn’t keep you longer. I’ll be going now.”
“Already? You could stay a bit longer…”
Artiac shook his head.
“Once the Departure Festival is over, I’ll have more free time. Let’s catch up properly then.”
“Yes, I’ll look forward to it.”
“Look forward, huh.”
He muttered, almost jokingly—a rare occurrence.
“What’s so exciting about having a conversation with a stiff block of wood like me?”
“Haha…”
“…Anyway, I really will go now. And again—I’m truly glad to see you’re doing well.”
Artiac murmured quietly.
“Truly.”
“…”
After seeing Artiac off, Lian remained there alone for a while.
Cecilia and Allen were likely waiting nearby, having stepped aside earlier, but he needed a moment to gather his thoughts—even just a little.
However, his solitude was short-lived.
“So, you’re finally alone.”
A voice suddenly rang out.
It was a peculiar voice—one that made it impossible to tell whether it belonged to a man or a woman.
“…?!”
Startled, Lian quickly scanned his surroundings, and the voice continued.
“Look up.”
There, perched on a branch, sat a black bird.
The bird locked eyes with Lian and moved its beak, speaking in human language.
“No need to be so surprised. It’s me, me.”
“…‘Me’? Who are you supposed to be?”
“To act like that when you’re the one who asked for help.”
At Lian’s sharp response, the bird muttered as if unimpressed.
“It’s me. Amaruah.”
“Ah.”
Only then did Lian lower his guard and look up at the bird—Amaruah.
She clicked her beak with slight exasperation.
“I came in this form because things were urgent. The checkpoints and patrols suddenly tightened, and I couldn’t even enter the capital.”
“Yes, while you were gone, something… big happened.”
“I heard.”
Amaruah nodded.
“Anyway, I found out.”
“You mean…?”
“What you asked me. You wanted to know why the dragons had gathered and were acting so aggressive.”
At her words, Lian instinctively glanced around.
Amaruah clicked her beak again, as if to reassure him.
“There’s no one here but you and me, so don’t worry. I already checked everything.”
“…So, what happened?”
“…”
Amaruah fell silent at his question.
Then, as if even speaking the words was delicate, she began quietly,
“It was… no, it is a massive incident.”
She muttered under her breath with a sigh.
“One of the children of the clan has died, and another has gone missing.”