Chapter 2: First Battle

From the day I was granted a crest.

My mind couldn’t seem to settle down.

No matter what I was doing, my thoughts would drift back to it at unexpected moments.

Whether I was reviewing documents, regulating my magic power, or listening to craftsmen speak, I always found myself thinking about the same thing.

Who would I choose?

The person I would choose had already been decided.

It was decided.

And yet, I couldn’t act.

As I stared down at the papers spread across my desk, I let out a quiet sigh.

Leticia.

I couldn’t imagine choosing anyone else.

And that was precisely why I hesitated.

All I had to do was order it.

I understood that was how the system worked.

A nobleman who had been granted a crest chose one woman from among those serving the castle.

She accepted.

A relationship was formed.

And the crest was engraved.

The logic was simple.

Simple, yet something seemed lodged in the back of my throat.

What if she refused?

I knew that was unlikely.

It was difficult to imagine a servant of this castle rejecting the command of the lord’s son.

Even so.

What if.

Even if it was only a tiny possibility.

What if it showed on her face?

What if she looked displeased?

What if I saw even the slightest hesitation?

The distance between us until now would be destroyed.

That feeling kept me from taking the first step.

…

It was so pathetic that even I could laugh at myself.

I wasn’t heading to a battlefield.

Yet I was acting incredibly cowardly.

But this couldn’t be helped.

Because the other person was Leticia.

She wasn’t someone I could treat lightly.

Nor did I want to treat her lightly.

And because of that, I found myself unable to decide how to proceed.

In the end, I chose a roundabout approach.

There was no way I could ask her directly.

I couldn’t exactly ask Leticia herself, “What should I do?”

If I couldn’t ask her, then I had to ask someone else.

I caught an older maid in the hallway one afternoon.

“Young Master, did you call for me?”

She bowed politely.

I remembered her name.

Partly because she was beautiful.

But also because knowing people’s names was useful in situations like this.

“…Yes.”

I gave a slight nod and made sure nobody else was nearby.

Why am I being this cautious?

Even as I questioned myself internally, the words that left my mouth were absurdly indirect.

“About… the matter of the crest.”

“Yes.”

The maid lifted her face slightly.

Her eyes narrowed just a little.

Ah.

She already knows.

That was my first thought, but there was no backing out now.

“How does it usually proceed?”

“The procedure, you mean?”

She tilted her head in an exaggerated manner.

Yet the corners of her mouth seemed to be slightly lifted.

“That’s right.”

“It’s my first time.”

“…I see.”

A brief pause.

Then she answered clearly.

“Young Master need only give the order.”

“…That’s all?”

“Yes.”

Her answer was so simple that I found myself at a loss for words.

“The other person…”

“The one who is chosen will obey.”

It was a firm statement.

Without hesitation.

Without hidden meaning.

As though she were merely stating something obvious.

“That’s how it works?”

“Yes.”

Her reply was brief.

There was no further explanation.

As if the conversation were already over, she bowed once more.

I stood there for a while before releasing a small sigh.

I know.

I know, but…

The problem is that I can’t do it.

All I have to do is give the order.

Why did those words feel so heavy?

Several days passed.

Without me accomplishing anything.

I kept waiting for the right moment.

Now?

No, not yet.

Maybe a little later.

While I kept thinking like that, every opportunity slipped away.

Leticia remained exactly the same.

Her attitude hadn’t changed.

Neither had the distance between us.

And that only made it harder to decide.

It felt as though I was the only one conscious of it, leaving me strangely unsettled.

Then I noticed one small inconsistency.

At night.

Before going to bed.

Whenever I returned to my room, the bed had already been prepared.

That was perfectly normal.

But the person handling it was always the same.

Leticia.

Normally, the duty rotated.

Several maids took turns.

Yet for the past several days, Leticia had been there every single time.

At first, I thought it was coincidence.

After two days.

Then three.

I realized it wasn’t.

Sitting in my chair, I watched her from the corner of my eye.

She straightened the sheets.

Adjusted the pillows.

Finished preparing the bed with efficient, practiced movements.

