Aurora Ark Gate Makes Up Her Mind

Inside a House Ark Gate carriage, I sat with my head in my hands.

Ever since getting into the carriage, I had been like this without caring who might see me.

Though the only attendant sitting across from me looked just as lifeless.

“W-What am I supposed to do…? I can’t believe that was Nova-san… I-If Onee-sama finds out…”

What I was agonizing over was Nova-san, the man I had just met in town.

I never imagined I would happen to meet the man Onee-sama had feelings for.

“M-Milady… Nova-san and the family head are close enough to meet and talk with each other… I suspect she’ll find out what happened today through Nova-san.”

“I-I should have asked Nova-san not to tell her… No, Onee-sama would probably find out anyway…”

But what I was worried about was not the fact that I had met Nova-san.

It was how I had behaved toward him.

No, maybe I was remembering it wrong. Perhaps I had not actually said anything that bad.

Clinging to that faint hope, I turned to my attendant.

“…I was incredibly rude to him, wasn’t I?”

“You not only flaunted the fact that you were a noble, but even though you didn’t know who Nova-san was, you called him ‘you’ so rudely… Who knows what will happen if the family head hears about it… Milady, we’ve known each other for a long time. It’s been a pleasure.”

“Hey! Don’t try to save only yourself!”

I shouted at Lisa, who was clearly only thinking about protecting herself.

It was a secret that part of me wondered whether Lisa was only joking and did not actually mean it.

Still, considering how Lisa usually was, I could almost believe she might really betray me if things got bad enough.

Putting my hopeless, potentially traitorous attendant Lisa aside for now, I thought about Nova-san and Onee-sama.

But no matter how much I thought about it, there was nothing I could do anymore.

At this point, there was only one option left to me.

“…I’ll tell Onee-sama honestly about what happened today. That’s still better than her hearing it from Nova-san.”

“As expected of you, Milady. Fighting dirty to survive.”

I felt just a little irritated at what my hopeless attendant had said.

“Then do you have a better idea, powerless maid?”

“No! I’ll follow you for the rest of my life, Milady!”

Lisa bowed deeply.

I let out a huge sigh at how quickly she changed sides.

What was done was done.

Besides, if I explained it properly, Onee-sama would surely understand.

…She would understand, right?

Through the window, I looked at the sky visible between the curtains.

The moon shone in a cloudless sky.

The thought of going to tell Onee-sama what had happened today nearly crushed my spirit, yet at the same time, part of me felt strangely excited.

So that man… was Nova-san…

I had always wondered what kind of person Nova Fols, the man Onee-sama loved, was.

The Empress. The Devil. Cold-Blooded.

Those were just a few of the things people whispered about Onee-sama behind her back, so I had been both curious about the man she loved and somewhat sympathetic toward him.

I had wondered whether he was some kind of monster who surpassed even Onee-sama, or perhaps a weak, pathetic man she could toy with as she pleased.

But the Nova-san I met today had completely shattered the image of Nova Fols I had imagined.

No one had ever spoken to me that firmly before, yet he had.

And more importantly, he had done it for my sake.

Aside from Onee-sama and the others, Nova-san was the first person who had ever gotten truly angry with me for my own good.

Suddenly, I remembered.

While I had been standing in line in front of the confectionery, Nova-san had scolded me.

When the words “Don’t!” pierced my ears, it had felt as though my entire body were boiling.

I did not understand what that feeling was, but it had felt strangely pleasant.

He had shown me that there were still men in this world who would look me straight in the eyes, truly see me, and scold me for my sake.

I was certain I would meet him again.

Onee-sama would never let Nova-san escape.

So when that happened, he would become family.

He would become Nova-onii-sama.

For some reason, Nova-san’s smile remained stuck in my mind and refused to disappear.

But instead of being bothered by that, I was happy about it.

After several days of travel, I finally returned to my manor.

So far, I had not received any word from Shia.

Thinking that perhaps I had not needed to rush back after all, I spent a little time practicing swordsmanship in the courtyard.

I had slept in the carriage on the way home, so I still had some energy left, but I was definitely tired.

I planned to keep today’s training light and relax afterward.

Tanya joined me while I was training in the courtyard, and I brought her back to my room.

There, I started telling her about everything that had happened since we parted ways.

I told her how I had asked about Shia not only in Saria, but in Norzampshon as well, and had heard nothing but praise.

I told her that the city was even livelier than Saria and that its shops had an impressive selection of goods.

Tanya listened happily to all of it, but when I told her that the girl I had met in front of Milky Way had actually been Shia’s younger sister, her eyes widened.

“It really surprised me… But I suppose it makes sense, considering she’s Shia’s little sister. She was kind and easy to talk to. She’s still a child now, but I’m looking forward to seeing how she grows up.”

“…………”

“…Tanya?”

I understood being surprised, but was this not a little excessive?

Even now, her eyes were wide open and she had frozen like a statue.

Then suddenly, she snapped back to herself.

“Th-That’s wonderful, Nova-sama. Now there’ll be one more person you know when you visit Shia-san’s family home.”

“Oh, I guess that is a good thing.”

“…Though surely she didn’t deliberately arrange for her younger sister to meet Nova-sama in order to tighten the net around you even further… Ah!”

Tanya had been muttering something under her breath when she suddenly cried out as though she had remembered something.

She spun toward me and spoke.

“Nova-sama, did you buy my souvenir?”

“Ah, no. Like I mentioned earlier, I ended up giving it to Aurora-chan and Lisa-san, so there isn’t any left.”

“…………”

“Come on, don’t look that devastated.”

Tanya looked as though the world had ended, and I felt a little sorry for her.

But she soon sighed and said she did not really mind.

“I’ll ask someone I know to bring me some next time.”

“O-Oh… sorry.”

I did not really understand it, but apparently she had connections of her own.

Maybe she knew a merchant who traveled to Norzampshon.

That thought crossed my mind that afternoon.