Bonus Short Stories
The Red-Headed Guest
Felmenia was now quite used to hearing the doorbell at the modern-day Yakagi estate and knew exactly what it meant.
“Coming!”
She quickly headed over to the front entrance to receive the visitor and found a young man standing just on the other side of the door. He was casually dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, but had long, red hair and such beautiful features that he could easily be mistaken for a woman at a glance. What stood out the most, however, was the eyepatch that covered about a third of his face. It was perhaps more appropriate to call it a mask. Felmenia thought he was their only visitor at first, but upon taking a closer look, she spotted a girl with black hair standing behind him, practically nestled within his shadow.
The young man with the eyepatch took a look at Felmenia and raised a puzzled eyebrow. He then articulated his confusion in perfectly fluent Japanese.
“I dropped by because I heard Suimei had returned, but... Hmm...”
“Suimei-dono is indeed here, but...”
“What’s up, Felmenia-san?”
All of a sudden, Hydemary popped up from behind Felmenia. The visitor seemed to recognize her.
“Hydemary? Long time no see.”
“Oh, hello, Your Highness.”
Hydemary greeted him in her usual flat tone, and he gave a friendly nod in return.
“You know this man, Mary-dono?” Felmenia asked curiously.
“Mm,” Hydemary replied nonchalantly. “He’s a fan of Suimei-kun’s.”
“He’s... what?”
“Pardon, but I’ll have to correct you there,” the young man interjected.
“Oh yeah?” Hydemary asked, her head cutely cocked to the side.
“I’m not just any fan—I’m a huge fan.”
The young man sounded quite ridiculous, but he was nodding in a most earnest fashion. Felmenia then opened with a polite introduction, and the young man responded in kind.
“I’m Riselette.”
“Pardon me... but is that not a woman’s name?”
“Haha, I get that a lot. But I assure you that I’m a man.”
The young man with the eyepatch—Riselette, apparently—let out a merry laugh. Felmenia was charmed by his sociability, and she smiled as she opened the door for him.
“Now, we can’t have visitors standing around at the door. Do come in.”
“I don’t really mind chatting right here.”
“Nuh-uh. You’re a guest, after all, and guests need to be treated properly.”
Just like that, Hydemary jumped in and forcibly ushered Riselette and his female companion into the house like it was her own. When they arrived in the living room where Lefille and Liliana were sitting, Riselette took another look at Felmenia and burst into a hearty laugh.
“What can I say? The atmosphere here is wonderful. It’s nothing but women.”
“I know, right? Seriously...”
Hydemary huffed and pouted in irritation, leading Riselette into more cheerful laughter. And perhaps drawn by the sound of it, Suimei finally came downstairs.
“Oh, Your Highness... My apologies for being so out of touch. Did you come all the way here just to see me?”
“I got your letter from the courier and all, so I decided to swing by and get a look at your mug. I’m glad to find you in good spirits.”
“Likewise,” Suimei replied politely before turning to the maid accompanying Riselette. “It’s good to see you too, dame.”
“Of course, Suimei-sama. It has been quite some time.”
Suimei then returned his attention to Riselette and asked, “But how are things at home? It isn’t over yet, right?”
“The battle lines aren’t moving much. Besides, things will work out one way or another even without me there.”
“Is that really how it works...?”
As their little insider exchange wrapped up, Suimei realized that Riselette was looking at him with expectant eyes, eagerly awaiting an introduction.
“Everyone, meet His Highness. He’s the head of state of a nation that’s kinda in the middle of a big war.”
This information brought a furrow to Lefille’s brow.
“That was an extremely casual and disturbing introduction... But a war? I feel sorry for his opponents.”
“Oh, you can tell, Lefi? That’s amazing.”
Lefille had indeed perceived Riselette’s true nature, but she wasn’t the only one in the middle of some insightful observation.
“So, Suimei, you got caught up in some trouble again and ended up bringing home these ladies. Does that about sum things up?” Riselette asked.
“A splendid... deduction. I give it... full marks.”
“I am a big fan, you know. Guessing that much was nothing.”
“...Now it just sounds like you’re making fun of me.”
“That’s just... your imagination.”
“Yup, just your imagination.”
After his jovial exchange with Liliana, Riselette did a complete one-eighty and began speaking in a rather serious tone.
“I must say, Suimei, you spent a rather long time wrapped up in this particular incident. Especially by your standards. Did it really give you that much trouble?”
“Sorta kinda.”
“Don’t be afraid to speak up. I’m always willing to lend a hand if you need it.”
“Well, I’m sure I’d be able to resolve things quicker with your assistance, but...”
Suimei found it hard to say any more than that, but Riselette was able to guess where this was going.
“You want to resolve it on your own... Really, I suppose there’s a lot you’d like to settle yourself.”
“That’s about the gist of it,” Suimei replied before clapping his hands together like he’d suddenly remembered something. “Oh yeah! Hey, Your Highness, does the name Sir Ryzeia ring a bell?”
Riselette pensively looked up at the ceiling. He closed his eyes in thought before slowly opening them again.
“...I believe that name appears in the ancient registers. Sir Ryzeia was one of my nation’s knights. That was quite some time ago, though.”
“Yeah, I kinda had a feeling that was the case...”
“Has something happened?”
“A friend of mine has inherited Sir Ryzeia’s Sacrament.”
“I see... Karma runs quite deeply, doesn’t it?” Riselette muttered with both an air of sympathy and pity.
Following that, the group continued to chat about the current state of things for a bit longer. But before taking his leave, Riselette had a few parting words of advice.
“Pass this along to your friend, Suimei. The voice he’s hearing is the desire lurking deep within him. Giving in to it entirely will lead him to ruin. In no way is everything it says the truth.”
And with those weighty words, Riselette excused himself from the house.
“He’s really leaving so soon?” Felmenia asked.
“He’s a pretty busy guy, after all,” Suimei replied.
“The fact that he visited... despite being so busy... means he really must... regard you highly.”
“I guess you could say we get along pretty well.”
“You mean he rubs your back, and you rub his?” Lefille piped up.
“Something like that.”
“He’s a nice guy. He even helped me look for Suimei-kun,” Hydemary added.
“Ahaha... I guess I’ll have to take some cake over to the Kingdom after this is all said and done.”
“But this Riselette... He’s an extraordinary figure in this world, isn’t he, Suimei-kun?”
“What, His Highness? He just might be the strongest living being in the entire world.”
“The strongest...”
“In the...”
“Entire world?”
“Yeah, probably.”
Or so Suimei casually declared.
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