Epilogue

There are times in my life when I want to give up on everything and run. And those are often the times when running away is the last thing I could ever do. But even so, God—did you really have to go this far? It’s cruel.

“Get over it and stop sulking already,” one of the two people who had just entered the room told me.

“We, um, didn’t mean to hide it, dear brother,” the other added.

“It’s fine,” I replied to Lynne. “Thank you.”

I was exhausted and felt hopelessly weak. I had recovered enough to move after a night of rest, but after finishing breakfast, I had settled into an armchair and embarked on an exercise in escapism. Even I had a sense of shame. I had believed that I was successfully concealing the details of my court sorcerer exam, and I could not maintain my composure in the face of the revelation that my entire social circle had known them all along.

Lydia marched up to me, seized me by the shoulders, and yanked me upright. The audacious albatross’s face was right before my eyes, but I turned my head away.

“Why won’t you look at me?” she demanded.

“Oh, you know...”

“Do you wish that you hadn’t done it?”

“Of course not. If I had to do it over again, I wouldn’t change a thing.”

“Then hold your head high.” She paused and then added, “It made me happy, you know.”

“I can’t say no to that side of you,” I conceded after a longer silence. A blushing Lydia looking up at me was a force to be reckoned with; I had to marshal all of my good sense to resist the urge to hug her.

That was a close one. Now, why is she glaring at me?

There came the pitter-patter of footsteps as Tina and Ellie ran into the room. “How are you feeling, sir?” Tina asked.

“Allen, sir, I brought you some water,” Ellie added.

“I’m sorry about last night, you two,” I said.

“Please, don’t be,” Tina replied.

“You were adorable,” Ellie noted with a look of confusion.

“Please don’t tease me, Ellie,” I told the maid after a brief pause. “But thank you.”

“Y-Yessir!”

I stroked the oblivious angel’s head, which prompted Tina’s hair to sway with displeasure. “Sir,” she protested, “you’re always, always too soft on Ellie!”

“Jealous of your own maid, Miss First Place?” Lynne chimed in. “You’re so unkind.”

“You did the same thing, Lynne,” Tina shot back a moment later.

“I did not,” Lynne retorted.

“You did too!”

“I did not!”

“P-Please stop fighting, b-both of you!” Ellie cried.

They never stop, do they? Lydia, what are you beckoning to me for?

“Sit next to me,” Lydia said.

“I don’t know,” I replied. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

“Just hurry up and do it!” she snapped.

“Oh, all right.” After a moment, I gave in, stood up, and moved to the seat beside Lydia on the couch. “Will this do?”

Lydia didn’t say a word; instead, she high-handedly forced me to lie down. I felt something warm and soft against my head. Um... Her warm fingers stroked my hair as I lay still, bewildered.

“Lydia,” I ventured after a moment.

“What?” she asked.

“Well... This is kind of...embarrassing.”

“Grin and bear it,” she replied. “Isn’t that what boys do?”

“You’re just like Lisa, you— Ow!”

“You have some nerve, bringing up another woman,” she said after a tense pause. “Do you want to be incinerated?”

“She’s your mother!” I protested.

My head was resting on Lydia’s lap. She had done the same for me in private before, but what had brought this on?

A chorus of shouts from my students filled the room.

“A-Allen, sir!” Ellie cried. “Th-That’s indecent!”

“Dear brother and sister,” Lynne added, “p-please have a sense of propriety!”

Tina merely screamed.

It looked as though peace and quiet wasn’t in the cards. I exchanged looks with Lydia, and then we both laughed.

“Humph!” Tina fumed. “They’re off in their own little world!”

“Oh,” Ellie moaned, “that must be nice.”

“Dear sister, dear sister!” Lynne cried. “I want a turn!”

“No,” Lydia proclaimed with a dauntless smile. “He’s mine, and you can’t have him. Not that you’re even a threat to me.”

“What?!” Tina exclaimed.

“Wh-Why, that’s...t-true,” Ellie admitted grudgingly. “B-But still!”

“I-I don’t think that’s very kind of you,” Lynne added.

