Namgung Se-ga, the warrior, was reincarnated in Romance

A week before the end of the year, countless carriages from the Duchy of Valentia lined up and arrived. The mansion, which was so vast that it was difficult to count the rooms, was now packed with guests.

Each person, adorned in glittering attire, sparkled like the fruits in a cake, their shining forms filling the place.

My mother, Serene, was sensitive to the cold and avoided direct sunlight, so she favored dresses that covered her neck and shoulders. Even the children from the academy, though they wore fashionable dresses, didn’t expose their shoulders.

However, the people of the Duchy of Valentia, located far south of Ernheart, wore dresses that revealed their shoulders and upper chests, making it difficult to know where to look.

Because of this, when I walked through the garden or entered the banquet hall, I often found myself looking down at people’s waists rather than their faces.

This was all due to the magic that warmed the indoor air. For no reason, I found myself feeling resentful.

As the number of guests increased, it became harder to see my maternal grandfather, uncle, and their families.

Not just them, but my own relatives and Ernheart’s kin were also busy greeting dozens of guests every day.

Most of the guests were acquaintances from my mother’s life before her marriage, so I had to maintain a polite demeanor and circulate around, greeting people.

“Serene, my dear! Or should I say, now the wife of Count Ernheart? How long has it been?”

“I’ve missed you, Baroness Brown. How many years has it been?”

“I know, right? I should have come to visit, but life is what it is… Ah, is this your son?”

“Yes, that’s right. Our eldest son, Michael Ernheart.”

“Pleasure to meet you, madam.”

“I’ve heard so much about you, Count Ernheart. You look just like Serene when she was young!”

The woman who burst into laughter introduced herself as a distant relative, the same age as my mother.

Standing next to her was a young man, more imposing than her, who stared at me. When I looked up at his thick jawline and youthful cheeks, he quickly greeted me.

“Hello! I’m Bill Brown, Count Ernheart.”

“Ah, you’re the Brown family heir. Pleasure to meet you.”

“Our Bill will be old enough to enter the academy next year. He’s planning to join the fencing club. Since Count Ernheart is one year ahead, please take care of him.”

“…Hmm.”

I looked at him again.

His dark purple hair resembled my uncle’s.

I had assumed he was much older because he was taller than me with broad shoulders and hands, but it turned out he was only just coming of age.

It seemed that my maternal relatives usually looked more mature than their actual age.

As I kept inspecting him, an increasingly familiar feeling arose, and I tilted my head.

“…Have we met before?”

“I’ve really wanted to meet you! I respect you, sir!”

“…Huh?”

My question was about whether he had visited on my birthday, but his answer was completely off-track. Still, with a boy of this kind of impression, I couldn’t have forgotten him.

Bill Brown was older than me, but my mother was higher in seniority than his mother, so according to the family hierarchy, I was technically his senior.

I came from a world where it was natural to address older relatives as uncles and aunts regardless of age, so I had no reservations. But around me, everyone laughed at how awkwardly he acted.

The boy, with a simple face, grabbed my hand and shook it up and down, and as I stared at him, I suddenly realized why he seemed so familiar.

I paused for a moment, wondering if I was doing the right thing, and then spoke.

“…Are you from the Pang family?”

“Excuse me? Pang? What do you mean?”

“No, never mind. I was mistaken for a moment.”

Some time ago, I had dreamt of a person swimming across a black river.

The idea that I had been born in this land due to a mysterious fate had led me to think that perhaps others, too, might have been reborn here like I had.

It was nonsense. It wasn’t even a funny thought. Yet, the unease inside me couldn’t be shaken.

The five great families that controlled the regions’ peace and wealth were known as the Five Great Clans. These were the Nangong, Mo Yong, Sa Cheondang, Zhegal, and the Heibei Pang family.

Among them, the Heibei Pang family was particularly famous for their great physical strength and exceptional spiritual power.

But they were known for using force in situations where wit should have been employed and for using their strength where it wasn’t needed. Whenever they were around, there was always trouble.

They were the type to walk around with oversized weapons and carelessly knock things over. It wasn’t unusual for someone, like Huangbo, to be injured during such incidents.

They were dedicated to justice and honest, but they weren’t the easiest people to be around.

Bill’s face and build closely resembled that of the Pang family members I knew from Central China.

