“……”
“I’ll make sure it doesn’t become a burden at all. Marriage talks between families are important.”
Nigel said as if doing a favor.
But Rowen’s reaction was unexpected. He thought he would naturally be grateful, but the guy scratched the side of his head and muttered hollowly.
“Nigel, you’re sometimes really… cruelly smart. I didn’t think that far.”
“Is that a compliment?”
“Of course it’s not a compliment.”
Rowen took a step closer. Then he spoke in a firm voice as if to be heard clearly.
“I rejected that quite a while ago.”
“Really? You already rejected it? Why?”
Nigel asked back with a slight frown. According to the intelligence that came to the imperial palace, he heard that the Sina family on the other side had proposed quite good conditions.
Because he didn’t think the Head of House Ashfield, the head of a merchant family, would reject such a good contract.
“…Grandfather just respected my wishes.”
“Was there something you didn’t like about it?”
Nigel asked a question anyone would ask. But at that question, Rowen immediately let out a short sigh, “Ha.”
“It’s not for that reason.”
Then? Nigel raised one eyebrow as if to say more, but even though he must have noticed, Rowen didn’t say more about the reason.
As expected, Rowen is still young. Seeing how he prioritizes his own will over matters for the family. Nigel continued, shaking his head lightly as if truly pitying.
“You should have come to the imperial palace before deciding. I could have coordinated it in the direction you wanted. Anyway, since you rejected it, the Ashfield family must have been quite disappointed.”
Rowen’s blue eyes gazed at Nigel resentfully. Eyes pitiful like an abandoned puppy. A face that looked hurt.
“…Why are you making that face?”
“Do you want me to accept that marriage proposal?”
“No.”
Nigel said firmly. There wasn’t even a moment’s hesitation. Rowen’s blue eyes seemed to sparkle slightly with expectation. He seemed to think Nigel was on his side for rejecting the marriage proposal.
Nigel told him his thoughts with one index finger raised as if it was out of the question.
“Of course not as they proposed. We could adjust it to be more beneficial to the Ashfield family. Why, should I ask about that family’s intentions again for you?”
“……”
Immediately, Rowen’s face turned cold.
“Clueless bastard.”
“What?”
Nigel’s expression immediately became fierce. ‘Clueless,’ it was the word Nigel hated most in the world. For him, who prided himself on reading and controlling every situation perfectly, there was no greater insult. But Rowen didn’t take back what he said.
That’s how Nigel Kaiserion was. He was terribly ignorant about things he wasn’t interested in and other people’s feelings.
“Ha… Yeah, fine. What would I expect from you.”
Rowen shook his head as if resigned. Then he roughly brushed his disheveled hair and said.
“Nigel, can we postpone the culprit search by a few hours today? I forgot I promised to help with festival preparations. While I’m at it, let me practice some swordsmanship too.”
Then Rowen pointed with his chin at the training hall building they had just left together.
“What? You never said anything like that.”
Nigel muttered with a dumbfounded face, having planned to go around every corner of the academy with Rowen all day.
But Rowen said “A few hours will be quick, quick,” as he strode down the corridor. While casually waving one arm in the air as if saying goodbye.
Nigel stared blankly at his retreating figure and muttered.
“…Strange guy.”
He couldn’t understand why he was suddenly acting like that.
Well, but if he has a prior commitment, it can’t be helped.
Nigel thought about places he could visit alone. He would be in a bit of trouble for a while because of the false rumor with Rowen, but if left alone, it was just a story that would die down.
That was the moment he thought that.
Ngh, the area between his brows throbbed.
The usual headache came. Even though he had been refreshed until morning, another concern arose and his head seemed to throb.
Fortunately, it wasn’t the pain like someone hammering inside his head that he had experienced in recent days.
If he just stood still for a very brief moment, he would be fine.
Rowen, who had walked ahead, had already turned the corner of the building and disappeared.
“……”
Should I call him? No, there’s no need to specifically call someone who said they’re busy. Above all, Nigel’s pride that it didn’t hurt that much wouldn’t allow it.
Nigel pressed his trembling hand firmly against his temple. Just in case, it seemed better to take medicine. He chewed the inside of his mouth and took a step.
“…Got you.”
Someone’s solid arm caught Nigel’s arm.
A familiar voice, a familiar scent.
It was Rowen.
“Weren’t you going to prepare for the festival?”
When Nigel twisted his head up to look, Rowen supported him upright with a frowning face.
“…I was going to. But you looked like you needed my help.”
Rowen muttered while wiping the cold sweat beaded on Nigel’s forehead with his sleeve.
“……”
He moved his lips to say he didn’t need any help, but in the end Nigel said nothing. Rowen asked while supporting Nigel.
“Should I take you to the dormitory?”
“…I’ll get better if I just stay for a moment. If I go in now, I won’t be able to do either.”
“You would say that.”
Rowen sighed deeply and grumbled.
“Nigel, you’re the most stubborn person in the Empire, you know?”
“As if I wouldn’t know that.”
Nigel shrugged his shoulders once as if receiving a compliment, then pulled Rowen’s arm to sit on a bench right in front of the building. Then thud, he threw his body down. It was behavior he would never do normally.
The two didn’t say anything for a while while sitting on the bench. The occasional gentle breeze tickled Rowen and Nigel’s hair, and the voices of excited students as the festival atmosphere ripened made the campus noisy.
Nigel’s gaze stayed on the north, on the huge steel building spewing white steam from its chimney.
“I need to go to the Magical Engineering Department.”
At the low voice, Rowen’s blue eyes moved.
“It’s a place that combines precision mechanical devices and magic. There’s a possibility it’s their technology.”
“That makes sense.”
Rowen stood up from the bench without complaint.
“Let’s go.”
***
Hiss— Thud, thud.
As soon as they entered the building made by overlaying iron plates here and there, the acrid smell of machine oil and hot steam suddenly hit them. Tick, tick, tick. The sound of regularly turning huge gears struck their eardrums.
It’s a fascinating space no matter when you visit. This was the largest magical engineering laboratory on the continent, and the department members bought up all the machine oil found on the ground. Because there wasn’t a single scholar who cared about the amount of money.
In the center of the Magical Engineering Department’s practice area, huge steel plates stood tall like walls. Someone who came out from between those iron plates discovered Rowen and greeted him.
“Rowen! What brings you here— Huh?”
A Magical Engineering Department student wearing oil-stained work clothes approached while lifting their goggles, then hesitated upon discovering Nigel.
“Your Highness Nigel. Greetings. What… brings you… here?”
Nigel Kaiserion and the Magical Engineering Department, what a completely mismatched combination. The Magical Engineering Department student looked at Rowen as if to explain more quickly.
“Uh, Lisa. We stopped by because we have something to look into.”
Rowen answered the student with an awkward smile. Hearing that, the student named Lisa asked back with an even more confused face.
“Something to look into? What, what is it? What is it?”
She seemed to have gotten scared thinking maybe something wrong had been done.
‘…Have I ever personally punished anyone outside of breaking school rules.’
Lisa’s reaction made even Nigel feel a little bit wronged. Just like the Swordsmanship Department students earlier, everyone turned deathly pale when he said he had business. Well… it can’t be helped.
Nigel tilted his head slightly to the side. He could feel Rowen, who was terrible at lying, looking this way as if asking for rescue.
“…Wondering if there’s a magical device that makes people transform into animals.”
At Nigel’s story, Lisa narrowed her eyes. Then, as if the goggles placed on her forehead were bothersome, she lightly took them off with a clack and said.
“Animals? What kind of animal?”
