At The Plaza At Dusk, With The Noble Girl

After the small incident at the Milky Way confectionery, I wandered around town for a while, and before I knew it, evening had arrived.

I planned to hire a carriage tonight and return to my own manor.

I could have stayed in Norzampshon and taken my time, but Shia might contact me.

Now that I had finished asking around about her, that thought made me want to return to the manor as soon as possible.

So while waiting for the carriage departure time, I went to a plaza-like area and sat down on one of the benches there.

I could see the northern city spread out before me, and the lights beginning to flicker on here and there somehow gave the scene a sense of warmth.

I sat there idly for a while, lost in thought, when I heard a voice.

“Ah! You’re the one from earlier!”

“Ah.”

When I turned around, the girl I had gotten into a small argument with in front of the Milky Way shop was standing there.

But there was no bag of sweets in her hands.

“Huh? What about the sweets…?”

When I asked without thinking, the girl’s expression rapidly soured.

“They sold out before I could buy any!”

I see. No wonder she was in a bad mood.

I glanced at Lisa, who was standing beside her, and she covered her mouth as she quietly explained.

“Apparently they ran out just barely before our turn came…”

So it had been an especially frustrating kind of disappointment.

The girl looked utterly dejected, so they must really have sold out right before she reached the front.

Seeing her shoulders slump made it hard for me to ignore her.

I picked up the bag resting on the bench and took out the box of sweets.

They were originally meant for Tanya, but I supposed she would have to forgive me.

I held out the carefully wrapped box toward the girl.

“…Huh? You’re giving it to me?”

Her eyes widened, but she looked so obviously tempted by the box that I could not help but chuckle.

Trying to cover it up, I spoke.

“Consider it a reward for properly waiting in line.”

The girl hesitantly reached out and accepted the box.

She held it carefully in both hands against her chest, then looked at me.

“…No. I’ll only take half. So… let’s eat them together?”

“…………”

I was reminded again that she really was a kindhearted girl.

Her words made me happy, and my smile deepened.

“Yeah. Thanks.”

“…Hehe. You’re the one giving them to me, so isn’t it strange for you to thank me?”

I felt like that was the first time I had seen her smile.

Her hair and face looked nothing like Shia’s, yet for some reason she reminded me of Shia on that day long ago.

“Whaaat!? Milady, what about my share!?”

Lisa asked the girl in shock.

The casual way she spoke made me wonder if the two of them had known each other for a long time.

Maybe their relationship was something like mine and Tanya’s.

“I’d like to tell you not to ask for your master’s food… but since we’re doing this anyway, let’s split it among the three of us. Is that all right?”

“Sure. Do whatever you like.”

At that, the girl once again smiled as brightly as a blooming flower and sat down beside me on the bench.

Lisa-san then said, “In that case, I’ll sit here,” and took a seat on the girl’s other side.

When the girl opened the box, bite-sized sweets coated in sugar were revealed.

She picked one up and handed it to Lisa-san, then took another and held it out to me.

I accepted it, and the three of us put the sweets into our mouths at almost the same time.

“Mmm! Delicious!”

“These sweets really are wonderful.”

“Oh, this is good.”

Our reactions were all different, but we agreed on one thing—the sweets were delicious.

The three of us continued nibbling on them together.

As I enjoyed the sweetness spreading through my mouth, the girl suddenly asked me a question.

“Hey, can I ask you something? Why did you stop me from cutting in line? I mean, I know now that you were right to stop me… but from the way we were dressed, you must have realized we were nobles… Didn’t you think something terrible might happen to you?”

She was probably asking whether I had been afraid.

Or perhaps no one had ever told her so clearly that something she was doing was wrong before, making today a first for her.

“Like I said earlier, I don’t think being a noble means you should be allowed to break the rules. Especially rules where breaking them means someone else gets the short end of the stick. But more than that, I thought stopping you would be better for you too.”

“For me?”

“Yeah. If someone just barges into a line, it’s only natural for people to resent them, right? You’re still young now, so no one’s holding a grudge against you. But once you grow up, that kind of thing will eventually come back to you.”

Those were the words of my late mother.

Do good things. Be considerate of others.

Good deeds would return to you as good, and bad deeds would return to you as bad.

There were plenty of people in the world for whom Mother’s words did not seem to hold true.

There were people like that around me too.

Even so, I wanted to be someone who continued to live by her words.

“So that’s why you shouted back then…”

“Names are easy to remember, after all. Though since we were already starting to argue, maybe stopping you from saying it didn’t accomplish much.”

“No. You did it for my sake, didn’t you? …Thank you.”

The girl bowed deeply, and I gave her an awkward smile.

“It wasn’t just me. I’m sure Lisa-san tried to stop you because she understood that too.”

“Lisa did? …No, you’re probably right. Lisa has always told me when something wasn’t right.”

