Yuder saw the faces of Kanna and Gakein overlap with Edin’s. The way they’d looked at him with worry after realizing an unexpected truth was exactly the same as how Edin looked now.

“Come to think of it... unlike Kanna or Gakein, Edin was definitely someone who knew my scandal in my past life. Is it really possible for someone’s reaction to change this much?”

Back then, Edin hadn’t openly picked a fight with Yuder, but that didn’t mean he’d ever been friendly either. Which made this current situation feel all the more strange.

He wasn’t especially close with Yuder like Kanna or Gakein, but still, he was worrying about Yuder more than Kishiar and saying he wouldn’t speak of what he’d found out. Where had that kind of mindset grown from?

Yuder stared at Edin’s flushed face for a moment, then opened his mouth.

“You can talk about it if you want.”

“Huh?”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to keep it a secret.”

He meant it. Ever since that day in the West, when he’d decided to share the scandal with Kishiar, that relationship had long ceased to be an embarrassing secret to Yuder Aile.

But Edin blinked in surprise, and a moment later, his expression turned sullen.

“...Is it because you don’t trust me?”

“If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have answered your question at all. Or I’d have denied it. I meant it literally—you don’t have to strain yourself.”

Keeping a secret was hard. Even if you kept your mouth shut, it could still show in your behavior and cause misunderstandings. And even if that didn’t happen, the mere act of hiding something could make someone suffer terribly. Why bother struggling with something unnecessary?

“I should have said this to Kanna and Gakein too.”

While Yuder was thinking that, Edin said something completely unexpected.

“If you’re saying that because you think I’ll have a hard time, then thanks—but I’ll say no.”

“...What?”

“Yuder. You’re the strongest out of all us first-generation members. Sometimes I seriously wondered if you were lying about your age. But you know, you’re only the same age as my youngest brother.”

Yuder slowly blinked. In truth, he had memories up to the age of thirty-one, so strictly speaking, he was older than Edin. But even aside from that, he’d never really thought the other members—aside from Steber—were much younger than him. If anything, he thought of them as young Awakeners he needed to protect. So those words felt strangely unfamiliar and disorienting.

Not knowing what Yuder was thinking, Edin spoke with a resolute expression.

“If my baby brother was in some kind of... relationship like that with a member of the royal family, I’d absolutely worry about him as his brother! Even if the person involved was a great one. Because people aren’t just what they seem in public! Folks like us, born as commoners, we could get thrown off a cliff at any moment!”

He stopped mid-sentence and flinched, suddenly realizing what he was saying, then quickly added, “Not that I think you’re going to be like that, of course!”

“So what I mean is...”

Edin clenched his fists and shouted.

“Anyway, I just want things to go well for you, and I want to help! How could I not worry about someone who acts like this situation isn’t terrifying and says it’s fine not to keep it a secret? So even if you say it’s okay—I say no!”

Yuder stared silently at Edin.

“...If I told you I’m actually older than you and already know everything—would you still have come?”

“What? So you were lying about your age?! ...Just kidding. Even if that were true... hmm. Yeah, I think I still would’ve come to say what I did.”

“Why?”

He knew it was unlike him to press, but he really wanted to know—what made the difference between Edin in this life and Edin in the last?

Edin crossed his arms and kicked the dirt with the tip of his boot, face thoughtful. After a moment of silence, he began to speak.

“Back when I first joined the Cavalry... to be honest, I thought you were kind of arrogant, and it made it hard to get close.”

“......”

“But do you remember? Early on, you gave advice to everyone in the Cavalry to help us improve our abilities. I honestly thought you’d only do that kind of thing for your friends, but... you really just helped anyone who asked. Even the ones who were too embarrassed or prideful to ask directly—you made custom training menus for them too.”

Yeah. He had done that. He’d thought that improving the Cavalry as a whole would benefit the future.

Edin gave a sheepish smile.

“I realized then that I’d totally misunderstood you, and I felt ashamed. You were genuinely devoted to training and the Cavalry... and I’d never even worked half as hard as you, but I still felt inferior for no reason.”

“......”

“My ability improved this much because of you. And now, you’ve even helped out our whole branch. So you’re my benefactor... and people don’t do things that might put their benefactor in danger. Not if they’re decent human beings.”

“......”

“That’s all. I never really thanked you properly until now, so... I just want to at least worry for you, and keep quiet to help. That’s not a bad thing, right?”

Yuder felt like he finally had the answer to the question he’d been wondering about.

In the end, everything had started from his own small changes.

He looked at the flustered Edin and spoke.

“...Alright. If that’s what you want, then go ahead. But don’t overextend yourself trying to help me in situations where there’s no need to keep it secret.”

Edin’s head shot up. As Yuder mounted his horse, he added one last thing.

“That might have been the most helpful thing you’ve said so far. Thank you.”

“Eh?! W-What?!”

Without hesitation, Yuder pulled the reins. The well-trained horse surged forward. Behind him, Edin shouted something with his face flushed bright red.

“If you ever do need help, you better remember what I said! Don’t forget!”

On the way back to Peleta Castle, Yuder felt lighter than he had in a long time. It was like someone had affirmed he wasn’t straying off his path, that he was heading exactly where he needed to go.

“But setting aside this good feeling... I really do need to think about how to let people know about my relationship with Kishiar.”

Waiting to greet the pensive Yuder was none other than the ever-smiling Weliven, the Knight Commander.

“Welcome back, Baron Aile. Did everything go well at the branch?”

“Yes. But what brings you all the way out here?”

At this hour, Weliven should’ve been working inside the Peleta Cavalry headquarters—not loitering near the castle stables. So Yuder asked. But Weliven simply grinned even wider, as if he’d been waiting for that very question.

“I figured you’d be returning around now, so I waited.”

“Do you have some business with me?”

“I heard you’ll finally be taking a proper vacation starting tomorrow. So if you wouldn’t mind... could I ask you to offer a bit of instruction to the lazy fools of our Cavalry before you go?”

Ah.

Yuder remembered he’d had a similar conversation with Weliven before. The older knight’s eyes sparkled as he continued, speaking with a hint of caution.

“Of course, if you’re busy, we can always hope for next time... but, well, if you’re even slightly open to the idea...”

He said it like it was no big deal—but the fact that he was waiting out here alone made it clear this was no minor favor. He’d probably gone out of his way to make sure he could meet Yuder before he left. The image of the persistent old knight reminded Yuder of something Nathan Zuckerman had said.

“He can be a bit relentless... try not to always give in.”

But Yuder liked people like that. Being relentless meant they had passion. A commander who cared enough about his knights to shamelessly chase after improvement—such people were rare and precious in today’s Orr Empire.

“Alright. Can we do it now?”

“Oh! Perfect. I already had everything prepared—Baron, you only need to show up.”

Weliven laughed heartily, clearly delighted. Yuder followed him to the training grounds used by the Peleta Cavalry.

As Weliven said, nearly all the knights ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) were already there, training.

“I’ve only come here once with Kishiar, when no one else was around... This is the first time I’ve come while everyone’s actually training.”

“Baron Aile has arrived! Everyone, assemble!”