Don Quixote's Reverie (1)
“Once she graduates from the academy, I was thinking it might be about time to arrange an engagement for our Ranne... What do you think?”
Calax dropped that bomb out of nowhere.
Immediately after, the dinner table, which had been noisy with chatter, fell abruptly silent.
““......””
Cold.
A dagger flew in and lodged itself in my chest.
The children who had been chatting among themselves also stopped talking and looked this way.
Confusion, or shock.
The count, whether he cared or not, simply smiled boldly.
“Father! Wh-what do you mean by that all of a sudden...!”
Only Ranne’s flustered cry rang out at the table.
Her violet eyes trembled, and her cheeks were faintly flushed.
Her voice failed to crack the silence, becoming a short echo before fading away.
The guests at the table held their breath, fidgeting only with the utensils clutched tightly in their hands.
‘What...?’
A strange tension hung over the room.
Everyone was watching the mood, yet somehow they all looked anxious.
That atmosphere only faded when Calax opened his mouth again.
The man laughed heartily.
“Wahaha! Don’t be so startled! I wasn’t asking with any strange meaning behind it.”
“Is that so...?”
“Of course! I merely thought that since Ranne is reaching marriageable age, there might be a suitable match somewhere. As it happens, aren’t you the only male student at this table? Living at the academy, you must have gotten acquainted with all sorts of noble children, so I wondered if there was anyone decent among them.”
“Ah, I understand.”
In short, he was asking if I knew any decent guys.
He was not asking for my opinion. He wanted information from me.
‘The problem is that he specifically asked me...’
Well, it was understandable enough.
I was the only male student here.
At the same time, I was close friends with Ranne.
He could have asked the others too, but men were still better at judging other men.
‘So he was asking if any students stood out to me...’
I nearly had some weird misunderstanding.
I calmed my startled heart and replied.
“I understand.”
“Mm, mm! How does it look to you? Has anyone stood out at the academy lately?”
“There hasn’t been such a student yet... but if you are fine with it, Count, I will look into it separately.”
“True, I suppose she has only just finished the School Trip in the first semester of first year! It seems I got ahead of myself for no reason.”
Calax nodded at my words.
His hand stroked down his beard.
Around his mouth hung a strangely amused smile.
“But... how odd. From what I heard, an unprecedented first-year cadet has appeared.”
“Pardon?”
“Not even half a year has passed since enrollment, yet this person has supposedly been breaking academy records one after another. Born a commoner, entered as Class E’s top student, then became the overall top first-year in just a few months. Overwhelmed the eldest daughter of House Glacia, who was called the greatest genius of this generation. Arrested a faculty member colluding with the Cultists. Encountered an Apostle of the Evil God during practical training and still returned alive. A few weeks ago, this person even became the Direct Aide of Chief Investigator Javert, who is said to be the academy’s de facto second-in-command.”
“......”
No.
Um.
That was.
‘......Listing it all out really does make it sound completely ridiculous.’
Fuck. Your mom.
Your mom, past me.
(It’s fine to curse, since I never had one.)
“There are also rumors that once this person graduates, the Imperial Knights will make a direct scouting offer. That is a special exception there have only been a few of since the knights were founded. In such a case, they say this person would receive a knightly position and a noble surname right away. Goodness, don’t you think this fits the conditions perfectly? I even had a conversation with this person once, and despite appearances, this person was quite personable...”
“......”
“I simply heard such a person existed.”
“......”
Cold.
A dagger flew in and lodged itself in my chest.
That gentleman already knew I was the subject of the rumor.
The way he lifted me up and dropped me again, as if deliberately testing me, was no ordinary skill.
“......”
“Wahaha! It was a joke, a joke! Did I not say I wasn’t talking with that meaning?”
When I stayed silent, the count burst into laughter again.
He patted my back with loud thumps as he spoke.
“Do not misunderstand! As I said earlier, I only want to hear your opinion!”
“......Understood. Once we return, I will look into the other students as well.”
“Well... It would be even better if there were no need to look and it was you.”
“Pardon?”
“Haha! Nothing at all!”
Calax muttered under his breath, then guffawed and said it was nothing.
I nodded, though I felt uneasy.
The conversation came to an awkward end for now.
The children, who had been steeped in that strange anxiety, also moved their stalled utensils and continued eating.
Of course, the air of the conversation and a few small details still creaked a little.
‘A marriage partner... huh.’
