05. Remember me, don’t forget. ……That’s enough.

Elfleda guided them up to the second floor, to her reception room where sunlight streamed in abundantly.

“The social circles in the capital are worse than here, never less severe.”

“Severe? What do you mean?”

Rudbeckia asked Elfleda as she sat down on the sofa.

“I mean the financial extravagance is severe. Since it’s a cold region, winter fabrics are expensive to begin with. Even with poor designs, people win with fabric quality. Of course, you’ll win with both fabric and design.”

Elfleda continued speaking while clapping her hands. At her summons, servants carried visibly heavy boxes one after another onto the reception room floor.

“That time, at the… dress shop… I said it was fine, but I wasn’t fine… I wanted to do something for you before you enter the palace. Please accept this without refusing.”

She referred to the scar on Rudbeckia’s chest.

Rudbeckia, who hadn’t been concerned about it at all, waved her hands in refusal, but Elfleda strongly declared that she wouldn’t accept any rejection.

“Rud! Don’t make me look like a scoundrel without camaraderie or manners!”

“No one thinks that way……”

“Still, consider it granting a wish for this big sister who’ll soon be locked in the palace, please accept it~”

Elfleda hummed a tune while imagining what clothes would suit the beautiful Rudbeckia. Since pretty people look pretty in anything, there was considerable joy in adorning her, and even Elfleda’s maids stood beside them with sparkling eyes.

The servants soon brought in boxes, from which dozens, no, perhaps exaggerating slightly, maybe a hundred dresses emerged. The dresses varied in style, material, and color.

“Ta-da~ I prepared these because it seemed difficult to tailor clothes just by looking at catalogs without knowing what style, material, and color suits you, Rud.”

“I’m not trying all these on, am I?”

“Oh my, of course not. They wouldn’t fit anyway. And since these are dresses my sisters and I have worn, I wouldn’t let you wear them even if you wanted to.”

Rudbeckia sank deeper into the sofa. How many hours would she need to stand to try on all the clothes piled before her? Elfleda, unconcerned with her feelings, positioned her in front of the mirror.

“Just holding them against you will help determine which colors suit you.”

Indeed, as Elfleda said, simply placing the clothes over her body, regardless of size, helped tremendously in assessing the overall image.

Caleb and Zeno stood with their mouths agape, blinking their eyes. Rudbeckia remained frozen like a wooden doll with her arms slightly spread, while Elfleda quickly raised and lowered dresses against her.

Elfleda rapidly sorted out what suited her and what didn’t, then asked Caleb and Zeno’s opinions about the suitable ones. She didn’t ask the opinion of the person who would actually wear them, explaining that dresses are clothes meant to be seen by others.

“Are you really looking properly? You’re not just nodding your heads continuously, are you?”

“Truly, how can we decide when everything suits her?”

“Oh my, these devoted friends. How sad must life be without childhood friends.”

Elfleda’s passion only stopped when dinner time arrived.

“Hmm, make sure to note that the territory is near Mount Erest. Once you’ve written everything down, send it to Madam Goretti immediately and have them produced as quickly as possible, with the bill in my name.”

“Lady Elda! This is far too much.”

It wasn’t just one or two pieces, nor was it a small sum. Rudbeckia exclaimed in shock. The servant, ignoring her outcry, promptly took the notes and left.

“It’s my inheritance, and I won’t be able to use it once I enter the palace, so just accept it.”

“You should keep it precisely because you’re entering the palace!”

“Do you think I’ll live a normal life as a Crown Prince’s… no, now it’s Crown Prince’s consort? Being confined in the Cold Palace would be the happiest outcome.”

Elfleda smiled bitterly as she recalled Baningo’s womanizing and cruel hobbies that she’d heard about from various sources.

“Sigh. I still don’t know how I could possibly repay this.”

Elfleda smiled brightly, pulling the corners of her mouth as far as possible.

“Remember me.”

Though her mouth smiled, her eyes looked ready to cry.

“Even when you go to Finis territory, even if you can’t see me. Even if we don’t meet for a long time, don’t forget me, remember me. ……That’s enough.”

Caleb, along with Zeno and Rudbeckia, waved their hands saying there was absolutely no chance they would forget Elfleda, and such a request wasn’t necessary.

She thanked them with an exaggerated laugh. Then, she revealed a lonely smile, whispering her genuine gratitude.

Though they had spent only a handful of days together, she now couldn’t imagine life without the three of them.

* * *

“The tournament preparations are proceeding without issues, I presume.”

“Of course. As Minister of Military, I’m paying close attention to it.”

