"....You're finally here."

Greeting me at the entrance of the estate was Julien's father. He wore the same formal outfit from the closing ceremony a few days ago, carrying an aura of calm.

"We expected you two to arrive earlier, but this is fine too."

He turned around to glance at the numerous servants that lined up behind him. I glanced at them, but none of them glanced at me.

It was as if they were trying to avoid my gaze.

"They probably are.'

Leon had warned me in advance that my reputation within the household wasn't very good.

'... It's a good thing I saw this coming.'

From the moment he closed the curtains when we passed by the city, I knew.

"Linus is currently not here. He's currently training somewhere else in preparation for the entrance examination for Haven."

Linus was Julien's younger brother.

At least, this was what I remembered Leon telling me.

'So he's planning on entering Haven?'

The news didn't really affect me all that much. It was a little troublesome at best since I'd have to interact with him at the Academy.

"Make yourselves comfortable. We have several important things to discuss in the next few days."

Such were the last words Julien's father said before leaving with a few servants.

From the start, he had only spared me a single glance. He was mainly addressing Evelyn the entire time.

A strange silence ensued after his departure.

We stood awkwardly for a few seconds before I finally opened my mouth.

"What are you doing here?"

"....I want to know that myself."

Evelyn replied with a bitter smile.

"I was invited out of nowhere, and I couldn't disagree since my father ordered me to attend." "Wait, could it be...?"

My brows jumped up as I came to a sudden hypothesis.

"It can't be that-"

"Don't say it."

Evelyn stopped me before I could finish my words.

She appeared to have her own guesses, but seeing the frustrated look on her face, I knew that she wasn't all too pleased with the situation.

I couldn't blame her as my heart sank.

'A marriage alliance...'

Though it was just a guess, it was the most probable guess.

Evelyn's family was quite powerful, and considering the history between the two households and how they had once been close to arranging a marriage between Julien and her, it wouldn't be surprising if they tried it again after my recent achievements at the Summit.

This was an annoying development that I had to put a stop to as quickly as possible.

Thankfully, things hadn't appeared to progress to an advanced stage. It was merely just in the beginning stages, and so it could be quickly stopped.

"Y-young master."

A soft voice echoed before me.

Lifting my head, a young girl with soft brown hair, glasses, and an overall shy disposition greeted me. She didn't dare meet my line of sight as she wore clothes that the other servants

wore.

I looked at Leon.

'Who is she...?'

'Your personal servant.'

'Oh.'

"Um."

I faintly nodded at her as she shuddered slightly.

My face twitched at the sight. It really looked like she was scared of me.

What in the world did Julien do to her...?

"I-I'll escort you to your room... I-f you would f-follow me."

Her voice was hard to hear as she spoke in a soft whisper. I had to strain my ears carefully in

order to hear her properly.

Still, I didn't give her a hard time.

....I just nodded my head indifferently at her, which seemed to relieve her as she turned around and headed toward the insides of the estate.

I glanced at Leon and Evelyn for a brief moment before leaving.

'Whatever, I'll take this chance to rest for a bit.'

***

"...."

Leon and Evelyn stood in silence, watching as Julien silently entered the estate. They both could feel the tension that lingered around them as everyone around Julien stood on edge.

His entire presence felt suffocating.

It was only when he disappeared from view that the atmosphere eased.

A few of the servants wore pale faces while others wiped their foreheads as they sighed in

relief.

Evelyn stared at the sight before turning to look at Leon.

"...He really is disliked by everyone here."

"You weren't that different from them not so long ago."

"Um, I guess."

It was true.

She used to be the same.

....And she couldn't blame herself. Julien... the 'real' one was a lot different than the current

Julien.

He was someone who would hurl abuses for the smallest of things. Whether it was because he didn't like the weather or because someone locked eyes with him, he would always find faults

with people. He was a tyrant.

"Right..."

Evelyn's eyes remained fixed on Leon who avoided her gaze.

It was as though he already knew what he was going to say to her. But she wasn't going to let

it slide.

Not this time.

She... wasn't going to let herself be played by the two of them.

"....."

And for that reason, she grabbed his arm and dragged him with her toward a more isolated

area of the household.

Having been in the Household since young, she knew the place like the back of her hand and

they soon arrived inside of a familiar room.

It was small, containing only one bed and a wooden wardrobe.

But this was a place the two were all too familiar with. It was Leon's childhood room.

Bang!

Evelyn smacked the door behind them as she finally let go of Leon.

"Tell me the truth."

Her voice was low, her eyes narrowing at the same time.

"He's not the real Julien, right?"

"You said it before. Treat as though the Julien I knew is dead. I didn't understand your words

back then, but now I know. He's 'that' Julien."

"....That?"

"You know what I'm talking about."

Evelyn's eyes narrowed further.

"You would've killed him straight away if not for that fact."