As I watched her back, my chest grew restless.

This…

Could it be…

Is that what this means?

A signal, so to speak.

No.

Surely that’s too obvious.

And yet, there was no other explanation.

Leticia was personally taking responsibility for it.

For the time before I went to sleep.

The moment that realization hit me, my heartbeat accelerated.

Once I understood, things became simple.

There was nowhere left to run.

That night.

As usual, Leticia was preparing the bed.

Her back was turned as she smoothed out the final wrinkles.

After a brief hesitation, I stood up.

One step.

Then another.

Closing the distance.

I stopped directly behind her.

“Leticia.”

The moment I called her name, her shoulders twitched slightly.

“Yes, Young Master?”

She answered without turning around.

Her voice sounded normal.

Though perhaps it was a little stiffer than usual.

My throat felt dry.

I steadied my breathing.

There was no reason to retreat now.

“Until morning…”

The words caught for a moment.

Then I continued.

“I would like you to stay with me.”

The words fell into the quiet room.

For an instant, time seemed to stop.

Leticia froze completely.

Then slowly.

Her shoulders trembled slightly.

I could see her ears turning red.

She turned around.

Raised her face.

And it was bright red.

Her usual composed expression was gone.

Her cheeks were flushed.

Her eyes wavered slightly, unable to settle.

“Yes…”

She took a small breath.

“If… if you would have me…”

“I would be honored.”

The final words trembled just a little.

She shifted awkwardly where she stood.

That small gesture was far more destructive than I had expected.

Cute.

That was the only thought in my head.

This was a side of Leticia I had never seen before.

The normally flawless woman before me was visibly shaken.

That fact alone made my chest burn.

Before I realized it, I had reached out my hand.

Gently touching her shoulder.

She trembled.

But she didn’t move away.

And then.

Slowly.

Toward the bed she had just finished preparing.

The two of us fell onto it together.

The night quietly deepened.

When I woke up, the ceiling was still dim.

It was too early to call it morning.

My body felt strangely heavy.

But more than that.

I could clearly sense someone beside me.

I turned my gaze.

Leticia was sleeping.

Her hair was slightly disheveled, and her expression looked much softer than usual.

Her quiet breathing.

Its steady rhythm.

Watching her, a warm feeling spread through my chest.

The memories of last night slowly returned.

It had been the first time.

For me.

And for Leticia as well.

I had realized it partway through.

The awkwardness.

The sense that she was enduring discomfort.

And yet she never rejected me.

If anything, she tried to accommodate me.

That devotion had taken my breath away.

To this extent.

She was willing to accept me to this extent.

Alongside my happiness came a sense of guilt.

But even more than that.

The feeling that I didn’t want to let her go remained strongest of all.

…

I let out a quiet breath.

The sound woke Leticia.

Her eyes slowly opened.

Our gazes met.

For a brief moment, she looked dazed.

Then, the next instant—

“…!”

Her face turned bright red.

She hurriedly tried to sit up and nearly stumbled.

“My deepest apologies…!”

She bowed her head in a panic.

“To wake later than Young Master…”

Her voice trembled slightly.

The sight of it felt strangely endearing.

“Don’t worry about it.”

The corners of my mouth naturally lifted.

“Last night…”

“I pushed you too hard.”

“N-no…”

“Because Leticia was simply…”

I searched for the right words.

But in the end, what came out was straightforward.

“Too wonderful.”

“I couldn’t hold back.”

“…!”

Her face grew even redder.

Even her ears were crimson.

Her eyes darted around restlessly.

Watching her reaction made me feel oddly flustered as well.

After a brief pause, I spoke.

“Leticia.”

“Y-yes?”

“Will you accept…”

“My crest?”

A moment of silence followed.

Then.

A voice without hesitation answered.

“Yes.”

Clearly.

“With pleasure.”

She lifted her face.

Still bright red.

Yet looking directly at me.

“Everything I am belongs to Young Master.”

Those words struck deeply within my chest.

I slowly extended my hand.

I adjusted my magic power.

Thinly.

Carefully.

If I disrupted it, it would leave a wound.

