One month passed since the celebration ended.

Even though everyone else had left the palace, Vivian stayed behind.

His brother stayed as well, since Miss Esabella had taken him as her disciple.

Their mother had shown clear reluctance when she and their father were preparing to return home.

She wouldn't get to see either of her sons for months.

Vivian was already away in the academy most of the time, but at least she used to have Edward at home.

Now he wasn't there either.

Vivian had somehow managed to calm her down.

He promised he would return in a few months, and after hearing that, she finally agreed to leave, even if her eyes stayed a little red.

After his parents left, Vivian stayed in the royal palace instead of going back to the family estate.

It would have been a pointless hassle.

He would only have to return to the academy a few days later, so it was easier to remain in the capital until then.

And now, a month later, he and Charlotte were riding a carriage toward the academy after saying goodbye to everyone in the palace.

Edward had left earlier with Miss Esabella.

The carriage moved steadily along the road, the horses trotting at a calm pace.

They had just exited the capital city of Deldi.

The tall gates stood behind them, slowly growing smaller as the carriage rolled farther away.

Vivian looked out the window for a while. The busy streets and noise of the capital were already fading.

Ahead, the open road stretched under the clear sky, with fields and small hills on both sides.

Charlotte sat beside him, her hands resting on her lap, her eyes still on the fading silhouette of the city.

It had been a long month, full of tension and decisions neither of them had expected.

The carriage kept moving forward, carrying them away from Deldi and toward the academy waiting in Akron city.

Vivian didn't say a word on the way.

His eyes stayed on the window, watching the road, the fields, anything but the thoughts in his head.

He looked far away, like his mind was still standing in the emperor's hall from a month ago.

Charlotte opened her mouth a few times, wanting to speak, but every time she saw his tense face, she stopped.

He looked like someone trying to hold himself together by staying silent.

She let out a long breath.

"Haa…" It wasn't loud, just tired.

"I know what you're thinking," she said at last, leaning a little forward.

"But now that they refused to take you into the war… what can you do?"

Vivian didn't answer. He didn't even look at her.

His eyes stayed outside, following the trees passing by.

Charlotte sighed again, this time heavier.

She shifted closer to him, her shoulder brushing his.

There was something hesitant in her movements, like she was unsure if she should go further.

But then she took another deep breath, reached out, grabbed his hair, and pulled.

Not gently.

Startled, Vivian snapped around, frowning.

"What are you doing?" he said, voice sharp from surprise.

But her grip didn't soften.

She kept hold of his hair and pulled him down firmly, guiding him straight onto her lap.

He didn't even have time to resist before his head landed there.

"I know you want to take part in the war," she said, her voice steady but gentle.

"But you can't keep sulking like this. Rest a bit."

Only then did her grip loosen.

Her fingers moved from pulling his hair to softly stroking it, slow and careful, like she was smoothing the restlessness out of him.

Vivian let out a small breath, not quite a sigh, but something close.

He didn't try to move away this time. Instead he murmured, "Shift to the side."

She understood immediately.

She adjusted her position to make space, and he bent his legs together, settling more comfortably across the seat with his head still in her lap.

"You don't have to worry," he said quietly.

"I'm just thinking about how to reach Grandmaster as soon as possible."

His eyes slowly closed, the tension in his face easing bit by bit.

Charlotte kept her hand on his hair, her fingers moving in small circles.

"Did you get any clues?" she asked softly, still stroking him as if he might break if she stopped.

"No," he said quietly.

"I haven't gotten any clues yet. Father said I need to understand myself and my path first… but I don't even know what that means."

His voice sounded tired, not weak, just tired of running in circles he couldn't escape.

Charlotte hummed softly, thinking. 'What about me…?'

If she ever reached Arch Mage, she would need the same kind of understanding a swordmaster needed.

A deeper sense of her magic, her purpose, her direction.

But she caught herself almost at once.

Her face stayed calm, but inside she pushed the thought down.

She wasn't even at the peak of 5th star yet.

Dreaming about Arch Mage was far, far ahead.

Thinking about it now would only distract her from the steps right in front of her.

She cleared her mind with a slow breath and stroked his hair again, as if brushing away her own worries along with his.

"Let's not talk about those things," she said, her tone a little lighter. "They'll come when they come."

Her fingers continued their gentle pattern on his head before she asked, "What do you plan to do after the academy is over? I mean… after we graduate?"

Vivian didn't look at her. His eyes stayed half-closed, but his voice carried a hint of surprise.

"Where did that come from?" he asked, clearly startled by the sudden question.

Charlotte hesitated for a moment. Her fingers stopped moving in his hair.

It looked like she was deciding whether to speak or stay quiet, but then something shifted in her eyes.

She gathered herself and asked again, more firmly this time.

"You don't have any plans for what you'll do later?"

Vivian opened his eyes a little, studying her expression.

Seeing how serious she looked, he let his mind wander for a moment. Then he sighed softly.

"Well," he said, "I'll return to the estate and help Father. It's been really hard for him these days, so I should give him a hand."

He paused, then added with a small, tired smile, "And when Edward grows up, he'll be the patriarch and handle all the work anyway. So after that… I'll start a farm."

The smile widened just slightly, as if he already pictured it. "What do you say? Pretty cool, right?"

Though he was the official heir of the house, he already knew, after watching his father every day, that the position wasn't as glorious as it sounded.

It was stressful, tiring, and full of problems that never stopped coming.

So in his mind, the choice was simple: Edward should take the role, and he would live a quiet life with his family.

As he thought of it, he let out a long sigh. 'Sorry, brother… but you will have to do all the work,' he said silently in his head.

'I'll just live in a small farm somewhere peaceful. I'll move Mother and Father there too. Grandfather also. Then I'll marry Charlotte… and start farming. That will do.'

This was his plan.

Not the official, proper plan others expected from the future head of the house, but the plan he wanted, the plan that kept him excited.

After going through two hellish lives, after carrying revenge and pressure for so long, all he wanted now was peace.

A simple life. A small piece of land where he could finally rest.

Of course, he wasn't completely heartless.

His little brother would end up doing most of the work one day, but Vivian would still help him from time to time.

He wouldn't abandon Edward. He just didn't want to drown in responsibility the way his father did.

Charlotte watched his expression soften and tighten at the same time, the mix of exhaustion and longing clear in his eyes.

She realized he wasn't joking, not even a little. This was the future he truly pictured for himself.

But Charlotte didn't get the answer she was hoping for, not even close.

Her hand paused in his hair, and after a small breath she asked, her voice almost trembling at the edges, "Well… don't you want to… start… a family… with me?"

Vivian didn't even open his eyes.

He just answered in a calm, steady tone. "Family with you?"

He already had that future in his mind, but he wasn't the type to say it so easily.

So instead he said, "What do you mean? Don't I already have a family?"

Charlotte froze. She didn't catch the teasing at all.

"That's not what I meant," she said quickly, flustered. "I meant… you and me… you know… a farm is fine, but what about having new members too?"

Her cheeks warmed, her voice shrinking a little. "I'm talking about… our own family."

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