She was a woman, yet at the same time, not a woman. She was someone who emitted such a strange, attractive light that it was difficult not to look back. She was like a small feather that had flown in from a world he had never experienced. The golden-haired girl was such an existence to Jürgen.

It happened on the day he went hunting in a forest about an hour away from his private property. Since he didn’t enjoy hunting to begin with, and had nothing in common with the young nobles his age, it was a schedule Jürgen wasn’t keen on, but his father was still the head of the family.

“Did you think I would leave you alone forever? I’ve arranged an important gathering with gentlemen with whom I’ve formed good business connections. They’re people worth getting to know. After all, you’re the heir who will eventually inherit and take responsibility for the family business.”

The Duke, who had always disapproved of Jürgen’s solitary nature, took him away from the ducal residence.

I just need to mingle a bit and then return.

With that thought, they arrived at a private estate of some wealthy family, surrounded by vast forests.

“This is land that the Schleicher family has bought up entirely. I hear it was once divided among other nobles.”

In an era where capital was emerging as a new power, most nobles were still thriving, but the titles they held were gradually declining into mere prefixes before their names.

It was now an age where even nobles would struggle to survive without establishing a proper source of income. The time when one could live comfortably on a title alone had already passed.

There was no reason not to associate with those who, despite lacking noble titles and being commoners by class, had amassed wealth.

The glory once enjoyed by kings and nobles was fading as a relic of the old era, replaced by politicians supported by citizens and newly wealthy capitalists.

The Schleicher family seemed to be one of those who had gained influence comparable to that of nobles through their vast capital.

As soon as they arrived at the mansion surrounded by dense forest, a well-dressed man welcomed the Duke.

“Thank you for taking the trouble to come all this way, Your Grace.”

“It wasn’t far at all. It felt as light as taking a stroll in front of my house.”

“Is the gentleman beside you your son?”

As he grew, he increasingly resembled his father. The Duke seemed quite proud of this fact, but Jürgen felt like he wanted to claw his face off.

“My son, Jürgen. The child who will eventually succeed me as the next Duke.”

“Pleased to meet you. I am Wilhelm Schleicher.”

He offered a handshake. Jürgen politely smiled, took his hand and shook it firmly, but showed no further friendliness.

“Now that I think about it, didn’t you say you had a daughter around my son’s age?”

“Yes, I do have a daughter…… She should rightfully be here beside me to greet you, but I don’t know where this child has gone. She’s surely nearby, but she’s such a shy child that she must have run away to avoid the guests.”

“That’s understandable for a young girl. I suppose the environment in which she’s raised is somewhat different from that of nobles.”

“Still, I’m doing my best to raise her as a fine lady, so the day will come soon when she’ll make her official appearance.”

“I look forward to it already.”

After a light breakfast, the young nobles, including Jürgen, headed to the large forest surrounding the Schleicher mansion. They were already excited at the thought of hunting wild rabbits.

With hunting rifles slung over their shoulders, they talked incessantly as they walked.

“It’s not easy to find such a vast forest these days.”

“It’s become common to clear forests completely to build factories. Finding a good hunting ground has become quite difficult.”

“I should come here to play often from now on.”

“Your father seems to wish you would stop going out to play so much.”

“Who cares what my father thinks? I never intended to live as an obedient son anyway.”

“Speaking of which, I’ve heard that the Schleicher lady is quite beautiful.”

“She hasn’t been outside the mansion yet, has she?”

“Mr. Schleicher treasures her so much, but in my view, we’ll have to wait quite a while longer before unwrapping that package.”

“I wanted to see just how beautiful she is.”

“What would you do if she’s beautiful?”

The young nobles, who had been giggling among themselves, suddenly stopped walking and exchanged glances.

“From here, let’s start to spread out. Let’s bet on which of us is the best marksman.”

They disappeared from sight with quick movements, as if competing with each other. Finally alone, Jürgen stood in place and quietly let out a sigh. Listening to their vulgar chatter the whole time had made his mind thoroughly scattered.

