Why do I always end up surrounded by women like this?
Oh, unknown god of this world, please stop revealing your preferences… It might be fun for you to watch crazy women, but for the one actually experiencing it, it’s a nightmare.
“Alice, don’t be rude to my guest.”
“Would I ever do that, brother? I just want to properly host our guest… in my palace.”
While the two of them bickered, I quietly slipped away from their conversation. Well, I’m not sure what’s going on, but it seems better to stay out of it.
Of course, it wasn’t as if everyone else was planning to leave us alone either. Moreover, once Alice seemed to acknowledge me, even the noble faction that supported the princess started swarming toward us.
“Lady Viviana, to think you’ve developed a new magic spell!”
“The Kingdom of Boleno is truly our brotherly nation.”
Amid their praise, I stood a little taller and responded to them with some pride. After all, there was no reason to turn away those who admired me.
At that moment, a noble young lady widened her eyes and asked a question.
“So, who is Lady Viviana’s fiancé?”
“Pardon? What?”
“If you’ve come all the way here, isn’t there a fiancé among those accompanying you? Oh, perhaps it’s the one who escorted you here?”
“Um……”
I raised my hands, trying to deny her words, but Simone answered with a soft smile.
“Well, what do you think?”
“Oh, so I was right, wasn’t I?!”
“Unbelievable…”
Raffaelo frowned and mumbled something under his breath, but Simone continued his small talk with the noble lady. As expected, Simone was good at dealing with people.
Just then, Allan, who had escaped from Alice, approached me grumbling.
“Phew, sorry about that. Alice is being so childish.”
“You two don’t seem to have a bad relationship, though.”
“Oh, well, it’s just a friendly rivalry. We’re not trying to take each other’s lives or anything. After all, we still see each other as siblings.”
Allan added a few more words about how childish Alice could be before he returned to his usual elegant, regal tone.
“Ah, it’s a shame that Princess Angela, or rather the Duchess of Lithman, couldn’t attend today.”
Come to think of it, there were quite a few nobles at the event today, so it was indeed unfortunate that the Duchess of Lithman was absent. I had been hoping to ask her about Princess Eva.
“I’ve heard that the Duchess of Lithman hasn’t been appearing in social gatherings lately due to health issues. I even sent her a personal invitation, but it’s unfortunate.”
“Yes, it is.”
Since Allan had many people to attend to besides us, he soon disappeared to another area. Now, it was just us once again.
Ah, I guess it’s time to have that conversation with Raffaelo.
“Raffaelo, are you really planning to pursue politics in Cassan?”
“Probably.”
“But…”
I looked at Raffaelo with a serious expression.
“Your dream was to be a soldier.”
Raffaelo pretended that he chose it just to rebel, but I knew he was proud of his profession.
He always did his best at his job. Even when he met soldiers in Berlena last time, his attitude showed pride.
For someone like Raffaelo to decide to go into politics… it felt like he was betraying his own will.
“Still, I’ve grown up now.”
Raffaelo spoke as if it was nothing.
“You can’t always live doing only what you want.”
That… that’s a bad sign. I’ve seen people in that state before.
“Teacher, my mom says I should go to nursing school.”
“………”
“She says since I won’t get into a good university anyway, I should at least go to nursing school to get a job. But I don’t want to go there.”
I had seen many people who gave up on their dreams when faced with reality.
And Raffaelo right now looked exactly like that.
Alright, how did the past me respond to something like this?
“I think you should follow your mother’s advice.”
Haha, the past me didn’t respect the student’s opinion and sided with the parent, huh?
To the students, I was the one who made them give up on their dreams!
…Let’s stop thinking about that.
Anyway, I didn’t want Raffaelo to give up on his dream. Not here. Not like this.
“So, how about being a math tutor?”
“Holy spirit…”
“They say it pays well, doesn’t it?”
“Well, yeah. But… honestly, I’m not sure.”
Even though I knew that job wasn’t right for me, I convinced myself that it was fine since it paid well.
The past me thought that was the right thing to do. I believed that you shouldn’t ignore reality in pursuit of ideals.
But after coming to this world and seeing people like Arkhangelo, Ghieuspe, and Aurora striving for their dreams, I realized something.
Sometimes, maybe, there are moments when you have to act recklessly.
Similarly, I wanted to support Raffaelo’s dream.
“Don’t compromise with reality!”
As if he shared my thoughts, Arkhangelo shouted that out loud.
“I agree.”
Ghieuspe backed me up as well.
After gulping nervously, I opened my mouth too.
“Raffaelo, are you sure you won’t regret this?”
“What?”
“I’m asking if you won’t regret it.”
“…….…”
“Raffaelo, you’ve already found your dream. Is there really a reason to give it up just because of reality?”
“At least my parents would be happier.”
Raffaelo spoke with a bitter expression.
“I’ve always known that my parents were dissatisfied with my career. I’ve felt guilty about it for a long time. But if I become a powerful politician in the empire, they’ll be satisfied.”
..…The more I listened, the worse I felt.
“Daughter, I heard you have the most students in your class this time too, right?”
“Even if you’re tired, just endure it for a little longer. Once you earn enough money and retire, it’ll all be worth it.”
It reminded me too much of my past relationship with my parents in the previous world.
As I pondered how to persuade Raffaelo, I spoke up again.
“That’s not like you, Raffaelo.”
“What?”
“Raffaelo has always been a brave person. But right now, you don’t seem brave at all.”
“Hey, I have to settle down too, you know. I can’t just keep playing around like a reckless kid…”
“That’s cowardly.”
Raffaelo’s pride was clearly hurt, and he frowned. In the past, I would’ve been intimidated by that face, but now that I was used to it, I didn’t flinch.
“Honestly, you know it too. You know you’re running away because you’re scared. Raffaelo, you know what you truly want.”
“……..…”
“You’re scared…”
“Yeah, I’m scared, okay?! Happy now?!”
Unable to hold it in anymore, Raffaelo burst out in frustration.
“I’m afraid my relationship with my family will fall apart! They still disapprove even now!”
“So you’re just going to live your entire life the way your family wants you to?”
