After arriving in the Empire, we headed straight to the Academy without even stopping by our respective family homes.
Cesare was a bit on edge because of the magic lectures being cancelled. It was because magic lectures had disappeared, and also because he couldn’t get any news about Professor Mahoff, a magic professor and his favorite professor.
Thanks to that, as soon as we arrived at the Academy, we headed to the building with the faculty offices without even unpacking. But there was no nameplate in front of Professor Mahoff’s office.
“Professor, did he already move out of his room?”
“Even if not to others, he would have at least notified me before leaving, so this is strange.”
– Creak.
When Cesare opened the door, a tidy professor’s room was visible inside. It was a place full of calm, dark colors along with the smell of paper and ink.
“Professor. Are you here? Junior Lionel Mellans, excuse my intrusion.”
“Ppyoppyo~.”
After greeting and entering, Mitche also murmured as if greeting. Cesare went in first and looked around the room here and there, but as expected, there was no one inside.
“Cesare. Even if the temple and imperial family are keeping mages in check, can they so ruthlessly fire professors in the middle of the academic year? Still, Professor Mahoff is a mage who’s super friendly to society.”
I wonder if he received severance pay. Looking at Professor Mahoff’s usual appearance, he didn’t seem well-off, so I was a bit worried.
Cesare examined the neatly arranged documents and books around, investigating if the professor had left anything. I also helped a bit, but finding nothing particularly noticeable, I put my feet up on the desk and tilted the chair.
“Maybe he’s not contacting you because he thinks you’re still in the principality? He might send a letter when the summer semester starts.”
I casually picked up the gyrfalcon feather pen placed in front. It had a moderate weight, sophisticated decorations, and the feather didn’t bend easily either. It reeked of being a luxury item. Then, with a sudden sense of incongruity, I asked Cesare.
“Cesare. Did Professor Mahoff use feather pens?”
“Feather pens…. I’ve seen him use magic to make them write automatically when transcribing.”
“But Professor Mahoff is too poor to buy something like this.”
At the sudden professor diss I threw out, Cesare, who had been examining a grimoire, turned this way. I expressed my doubts to him.
“It’s strange. What the professor always used was a Bright fountain pen with a blue pen holder—even though it’s cheap, the quality isn’t bad for the price. Someone who uses that kind of thing wouldn’t use such an expensive feather pen.”
“He could have received it as a gift.”
Walking around the office again, I examined the small coffee table, chairs, and various small frames. Looking closely, I noticed strange points. The furniture was all in gloomy colors and seemed to harmonize at first glance, but the detailed designs didn’t match.
“Cesare. Even though I did doze off during every magic class, I’ve known Professor Mahoff since middle school.”
The days passed when I forced myself to take magic classes to attend to Cesare. The professor definitely had a style that emphasized practicality, and his aesthetic sense was quite bold. I still remember the day he came wearing beggar-like red horn-rimmed glasses. Of course, I don’t remember what we learned that day.
“This room itself is strange. The furniture here now is just assembled to look complete, but several people’s tastes are strangely mixed together.”
Years of experience and eye couldn’t be ignored. I was someone who studied these things with Grandpa until before enrolling in the Academy.
“At least 3 people, or more, carelessly placed these here. I’m certain. This is definitely not the professor’s taste. Someone placed them here as a deception.”
“But the books are still here as they were? There’s no reason to replace only a few pieces of furniture.”
Cesare, who had been pondering, suddenly gathered mana and walked around various places in the room. After a moment, he approached while staring intently at one side of the cupboard.
“After hearing what you said, I tried using detection magic just in case. Then I felt the flow of mana very strongly only here.”
“The professor might have left something when he departed! Let’s check quickly!”
Cesare, who had been reaching in and searching, soon pulled out a note that had been hidden with transparency magic inside the cupboard.
“Really…. There’s something here.”
Whoo, when he blew mana into it, ink soon seeped onto the note and began drawing on its own. It was a drawing depicting a scene with several figures.
There were men wearing imperial army uniforms. Professor Mahoff bound and prostrate on the floor. And the figure of a grinning priest was drawn. It was a man we knew.
“This is Priest Heiss!”
Priest Heiss’s expression as he smiled even while the professor was bound was somehow eerie, making my hair stand on end. After a moment of silence, Cesare’s voice filled with undisguisable anger was heard.
“Cedric said recently that he found the culprit of the assassination incident, right? It seems the professor was implicated in that.”
“Wait. Are you saying Professor Mahoff is the culprit? That he was secretly arrested?”
“No. If he were the culprit, he wouldn’t have left even this note. If he were the culprit, he would have humbly accepted arrest.”
“Then the fact that Priest Heiss is drawn here means….”
“It seems they couldn’t find the real culprit, so they framed and arrested the professor. Damn bastards. They’re seriously trying to uproot the mages.”
“Th-this means that?”
“Lionel. This means the Empire will purge mages going forward.”
My vision suddenly went dark and I looked blankly at Cesare’s pomegranate-seed-like eyes. He silently lowered his gaze. His white hand that crumpled the drawing was trembling finely.
“Even knowing Professor Mahoff is innocent…. Damn it. There’s nothing I can do right now.”
The existence like the godfather of the Empire’s mages, the Yanox Ducal Family. The shoulders of that Young Duke looked exceptionally heavy today. Wanting to lighten the burden piled there, I reached out my hand without thinking, and he pulled me toward him sharply. Just like that, I ended up held in his arms with a thud.
“Huh…?”
“Right now, just stay like this, still.”
