Chapter 37

Summer had arrived in Pencilnia.

This year, at last.

Cynthia had something in mind.

A family trip.

Eidan was six, and Marivel had just turned two.

A lot of guards were needed, and even a small move was a challenge.

However, it had been seven years since their marriage.

They had started to go out to the capital city more often, always with Rias.

But they had never been outside the capital.

They had never been out since they were born.

She had always wanted to go out someday.

Then, this summer, Rias was going to inspect the territory.

When she said she didn’t want to go and didn’t want to be apart, she suggested going together.

At first, Rias was hesitant, but the temptation of spending time together made him start to think about how to make it happen. After Cynthia’s continued persuasion, he finally agreed.

Recently, about the children.

Eidan seemed to have inherited a lot of Pencilnia’s blood, and his body had become more muscular. He had started sword training at his own request and was becoming more and more like Rias in his mannerisms.

There is a basic posture when swinging a sword, so he started to look similar.

His face had become more rugged, and it seemed he had grown up suddenly, which made her a little sad.

Seeing Eidan training with a sword, Marivel wanted to imitate him.

Perhaps influenced by picture books, Marivel’s recent favorite game was playing the hero.

"Evil, fall down!"

"Ah! Marivel, that’s my sword. Give it back."

After finishing his training and taking a shower, Eidan entered his room and found Marivel, who had somehow entered, holding up his wooden sword.

"Nice, win."

"No, it’s dangerous."

The wooden sword was about the same height as her, so she was wobbling.

"U... Ue..."

"Ah, ah, don’t cry, Marivel. Do you want to play the hero? I’ll be your attendant. Here, take this soft sword. You can swing it around with this one."

Marivel’s favorite picture book was about a hero and his attendant defeating a demon king.

She had made him play this game dozens of times.

"No! This is Marivel’s!"

"Marivel..."

"Nice, let’s go."

Saying that, Marivel raised her sword high and shouted.

"Ah!"

"Ah, ah... It hurts."

Marivel was probably trying to swing the sword coolly, but she was afraid of falling over, so Eidan hurried to support her, and the sword hit his face in various places.

"—Hey, Marivel!"

A familiar voice accompanied the sudden relief of pain.

Cynthia picked up Marivel and took the sword.

"—Ah, Mom! That’s Marivel’s!"

"No, it’s your brother’s. Marivel, look at your brother. It hurts when you swing something like that, doesn’t it?"

Cynthia took the sword and quickly handed it to the nurse.

Marivel’s nurse, Lina, had been searching for Marivel, who had disappeared in the blink of an eye, and was sweating so much that her hair was stuck to her forehead.

Seeing Eidan’s red cheeks, Marivel seemed to realize it was bad and didn’t try to cry like before.

"Here, say sorry to your brother."

"Nice, sorry."

"It’s okay. Here, let’s play with this."

Handing her a soft toy sword, Marivel immediately perked up.

Cynthia sighed and reached out to Eidan.

"Eidan, show me."

"It’s okay, it’s nothing."

He didn’t heal it.

Since the training started, he wouldn’t even let her hold him, let alone sit on his lap. As a mother, it was a little sad.

Seeing the two children start to play the hero, she couldn’t help but smile.

However, Cynthia was a little worried that Eidan was too kind.

Marivel was too mischievous.

—No, now that she thought about it, Eidan might have been mischievous at this age too.

However, Eidan was soft on Marivel.

Because of that, Marivel was very attached to Eidan.

She clung to him more than anyone else in the house, and Eidan seemed to find her even cuter.

He always played with Marivel and often carried her when she asked.

Cynthia was worried that Eidan wasn’t overdoing it.

The door was knocked on, and the butler came in.

"Madam, Master has returned."

"Understood."

"Marivel too."

Saying that, Marivel slipped past the adults and ran out. Lina hurried after her.

Eidan started to put away the toys he had been playing with.

Cynthia headed for the entrance hall.

Soon, Rias returned home.

Marivel ran to Rias as soon as the door opened.

Rias easily picked her up.

"Daddy!"

"Welcome home, Marivel."

After a tight hug, Rias carried Marivel with one hand and came straight to Cynthia.

He wrapped his free arm around Cynthia’s waist and pulled her close. Hugging her, Rias’s head rested on her shoulder, and he let out a breath.

"Welcome home."

Cynthia’s words were answered only with a nod, and Rias took a deep breath.

"Hey... Rias!"

She pushed against his arms, but he didn’t budge.

"Ah, Cynthia..."

"Hey, really, now—"

His breath tickled her, and she wriggled, finally making him let go.

What did you breathe in just now?

"Sorry. I haven’t seen you since yesterday."

"…? But we’ve seen each other, haven’t we?"

When she woke up, Rias was already out of the house. Since they shared a bedroom, they inevitably saw each other every night and morning.

"I haven’t seen you when you were awake."

Saying that, he kissed her cheek—no, not a kiss.

"Stop it, not here."

"Yes."

But it wasn’t a “yes” face.

Cynthia pushed his face away this time.

"You’re home early today."

"Yes. Finally, things have settled down."

"Then..."

"Yes. As planned, we’ll leave for the Pencilnia territory this weekend."

Cynthia looked at Rias with hopeful eyes.

"Really? Really, really can we go!?"

"Mom...?"

Marivel was startled by her sudden high-pitched voice. Cynthia turned to her with a full smile.

"Marivel, we’re going on a trip!"

"Trip?"

"Yes. That’s right. We’re going on a trip. What should we do?"

For the past few days, Rias had been working from early morning until late at night, adjusting everything for this family trip.

It had finally come to fruition.

He had said he would work hard, but it was faster than she had expected.

