Love Letter From The Future
Chapter 409: Interlude: Gold and Silver (14)

Chapter 409: Interlude: Gold and Silver (14)

0% Celine was missing.

As soon as I heard the news, I immediately headed to my bedroom to pack my things.

The matter was that serious.

It had already been several weeks since Celine and I had parted ways. It wasn’t as if I’d forgotten about her during that time, but I hadn’t been particularly worried either.

I figured she was just immersed in her training at the academy anyway.

But now she is ‘missing’ out of the blue?

It was a fact I couldn’t readily accept.

First of all, the academy was densely populated.

Meaning, eyewitness accounts were bound to surface no matter where you went. And wasn’t Celine regarded as somewhat of a celebrity—known even as the ‘Flower of the Knight faculty’?

Plus, the academy had plenty of security personnel who patrolled regularly.

As a place where the continent’s top talents gathered, its security was naturally airtight.

Even if you wanted to leave of your own accord, your movements would be tracked throughout the academy. The possibility of a ‘disappearance’ incident occurring in such a place was exceedingly low.

That was why I couldn’t help but press Ria even as I hurried along.

“Missing? What reason would Celine have to disappear?”

“That’s why it’s called a disappearance, isn’t it! Well, actually, it’s a bit... tricky to outright call it a disappearance just yet.....”

The more I heard, the more convoluted it became.

If it was a disappearance, it was a disappearance—what are these ‘tricky aspects’ she was talking about?

Seeing my dumbfounded look, Ria hesitantly added an explanation.

“It’s just, it’s already been two days since she vanished!”

“Two days isn’t that long to be out of sight, is it? Celine’s bound to want some alone time too, no?”

My rebuttal was reasonable.

There were indeed many who preyed on women walking alone at night, but that was a concern limited to ordinary people.

Celine was a prodigy who had passed the Academy’s entrance exam.

It meant she was someone who would give even seasoned mercenaries a run for their money, let alone petty thugs roaming the night streets.

The chances of her being in danger just from walking around alone weren’t high.

If anything, I’d be more worried about some poor thugs getting hurt if they foolishly picked a fight with her.

Of course, Ria couldn’t have failed to anticipate these rebuttals.

“That’s not it. Celine Unnie has been training all day recently... But despite looking at her usual training spots, she’s nowhere to be found.”

“A knight must train not just their body, but their mind too. Maybe she picked up on some clue and left to meditate somewhere.....”

“What if the last person she met was the young lady of the Alpenhauser family?”

It was a statement that rendered all previous discussions meaningless.

I froze in my tracks and even forgot to breathe. My eyes, filled with disbelief, turned to Ria.

The Alpenhauser family.

One of the Five Great Noble Houses of the Empire—the very ones who had brought disaster upon the Haster territory.

In the Empire, the Houses with the title of ‘Great Noble’ each had a symbol attached to them.

The Yurdina of the North held military power.

The Lupermion of the east, knights.

The Findlestern of the west, information.

The Arahorn of the south, magic.

And Alpenhauser, in the Center, was believed to be gold gold.

Celine claimed that this was the reason the House of Alpenhauser plundered the House of Haster.

Specifically, it was a gold mine discovered one day in the Haster territory that set everything in motion.

Countless Noble Houses battled over that enormous stake, and in the end, the Alpenhauser emerged as the ultimate victors. They quickly controlled the routes heading toward Haster, leaving the territory in ruins.

The subsequent developments were predictable.

Baron Haster couldn’t contain his fury and collapsed, while the subjects of the Haster House were forced to toil in the mines for a pittance.

It was a tragedy far too terrible for the young and only daughter of the Haster House to bear.

From that day on, Celine swore vengeance against Alpenhauser.

Her resentment and inferiority complex towards high nobles also likely stemmed from the pain of that day.

Yet there was one question I just couldn’t let go.

“If a young lady of the Alpenhauser is involved, then which one was it? The twins? They already graduated, didn’t they?”

That’s right.

There were only those two young ladies in the Alpenhauser House.

The twin seniors who held the first and second spots in the Business Division in turn.

