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Volume 5, Act 44: Future Knight’s Prelude Part 2

She arrived home before she could come up with an idea, but she still had a few days before Dahlia would come over.

(I don’t have to rush; I can take my time to think.)

Cordelia got off the carriage and headed straight to the entrance. She saw an uncommon sight of her two brothers talking at the entrance, and she blinked.

(Cyrus-oniisama and Isma-oniisama?)

Cordelia tilted her head in confusion, since she had only seen them together a handful of times. Oh my, do they have a special engagement today?

“But, brother, that’s-…”

“I’ve been thinking about it for a long time. I’ve already made the request, and father knows about it.”

I don’t know what they’re talking about, but I don’t want to disturb them if it’s something important. But if I don’t walk through here, then I can’t go back to my room. What should I do? Cordelia thought, but they probably wouldn’t stand here and talk if it’s important. She kept on walking.

“I’m home, Onii-samas.”

If I’m disturbing them, then I can just keep on walking… Cordelia greeted, and Cyrus and Isma turned around at the same time. Her two brothers were handsome today, even though they both wore different trends… The aura around them became more brilliant when they were together.

“Welcome home, Cordelia.”

Her second brother, Isma, replied first in a soft voice. The eldest brother, Cyrus, on the other hand, was silent, but he looked like he was troubled and looking for something to say, since Isma had stolen his words. In any case, it didn’t seem like they were having a secret conversation.

“It’s rare for you two to be together.”

She was hesitant to ask them what they were talking about, but she still spoke honestly. Isma smiled.

“Brother returned because of business, but he’s going back to the castle now. I’ll be staying here tonight.”

“I see.”

“… Yeah. Isma, I’ll leave the rest to you.”

“Yes, be careful.”

Cyrus lightly patted Cordelia’s head as he passed her and left. They had already finished their conversation.

“So, where did you go today? Did you go to Marquis Flantheim’s mansion?”

“No, I was invited to visit Earl Hale’s mansion today by Hazel-sama.”

“Oh, so you have a young lady friend who is the same age as you.”

“Yes. Onii-sama, there’s actually something I would like to talk to you about… Would you listen to my request?”

“Request?”

Cordelia nodded at Isma, who had tilted his head slightly.

“Hazel-sama has a little sister named Dahlia who is aiming to be a knight. I invited her over next time, and I wondered if I could show her anything to make her happy. So, I would like to talk to you about this.”

Cordelia said, and Isma crossed his arms and hummed a little.

“Well, Earl Hale’s family usually do jobs that involve languages, and you don’t hear many of them becoming knights, so I think most people would be happy about this… There are a lot of interesting things in the basement treasure room.”

“Interesting things?”

“For example, the outfits of Beatrice-sama, the younger sister of the former head four generations ago. There are also items from victory parades, so I think she’ll find them interesting. There are also a lot of other things, so let’s go see them together.”

“Thank you very much. I’m glad I talked to you about this, Onii-sama.”

If that’s the case, then I’m sure Dahlia-sama will be happy. She must know about Beatrice-sama, the Black Princess General, who galloped through the battlefields.

As expected of Onii-sama, he gave me wonderful choices… she thought, I feel bad if I stopped their conversation. Even if they’ve finished their discussion, they probably had other things they wanted to talk about.

“What’s wrong? Are you worried about something else?”

“It’s rare for you two to be together, and I thought I came home at a bad time…”

“Oh, it’s not like brother has much time, and we sometimes meet during work. It’s not like we don’t meet as often as you think we do, Cordelia.”

Indeed, if Cyrus-oniisama is in the middle of work, then he wouldn’t have much time to talk like Isma-oniisama said. Isma also patted Cordelia’s head lightly like Cyrus had before.

“It’s rare for you to say that you want to invite a friend over.”

“Huh? Is… that so?”

Vernoux and Hazel come over even if she doesn’t invite them, and Fulvia comes over as her teacher. She didn’t recall ever inviting friends over, even if they invite her over.

“If necessary, I can provide commentary if you invite her over on my day off?”

“Huh? Is that alright?”

“Of course.”

Cordelia, who hadn’t anticipated such an offer, couldn’t understand what Isma was saying as he stood in front of her smiling. However, it was sudden, but she couldn’t ask what he meant if he was concealing it.

???????

A few days later, a little before the sun rose to the top.

In the parlour at the Pameradia mansion, Dahlia’s eyes sparkled at the number of items in front of her.

“I can’t believe it… Those there… Those there are such wonderful things!! I can’t believe that the items that Beatrice-sama loved exist!!”

To the excited Dahlia, Isma, an active knight, smiled wryly as he explained.

