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Nozomu had no idea how good the painting was artistically.

However, it was a painting that strangely caught his eye and made him smile just by looking at it.

For a moment, Nozomu gazed at the painting that was being held up, as if he was sucked in by it.

"What a beautiful person... Moreover, she looks so happy..."

"She was happy. There\'s no doubt about that, but ... she didn\'t live long."

While muttering meaningful words, Madam Parline drank the wine in her cup in one gulp. The tone of her voice, which seemed to resonate in the core of Nozomu\'s chest, caused him to gulp.

Nozomu knew how this will end. He had heard the rough story from Somia before.

But the words of the people involved in this story carried so much weight that they pressed down on Nozomu, suffocating him.

"A short time after Irisdina-sama\'s birth, Firana-sama became pregnant with her second child."

Following Madam Parline\'s words, Mena opened her mouth.

Perhaps remembering those days, the maid had a sad expression on her face.

"However, Firana-sama\'s health gradually began to deteriorate, partly due to her frail body."

Filana, who had a frail body to begin with, gradually lost her strength after she became pregnant, and she was bedridden more and more often.

Still, Firana, as a mother, tried not to worry her daughter or husband, smiled at them, and her daughter too tried not to worry her mother, returned the smile.

"Unlike her unborn child, who was growing steadily, the mother gradually became emaciated and eventually could no longer stand up."

The mother\'s weakened condition was in contrast to the steady growth of her unborn child. Mena described that it was as if the mother was giving her own life to the child.

Nozomu imagined how Irisdina felt when she saw her mother weaken. But nothing came to mind, just an inexpressible bitterness that spread deep in his heart.

"Irisdina-sama wondered if there was anything she could do for her, but at the time she was unable to do anything, and Master had already called in skilled doctors from all over the country to gather rare medicines, but her body was already at its limits."

The burden of the pregnancy was too heavy for Filana\'s frail body.

It was like a hole in the bottom of a rotting ship.

No matter how many stakes were driven in to plug the hole, they only widened the hole in the rotten bottom of the ship. Even if they tried to scrape the water out, the collapsed bottom planks could not withstand the water pressure, and the holes opened one after another.

Neither Victor\'s desperate treatment nor Irisdina\'s earnest wishes could do anything but slightly prolong Firana\'s time, who was on the verge of disappearing.

"And then, Firana gave birth to Somiriana in front of Irisdina, and passed away..."

Mazarinette\'s words, filled with sorrow, melted into the air.

"In front of Firana-sama\'s dead body, Irisdina-ojousama made a vow, "I will protect this little life on behalf of my late mother", while embracing Somiriana-sama in her arms."

A younger sister who was born at the cost of her mother\'s life and a vow engraved in her heart as she embraced that little life in her arms.

That was the beginning of Irisdina\'s path.

Nozomu clenched his fists with a tightening pain in his chest, even though he had not experienced it himself.

"Irisdina decided to become the head of the family in order to protect Somiriana."

Irisdina was now considered the next head of the family. However, according to Mena and the others, Irisdina was not named as the next head of the family from the time of her birth.

The person who was said to be closest to being the next head at that time was Irisdina\'s uncle, who was Victor\'s younger brother.

From the beginning, Victor had no intention of allowing Irisdina to succeed him.

It\'s not hard to understand, considering the responsibilities that the head of the family bears.

However, Irisdina had worked diligently to convince her father that she was worthy of being the next head of the family.

"Perhaps joining the Silver Rainbow Knight Order is also..."

"To become the next head of the family, she also needs to make some notable achievements. In that sense, joining the Silver Rainbow Knight Order would be a big plus for her to become the head of the family."

The Silver Rainbow Knight Order, which was established after the Great Invasion, is unusually well known, despite its size and shallow history.

According to them, one knight can cut down more than a hundred demon beasts, and three knights can easily slaughter a dragon if they get together.

Especially, the most famous is the break through of canyon city.

It is an anecdote that with only ten knights, they were able to break through the canyon city that had become a den of demon beasts and opened up a way of escape.

Such a story is so well known on this Arcmel continent that it boosted their fame and prestige.

"Of course, there was also a desire to protect many people in her life. It was not only to protect her father who supported her sickly mother, but also those who served the Francilt Household, including the people of the fief. She understood that, even though she was very young at the time."