The girl turned toward Lisa-san, who smiled gently back at her.

“You were splendid today, Milady. I’m proud of you.”

Lisa-san planted her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest proudly.

She was physically much bigger, but watching her like this somehow made her seem about the same age as the girl.

I wondered why that was.

As I thought about that, the girl turned back toward me.

“Once again, thank you. I’m glad someone like you happened to be there with me then.”

“If you feel that way, then coming all the way here was worth it.”

I had learned more about Shia, and this girl had thanked me too.

I was truly glad I had come to Norzampshon.

“Come to think of it, I’ve never seen you around before. You don’t seem to be from this city, so where do you live?”

“I’m originally from a southern city called Saria.”

“What!? That’s incredibly far away. …Hey, hey, why did you come all the way to Norzampshon?”

The girl leaned forward and peered into my face.

It was then that I noticed her eyes were the same gray as Shia’s.

“I heard this was a nice city, so I wanted to see it for myself. I spent the whole day visiting different places and meeting all sorts of people, and yeah, it really is a good place.”

When I said that, she looked rather proud.

“Of course. Norzampshon is a wonderful place… O-Oh, I know! Why don’t you move here!?”

“…Huh?”

The suggestion came so suddenly that the response slipped out of me.

But the girl seemed completely serious and waited for my answer.

Behind her, Lisa-san was panicking.

“M-Milady! What are you saying!?”

“Oh, come on. What’s wrong with it? I could introduce him to a job. I think it’s a great idea.”

“Please consider his circumstances too!”

Lisa-san’s shoulders drooped while the girl pouted.

She really was still a child, I thought, smiling as I answered.

“Sorry. I like where I live now, so I don’t think I can do that.”

More accurately, it was far more than merely difficult.

My territory had been granted to me by Father, and there was also the matter of Shia.

Norzampshon was certainly appealing, but moving here was not something I could decide on the spot.

“Hmph. It’s rare to find someone who’ll talk to me like this…”

“Please just give up, Milady.”

Lisa-san admonished her just as she had earlier, while the girl puffed out her cheeks in displeasure.

But knowing that I was the reason she was sulking made me laugh a little.

The crimson evening light illuminating the two of them slowly began to darken.

The sun was about to set.

Seeing that reminded me of something important.

I had completely forgotten about the carriage.

I still had enough time, but I should probably start heading over soon.

“Sorry, but I have to head home after this. …You two can have the rest of the sweets.”

“You do? That’s too bad. I wanted to talk some more… Oh, come to think of it, what’s your name?”

“Milady, when asking someone’s name, you should introduce yourself first.”

I was about to answer when Lisa-san beat me to it.

The girl blinked blankly, then murmured, “Oh.”

“That’s right. I never told you, did I? My name is Aurora Ark Gate. People close to me call me Aura.”

I repeated the name in my head.

Aurora Ark Gate.

Which meant her family name was Ark Gate.

Shia’s little sister!?

I screamed internally.

Thankfully, I had been too shocked to say it aloud.

But thinking about it, we were in Norzampshon, so it was only natural that a noble here might belong to House Ark Gate.

I could not believe the possibility had never crossed my mind.

Clearly, I had not thought things through.

“…What’s wrong with you? Don’t tell me you’re suddenly going to say House Ark Gate is too intimidating or something. You sounded so cool earlier when you said being a noble didn’t matter.”

“Ah… well… my name is Nova Fols.”

She was a noble daughter, yes, but she was still just a child.

Even if she belonged to the same House Ark Gate as Shia, I clung to the faint hope that Shia might not have told her my name.

Aurora-chan’s face froze.

“D-Don’t tell me… you’re… the third son of House Fols…”

“Ah… yeah.”

“…Onee-sama’s… fiancé…”

Seeing Aurora-chan trembling, I began to think I might have gotten myself into a troublesome situation.

Shia was, to put it simply, kindness incarnate.

If Aurora-chan had someone like her as an older sister, it would hardly be surprising if she adored her intensely.

I had even thought she might see me as an enemy because of it.

“Um… well… w-we might meet again sometime, so… n-nice to meet you! We’ve taken up enough of your time, so we should get going too! Lisa!”

“Y-Yes! Let’s go, Milady!”

Still wearing a stiff smile, Aurora-chan hurried away with the equally shaken Lisa.

She did at least wave to me as she left, so it seemed she had not suddenly come to hate me.

“…Well, I guess it was bound to get a little awkward.”

She had thought I was a complete stranger, only to find out I was her sister’s fiancé.

Though technically, I was not her fiancé yet.

Still, if things continued with Shia, I would probably meet Aurora-chan again.

The way we had parted left me a little worried about what kind of expression I should wear the next time I saw her.

“…Time to go.”

The sun was nearly below the horizon.

I turned and began walking away, leaving the now-empty bench behind.