"Thank you, Rias. I’m really happy. I’ve never left the capital before."

As she said this, she became more and more excited.

"Never before. What should I do? I might not be able to sleep tonight."

"I’ll keep you company. All night if necessary."

Cynthia ignored Rias and ran off.

She saw Eidan at the edge of her vision and ran over to him.

"Eidan! We’re going to the Pencilnia territory this weekend!"

"Really?"

Cynthia hugged Eidan, delighted. She had already told Eidan about the possibility of going on a trip.

They had also researched the Pencilnia territory together.

Eidan smiled happily.

"Father, welcome home. There’s a lake, right? Can we swim?"

"Yes."

"That’s great. Let’s play in the water! Boats would be nice too."

"Wow..."

Seeing Cynthia and Eidan’s joy, Marivel looked puzzled.

"Boat?"

"—Yes, let’s play on the boat. I hope it’s a fun trip."

"Trip... hero?"

"No, not a hero... a family trip."

Seeing her so happy, Rias felt that it was worth the effort to arrange the trip.

It wasn’t right to confine her in the capital just because she had the power of light. Many of the royal family members with the power of light spent their lives in the castle.

He had decided on this trip thinking of Cynthia, who had stayed within the house without complaint. Even walking around the city or the grounds of the house required a guard.

Cynthia had said she was fine because she had been like that since birth. However, it couldn’t have been comfortable.

She understood Rias’s concern and stayed within the guard’s perimeter without causing trouble.

So when Cynthia said she wanted to go on a trip, he felt more like she was finally expressing a desire than that it was impossible.

Seeing her childlike joy, Rias felt happy too.

"—It’s a two-day carriage ride to the Pencilnia territory, right?"

"Yes. We could get there in one day if we pushed the horses, but with Marivel, it’s better not to rush."

"Yes. It would be nice to enjoy the journey slowly."

Cynthia seemed to be unable to sleep.

Even after getting into bed, she talked to Rias, who held her in his arms, about where they would stay and what was famous there.

She seemed to be trying not to miss a word of what Rias was saying.

It looked like she might stay up all night, so Rias let her rest her head on his chest and patted her head.

Usually, she would start snoring after a while, but Cynthia seemed unable to sleep.

Occasionally, she would rub her head against Rias’s chest and whisper, "Thank you," with a happy smile.

Rias felt a slight pain in his chest.

"I’m sorry."

"......What?"

"I want you to have a happy life without any worries. I’ve been self-satisfied, keeping you in this house."

Why hadn’t he taken her on a trip in the seven years they had been married?

Cynthia looked at Rias with a puzzled expression.

"Keeping me in... I’ve been happy, spending time with the children."

For Cynthia, the happiest thing was being able to spend her days loving and caring for the children without being busy with anything else.

There had been some discomfort, and now that Marivel was two, she wanted to go outside.

But she had been satisfied with her current life.

And there was another reason why Cynthia couldn’t go on a trip.

"—Father was worried, and more than anything, I wanted to be a help to Titi."

It was when Marivel was one year old and they visited the castle.

Seeing Marivel, who looked just like Cynthia when she was young, the king broke down and cried.

Cynthia was shocked and stood there. Rias, who had pulled her to his side, looked at Ortimetti.

Ortimetti spoke to the king gently.

"Father—Marivel seems sleepy. Why don’t you rest a bit, Father?"

"U... Uh... I’m sorry... I’m so... You came all this way... I’m..."

"It’s okay. She’ll come again soon."

The king’s back, which had shrunk, and Ortimetti, who supported him as if it were a routine.

After the king left the room, Cynthia looked at Ortimetti in shock.

Ortimetti smiled weakly and shrugged.

"I thought he was doing well recently."

"What do you mean... Titi?"

"Sorry, I didn’t want to say. I didn’t want to worry you."

"Father is—"

"He’s not crazy. But... how do I put it, he’s become pessimistic."

It didn’t seem to be that level.

Perhaps because Cynthia didn’t seem convinced, Ortimetti added.

"He mostly spends his days in his room, staring blankly, crying, and that’s his daily life."

"Such... When did it start?"

He didn’t answer immediately. She realized it had been going on for a long time.

In other words, it was what they called depression in her previous life.

Cynthia didn’t know how to cure it. She only knew that stress was bad and that telling someone to try harder didn’t help.

"Sorry, I didn’t say... Titi."

"Don’t apologize."

Cynthia couldn’t stand it and hugged Ortimetti.

"Titi, you’re not to blame. I’m the one who should apologize. I’m sorry I didn’t notice."

The king in such a state couldn’t possibly run the country properly.

In other words, Ortimetti had been taking care of everything.

Even though he had just turned 18.

"Oh, Titi... I’m really sorry. I was only thinking about myself."

Ortimetti didn’t say anything.

If he had said even one word, it might have overflowed like a dam breaking.

He just slowly shook his head.

His pursed lips seemed to show the hardships he had endured. Seeing this, Cynthia felt like crying again.

Since then, whenever Cynthia visited the castle, she would visit Ortimetti and the king.

Before, she would usually go to Rias’s workplace and then go home.

She started visiting three times a week.

She would check on Ortimetti’s condition and show concern for his health.

And she would talk to the king. It was just small talk.

To the king, who was always worried about her, she would say, "Thank you, Father. I’m happy," and then leave.

It didn’t improve dramatically, but according to Ortimetti, the king no longer said he wanted to die.

She was surprised that it had been that serious, but Ortimetti said it had improved a lot and he was relieved.

A year passed.

She increased the number of positions responsible for internal affairs and reduced the number of decisions made solely by the king.

It seemed to have calmed down a lot.

—Ortimetti would soon become king.