They were a year senior to Senior Delphine and Senior Elsie, and since the academy didn’t have a ‘repeating a year’ system, both were already graduates.

It was hard to imagine a reason for them to come all the way to the academy.

Surely, they wouldn’t have come all this way just to meet Celine.

Ria didn’t offer a proper answer to this either.

“I don’t know the specifics either. I heard they returned as visiting professors, but would people of their stature move without any purpose?”

Hmm, I hummed to myself, but nothing concrete came to mind.

It was information I couldn’t possibly know right now anyway. I decided to  stop worrying about it for the time being.

The detailed circumstances could be investigated once I returned to the Academy.

There was a more pressing matter to handle separately.

“Ria, you head to the warp gate first. I’ll go say goodbye to everyone.”

“You’re leaving right away?”

“What else can I do when Celine’s gone missing? I’ll just say a quick goodbye, so don’t worry... Oh, and what did Leto say?”

At the question I tossed out, as if it had just occurred to me, Ria fell silent for a moment.

Her golden pupils turned upwards towards the ceiling. Only after her index finger tapped her lips a couple of times did I hear something that could be called an answer.

“......He said to be careful?”

It was a phrase I had heard countless times already.

They were usually the words I heard from comrades just before stepping onto the battlefield, or from the future me.

But it was the first time Leto had said it.

I resumed walking while ignoring Ria’s following explanation.

“He said politics have emerged at the Academy.”

It meant it was time for me to face the field I was most vulnerable in.

Of course, this didn’t particularly move me in my current state of mind.

There was only one thought dominating my mind.

Celine, where did you go?

I needed to return to the academy quickly.

**

Due to my sudden decision, the attitudes of the women seeing me off were varied.

First, there were many who couldn’t follow me due to circumstances.

For example, Senior Delphine, Seria, and the Saintess.

Senior Delphine was a woman who would become the head of Yurdina. Naturally, she would only be able to return after finishing up the loose ends, and Seria’s situation was no different.

Of course, Seria showed a determination to follow me no matter what.

“I’ll return with you.”

“Seria, you still have things to handle at the frontlines......”

“That’s for Unnie to take care of.”

There was an icy coldness emanating from Seria’s voice as she said that.

At least she wasn’t calling her a ‘bitch’ anymore. This was an achievement brought about by my countless days of persuasion.

A vassal calling their lord a ‘bitch’...

It was a rumor that would negatively impact both Senior Delphine and Seria.

Preventing it in advance was the best course of action.

In the end, I decided to soothe Seria with a sigh.

As my two hands gently rested on her shoulders, Seria flinched, her eyes showing bewilderment.

“You know, Seria. Senior Delphine is precious to me.”

At my calm confession, a fierce blue flame flickered in Seria’s pupils.

I could hear the sound of teeth grinding together and her hands were already clenched into tight fists.

She displayed a terrifying intensity.

As if she had transformed into a different person in an instant.

However, it was a reaction I had anticipated.

While maintaining my composure, I calmly reasoned with Seria.

“And you are just as precious to me. I know it’s selfish of me, but I don’t want you two to fight.”

“ But......”

“I won’t abandon either of you.”

It was an incredibly audacious thing to say.

To say I would take both sisters—if Marquis Yurdina were to witness this scene, he might clutch his nape and collapse.

But what else could I do?

This too was the price he had to pay for joining hands with the Dark Order.

All their family discord stemmed from that.

I spoke while deliberately ignoring the voice of my conscience

“At least until I become free from my duties... Seria, could you please bear with it until then?”

It was a cowardly request.

But Seria had no choice. She was a woman who had said that life itself was meaningless without me.

If I said I wouldn’t abandon either of them, she had no choice but to follow my will.

But she was a more resilient woman than I thought.

“.....Fine.”

Seria said to me with a chilling smile.

“I’ll show you. How useless that bitch is... Her only redeeming qualities as a female are her pretty face and body, right? I’ll prove it. While Senior Ian is indecisive.”

It wasn’t the answer I had hoped for, but at least she understood what I was saying, which was a relief.

I nodded while swallowing the sigh that was about to escape.

At least I felt somewhat relieved.

