Chapter 5

The next day, I headed for the palace and began learning administrative work. Thanks to the knight's uniform being completed early, I didn't stand out, but I still received a lot of attention, probably because my face was unfamiliar. When I asked a senior about it, they said everyone was trying to remember my face before the transformation. Perhaps my adoptive father had more pressure on his shoulders than I thought.

Miles had fluffy brown hair, and because it was long, everyone seemed to be looking forward to it, which made him start to regret his decision to change his appearance in just six months.

A few days later, there was a welcome party. I went back home and headed to the venue in casual clothes like everyone else. My best friend Brian was also among my peers, and I was really looking forward to having a drink with him for the first time since graduation.

As the party was in full swing, Brian quietly came over with a drink. We were both a bit tipsy, but we toasted again.

"Really, it's great that you moved to such a good family... I'm really happy..."

It turned out Brian was a crier when drunk, and with the addition of my second brother and other seniors, the exposure of Miles' past began. Miles didn't mind the stories being told, but he didn't want the mood to dampen, so he occasionally added fun stories and funny failures.

But it seemed that only made them cry even more, and my second brother and the seniors left in tears.

"Since this makes it harder for people to call you their son and for you to chase after them, I think it's for the best. With Nicholas, you're probably too involved to have time to think about them..."

Seeing Brian cry and laugh, Miles also smiled wryly.

"Thanks. I had been spreading it a bit here too."

"...Still, how did you manage to eat with Nicholas for a whole year?"

"It was in vain; my former sister fell for him."

"At that time, I was really worried about Miles' future. I could only see a future where he would be dragged down. It's really good that you got away..."

Brian's tears came again, and after a wave passed, he asked cautiously.

"But isn't it strange that you ate with Nicholas for a whole year? Didn't you give up on your sister at some point? ...My gut is telling me there was someone else, right?"

"You probably just saw us eating together... It's not a very pleasant story, though."

"Tell me, tell me!"

Brian was so eager to hear the story. Miles was quite drunk by then, so he thought, "Why not?"

"Originally, my sister's friend liked Nicholas's face, and my sister was supposed to introduce them, but she ended up falling in love with Nicholas herself."

"Wow, a love triangle!"

Miles summarized the events that followed.

"Terrible! It was terrible for both Miles and his friend!"

"I didn't want to be part of such a plan. It had no chance of success, but I'll end the story here."

"Wait, you never confessed? Didn't you like her?"

"Well, given the circumstances, it wouldn't have mattered how I felt. Telling her would have just made her feel awkward. Besides, if I married her, I would have been connected to those two. Don't you want to keep your loved ones at a distance?"

"Wow, that's sad... Any lingering feelings?"

"Of course, I'm full of them. The last time I saw her was at her wedding six months ago."

"Since you've cut ties with Nicholas and the others, why not try again?"

"...But the adoptive family is still causing trouble. I'm praying from afar that she can cut ties with them after all the trouble they caused her."

When Miles picked up his glass to drink, he heard sobbing from behind. Turning around, he saw his second brother. Only then did he notice how quiet the surroundings had become, and everyone seemed to be avoiding eye contact.

"...Brian, you planned this, didn't you?"

"No, I didn't mean for it to go this far, sorry! I just thought it would be good if someone from the captain's family knew, but that's all!"

"Hmm... I guess I underestimated the attention the holy sword would get... Do you think I can forget it with a drink?"

"Yeah, let's do it!"

From there, his second brother apologized and poured him a drink. Then, one after another, many people came to pour a little bit of drink. They must have been the ones who heard the story. Even maids and clerks came to pour and pat his shoulder, but he didn't fall over, probably because water was mixed in at times.

Still, he drank a considerable amount and was eventually carried home by his adoptive father. As he heard his adoptive mother scolding his adoptive father and second brother, Miles' consciousness faded.

