Love Letter From The Future

At my scolding, the princess immediately became disheartened.

Naturally, I didn't want to diminish her efforts. Princess had even tried striking an adorable pose, imitating a puppy.

It wasn't easy for a woman of noble birth to endure such humiliation.

It was truly a remarkable sight, a member of the royal family performing puppy-like actions in front of a low-ranking noble of the empire. Despite the clear disparity in status, the Princess was essentially sharing her endearing nature with me.

After all, puppies are creatures that instinctively crave human affection.

It's fortunate that there weren't any onlookers around. If this had occurred at the academy before the vacation began, Princess's reputation would have undoubtedly suffered another blow.

The act of the Princess imitating a puppy carried significant weight.

To be honest, I had a hard time figuring out why Princess was doing this. But objectively speaking, the sight of a beautiful girl doing something cute did seem adorable.

If it hadn't been for this morning's incident.

With Senior Elsie's declaration of being my pet already giving me a headache, and now Princess poking at that memory, there was no chance of me reacting positively.

When I didn't react well, the Princess immediately lowered her head.

"I-I'm sorry... It's just I heard that Sir Ian enjoys treating women like puppies..."

"Absolutely not!"

I inadvertently raised my voice in response to the ridiculous misunderstanding.

The Princess's eyes widened in surprise and she stared at me blankly.

"That's all just rumors. So, there must have been a misunderstanding…"

"...A-Ah!"

The Princess, who had been observing me intently with her gray eyes, nodded as if she had realized something.

"It was a secret! That's reasonable. Then, impersonating a puppy is exclusively for when we're alone…"

"Your Imperial Highness."

The Princess tilted her head, puzzled. By then, my voice had turned cold.

"Don’t you often get told that you’re tactless?"

The girl's shoulder slumped once more.

"I-I'm sorry. Sir Ian... You seemed so down today, I just wanted to cheer you up."

"The result of that consideration being a puppy imitation is truly astonishing."

"If Sir Ian wishes, I can do it as much as you want!"

Princess's body straightened up with a proud look.

She looked like she was proud of herself for saying that.

Although it was unknown what she was proud of.

"I-I'll do whatever you ask! So, if you really need a puppy, instead of Lady Elsie..."

"I already told you no."

"...Ye-Yesh."

The Princess's confident expression promptly disappeared as my annoyed voice slipped out.

With a cowering posture, the Princess cautiously gauged my reaction.

Still, I couldn't stay angry, knowing she hadn't approached with bad intentions. Eventually, I let out a deep sigh.

To clear the air, I asked the Princess a fundamental question.

"Is that all you came for? Your Highness, the Princess coming all this way just to cheer me up..."

"O-Of course, I didn't think someone like me could cheer Sir Ian up."

It was a disheartened excuse.

The Princess's face, previously tinged with gloom, now betrayed a hint of remorse. After our initial meeting didn't go well, she had shown humility towards me from then on.

This was even though I no longer harbored any feelings about the mistakes Princess had made.

To be honest, I was angry when I heard the news that my sister's company had gone bankrupt.

However, the letter my sister sent me at that time helped to calm my anger. Although it was classified and I couldn't disclose it yet, my sister was still doing well.

While she was frustrated about bankruptcy, it wasn't a fatal blow.

My sister had always been like that.

Thanks to her resourcefulness, she was quick to address crises. Even if she couldn't fully overcome a disaster, she wasn't inclined to passively accept her imminent death while sitting idly.

Of course, I would have to go back to the territory to hear the story in detail.

Remembering the warning "wait and watch" written in the brief note, a bitter smile spread across my lips.

I felt ashamed of myself for being an incompetent brother to my sister.

However, Princess, who had no way of knowing the contents of the letter I received, was still hesitating.

"That... Sir Ian, do you happen to know where Irene has gone?"

I briefly stopped at the unexpected question.

No matter how much I searched my memory, I couldn't think of anyone named 'Irene'. Wondering if there had been some mistake, I asked the Princess again.

"Irene?"

"Ah! W-well, I mean the female knight who's always by my side."

The Princess seemed a little embarrassed by my puzzled expression, but she quickly added an explanation. Thanks to that, I recalled a person's figure.

A beautiful female knight with blue hair.

At first glance, she appeared to be the Princess's closest confidant, which made her inquiry about her whereabouts to me all the more puzzling. I hummed, swallowing my thoughts, and asked.

"Why are you asking me about her whereabouts...?"

At my question, the Princess looked dumbfounded for a moment before hastily sharing what she knew.