The nobles are supported by the people, and the people find the way of life of the nobles as one of their emotional supports.

Nobles and commoners have a relationship of mutual support for each other, as the word "human" indicates.

Mazarinette said that Irisdina learned that truth and what it means to be a noble from her father and mother from an early age.

"After deciding to protect Somiriana-sama, Irisdina-ojousama literally devoted herself to her training and studies."

A determination she swore to her late mother. With this in mind, Irisdina continued her efforts to become a full-fledged noblewoman who would stand above others.

From Mena, she learned how to use swords and magic, and from Mazarinette and Victor, she learned how to behave in social circles.

"She was like a swallow that had to keep flying to survive."

While saying so, she pulled out from among the scattered furnishings a small rapier, about the length of Nozomu\'s elbow.

It was an item with little or no decoration, designed for practical use only.

"That\'s..."

"This is a practice rapier that was used by the young lady at that time."

As he scrutinized the rapier, Nozomu noticed something.

A black stain stuck to the thin handle. The black stain, which looked like rusty iron, was clearly different from the stain left by dirt or sweat, and Nozomu\'s eyes became sharp.

"Is that a blood stain?"

"Yes……"

Mena, who kept her eyes downcast, replied with a nod to Nozomu\'s words.

The blood on the handle was of different shades, some darker and some lighter, indicating that the handle had been cleaned and stained many times.

Furthermore, if Nozomu looked closely at the bloodstain, he could see small fingerprints on the handle. This confirmed Nozomu\'s prediction.

The girl who used this rapier must have continued to wield it, regardless of whether the blood blisters were crushed or not. For many, many years.

"The young lady\'s wish was for Somiriana\'s happiness. And to fulfill her duty and protect as many people as possible. She will do everything in her power to achieve that."

"I know it sounds bad, but if necessary, the current Irisdina might even take advantage of the slyest nobles if she had to. Maybe it\'s something the current Boy won\'t understand..."

Mazarinette\'s words made Nozomu\'s eyes widen involuntarily.

His chest squeezed tight as if his heart were being squeezed.

As she said, the current Nozomu didn\'t understand at all what it meant to be a noble, and that the responsibility that Irisdina was carrying was beyond words.

Even so, Nozomu wasn\'t so foolish as to not be able to imagine the burden Irisdina was carrying.

Irisdina is now 17 years old. She had already made up her mind long ago to take on something that was too big for her to carry on her back.

"In a way, you could say it was her dream."

"……Dream?"

"Yes, that\'s right. A dream is a desire of what kind of person you want to become. Practice and training are the means to get there. For Irisdina, her dream is to become a person who can protect her family, who can fulfill her duties, and who can protect many people."

"…………"

Irisdina\'s dream was so beautiful that Nozomu was involuntarily silenced.

Nozomu gently laid his hand over the blood mark on the hilt of the rapier.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, I was just thinking about something..."

Nozomu knew that Irisdina\'s goal was to join the Silver Rainbow Knight Order, and he remembered that she had said she wanted to save many people. But he had rarely thought about what was behind it.

The bloodstain that stuck to the handle was about half the size of Nozomu\'s hand. Nozomu was choked up at its small size.

(So distant...)

An inexpressible bitterness rose to his throat.

What came back to Nozomu\'s mind was Irisdina\'s smile. She was the one who accepted him and whom he did not want to lose.

Nozomu felt an unbearable sense of distance and loneliness as he pictured her walking forward, carrying so many unimaginable things on her back, but still staring straight ahead.

=================================

"So how long are you going to play dead?"

In the office after Nozomu left, Mazarinette poked Victor, who was still propped up on the desk, and his body, which had not twitched until now, jerked up.

"How could I have a drink with that brat here..."

Victor let out a disgruntled voice as he adjusted his wrinkled collar.

While looking at Victor\'s angry behavior, Mazarinette was waving her hands in dismay. Apparently, she was dissatisfied with Victor\'s answer just now.

"For that reason, I couldn\'t stop talking about Irisdina. Actually, it was your intention from the start to make me tell him about it, wasn\'t it?"

"…………"

Viktor was pressed into silence. His attitude affirmed Madam Parline\'s words.

