Our Make-Believe Ends Here - Chapter 6

Volumes I & II are available uncensored on ko-fi!

“There’s really not much time left.”

“…….”

“Once I succeed to the title, our story will become reality.”

“Yes…”

“Until then… let’s hold on well.”

Before he’d left to study abroad, at their last secret meeting, Hitaon had said the same thing. That leaving far away to study was for the future they’d share together. That he would proceed as smoothly as possible, succeed the title as quickly as he could, and take Luirene as his wife.

“I will never again stand by and watch anyone lay a hand on you.”

He growled as he rubbed her calf. The wound had long since healed and didn’t hurt anymore, yet strangely, it stung. Because she remembered the look in his eyes when her calf had been torn open, blood streaming down. It was a look of more anguish than she herself had felt.

Hitaon kissed Luirene deeply on the forehead and stood.

“If I’m away any longer, it’ll invite annoying suspicion.”

“Yes. You go first, young master. Just in case, I’ll stop by the stable and spend a little time there before going back.”

“My knight will watch your back when you return to the mansion. Don’t be startled even if it seems like someone’s following you.”

Hitaon, leaving kisses on the inside of her wrist as well, gave her one last reluctant look before leaving the shed. Through the cracked gap, she heard the faint murmur of a quiet conversation, then silence. Luirene sat leaning against the wall until the night air grew a bit colder, then left the shed.

The lingering sweetness of the secret meeting traced over the scarred, ugly calf.

* * *

Hitaon Glair was a man who maintained moderation in all things.

By moderation, it meant he always kept to an appropriate level in every aspect, not that he was careless. For example, if the maximum was 100 points, he always aimed for 80 to 90. Even though he possessed the ability to easily score 100.

If an explanation were needed, it was because 100 points invited too much expectation, stimulating the vanity of those around him and becoming dangerous. Below 80, as the heir to a proud noble house, it would bring too great a disappointment, unfitting of his position.

On that same principle, his goal was always to be a ‘suitably capable man.’ For such a man, the ceaseless succession education from morning till night felt excessive.

In particular, the time between two and three in the afternoon—the perfect time for soaking up the sun—he wished to enjoy freely without interruption from anyone, but as the heir to a noble family, that was no easy task.

In the end, the method Hitaon chose was escape.

That day, too, had been one where he felt a strong urge to flee. Taking advantage of a moment when his tutor had stepped away, he climbed over the windowsill and jumped outside. Having naturally undergone martial training as part of his upbringing, the second-story height was trivial.

As he landed on the grass, the fragrant scent of greenery tickled his nose. Strolling along at a leisurely pace, the place he headed for was the window of the corner room in the mansion where his grandmother’s bedroom was located.

The mansion, bustling with guests and servants, was noisy day and night. The only refuge he’d managed to find was here. His grandmother’s bedroom, where her memory was gradually fading with age, was the sole quiet place in the mansion, perhaps for the patient’s stability.

“Hoo…”

Crouching beneath the open window, Hitaon ran his fingers through his sun-glinting silver hair. Fatigue gnawed at him all the way to the back of his neck. Fishing a cigar from his pocket, he bit down on it and glared up at the sky, his expression quite sullen.

Recently, his parents had been pressuring him more. Especially his mother. It started with a gathering of noble ladies a month ago.

After hearing that Broil Pesche, the son of the Count Pesche whom he’d known since childhood, had been admitted to the highly prestigious ‘Arnoba Tenbra Academy’, his mother had become noticeably sensitive.

The thought that her son, whom she believed lacked nothing in appearance, conduct, or common sense, was falling behind a peer heir seemed to have stirred jealousy within her.

After that day, three more tutors were added to the already overwhelming number. Surveillance had also tightened, making even escape difficult. He felt like he was suffocating more each day.

‘What? Studying abroad?’

The damned famous academy. There would be a line of noble children eager to attend, even if it meant pouring money into it. But Hitaon was different. He didn’t understand why he had to cross the sea to some foreign land for studies he could perfectly well do right here.

His home was here. His memories of being born and raised, the traces and marks of his growth, the mansion, his family, the friends he’d known since childhood, the familiar food, the comfortable days built from each passing moment. Everything in this land was too precious to abandon for the sake of mere honor.