“You may already know this, judging by how you’re acting, Dahlia-sama, but Beatrice-sama, the owner of this outfit, was very brave. She played an active role in the war against the north, and a lot of heroic stories are written about her in history books.”

“Yes, yes! I searched her up! She didn’t surface at all after the war and was called the Goddess of War, the Black Princess General. Oh… I can’t believe that the symbol of Beatrice-sama, this black jacket, exists…!! The stone on this chest piece is also very rare.”

“That’s her reward from the Battle of Talpa Fortress.”

“Oh my, from that time?!”

Dahlia, who was looking at the items with her hands folded while listening to Isma’s commentary, became increasingly excited.

Cordelia watched on from a close distance.

(She even knows about that niche battle.)

Cordelia also learnt about Beatrice because she was a part of her family, but she didn’t remember what she had learnt in that much detail. The Battle of Talpa Fortress was also an important battle, but there was another critical historical battle on at the same time which had more impact, so the Battle of Talpa Fortress might be omitted from some textbooks.

However, Dahlia was saying it like it was normal. Her figure looked like she was having a lot of fun as if she was dreaming… and looked like Hazel, who was talking to an imaginary Vernoux in the past. Her feelings were different from Dahlia’s, but the way they expressed their feelings were the same.

“Beatrice-sama is someone who has left a lot of stories, I’m sure she was burdened with expectations by those around her from a young age… She had a strong will that doesn’t lose to pressure. She’s so wonderful. I’m in a completely different situation, but I want to have a strong will like Beatrice-sama.”

Dahlia’s words made Cordelia feel something indescribable.

She didn’t object Dahlia’s words of a『strong will』. Cordelia also thought the same when she entered the treasure room with Isma the other day that was until she found a diary written by Beatrice.

However, she had found things in the diary that stated that the people around Beatrice hadn’t had any expectations of her. 『People say that I’m a tomboy, a wild horse and that I do what I like. If that’s the case, maybe I should show them what wild is.』『I held it in and wore a dress, but they scolded me, saying that heels aren’t weapons. Even though things that can be thrown are weapons.』

(It wasn’t that people expected things from her, but rather she was someone who persevered even though she was opposed.)

If she thought about it carefully, there are no other records of young ladies wielding swords, much less stand in the front line, even within the Pameradia House, which produces many knights. In that sense, it might be close to Dahlia’s situation.

(I also respect strong wills, but I don’t think I need to tell that to Dahlia-sama.)

Dahlia might be delighted to learn of the existence of a diary that no one knew about. But Beatrice already seemed like the ideal existence to Dahlia, so there was a possibility that this image would be destroyed.

(And Beatrice-sama probably didn’t expect anyone to read her diary in the future.)

I’m not sure if I should say this as someone who has read it, but it’s horrible to think that someone would read my diary. Diaries aren’t written so that they can be read by others… She thought, and Dahlia spoke cutely again.

“Oh my, this is a nice protection pouch. Is it Beatrice-sama’s? These days, you put birthstones and War God carvings at the top of pendants for luck. I wonder if I should make one.”

“Dalia-jou, you really like knights, don’t you? Nowadays, not many people have protection pouches, some knights don’t even know about their existence.”

Isma was impressed, and Cordelia generally agreed with his opinion. She must really admire strong knights.

(But if she likes history this much and has a good memory, then she didn’t have to jump down from the second floor to run away from her lessons.)

She had lured Dahlia to study hard, but at the very least, it didn’t seem like Dahlia hated learning in general. Cordelia wondered what the fundamental problem was, and once again spoke brightly, “Kyaa,” and shifted her eyes onto the next item. In response to her voice, Isma began a new explanation. He paused for a moment and had an amused smile on his face.

“Onii-sama. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I think that Dahlia-jou is similar to Cordelia.”

“To me?”

“Yeah. I feel like you were acting like this the first time we went to the forest.”

Isma said nostalgically and pleasantly, but Cordelia didn’t know how to respond. Did I act like this? I remember being happy, but I didn’t mean to show my emotions on my face like that… But it might seem to the same to Onii-sama.

(No, this… I appreciate it if I looked this charming.)

However, I was a little older than Isma-oniisama in my previous world since I was twenty, so I would feel a bit embarrassed if I looked like Dahlia-sama does right now.

“Isma-sama, don’t tell me this item is…?”

“Yeah, that hair ornament is probably…”

Anyway, I think it’s okay if Dahlia-sama is happy… When she thought that, she heard a light knock at the door. Cordelia quietly opened the door so that she wouldn’t disturb the engrossed Dahlia, and Emina appeared.

“Excuse me. Would you like to have lunch? Lunch is ready to be served at any time.”

