Translated by: @garmadoncar
Proofread by: @ShadowKoto
1
???: [――――]
Beholding the sight of dianas, swaying with their yellow petals as they filled the flower bed, Carol Fauzen involuntarily caught her breath, and stood stock still.
They were visiting the principal residence of House Astrea for the first time in a long while; provisioned for the Kingdom of Lugunica’s Royal Selection, it was currently being used as the base of operations for Felt, who House Astrea was supporting to become the next generation’s Monarch. Since the old Fauzen couple, serving House Astrea, was originally charged with maintenance of the secondary residence within the Royal Capital, the frequency of their visits to this location had reduced to once a year or not at all.
In addition, this occasion was not for the purpose of managing the mansion, but rather to ascertain whether Flam Remendis and Grassis Remendis―― two of their granddaughters, were doing their jobs of serving Felt and taking care of her necessities properly.
Six months had passed since the Royal Selection began, and precisely because Felt’s Camp had now begun to operate on a full scale, she wished to remove any elements of unease. If there was perhaps any lack of ability or issues with their granddaughters, she would begin to consider exchanging duties with them―― such was her attitude.
But then again, those fears of Carol’s were disavowed by the relevant parties the moment they arrived.
Felt: [I wrote the same thing in the letter as well, but there ain’t any problems with Flam or Grassis. They’re fully capable of their jobs, and they get on well with Rom-jii and the others. They aren’t timid with me in the slightest, nor are they putting me up on a pedestal just ‘cuz I’m a Royal Candidate.]
Welcoming Carol and Grimm’s arrival, Felt answered so upon hearing their concerns.
It had been quite a while since their parting at the Royal Capital, and while they had exchanged words through letters, the girl whom they had not come face to face with in a long time gave off an impression of having grown tougher since they had last seen her.
It was often the case that one’s circumstances and positions would change them, and Felt had indeed adapted well to her situation, unmistakably growing as a person.
Because it was Felt saying such things, Carol immediately believed that it was not a statement made out of favoritism or consideration regarding her granddaughters, and Grimm seemed to share that view.
With that being the case, Carol’s actions of saying this and that to convince Grimm and then spending several days to arrive at the principal residence, had ended up as mere overthinking with a jump to a wrong conclusion.
Felt: [Ah, just ‘cuz I have use for Flam and Grassis doesn’t mean you two are unneeded, Granny? There’s a buncha spare rooms, so you can stay here as long as you’d like. And if you do, I’ll eat up the sweets you bake everyday, Granny Carol.]
In baked sweets alone, Flam and Grassis were no match for Carol. ――Thus, as Felt added that last bit, Carol gratefully presumed upon that thoughtfulness.
Grimm did not have any particular objections, and thinking to join in for another training after a long time with the trio that Felt had picked up in the Royal Capital, he stretched out his elderly shoulders as he headed to where they were. Grimm had been born a commoner, so he likely could not help but dote on youngsters trying to climb their way up from similar positions.
Though, since his lack of a voice made him short of words, and given that his teaching method was the way that the Zergev Squadron was trained, it seemed like Grimm’s intentions were being effectively communicated to the trio.
Anyhow――,
Carol: [I shall accept your kind offer, Felt-sama. In addition, would it be alright if I go have a tiny look around the mansion? Even if you say my grandchildren are doing their jobs properly, I am nonetheless worried.]
Felt: [Don’t mind in the slightest. Though I dunno if you’ll find anything interesting while you’re looking around.]
As she spoke, Felt put both her hands behind her head as she trailed alongside Carol.
She ought to have been in a busy position, but to be able to make such considerations without any special awareness of it was a virtue of Felt, leaving Carol impressed at how well the girl had been raised.
Even if her foster parent was an individual whom Carol and Grimm had several reservations regarding―― whilst harboring those feelings as they walked, she came to an abrupt halt upon arriving at the mansion’s garden.
――That was the moment in which she had come to stand stock still, beholding the bed of yellow dianas.
Carol: […Felt-sama, excuse me, that yellow flower field would be…]
Felt: [Hm? Ahh, gotcha, gotcha. Indeed, that there’s something that you wouldn’t have known about, Granny Carol, so I guess it caught you off guard.]