I chewed over those words.
As someone who only knew the original, this was something I had never thought about.
That was because the game had no romantic lines between characters whatsoever.
The production company had even nailed it down and said there would be none.
‘......Well, reality would be different.’
Part of me found it rather unexpected.
Wasn’t it standard for parents to blast a shotgun before they ever tried finding a marriage partner for their daughter, refusing to hand her over to anyone?
‘Especially the dad, from what I heard.’
Since this was a medieval setting, maybe the sensibilities were different from the modern day.
What?
Medieval or whatever, how would someone like me, who had never had a girlfriend in my life, let alone a mom or dad, know about that kind of sensibility? Wasn’t I making weird guesses from knowledge I learned through subculture fanservice content and Korean romance melodramas?
......Your mom.
(By which I mean Ranne & Grandia Academy: The Märchen.)
I organized my complicated thoughts.
As I moved my utensils, I quietly shifted my eyes and looked at Ranne.
“......”
Her cheeks had settled down quite a bit, but they were still dyed pale red.
As if watching the mood, she awkwardly cut her meat.
Maybe even for her, this kind of conversation was not easy.
Watching the silent girl, I finished the precarious dinner.
***
Afterward, night fell, and the sun had sunk beyond the horizon.
It was the hour before dawn, when everyone was asleep.
I had been given one of the empty guest rooms and was lying on the bed.
After arriving at Kihano County, time had truly shot like an arrow and buried itself in the target.
“......”
I lay awake, staring up at the ceiling.
For some reason, falling asleep was not easy.
Unlike my tired body, my consciousness was bright and clear.
‘I can’t sleep.’
Rustle, rustle.
I tossed and turned on the blanket again and again.
In the end, I sat up.
Since I could not sleep anyway, I thought I might take a brief night walk.
Lua and Carmilla were also lying on the bed, but they were sleeping so deeply that I felt bad waking them.
I moved carefully so I would not wake the two of them.
‘Cold...’
I went out into the estate garden and stepped onto the softly piled snow.
The biting cold gnawed little by little at my fingertips.
Whoooosh.
A lightly blowing cold wind tousled my hair.
Amid that cool hum, white footprints crossed the garden.
A long plume of breath bloomed with each exhale, and the white blossoms scattered like flower petals.
“Haa...”
My body grew cold, but the feeling was not bad.
I was slowly circling the garden like that when,
“Oh.”
In the middle of the snow-blossomed scenery, a familiar figure appeared.
Brilliantly flowing blond hair, and violet eyes that softly held the night.
The girl stood as part of winter.
“Miss Ranne?”
“......Ah, Sir Viktor.”
Ranne had been looking up at the night sky.
Only after I approached close by did she turn this way.
I had no idea how long she had been lost in thought, but it seemed she had not even heard my approaching footsteps.
“What brings you to the garden in the middle of the night?”
“I couldn’t sleep, you see. I came out to get some air for a moment.”
“Mm! Same as me, then! In that case, would you like to walk together for a bit?”
“It would be my honor.”
We walked side by side.
Was it just my imagination?
The calm, gloom, and reflection I had sensed from her until just before.
The things that had briefly overlaid Ranne vanished in an instant.
As if nothing had happened, she smiled brightly and returned to her usual cheerful self.
“Perhaps because it is winter, this feels warm by northern standards! Perfect weather to enjoy a walk!”
“Warm? Do you mean this cutting wind...?”
“By northern standards, it is plenty warm!”
An innocent smile.
The girl opened her mouth as if searching for a topic.
“Um... Sir Viktor.”
“Yes, Miss Ranne.”
“I am sorry about earlier. That is, my father...”
“It is all right. It was not particularly burdensome or anything.”
“If so, that is a relief.”
Ranne nodded as if relieved.
I glanced at the blond girl.
The atmosphere was strangely awkward.
If it were the usual Ranne, she would have spoken boldly, like, “Mm! I am sorry about earlier!”
For some reason, her voice had lacked strength since earlier.
It felt like she was tired somehow.
‘As expected... she probably wasn’t out here in the middle of the night for no reason.’
This was a scene that often appeared in the original.
A girl staring at the empty night sky.
Ranne’s small habit.
Whenever her worries or unease deepened, she would look up at the night sky no matter where she was.
In the original, it was described as her counting the stars, the beings who had given her a [Blessing].
As if she were waiting to receive an answer from them.