“Oh my, is it already that time?”

She hadn’t noticed time passing at all because she was overwhelmed by Dahlia’s enthusiasm. Isma guessed what Cordelia and Emina were talking about.

“Then, let’s go have lunch soon.”

“Ah, mm, erm, a little more… Please let me look at these items for a little longer!”

Dahlia begged and stared at a sword at Isma’s invitation. I guess she’s captivated by the items. Even though lunch has been set, they should still need a little more time to prepare, so it should be fine. Isma also thought the same.

“Why do you want to become a knight, Dahlia-jou?”

“I fell in love with them at first sight.”

““Love at first sight?””

“Yes.”

Dahlia smiled at the brother and sister, who spoke at the same time.

“My mother admires the Queen a lot, and she has a postcard of the Queen in a palanquin, but the women depicted on that postcard looked cool. They were more charming than the women I saw in pictures books before. Then, I researched, and my admiration for them became stronger.”

With her hands on both cheeks, she continued happily.

“Of course, there’s a difference between my admiration and reality. When I first started learning the sword, I was surprised by the weight. And I learnt that swords weren’t elegant items, but weapons. But I definitely want to be recognised for my sword skills and be useful. I will be.”

Her looking like she’s full of confidence is probably not my imagination. Hazel-sama also said that Dahlia-sama’s reflexes are good. Isma smiled wryly and spoke, perhaps because he felt this way as well.

“There’s nothing better than being able to protect people without having to wield a sword.”

Cordelia felt warmth from the words that Isma had calmly uttered, even though he had the skills, but Dahlia tilted her head.

“I think swords are important even if I don’t have to protect anything. I think that if you train yourself, then you will improve yourself and overcome naivety.”

“Dahlia-jou, what you just said sounds like something a master swordsman would say.”

Dahlia looked proudly at Isma, who said he was looking forward to the future.

Cordelia thought her appearance was charming and smiled wryly wondering if escaping from her studies was included in her naivety.

After a while, the lunch that welcomed them was colourful and pleasant on the eyes. The appetiser was marinated duck, followed by salad, and the main dish was white fish fried with breadcrumbs, and stewed lamb shank. The bread was kneaded with raisins and walnuts.

Cordelia and Dahlia’s plates were arranged beautifully, and Isma’s dish was not only gorgeous but was also a large serving.

“It’s very delicious. The meat melts in my mouth.”

Dahlia was entranced, and her eating pace was much faster than Cordelia’s, even though she had eaten much more than Cordelia, because she kept on going for seconds with the bread.

(Onii-sama’s portion is especially big, but ours weren’t small either…)

She eats really well, Cordelia thought as she tilted her head and asked Dahlia.

“Dahlia-sama, how often do you have sword practice?”

“I usually get taught once every three to four days. I really want to practice more, but I have to do independent practice and build up my physical strength every day. Why is that?”

“I was wondering if the amount of food isn’t enough if you exercise a lot…”

But the amount of food should be enough if she exercises like she says she does, Cordelia thought, but Dahlia blurted a little embarrassingly, “Eh, mm…”

“We can prepare more food if it’s not enough. Hans, what’s available?”

“We still have meat and bread. And… the chefs can make something with eggs straight away.”

“Then… Oh yes, do you want to try something unusual? I think Dahlia-jou would like the 『Tofu』that Cordelia made topped with eggs.”

“Then, please make some!”

Her body was full of energy and conveyed that she was happy that she was getting seconds. Cordelia was impressed by Isma’s suggestion that made Dahlia delighted.

“Isma-sama, would you like dessert?”

“I’ll like fruits like always. The other two would probably prefer something sweeter.”

“Ojou-samas, we have chiffon cake and lava cake.”

“Then, I’ll have chiffon cake.”

Cordelia thought that she could enjoy the lava cake during teatime, but Dahlia looked a little lost. Cordelia smiled.

“Dahlia-sama, please eat both.”

“B-but…”

“The sweets at the Hale House are also delicious, but so are ours.”

“Th-then… please.”

Cordelia thought it was cute and heart-warming because Dahlia wanted some even though she looked embarrassed.

But, at the same time, she thought perhaps…

“Do you have any plans after lunch?”

“I wondered if you would show me around the library. There should be interesting war chronicles there, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. If you can’t finish a book, then you can take it home.”

Actually, Cordelia wanted to talk in the greenhouse after lunch, but she thought that if they went to the library like Dahlia had suggested, then it would prevent her from escaping her studies.

So, after they had consumed their delicious meal, she decided to change the schedule and check out the library.

Translator: Blushy

Editor: SenjiQ