Originally, for Victor, it was also an attempt to keep Nozomu in check.

Nozomu and Irisdina. Their statuses were as far apart as heaven and earth.

The reason why Nozomu didn\'t feel any difference until now was because the place he met Irisdina was in Arcazam.

Atcazam is free from interference from any country. Indeed, the status of nobility and royalty is also an object of respect here, but it is not directly related to power.

In a sense, it is a blank area in the world\'s power structure. Precisely because they met here, they could easily develop their relationship to become friends.

Of course, Victor thought it was a good thing that his daughter\'s friendship was expanding, and he didn\'t interfere in any particular way.

However, if the relationship "goes beyond that", it\'s a different story.

Whether they were just using each other or were in an affectionate relationship, if they were going to get closer than a certain distance, Nozomu absolutely had to know this fact.

Victor looked out the window and exhaled slowly...

"Didn\'t you come to this mansion with something like an ulterior motive as well?"

Victor\'s words were delivered with conviction, as if to say, "I know what you\'re thinking", to which Madam Parline only cowered her shoulders.

Victor, too, continued to shoot hard glances at the noblewoman, who was looking at him ambiguously, neither confirming nor denying.

It was Mena, who was watching them, who spoke.

"So, Mazari, what made you decide to do what the young lady asked?"

"You\'re not going to say that was just because you\'re curious about Nozomu Bountis, are you?"

"Yeah, you said you were busy, but as a businesswoman, you are rarely free. Perhaps there was another reason?"

"Well, yeah..."

Mazarinette, a businesswoman, is always busy, as Mena said.

She herself does not impose on others to do the work she should be doing, and her decisive nature does not allow her to postpone any problems.

Therefore, there should never be time for her to be a dance instructor.

"I was curious about that boy, that\'s for sure. I witnessed the combat training between him and Jihad-dono myself. It sent shivers down my spine, to say the least."

Of course, one of her objectives was to confirm the character of Nozomu Bountis.

After watching the match at the Martial Art Garden, in which he fought with Jihad, there would be no one who would not be interested in him.

In fact, behind the scenes, many scouts from various countries were competing to find the best way to sell themselves to Nozomu. The opening ceremony of the upcoming festival is expected to be the start of the battle.

But what Mazarinette wanted to confirm was the shadow surrounding his old friends, which she had discovered in the process of investigating him.

"In the process of investigating him, I came across a lot of rumors. I heard there was a commotion in this mansion recently. That\'s why, I wanted to check what was really going on."

The Francilt Household has been working in secret lately, but even from Mazarinette\'s perspective, their movements seemed to be somewhat suspicious.

And what came to light in the process of investigating this was the connection between the Francilt Household and the neighboring Dizzard Empire.

A secret agreement with a country with which diplomatic relations have not been established is a story that could, in some cases, be taken as a plot to commit treason.

Of course, Mazarinette was well aware that Victor was not the type of person who would plot treason.

If Viktor were to plot a rebellion, he would have started acting after completely laying the groundwork among his relatives. There would be nothing such as suspicious movements.

In other words, the fact that the Francilt Household was in disarray, even temporarily, was proof that something unforeseen had happened to this household as well.

"We\'ve already taken measures. I have already spoken to the king."

Victor spoke, briefly giving only a fragmentary outcome.

About the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Dizzard Empire. That was Victor\'s countermeasure.

In other words, he wanted to cover up the secret agreement, which was a disgrace to the Francilt Household in the past, by establishing diplomatic relations with Dizzard Empire.

The secret agreement of about 300 years ago had already ceased to be valid.

Furthermore, since Nozomu truncated the agreement on the Waziart side and Victor disposed of the one on the Francilt side, it was impossible to corroborate the specifics of the agreement.

Now all that was left was to convince the Waziart family side and turn this secret agreement itself into a request for the dispatch of a diplomatic mission, before diplomatic relations were concluded, and the contents of the secret agreement would be completely buried in the dark.

Mazarinette showed no particular interest in pursuing the matter with Victor, who only mentioned fragmentary details.

She, too, had some idea of Victor\'s plan. The king\'s approval was also a major reason.

There was no way that King Forsina, who had approved the establishment of diplomatic relations, was unaware of the current situation of the Francilt family.