If I poured in too much, it would cause pain.

I focused.

The magic gathered at my fingertips touched her skin.

Slowly, I began to draw the lines.

Leticia’s body trembled slightly.

But she did not pull away.

She endured it quietly.

At the same time, I guided healing magic into her.

Easing the pain.

Making sure not to carve too deeply.

Making sure not to mark too heavily.

I shaped it with the utmost care.

Time passed slowly.

When I finished drawing the final line, I let out a breath.

“…It’s done.”

I withdrew my hand.

I looked at the crest engraved there.

It had been applied perfectly.

Without any flaws.

My mark was now upon Leticia’s skin.

That fact settled into me with unexpected weight.

To be honest.

I had never particularly liked this custom.

It felt heavy.

Restrictive.

Even somewhat barbaric.

But.

Now it was different.

Leticia was mine.

I could clearly understand that.

And that made me…

So happy.

“…I like this.”

The words slipped out before I realized it.

Leticia smiled slightly.

“Yes.”

Seeing that expression filled my heart even more.

Leticia started to sit up.

“Then I shall return to my duties—”

“Wait.”

I stopped her instinctively.

“Take the day off.”

“But—”

“That’s an order.”

I spoke a little more firmly.

A brief moment of hesitation followed.

Then—

“…As you wish.”

She lowered her head slightly.

Watching her, I felt satisfied, though inwardly I couldn’t help but smile wryly at how obvious I was being.

It was painfully obvious.

The people around me had probably noticed too.

When I stepped out of the room, the head maid was there as expected.

Standing quietly at the end of the hallway.

The way she looked at me seemed unchanged, yet somehow different.

“Young Master.”

“Give Leticia the day off.”

She wore an expression as though she had already known what I was going to say.

“Understood.”

She bowed quietly.

And said nothing more.

That silence alone made it clear she understood everything.

I left the castle and headed toward the development site.

The air felt lighter.

My steps felt lighter too.

I was in such a good mood that even I could tell.

No matter how much I tried to control it, my face kept relaxing.

Even while speaking with the craftsmen, my thoughts wandered.

At that same time, Leticia was in her private room.

She had been told to rest.

But there was one thing she absolutely had to do.

The bed sheets.

She changed them herself.

She couldn’t leave it to anyone else.

She removed them efficiently and replaced them with fresh ones.

Then, halfway through, her hands stopped.

Something caught her eye.

A faint trace left upon the white cloth.

Warmth slowly spread across her cheeks.

…

She gently touched it with her fingertips.

Something that should eventually disappear.

Yet proof that it had undeniably been there.

A smile naturally formed on her lips.

That afternoon, there was a knock at the door.

When she opened it, the head maid was standing there.

“Leticia.”

“Yes.”

“How are things?”

For a moment, she carefully chose her words.

Then she answered honestly.

“Young Master… achieved a splendid first campaign.”

Her cheeks felt hot.

But her voice remained steady.

The head maid narrowed her eyes slightly.

“I see.”

That was all she said before nodding.

There was no excessive praise.

Yet that single response carried more than enough approval.

“You performed your duty well.”

“…Thank you very much.”

She lowered her head slightly.

A quiet sense of fulfillment spread through her chest.

Evening arrived.

I returned to the castle.

The day’s work was finished.

My emotions had settled down.

…Or so I thought.

I entered my room.

The lighting was calm.

And there.

Leticia was standing there.

Making the bed once again.

“…Didn’t I tell you to rest?”

“Yes.”

She turned toward me.

Her face was still slightly red.

“But… there is no problem.”

Her voice remained calm.

“It seems a woman’s body is sturdier than one might think.”

She said it so casually that I found myself speechless.

The memories of last night resurfaced.

The sensations returned.

My reason wavered slightly.

“…I see.”

I answered briefly.

No further words followed.

The bed was finished.

Leticia stepped back.

Our eyes met.

For just a moment.

Without either of us intending to.

The distance between us closed.

Before I realized it.

I had taken her hand again.

Reason lost by just a little.

And then.

Quietly.

I guided her toward the bed once more.