The Main Heroine Likes the Extra

56 – To the Duchy of Ignis

Turn back time a little, to the city of Brimton, Duchy of Ignis.

Andrew Ignis looked up at the gates of the city of Brimton, his face wet with emotion.

For a long time, Andrew was trapped in a state of going back and forth even with his consciousness.

In his mind, he remembered the city of Brimton he had seen before leaving with his father.

I can see traces of repairs here and there, but tears flowed involuntarily at the main gate of the city, which has not changed much.

“Mother… I’m finally back home.”

“……”

But the mother on her back, Duchess Rachel Ignis, still did not return to her consciousness.

Andrew was just waiting for the doctor’s opinion that there was no major problem with his life.

“Whew… We’ve finally arrived.”

Priest Alicia, who got off the carriage a bit late, approached with Lilu.

At that time, she said that Leelu was strange.

“Hmm? Why is the knight guarding the door?”

At that, Andrew looked back toward the front door.

Certainly, the city gates are usually guarded by plain armored guards.

But now, instead of guards, knights dressed in luxurious armor and showing that they were quite disciplined stood at the city gates.

Alicia clapped her hands and said.

“I heard that Her Highness Aine is stationed in Brimton City, so isn’t that because of that?”

“Anyway, it’s a bit strange that a knight is in charge of guarding the city…”

Andrew denies Alicia’s words.

In the end, Leelu came up with the idea of ‘let’s go,’ and they approached the door.

“Stop, tell me your identity and purpose for coming to the city.”

The knights who look at the party and raise their guard and say that.

Andrew felt a little nervous about such a knight, but soon he proudly stretched his chest and opened his mouth.

“Andrew Ignis, the eldest son of the duke who rules this city. I just…Returned.”

Andrew was out of breath for a moment when he said he had returned, but he was able to speak to the end.

At those words, the knights widened their eyes.

“Prince Andrew…?”

“…Wait a minute.”

One of the knights hurriedly ran into the door.

The knight who was left alone spoke to Andrew with a little bit of caution, but with a more polite attitude.

“I’m sorry. It may be difficult, but please wait a moment.”

“…It’s okay, but has something happened to the city?”

The knight, who was briefly troubled by Andrew’s words, sighed and explained.

For some reason, the soldiers who were guarding and patrolling the city could not move.

It was said that Her Highness, Princess Aine, who could not see the state of the city, was working to restore public order in the city as a special measure.

As for the ‘some reason’, he said that he couldn’t say it was confidential yet, and said that he was okay with the article, and Andrew shook his head.

“That…Is the person over there a priest of the World Tree Church?”

“Ah, yes. That’s right… But maybe something big…?”

Alicia is taken aback when the subject suddenly returns to herself.

Seeing her like that, her knight scratched his cheek and said.

“Ah… It’s not like that. Actually, there’s a problem between the Kingdom and the church… There’s an order to be careful with the person in the church.”

“Is that so…?”

Alicia remembered that before she left the church, she had dispatched her secret unit according to her absurd remark.

By any chance, what did the covert army do in the kingdom?

…Could the covert unit really succeed in kidnapping Riel Ignis?

No. Certainly, the kingdom side is wary of the church, and if the abduction really succeeded, it wouldn’t have ended at the level of just being vigilant.

Maybe it was a halfway failure, and the church side got caught. So judged.

“Alicia-sama is the benefactor who saved my mother and me. I don’t think you need to worry.”

“Is that so?”

Andrew embraces Alicia when the atmosphere turns strange.

Seeing that, the chivalry was a little wary, and Alicia let out a sigh of relief at the feeling of being much more at ease.

At that time, the knight who ran into the city returned.

“He told me to bring him right now!”

Reboarding the carriage that ran through the city, Alicia and the others went straight to the mansion of Duke Ignis.

A duke’s mansion located a little far from the city center.

Originally, there would have been frequent encounters with servants or private soldiers on the way, but we arrived at the mansion without such incidents.

Andrew’s expression hardened as he looked at the mansion from the carriage.

“This…This is…”

Originally, the mansion of a duke that was meticulously managed by attendants and glittered.

But now dust has accumulated here and there, and some walls are worn out and are even being repaired.

Just as Andrew was at a loss for words at the changed appearance of the mansion, a blonde woman approached him.

“I’m sorry, Prince Andrew. I tried my best to repair it, but it’s sloppy compared to the experts.”

A woman with long blonde hair, purple eyes, and a uniform embroidered with colorful patterns came out of the mansion.

Aine Gine Palaginia. The second princess of the kingdom came to meet him.

“Oh… Long time no see! Her Highness, Princess Aine.”

Andrew immediately greeted with courtesy.

After that, Alicia also prepared her manners, and Lilu, who did not understand the situation well, followed the two in an awkward manner.

“…I’m sure it’s Prince Andrew. Is that Mrs. Rachel on her back?”

“Yes, Your Highness. You haven’t eaten properly for a long time and you’re weak…”

“Okay. Let your wife rest first and then we can talk.”

Saying that, Princess Aine turns around.

She turned and fixed her gaze on Alicia for a moment, but then she turned her head away.

“…It seems like there are complicated circumstances.”

After receiving the telegram from Her Highness, I immediately went to the teacher’s office with Riel.