It turned out the drinks were quite diluted, and he had to go to the bathroom multiple times, but he went to work the next day without a hangover. However, he noticed the gazes around him had become warmer. In addition, maids gave him grooming creams, and clerks gave him lists of good restaurants, all while avoiding eye contact.

The day before the induction ceremony, he was invited to a birthday party at his own house, and Brian cried, making everyone around Miles laugh at how emotional he was.

The next day, he officially joined and spent six months in basic training.

***

The holiday for the holy sword was a week, but it could be shortened and the remaining days used on other days.

To officially become the owner of the holy sword, all he had to do was touch the crystal used during the appraisal and then touch the holy sword. After returning home, bathing, and having dinner with everyone,

"Take this depilatory, and by morning, it should all be gone. Breakfast will be left outside your door. After eating, take the hair growth agent."

He took the medicine, returned to his room, took off all his clothes, and got into a sleeping bag-like thing and went to sleep. When he woke up in the morning, something was falling off his face, and his body felt disgusting, so he walked to the bathroom and took a bath.

His eyebrows and eyelashes were gone, his head was bald, and his eyes had turned a light green. It was a shocking sight, but thinking of it as a farewell to his old self made him feel a bit better.

It seemed the room had been cleaned while he was bathing, and the thoughtful consideration of not seeing his face made him happy. Breakfast was prepared on the table with a note in his adoptive mother's handwriting, "Call me if anything happens, even if it's just through the door," which warmed his heart.

The hair growth agent made his head particularly itchy, and he couldn't concentrate on reading. However, thanks to the family and servants talking to him through the door, he hardly felt any discomfort. The embroidery his adoptive mother recommended kept his hands busy and helped him not focus on the itch. Sewing was part of the basic education in the knight's order, but Miles had been doing it since he was young, so it wasn't too difficult.

By evening, his hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes had grown back to about the thickness of a finger, all in a bluish silver. He had to meet people in this state eventually, so he was quite nervous. When he told the family he would have dinner with them, they were quite surprised but smiled and praised him, saying it suited him and he looked handsome, which relieved him.

The next day, a maid styled his hair, and he went to work. That day, the entire knight's order gathered for training, and everyone thought Miles was from another unit. When the training ended and Miles sat at his own seat, everyone shouted, "Is that Miles!?" and a commotion began. To calm things down, Miles volunteered to walk around the palace.

Thanks to this, things returned to normal the next day. The only difference from before was that he occasionally received confessions from maids, but after repeatedly saying he had someone he liked, the confessions stopped.

***

When his former family started loitering around the house and demanding to see him, he gradually gathered evidence and was able to get a restraining order by spring. Before that, Miles had disguised himself as a gatekeeper several times to drive them away, but he was never recognized. Since they were shouting at Miles to see him, the other gatekeepers and Miles had a hard time keeping their expressions in check.

One day, Brian came to Miles with some documents.

"Miles, Miss Harriet is coming to visit!"

Miles glared at Brian.

"Hey, I've never told you her name. Where did you find out?"

Brian resisted at first but eventually confessed with a sheepish grin.

"Everyone worked together to find out... Sorry!"

"Who's everyone?"

The moment Miles glared at Brian, a storm of apologies came from around him. It turned out they had used their connections, involving some maids and clerks, to track down Harriet. It was a waste of their abilities.

"Sorry! But it's a chance, right? You've cut ties with your family, and you look better now. You can be judged on your own merits."

"That's true... But she might not remember me, and she probably won't recognize me."

"We'll all support you! It's like meeting someone new, so you don't have to think about the past!"

"It feels like I'm being consumed for entertainment... But I'll use it to my advantage."

From then on, the movements around him were swift. They investigated and found that Harriet had no boyfriend or fiancé, and they told him about popular stores and events on the day of the visit.

The responsible officers of the knight's order seemed to be planning something, but they didn't tell Miles, so he decided not to worry about it.

The first day of the visit was designed for knights, maids, and clerks to meet the students and form connections. The palace staff were all unmarried, and exchanging contact information during the visit was even encouraged.

