I’ll Use a Reverse-Edged Sword

Brilliant lights, excited merchants, and beautiful fireworks bursting in the sky occasionally…
It had already been over two hours since we, that is, Luna and I, who were walking through this fantastic city, hadn’t exchanged a single word.
As soon as she woke up and confirmed the bracelet still firmly attached to my wrist and the reverse-edged sword at my waist, she lost her words.
Walking with her from the lodging at Hanson’s request, I found this situation quite uncomfortable.
Every street was full of couples.
Nine out of ten were holding hands or linking arms, laughing and chattering joyfully, while the remaining one was passionately kissing in any slightly secluded spot they could find.

‘A city of pleasure? No… that’s not the feeling… This is more like, should I say, a honeymoon destination?’

As I, immersed in my impressions, let out a short exclamation while looking at the fireworks bursting in the sky, a voice was heard from beside me for the first time in two hours.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it’s beautiful.”
“It’s my favorite place.”
“I heard from Lord Hanson. It’s a wonderful place that you would like.”
“If I found someone I loved… I wanted to come here together at least once…”

Suddenly, why did she start talking, she was quite flustering me.

“Ahem… I see…”
“If you walk these beautiful streets together, it would surely become an unforgettable memory, don’t you think?”
“Y-Yes, I suppose so…”
“Those lights, the fireworks decorating the sky. Each one is beautiful on its own… but all these things will be remembered not as individual entities but together with the person who saw and heard them with you.”
“It’s a shame that it’s me who’s beside you.”

To her, who kept giving me hints, I apologized, feeling like I should say sorry even if it was just empty words.
At that, a single tear rolled down from her eyes.

Oh no…
Having witnessed her seemingly inexhaustible waterfall-like tear attacks several times already,
I start trying to stop her tears, not knowing for what reason they started.

“D-Don’t cry, look over there, isn’t that cloud-shaped candy pretty? If you want, I can get you one-”
“Yes, please buy me one.”

Before my words were even finished, she boldly demanded the cloud candy.
Even though she’s much richer than me…
I had no choice but to walk with her to the cloud candy stand to keep my word.

“Oh my, welcome. What a handsome young man and beautiful lady, would you like some cloud candy? It’s not just pretty to look at, it tastes amazing too.”
“Two-”
“No, one, just one please.”

Luna interrupted my words and reduced the cloud candy to one, regardless of the merchant’s expression.
Eventually, I received the candy and handed it to her as it was, but she didn’t take it and just tore off a small piece from the end to put in her mouth.

“It’s sweet. It’s so delicious.”
“Then why don’t you take it all and eat-”
“You should eat some quickly too, Young Master.”
“No, I’m fine-”

Hit by her fierce gaze, I stopped complaining and broke off a small piece of the cloud candy to put in my mouth.
The sweet aroma spreading in my mouth and the soft texture, combined with the fireworks bursting in the sky at that moment, created a wonderful feeling.

“It’s excellent.”
“Isn’t it? This time we spent today… please never forget this time when we walked together, shared candy, and blankly stared at fireworks.”

Suddenly, what is she saying?
It’s true that we promised a strategic union between families, but hadn’t we already agreed not to go as far as marriage?
The words coming out of Luna’s mouth now were the kind of conversation that should be shared between a man and woman who have shared their hearts, that is, real lovers.
To this, I had to confirm if our promise was still valid.

“I will pray that the day comes when Miss Luna meets a good person and visits this place again.”
“That day will never come.”
“Um… Miss Luna…?”
“There’s no one better in the world than someone who throws away their future for me without any hesitation.”

It was clear that I had been greatly misunderstood.
Her expression was not one of just saying empty words.

“No, Miss Luna, I’ve tried to tell you several times… there’s no need to worry about this bracelet issue at all. I, well, it’s complicated to explain… anyway, not only do I usually prefer to use this reverse-edged sword-”
“There’s no swordsman in the world who prefers to use such a foolish sword.”

