He was so envious he felt a bitter taste in his mouth.
If Raymund cast aside his dignity and whined, Seiana might look troubled and allow him some things.
Even if a changing room was difficult, perhaps a nap...
But Raymund's greed wouldn't allow just that. If someone else did something with Seiana, he had to do it too.
'And I have to do things with her that others can't.'
Raymund, who had been thinking hard about what Aries couldn't do but only he could, suddenly blurted out a word that flashed through his mind.
"Marriage..."
"What?"
When Raymund suddenly said such an unexpected word, Aries couldn't understand immediately.
Marriage? A man and a woman doing that? But why? Why would that word come out of Raymund's mouth?
"...You don't mean with 'me', do you?"
She asked, just in case, but Raymund didn't answer. Aries, feeling a vague uneasiness, realized the subject wasn't herself, but Seiana.
"What?!"
Are you crazy? How dare you think of doing something like that with Seiana?
It was the kind of imagination one might expect from children their age, but it didn't apply to them as an ability uset. Every ability user before them had died unmarried, living alone.
So, how preposterous was it for Raymund to dream of marrying Seiana...
'Huh?'
However, thinking about it slowly, it wasn't entirely nonsensical. The reason the ability user couldn't marry and died alone was because there was no one who could understand and love them.
But wasn't Seiana different? There was no sign of disgust or fear when he touched her hand or met her eyes. In fact, she treated both of them, who were the ability user, with favor...
'Huh?'
Wait a minute, then it might be possible, mightn't it? Truly...? Aries looked at Raymund with trembling eyes.
Raymund's cheeks were flushed; who knows what he was doing in his imagination.
Seeing his expression, this time it was Aries's eyes that spun with rage.
"How dare you...!"
It wasn't the kind of language a Duke's daughter should use towards an Imperial Prince, but Aries, with her eyes spinning, didn't care.
'Why can't I, a woman, marry Seiana?'
It was the exact opposite situation from before. What good was it to take a nap together a hundred times or go into a changing room together a thousand times?
Such things were nothing compared to one marriage, which could legally bind them completely.
'Why am I not Imperial royalty...!'
If she were royalty, she'd change the law and marry her!
Of course, it would only be possible with Seiana's consent, but being 'able' to do something and being 'unable' to do it at all were different things.
Trembling with jealousy, Aries finally couldn't stand it.
"...Die!"
Kyaaak! With her fingernails raised, Aries lunged at Raymund. She felt like she wouldn't feel relieved until she scratched his face or something.
Raymund, who had been having pleasant thoughts just moments ago, was now angry at being interrupted by Aries.
Normally, he would have used his ability to push her far away out of annoyance, but perhaps because he was in a bad mood, he lashed out this time.
When he shoved Aries hard on the forehead, her eyes blazed, and she fiercely grabbed a handful of Raymund's hair. Raymund also reflexively grabbed her hair.
"Ah!"
"You little...!"
"Let go."
"You let go."
They snarled at each other to let go, but neither did. With their hands bound, the two kicked at each other.
Although young, they were an ability user with superior physical abilities, so they were skilled at dodging each other's kicks, resulting in both just kicking empty air.
And so, the two did not let go of each other until they returned to the Imperial Palace.
* * *
The woman looked out the window. Soon after, she saw a carriage pass by near the palace she was staying in.
Only when the plain-looking carriage, utterly unsuitable for the opulent Imperial Palace, disappeared far into the distance, its rear no longer visible, did she turn away from the window.
The woman, who had been pacing anxiously in the room without leaning against anything, spoke when a small knock was heard at the door.
"Come in."
At her permission, the person standing outside entered. It was the coachman who had just driven the disappearing carriage.
However, the uniform of a knight of the guard was visible beneath his cloak, revealing that his true identity was not that of a mere coachman.
The knight bowed respectfully and reported the day's events.
"Fight...? That child?"
"Yes, when they both got off the carriage..."
The knight's words were surprising. This was the child who had seemed to lose his energy after getting very angry three years ago.
Raymund, who hadn't taken a single step out of the Prince's palace assigned to him and hadn't even stirred when Aries provoked him...
She had heard he had changed a lot recently, but a fight... She was confused whether it was a good thing or not.