Guides were gathered, and the order of the tours was set, but the system was quite flexible, allowing for multiple exchanges at designated locations.

***

Through his second brother, the family must have known, because the maid thoroughly prepared him the day before.

It had been a year and a half since he last saw Harriet, and no one in the knight's order would recognize him at first glance. Even his former family wouldn't have recognized him, so he planned to act like a stranger and observe the situation.

But he could recognize her from a distance.

Miles spotted Harriet immediately. She had grown even more beautiful since the last time he saw her. To avoid arousing suspicion, he talked to his friends while approaching her.

Harriet looked at him sooner than expected, with a puzzled expression, then her jaw dropped open in shock. It wasn't a ladylike expression, and Miles couldn't help but laugh. Her mouth closed for a moment before opening halfway again. She couldn't seem to close it.

Around him, people expressed their understanding.

"I know, right? When I first saw him six months ago, I couldn't believe my eyes."

"I thought I was hearing things."

"I thought he was doing ventriloquism and looked around."

Brian swallowed hard.

"...Hey, isn't Miss Harriet amazing?"

"You mean her face?"

"No! ...Sure, she's making faces that aren't proper for a noble, but at this distance, you can't even hear Miles' voice. Yet, she recognized him just by looking, right?"

Pointing out this fact made Miles' face heat up.

"...Yeah..."

"If that facial recognition ability is applied to others, it would be valuable for clerks or maids..."

"But at least it shows she remembered Miles so well, even after a year and a half. There's a chance, right?"

He was slapped on the shoulder.

"Plan W."

"Hehe, I didn't think we'd use this plan..."

"It's a pleasant surprise. We're seeing something good. We should return the favor."

The teasing from behind made him increasingly embarrassed, but they finally reached Harriet.

During the explanation, Harriet was staring at him so intently that she probably didn't hear much. Her expression was still unguarded, and the warm gazes were directed at him.

The group division was quite unnatural, leaving them alone together. Miles couldn't help but look up at the sky, thinking, "Is this Plan W?" How many plans did they make?

However, thanks to this, Miles enjoyed their time together, and he believed Harriet had a good time thanks to the information he had received. Outside the palace, he didn't feel the gazes of others, so he thought they were trying to be considerate.

Harriet's intense gaze made him nervous, and he remembered the look in her eyes when he first met Nicholas. But this time, it was for a longer duration, and she didn't have the composure to hide her feelings, which gave him a sense of superiority.

When she was struggling with a notepad, he felt the urge to buy it for her and the selfish desire that if he became her partner, he would receive letters from her. When she expressed a desire to communicate, he couldn't help but feel hopeful.

When they parted, her red face from being caught staring was something he didn't want to show anyone but also wanted to see again.

He immediately visited Mrs. Guinness, explained the situation with some embarrassment, and asked to borrow her name.

Mrs. Guinness loved love stories, and the cost of borrowing her name was the story itself, with additional money depending on the content. The person who told him this predicted that Mrs. Guinness would charge more for stories she didn't want to support or that were dangerous.

Mrs. Guinness smiled and said,

"Indeed, there are those who will criticize a match that doesn't fit the family status. I haven't heard such a wonderful story in a long time, so you may use my name as is. I don't need any money.

However, before starting the correspondence, you must explain the situation to her father and get his permission. It's better to overcome the initial high hurdle rather than risk a bad impression and have your intentions questioned later.

Also, in your first letter, apologize for the attention you've received from the palace staff. It's not your fault, but if you continue to associate with her, it's something she will have to face."

Mrs. Guinness' advice made sense, so he consulted with his adoptive mother, and they decided to propose a marriage alliance and seek permission for the correspondence.

With his adoptive mother's supervision, he wrote a letter seeking permission and sent it with the marriage proposal. The response was, "I value my daughter's opinion, so I will make it a condition that Miles gets her permission directly. However, correspondence before that is acceptable."

***