The One Who Worried About Them

Now that the owner of the room was gone, it would have been strange for me to remain in Aurora-chan’s room indefinitely.

Lisa-san seemed to think the same thing, so the two of us had returned to the manor entrance on the first floor.

“You said you were going to wait until Ojou-sama finished studying, but where are you going?”

“Hmm, I haven’t really thought about it. It’d be nice if there were somewhere I could practice with a sword. A wooden sword would be perfectly fine, of course… but I guess House Ark Gate probably wouldn’t have anything like that, would it?”

“No, we do.”

Since House Ark Gate was a prestigious family of mages, I had assumed they wouldn’t have a sword-training facility, but Lisa-san denied that.

She extended her left hand and pointed in a direction.

“You know where the training grounds are, right? There should be someone managing them, so if you ask, they ought to prepare whatever you need. They’re equipped for sword training as well.”

“Oh, really? Then I might as well give it a try. I know where it is, so I’ll be fine!”

“All right, have fun! I still have a little work left to do, so I’ll leave you here.”

Lisa-san bowed politely and hurried away at a light jog.

Watching her retreating back, I turned around and headed toward the training grounds.

I had already been shown around the manor before, so I knew exactly where to go.

On the way, my eyes happened to drift toward the courtyard where I had spent time with Shia and Aurora-chan during my previous visit.

The sun had already begun to set, and the evening light streamed through the windows and into the corridor.

“…Huh?”

As I looked into the courtyard, I noticed someone sitting on one of the benches.

She appeared to be a woman with streaks of white in her hair, but her atmosphere was completely different from Grace-san’s, whom I had just seen.

For some reason, that caught my attention, so I opened the door leading into the courtyard.

Hearing the sound of the door, the woman seated on the bench turned toward me.

She wore glasses and had an air about her somewhat similar to Yuti-san.

“Oh my… Could you perhaps be Danna-sama?”

“Um… yes, I am.”

I still wasn’t used to being called Danna-sama.

I had gotten used to hearing it from Tanya, but being addressed that way by people from House Ark Gate somehow felt a little too grand for me.

“Please… have a seat. The breeze feels wonderful.”

“…Ah, thank you.”

At her invitation, I walked over and sat beside her on the bench.

She had said the breeze felt nice, and she was right.

The gentle wind was pleasantly refreshing.

“It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Laplace Keeper… I served House Ark Gate for many years, though I am retired now.”

“I see…”

She called herself retired, but she didn’t look particularly old.

If anything, she might even have been younger than Gill-san back at my manor.

Perhaps my thoughts showed on my face, because Laplace-san smiled.

“I used to serve as an aide to the family head, but the current Lady Leticia has no need for an aide.”

The words aide to the family head echoed through my mind.

In other words, she had once stood in a position close to Shia’s mother.

“…I… see.”

My mood darkened slightly, but when I thought about it carefully, her position had probably been similar to Rowen-san’s under Father.

It wasn’t as though she herself had hurt Shia when she was young.

As I reassured myself with that thought, Laplace-san’s expression softened.

“As I thought, Lady Leticia has already told you about Lady Elisabeth, hasn’t she? I apologize.”

“…That isn’t something you need to apologize for.”

In reality, there was an enormous difference in status between the head of a great noble house and a personal servant.

It would have been like Rowen-san openly challenging Father.

Putting me aside, even with Zeroad-niiue, he probably couldn’t strongly oppose him.

If so, surely things had been the same for Laplace-san in House Ark Gate.

No, according to Shia, her mother had been feared throughout House Ark Gate, so perhaps the hierarchy there had been even stricter than it was in House Fols now.

In that case, Shia’s mother might have borne responsibility, but there was no reason for Laplace-san to apologize.

“…I am hardly in a position to speak in detail about what happened in the past. But please allow me to thank you. Thank you for coming into the lives of House Ark Gate.”

“…It’s nothing.”

But the words that came from her mouth were once again about House Ark Gate, just like what I had heard earlier that day.

For a moment, I wondered whether this woman was ultimately the same as Tiara, whom I had met that afternoon.

“Since you came, Lady Leticia, Lady Yustitia, and Lady Aurora have all seemed so happy. Truly, thank you.”

“…Huh?”

Laplace-san said something I hadn’t expected.

I had assumed she was merely thanking me as a man who had become connected to House Ark Gate, but apparently that wasn’t the case.

“…Lady Aurora is somewhat lonely by nature and still has much of her childishness left. However, she is very fond of you, Danna-sama. Please praise her often.”

“…………”

“Lady Yustitia rarely lets her emotions show and tends to remain shut away in her room, but I believe she has opened her heart to you, Danna-sama. Even if only occasionally, please spend some time with her.”

“…Laplace-san.”

As I listened to her, I realized that this woman was a little different from Tiara, whom I had met earlier that day.

At the very least, she didn’t see Shia and the others merely as one collective called House Ark Gate, nor did she refer to me as some “man of House Ark Gate.”

“…Lady Leticia… is someone who is sometimes terribly misunderstood. But she—”

“Yes, I know. I understand very well what kind of person Shia is.”

“Of course… There may be no one who knows Lady Leticia better than you do, Danna-sama.”

I couldn’t quite explain it. Even though this was our first meeting, I somehow understood Laplace-san’s feelings.

She seemed deeply concerned for Shia and the others.

She almost seemed like a mother to them.

Naturally, she was nothing at all like the mother Shia had described to me.

If someone like this had been Shia and the others’ mother, perhaps things would have been much better.

Perhaps noticing me looking at her, Laplace-san smiled.

There was a hint of loneliness in that smile.

“…This won’t do. I have known all three of them since they were little, so I cannot help speaking this way. Danna-sama… if you are willing, please continue visiting House Ark Gate from time to time. Lady Leticia would of course be pleased, but I am sure Lady Yustitia and Lady Aurora would be as well.”

“…Yes. I think I’ll probably be coming here fairly often.”

“Thank you.”

With a smile, Laplace-san bowed her head deeply, very deeply.

After a while, she raised her head again. At the same moment, a slightly stronger gust of wind blew through.

“It is getting colder. I suppose I should be going now.”

“Yes…”

After saying that, Laplace-san bowed deeply to me once more before walking back toward the corridor.

As nothing more than a servant, Laplace-san was probably not in a position to speak about the previous head of the family or about Shia and the others, including the current family head.

But just now, she had clearly shown how deeply she cared about Shia and the others.

Judging by her appearance, she was probably older than Tiara, whom I had met that afternoon.

Even though she had been involved with House Ark Gate for so long, I was glad that unlike Tiara, she truly saw Shia and the others for who they were.

As I watched her retreating figure grow smaller, the sun was nearly below the horizon.

Norzampshon was in the northern lands, so the air grew cold. I started walking toward the door closer to the training grounds as well.