2-6 - Meeting My Fiancée

In the courtyard of the Sphiel family mansion, Sophia and I sat across from each other at a table.

The warm breeze felt wonderful, and I thought it was the perfect season for a tea party in the courtyard… But Sophia hadn’t said a word to me since we’d arrived.

I’d asked Regis to bring her out here somewhat forcefully, so she was probably wary of me.

Incidentally, as for Sophia’s appearance, which I’d been curious about—she was even cuter than I’d imagined.

She had softly curled, medium-length golden hair and deep crimson eyes. She was such a beautiful girl that I could easily understand why she’d been described as angelic when she was younger.

However, she looked a little mature for a seven-year-old. It seemed safe to assume that children in this world, myself included, developed faster than those in my previous world.

“My lady, Leon-sama has come such a long way to visit you. Why don’t you try asking him something?”

Sophia’s personal maid attempted to encourage her, but Sophia didn’t respond. Consequently, the maid looked thoroughly embarrassed.

“I’m terribly sorry, Leon-sama. The young lady is rather shy around strangers.”

“It’s fine. I don’t mind.”

I reassured the anxious maid before turning my attention to Sophia.

“Nice to meet you. My name’s Leon. Hey, Sophia, would you mind telling me your name?”

When I asked her that while meeting her gaze, Sophia looked at me curiously. She was probably wondering why I was asking for her name when I clearly already knew it.

However, she was too wary of me to voice her question.

So…

“I thought it would be nice to hear you say it yourself.”

I gently answered the question I’d deliberately planted in her mind, hoping to show her that I wasn’t a bad person. Sophia looked momentarily surprised, then a faint smile appeared on her face.

“…Sophia is Sophia.”

That was easy… Wait, wasn’t deliberately steering a little girl’s thoughts rather underhanded? No, no. It was true that I’d guided her reaction, but as long as I didn’t exploit her, there shouldn’t be a problem.

I just needed to approach Sophia with genuine sincerity.

“Well then, Sophia. Do you like really sweet treats?”

What a shameless display of someone claiming to be sincere while attempting to win a little girl over with sweets. …I couldn’t even make an excuse for that.

“…Sweet things?”

“That’s right. Something really sweet and delicious.”

I signaled Regis, who was standing nearby. A moment later, tea and custard pudding were arranged on the table.

“…What a strange-looking dessert.”

“It’s called pudding. It’s sweet and delicious, so why don’t you give it a try?”

“Well then, um… Thank you for the food.”

Sophia cautiously took a bite. Her expression immediately changed to one of astonishment.

“Wow… What’s this? It’s so sweet and delicious!”

“I’m glad. It makes me happy that you like it.”

As expected of the irresistible dessert that had captivated even Claire-nee. Apparently, it worked on extremely shy little princesses too. Making it especially for this occasion had been worth the effort.

“…Sophia has never eaten anything like this before. Did you make it, Leon-san?”

“Yeah. I borrowed the kitchen earlier to make it… But how did you know?”

“Because that’s what it felt like.”

“Is… that so?”

What exactly did she mean by “felt like”? Had the smell somehow lingered on me? I couldn’t rule that out, but… could she really tell when we were sitting across from each other at a table outdoors?

“—Actually, Lady Sophia possesses a Blessing that allows her to perceive emotions.”

Seeing my confusion, Regis provided an explanation.

A Blessing was an innate special talent… if I remembered correctly. Did being able to perceive emotions mean she could understand what other people were thinking?

Could she see straight through everything going on in my head? Startled by the possibility, I looked toward Sophia. Our eyes met.

“I can sort of tell what you’re thinking, Leon-san.”

Seriously…? Wait, did that mean she’d noticed when I thought she was easy to win over earlier? …No, but if that were the case, it wouldn’t explain why she’d lowered her guard around me.

…Come to think of it, Regis had specifically said she could perceive emotions.

Which meant…

I’d felt guilty about using little tricks to get Sophia to talk to me. But I’d genuinely wanted to speak with her and had no intention of deceiving her—and those feelings had probably reached her in a vague sort of way.

As a result, Sophia had concluded that I harbored no ill intentions toward her… Something like that, perhaps?

…I see. It was an extraordinary ability, but apparently she couldn’t perceive every detail. As long as I didn’t harbor any malice toward her, there was probably nothing to fear.

“…Aren’t you afraid of Sophia, Leon-san? Don’t you think Sophia is creepy?”

“I was surprised, sure. But I don’t think you’re creepy.”

“I… see…”

Sophia still looked puzzled, but she showed no sign of doubting my words. Her Blessing probably allowed her to recognize that I was being sincere.

“I heard you’re not very good at talking to people. Is that because of your Blessing?”

“…Yeah. Most people get scared of Sophia when they find out about her Blessing.”

“I see…”

Adults consumed by greed feared her ability, while innocent children feared a power they couldn’t understand.