Professor Leonora, the homeroom teacher, was sitting in her seat and scratching something with her pen.

“Professor Leonora!”

As Riel called out to the professor, Professor Leonora turned around with a slightly surprised look and opened her eyes wide.

“Oh, it’s Miss Ignis and Wentos-kun, right? Is there something wrong?”

When Professor Leonora asked her business with a smile, Riel answered in a loud voice.

“Yes! I want to leave the academy for a while!!”

At Riel’s words, the surrounding atmosphere instantly cooled.

Yes. Yeah… I said it too bluntly.

Look at that, Professor Leonora’s face is pale.

Professor Leonora, who was fascinated with a blue face, came to her senses with a hot voice, and said with an anxious expression.

“This… Ms. Ignis? Is it because an intruder came to the dormitory a while ago…? I know you’re anxious, but…”

“Uh…Hey, Professor? That’s not what…”

Professor Leonora started talking gibberish, almost crying.

“That…That’s why Wentos-kun came with us…? W…I’m sure it’s like that, right? You could say it’s because of our negligence…But still…”

“……”

No, it’s not like I’m going to cry, but I already have tears in my eyes.

I couldn’t seem to hear what I was saying.

“Ugh…Miss Edwin and Ludwig-kun have left…If the two of you leave here, I…Ugh…”

“Professor!”

“Yes?!”

I thought it wouldn’t end at this rate, so in the end I made a loud noise.

Professor Leonora, who was in a panic, looked this way in surprise. Nice

“It’s not that I’m dropping out, I just want to write an absence notice because I have somewhere to go for a while.”

“Where to go…?”

“That…My mother said she had returned.”

After hearing Riel’s words, Professor Leonora opened her mouth as if she had suddenly come to her senses.

“Ah…Ah! That…That’s it!! Ahahahaha…What else am I…!”

Professor Leonora quickly calms down her expression that was on the verge of crying.

Then, the gaze moved to me.

“Hey…Then what about Wentos-kun?”

“Yes? Me?”

“Yes, Ms. Ignis said that she would be absent due to her family returning, but I was wondering why Wentos-kun would be absent for some reason.”

…That’s right.

Come to think of it, this is a matter for the Ignis family, and it has nothing to do with me.

For this reason, I can’t use the absence notice.

As I was thinking about what to do, Riel, who was next to her, suddenly grabbed my arm.

Then he grabbed her arm tightly.

…Slightly soft to the touch.

“I…I’m coming home with you!”

“Yes? But Wentos-kun…”

“I…It’s like family already, so it doesn’t matter, doesn’t it?!”

A sudden cry from Riel made the atmosphere quiet again.

How many seconds had passed? It was Professor Leonora who broke the silence.

“Ah…Ah!! That…That’s it!”

Professor Leonora smiles broadly as if she suddenly realized it.

I turned her gaze to Riel, wondering what the situation was, and Riel nodded her head.

“Yes! That’s it! That’s it!!”

“That would be fine! Then just sign here! I’ll take care of the rest.”

Professor Leonora rummaged through the drawer, pulled out two pieces of paper from him, and handed them over.

When Riel and I confirmed that it was an absence form, Professor Leonora moved it to one side of the desk and looked at Riel.

“Ms. Ignis. Wait this way.”

“Yes.”

As Riel approached Professor Leonora’s hand gesture, Professor Leonora whispered something in her ear.

Professor Leonora looked at me with her smile as Riel nodded her head with her new blush.

“Then, Wentos-kun, do your best.”

“…Yes…?”

???

…What are you trying to do?

I don’t know what the hell was going on between the two of them, but I was able to deal with the absence somehow.

I was a bit busy after that.

I had to pack my things with Luka’s help, and I briefly explained the situation to my close acquaintances, such as Emilia and Iris seniors.

Phyllis reserved a train for the Duchy of Ignis in advance.

The city of Brimton, where the residence of Duke Ignis is located, is not a big city, but it is still the center of the dukedom, so there are many trains.

“Then I’ll come back!!”

Even if I said that it was not necessary, Riel waved her hand at Emilia who had come out to see her off.

Four people on the train now are me, Riel, and Phyllis and Luca, who have followed us to wait on us.

Now, when we reached the stage where we just had to get on the train, Riel put on a slightly nervous expression, as if her excitement had subsided.

“Are you okay?”

“…Yes.”

Come to think of it, I remembered what happened during the outdoor class.

At that time, she heard about her family from Riel.

“Come to think of it, did you say that she doesn’t remember much about her brother?”

“… Yeah. I haven’t seen her except when I was very young.”

“The Duchess… About her mother?”

“Unlike her father, her mother used to come back a few times…She used to hug each time.”

Riel, who had a nostalgic expression, said gloomily.

“But … It wasn’t long before she stopped coming home at all.”

“……”

“At that time, her mother also took her attention away from me … And she was really sad.”

In her original work, Riel’s family was never properly mentioned except for her older sister Eve.

At the time, she was still the main heroine’s family… I wondered why there was no mention of it.

If you think about the bizarre things that happened at the duke’s house, what happened?

“Because I talked to her sister, though, and she knew she didn’t hate me.”

Riel smiled at her.

“I’m going to talk to my mother too. She doesn’t know how people feel unless she hears it for herself.”

“…Yes.”

The train ran hard to the south.