Upon my answer, Ian raised an eyebrow as if finding something unclear, but soon he sighed and got up from the sofa.
“If my sister is fine, then that’s enough. It seems I worried over nothing.”
I glanced at Ian as he extended his hand to help me up, and took it while making a joke to lighten the mood.
“You worry too much, that’s your problem. Always insisting on walking me home because the streets at night are dangerous, thinking I’d be swayed by just any knight. You still don’t seem to realize, I’m not the same girl from 10 years ago.”
Ian stopped in his tracks, turned around, and said in a serious tone,
“In my eyes, you still appear as the sister from 10 years ago.”
“That’s not the case.”
“Then, let’s leave it at that.”
His clearly evasive attitude left me speechless.
Seeing me like this, Ian looked puzzled.
“Why is that?”
“It’s nothing.”
As I shook my head, dismissing my questions, he started walking again.
***
As we were talking about what happened during the day, we suddenly found ourselves in front of the house.
However, Ian and I had no choice but to stop in front of the house.
“Hm? Who are those people…?”
“?”
At my murmur, Ian, who was looking at me, turned his gaze in the direction I was looking at.
In front of our house stood a couple of men I had never seen before, both wearing purple uniforms adorned with a sun emblem on the left side.
The moment I saw the purple uniforms with the sun emblem, I realized who they were.
It would have been more strange not to recognize them, because the uniforms they were wearing belonged to the royal knights.
“It’s the royal knights.”
Ian also immediately recognized their identity and went on alert.
“The royal knights would have no reason to come looking for us…”
“Indeed.”
I responded quietly to his mumbling and stopped Ian from approaching the knights.
“It’s probably nothing serious, Ian. So, don’t be too wary.”
“But.”
“Even if it is something serious, there’s nothing you can do.”
Upon hearing my cynical remark, Ian looked down at me with eyes mixed with various thoughts.
I understood his feelings.
It was the royal family who had sent us down here and never once came to visit.
But why are they looking for us now, especially at a time when a new emperor has ascended the throne? There was enough reason to be on guard, but I stopped Ian from letting his vigilance turn into a murderous intent.
Showing animosity towards the royal knights would do us no good.
I quickly organized my thoughts and took his hand.
“Don’t do anything, just follow me.”
“…Alright.”
Eventually, Ian, conceding to my wishes, quietly followed behind me.
When we entered the house, our eyes briefly met with those of the knights, but that was all.
As we cautiously entered the house, the voice of an unfamiliar man could be heard not far off.
“…For that reason, His Majesty the current Emperor…”
The man’s words were not clear, perhaps due to the distance from the living room.
What are they talking about? With suspicion in my heart, I took step by step towards the living room.
“The decision of the previous emperor that the Duke of Obelton family should be destroyed for their treason is not agreed upon……”
The emotionless voice of the man became clearer as they neared the living room.
“On the contrary, it is believed that the Duke of Obelton family, having been unjustly destroyed, should be restored.”
“……!”
At the end of the man’s speech, upon entering the living room, my face hardened at the unexpected content.
I wasn’t the only one surprised; I could feel Ian, standing behind me, flinch as well.
The reaction of my sister and mother sitting in the chairs was not much different from ours.
“……”
Should I be happy that we can finally return to our original position, or should I feel wronged that our innocence is only now being recognized?
As I was hesitating about how to respond to the emperor’s command, Ian stepped forward.
“Everything is as His Majesty wishes.”
He said, bowing deeply with a proper posture in front of the man. It was an impeccable sight.
Seeing Ian like that, I snapped back to reality and approached his side.
Then, I looked directly into the man’s eyes.
“The Obelton family are eternal loyalists to His Majesty. Everything is as His Majesty wishes.”
Speaking in a gentle yet firm voice, the man who had been watching me for a while finally opened his mouth.
“You have been through a lot.”
“…….”
“You have been through a lot.”
Chewing over the words that the man had uttered with an indifferent tone, I bit down hard on my lower lip.
Realizing that the weight of all the misfortunes I experienced was being summed up with just the word “struggle” made me feel empty inside.
“Then, I’ll take my leave now. May infinite glory be with the Obelton family.”
