It had felt as though something urgent was about to happen, but time passed quietly, and three years went by. She had said it would take a long time, but the invitation still hadn't arrived, even as the time for my second older brother to leave for his studies drew near. I put it out of my mind and continued training on my own.

Then one day, when I was fourteen and had grown taller and filled out...

TAP-TAP-TAP-TAP.

Someone came running along the path to the mansion.

Flora, my personal maid.

She hurried up with a tense expression and spoke between gasps. "The Duke is asking for you, Young Master Alex. He said to set everything else aside and come quickly. It must be something important."

I could think of only one important matter. I followed Flora straight to the mansion.

The duke was working alone in his study. I announced myself and went in, and he frowned at the sight of me. He seemed even less pleased with me than usual. Pretending not to notice, I stood before his desk. When I'd first come here, I'd barely been tall enough to see over it. Now its edge reached just below my chest.

As usual, documents were piled high on the desk. When I stopped in front of it, the duke opened a drawer and set an envelope on the desk. It was made of fine paper and had been sealed with red wax—plainly a letter from a high-ranking noble. The seal was already broken. The duke took out the letter, glanced over it, then frowned and laid it in front of me.

"Explain to me why this invitation was sent."

For a moment, I was taken aback by the question, delivered without any context, but I knew what he meant. I read the letter before me. My education hadn't been for nothing: even its long-winded noble flourishes were easy to follow. By the time I finished, I understood why the duke was frowning. It was the invitation I'd forgotten about after so much time had passed. Why had it come so late?

Strip away the elaborate phrasing, and it was an ordinary invitation. The sender had heard of me through someone and wanted to invite me to the capital and help me study there. But the name at the end was a problem. I hadn't expected it at all.

It wasn't Katrine de Rattenhammar, who had spent all that time playing a mercenary in front of me. Nor was it her father, the Count of Rattenhammar.

Ria de Carlos. Before her marriage, she had been Ria de Rattenhammar. The invitation had come directly from the king's third wife—Katrin's older sister and the princess's mother.

The unexpected sender threw my thoughts into chaos, and I couldn't answer the duke at once. He kept glaring at me until I forced myself to focus.

"Well... I don't really know why this invitation was sent, but I have met the person mentioned in the letter."

Fortunately, the invitation named the person responsible for this mess: Katrin. She had recommended me to someone far more powerful than I'd anticipated.

"I first met Lady Katrine at the marquess's estate. She introduced herself as a mercenary..."

I had no choice but to tell him about my time with her: what had happened at the marquess's estate and the expedition we'd undertaken together after I returned. Of course, I couldn't tell him the details of our exploration of the tomb. I had sworn to keep them secret.

"Did you sign a contract at the temple?"

The duke saw through my evasive answer immediately.

"Yes. But nothing we did caused any harm to the ducal house."

He pointed to the letter. "You may not realize it yet, but now that this letter of recommendation has arrived, I don't think you can say for certain that no harm will come to the house."

Damn. Now that the ducal house had received an invitation from the queen, would the duke be in an awkward position whether he accepted it or not? Better to pretend I didn't know.

"While helping at the marquess's estate, you met the Count of Rattenhammar's daughter, who was traveling incognito as a mercenary. Later, you helped her with her own affairs and won her favor... So she spoke to her older sister and had this invitation sent. Is that what you're saying?"

The duke had, as expected, summed it up exactly.

"But goodwill alone wouldn't be reason enough to send an invitation like this. What is the reason?"

Once again, I could only fall silent. I was truly glad the contract we'd made at the temple gave me a reason not to speak.

"... I'll have to look into that myself."

After glaring at me for a long while, the duke took back the invitation. "Now that I know it wasn't sent by mistake, the only question left is whether to accept it."

He tapped on the desk, muttering to himself. Just as I'd expected, he didn't ask for my opinion. I hadn't expected him to. Objectively speaking, a noble like the duke had no reason to ask the opinion of an illegitimate son who had only just turned fourteen.

As I was thinking that, I heard his voice. "What do you want to do?"

Huh? Was he asking me? I looked up in surprise, but his expression hadn't changed. His face was as blank as ice. What on earth was he thinking?

The question caught me so off guard that I barely managed an answer. "... I want to go. I'd like to learn more so I can help my older brother govern the domain."

