Isn't That Why You Came to Me?

• Published: 4 weeks ago •

Central Police Chief Byorn’s death.

Through Lang Ei, I took control of the Central Police.

First, I installed an acting chief while I overhauled personnel.

I rooted out the corrupt and promoted the young and ambitious.

The sudden reorganization drew complaints both inside and out, but the true cause of Byorn’s death spread quietly through internal channels.

He’d been caught trying to misappropriate evidence and paid for it.

Public complaints were impossible.

The reform proceeded smoothly.

What remained was the capital’s Imperial Military — the Central Army.

Once I secured the Central Army, the threat of a coup would drop dramatically.

And I could do whatever I wanted with military matters in the capital.

These moves were drawing attention from the capital’s various factions.

A troublemaker young master from the north, they said.

And I was napping.

On the terrace at Welling Manor, dozing in a rocking chair while soaking in the sun.

A weekday afternoon nap while everyone else worked themselves ragged!

Roderic and Alicia handled the noble-side duties in my place, and the others worked without rest too.

But I got to play!

Wahoo~!

“Sleeping again……”

A voice reached me.

Actually, I’d been half-awake since I heard the footsteps.

I slept quickly and woke at the slightest sound from my long battlefield years.

But this careful approach was Amelia — no need to get up.

“Mmm.”

And yet for some reason, Amelia stood there waiting.

When I opened my eyes, Amelia stood with her hands folded neatly in front of her and spoke gently.

“Young Master Rigen, you have a guest.”

“Tell them to wait, Mom.”

Still drowsy, I pulled Amelia toward me.

Burying my face in Amelia’s arms felt like pressing my cheek against blankets dried warm in the sun.

Cozy.

Amelia patted my back.

“She’s already waiting. You should get up. If you keep sleeping you’ll have trouble tonight.”

“Who is it?”

Who was important enough to wake me?

“Miss Kalbina has arrived.”

“Ah.”

The Imperial Military’s envoy, and Rigen’s older sister.

I had to get up.

But I didn’t release Amelia.

“Are you tired?”

“……Yeah, I am.”

My children were the light of my life. I just had to love them with everything I had.

My wives, on the other hand, had been the shadows.

Facing them meant a tangle of emotions I couldn’t avoid.

“Then rest a bit more.”

Amelia asked nothing and simply embraced me with both arms.

Still drowsy, I asked,

“Aren’t you going to say ‘what if someone sees’?”

“You’re more important to me than anyone seeing.”

Amelia smiled as she said it.

A simple statement, but it struck deep.

Deep enough to wake me completely.

“Right, let’s go.”

I rose from my seat.

Welling Manor.

Amelia guided me to the reception room, and I heard snoring.

A black-haired woman lay sideways on the sofa, asleep.

An Imperial Military officer’s white jacket rested on her shoulders.

So this unfamiliar woman was Kalbina……

Amelia looked troubled, but I signaled with my eyes for her to withdraw.

Snatch.

Suddenly the sleeping woman moved fast and caught Amelia’s hand, then pulled her into her arms.

The skill with which she reeled her in like a vacuum cleaner was impressive.

“Kyaaah!”

Startled, Amelia reflexively swung her elbow.

Amelia might look like just a maid, but she was a beastwoman — quick and strong.

But the woman blocked the elbow with her palm and leaned back, deflecting it completely.

Thanks to that, Amelia lost control of her own attack momentum and collapsed.

“Ameliaaaaa.”

The woman sitting on the sofa pulled Amelia into an embrace from behind and rubbed her head against her.

Amelia flushed with anger.

“Miss! I asked you not to startle people like that! Why do you keep teasing me?”

“But! This is the only way! Amelia pays attention to me, right? What color garter belt today?”

“What…… D-don’t!”

When the woman actually tried to lift the skirt, Amelia jumped in horror and pressed her thighs together.

The woman slid her hands along Amelia’s thighs with a swoosh, swoosh.

“Amelia’s thighs are sooooo smooth. How can someone stay this firm for over twenty years?”

“Miss Kalbina! The young master is watching!”

“Hmph, let him be jealous! We’re both women, so it’s fine!”

The woman — Kalbina — stuck her tongue out at me.

I said, incredulous,

“No, sexual harassment still applies between the same gender. And you’re exploiting the fact that Amelia’s a maid.”

“Fufufu, you talk smoothly, but your body’s honest, little brother. You’re jealous, aren’t you? Jealous? You’re jealous that I’m a woman and can have all this skinship with Amelia!”

“You just admitted to exploitation yourself.”

Amelia slapped Kalbina’s thigh with her palm.

“Kyahaaang.”

“Miss, please let go.”

When Kalbina obediently released her, Amelia stood.

Amelia straightened her appearance and scolded sternly.

“You’re serving in the military, yet you come without any business. Also, Young Master Rigen is working tirelessly for the nation right now — if you have business, state it properly.”

“Mm, should I?”

Kalbina stood and extended her hand toward me.

“Long time no see, Rigen. I didn’t know you’d grow this much in just a few years.”

“I didn’t know I’d turn out like this either.”

I shook her hand back…… and suddenly Kalbina grinned mischievously and gripped hard.

I also put strength in my hand, and Kalbina calmly tried to step on my toes.

So I yanked my hand back sharply and pulled Kalbina toward me, nullifying the attack.

Kalbina came close, and I lightly embraced then released her.

As if I’d intended a hug from the start.

“Ohoh?”

Kalbina smiled and suddenly drew her sword — without pulling it from the scabbard — and swung.

A sharp attack.