Felt crossed her arms and spoke in good humour, to which Carol endured the discomposure, and did her best to muster a brief “Yes” in response.
――The diana flowers blooming on the surface of the flower bed, they had etched themselves deep within Carol’s mind, and were tied intimately to certain recollections of the past. She had never thought she would have had another opportunity to witness them again like this at the principal residence of House Astrea.
Carol: […Is it my grandchildren who tend to this flower bed?]
Felt: [Nah, they sometimes seem to harvest vegetables from the vegetable garden by the edge over there, but the flowers are different. That’s something I’m making Reinhard do.]
Carol: [――. The young master…]
Felt: [It was a miserable sight to see how this place had been left to run amok. So I told him, like, since it’s your house, wouldn’t it be better to grow flowers or something, and this here’s the result. That guy, no matter what I make him do, he ends up doing it well, it’s damn irritating.]
That was something difficult to agree with as a servant, however, hearing that it was Reinhard who cultivated this flower field, Carol’s thoughts were not focused on that.
A diana flower field and House Astrea, Reinhard and Felt, and――,
Carol: [――Theresia-sama.]
What suddenly spilled out from Carol’s lips, was the name of a person whose loveliness could not be diminished by even the passage of time.
Hearing that faint utterance, Felt looked at Carol in a startled manner.
Felt: [G-granny, why are you suddenly crying? Is something wrong?]
Carol: [F-forgive me. The tears just… as I get older, I suppose I mustn’t let the tears come so easily.]
Felt: [Like I’d ever let such a flimsy excuse fly! Ahh, geez, over here! Sit! Settle down for now! Take deep breaths, and focus on me!]
The untactful deception failing to work, Felt pulled Carol by the arm, the latter’s tears not coming to a cease even when she wiped them, and vigorously dragged her along to the edge of the garden.
Unable to go against the forcefulness of that hand, Carol felt as if the figures of those who had done similar things for her overlapped with the back of the girl as she lumbered on, causing just a few more tears to run down her wrinkled, elderly cheeks.
2
Carol: [I used to serve the young master’s predecessor as Sword Saint, Theresia van Astrea-sama. Those flowers, they are the flowers that Theresia-sama loved tremendously.]
Felt: [Predecessor… Reinhard’s grandma, huh?]
Carol: [Indeed. During her lifetime, she and Tishua-sama… that would be Theresia-sama’s mother. They were close as mother and daughter, and so more than just a flower bed, they turned the entirety of the mansion’s surroundings into a flower field. ――When Tishua-sama passed away, as her casket was filled up with flowers and sent off, the mansion’s flowers…]
At the edge of the garden, the two sat side by side on a bench, and Carol spoke bit by bit as she looked at the flowers in the flower bed.
Carol recalled Theresia and Tishua, the two of them were truly so harmonious as mother and daughter, that their relationship seemed to be as carefree as that of sisters. The reminiscences of those two, tied to that flower bed as they were, could only be described as ones that began with smiles, and concluded with smiles.
But, even so――,
Felt: [If I’m recalling correctly, she was done in by the White Whale, Reinhard’s grandma.]
Carol: […Yes. In the Great Conquest fourteen years ago, Theresia-sama participated in the subjugation squadron in the position of Sword Saint as a representative of the Kingdom. Neither I nor Grimm were able to accompany her.]
Felt: [――――]
Carol: [Since then, the flower bed went neglected and untouched. I, too… while it was a presumption, was reluctant to let anybody other than Theresia-sama lay their hands on the flower bed, and so…]
In the principal residence of the house she served, her excuse of the flower bed having been beaten down by the weather, had been the worst of the worst.
Set adrift by emotion, if she were to be criticized as having lost sight of her duty as a servant, Carol would have no words to object. Even if that caused her entire track record in serving House Astrea for many years to be written off, it had been a mistake regarding which she could give no excuse.
However, as Carol tightly clasped her hands together on her lap, Felt took a short breath, and,
Felt: [Granny Carol, you really held Reinhard’s grandma dear, I get that. I ain’t someone who knows the circumstances, so I’m in no position to say all this and that about it. Only…]
Carol: [Only, what exactly?]