Precisely because the king was aware of the situation, he must have given his seal of approval after assessing the situation.

"But it seems that \'tyrant\' will be coming to this city soon."

"You mean, that Egrod?"

Their concern fell on the political opponent who would be coming to the city soon.

Egrod Fabran.

He is a nobleman who governs the Fabran family, which has the same level of authority and status as the Francilt family and is a major noble family that is in direct conflict with Victor in every aspect.

Actually, the Fabran family had been weakening due to the repeated political failures of the previous head of the family.

However, when Egrod took over as head of the family about eight years ago, it quickly regained power and has now regained enough power to rival that of the Francilt family.

Especially within the military, he had a stronger voice than Victor.

Victor frowned, perhaps remembering the figure of the man in question, and grabbed a glass from the table, pouring all the wine remaining in the bottle.

"That thick-armed man still has you in his sights. The previous generation of his family was a fool, but he has a good head on his shoulders, and above all, he has an overly capable right-hand man. I\'m sure he\'s heard about the commotion at your place."

"Still, he could do no more than harass the king. If he did anything wrong, it would be treason against the king. Besides, as I told you earlier. I\'ve already taken care of it..."

"If so, that\'s great..."

Victor and Mazari ended their conversation without either of them saying more.

As if there was no need to exchange any more words, Victor downed the wine in his glass in one gulp.

"By the way, are you sure about Irisdina?"

"Oh, do you mean about her saying she would join the Silver Rainbow Knight Order?"

"That too, but..."

Mazarinette, too, looked after Irisdina and adored her.

Irisdina was her best friend\'s daughter, and she was even impressed by the way the girl never lost sight of herself, even when exposed to people\'s dirty desires.

That was why she was worried about what would happen to her.

Even though she was almost certain to be the next head of the family, the path she chose was extremely arduous.

If she joined the Silver Rainbow Knight Order and fulfilled her responsibilities, Irisdina would undoubtedly become the head of the Francilt family. and Somiriana\'s safety would also be assured.

Although she is a direct descendant of the Francilt family, Somiriana, the second daughter, is a drool-worthy acquisition for the hyenas in pursuit of power. So, if Irisdina were to join the Silver Rainbow Knight Order, she would be able to eliminate the interference of such people. At the same time, however, the dangers to Irisdina herself would increase by an order of magnitude.

Like the rain in a rainy season, it would never cease to beat down on her thin body.

That was what it meant to be a member of the Silver Rainbow Knight Order, which was a small group of elite members.

"That\'s just how it is. Whatever my wish is, if that\'s what she has decided, I want to make it come true to the best of my ability."

Victor was aware of the dangers that might befall Irisdina, but he still wanted to support her dream.

Of course, as a father, he would not send his daughter to such a dangerous place even if it killed him.

But still, he wouldn\'t stop her daughter, because that was what Irisdina chose to do in the presence of her dead mother, from the bottom of her heart.

"Besides, one cannot escape the shackles that bind one\'s life. Neither me, Irisdina, nor that brat."

The shackles of the Francilte family. However, it was because of these shackles that Irisdina was able to raise herself to that level.

Because shackles do not necessarily bring only negative aspects to those who are bound by them.

Irisdina turned the shackles she was born with into a weapon. She took the vow she made to her late mother and her father back as sustenance.

The same can be said about Nozomu Bountis. He, too, was one of those caught in the shackles.

However, unlike Irisdina, he has not yet found the answer, but there will come a time when he has to make a choice.

"She wants to help as many people as she can..."

Victor nodded at Mazarinette\'s words.

"She lost her mother and was exposed to numerous evil intentions in the aristocratic world. It was really fortuitous that she was still able to grow up straight.

"Well, I think your influence had a lot to do with it."

"……"

Mazarinette\'s cheeks loosened as Victor turned away in embarrassment.

While Victor felt his friend\'s warm and raw gaze on his back, he made a vow to himself once again.

"I am the head of the Francilt Household. I will do everything in my power to fulfill my duties as head of the family and my responsibilities as a parent."

(Even if it means to shake off the hand of my daughter\'s beloved person.......)

Victor looked out the window while swallowing these last words.

When he noticed, it was snowing outside.