Roel began making preparations for his long journey back to the Ascart Fiefdom.
While he was packing up, Chris invited him over to her residence to talk about some matters, and Alicia chose to tag along.
Other than his close friends, the person who was the most delighted over his victory in the Challenger Cup was none other than Chris. She was happy to see her student making a name for himself, but more importantly, she was overjoyed at having secured a legitimate reason to make a house visit.
Maintaining a long-distance relationship was already tough enough as it was, let alone two individuals who had been estranged for many years.
She had consistently exchanged letters with Carter over the last few months, but their interaction had been mostly limited to that of old friends. She knew that she had to do something more to breach his defenses. As the esteemed youngest sage teacher of Saint Freya Academy, it went without saying that she… knew nothing at all.
It couldn’t be helped. IQ didn’t equate to EQ.
Ever since she was jilted in her student years, she devoted her entire life to work. For twenty whole years she hadn’t dated anyone at all, making her a bona fide ‘single dog’. She was much more mature and rational than before, but at the same time, she lost her youthful recklessness that allowed her to charge forward bravely in a relationship. Her worries and reservations resulted in the frighteningly slow progress of her relationship with Carter.
Unwilling to just maintain the status quo between them, she sought her fellow ‘Conquering the Ascarts’ Men!’ ally, Alicia, for help, who then offered her a terrifying proposal.
“Alicia, you seem to share a tight bond with Roel. How did you get close to him?”
“Lord Brother and I have always been that close.”
“Is that the case? Then, do you know of any strategies to quickly advance a relationship?”
It was rare for Chris to approach a junior for advice. Alicia carefully thought over the question before hitting her fist on her palm, seemingly having thought of a good idea.
“When it comes to quickly advancing a relationship, the best way is still to rely on drugs.”
“A-ah? Drugs?”
Chris was horrified to hear a potential criminal plan coming from a young woman’s mouth. What further frightened her was how naturally Alicia mentioned it, as if it was perfectly normal.
“That’s right. Lord Brother is a smart person, but he’s innocent when it comes to relationships. As long as I can ‘secure’ him, it would be my victory.”
“No, I mean, won’t most people get angry at something like that?”
“Of course. Lord Brother would definitely get angry, but I’m not afraid. I just have to burst into tears, and that would soften his heart right away.”
“…”
This woman is terrifying!
Chris was rendered speechless by Alicia’s plan. She did consider it for a moment, but she swiftly understood that it was impossible for her to carry out the same tactic.
Alicia’s plan was built on a single condition—Roel’s almost bottomless indulgence for her.
Such a relationship couldn’t be replicated by others, let alone Chris, who had only managed to exchange three letters with Carter thus far.
In the end, she decided to approach the much more reliable Roel for advice.
Carter had been too busy with military matters in recent years that he had very little time to spare for his children. Due to that, Roel wasn’t able to get a good gauge on Carter’s relationship status. However, he did know what kind of person Carter was, and a person’s character wouldn’t change that easily.
He knew for certain that Carter wasn’t a heartless man.
“Father has always kept his distance from women.”
“H-he does?” Chris muttered apprehensively.
“But again, most women approached him with ulterior motives in mind. It would be hard to generalize it,” Roel quickly reassured her.
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“I-is that so?”
After careful discussion, they decided to take things a step at a time. As soon as Carter sent a letter informing them of his return, Roel would inform Chris about it right away and try his best to stage a meeting between the two of them.
As for how the meeting went, that would depend on Chris herself.
Romance was ultimately a matter between two. Outsiders could create opportunities for them to advance their relationship, but it wouldn’t do to meddle too much.
After confirming their plan with Chris, Roel and Alicia returned to the Azure Manor to prepare for their return. While they were packing their luggages, another group of visitors knocked on their doors.
It was Wilhelmina and Teresa.
Pendor was located even further from Leinster than the Ascart Fiefdom. Even though the transfer students had come to Leinster as a group, they chose to return in separate convoys. Wilhelmina and Teresa had only chosen to return together because of their closer ties.
The two of them were just dropping by the Azure Manor before going on their way, so they didn’t talk much other than wishing each other a safe journey.
Kurt had chosen to leave earlier, presumably because he wanted to right Grandar’s name as soon as possible. Selina did drop by to bid him farewell before she departed. She even got angry at him for staring at her head for beast ears.
Stuart and Brittany hadn’t left yet. In fact, the valkyrie had been eyeing Geralt closely over the last few days, causing the poor man to tremble like a frightened rabbit for quite a while. He had calmed down since then, likely because he had figured out a way to escape from her clutches.
As for Juliana, she turned out to be the most troublesome one of them all. Just a few days ago, she visited the Azure Manor and strongly insisted on visiting the Ascart Fiefdom as a guest.
Roel wasn’t sure what she was planning, but there was no doubt that she was gunning for Alicia. He vehemently rejected her request, leaving the latter with no choice but to give up.
This incident raised several doubts in his mind.
He was almost convinced that there was some kind of deeper secret hidden in Alicia’s bloodline that wasn’t explored in Eyes of the Chronicler, but regardless, it didn’t change the fact that Alicia was his beloved younger sister.
After three days of preparation, it was finally time for Roel to leave Saint Freya Academy.
There was quite a commotion during his departure. The Sorofyas’ convoy had somehow converged with the Ascarts’, so there was a massive group of students from both Rosa and the Theocracy seeing them off. It was almost like another festival.
There wasn’t much of an issue with them traveling together since the Ascart Fiefdom and Rosa were neighbors. It would also be much safer since both convoys would be able to look out for each other over the long journey. It sounded like a good idea to do so, and it would have been so if not for the somewhat weird atmosphere.
“Miss Charlotte, this is our carriage. Do you have no sense of propriety?”
“Miss Alicia, you must have forgotten that I’m still formally engaged with Roel. I don’t see any problems with me sharing a carriage with my fiancé. What’s truly problematic here is how you keep bothering my fiancé just because you’re still young.
“You!!”
Roel looked at the two carriages beside him, followed by the two women glaring at each other in front of him, and he suddenly felt a migraine setting in.
He couldn’t bear to criticize Alicia, and the two of them had already gotten used to sharing a carriage even though it defied conventions in this world. As for Charlotte, he wasn’t in a good position to say anything either.
Charlotte had often supported him financially, and she was one of the greatest contributors to the development of the Ascart Fiefdom. On top of that, the two of them were indeed engaged even though their engagement contract was no longer binding anymore. Even at this very moment, the clothes he was wearing were designed by her.
Unwilling to offend either side, Roel could only divert their attention elsewhere. He was glad that Nora had returned to the Theocracy in advance. The sheer chaos that would break out if she was here too would have driven him insane.
Speaking of Nora, he was reminded of some questions that had been lingering in his mind for a while now.
It had been many days since he had won the Challenger Cup, but he hadn’t received a letter from Nora yet. They had been exchanging letters ever since they were still children, and she would make sure to write to him every now and then no matter how busy she was. It was worrying how she hadn’t sent a congratulatory letter over despite his spectacular victory.
Is she busy at the moment?
Roel wondered as he watched the world outside the carriage’s window pass him by.