Leon bit his lips and remained silent.

He neither confirmed nor denied her words. But the silence was enough of a confirmation to

Evelyn as she sighed before heading for the bed and sitting down.

Her tone grew a little softer.

"Since when? Has he shown signs of coming back to his old self like before? Has he... Has

he..."

Evelyn bit her lips.

"Has he really changed?"

11

Leon still remained silent.

He didn't really know what to say. Has he really changed...? The answer was obvious. She knew

the answer herself.

It was just that that she probably couldn't fully trust what she saw. Especially since Julien had changed so many times in the past. Perhaps the first time it was

understandable, but the second...? Third...? Fourth...? And fifth times...? It would make anyone question whether it was a temporary thing or a real change.

Leon also struggled to come to terms with the situation at first, but after observing Julien for

as long as he did, he was confident.

The 'old' Julien was nowhere near in sight.

He had changed.

....And he wasn't leaving.

"Can you answer me...?"

Finally shifting his attention toward Evelyn and seeing her expression, Leon closed his eyes

for a brief moment.

Then, after a long pause, he nodded.

"Yes."

He answered,

"...He's changed."

***

"W-we're here."

The large wooden door swung open, revealing a finely decorated room.

A grand bed stood at the center, framed by expansive windows that let soft light stream in.

The curtains fluttered gently as a breeze flowed through, and to the side, a sturdy wooden table sat beside a tall bookshelf that appeared to be filled with books.

'So this is Julien's bedroom...'

I had to say.

It was rather grand.

....While it wasn't as good as the room the Academy offered me, it was still a very good room.

Enough to make me relaxed.

"If there's any problems... f-feel free to tell me."

After a few more words, the servant immediately turned around and left.

"Huek!"

On her way out she bumped her head against the side of the door, and I had to keep myself

from bursting out into laughter as tears streamed down her face.

"Uwuwua."

She looked at me and then at the door before rushing out.

"....Hoo."

It took a good minute to calm my trembling shoulders as another servant came in shortly

after, delivering my luggage.

"You can leave it here."

"...Yes."

The exchange was short as he dropped my stuff down and directly left.

Clank!

It was only then that the room fell silent as no one bothered me anymore.

"Haa."

Dropping onto the bed, I raised my head to look at the ceiling.

I was less exhausted than I had been after the tournament but I was still quite tired. Especially

since the carriage ride had been quite long.

I thought about going to sleep and was about to when my eyes fell on the bookshelf by the

side of the wooden desk in front of the bed.

"...."

A thought crossed me as I looked at the bookshelf.

'....Just what sorts of books did Julien read?'

Could I perhaps be able to figure out more about his personality if I looked through them? It

was just a thought, and looking outside the window and seeing that it was still sunny outside,

I decided to have a look.

I had some time to waste anyway.

"Let's see."

The first book I picked up was about swordsmanship.

"....Swordsmanship?"

I frowned but didn't think much of it until I took out the next book.

"Again swordsmanship..."

Pausing, I put the book to the side and took the next book. It was... again swordsmanship. One

after another, the books were all about swordsmanship.

The more I looked through the list, the more I realized.

Julien...

He was obsessed with swordsmanship.

Though I somewhat had seen a few hints of this in the past, I never really bothered to check up

on them.

There were a lot of things that were taking my taking my full attention.

"This..."

By the time I pulled out the twentieth book that was about swordsmanship, I had no choice

but to pause. At this rate, all I was going to see were books of swordsmanship.

"....Is this all there is?"

I looked through the hardcovers of the book in front of me before shaking my head.

"Well, I guess I did find something."

The fact that the previous Julien was obsessed with being a swordsman.

I was just about to put all the books back when I paused.

"Hm?"

Tucked in the far corner of the bookshelf was another book. It was red in color and felt a little

different than the others. I recognized the book at a glance... or more than a book, it was more

like a diary.

"Isn't this...?"

There were certain diaries one could purchase that featured a special lock, which could only be opened using the owner's unique mana wavelength.

Everyone possessed their own distinct mana signature, and if anyone with a different wavelength attempted to open the diary, it would instantly incinerate on the spot.

I had seen many of them being sold in Bremmer since diaries were quite popular among the

noble households, and...

Right at this very moment, I found one in this room.

"This..."

'I think I just found Julien's diary.'

Ba.. Thump! Ba... Thump!

Feeling the steady beat of my own heart, I picked up the diary and stared at it for a moment

before taking a deep breath.

Then, I channeled my mana into it.

'I hope this work.'

I was nervous it wouldn't work, but as I channeled my mana into the diary, a soft glow

emerged from the book. Moments later, a gentle 'click' echoed in the air, signaling it had

unlocked.

I didn't waste a second and opened the diary.

The moment I did, my eyes widened as my heart froze.

"Ah."

What in the...