top of the spire—there’s no terrace in the lower floors for me to leave or enter through. If I went through the corridors, I’d be noticed by the palace guards since security was strengthened. And even with that, my actions in the castle are monitored, too.」

As for windows, those only existed in the lower floors for the sake of ventilation. They were too small for infiltration.

「Christ, then why don’t you just say it to her directly?!」

「.. Wait, why are you so angry over this, Satsuki-san?」

「Because I don’t understand Miharu-chan’s reaction! I get it, you don’t want to bother her, but Miharu isn’t the kind of girl that would just leave without saying anything! Wouldn’t it be better to talk to her face to face?」

Satsuki spoke as if she was putting the blame on him.

And she was right. All of this would likely be cleared up if Rio just talked to them.

But Miharu aside, he worried if he’d lose the will to speak if Aki got emotional over it.

Even so, Satsuki knew it’d be better to say it to their faces.

「You’re right. That’s why I tried to say it when I confessed to Miharu-san..」

He sounded like he was mocking himself, eliciting a heaving sigh from his conversation partner.

「.. And we interrupted you the moment you had the chance.」

His plan was to confess, give Miharu a brief explanation about his past life, then give her the letters.

But Takahisa and Aki barging onto the balcony cut him off in the middle.

Satsuki knew it wasn’t Rio’s fault.

For a brief moment, the only sound in the room was their breathing, and eventually Satsuki muttered something.

「So.. I haven’t heard the most important thing yet.」

「What could that be?」

「Why did you tell me about all this?」

「I wished for you to not mention anything about me the next time you meet them.」

Satsuki was speechless for a minute.

「.. What do you mean?」

「If the topic turns to me around Miharu-san and the others, I want Satsuki-san to avoid mentioning me.」

「Why?」

「I don’t want to make them feel bad.」

「That kind of..!」

She choked down the unpleasant words in her throat.

She nearly lost her breath looking at Rio’s pathetic grin, and realized she was getting too heated.

Satsuki took a second to catch herself.

「.. Hey, you should know that Miharu-chan might love Takahisa-kun. Why did you tell her in spite of that?」

「I feel like it’s better than saying nothing even if I already knew the outcome. That’s the kind of regret Amakawa Haruto lived and died with.」

「Then why didn’t you confess to her right after you reunited with her in this world?」

「There’s a lot of reasons for that, but it just comes down to me being scared. Having to confront whether I was really Amakawa Haruto. And if it was true, whether or not there was any part of him that remained in me as I am now.」

「What are you talking about?」

「I have no objective evidence that I’m Amakawa Haruto reborn. Was I really the kind of person my memories tell me I was? And how would I prove it?」

「That’s..」

Satsuki couldn’t answer right away. Rio was answering so matter-of-factly that it was hard to refute.

「In the end, though, that’s all an excuse. To be honest, I was just a coward. Even if I really was Amakawa Haruto, the current me is a completely different person both physically and mentally. My morality and values now are vastly different from my previous life. I only decided to confess after I got the chance to talk with Satsuki-san.」

「Then.. Are you tell me you can accept how everything ended?」

「.. Yeah.」

Rio shrugged his shoulders in surrender.

「Really?」

「Even if I can’t, there’s nothing I can do about it.」

「.. Sorry. But personally, I’m not satisfied with this.」

「Everyone has their own values. I think yours are fine just the way they are. But I want you to not question Miharu-san or the kids about this. Please.」

Rio bowed his head as he asked, but Satsuki ignored him and averted her eyes.

「And one other thing. Though, this is more like a proposal than a request.」

「.. What is it?」

「We should keep some distance between us from now on. We shouldn’t meet like this anymore.」

「W-w-wait, why?」

「Because Haruto Amakawa is officially a member of the Galwark kingdom nobility. Don’t you think someone might try to use that against you if we get too close to each other?」

Satsuki gasped, more that Rio said it so plainly than at the suggestion itself.

「Such a thing..」

But she couldn’t say it wouldn’t happen.

Rio was the only person Satsuki had grown close to among the Galwark nobles.

She had been spending the last few months keeping everyone at a safe distance.

「I don’t know what His Highness Francois is planning. So let’s not look like we’re too intimate, shall we?」

「A little.. Give me a bit of time to think about it.」

That was the best response she could give as Rio stood to leave.

「Alright. Though you should know I’m leaving the capital tomorrow.」

「Wait!」

「What’s wrong?」

「One more question.」

「Okay.」

Rio took his seat once more.

「You’re trying to settle that matter of yours, right?」

「Settle..?」

「Your relationship with Miharu-chan and the kids. You’re not trying to make it seem like nothing, right?」

His eyes opened wide at hearing that.

「.. Yeah, you’re right.」

Though he answered, Satsuki didn’t miss the pause beforehand.

「You’re not giving up in despair and desperation either?」

「Not in the least.」

So he answered again, more firmly this time.

「.. Okay then. Thanks. Then I’ll see you later.」

☆★☆★☆★

And now Rio was being led by Satsuki to the castle’s training area.

There were soldiers and knights training in the field, but several knights who looked like they had a high rank stopped to greet them.

Among them was Kyle, a knight and one of Rio’s acquaintances.

「Good day, Satsuki-sama, Haruto-dono. We’ve been waiting for you.」

「Sorry for such a sudden request. About the things I asked for—」

「Already prepared. Please wait a moment.」

The knight responding followed along with Satsuki smoothly, the former a senior in his prime. Seemed like the two had matches before themselves.

「Oi!」

「Ha—」

When the senior knight called, Kyle and another young knight were already off running.

They returned immediately, each carrying a wooden spear-type weapon called a glaive that was around two meters long.

One knight gave his to Satsuki, the other to Rio, and Satsuki led him out onto the field.

She didn’t give him an explanation, but with a training implement in hand he had a hunch.

「Let’s have a match, Haruto-kun.」

As soon as she made the suggestion, Satsuki gave Rio a daring grin, and readied her weapon.