Crown Prince Baningo Perron visited Greg’s office. Sitting in the most prominent seat on the sofa arranged for meetings, he asked with disinterest, as if everything bored him.

Unlike Baningo, Greg was humming a tune and giggling.

“Greg, did something good happen?”

“I just thought of an excellent way to finally end my brother’s life during this tournament. Hehehe.”

“Ah. You mean the victorious general. Seeing how he returned alive from the war you sent him to die in, he seems quite skilled.”

“He may be Expert level, but the men I’ve prepared are not only skilled but have a superior will to kill.”

He cackled, as if he had made an extraordinary move even by his own estimation.

“He might have grown to Equites level. Like how excellent armies are forged through repeated warfare.”

“Oh please. I said don’t worry. Whether Expert or Equites, in war, the side with the stronger will to live survives. You can’t even properly hold a sword, yet you give advice.”

“Isn’t your real enemy the Grand Duchess? Why are you so desperate to kill your brother too?”

“Because there’s a jewel I can only fully possess when my brother is dead.”

Greg put down his quill pen and looked out the window.

The warm golden autumn sunlight poured down. Between the rays, he envisioned Rudbeckia’s face.

Though she had said with her own mouth that she would become his aide, that was merely a matter of position. It didn’t mean he would possess her completely.

“I need to leave her with nowhere to lean on, nowhere to escape to. Only then will she look solely at me, don’t you think?”

“Seeing that perverted smile, I guess you’re talking about Rud, who was the vice commander. She certainly has rare beauty. But that blonde hair and golden eyes… Could she be a survivor of the Glimm royal family?”

Baningo recalled Rudbeckia while thinking of Caleb and the platoon leaders who had come to receive orders.

“If she were a royal survivor, she’d be a princess… But aren’t all Glimm royal princesses afflicted with that curse called ‘memory surge’? They die from headaches and fevers without their mothers. But she’s never had such symptoms.”

“True. Since the princess’s mother’s corpse was collected directly by Pergos soldiers, even if there had been a princess, the probability of survival would be zero.”

“Right. And when I questioned the servants, they all unanimously said she was brought from a rural border area.”

It was Grand Duke Eriton Sanders who had given the order to the servants, but Greg, who had only briefly visited home while attending the academy, didn’t know this fact.

“If her protector disappears, will I get a chance to taste her too?”

Baningo asked Greg, licking his lips.

“Are you crazy? Have I ever seen anything come out intact after you’ve taken it? You go play with Argen. She seems much more rebellious, which should be more to your taste.”

“True, Elfleda is quite rebellious. The sight of her wailing in bed might be quite entertaining.”

“Alright, alright, save the rest of your fantasies for when you’re alone in your room. The Minister of Military needs to finish the remaining work, so please leave now.”

“Very well. Good luck with your work, Minister of Military.”

As Baningo waved and left the office, the curtain behind Greg rippled, and a man in black appeared.

“Word has arrived that all hostages have been secured at Rufus Castle.”

“Their movements?”

“They are reportedly moving one by one toward the capital.”

“Good. You may go.”

At his nod, the man disappeared from sight again.

“Family, bloodline…. I wonder why people value such things so dearly.”

Greg continued examining the pile of documents while humming a tune.

* * *

Tomorrow is finally the day of Caleb’s first match.

For this important match, Rudbeckia requested to borrow the Red Moon Knight Order’s training grounds for just one day.

A wide space was needed to coordinate with the horse and conduct special training, and Elfleda, with the backing of the Argen marquis family, secured permission.

The cool autumn breeze gently brushed the horse’s mane. The sky was clear, and the autumn sunlight shone peacefully, making it perfect for training.

Caleb and Zeno mounted horses and pointed lances at each other. Though Zeno wasn’t competing in the tournament, he got on horseback to help with training.

“Miss Daniella. Then I’ll leave it to you.”

The other training assistant, ‘Daniella Dudley,’ took a deep breath and placed her fist against her lips. The moment she blew air into the small space created by her fist, the training began.

As the daughter of Baron Dudley, she was both Elfleda’s childhood friend and a mage who communicated with wind.

The reason this non-knight appeared at the Red Moon Knight Order’s training grounds in riding pants was because of the training method Rudbeckia had devised.

Since some competitors would surely target the horse to achieve victory by ‘dismounting’ the opponent, it was crucial that Caleb’s horse ‘Renault’ remain calm regardless of what attacks came. Thus, training began where Caleb competed against Zeno while Renault competed against the wind to maintain balance.

‘No matter how many times I see it, it’s an amazing sight to see her control the wind so freely.’