Felt: [The White Whale’s dead. The Royal Candidates… the duchess nee-chan and the half-devil nee-chan, as well as Anastasia-neechan, all grouped together to kill it. He was also there, yeah? Reinhard’s grandpa was there to avenge Reinhard’s grandma.]
Carol: [――――]
Felt: [Even though she was avenged, have your feelings not brightened up yet, Granny? When you look at that flower bed, are there only bitter and tough emotions that come welling up? So then, doesn’t that mean vengeance served no purpose whatsoever?]
Carol: [That is not… hk.]
At Felt’s following words, Carol’s voice involuntarily grew coarse. But, before it could turn bitter and rigid, her feelings dispersed upon looking into Felt’s eyes.
Felt’s red eyes peered at Carol, who had gone as quiet as a great lake.
Feeling as if her own face was being reflected on the surface of that lake, Carol’s voice quivered,
Carol: [That is not, the case. There was significance, in that vengeance. With Theresia-sama avenged, I too feel relief from the bottom of my heart… if only the master would hence return…]
Felt: [If he returns…?]
Carol: […Would the state of House Astrea not return to how it was before, I wonder?]
Guided by a girl far more youthful than she was, Carol came to speak of her wish, and then became disgusted with her own wretchedness and lack of growth.
Merely getting on in years through idleness and futility, she even felt as if her heart had not grown in the slightest. When one grew old, they were supposed to learn how to come to an understanding, and gradually come to understand resignation and compromise.
And yet, Carol had not changed from the days when she had been young and foolish. ――She was reluctant to come to a resignation, compromise, or understanding. After all, they were all Theresia’s direct family.
Wilhelm, Reinhard, and even Heinkel.
Carol: [When Theresia-sama passed away, all of the buttons were mismatched. The things that have occurred cannot be made to have not taken place. Even so…]
She did not wish for them to give up on struggling to recover something that could not be recovered from.
In order to not relinquish something that must absolutely never be relinquished, the man who accomplished things thought impossible, could only have been the Sword Demon. That man had once reached the Sword Saint. In that case, she wished for him to once again succeed in reaching the Sword Saint.
After all, the subjugation of the White Whale ought to have become a definite impetus for that.
Felt: [――I see. I finally get just how big a deal the White Whale’s death was to you and the rest, Granny Carol. That goes for that damn Reinhard too.]
Carol: [Felt-sama, the young master is…]
Felt: [Yeah, he doesn’t show it on his face in the slightest. Even when he heard that the White Whale was struck down, all he said was that the group that killed it accomplished a considerable feat… fucking shit! Really, that damn blockhead!]
Sat on the bench, Felt raised up her legs and kicked the grass. For a while, Felt’s anger did not subside, and she repeated that a few times with rough breathing out her nose,
Felt: [You know why he doesn’t talk about that sorta thing, Granny? He says things like he doesn’t want to impose on me or anyone else around because of his own circumstances. He’s always imposing on people as much as he pleases, and yet this is how it is when it comes to his personal matters! It seriously pisses me off!]
Carol: [P-please calm down, Felt-sama. The reason the young master cannot easily speak of his own wishes is because…]
Felt: [Because he’s the damn Sword Saint! If he doesn’t like it then he oughta just quit!]
Carol: [――――]
Baring her high canines, Felt shouted in anger and left Carol speechless.
For a person of the Kingdom of Lugunica to so flippantly and thoughtlessly suggest that the Sword Saint leave their post was by no means a good thing to say, much less for a Royal Candidate. ――However, there was once a man who had done exactly that.
Loathing the fact that she was Sword Saint, yet still bearing it as her duty, a woman had once attempted to forfeit her own happiness in order to save the futures of many people, and by that very man she had been saved.
Though, what Felt desired here was not the same thing as that.
Carol: […The young master does not seem to wish to give up on being the Sword Saint.]
Felt: [I know that, dammit! Ahh, shit! That’s why it pisses me off so much!]
Scratching at her head, Felt glared at the sky in frustration. As Felt desperately tried to fight against something, Carol found her figure to appear extremely radiant.
Theresia and Reinhard had different circumstances. Of course, Felt and Wilhelm were also different.
