Chapter 61 The Bloodline of Yuruyana
In the pre-arranged carriage ride home, Yuruyana quickly undid his tied-up hair and loosened his collar.
He eagerly started talking about what was discussed at the tea party and how kind Queen Dowager Riv was.
"The royals seemed like they were living in the clouds, but the Queen Dowager was super nice!"
"Her Higness was friendly too, guess that's just the kind of people they are."
"Oh, and don't worry, the AC was cranked up! The princess didn't listen to Tsukumo and turned it down too much, got chilly halfway through, and rushed to open a window."
His gestures and mannerisms shifted topics one after another as usual, but somehow, it felt like he was forcing himself to be bright.
"You seem... off."
Sensing his guilt for not attending the surprise tea party and leaving Yuruyana to fend for himself, he casually inquires.
Yuruyana suddenly choked up.
Then he suddenly calmed down and sighed.
"...I wonder if you're only sharp in those moments."
"I admit I'm usually pretty dull."
After all, even I've had experience taking care of [Fourth], who was so quirky my boss said he was 'too much to handle.'
With Luka, I could only tell he was off his game if he was super cheerful even with a fever; otherwise, he'd act like a bird or a cat, just as usual.
Compared to that, this is a piece of cake.
"Are you that tired?"
Despite Yuruyana's acting skills, after months of seeing him every day, you'd think I'd pick up on something.
It felt different from just being worn out, so I tried to joke around lightly.
"Well, that's part of it..."
He shifted his gaze restlessly, as if searching for the right words.
Waiting for Yuruyana to speak, I absentmindedly gazed at the glamorous noble street scenery.
It's not often I get a chance to sightsee like this.
Bit by bit, even the noble folks are catching on to Arcane Machinery.
You can spot gardens with automatic gates here and there.
And the mansion that's got those gates?
Traditional, old-school building, but you can tell it's well-kept, real swanky-looking.
"If it's hard to say, you don't have to force it."
As we were about to leave the noble district, he was still quiet, so I finally broke the silence.
It's not like anything changes if he asks for advice.
Yuruyana slowly turned to me, his face almost breaking into tears for a second, before he shifted back to his usual confident grin.
"No, I might cause trouble later, so I should tell Tsukumo properly!"
He clenched his fist, his face set with determination.
But then,
"How about we go home and change first?"
He slumped over, collapsing against the window frame.
Even with the window open, the carriage was hot.
We urgently need a smaller, cheaper cooling device, stat.
* * *
As soon as we got home, I won rock-paper-scissors for the right to the shower room.
In a rebellion against always being so proper, I changed into the loosest room wear I had.
When I went to the kitchen for some water, in walked Yuruyana, wearing a baggy shirt like a dress.
We were on the same wavelength, I guess.
"That's the one I was gonna throw out, right?"
"But it's still new, seems a waste."
Sure, I bought it, tried it on, and it wasn't quite what I imagined. 'If you're not wearing it, give it to me,' I said. Never thought he'd turn it into loungewear.
On Yuruyana, it hangs off his shoulders, like a kid wearing adult clothes.
"It's comfortable, this."
"Not easy to find clothes that suit me like this... Want some water?"
"Sure."
He chugged the water I handed him, then poured himself another glass and shuffled over to the dining table.
We sat across from each other, finally getting down to business.
"So, what happened?"
We sat in the carriage a bit longer.
Yuruyana took a deep breath and recounted what he talked about with Her Majesty, the Queen Dowager.
"Yuruyana's family is... the Lilicheska Royal Family?"
"Well, my dad's side is... royal?"
The story was so out there that both me and Yuruyana were pretty lost.
"Are you sure about this?"
"Yeah... I heard that the Queen Dowager was originally from the Lilicheska Duke's family. She had a younger sister who married into the royal family of their homeland."
We learned about the Queen Dowager's marriage in our modern history class.
How the then-prince, the previous king, met Princess Riv during his studies abroad, hit it off, and kept in touch after returning home, eventually marrying her.
So, the prince fell head over heels for Princess Riv and went all out with power, connections, and money to win her over once he got back home.
That's how the trend of love marriages among young nobles started, I guess.
Remembering how textbook noble customs could be so wild, I shook my head.
"After the merger with Norvalen, the Lilicheska royal family became known as the Silven Duke family."
"I see..."
We don't learn about the royal family's fate after becoming part of the neighboring country in our history.
Not many people would recognize the name, I bet.
"The Queen Dowager and her sister kept in touch through letters... I heard stories about how she named her child Johan and how I had the same golden eyes as them."
With the same origins, full name, and eye color, it's safe to say it's a sure thing.
I mean, Yuruyana's dad could have been using an alias, but Yuruyana's looks are too similar to the Queen Dowager and Princess Ellen to not be related.
"So, the Queen Dowager is Yuruyana's great aunt, and Princess Ellen would be... um, what relation?"
If Lilicheska still stood, Yuruyana would've been a prince by now.
It's easy to believe he's got noble blood running through his veins.
Imagining him with a tiara and a dress instead of a crown and robes is just my bad habits showing.
"So why's this gotta be about you causing trouble? If you thought you were an orphan, finding family is a reason to celebrate, right?"
"Mhm..."
"Well, I get it. Having some stranger claim they're family doesn't just click right away."
I'm pretty distant from my dad's family too.
The last time I met them, they wanted to adopt me after hearing about my grades at the Arcane Art Academy.
It scared the hell outta me. They're just trying to keep their Baron status by regularly producing Court Arcanists.
They want someone with potential, is all.
The cultures are just too different.
"It's not just that..."
Yuruyana fidgeted with his thumbs, intertwining and twisting them on the table, before speaking up in a small voice.
"...They suggested I go visit the Duke Silven family in Norvalen."
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!