As I just stood there dumbfounded without responding, the man, unable to wait any longer, formally greeted me and then left the house.
It was only after I heard the door close behind the man that I was able to snap out of my reverie.
“Ah.”
As I ran my hand through my hair and let out a short breath, it felt as if the fog blocking my vision was lifting.
“Mother.”
Breaking the heavy silence pressing down on the house’s atmosphere, I called out to my mother.
At my call, life returned to my mother’s dazed eyes.
“Did you call?”
“Mother, why do you think His Majesty the Emperor wants to revive our family?”
Worry piled up in my mother’s eyes at my question.
“Well… But regaining our nobility is good for all of us, so there shouldn’t be anything bad about it….”
As my mother ended her words vaguely, as if there was something unsatisfactory, my sister added from beside her.
“Whatever the reason His Majesty wishes to revive the Obelton family, returning to our noble status will definitely be better than remaining commoners. And we’re just reclaiming what was unjustly taken from us.”
“However, I’m suspicious of the former emperor’s motives. To revive the Obelton family, which was considered the head of the emperor’s faction, as soon as he ascended to the throne. There must be a reason.”
Ian voiced his thoughts as if to argue with my sister’s story.
At that, my sister sighed deeply.
“So? Is there another best option we can take right now?”
“That’s….”
Ian’s voice trailed off at my sister’s question, his fist clenched tight. Probably, he too had nothing to say.
As the conversation between the two seemed to come to a temporary conclusion, my mother, who had been silent, looked at me.
“Seri. What do you think?”
When I softly broke the ice, the gaze of my family turned simultaneously towards me. Frankly speaking, I was not entirely pleased with the emperor’s will.
However, no matter what the emperor was thinking, it was right to follow his will.
Moreover, the emperor didn’t just propose but informed us that he would revive the Obelton family. Thus, my response was pretty much predetermined.
“I don’t know what His Majesty is thinking, but whatever it is, I believe it’s right to follow His Majesty’s decision for now.”
Upon my succinct answer, the living room fell into silence once again.
How much time had passed? Breaking the seemingly unbreakable silence, Ian spoke.
“In that case, I will also put aside my doubts for the moment.”
“…….”
Seeing his firm gaze, our mother slowly closed and then reopened her eyes.
It was the moment when our thoughts about the emperor’s will became unified.
“I think….”
***
It hadn’t even been a week since we unified our opinions when the royal knights came to visit us again, leading a large, ornately decorated purple carriage. The captain of the knights, having spotted us waiting outside ahead of the agreed time, dismounted from his horse in the blink of an eye and approached us. Dressed in a neat uniform, the captain was the man who had recently conveyed the emperor’s will to us.
“Have you been waiting long? My apologies for making you wait.”
“Don’t apologize, Captain. If the head of a knight affiliated with the royal family is cheapened, it naturally diminishes the emperor’s prestige,” my mother pointed out in an even tone, as if it were her habit to notice such apologies from the captain.
Taking my mother’s criticism to heart, the captain briefly lowered his gaze and then firmed his expression.
“I will bear that in mind.”
Sensing the unusual atmosphere between the two, Ian lightly gripped my sleeve and whispered,
“Even if our family is being revived, I’m still a commoner until I receive a title, aren’t I?”
“Yes.”
“Then, is it really okay to speak like that to a knight affiliated with the royal family, especially to a captain?”
“Hmm. If mother had been an ordinary noble, then this would not have been acceptable.”
I handed my luggage to a knight standing nearby and, watching my mother’s back as she entered the carriage, I spoke softly.
“Even so, mother was the secretary to my father, the prime minister, before the Obelton family was destroyed. It’s fair to say she was almost his equal in rank.”
“Ah.”
Ian seemed to finally understand why it wasn’t strange for mother to speak to the knight captain in such a way upon hearing my story.
Seeing his ears turn red, I quietly burst into laughter and then said as I walked towards the carriage,
“And we are nobles again now, Ian. Not just any minor noble family, but members of a family that once managed the empire’s finances.”
“…”
“You will become the head of the Obelton family once the succession ceremony is done. You need to get used to the new reality, right?”
Having come to terms with my feelings over the past few days, I was ready to accept the new reality.
And I hoped Ian would be too.
