Reborn As Noble Chapter 1174: The Truth Behind a Faded Smile ( 1174 )

Gloria touched her chin in contemplation. "Come to think of it, yes... Young Master stopped sending any letters after that. I had been curious about who the recipient was before, but I never bothered to inquire."

Liana breathed out gently while they kept moving forward. "Initially, Young Master managed to send a letter for her eleventh birthday celebration, yet there was no response." She peered along the corridor. "Back then, Young Master didn't pay it much mind. He figured the delivery might be lagging or that she was simply preoccupied."

She proceeded at a leisurely pace, her eyes unfocused. "During those initial two weeks, Young Master felt a sense of ease because he wasn't obligated to respond. However, once a month passed, doubts crept in about the absence of replies. He even shared his concerns with me, but when I proposed she might be tied up with duties, he dismissed it without further thought."

Liana halted before the entrance to Javier's chamber, her palm on the handle. "Yet as months dragged on, he began suspecting she was overly occupied..." She turned toward Gloria. "Or that her interest in him had waned, or she had taken up with another admirer. Nobles often act that way. Especially once the initial war erupted, preventing him from attending her birthday gathering. Amid the chaos, his attention shifted to Armand, and gradually... the correspondence faded from memory, along with thoughts of her."

Liana lowered her gaze to the ground, her face etched with remorse. "I must have lacked sensitivity in those days. I ought to have noticed that something was amiss."

Gloria joined the others in quietude, at a loss for words or ways to console her.

Right as Liana prepared to continue, the mana talkie emitted a gentle chime.

"Liana?"

"Ah... yes, Young Master?" Liana replied after activating the mana talkie.

"You all still not finished?"

Liana's lips curved into a soft smile upon hearing Javier's somewhat brighter tone. "We've just reached our quarters, 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 murmured gently, casting a look at the group after Javier's voice trailed off.

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

Meanwhile outside.

Javier gripped Buddy's enormous beak, attempting to prevent the enthusiastic Pekko from pressing its gigantic head against him. "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 cocked his head, peering down at Javier.

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

"Cuquawked!" Buddy squawked, flapping his wings in indifference.

Javier sighed. "At least care for your partner a bit."

"Cuquawked!" Buddy squawked once more, his eyes narrowing at him.

"Oh, right." Javier let out a light chuckle and shook his head. "They all don’t want to go with you and are focusing on their eggs, huh?"

"Cuquawked!" Buddy inflated his chest, appearing self-satisfied.

"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 reclined against Buddy's massive form, settling snugly by the Pekko's feathered flank close to his wing, and slipped both hands into his pockets as he stared at the heavens.

"You know, Buddy..."

"Cuquawked?" Buddy adjusted his position a touch, ensuring Javier's comfort, his broad head swiveling to regard him.

"We’re going to visit... someone... who was... " Javier offered a subtle smile, his features laced with a trace of sorrow. "Important? I don’t know, Buddy."

He leaned further back and breathed out, as Buddy lowered himself to the earth, directing his head to observe Javier intently.

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

He released a quiet sigh. "It made me happy... you know... when she said she wanted to train to be a good wife..."

Javier gradually slid downward to perch on the ground, resting against Buddy's bulk, his palms on his knees while he looked earthward. "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 lifted his chin and gazed 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 )