It seemed that the conflict between Senior Delphine and Seria wouldn’t escalate to the extremes... hopefully.

Just as I was about to leave to continue my goodbyes again, a voice stopped me in my tracks.

“U-Um... Senior Ian!”

I turned around with a questioning look.

Seria was hesitating, clearly flustered. The murderous aura from just moments ago was nowhere to be found.

It didn’t take long for the girl’s face to flush crimson and for her to bow deeply.

“C-Clothes! Could you possibly... give me one of your outfits!”

As I was dumbfounded by this unexpected request, Seria muttered with her ears bright red.

“T-The longer the waiting time, the harder it gets! F-for work effic... um, efficiency, wouldn’t it be n-necessary?!”

I silently looked around Seria’s bedroom.

It was still the same.

Dolls resembling me and items related to me were displayed everywhere.

In the end, I had to take off my coat while pretending it was no big deal.

It was an embarrassing thing to do, but it was a necessary sacrifice.

Because my beloved junior wore a happy smile all over her face.

For Seria’s sake, I could be embarrassed as much as needed.

There was also another woman who insisted on following me.

It was the Saintess.

Even though there were countless people in need of immediate healing, she stubbornly insisted on following me.

Still, she was the Saintess.

No matter how much she wanted to follow me, she couldn’t just leave the groaning patients behind.

She said with a resigned expression.

“......I’ll wrap things up and follow you within a week.”

“Yes, I’ll be counting on you.”

I gave an awkward smile looking at the dejected Saintess.

I wouldn’t have known before, but now, having experienced women a few times, I could tell.

The Saintess harbored affection for me.

She was someone who would allow reasonable physical intimacy. I had to assume her heart had already fallen.

That’s why my head was even more complicated.

I would have to tell her someday.

About my entangled relationships with Senior Delphine, Seria, and even Emma.

But for now, it was something I couldn’t even begin to consider, so I decided to put it off for later.

That hardship could be put off to future me.

The women I met after that didn’t require any special persuasion.

Senior Elsie and the Princess said they would follow me, and Senior Neris had to carry out her duties as an intelligence agent anyway.

However, Senior Delphine only left behind some cryptic words.

“It’s already started, huh.”

“.......Pardon?”

I could only return a dumbfounded response at her sudden remark.

Regardless, Senior Delphine just rested her chin on her hand with bored eyes.

“It’s nothing more than a farce regarding the next throne. The House of Yurdina has only one legitimate child—me—so it doesn’t really matter, but the other Five Noble Houses pit their heirs against each other. Whom they choose to side with among the imperial succession contenders... and ultimately, who becomes the next emperor will determine the next head of the house.”

“Could the Alpenhauser twins be involved in that too?”

“Absolutely.”

Senior Delphine, who was facing me in armor after a long time, spoke in a rather serious tone.

“For your information, the Alpenhauser twins are on Princess Iris’s side. I don’t know what purpose they returned to the academy for, but... Be careful, dear husband.”

After that, it was as usual.

After kissing Senior Delphine and intertwining our tongues, I savored a fleeting moment of ecstasy before leaving the office.

On the way to the warp gate afterwards.

I was walking hand in hand with Emma.

Her face had long since turned bright red.

I-Ian... You don’t have to do this. It’s too embarrassing.......”

“No, I have to. You still have some lingering effects from your illness, don’t you?”

It was a somewhat exaggerated remark, but I was sincere.

The scene from that day was still nailed into my mind like a spike.

The woman in the intensive care unit, breathing faintly with a pale face.

Maybe that was why, but I was particularly sensitive to Emma’s health issues.

Just like right now.

“Once we arrive at the academy, get plenty of rest. Don’t worry about your luggage. I can bring it myself or send someone. Or maybe hire a separate caregiver.....”

Each time my unnecessary worries continued to ramble on, Emma’s gaze lowered further and further.

Of course, I didn’t notice this.

I didn’t realize what was happening behind my back.

I could only vaguely sense it.

The fact that Senior Elsie, whispering with the Princess, was giving some strange looks to Emma and me.

On the day I returned to the academy, a bomb was placed between us.

Senior Elsie continued to stare at Emma even after that.

Continuously, all the way back.