The Noble Exception

Even though Colt was genuinely happy to be traveling with Hei and Seila, he didn't speak with them often.

As a commoner, acting too familiar could come off as ill-mannered, especially with nobles—even if these two didn't treat him any differently.

So, he kept to himself and only spoke when someone asked him a direct question.

Still, he learned quite a bit just by listening. Both Hei and Seila were active in noble circles, so they seemed to know everything that was happening across the country.

Colt quietly absorbed it all, feigning boredom even as he memorized every detail.

After three days of travel, they finally stopped at a small village.

If Colt had been alone, he could have flown to Lofpus City in a single day. But by carriage, the trip would take ten.

That meant camping most nights along the road.

Not that it was a problem. With this many guards, no bandit would be foolish enough to approach them.

And thanks to the kingdom's efforts, monsters were mostly confined to restricted areas far from major roads.

Still, traveling with nobles always meant additional considerations. Every few days, they needed to rest somewhere with a roof—regardless of how modest.

This particular village didn't even have a proper inn.

Colt was still wondering why they'd stopped here at all when Seila walked off toward one of the houses, and Hei approached him.

There was something oddly hesitant in Hei's expression.

"Hey, Colt... I forgot to mention this earlier, but there's another person joining us for the rest of the trip to the academy. You don't mind, right?"

This guy... One day, he'll forget his own sword. Colt smiled inwardly, but said none of it aloud.

"It's completely fine. I'm just a commoner leeching off your generosity anyway."

"Huh? Don't say that. It makes me feel guilty. I'm the one who invited you, remember?"

"And I'm grateful for that."

Colt didn't show it, but he took an unreasonable amount of pleasure in teasing Hei like this. It was fine—Hei hadn't changed. Colt was sure they'd be close again soon enough.

"Can I ask who's joining us?"

"Oh, she's a friend of Seila's. One of her closest friends. But don't worry—she's not haughty or anything."

Colt already knew who he was talking about. Hei had just left out a fairly important detail.

As Seila knocked on the door of a nearby house, it opened, and a girl stepped out.

She had a beautiful face and a graceful figure. And long, pointed ears.

An elf.

Seila ran to her and wrapped her in a hug, and the girl smiled and hugged her back.

Colt recognized her immediately.

Myrin.

She was in that same photo Colt had once torn apart.

Seila's second-best friend after Hei.

Normally, Ostines was a country whose nobles were humans.

But, to show that there was no discrimination against other races, each race had one representative among the other nobles.

Of course, it wasn't all appearances. There was no discrimination, and all races lived in harmony in Ostines.

But, for some reason, they were never able to join the noble ranks except for these representatives.

And Myrin was the Daceran elven household's, a Viscount household, daughter.

Cheerful, kind, and always at Seila's side, she had been a constant presence in the stories Colt remembered from his past life.

The two approached Colt and Hei after chatting for a short while.

When they reached the group, Myrin greeted Hei first, and he responded with a polite nod.

"It's been a while, Hei."

"It has. I hope you've been well."

"Of course. I received your gift for my birthday. It was thoughtful. I wish you could've been there."

"I'm glad you liked it. Unfortunately, I was at the western border with my father. But I'll make sure to be at the next one."

After that, Myrin turned her attention to Colt.

"Ah, this is Colt," Hei said. "He's another academy aspirant. He'll be traveling with us."

"Nice to meet you," Myrin said, smiling before Colt could even open his mouth.

It was a small break in etiquette, but clearly intentional. Since Hei hadn't mentioned a surname, it was obvious Colt was a commoner.

Myrin was trying to put him at ease.

"The honor is mine, Lady Myrin."

"Huh? I don't think I told you my name yet."

Shit.

He could excuse it with Hei, since they'd met in the territory his father governed. But this definitely wasn't Daceran land.

"Haha! He's like that," Hei jumped in. "He knew my name the second he saw my face."

Thank you, Hei. I owe you one.

"I see. Do you know all the noble houses and their children?" Myrin asked, tilting her head slightly.

A question like that could easily sound like suspicion. Only spies or overly ambitious commoners memorized noble families.

"Not at all, Miss," Colt replied, lowering his gaze with a shy expression. "I'm from another country, so I studied the nobility just enough to avoid offending anyone on my way to the academy."

He was playing with their emotions.

If a commoner offended a noble, the commoner would be punished. But he knew that these three weren't like that.

So, they felt bad for the commoners who had to study their faces.

"I see," Myrin said softly. "Forgive me. Please, feel free to call me Myrin."

"As you wish," Colt said with a gentle bow, continuing the emotional abuse just a little longer.

But it wasn't Myrin who was the most affected by all this. It was Seila.

Since she was an elf, Myrin was beautiful. No, even among elves, Myrin was considered stunning—and even by their high standards.

If she'd been human, she would've likely been the top marriage candidate in Ostines, not Seila.

But Daceran household's elves didn't marry other races.

Not because of any taboo, interracial marriage was completely normal in the country, but because they served as their people's sole noble representation in the country.

To preserve that bloodline, they carefully raised their heirs and spouses from within.

This was the fate of the nobles.

But still, Myrin was beautiful. And Seila had worried that Colt might pull something like he did with her, especially in front of someone even more dazzling.

If anything, she'd expected worse.

Yet Colt remained composed. Polite. Not a single weird comment or awkward glance.

In Seila's mind, Colt had started off on the wrong foot. But seeing him like this… her opinion began to shift.

"Let's not stand around out here," Myrin said, smiling as she motioned toward the house. "Come in. We can head out tomorrow morning."