As I fidgeted, not knowing what to do at the suddenly narrowed distance, more strength went into the hand holding me. Getting close to him, I felt the trembling a bit more strongly. A tired exhale quietly settled down.
“…It’s not an order, I’m asking. Just for a little while….”
It seemed Professor Mahoff being taken away, who must have been a great support during Academy life, was a big shock. Cesare had always been so aloof and confident, as if he wouldn’t bleed a drop even if stabbed. Especially with me, he was someone who tried not to show weakness.
That person leaned on me first. At that sight, I naturally became angry. Not disappointed at my hero’s weak appearance. I was angry at the unreasonable world that cornered Cesare like this, at him trying to bear all burdens alone as if they were his own, and at myself who could only do this much.
The ducal family, rebellion. Now even conflict with the mages. For someone who’s just the same age as me, why does he have so much to carry? Why can’t I share his world and offer even common comfort? Not being able to fathom the burden of his heart, not knowing how to bring it up—my heart ached.
“……”
“Phew. Sorry. I guess I was just a bit tired. Don’t worry about it.”
As he tried to pull away with a sigh, I quickly buried my head in his chest and wrapped my hands around his waist. Understanding that as permission, he didn’t pull away and hugged me even tighter. His body, harboring strange heat, warmly enveloped me.
For a moment, a bit of elation came at the illusion that Cesare wanted me. But I soon tucked that feeling away neatly. Useless superiority would only hurt me. After all, he didn’t love me anyway.
However, I imagined that everywhere our bodies touched was melting and crumbling. That’s how destructive and soft his embrace was.
“Lionel. Sometimes, I think this. That there’s so much in my grasp, yet I don’t know exactly what I want to hold.”
“……”
“I struggle desperately trying to grab something, but each time it feels like something slips away like holding sand.”
Through his breath, the heavy burden he was feeling was transmitted intact. I thought Cesare was always strong. When I peeked my head up, his eyes that had lost their light, visible right away, really looked tired enough to make the viewer feel pitiful.
If I told him now to let everything go, would I become the same type as those like Lampel and Cedric who urged him to let everything go?
“You won’t understand what I’m saying. But it’s been a life of only losing since birth. How long must I do this, can’t I avoid it, is there an end? Living with the small hope torture that someday things will be okay… I became greedy.”
With each word Cesare uttered, the vibration ringing through my chest flowed throughout my entire body and lodged in my heart.
“Why was I deprived of rights I should naturally enjoy? Why can’t I have what I should rightfully possess? Suddenly, greed arose that seemed within reach if I just extended my hand. I thought I could change everything… I thought something was about to change….”
“……”
“If a day comes when nothing changes like this, everything flows away and nothing remains in my hands, I….”
An indescribable light dwelled in the dark red eyes facing me. Those eyes soon slowly closed and he rested his head on my shoulder. At the hotly touching forehead, all emotions tilted toward him. I absolutely couldn’t dare tell him to put down the burden he was carrying. If I couldn’t say that, then rather….
“I’ll change it for you. Cesare. There won’t be a day when you have nothing left. Because I’m here.”
“……”
After a long silence, I heard his voice murmuring so softly from within my arms that I couldn’t make it out.
I’ve already lost you.
Soon, sad yet tender clasped hands hugged my waist even tighter.
As if responding to the hot embrace, I held my beloved person with all my strength. Mitche also just silently and quietly stared at us.
* * *
Because Cesare looked depressed over Professor Mahoff’s matter, I coaxed him to go out to the shopping district briefly to buy supplies needed for the new semester. We walked around inside the shop for the last time with our hands full of bundles.
“Did we buy everything? Writing utensils and five notebooks each prepared. We also had five sets of summer uniforms tailored…. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to tell me!”
The choosing and of course the paying were all my responsibility. Since Cesare didn’t have money to spend freely.
“You didn’t have to buy them.”
“Cesare. I’m taking a test every time I spend money. Since I’m a merchant, accumulating experience by directly choosing items while shopping like this is more important than Academy studies.”
I also spewed sophistry at Cesare’s cute bluster. He raised the corners of his mouth and smiled for the first time in a while. He seemed slightly energized, so my heart also relaxed a bit. As I was about to leave the general store like that, I saw luxury brooches displayed in the showcase next to me and my eyes sparkled.
“Ah, this is really cute! It must be a Rose Day gift!”
Rose Day was a day created by nobles who loved roses too much to commemorate the day roses bloomed fully, a day to give flowers and gifts to precious people. Something like modern Valentine’s Day.
“Hmph. The behavior of trying to confirm feelings with material things is utterly childish.”
“But that feeling is cute. Even if it’s childish, it’s somewhat special for us. Oh, this kind of thing is also unique and cute.”
I handled and examined the brooch studded with cubic zirconia in the shape of a puppy.
“Do you like this style?”
“Hmm. Well. It becomes a point in monotonous styling.”
It makes money.
These kinds were popular with young noblewomen who had young heirs. This year, items with characters made from jeweled cubic zirconia seemed to be in fashion. We also briefly looked at the accessories next to it, then left the general store and settled into a suitable cafe.
“Um… I’ll have strawberry sundae ice cream! What will you have?”
“Just coffee is fine. Lionel, I have some business so I’ll go out briefly and come back, so order first and wait.”
“Huh? Where are you going? Should I come with you?”
I had my gaze stuck in the menu and quickly raised my head, but Cesare had already disappeared. Was he briefly stopping by the restroom or something?
Anyway, while sharing ice cream amicably with Mitche, someone called me.
“Rye! My puppy!”