“The sky is clear today, so the stars seem especially visible! As if they might pour down over our heads at any moment...”
“That’s true. So this is what the northern night sky looks like.”
“Yes! Before leaving my family home, I used to look at the night sky here every day!”
“Every day... you say.”
A cheerful confession.
A meaning only the girl and I understood.
‘Now that I think about it... she’s been spacing out often lately.’
Ranne sometimes grew quiet even normally.
After the recent School Trip, I felt like the frequency had increased.
Was her looking up at the night sky tonight an extension of that?
“Mm! Looking at the night sky sets my heart at ease!”
Those words felt right for the quiet before dawn.
Ranne Kihano.
That was the sort of person she was.
She always shone brightly, but hid the shadow cast by that light.
While concealing the darkness that was part of her inside, she made sure only the sparkling side showed to the world.
‘Because she’s the protagonist.’
She never showed that she was having a hard time.
She never showed that she was sad.
Even when she wandered, even when she was anxious, Ranne did not lose her smile.
A child chosen by the stars.
And so, the girl believed she was not allowed to do that.
‘How do I put it... It’s like watching a child who grew up too early.’
It felt familiar somehow.
My past life... so, back when I was still staying at the orphanage.
It was something I had seen in a few of the children I met back then.
It happened sometimes.
When someone carried too much, to the point that relying on anyone became difficult.
When the pressure of life turned into a burden, crushing one’s shoulders from a young age.
‘When living felt the same as enduring.’
Cases like that led to one of two outcomes.
Either they were crushed by the pressure and became twisted, or they became adults a few steps before everyone else.
“Miss Ranne.”
In Ranne’s case, it was the latter.
Ever since she was young, she had known how to hide her own light and shade.
“Yes! Sir Viktor.”
Ranne Kihano.
A girl who seemed to have no worries at all.
The innocent, endlessly cheerful protagonist of the original.
But unlike that surface, her inner self was always portrayed as someone carrying a sense of burden.
‘Ranne was always under heavy pressure because of her own power.’
The blessing of the stars.
The power she had been born holding from the moment she came into the world.
What should she become, and how should she use this power? Ranne had wandered in search of that answer.
Yes, from a very young age.
“......”
“Sir Viktor?”
I chose my words in my head.
If it was about her honest feelings, I still could not talk about them with her.
Ranne still shone brightly before me, and had not shown me her darker side.
It was a part I had not been permitted to touch.
‘Just...’
Just.
I wished she would not try so hard.
“Miss Ranne.”
“Eut...?”
Tuk.
As expected, what reached out before my words was my hand.
My ungloved hand settled on top of her golden hair.
Then I slowly stroked the girl’s head.
“Sir Vik, Viktor...?”
“You are doing well.”
“Pardon?”
“Miss Ranne, you are doing more than well enough.”
You are doing well.
Doing what, exactly? I did not add that part.
My hand kept telling her, without words, that she was doing well.
“Sir Viktor? What is this...?”
“Shh.”
“......”
“Let’s stay still for a moment.”
“......Understood.”
Ranne froze without understanding what was going on.
Still, though she was startled for a moment, she soon quietly accepted my touch.
“......”
“......”
The two of us stood like that for a long while.
Only after my cold hand turned red did I withdraw it.
The girl’s blond hair had become disheveled from all the stroking.
I carefully moved my hand again and tidied it for her.
Between her strands of hair were violet eyes, and those deep eyes now looked up at me instead of the night sky.
“......”
Silence.
And then,
“......Sir Viktor.”
“Yes, Miss Ranne.”
“You... always seem dependable.”
“That is an honor beyond me. To think I could be dependable to Miss Ranne.”
“I am sincerely grateful. Always.”
The girl’s brightness became a little more natural.
A soft smile, not overdone and fainter than usual, bloomed around her delicate mouth.
I smiled too.
“I am always grateful as well. Miss Ranne is someone anyone can rely on.”
“Then I must work even harder. Everyone is relying on me, after all.”
“You must not work so hard that you ruin your health, all right?”
“Pfft... I will try.”
Our conversation rang softly.
With every sentence, our breaths scattered across the snowy field.
We exchanged a few bits of pointless joking and left footprints side by side in the snow.
Morning waited for the two of us alone on the white drawing paper.
Like that, we spent the dawn in a pleasant mood.
***
And then,
It was the very next day that I went missing.
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