"So you still remember me, huh, Dean?...... It''s been a long time, hasn''t it?"

    My mother''s lips curved into a gleeful smile.

    "...Sir Dean, who might these people be?"

    The other knight — this one was rather young — inquired when he saw the knight named Dean halt his words after a look at my mother.

    "......Of course. Of course, how could I forget about you, Young Miss? I have no words to describe my joy when Master Randy sent us news about your survival...... You, hurry up and inform Frelia-sama. Young Miss... Cecilia-sama is back!"

    Receiving the order, the young knight left in the direction of the estate in a sprint.

    "Dean is Dio''s cousin. Just like Dio, he looked after us siblings. He, along with Dio, had always been there to support us. At present, he''s the head of the Ringart family after Dio left."

    Dio... Right, he was the spear user my father had arranged as my knight escort when I had left for the Royal Capital for the entrance exam. And during Randy-san''s visit a few days ago, it later came out that Dio was actually a quasi-noble serving the Dosperior family.

    While our mother introduced Dean to us, Dean quickly rubbed his eyes, and formally introduced himself, placing his right hand on his chest in salute.

    "Excuse my belated introduction. I''m Dean, the head of the Ringart family serving the House of Dosperior. As His Excellency Randy has set out to accompany His Majesty on his foreign trip, the protection of Rabeldin is now currently under my care. You must be the Young Miss’ husband, Viscount Bellwood von Rovenne, I presume? And—"

    His eyes trailed from my father to us, and his expression broke into a huge smile.

    "You must be Allen-sama and Roselia-sama, the children of Bellwood-sama and the Young Miss. And you must be their private tutor, Schord-dono, right? The Dosperior family has never seen the Academy in a great light, but even then, word of Allen-sama could be heard even in Rabeldin for the past year. It had shocked the vast majority of the Dosperior family members when they heard that Allen-sama was actually the son of the Young Miss all along.

    After the loss of our symbol Vardi-sama in the great war a decade ago, along with the presumed death of the Young Miss, this has been the first good news we''ve received in a long while. Had the family known earlier about your arrival — though the rumors of the Young Miss’ survival had already spread among the masses — we would have set out to meet you with a parade, and let the citizens formally know of your survival... Why didn''t Young Miss contact us earlier?"

    A p-parade?!... Good lord, I didn''t even need to look in the mirror, I could feel my face stiffening. I’d like to pat my past self on the back for suggesting ''Let''s go incognito to surprise grandma!'', which I had suggested mainly to conceal my tracks from my master.

    Now that I look back, our mother could always see through our lies, but this time, she easily nodded at my proposal after giving me a thorough stare-down for a moment. She must have expected the fanfare otherwise, didn''t she...?

    "Ahem, n-nice to meet you, Dean-san. I know there are some crazy rumors about me floating around, but personally, all of them are nonsense. If anything, I’ve always been outclassed in both brains and brawn by my sister. What was the saying, ‘Sagacious elder sister, silly younger brother’? Yup, that''s the perfect way to describe us."

    I mean, I was right. I was merely using knowledge from my past life, the fruit of someone else''s knowledge. Meanwhile, I was mere scum against the inherent talent of my sister in martial arts. Then again, I wasn''t aiming to become the world''s strongest or anything cliche?, so I wasn''t particularly bothered by the gap between us.

    I just want to work on my wind magic and enjoy this life to my heart''s content.

    So I made sure to convey all this in a serious tone. Dean-san''s eyes widened when he heard me.

    "A-Allen-sama is the silly one......?"

    I nodded assertively. Dean-san went silent for a moment in surprise, then he suddenly burst out in laughter.

    "Pffft! Hahahaha!... *Ahem* Excuse me. It''s just, I couldn''t control myself from laughing out loud. The Royal Academy is the greatest educational institute of this kingdom, of course, but beyond that, this also begets the attraction from many powers.

    —''How long can the good remain good? When one’s morals are corrupted with a materialistic view, there has to be a voice of reason to stop one''s downfall.'' With that reasoning as his core, the founder of the Dosperior family decided that his lineage would be that voice. Hence, all the successive generations have kept their distance from the Academy.

    Needless to say, the resolution came with a price. Nevertheless, our successive masters held on to that legacy, of which we''re very much proud of. On the other hand, we do have some disdain against the so-called ‘prodigies’, or the ‘strongest in the generation'' in the rumors. Because for us, our master is the strongest.”

    "I can''t tell you how many times the thought of ''How would you look like all grown up had you survived...'' crossed my mind after I watched you depart that day... This surely wasn''t completely what I had in mind, but nevertheless, you''ve grown to be a splendid woman. I''m glad, Cecilia. I''m truly glad."

    After saying that, Freria-san took my mother into a second hug as the latter silently shed her tears.

    I was slightly surprised. I had never seen my mother cry before. She had always maintained an ironclad front in front of us. But I guess, emotions were a river: hard to control. I did hear that she left her home at the age of 16 on a doomed trip, destined to never return.

    The things they wanted to convey, and the emotions they were feeling right now were something I could never imagine.

    I discarded my thoughts of Randy-san from my mind, and finally shed my long accumulated tears meant for this long-awaited reunion scene.

    After basking in her emotion for a short while, my mother exhaled, her tears stopping, and the usual lively smile crept on her lips.

    "...I''m just glad to see you in good health, Mother. I truly have no words for the trouble I’ve caused you, so do forgive me... Let me introduce you to my cherished family."

    Then my mother proceeded to introduce us one by one.

    "It''s quite something to see my little girl becoming a mother, giving birth to four kids, and all of them growing splendidly. It''s like the due happiness has crashed forth with four times the interest. You have no idea how happy I am. It''s a pity Beck and Grim aren''t here today. Please inform them I would like to meet them someday... By the way—"

    After sharing words of nostalgia, Frelia-san paused, the surrounding air suddenly became frigid.

    "Why didn''t you contact me before arriving? You''re supposed to be the wife of the current head of the Viscount Rovenne family. I’m sure I never taught you such ill manners."

    As she spoke, her voice was frigid cold, devoid of any emotion, and brimming with raging fury.

    My mother didn''t try to look away from Frelia-san''s eyes, and firmly placed her hand on my shoulder.

    "It''s because Allen asked me to keep it a secret. Right, Allen? How about you explain yourself?"

    Huuuhhh?! No, none, nay!!! How could I pull up an excuse so suddenly?! And I absolutely can''t say I did it to skip on knight''s work, can I?!

    Frelia-san''s gaze shifted to me, her stare probing me for the reason.

    Though it was my elder sister who saved the day.

    "Allen said he wanted to surprise granny. He didn''t have any ill will, so forgive him, grandma."

    "...To give me... a surprise? Is that so...?"

    Frelia-san repeated the words of my sister as she stared at me.

    Cold sweat began to pour out of me as I searched for an answer. But before I had to do anything, Frelia-san''s expression broke into a lively smile, reminiscent of my mother. Her frigid aura suddenly melted away to show a happy expression.

    "Fufu... You''re quite a mischievous kid, huh, Allen? It''s fine since it''s me, your granny, but do remember to at least keep the bare minimum decorum for nobles, alright? And you too, Roselia. You''re his elder sister, so don’t go easy on him, understand?"

    "I will~ Sorry, grandmother."

    My elder sister responded in a flippant tone, sticking out her tongue playfully. Granny saw this, smiled, and then nodded in satisfaction.

    ......The heck, ain''t she too sweet on her grandchild?!