Come, Spring (2)

Noi stood dumbfounded, staring at the man who had boldly begun to ascend the stairs.

(…Th-That guy! He’s the fake from town, isn’t he!?)

She had never imagined he would brazenly barge into a social venue packed with nobles.

Yet no one but Noi seemed surprised.

Everyone in the ballroom had mistaken that man—the counterfeit Hyuetos Magic Count—for the real one.

Some might even have known him. One man rubbed his beard with a troubled look as he watched the fake Magic Count.

What was more, even Kardia wasn’t surprised. Narrowing his eyes in amusement, he watched the man climb the stairs.

“An honor to make Your Majesty’s acquaintance for the first time. O son of the sun. I am the grandson of Kardia Ewellin, the mage at the edge of the heavens, and the current Hyuetos Magic Count.”

His voice carried like that of a stage actor. Unhurried, the fake Magic Count offered a mage’s bow.

“…And who are you?”

The king, not even granting him a glance, spoke in a perplexed tone.

“It is only natural that Your Majesty does not know me. Eighty years ago my grandfather went up to the sky and never once descended—neither to the capital nor even to his own domain.”

Seeing the man’s aim, Noi felt the blood drain from her face.

He wasn’t satisfied with throwing his weight around in the capital—he truly meant to replace the Hyuetos Magic Count.

As the fake said, not a single person here knew the true count’s face.

“By fortune, our blood has endured, yet we have not received Your Majesty’s leave for marriage. Your Majesty, presumptuous though it is, might you recognize me as the grandson of the Hyuetos Magic Count?”

In ringing tones, the fake Magic Count begged for mercy.

“Wh-What do we do! He even came here!”

If the king recognized him here as the Hyuetos Magic Count—that would be nothing short of theft.

Kardia had said, back when the same thing happened in town:

‘Right now I have no way to prove I’m Hyuetos, and no one there had the means to judge which of us was genuine.’

Noi had meant to let it slide as a one-time incident.

But at this rate, Kardia would be stripped of his title.

“Someone, remove this man.”

“Please wait! I am the genuine one. Behold—this ring!”

At the king’s command, the fake drew a ring from his breast. It was a signet ring engraved with the Magic Count’s family crest.

“Ah.”

As murmurs of “oh” rose around them, Kardia let slip the worst possible line.

“So it still exists.”

“…W-What did you say?”

“I received it at investiture from the old coot, but my third disciple stole it. I assumed it had been melted down for cash by now.”

“Wha… what?!”

Noi’s voice trembled.

“Then—then we can’t prove it anymore!”

Their only real hope had been the signet ring.

A signet ring whose inner band bore the royal crest existed only in one copy in the world. Nothing surpassed it as proof of identity.

“Why?”

“Why— you…!”

But Kardia only watched with a face of perfect ease.

(Maybe… he doesn’t need it?)

The title of Hyuetos Magic Count.

No—that couldn’t be, Noi thought, rolling up her sleeves.

“I will—!”

She had no winning plan.

Only that she had promised not to let go of Kardia’s hand—so she started forward.

“Ah-ah.”

But Kardia would not allow it. He whisked her up and tucked her back into her usual place in his arms.

“Kardia—!”

“Shh.”

Kardia sealed Noi’s lips with a single finger. His crimson eyes were right before hers.

“Did you not hear me? Seize him.”

“B-But—”

At the king’s words, the guards faltered.

To them, the man before them was the current Hyuetos Magic Count. The king had just declared the resumption of ties; faced with an order that contradicted that, they wavered.

“O king! Pray, show your boundless mercy—!”

The fake Magic Count pressed on with his lifelike performance.

But the king cut him down with an icy voice.

“Silence, fool. The Hyuetos Magic Count is there.”

From the second floor, the king looked down at Kardia.

“Eh—why…?”

Noi wasn’t the only one surprised.

Every guest gathered at the ball turned their attention to Kardia and Noi.

To reassure Noi, who flinched beneath the innumerable gazes, Kardia stroked her back.

Then, impertinently, he fluttered a hand at the king.

“Th-That one is the fake! Look! This ring I inherited from my grandfather—!”

“Ah, ah. Truly, what a headache. How can he lose something so important and yet remain so serenely unbothered?”

Cutting off the fake’s voice, the king shook his head.

Even with the true Hyuetos Magic Count present, so long as he held the signet ring, the fake had surely believed he could insist he was genuine.

He had never imagined that the king—said to be estranged from Hyuetos—could vouch for the count’s identity.

“If you insist so far, I shall grant an opportunity. —But if falsehood is revealed, both sides will accept punishment befitting the crime.”

“As you command.”

“What a bother. I shouldn’t have come.”

The fake Magic Count and Kardia answered in opposite tones.

Noi couldn’t follow any of it, but she understood at least this much: Kardia did not fear this predicament in the slightest.

If Kardia said it would be fine, it would be fine. Noi trusted him enough that the thought came naturally.

“…Show me something dashing, fiancé.”

“If you say so, I’ve no choice.”

Kardia flashed Noi a grin, set her gently down, and then strode unhurriedly through the sea of people.