Apparently, I didn’t get a say in the matter. I was occupying myself by watching the trio confront their mighty foe when the door opened to admit Lisa and Anna. I righted myself as they entered.

So, Richard didn’t make it. May he rest in peace.

Richard had spent the morning facing these two, Lydia, and the girls in a sparring match. Actually, it had been more of a scolding. Or perhaps torture? Still, I had suffered a miserable time; did it really matter whether his rest was peaceful?

“What a racket,” Lisa remarked. “Well done, Allen. Are you feeling well?”

“Yes, thankfully,” I replied. “I wish I had waited for assistance from the professor and company.”

“Who could have foreseen that turn of events?” Lisa paused briefly before continuing. “I know I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating: the Leinsters are on your side. Don’t hesitate to rely on us. You’re practically a son to me, after all.”

“I know,” I replied after a moment. “Thank you very much.”

“Spend the night here; you need rest for the time being. I suppose you must be bored. Anna, give him what we discussed.”

“At once, mistress,” Anna replied. “Here you are, Mr. Allen.”

The head maid handed me a thick stack of bound documents. It was labeled “Potential Business Partners for the Houses of Leinster and Howard,” and a red stamp on its cover read “TOP SECRET.” My interest was already piqued, but I couldn’t help wondering—the houses of Leinster and Howard? I leafed through the papers, driven primarily by my own curiosity.

Oh my. These reports cover everything from industry, sales, profits, and number of employees to proprietors’ personalities and family situations. This one is on...the Fosse Company. It’s grown rapidly since a new generation of management took over a few years ago. The proprietor must know their business.

“I’d appreciate it if you’d give those a look,” Lisa jubilantly informed me. “Lynne.”

“You called, dear mother?” the red-haired girl responded, hurrying over despite her apparent bewilderment.

“Do you want Allen to continue tutoring you?”

“What?”

“Answer promptly,” Lisa pressed her.

“I do!” Lynne declared with feeling.

“Well said. Allen, I hope you’ll continue to do your best for her. Tina, Ellie.”

“Y-Yes?!” both girls answered in unison.

“Don’t monopolize him,” Lisa told them. “A woman should be bold. That goes for you too, Lydia.”

“U-Understood!” the two younger girls chorused back.

“I don’t know what you’re getting at, but understood,” Lydia added a moment later.

So, this was all according to Lisa’s plan. She had stolen a march on me.

I’m no match for her, Lydia, so you’ll just have to accept that— Hm?

“Listen,” a sulky—and ever so slightly nervous—voice whispered in my ear as a curtain of glistening scarlet hair brushed my face. “I know that Lynne’s hair is longer than mine used to be, but don’t you dare try anything with her, or else we’re going straight to the city of water. Also, when you kissed Tiny...” She hesitated a moment before continuing. “That was for a good reason, right? You didn’t...fall for her or anything, right?”

It was odd how Lydia’s confidence seemed to desert her at times.

“Yes, yes,” I whispered back with a chuckle as I gave her a gentle hug. “Your Highness’s wish is my command. Nothing like what you’re imagining is going on.”

“Only one ‘yes’! And don’t call me ‘Your Highness’!” she snapped back, still in a whisper. After a brief pause, she added, “Fine, but it had really better not be!”

I kept my gaze on the sullen Lydia, and she looked away, although her dainty fingers were curled around my left sleeve. She was calming down. Our relationship hadn’t changed since that day when we first met.

“Sir. Lydia,” Tina interrupted my reflections.

“Allen, sir. Lady Lydia,” Ellie echoed.

“Dear brother and sister,” Lynne joined in.

Whoops, I thought as the trio approached us. I almost forgot that we aren’t alone.

A year ago, I could never have imagined that things would turn out like this. I didn’t know whether I would be able to remain at Lydia’s side forever—I was but a humble commoner, and the girl before me was the daughter of a duke. Someday, the difference in our social standing would become insurmountable. But as long as we could be together, I wanted to keep moving forward with her. I wanted to guard her back and have her guard mine, as we had been doing for the past four years.

