My Childhood Friend Told Me to Go Marry the Most Beautiful Woman in the Kingdom, So I Seriously Started Improving Myself—and Somehow Ended Up Making Women Fall Hard - Chapter 09: The Weight of What Was Lost (1)

Chapter 09: The Weight of What Was Lost (1)

Side: Rina

Morning in the royal capital was cold.
The moment I opened the window, air like thin fog slipped into the room, and I scrunched up my nose without thinking.

…Cold. I hated it. I missed my blanket.

But now that I was an apprentice court mage, oversleeping wasn’t allowed.
It shouldn’t have been allowed.

And yet—

“…This is bad.”

I muttered as I looked at the stack of papers piled on my desk.
The deadline was today.

Well, I thought it was today.

Normally, Hort told me everything, so all I had to do was write my name.

All the papers were the same dull color. I couldn’t tell which was which.

The ones with sealing wax went first?
No—maybe not. Sealed ones were for important people?
But important people might not be in a hurry.

My head turned into a mess.

…Ah. Times like this. If Hort were here, he would’ve sorted everything without hesitation, lined them up by deadline and importance.
He would’ve drawn a clear line and told me, “Just do this much.”

And then I could focus only on studying magic.

…I had heard that Hort graduated and returned to his family home.

“Why aren’t you coming to my place!?”

Grumbling out my frustration from the morning, I somehow managed to change clothes and put on my makeup.
Normally, Hort would’ve prepared breakfast for me—and even fixed my hair.

But now…

The apprentice court mage office was deep inside the royal castle.
Just walking down the stone corridors made my shoulders stiff.

There were too many eyes on me.

They were judging where I came from, who recommended me, and how useful I was.

I was used to that kind of thing.
I’d always been someone people looked at.

“Good morning, Rina. Your robe strings are loose.”

A voice came from behind.
Magnum Flabo Galactica had spoken to me.

Big, polite, serious. That kind of man.

I glanced down—and sucked in a breath.

“Good morning… since when?”

“Since I noticed.”

…The worst. My face heated up as I hurriedly tied them again.

“Thank you very much.”

“Be careful. Even if you’re just an apprentice, looking sloppy leaves a bad impression.”

That was completely correct.
And it hurt.

If Hort were here, he would’ve noticed before I even had the chance to mess it up.

No—actually, that wasn’t it.

Hort had tied it properly from the start so it wouldn’t come loose.

…I’d been supported like that, without even realizing it.

As I kept walking, I felt a small ache spread deep in my chest.

♢

When I entered the office, a circle of chatter had already formed.
Court mages loved rumors.

They spread faster than work talk ever did.

“Did you hear?”

“About the Second Knight Order’s commander?”

“Lady Adelheid, right? That young marchioness who became a knight commander so fast.”

I reacted without thinking.

Adelheid, Commander of the Second Knight Order.
A marchioness. From the marshal family.

Talented with the sword. Famous as a commander.

And, unlike me, she had a huge chest—

No, that part didn’t matter.

…No, it did matter. Rumors always focused on that, so it definitely mattered.

“Apparently, the commander’s been walking around with a trainee lately.”

“A trainee? A knight trainee?”

“Yeah. His name’s Hort Rubel, I think.”

My feet almost stopped.

Hort? Hort Rubel?

The moment I heard the name, the world felt distant for just a second.

…No way. I knew he had returned to the royal capital and become a knight trainee.
But—The Second Knight Order commander was walking around with him?

What? 

The Hort I knew always wore a slightly troubled smile, quietly cleaned my messy desk, brewed tea without a word, and chased after me with my forgotten things.

Kind. Quiet. Plain.

A boring, unremarkable guy.

…So why was that Hort standing next to the famous Second Knight Order commander?

It didn’t make sense.

“They say she takes him with her everywhere.”

“To the commander’s office, training, even the cafeteria.”

“Apparently they eat lunch together.”

“Huh? The commander eats in the cafeteria? No way. Isn’t she famous for hating men?”

Laughter broke out.

I couldn’t laugh.

Something cold slowly spread through my chest.

…What is that supposed to mean?

While I wasn’t looking, Hort was standing next to someone else?

And not just anyone—Next to a woman famous across the kingdom, one of the most beautiful there was?

♢

“Rina.”

Dias’s voice pulled me back to reality.

Dias was my classmate. His father was a knight, and he was currently training inside the royal castle as a gunner.
At the academy, he’d taken first place in sword practice, and he was popular too.

Even so, he didn’t talk much, and that somehow made it harder to relax when he was nearby.

“Did you finish this morning’s assignment?”

“…I finished it.”

“Your eyes are darting around.”

“So noisy,” Magnum said beside us, arms crossed.

“The submission envelope is wrong. The address is folded inside.”

“…Huh?”

I looked down at the envelope and froze.

He was right. I’d folded it the wrong way.

What do I do? If I open it, it’ll tear. If it tears, I’ll get scolded.

Getting scolded is fine—but being embarrassed isn’t.

My legs went weak, and I almost sank into the chair.

And then—

Hort’s voice surfaced in my mind.

“Rina, the envelope goes like this. See? Make the fold right here.”

“When you’re in a hurry, fix the steps and don’t change them.”

…I hadn’t fixed anything.

Hort had done everything for me.

That realization slowly sank into my stomach, and something close to nausea rose up.

“You okay?”

“Yes. I’m fine.”

I waved a hand at the two of them and stepped back, putting some distance between us.

A different environment.
Days without Hort.

I clenched my back teeth hard.