Fortunately, a passable answer had come out. The corners of the duke's eyes narrowed slightly. Apparently it wasn't an answer he liked. It was exactly what a dutiful illegitimate son with no designs on the domain would say, though... Had calling Simon my older brother been a step too far? Thankfully, it didn't seem serious enough to cause trouble. Without another word, the duke sent me out of his study.

The next day, I learned the duke's decision, thanks to everything my second older brother had to say when he stormed into my room that morning.

"What do you mean you're going to the capital too? That's absurd! What on earth have you done?"

His voice rang through the room. Flora, who had been pouring tea beside us, retreated as quickly as a startled bird. Manuel dropped into a seat in front of me and glared. He seemed furious. He'd always been a little cheeky, but he'd observed noble etiquette faithfully. Right now, though, he was acting as if the rules didn't apply to him.

"Has the duke already made his decision?" I asked.

"What? So you really did know something?"

Of course I did. My expression remained unchanged, and Manuel's face reddened further. He pointed at me, then turned and shouted over his shoulder. "Don't just stand there, Simon! Say something! Something's wrong here!"

My eldest brother was standing in the doorway. Simon remained outside, looking unsure what to do. Manuel had caused such a commotion the moment he entered my sitting room that I hadn't noticed Simon. Tsk. Had I let my guard down because I was at home? I needed to be more alert.

"Father must have his reasons," Simon said. "Mother has gone to see him, so we'll hear why soon enough. Don't lose your temper. Come back and wait with me, like a noble should."

Huh? That wasn't at all what I'd expected Simon to say. Hadn't he come to take his brother's side?

"You've been strange since you came back from the marquess's estate, too! You got engaged, and now all you do is act solemn."

At Manuel's words, I took another look at Simon. Sure enough, almost none of his old frivolity remained. Nor did he seem to be putting on airs the way he used to. I smiled to myself as I watched him. The hardship he'd endured at the marquess's estate had been worth it. Our eldest young master seemed to have grown up at last.

With no support from his brother, Manuel burst out, "Bah! Say what you like, I won't accept it! A half-baked nobody without any proper ability is going to the capital with me? How am I supposed to hold my head up there if I have to live alongside someone like you?"

Oh, that was a remarkably cutting thing for a sixteen-year-old to say. His temper had probably gotten the better of him, but it was still unpleasant to hear. Then again, if word spread that he'd gone to the capital to study alongside an illegitimate son, people would gossip relentlessly. There would be all sorts of talk about the ducal house, comparisons between him and me, and no end of troublesome consequences. Thinking about it, I could understand his reaction. That didn't make it any less unpleasant.

I tested the waters. "Then why not put my skills to the test?"

"What?"

"You wouldn't be satisfied if someone else judged them. How about... a light sparring match, so you can see for yourself what I can do?"

It was a fairly obvious lure, but my opponent was still a boy in his mid-teens.

"Hah? Spar with you myself? Fine! That's exactly what I was thinking!"

Manuel had stared at me in disbelief, but his expression soon turned triumphant. "Fine! Just wait here! I'll get permission right now. Once Father sees what you're really capable of, he'll cancel the plan on the spot. Don't run away, and make sure you're prepared!"

He seemed to think my suggestion was an excellent one. He rushed out of the room looking delighted.

Simon watched his younger brother run off, sighed, then turned to me. "I don't understand why you're going to the capital either, but Father made the decision, so I won't argue. With your skills, you won't be out of your depth anywhere."

He'd seen me train and spar several times during our stay at the marquess's estate. He might not know exactly how strong I was, but he had to know I was unusually skilled for my age.

"But Manuel won't take this lying down, and neither will Mother. Whatever abilities or skills you have, they won't change where you come from. Don't count on help from my brother or the ducal house once you reach the capital."

After saying more than was usual for him, he turned and followed Manuel. His tone had been cold, but oddly enough, I hadn't minded hearing it.

'Huh? Was that advice?'

Not long after that chaotic visit from my brothers, a time was set for the sparring match. Honestly, I hadn't expected it to be arranged. Had the matter not reached the duke?

In any case, the match was to take place at the family's training ground in the woods behind the mansion. Manuel had wanted to use the main training ground and crush me in front of everyone, but someone higher up had apparently objected. That was unfortunate for him, and a little disappointing for me too.

And then—

"What on earth is all this about?"

Before the match, my mother heard that I was going away to study. Startled, she rushed to my room, and I had to tell her what I'd told the duke.