The former two were both Sword Saints, and the latter two were both positioned to make some influence on the Sword Saint, but, the circumstances surrounding them and the conclusions they desired, both differed from the other――,
Carol: [――No, what is being desired, is happiness.]
At least, that was the case for the conclusions. From the bottom of her heart, what Carol desired for Theresia, for Reinhard, for Wilhelm, for Heinkel, and for the individuals of House Astrea, was that and that alone.
For that alone, why was it so difficult to intersect with, and bring to fruition?
Carol: [Felt-sama, do you perhaps have an idea of what the young master is thinking?]
Felt: [Ah? It’s actually pretty easy to tell what he’s thinking. Isn’t the problem not what he’s thinking, but why the hell he thinks that way?]
Carol: [――――]
Felt: [He’s been acting as the Sword Saint since he was a brat, and there’s the stuff with his grandma and grandpa… and also, that father of his. I’ve only met him once, but his father reeked of booze. And then there’s…]
Carol: [――Louanna-sama. The young master’s, lady mother.]
As Felt counted out the problems on her fingers, Carol brought forth the final name―― Louanna Astrea, afflicted by the Sleeping Beauty illness, was Reinhard’s birth mother, under an eternal slumber for the past seventeen years.
Her slumber and the death of Theresia, were the foundation of House Astrea’s distortion.
Felt: [I’ve got no choice but to speak with Reinhard’s father at some point. After all, the headship of House Astrea is in his hands. If I’m careless, it’s quite possible that he’ll evict us from here.]
Carol: [Heinkel-sama would…]
Felt: [Not even Granny Carol’s or Gramps Grimm’s knuckles could discipline him. That damn Reinhard doesn’t seem like he’d be all too eager to either. ――In that case, there’s no choice but to do it myself.]
Carol: [――――]
Felt: [At first, I was being dragged around against my will, but ultimately, I’m the one who’s deciding what to do. No matter how I may look, I’m Reinhard’s master, after all.]
Taking a long, deep breath, Felt cleared her throat at the end with an “Ah” in displeasure.
After her valiant and reliable proclamation the moment prior, Felt immediately seemed to grunt like a stray cat; Carol was taken aback, and then she felt exhausted.
After getting on in years, it was rare for her emotions to be shaken―― such a thing would be a bold-faced lie. Even at an age where she had grandchildren, Carol was thoroughly impacted by every single action of the people precious to her.
Carol narrowed her blue eyes, gazed over the flowers in the flower bed swaying in the wind, and suddenly uttered.
Carol: [Felt-sama, do you like flowers?]
Felt: [――――]
Carol: [Felt-sama?]
Felt: [Sorry, I was just thinking ‘bout how Reinhard’s asked me the same thing before. Back then, I answered that I neither liked them nor disliked them, but…]
Wearing a frown, Felt glanced around the area. Carol inclined her head as she witnessed that behavior, and then Felt brought her face up close to her, and whilst speaking in a hushed voice,
Felt: [Recently, I’ve started to think that they’re actually relatively pleasant. Keep it a secret from him, alright?]
Carol: […Although, I am very sure the young master would be delighted to hear such a thing.]
Felt: [That’s why I don’t wanna tell him! At the very least, I won’t tell him until he directly asks about it.]
Saying that, Felt stuck her tongue out with a “Behhh” and stood up from the bench, stretching her back out.
Carol saw her away as she walked towards the flower bed, and, in the vacant seat of the bench, Grimm suddenly sat himself down.
Grimm: [――――]
The wordless Grimm was not sweating, but it seemed like he felt fulfilled from his time with his favourite disciples. Perceiving that from the side of his face, Carol gently rested her head on her husband’s shoulder.
Grimm nestled close with his invariant reliability and kindness, and whilst reflecting on how beloved and treasured he was to her, Carol ruminated on her preceding conversation with Felt many times over.
It might still be too early. To lament how she had been unable to do anything, it was too early.
If perhaps her wish could still yet be granted, then please, just once more, she wished to swear to Theresia from the bottom of her heart.
――That she, Carol Fauzen, once again wished to cherish the girl who had shouldered a tremendous fate whilst standing amidst a field of yellow flowers, and serve as her strength.
《Fin》
Banger