Chapter 6: The Dinner Party (Part 5) – Thoughts
“Phew, that was scary. I felt some killing intent…”
“Of course you did. You took two people away at once. This will make you even more disliked by others.”
“It’s unfair that the person who enjoyed the situation the most isn’t disliked… I definitely saw you smiling, Elena.”
“Oh my, are you sure you weren’t imagining things?”
The moment those teasing words were thrown, a cool breeze swept through their bodies.
This place, where they could feel the night wind and view the starry sky and gardens, was a balcony on the third floor of the mansion.
Normally, it would be off-limits, but Elena’s presence allowed them access.
“Um, thank you so much for earlier. I never expected you to extend such a formal invitation to me.”
“W-what? Luna, are you teasing me too?”
“Since you helped me, I would never do such a thing.”
Spoken in a monotone voice – or rather, an overly calm voice – embarrassment welled up inside him.
The “formal invitation” referred to the act of extending a hand…
“However, you should have known that I would gladly accept your invitation, so there was no need to do it the same way as the others.”
“Knowing him, he probably thought, ‘What if she refuses~?’ Isn’t that right? Luna, were you embarrassed? Because Byleth was clearly embarrassed.”
“…But it became a very good memory. I was able to experience a scene I like from stories.”
“C-can we stop talking about this? I think that would be good. Yeah.”
Elena and Luna sat in chairs provided on the balcony. Byleth, who had been facing these two, stood up and placed his hands on the stone wall.
(I can’t believe they’re bringing up that moment…)
He turned his back because he didn’t want them to see his blushing face.
“A-anyway, I wonder if Sia is alright…? I managed to make eye contact, but we couldn’t really talk…”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ve informed the house staff about our location, so she should have been notified by now.”
“Oh, thank you. That’s a relief.”
“You’re the same as always.”
“Despite usually being mischievous, you can be quite kind in these situations.”
“The ‘in these situations’ part is unnecessary.”
He retorted without turning around, feeling warm gazes directed at his back.
“…Lady Elena is just as kind, isn’t she?”
“Huh?”
“Because you tried to help me, your promise with—”
“—Fufu. I’ve already forgotten about such a promise. So please don’t worry about it.”
“Is… that so…”
Luna had heard directly from Elena
about “securing a promise to slip away with him alone.”
The fact that the “three of them” were here now meant that promise had changed.
Seeing the unchanged demeanor of the two, it was obvious they had discussed this before helping her.
“…This isn’t the kind of treatment someone of my low status should receive.”
“That’s a line you might not be able to say someday.”
“!”
Their voices were barely audible.
“Hey, Byleth. I have a question for you, but will you answer honestly?”
“W-what is it?”
Sensing the serious tone in her voice, Byleth finally turned around.
“I’m sorry for asking so suddenly, but are you against having multiple lovers? When we talked about polygamy, you had a stern expression, so I was curious.”
Her timid and anxious demeanor was somewhat different from Elena’s usual self.
In fact, he had thought he might be asked about this.
“Um… you don’t dislike it, right? This is just my impression, but…”
“Y-yeah. I’m hesitant, but I don’t dislike it. It’s not that I dislike it, but there are differences in future values.”
“Values?”
As Elena asked for clarification, Luna, who had been observing silently, tilted her head. Both shared the same question.
“Everything Luna explained is true.”
(Really… everything.)
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At this moment, Byleth unconsciously made a stern expression.
[Wives in a polygamous system are basically rivals]
[Whether they can gain an advantageous position in terms of inheritance and status depends on the number of children they bear, the abilities of those children, and how much benefit they bring to the family name]
[By competing with each other, the wives further increase their power]
These were the three points.
“Of course, I understand that it’s rational and leads to prosperity, so it can’t be helped, but—”
At this moment, the image of Aria, who continued to sing for the audience even with a sore throat, floated in his mind.
He imagined Aria struggling due to inflexible schedules.
“──I wasn’t the type to think so calculating like that. I just wanted to keep things the way they were.”
(It was selfish, he knew, but that was the kind of world he came from…)
Bringing his own values into this world might be wrong.
But this was one thing he just couldn’t shake. Unless people understood, they wouldn’t be able to step into that kind of mindset.
“So, to summarize, by making inheritance and family roles equal, you aim to eliminate any sense of rivalry, correct?”
Luna, with her sharp mind, always managed to turn complicated explanations into something easy to understand.
“Something like that… I know it’s not realistic, but if we could live without being so focused on such calculation…”
“It’s a plan that suits you, Byleth, but others might not get it.”
“Yeah, probably. In the end, if there’s no competition, the biggest advantage of polygamy is lost anyway.”
“Haha… Power is important, but I don’t need to aim higher than this. More than that, life only happens once, and I want to live without regrets.”
Having already died once, this was something more precious to Byleth than anything. He wanted to live a life free of regrets.
“…Ha. You really have bad taste, you know that?”
“Eh!? What? Why?”
“Because, if I confessed my feelings after hearing that, it’d basically mean I’d be saying, ‘I want to be with you no matter what—money, inheritance, none of that matters.’ Basically, ‘As long as I have you, that’s enough.’”
“If someone of high status falls into that, it’s like setting themselves up for humiliation. It’s a pretty messed-up system.”
“Ah, th-that’s… no, I don’t think like that, I swear!!”
(Th-that’s what it sounds like, but that’s not what I mean!)
Byleth panicked precisely because he hadn’t thought of it that way.
Luna, watching his flustered state with sleepy eyes, made a move.
“Lady Elena, may I have a word with you?”
“Oh, sure…”
She called out to the blushing Elena and whispered in her ear.
“For the first time, I’m glad to be of low status.”
“!”
This was payback for the earlier teasing about “a line you might not be able to say someday.”
Although expressionless, there was a hint of provocation in her eyes.
Despite their difference in status, the fact that they could engage in such exchanges showed they had built a truly good relationship.
“A-anyway, isn’t it rare for the three of us to gather like this?”
“That’s true. I’m in a different grade, after all.”
“Well, Byleth alone isn’t quite enough. We need that excellent child by our side.”
“Sia-san’s social skills are amazing.”
“Hey, aren’t you two being a bit harsh on me? If someone heard this conversation, they’d definitely be shocked, you know?”
“Fufu, that’s true.”
“If you have any complaints, we can change right away.”
It was a scene where someone from a marquis family was being teased by someone of lower status.
If uninformed people heard this exchange, they would surely turn pale, but it showed that these two truly understood him.
“I have no complaints at all. Thank you for being friends with someone like me, really.”
“W-what’s with you all of a sudden…”
“…I agree.”
“Haha, it might be sudden, but I’m just in that kind of mood today.”
At this moment, he suddenly thought:
(If these two hadn’t become friends with me, what kind of school life would I have had…?)
He probably wouldn’t have had anyone to interact with in the classroom due to his usual behavior, and he wouldn’t have had a place to relax.
Surely, he would have found attending school painful.
He might not have been able to enjoy it at all.
Just imagining it was frightening.
“Hey, why don’t we make plans to hang out with Sia next time? I’d like to spend time like this again.”
“I don’t mind, but you’re not planning anything weird, are you…?”
“I’m not thinking of anything like that…”
As he gave her an accusing look, Elena laughed.
“Oh, in that case, let’s invite Luna when you cook for us next time. Luna, aren’t you curious about his cooking too?”
“Is… that alright?”
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