"Were they badly hurt?"
"Though Your Majesty might worry as both are strong, they were careful with each other and were not injured."
They merely had their hair pulled out, leaving them dishevelled, but it wasn't a life-threatening issue. Fights between the ability user were usually much more intense and dangerous.
The woman felt relieved at his words. If they could still show restraint even while angry enough to fight, it must not have been a serious problem. In fact, she welcomed the fight.
'Perhaps our child won't be lonely in the future.'
By chance, the two had become an ability user at the same age. It was also she who had brought Aries, who rejected her family, to the Imperial Palace.
As a mother, she could never understand Raymund, even if she died and was reborn, but Aries, who possessed the same ability, might be different.
Perhaps the two might fall in love and live by licking each other's wounds...
Before, she had no hope because Raymund pushed Aries away and disliked her, but seeing that they were now close enough to go out together, she thought it might be okay to have hope.
She felt she had heard everything she wanted to hear and was about to dismiss the knight when he hesitated, as if he had more to say. When she asked what it was, the knight said.
"His Highness the Fourth Prince said he will be going on a trip next month."
"A trip?"
It was a notification, not a request for permission. It wasn't the kind of behavior a child should show to their parents, but Raymund was an ability user before he was a Prince.
An ability user who accepted their power for the Empire didn't need to listen to anyone except the Emperor.
Even the Emperor usually left them alone unless they committed treason. That was the right of those who accepted their fate.
Knowing this, the woman still worried. Even knowing she had no right to stop him, she was concerned because he was her young child.
"Who did he say he would go with?"
"Esteban Lady and Estarotte Lady."
"Estarotte..."
She knew Aries, but one name was puzzling. It was a family famous enough that she should immediately recognize the name...
But she couldn't understand how they were connected to Raymund.
'Didn't Ray tell me before that he was attacked?'
She had heard that during that incident where the knights of the guard collectively went crazy and attacked Raymund, this lady had protected Raymund. Had it not ended there?
She had been curious about his frequent outings and changed appearance recently and had investigated, but the woman didn't know the overall situation.
She decided that she needed to fill in the missing information to understand the current situation.
"Explain to me step by step how he became involved with the Estarotte Count family."
The facts she learned as a result were astonishing.
The fact that the young lady from the family he saved, despite not being an ability user, did not fear them.
The fact that Raymund cherished her especially because of this.
And if that wasn't enough, the fact that Aries also met that lady this time and completely fell for her.
The fact that both of them competed to bring her things related to fairies to make a good impression, and the cause of today's fight was actually an argument over who would get to be closer to her...
There was nothing that wasn't surprising.
'Certainly, it was strange that he suddenly investigated fairies.'
It made no sense for him, who was a more mystical being than fairies, to suddenly investigate them out of curiosity.
Even though she wanted to defend her son because he was hers, she knew his personality wasn't that innocent and couldn't take his side.
Feeling something complex and subtle, the woman asked.
"Is the Count's family... slow?"
Not knowing how else to ask, she asked if they were slow-witted. Despite the content being greatly compressed, the knight understood perfectly and shook his head.
"No. Only the Lady is special."
Her appearance was so special it couldn't be explained any other way.
While other family members would turn pale and quickly look away if their eyes met Raymund's, only Seiana treated both Raymund and Aries normally.
"His Highness the Fourth Prince becomes an ordinary child in front of that Lady."
He acted coy because he wanted to look good to the person he liked, smiled brightly, and argued with his rival for the spot next to her... He acted like a child his age.
Hearing those words, the woman's eyes trembled. Seiana's existence gave hope not just to Raymund, but also to the woman.
'Perhaps...'
Raymund might be able to enjoy a normal life. Of course, being an ability user wouldn't change, but if his partner wasn't repulsed by him, couldn't he have a happy marriage? He wouldn't have to live and die lonely like other ability user.
The woman became covetous. She didn't want the precious Seiana to be taken by another family.
'Sorry, Aries...'
She felt relieved that Seiana was a woman, not a man. If she were a man, it would have been good for Aries.
Before knowing Seiana, she had thought there was no match for Raymund quite like Aries, but now it was different.
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