"H-Huh? Irene clearly said she went to see Sir Ian..."

It seemed that the knight named 'Irene' had come looking for me. The reason was unknown, but the only conclusion I could draw was one.

The female knight had come to see me. And I had no memory of such a meeting.

Then the answer was obvious.

Once again, I pressed my throbbing head and asked the Princess a question.

"By any chance, when was that?"

Princess looked anxious, possibly worried she had offended me. She glanced at me before answering in a timid voice.

"I-It was two days ago..."

As I thought.

I sighed again, pressing my forehead.

If it was two days ago, it was before I had fully regained consciousness.

Meaning, Dame Irene met not me, but the ‘me’ from the future.

**

Truth be told, even if Dame Irene had gone missing, there was nothing I could do.

To begin with, my memories were still lost, and there were no witnesses to the meeting between 'me' and Dame Irene. What happened then was bound to be a mystery.

So I decided to put that matter aside for now.

However, after meeting 'me', Dame Irene left a note saying she would depart on a knightly mission, so all I could do was wait for the day of our reunion.

Someday, when I see Dame Irene again, I will then hear the truth of that day.

Tomorrow was the time to return to my hometown.

As the sun began to set, I was looking for the last person I had to say goodbye to.

It was Emma from the Alchemy Department.

Thanks to Emma's potions, we managed to secure victory in the last attack. Additionally, Emma and I had grown considerably closer over the past few months, so it seemed appropriate to visit her and say our farewells before leaving.

However, a sense of unease lingered within me.

The reason I hadn't visited Emma until now stemmed from a thorn-like anxiety lodged in my heart.

Young Lady Lupesia had suggested I visit Emma.

On the day of my discharge, Emma was nowhere to be seen.

She was a kind and caring person. There was no way she wouldn't have known about her close friend's discharge date. I had naturally assumed that I would be able to say goodbye to Emma that day.

However, Emma chose not to see me.

I already knew that there must have been a significant reason for that.

It was Emma's choice, after all.

Yet, I couldn't help but worry about Emma. As kind as she was to others, she was equally strict with herself.

A single misunderstanding could lead her to blame herself endlessly.

With a somewhat anxious pace, I inquired about Emma's whereabouts. First off, Emma was not in her dormitory.

Then there was only one place she could be.

My path led me to Emma's workshop.

The research building of the Alchemy Department was still bustling with activity even though it was vacation. After all, even if they went back to their hometown, the students wouldn't be able to do anything if they didn't have access to the research facilities.

It was better to stay in the academy and continue their research.

Many of the students who remained here were probably commoners with such circumstances.

Fortunately, Emma seemed to be one of them.

A faint smell of medicine wafted from Emma's workshop. It meant that she had been working in the workshop until recently.

Yet, there was no sign of anyone inside.

But by gathering different eyewitness testimonies, it became obvious that Emma was inside the workshop.

I breathed a sigh of relief and knocked on the door of the workshop.

"Emma, it's me."

My voice rang out along with a loud knock. However, no answer came back even after waiting for a long time.

Maybe she doesn't want to see me?

My movements quickened with a slight anxiety. It didn't take long before I knocked again.

"Emma, are you okay? I thought I should at least say goodbye…"

However, no matter how many times I knocked on the door and called her name, Emma didn't respond.

For a moment, I doubted the eyewitness accounts I had heard.

Perhaps Emma had left the workshop again?

I spread mana throughout my body, sharpening my senses, and my heightened nerves illuminated the scene beyond the door all at once.

The other side was quiet. Only a faint smell of medicine wafted out, and the sound of liquid boiling could be heard.

But there wasn't much else to discern.

That is, if I hadn't reached the Expert level.

My enhanced senses finally detected the sign I was looking for.

A faint sound of breathing.

It was so faint that one could believe the workshop was empty. It wasn't the breath of a healthy person.

My mind went blank.

"...Emma? Are you alright?"

There was no change in the sound of breathing coming from the workshop.

If she didn't want to see me, my voice should have prompted some reaction. But there was no reaction from Emma.

It was as if she couldn't hear my voice.

As I came to that conclusion, my mind went blank again.

"Emma!"

I immediately kicked the door open with a mana-infused kick. There was a loud bang and the shattered fragments of the door scattered everywhere.

Hurriedly tearing open the doorframe, I stepped inside and the scene within the workshop flashed before my eyes.

Countless research documents, alchemy materials, and bubbling potions indicated that Emma's research was actively ongoing.

And among them, a woman with pale complexion and red hair lay collapsed.

Emma had fainted.

***

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