Instead of setting out to hunt rabbits, he began to walk slowly, intending to examine the surrounding scenery. Occasionally, he thought he heard gunshots in the distance, but how many game the others would catch was beyond Jürgen’s interest.

As he walked wherever his heart led him, he began to hear the sound of water. There seemed to be a small river crossing the forest nearby. It wouldn’t be bad to rest by the water. With that thought, he headed toward the direction of the shimmering light, but then Jürgen narrowed his brow as he discovered something.

Something was moving by the river. A forest animal? But the movement seemed too boisterous for that. No deer would drink water while splashing it about so wildly.

At least, none of the animals he had seen before did that…….

Jürgen cautiously approached, muffling his footsteps. As it turned out, they weren’t animals but girls in thin clothes playing in the water.

The girls, with their hair completely loose and their bodies wet, who had been giggling, suddenly froze like animals facing a gun barrel. It was because of a gunshot that rang out quite nearby.

“Diez, you didn’t say those people would come this far!”

“You’re going to get in trouble with your father.”

“What’s there to get in trouble for? This forest is clearly our home. What’s wrong with me playing in my own home?”

Due to the trees perfectly concealing them, only one girl with blonde hair had entered Jürgen’s view.

Jürgen momentarily forgot that he was absorbed in secretly watching the girl across from him. The sight of the girl, soaked in water, laughing unreservedly as she played, was strange enough to captivate his gaze completely.

Strange, and also……

The blonde girl his age was like a sparkling wave itself. Her laughter resembled the water droplets that scattered in all directions whenever she splashed. Even as he was drawn into a sense of alienation, as if encountering a newly discovered species, he simply couldn’t take his eyes off the girl before him.

She seemed like a being born from a concentration of happy energy.

She possessed everything that he had once loved and long forgotten.

Jürgen knew his own deficiencies well.

That made it all the more difficult to look away from that girl.

What captivated him wasn’t a shallow emotion like jealousy. Just as a strange desire to throw himself into the golden wave before his eyes began to arise.

The girls, noticing his gaze, suddenly became busy. They seemed to whisper something quietly among themselves, and then a couple of them wrapped themselves in blankets and ran away somewhere.

The blonde girl also hurriedly got out of the water, trying to avoid the awkward situation he had caused. She seemed to peek at him from behind a tree, and then, with her wet golden hair fluttering, she quickly ran away in the opposite direction.

Belatedly coming to his senses, Jürgen retraced his steps back the way he had come. Before long, the young nobles who had finished hunting joined him. Each of them grumbled throughout the return journey, apparently disappointed with their hunting results.

When the Schleicher family’s only young lady never made an appearance, they even acted as if they were disappointed in everything.

Jürgen remained silent throughout the journey back to the ducal residence from the private estate. He merely nodded to the Duke’s questions.

His usual daily life repeated as always. It was a routine existence, but if one thing had changed, it was that he found himself lost in thought more often than before.

The scene that seemed like it would be quickly forgotten strangely refused to leave his mind. When reading books or lying down to sleep, Jürgen recalled the golden warm breeze that had briefly passed by him.

Come to think of it, it wasn’t anything special.

Why do I keep thinking about that girl?

He wasn’t even sure exactly what had enchanted him. Was it the commoner girls who didn’t hesitate to jump into water that left such a deep impression, or was it that witnessing such a sight for the first time made it impossible to forget?

Though he didn’t want to dwell on useless thoughts, Jürgen continued to recall that girl often afterward. Strangely, he felt no aversion. To Jürgen, she seemed closer to a landscape or phenomenon than a woman.

She was like a beautiful landscape painting that he could willingly belong to.

It was quite contradictory that he couldn’t clearly remember the girl’s face. Only her shining golden hair could he always vividly recall.

What am I looking for in that girl?

Time passed quickly while he was lost in contemplation. Before he knew it, a year had passed, and the Empire’s biggest commemoration day was approaching. Since it was a day that never passed as a simple anniversary, as always, Jürgen got into the car, ready to attend the party.