Reborn As Noble

Chapter 1174: The Truth Behind a Faded Smile ( 1174 )

Gloria tapped her chin thoughtfully. ”Now that you mention it, yeah... Young Master never wrote any letters after that. I was wondering who he was writing to before, but I never really asked.”

Liana exhaled softly as they continued walking. ”At first, Young Master was able to write a letter wishing her a happy eleventh birthday, but he never got a reply.” She glanced down the hallway. ”Young Master didn’t think much of it at the time. He thought maybe the mail was delayed or she was just busy.”

She kept walking slowly, her gaze distant. ”For the first two weeks, Young Master was actually relieved since he didn’t have to write anything back. But after a month, he started to wonder why no letters were coming. He even came and told me about it, but after I suggested maybe she was just occupied, he just shrugged it off and didn’t dwell on it.”

Liana stopped at the front door of Javier’s room, her hand resting on the knob. ”But after a few months, he started to think maybe she was too busy...” She glanced at Gloria. ”Or perhaps she was no longer interested in him, or had found another suitor. You know how nobles are. Especially after the first war broke out, he couldn’t visit her birthday party. With everything happening, he became too focused on Armand and slowly... forgot about the letters, and about her.”

Liana glanced down at the floor, her expression filled with regret. ”I must have been insensitive back then. I should have realized something was wrong.”

Gloria fell silent along with the others, unsure of what to say or how to comfort her.

Just as Liana was about to speak again, the mana talkie chimed softly.

”Liana?”

”Ah... yes, Young Master?” Liana said after tapping the mana talkie.

”You all still not finished?”

Liana smiled softly when she heard Javier’s voice was a little more cheerful. ”We just arrived at our room, Young Master.”

”Oh. Don’t take too much time. I already summoned this huge thing in the courtyard... and ugh, Buddy is here, insisting on following me. So hurry up. Father, Mother, and the others will be joining us too. Get all your things and come here quickly.”

”Mm~ okay, Young Master.” Liana said softly, glancing at everyone once Javier’s voice faded.

”Let’s pick up the things we need and go to our husband.”

Meanwhile outside.

Javier was holding Buddy’s huge beak, trying to keep the excited Pekko from leaning on him with its massive head. ”Ugh, Buddy! Don’t get too excited!”

”Cuquawked!!”

”You know I’m not going to leave you. But are you sure you want to go together? What about Pikko? Peanut? Jito? Karu? And Blitz? Hmm?”

”Cuquawked?” Buddy squawked and tilted his head, glancing down at Javier.

Javier looked up at him. ”Don’t you need to protect your flock? They’re your partners, you know.”

”Cuquawked!” Buddy squawked, shrugging his wings dismissively.

Javier exhaled. ”At least care for your partner a bit.”

”Cuquawked!” Buddy squawked again, narrowing his eyes at him.

”Oh, right.” Javier chuckled softly and shook his head. ”They all don’t want to go with you and are focusing on their eggs, huh?”

”Cuquawked!” Buddy puffed his chest, looking smug.

”Well... since they’re not coming with us, I guess one huge transport drone like this GAASAD-1 is enough. I added more seating from the last time, comfortable seating for over twenty, with two long benches that can fit another twenty if needed.”

He leaned back against Buddy’s huge body, nestling comfortably against the Pekko’s feathered side near his wing, and put both hands in his pockets while looking up at the sky.

”You know, Buddy...”

”Cuquawked?” Buddy shifted slightly, making sure Javier was comfortable, his large head turning to look at him.

”We’re going to visit... someone... who was... ” Javier smiled faintly, his expression tinged with a hint of sadness. ”Important? I don’t know, Buddy.”

He leaned back more and exhaled, while Buddy settled on the ground, turning his head to watch Javier closely.

”At first, I was just... umm... wanting to see Liana’s reaction. But at the same time... you could say... she was interesting.”

He let out a soft sigh. ”It made me happy... you know... when she said she wanted to train to be a good wife...”

Javier slowly slid down to sit on the ground, leaning against Buddy’s body, his hands resting on his knees as he glanced down. ”It was annoying at first, having to reply to every love letter she sent me.” He smiled faintly. ”But after a while... what she wrote really kept me entertained. It was something to look forward to reading.”

He tilted his head up and looked at the sky. ”She wrote in her letters about how she trained to cook, telling me about how her maids were surprised that a noble daughter would try to learn to serve, causing a bit of panic among them.”

”And one time, she wrote a letter telling me how she learned to cook from a chef and failed, the food burned so badly she said it looked like it was casting a poisoning aura. The taste tester even fainted.”

”From that day on, I always looked forward to her letters. Sometimes I couldn’t even wait and started re-reading them over and over. And when I went to school, I’d hope to find a new letter waiting for me when I got back.”

Javier smiled faintly. ”By the time I graduated, we headed straight to Armand from the royal capital, remember? I know I was focused and happy to have Liana and Gloria with me then.”

”And when I arrived, there were tons of letters she had kept sending. So I read them and wrote back. It was getting fun. If I compiled all her letters, they could make a full story, a diary at the same time.”

Javier glanced down. ”Until one day... those letters stopped. And the first war broke out. The noble coalition supporting those cultists, the so-called Saints of the Three Gods, where that shitty summoned hero Kenjirou and his team attacked, and both Liana and Gloria were nearly killed. I’m sure you remember that time, right?”

”Cuquawked.”

”That was the beginning of how Armand advanced... since I decided then that I had no need to hide my power, my talent. I crushed that noble coalition army of over 200,000 with the first mana cannon, the first anti-air mana gun, and the first... invention of my puppet knights and mana rifles. I completely wiped out those shitheads.”

”But...” Javier smiled, though his expression was tinged with sadness. ”The last letter I sent to her, to wish her a happy birthday... never got a reply. I...” He paused. ”...thought that she might have already found another suitor. Or perhaps got engaged to some other noble’s son...”

Javier’s eyes began to shimmer, his smile wavering as his lower lip trembled slightly.

”Only to find out... she was ill... and dying...”

( End Of Chapter )