✽

Late that night, I was feeling more my usual self and taking a stroll through the tranquil inner courtyard of the Leinster mansion. Not for any particular reason; I just felt like walking alone. Lydia was sound asleep, possibly as a result of indulging in the red wine that had been served at dinner. She looked like a goddess in her sleep—but only in her sleep.

I had stopped to touch a flower when light footfalls approached me.

“So this is where you’ve been, sir,” Tina said. “I’ve been looking for you.”

I turned and found her standing there in her nightgown. She and Ellie were spending the night with the Leinsters as well—out of concern for me, they said. I was glad to have such thoughtful students, but I suspected that their desire for a sleepover was also a factor. Lynne was the first friend they had made, after all. The argument between Tina and Lynne had been an amusing spectacle—their hair had given away how happy they were even as they quarreled, while a smiling Ellie looked on. How calming.

I felt cold just looking at Tina in her thin nightgown, so I draped my coat around her shoulders.

“Thank you,” she said. “Don’t you think the Leinsters have beautiful gardens? The plants here seem happy. The Great Tree and the others at the Royal Academy are so full of life too.”

“I also enjoy them in the daylight, but a garden at night has a charm all its own,” I replied. “What do you want with me at this hour?”

“Sir.” Tina kept her big eyes fixed intently on me. There was a tinge of hesitation in them. After a short while, she seemed to make up her mind and continued. “It’s plain to me now that I’m just not good enough—that there’s so much I still lack and that I have to keep working much, much harder.”

“That’s not true at all,” I replied, shooting her a puzzled look. “You gave a wonderful speech in front of that enormous crowd at the entrance ceremony. In your shoes, I would have been too nervous to say a word. Your magic is steadily improving as well. You’ve made so much progress in these past few months that I hardly recognize you. And your grades at the Royal Academy are beyond reproach. I’d be hard-pressed to find fault with you for anything. You should be proud of yourself.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about!” Tina shouted. “I-I mean...I’m not good enough to stand beside you now, sir! The only one who can do that”—she fixed me with the strongest glare I had ever seen from her; there was no getting out of this one—“is Lydia. You just lead me—all of us—along by the hand. She’s the only one worthy to stand with you when things turn serious, isn’t she? We’re there to be protected; we don’t have the right to help you without permission...even when you’re in danger.”

“Tina,” I said, crouching to look her in the eye and smiling kindly as I stroked her head, “thank you for being so concerned for me, but please don’t blame yourself. Lydia is the Lady of the Sword, the pride of the kingdom. I know that seeing her in action might make you anxious, but even she wasn’t like that at thirteen. Don’t worry. Just keep growing, step by step. That’s what I’m here to help you do, remember?”

Tina’s expression was still tense. She was on the verge of tears. But before long, she looked me straight in the eyes.

“I may still be a child to you, sir,” she said with emphasis, “but I won’t be a child forever. Allen! I’ve made up my mind that I’m going to earn a place at your side. I swear by my late mother, Rosa Howard, and the rod and ribbon that she left me that I’m going to stand by you! Be with you! So...so please watch me, all right? And please keep teaching me.”

I was momentarily at a loss for words. “I look forward to the day that you do,” I told her at length. “Now, let’s go back inside; you wouldn’t want to catch a cold. You have school again tomorrow, and Ellie will scold you if you can’t get out of bed in the morning.”

“Oh, you’re right!” Tina exclaimed, her eyes widening. A moment later, she asked, “Would you hold my hand and escort me back to my room?”

“I suppose I’ve got no choice,” I replied. “But only tonight. Don’t let Ellie and Lynne find out.”

“All right,” she agreed. “I won’t tell.”

“Good.” I clasped Tina’s little hand, and she finally smiled.

Ever since I had failed the court sorcerer exam, my life had been moving at a breakneck pace. I wondered why things had turned out that way, but I also didn’t mind it.

“Sir?” Her Highness asked me with a puzzled look.

“Tina,” I said, “let’s keep doing the best we can—you and me together.”

“Yes, sir!” she chirped back. “I can keep going as long as you’re with me!”