The guard watched the girl leave. In the darkness of the night, she had already vanished from sight.
“That is Lady Yilu. She goes out to hunt magic beasts every few days.”
“Doesn’t her family care?” Lyr asked curiously.
For a noble lady to head out alone in the middle of the night just to collect magic beast cores was a strange move no matter how one looked at it.
“We wouldn’t know about that,” the guards said, shaking their heads. “Maybe she is just short on cash.”
Speaking of that, even they found it amusing.
Yilu’s family was, after all, a noble house with a residence in the Capital. It was impossible for them to have fallen into such a state of decline.
“However, Lady Yilu has a bit of a temper, so we try our best to avoid her.”
Once, a new recruit who did not know any better had taken it upon himself to stop her. He ended up being stabbed by her sword.
Saying she had a bit of a temper was already the kindest evaluation these men could give her. To be honest, in the eyes of outsiders, her personality could only be described as atrocious.
As for that nastiness, Lyr had already experienced it firsthand not long ago.
Glancing at the fellow who was still unconscious on his back, Lyr could only borrow a carriage from the guards and bring the man back to the manor.
Not many people knew about Lyr’s return.
When the maids of the estate saw him come back, they all looked surprised and stayed up late into the night to welcome him.
Meanwhile, on the second floor, a figure was awakened by the noisy commotion.
She wore pajamas, and her long black hair, the same color as Lyr’s, slid down her shoulders. The light of the candle in her hand reflected off the window, allowing her to see the situation outside.
Upon seeing Lyr’s silhouette, she paused for a moment, a slight frown appearing on her calm face.
With the start of the school term approaching, she usually went to bed very early, though she had stayed up slightly later than usual tonight. However, Lyr’s return was still much later than her usual bedtime.
This alone was enough to remind her of things that made her feel frustrated. Even though she saw that Lyr had returned, she was not in the mood to welcome her older brother.
***
The night passed in silence until the following morning.
The coachman, who had been unconscious all night, suddenly snapped awake as his lingering memories rushed back.
“Magic beasts! There are magic beasts!”
He was not met with the ferocity of the giant lizard from that night. Instead, the busy maids were startled by him, and they all cast bewildered glances his way.
“Wh—where am I?”
Being of commoner birth, he had never imagined he would one day wake up in such a magnificent house. For a moment, he wondered if he had died and was currently in a heavenly illusion.
“What’s all the shouting about first thing in the morning? It’s not like we’re at war.”
From another sofa, Lyr’s grumbling voice, thick with morning crankiness, drifted over.
He pulled the blanket off his head. His eyes were bloodshot, and he looked at the man who had ruined his night with a listless expression.
He had returned too late last night. Knowing it would take far too long for the maids to prepare a room, he had simply made do on the sofa for the night. He had slept in the grass before, so a sofa was already a luxury to him.
All traces of sleepiness gone, Lyr stood up while muttering under his breath. His hair was a mess, making him look like a refugee.
“It seems you slept quite well, so there is likely no need for anyone to tidy a room for you,” Tif said as she walked down from the second floor.
Halfway down the stairs, she looked at Lyr below. There was not a hint of joy in her eyes at seeing her brother.
“It’s still necessary. After all, I’ll probably be staying for quite a while this time,” Lyr said, scratching his head.
Facing his younger sister, who used to constantly cling to him when they were children, Lyr’s smile was a bit stiff.
Tif raised an eyebrow, looking surprised.
Lyr used to return occasionally in the past, but at some point, Tif’s attitude toward him had become cold, as if she felt her older brother was dispensable.
“Suit yourself.” Tif looked away, appearing indifferent. As she continued down the stairs, she did not forget to add, “However, I advise you not to bring irrelevant people back on a whim next time.”
Her words clearly referred to the bewildered coachman. Even now, the man had no idea what was happening.
Tif walked straight to the dining table. Just as she usually did when she was at the manor, she completely ignored her brother’s return.
A nearby maid skillfully served the prepared breakfast.
Tif’s methodical and dignified movements with her knife and fork stood in stark contrast to Lyr, who was still covered in dust. It was as if they belonged to two different worlds. It was hard to imagine that these two were actually siblings related by blood.
The other maids standing to the side felt the atmosphere was incredibly awkward. But it was understandable; every time Lyr returned, Tif acted as if she wanted to ignore him. It made people wonder if this was a normal sibling relationship.
Lyr sat on the sofa, and though he felt a bit awkward, he only grinned. He had long since grown accustomed to this cold war state.
“Young Master, the hot water has been prepared for you,” a maid timely reminded him.
After a quick wash and changing into clothes befitting his status as a noble, Lyr did not linger at home. He would indeed be staying for a long time, much like a soldier retiring from the battlefield, but he had things to do.
He pulled a wax-sealed envelope from his vest. The seal was imprinted with the Geno Clan’s crest, and a single pine needle was sealed along with it. This was the traditional way the Geno Clan communicated important matters.
Part of the reason Lyr had returned was to personally deliver this letter to the Headmaster of the Royal Academy.
‘I wonder what it is. They won’t even tell me.’
Lyr was curious. When his mother gave him the letter, she told him he must hand it to the Headmaster personally, and then other arrangements would be made. It was likely something regarding Tif, since she was a student at the Royal Academy.
“Young man, I could tell you weren’t an ordinary person back then, but I never expected you were a noble of the Capital.” The coachman, who had come out with him, pulled Lyr back from his thoughts.
Lyr looked at the fellow he had carried back and felt helpless, unsure of what to do. If he had known, he wouldn’t have hitched a ride with him.
“You don’t have a carriage anymore. What are you going to do now?”
The carriage they had returned in last night had been borrowed from the guards.
“I came to the Capital to handle some business. If the carriage is gone… that is indeed a problem.”
“Then take this.” Lyr pulled out his family badge. “With this, no one in the Capital should give you any trouble.”
This was the Geno Clan’s crest. As long as people saw this, most would treat him as a member of the Geno house.
“This…”
“If anything really happens, come here and find me. I’ll help if I can.”
Without waiting for a response, Lyr waved his hand and parted ways with the man.
Lyr had wanted to give him some money, but he had just returned and had already given all his cash to the man earlier. Come to think of it, while Tif was still in school, she was the one managing all the family’s affairs, including the finances.
The thought of having to ask Tif for money in the future gave him a bit of a headache.