Chapter 18

Henry's POV

Today was a dull day. I greeted a guest of my father, brushed off his son's advances and drank tea while pretending to be interested in my mother and his wife's stories. But at least it wasn't all bad. My father reminded me of the upcoming wedding between Duke's Tisrado son and the daughter of Marquis Eluette in the old capital. It looks like I will get to reunite with the hero sooner than I was expecting, as the wedding takes part the same time as the Martial Arts Tournament.

It is unfortunate that the father can't come due to problems with the new labyrinth. It will just be me, my mother and my brother going. I hope my brother doesn't try to pick a fight with her again. But on the upside, my father confirmed that I could take Hero Kura as a plus one to the wedding and the party afterwards.

I get to take her dress shopping, help her pick out the right gift and spend a lot of time with her. I am sure she has gotten herself into trouble already. She seems like the kind of person who can't stay out of it. I will probably have to give her more lessons on how a noble is meant to behave as well. I am probably going to have to spend a lot of time alone with the hero.

"Excuse me, Lady Seiryuu,"

"What is it?"

A servant runs up to me, calling out to me and snapping me out of my thoughts. He must be new because I have never seen him around the castle before. He holds an envelope to me with shaky hands as if he thinks I might attack him.

"Thank you," I politely smile as I take the envelope. "You may go now."

The boy quickly runs off to do whatever he is meant to do while I retreat to my room. Sitting on the edge of my bed, I can hear my mother's and maid's voices scolding me for not using the chair, but my bed is far more comfortable than that chair. Besides, who cares what I do when alone in my room.

Grabbing my letter opening, I carefully cut open the envelope slicing through my family's seal. It is probably just another one of the nobles serving my father wanting me to marry their son, but that doesn't mean I can be careless. Damaging their letter means insulting them and would only lead to more trouble down the road.

"Oh,"

I couldn't help but gasp when I saw who it was from. I wasn't expecting the hero to write to me this soon, but it was a pleasant surprise. It seems she has gotten into a lot of trouble since we parted ways. Fighting bandits and monsters, exposing a corrupt noble and now planning an aid mission to that cursed territory.

She's made a few mistakes I will need to lecture her about. Getting too close to another noble, I know Earl Kuhanou has multiple unwed grandsons he will try to set her up with. Entering a territory famous for killing nobles and bringing them grave misfortune. I even warned who to stay out of the Muno Barony. She even took on a hydra single-handedly! I know she is strong, but she shouldn't be doing something so reckless. I will have to spend much more time alone with her than I initially thought when we met again. I need to make sure she understands the mistakes she is making before some crafty noble gets her in their debt or marries her off to one of their relatives.

"Excuse me, Lady Seiryuu,"

"Come in,"

A knock at the door grabs my attention, and soon my personal maid enters.

"Your father requires your assistance," My maid bows as she enters. "He asks that you look over the requests for supplies for a training expedition to the Labyrinth City."

I agree with her message with a smile. Hero Kura said she was going to train in the Labyrinth City, and I happened to have an excuse to visit there myself. One of my friends from the royal academy Shina Ashinen, who happens to be Viceroy Marquis Ashinen's fourth daughter, has become ill recently. I'm sure father will let me go to the Labyrinth City if I request to visit her now that he is sending an expedition. It looks like I will see more of the hero before the kingdom's meeting than I thought I would have.