Is this a squash?
Why is she so adamant…
I was feeling like I was going crazy and about to jump.
If I told her I was the protagonist of a novel set to use only a reverse-edged sword, would she even understand?
Listen, woman, even if it wasn’t for you, even if it wasn’t for this curse nonsense, I was destined to use only a reverse-edged sword anyway…

“The whole world will laugh at you. At you who wields only a bladeless sword despite having such amazing swordsmanship skills… Someone might pick a fight with you for no reason. You, who can’t use a real sword anyway, wouldn’t you seem easy to take on?”

You didn’t see Heden’s head burst because you were unconscious…
I started to explain earnestly to her with her serious expression.

“Miss Luna. Listen carefully. I’m not lying. I prefer to use a reverse-edged sword, and even if it wasn’t for you, I would have carried only this sword everywhere. This is not a lie to ease your burden of mind.”
“What’s the pattern on the scabbard? There was something else besides the Castillo family crest.”
“Th-That’s because it was a gift from the Eckart family, so the Eckart crest-”
“When did you receive the gift? Was it a very long time ago?”
“It was… recently…”
“Then it’s not true that you’ve been preferring that toy-like sword for a long time. Right?”
“……”

Well, it wasn’t that long ago that I regained my memories… Of course I didn’t use it until then…
But wasn’t it that I would have to keep using it inevitably from now on?
Luna, who had no way of knowing these circumstances, seemed to just believe it was my sacrifice as she pleased.

“Don’t lie for me anymore. The fact that you’ll become the laughingstock of the whole world because of me… sob… sob… I’m going to enter the magic tower.”

Suddenly, what is this talk now?

“Miss Luna, what do you mean by magic tower all of a sudden?”
“I’m going to study magic. Even if Würgen Schneider is a legendary black magician, I’ve heard that there’s always a way to break every magic in the world. That curse of yours, I’ll find a way to break it somehow.”

Oh my…
Luna…
You frustrating woman…
I reluctantly decided to bring up something that might hurt her a little.

“Miss Luna, wasn’t our engagement a strategic means, and didn’t we promise to break it off before marriage later? Have you forgotten already? I haven’t forgotten that ‘contract’ for a moment.”

Contract
To remind her that our relationship was not a natural one born from pure hearts,
I deliberately used that word.
And, in addition to this, I add something to drive the point home.

“Moreover, I have a woman in my heart. Of course, it’s not you, Miss Luna.”

“Ha!”
Her expression, which had been sad and pitiful all this time, changed a little at these words of mine.

“You must be talking about that Lady Adela from the rumors? That woman you’ve been foolishly following around for a while. Her name was… Alice… wasn’t it?”

Did she investigate me?
No, it was a name that always naturally came up whenever people talked about my reputation, so in a way, it might be natural for her to know.
Looking at Luna’s mouth that had spoken Alice’s name, I recalled her for a moment.

Yes, before I regained my memories
That is, when I firmly believed myself to be Castillo Eden himself
She was the woman I had liked and wanted for a long time.
Adela Alice
A small childhood memory
Sharing only that one, she was someone I could never reach no matter how much I stretched out my hand
Recalling her like that, even though my life had changed completely in an instant now,
I judged that saying I held her in my heart wouldn’t be a lie.

“That’s right. Adela Alice.”

After hearing my answer again, her face changed in a subtle way that made it difficult to discern what emotion it contained.
But the words that came out of her mouth again were something that greatly flustered me.

“It doesn’t matter, Eden. It doesn’t matter if you have another woman in your heart, or if you don’t want me. That curse of yours that will follow you for life. That responsibility will also follow me for life. You and I have already become an unbreakable connection.”

Wait a minute,
Why is it so hard to communicate?
Moreover, wasn’t she the one who didn’t like me?
That desperate, sorrowful, pitiful yet firm… that appearance is just incomprehensible?

“Come here, Eden, walk with me a little more for the remaining time. If you go to the academy and I go to the magic tower, we won’t be able to meet each other for a while, right? I can’t waste this time now with such arguments.”

Was she always someone who spoke so eloquently?
Unable to resist her pressure, I walked and walked for a long time like that.
It was a night when all the splendid scenery of Seranne Castle fully entered my and Luna’s eyes.

And the next day
To prepare for my admission to the academy, I returned home after sending the trade group members back to the Wydro family.