“Wait.”  His half-brother, surrounded by knights, stopped and turned around at his call.  The way his eyes relaxed with an, “Oh?” looked kind, and was suspicious in the most obvious way.

“Lutiya, if you get too close to close to me, Vissel will get angry at me.”
“They’re the one’s who called me over so I could be useful.  What do I know?”
“Then you’re doing well here?  I’m glad.”

Maynard waited for Lutiya to reach his side and started walking.

“I don’t believe you relied on your elders like this when you were in the Grand Duchy of Laica.  Vissel leaves you alone because he trusts you, but he is a timid child.  He immediately gets ahead of anything that looks frightening and crushes it.”
“…Isn’t that because you bullied him?”
“As far as I’m concerned, I merely taught him how to recognize that which was truly frightening.  Still, you might be right.”

If I don’t say what I’ve decided to say, I’ll be swept along by that smooth way of talking.  He took a deep breath.

“About what was said earlier regarding the Grand Duke of Laica—about Grandfather.  I don’t hold a grudge.”

Maynard’s gaze turned to him.  Lutiya continued speaking as they treaded across the luxurious carpet that his grandfather had never set foot upon

“Grandfather was already beyond saving.  All he could think about was somehow striking back at the Rave Empire.  Had he continued as he was, he would have caused another incident and dragged even more people from Laica into it.”
“In other words, you’re grateful to me?”
“…No, that was just an excuse.  I’d already had enough of Grandfather.  Somewhere in my heart, I was thinking that it would be better if he died.  And I think that makes me the worst too…”

I can’t tell Jill.  With a wry smile, that thought floated somewhere in his heart.  It would only make her sad.

“If that’s the case, then perhaps I may have ended up saving the Grand Duke of Laica.  Dying at the hand of his grandson’s revenge would have been a fitting ending for him.
“—I had a thought… maybe you made it so that I wouldn’t become such a person.”

Lutiya couldn’t help but laugh at himself after saying that.

“I can’t put it into words all that well.  But, I… Grandfather’s death… I really am… saddened by it.”
“I’m glad to hear that.  A child living their life counting down the days until they can kill their parent is a sad one.”
“Being someone who understands something like that makes me wonder whether you’re actually like that yourself.”

Maynard stopped walking.

“If something happens, makes sure to tell me.  I’ll… repay the debt I owe you for sending me to the military academy.”

This older bother was the one who had sent Lutiya somewhere beyond his grandfather’s reach.  Even if it had been a calculated decision, he was grateful.

“…In that case, I’ll take you up on your offer.  I’d like to meet Her Highness the Dragon Consort.  What kind of person is she?”
“What kind…?  Didn’t you see her in Laica?  During the inter-class tournament?”
“I see… so that actually was her.  She… seems quite difficult.”

He was making a thoroughly displeased face.  For some reason, Lutiya found it amusing.

“What?  Are you saying you’re no match for her?  Either way, the one who saved Natalie and Frieda was Jill-sensei—”

Lutiya was shoved with a thud before he could finish.  He stumbled forward, yet before he could get angry, his eyes widened.

Maynard had planted a foot on the open window and leapt outside.

“I’ll leave the job of getting scolded by Vissel to you.”

They were on the third floor, but Maynard deftly caught hold of a nearby tree and made his way down to the ground.

The knights turned deathly pale, cried out in alarm, and rushed after him.

“I’ll take you up on your offer.”  Is that what he meant?

Lutiya leaned out over the windowsill, confirmed that Maynard was nowhere to be seen, and sighed.

“The one who gets angry whenever someone approaches Jill-sensei is Hades-aniue…”

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