Regnum Aetern: Dual Rebirth

Walking through the academy city, Adrian took a seat on a bench by the roadside and calmly observed the scenery of the lively street.

The events that occurred yesterday with Evangeline were still fresh in his mind.

He let out a sigh.

'What a predicament…'

He was starting to realize it more and more. Even though he was spending time with these teenage kids, he could not properly understand them. Immutable likely played a part in that, but it might've been because he was so psychologically far apart from a teenager or a normal human being that he could not fit in with them.

Just then, a familiar voice entered his ear.

"You look lost in thought, friend. What's up?"

Adrian raised his head only to find a charming boy with light chestnut-colored hair and amber eyes standing in front of him.

Ravian smiled brightly.

"What's on your mind, Adrian?"

Saying that, the boy took a seat beside him.

Adrian thought for a bit, wondering whether he should ask what was on his mind. But after a while, he opened his mouth.

"Ravian, how would you react if you suddenly heard the news of my death?"

The moment he spoke those words, Ravian suddenly turned to him and grabbed his shoulder.

"What are you talking about? Is there something wrong with you? Adrian, tell me the truth. Did you receive some sort of injury during the mission that you were hiding from everyone? It's not like you to ask a question like this."

Adrian replied reassuringly.

"No, I am perfectly fine and healthy. I only meant hypothetically. I would like it if you could answer my question because it's important to me."

"Is that so…? Thank goodness." Ravina let out a sigh of relief. "As for what you asked, it is not even a question. I would most certainly be devastated. After all, you are the only true friend I have ever made, Adrian."

'I see…'

Ravian's answer was as he had thought, even though it was a bit more intense than he had expected. That was probably the answer Evangeline had wanted from him.

And then Adrian followed up with another question.

"How long do you think it would take you to move on from my loss and return to normal?"

Ravian froze the next moment. There was a look of confusion on his face as the boy turned to meet Adrian's gaze.

"What… are you talking about? I will never be able to move on from that. That's simply not possible, Adrian."

Ravian's answer made him frown.

"No, it is definitely possible. I myself have moved on from the loss of someone dear to me, so there is no way you can't do it."

He had moved on from his grandmother's death. And back then, he didn't have something like Immutable that numbed his emotions. He had been a normal human being, just like Ravian. So if he had done it, then it was very much possible for others.

Ravian tilted his head in confusion.

"Loss of someone dear to you? What are you talking about? Nobody in House Ravenshade has passed away since you were born, not even the servants or knights who worked there. So how could you have lost someone?"

'Ah, hell! That was a stupid slip of tongue!'

Ravian had been with him ever since they were ten-year-olds. And considering how close their families were, the boy obviously knew a lot about House Ravenshade.

'I can't even make the excuse that he has forgotten, since Ravian has Mnemosyne. Ugh, what a mess.'

He leaned forward.

"It isn't someone with a connection to House Ravenshade. Even my family doesn't know about this, so it's no wonder that you didn't know."

Ravian looked thoughtful for a bit, then asked him in a low voice.

"Adrian, I don't know what sort of relationship you had with this individual or how close they were to you, but have you really moved on? Or are you only telling yourself that you have?"

Adrian opened his mouth to answer…

…but no words came out.

Seeing that, Ravian smiled knowingly and changed the subject.

"So are you going to talk in riddles, or will you tell me what exactly happened? Maybe I could help you if I knew about the matter."

'Hmm…'

After thinking for a bit, Adrian told Ravian everything that had happened with Evangeline.

By the end, Ravian had a smile on his face.

"So that really happened? I almost can't believe that you would go so far. Do you remember that time when we were little? I was practicing a spell and accidentally damaged a coat I was really attached to. I couldn't stop crying, yet you didn't come to cheer me up, even though we were friends. Adrian, you have always been a bit uncaring and insensitive. But to think you would try to help Miss Evangeline like this. Do you… really like your fiancée?"

"No, that's not it." Adrian calmly shook his head. "The two of us are engaged, whether I like it or not. So in a way, I am responsible for her because of this connection. Back when I was a child, I didn't really care about the people around me, but I think that it was something I had to do."

Back when Adrian's new body had been only ten years old, he had been rather dismissive of others around him. He knew that he would never be able to return to Earth, but it was still hard to accept this new life as his own.

Ravian nodded.

"That's true. But I think that you handled Miss Evangeline wrongly. She must've known that she couldn't remain like that, but her emotions must've been making it hard for her to think straight. In such a situation, you need to provide her with comfort. You need to be someone she could lean on. But you went ahead and delivered a harsh lesson to her instead."

Ravian pressed a hand to his forehead.

"Look, Adrian, I'm not saying that what you told her was wrong. It's just that… you could've dealt with the situation in a much better way. Now you have probably made things worse."

Adrian leaned back on the bench and closed his eyes.

'Maybe he is right.'

After they chatted a bit more, the two of them parted ways. Adrian returned to his room in the dormitory, only to find a man wearing House Ravenshade's military uniform standing by his door.

Noticing Adrian approach, the man bowed respectfully.

"Young Lord Adrian, I had been waiting for you."

The knight held out a small silver box.

"This is the item you requested. The duchess has ordered that you send a letter to the mansion when you need to return it. A knight will come and pick it up. Apparently, the item is quite important, so you can't just hand it to servants."

Adrian took the silver box from the knight's hand and opened it, only to find a familiar shard of mirror inside.

'So it finally arrived.'

The knight left, and Adrian entered his room, placing the silver box on the table.

'Alright, now it's time to contact that fragment relic.'

***

Hazel walked through the streets of the academy city, wiping the sweat dripping down her chin.

"Ugh, my entire body hurts."

Today was one of those days when she had to attend that training session to get used to the strength increase brought about by ascending to a higher Phase.

And the exercise was as intense as always, thanks to the instructor.

Stretching her arms, she looked at the sword attached to her waist.

"Hey, how long do you think it'll take for me to reach Phase Three?"

The sword vibrated moments later.

[There is no fixed time for it, and it greatly depends on the individual. Besides, why are you asking me? It's not like I can climb the mana ladder like you, so how would I know?]

She sighed.

"Yeah, fair point."

Soon, she returned to the dormitory and reached her room. But as she opened the door…

"Hm? A note?"

She saw a small piece of paper on the floor, very close to the door. It was as though someone had slipped it inside through the small gap below the door.

There was something written on it.

She picked it up.

"Let's see what's written here."

{Should you look at your reflection in the mirror, I am certain that even you will fall in love with yourself. That is simply how beautiful you are, Miss Hazel."

Her eyes widened as the note accidentally slipped from her hands.

"Wha-?! Wa-What the hell is this?"

The sword attached to her waist vibrated.

[I'm pretty sure that's a love letter.]

She could feel her face turning hot.

'L-Love letter? Someone is in l-love with me?'

That was so out of the blue that her brain malfunctioned.

Someone had slipped a note into her room while she was away. And judging by the contents, it certainly seemed that it was a love letter.

'W-Who is it?'

She picked up the piece of paper once again with her trembling hand and scanned it carefully. But aside from those words, there was nothing else written on it, not even a name.

There was someone out there in the academy city who was most likely in love with her, and her mind was in utter chaos, trying to figure out the identity of that individual.

'Just who could it be?! I haven't really talked to many boys, so I don't have someone in mind. Wait a minute, could it be?! Is it love at first sight?'

The sword vibrated once again. Its voice sounded a bit irritated.

[Stop drooling. I can already tell what's going on in your head, judging by your expression.]

Hazel's lips unconsciously stretched into a foolish smile.

"Hehe."

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