Sophia was a nobleman’s daughter—and from a count’s family, no less. There had probably been plenty of adults who approached her hoping to take advantage of her position. It was hardly surprising that she’d become distrustful of people.

She was a girl burdened with hardships much like ours, and something about her reminded me of Saya. For some reason, I suddenly felt an overwhelming desire to protect Sophia.

“You don’t need to worry about people who get scared when they learn about your Blessing.”

“…Huh?”

“There are people who won’t be afraid of you even after learning about it, right? So why not stop worrying about the people who are scared and just make friends with those who aren’t?”

Of course, that was an extreme way of looking at things. There were surely good people among those who feared Sophia’s Blessing, and some might eventually change their minds.

But I thought she could worry about such things when she was a little older.

“…You’re strange, Leon-san.”

“Am I?”

“Yeah. Nobody’s ever said anything like that to Sophia before. Everyone else just tells Sophia to try harder to get along with people. Besides, your heart feels really warm, Leon-san.”

“Warm, huh? Maybe it’s because you remind me of my little sister, and I feel like I can’t just leave you alone.”

“Leon-san, do you have a little sister?”

Urgh. I’d let my guard down and accidentally said too much.

And Sophia could tell that I was panicking, couldn’t she? Would that be okay…? Well, even if she sensed my panic, it wasn’t as though she’d immediately conclude that I had memories of a previous life.

“I was just thinking that if I had a little sister, she’d probably be someone like you, Sophia.”

“Is… that so?”

She was probably still curious. Sophia leaned forward to peer into my face. But although I had things I wanted to keep secret, I had nothing to feel guilty about, so I calmly met her gaze.

“You really are strange, Leon-san. …Hey, Leon-san. Would it be okay if Sophia called you Big Brother Leon from now on?”

“Huh? Sure, but… is that because I said you were like a little sister?”

“Maybe? When I look at you, Leon-san, I just sort of feel like calling you that.”

“…If that’s what you want to call me, then go right ahead.”

“Okay! Thank you, Big Brother Leon!”

And so, I successfully managed to get Sophia to open up to me. We enjoyed our tea party while talking about all sorts of things.

It probably went without saying, but my family circumstances were pretty terrible.

Normally, discussing our families would have put me in several awkward situations where I wouldn’t know how to respond. However, perhaps because Sophia could sense other people’s emotions, she avoided any subject that made me even slightly uncomfortable. That made her incredibly easy to talk to.

“So you and Claire-san are really close, Big Brother Leon.”

“Yeah. Claire-nee is an irreplaceable member of my family.”

“That’s nice. Sophia is jealous of you, Big Brother Leon.”

“You have an older brother too, don’t you, Sophia?”

“Sophia has a big brother, but no big sister. Besides, Big Brother Eric joined the knight order, so he only comes home sometimes.”

“Oh, so he’s joined the knight order? Does that mean he’s training to become a knight?”

“That’s right! Regis said Big Brother Eric has lots of talent.”

“…Regis did?”

I wondered why a butler would be judging someone’s talent as a knight, but apparently Regis had previously served as the captain of the Sphiel Knights.

“No wonder you’re so well built.”

“You appear to have trained your body quite extensively yourself, Leon-sama.”

“I’ve only dabbled in swordsmanship, though.”

Alice had some knowledge of unarmed combat, but she’d never learned swordsmanship.

She practiced with me, but rather than proper swordsmanship training, our sessions were more like two children playing at sword fighting by striking wooden sticks together.

“Sophia is learning swordsmanship too!”

“Oh, really?”

I couldn’t help smiling as I imagined little Sophia earnestly swinging a sword around.

—Just then, a maid approached from the mansion. She came up beside me and whispered into my ear.

“Leon-sama, it seems preparations for your departure have been completed.”

“I see. Thank you. Please tell them I’ll be there after I’ve said my goodbyes.”

I asked her to pass along the message and watched her leave. When I turned back, Sophia was looking at me with an expression that suggested she was about to cry.

“…Big Brother Leon, are you going home already?”

“Yeah, sorry. If I don’t leave soon, I won’t make it home today.”

“Then stay here tonight and go home tomorrow!”

“That’s…”

I was the son of a concubine and wasn’t permitted much freedom. Even if I wanted to stay overnight, the guards accompanying me probably wouldn’t allow it.

“…I’m sorry.”

Sophia suddenly murmured an apology, looking terribly sad. She must have sensed my feelings.

“I’m the one who should apologize. I wasn’t upset that you asked me to stay. It’s just that I really have to go home today.”

“I see… Then, Big Brother Leon, will you come visit Sophia again?”

“Of course. I promise. I’ll definitely come visit again.”

“…Okay. Then Sophia will be waiting. It’s a promise, all right?”

And so, my first meeting with Sophia came to a successful conclusion, and I returned to the Granches territory.

However—

“Leon-sama! Alice-san has… Alice-san has been abducted!”

When I returned to the detached residence, I was greeted by Marie’s desperate cry.