Chapter 1.8

When Herace Belif was about nine years old.

On weekends, the noble faction families of the Rontiano Empire would gather in the garden of the Bannon mansion under the pretext of providing playmates for their children. It was a chance to review matters to be brought before the council, and to let the heirs of their houses build friendships. And at the very center of it all were, of course, the Duke Bannon, head of the noble faction, and the Duke Belif.

“I’m Herace Belif. You know who I am, right?”

Thanks to that, Herace in those days was full of immense confidence. Wherever he went, people flocked to him first, and he had never once been spoken to harshly, so perhaps it was only natural.

“…What? Potato head?”

Messy blond hair like a newly hatched chick, pale green eyes sparkling like a predator eyeing its prey.

The little girl clinging to Kaiden’s back stuck out her lips over her chubby cheeks and muttered something incomprehensible. And Herace remembered thinking she looked especially funny.

“This is Brienne. She likes reading books.”

Kaiden seemed to care for that little girl quite a bit, holding her tiny hand tightly and matching his slow steps to hers. He even refused to go hunting for treasure in the woods, just to sit beside her and play with dolls.

But unlike Kaiden, who was precocious enough to be called a prodigy even at a young age, Brienne Ford was just an ordinary child for her age.

She would whine at the slightest thing, trip over her own feet, run around with a silly smile and snot running from her nose…

What could possibly be so great about dragging around such a snot-nosed kid? Every time Herace saw Brienne, who seemed even younger than most children her age, he would secretly frown.

He was annoyed by the short legs that followed Kaiden everywhere. The passionate gaze that seemed to care about no one else but Kaiden was just as bothersome.

At an age when even a one-year difference felt huge, a three-year gap was all the more significant. Back then, he thought the very existence of that little girl was just a nuisance.

“…You’re ugly. Go away!”

So the words of a mere snot-nosed kid shouldn’t have meant anything to him…

That day. Herace went home and didn’t come out of his room for a while. He hid under the covers, looked at himself in the mirror, poked at his face, tried raising his nose and pulling at his eyes, but nothing changed.

The tender-hearted boy was, without realizing it, deeply hurt by that one remark. He knew his face wasn’t particularly handsome, but it was the first time anyone had ever called him ugly.

Perhaps, it was only because of that trivial event that he started paying more attention to that girl.

After that, Herace did his best to avoid Brienne at the weekend gatherings. Her brother, Shylo Ford, was no exception. If their eyes happened to meet, he would look away first, and if their paths crossed, he would take a detour.

However…

Whenever he came to his senses, he always found himself looking at the backs of Brienne Ford and Kaiden. There were many times he approached impulsively, wanting to speak, only to run away like a fool. Whenever he saw Brienne smiling brightly at Kaiden, he felt afraid.

He was scared he’d be ignored again, just like before, because he wasn’t as good-looking as Kaiden.

For the first time in his life, he envied Kaiden Bannon. What was so special about the gaze of that little kid? He wished Brienne would show him that radiant smile, too.

And maybe, did that longing reach her?

As the years passed, Herace grew up nicely. At some point, he shot up taller than his peers, his frame filled out, and his once indistinct features became clear and well-defined.

He still had a long way to go before he was fully grown, but he could no longer be called unattractive.

But around the age of thirteen, when people started saying he was finally becoming good-looking, the Ford family, who had occasionally appeared at the weekend gatherings, vanished from his life. They left behind Herace Belif, who was still debating whether it was finally okay to speak to Brienne.

“Father… What about Shylo Ford?”

“Well, I don’t know. He always seemed too soft-hearted, and now it looks like they’re turning completely to the Emperor’s faction. I’m not sure what deal Marquis Ford made with the Imperial Family, but he acted neutral in the council. If things keep going this way, they’ll end up as enemies. Why, are you sad that you lost your friend the same age?”

Herace immediately shook his head at his father’s question. There was no need to feel sad or regretful. If anything, he should have felt relieved… He wouldn’t have to keep hiding from Brienne Ford anymore.

Just a girl he knew.

A girl he was forced to see at gatherings.

The boy, whose wound had healed, wanted to leave Brienne Ford as just that kind of memory. Sometimes, whenever someone told him he was handsome, he thought he could still hear the voice of that little girl who said she hated him because he was ugly. He was a little curious whether she’d say the same thing if he appeared before her again…

But Herace tried desperately to forget Brienne Ford.

A few years passed like that, and just as much as time moved on, many things changed in Herace’s life. After his mother’s death, Herace left home and entered the academy, devoting himself only to his studies. With distance from the nobles of the Rontiano Empire, there was no one left to connect with except Kaiden.

The year given to freshmen was enough to explore various fields, and with his abundant natural magical power, Herace chose the Department of Magic the following year. Everything was a matter of course. Dormitory life was exceedingly ordinary, sometimes even boringly smooth.

But then, why did those pale green eyes from his childhood keep coming to mind?

During vacations, he would return to Rontiano’s social circles, using those hazy memories as a compass. Sometimes, even during the semester, he never missed a Bannon family party. He vaguely believed that if he went where Kaiden was, he might see Brienne Ford.

What would she look like now?

Would she still smile as brightly as before?

That tiny curiosity grew inside him, feeding on his memories without him realizing it. But the fateful encounter with Brienne Ford never happened. She rarely attended parties, and when Shylo returned home for vacation, Brienne spent all her time inside the mansion.

After learning this, Herace stopped going to meaningless parties. Still, there was something he had learned by attending those parties.

That Brienne Ford still liked Kaiden. That maybe the two of them would get married someday.

It stung.

Only after hearing that did Herace vaguely realize what the feelings that had followed him for so long really were.

Annoyance, curiosity, wanting to approach, wanting her to smile at him. Feeling hurt by her kindness to Kaiden, wishing he could be in that place instead, thinking there was nothing more he could want if only he could be there…

After facing those feelings, he knew he should give up, but he didn’t want to. No, he couldn’t. All he wanted was to see Brienne Ford just one more time.

Then, at twenty-two.

That summer vacation, Herace’s eyes were drawn to a woman by the lakeside at the Bannon mansion.

Green leaves fell, unable to withstand the blowing wind. Every time he breathed in, the scent of grass from the lakeside filled his senses. Gentle sunlight poured down from the blue sky.

A beautiful woman, as if she were the very owner of that lush summer, sitting under the shade of a tree, absorbed in a thick book.

He couldn’t take his eyes off that scene. Time passed slowly, like the ripples on the calm lake. It was a very unfamiliar feeling. Even though the scenery was so familiar, the presence of that woman alone evoked strange emotions.

The calm gesture of tucking her softly fluttering hair behind her ear. The pale green eyes moving gently along the lines of text beneath her long lashes.

Then, as if she had found something amusing, her red lips curved in a slight smile. Shy little teeth peeked through that smile.

‘…Brienne Ford.’

It didn’t take long to recall the name of that fairy-like woman. From what Kaiden had told him and by her appearance, there was only one woman who could be sitting by the Bannon family’s lakeside.

When did that snot-nosed kid grow up so much?

The little girl he had so longed to see had grown into a full-fledged woman. There was not a single trace of that awkward child left on her elegant and composed face.

Herace’s heart, frozen for a while, pounded fiercely. He felt an urge to approach her and say hello, as if finishing a task left over from childhood.

If only Kaiden hadn’t appeared, he might really have done so.

He would have greeted Brienne, whose eyes would have widened in surprise, sat with her on the same mat, and talked about books together…

Did she remember me?

He had never forgotten her, living his whole life with just that childhood memory.