I pushed my own knee up and struck Kalbina’s knee to counter.

The unexpected impact shook Kalbina’s fingertips, and I easily dodged while catching her.

“Hmmmm……”

Kalbina leaned back as if falling, and I caught her wrist and looked down at her.

Like we were dancing a tango.

Kalbina looked up at me with red eyes and grinned.

“Passed! Amazing, right?”

“You too, sis.”

Just from that light exchange, I could tell.

Kalbina’s swordsmanship and movements were extraordinary.

“Hahaha.”

Kalbina laughed heartily and sat down.

I sat across from her.

While the two of us tested each other, Amelia had retreated with a vase and now brought tea.

I started with small talk.

“Did you meet Brother Roderic?”

“Nope, he wasn’t around. Good thing too — if I’d run into him, he’d just nag about my outfit, why I pierced my ears, stop wrinkling your shirt, all that.”

She pouted, but they probably weren’t actually on bad terms.

Kalbina suddenly made a serious face.

“But why is Amelia so cute. It’s an imperial mystery.”

“Right? I’m seriously troubled by it too.”

“I’ve wanted to be a woman like Amelia since I was little. Brother Roderic just said it was impossible, but I wanted to wear a maid outfit like Amelia, walk modestly and gracefully, clean and do laundry, and bring back deer and rabbits without breaking a sweat.”

“You only succeeded at hunting.”

“……Are you both mocking me right now?”

Amelia bristled.

We both turned to look at her simultaneously and nodded solemnly.

“Coming home after so long — how could I not tease Amelia! I’m sorry, I can’t stop myself, Mom!”

“Don’t call Amelia mom. That’s something only I can do in this world.”

“You were born a bit late and now you’re trying to steal my mom? As the eldest daughter, I can’t forgive this!”

“Mom is reserved for the youngest by imperial law.”

“……I’m not your mom!”

When Amelia got angry, we both fell silent.

Ah, this is fun?

Kalbina was playful yet straightforward in her behavior.

And the moment I saw her, a strange sense of intimacy welled up in my chest…… she was quite likable.

She took jokes well too.

Kalbina grinned.

“You fight well and your personality’s gotten much brighter. I like it a lot, so I’ll just ask directly. Want to become emperor?”

“No.”

I answered reflexively to the sudden question.

……Wait, no, I did plan to stabilize the empire.

“I intend to resolve the current chaos and handle my personal matters. Even if the result puts me on the throne, that doesn’t mean I’m doing this to become emperor.”

“Political rhetoric?”

“My honest feelings right now.”

Kalbina looked at me with red eyes, then laughed with her shoulders shaking.

“I was worried when I heard rumors that Rigen Librata was a crazy ambitious lunatic, but I’m relieved.”

“Why would they spread such slander?”

“You’ve been at the scene of every incident, haven’t you? This time you teamed up with Empress Lang Ei and purged the Central Police Chief, right?”

“……Didn’t we already provide information about that?”

Kalbina nodded.

“Yeah, I already heard. But you’ve been clashing with every imperial problem up to now. You skewered the Noble Assembly with Marquis Crocell, shook up the Railway Military Police with the Imperial Railway terrorism, crushed one of the twelve houses with Luke Kedrik, and now you’ve cleaned up the Central Police. Can you believe this all happened in under two months?”

“Were you worried your little brother had gone bad?”

“I haven’t seen you in a long time, so I was anxious. Brother Roderic changed drastically at one point too.”

Kalbina shook her head.

“But it seems okay now, so that’s a relief. Most importantly, we have Amelia.”

“Right. We have Amelia.”

I nodded vigorously.

Amelia silently glared at both of us.

Kalbina ignored it and spoke seriously.

“Yeah, when Amelia scolds us that cutely, how could anyone possibly turn out crooked? Now that I’m saying it out loud… I think I want to marry Amelia!”

“I’m enduring it right now, so please show some restraint. So how are things inside the Imperial Military?”

“Pretty bad.”

Kalbina stated flatly.

“Well, you know the general situation, right? We figured out the bombs leaked…… just what we’ve confirmed so far is a massive amount.”

“How much?”

“Over fifty explosive shells alone. We’re still counting the fragmentation shells, but at least as many as the explosive shells.”

“……”

One explosive shell had obliterated an entire train car.

I stroked my chin and did the math.

“That much went missing and they didn’t notice?”

“I’m dumbfounded too. Of course there’s an uproar. But what’s even more shocking — we can’t investigate it now.”

“Why not?”

“House Sagittari is involved. The Hundred Swords Commander who managed the Central Army’s supplies at the time was from House Sagittari.”

Sagittari, one of the twelve houses.

Kalbina explained.

“You know Sagittari ranks around fifth among the twelve, right? They have tremendous social influence, including in the Noble Assembly. Most importantly, they have many relatives stationed throughout the Imperial Military.”

“So even though you’re certain it’s Sagittari’s mistake, you can’t investigate openly?”

“Well, Kedrik was a different scale. Plus the Round Table is right around the corner, isn’t it?”

Kalbina scratched her chin.

“Even if we investigate, let’s do it after the Round Table — if we go in now, the Imperial Military might be misunderstood as making political moves. That opinion is mainstream.”

“What’s your opinion, sis?”

“Total nonsense. We don’t know when or where the explosive shells will detonate. This is absolutely not the time to worry about the Imperial Military’s reputation.”

Kalbina shrugged.

“But my opinion is a minority. Most want to cover it up and wait. Many are defending Sagittari saying they couldn’t have done it on purpose.”