Despite my reluctance, I had secretly hoped that someone from the Zhegal or Mo Yong family would show up instead.

Without even understanding what it meant, Bill boasted that he would be a Pang family member from today onward if that was what I wanted, patting his broad chest.

The laughter around us grew louder, and I lost the words I had intended to say.

The Baroness Brown quickly came to Bill’s defense.

“Normally, debutantes are expected to attend the capital’s ball, but Bill here insisted so much on seeing Count Ernheart that he came to the Valentia ball instead. Oh my, he’s all grown up now and impossible to stop.”

“Oh my, is that so? What exactly have you heard?”

“It’s the usual gossip that goes around the upper town. They say Count Ernheart has been practicing in the training hall since he was five, that he has a good personality and a strong sense of justice, and that his hair and eyelashes are the famous Valentia pink. They’re calling him a great beauty and a hero of the century.”

“Valentia pink…”

“Haha! It’s been so long since I’ve seen you embarrassed like this, Serene!”

Though I had heard many times how famous my mother was in her day, I was still stunned by the unfamiliar words.

I suddenly realized how I had been living like a frog in a well until last year.

Next to me, Bill, laughing heartily with his throat visible, seemed excited about what he had heard that made him look up to me, but I didn’t ask.

Since the elders of our family wanted Bill and me to stick together, I made sure to involve him with the children while we waited for the new year to arrive.

Michael, who was displeased by Bill constantly calling me “sir” and bowing his head repeatedly, had a few falls off the merry-go-round.

He clearly didn’t like the way Bill was acting like my possession, swinging my younger brother around.

When I asked him if he wasn’t enjoying the merry-go-round, Michael hesitated for a while before admitting that he found Bill’s broader shoulders and height more fun than his brother’s.

I was a bit disappointed, but I didn’t let it show.

Exhausted from playing, Michael and Asdel were now asleep. Bill’s loud laughter made me worried it would wake the children, so I took him outside.

Maelo Sanson also had a commanding presence, but his serious demeanor and wise attitude showed his refined nature. Bill, on the other hand, shared similar physical grace, but he expressed himself with full energy, laughing and using his body.

Standing next to Bill, even Benjamin could appear small in comparison.

As I thought about that, a large hand, like a pot lid, suddenly landed on my shoulder.

“Sir, I’ve heard everything.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“They say you’re already aiming for the highest level of Sword Expert.”

“…Hmm.”

“I’ll serve you for life, sir.”

“…What level are you at?”

“Oh, just speak casually! Huh? We’re family, aren’t we?”

We weren’t really family.

Though we shared blood, we were cousins several times removed. We’d never even seen each other’s faces before today, and now, after spending a single day together, he was acting like we were close, rubbing my shoulder in a very awkward manner.

The only reason I didn’t push him away was because I was used to this behavior. At least, since he was younger than the Pang family members, and he was well-groomed and clean, his scent wasn’t as overpowering, which I was grateful for.

Whenever he leaned in close to my ear and boisterously talked, it made my head ring.

He said he was at the intermediate level of Sword Expert, though he hadn’t awakened his aura yet, but he boasted that it was only a matter of time.

Considering his physique, it was amusing to see such an immature attitude. He clung to me like a friendly puppy, and I let him, pretending to accept it.

Later, when he begged to spar with me or insisted on training together at the academy, I reluctantly agreed and then dismissed him.

—

The first day of the new year.

The grand hall, glittering with gold and silver, was filled with a light breeze. The cheerful sound of songs floated in the warm wind.

From midday to midnight, the youthful men and women, exhausted from dancing, exchanged affectionate glances as they leaned on the terrace, whispering sweet words to each other.

I, too, was on the terrace with my family and relatives, waiting for the new year to arrive.

Thanks to taking a long nap, the children’s bright eyes sparkled as they gathered together and looked up at the sky, counting the time.

Everyone hid their watches and eagerly awaited the sunrise between the stars in the dark sky.

As I reflected on the past year spent in Sieron, it was busier and more joyful than any year I had experienced before.

I hoped that the next year, and the years to come, would also bring such excitement and happiness.

Michael and Asdel, holding onto my fingers tightly, opened their small mouths wide.

I pulled them in with both arms, unable to resist how adorable they were as they took deep breaths.

In the distance, the sun slowly rose over a gentle hill.

The sounds of joy and soft yawns could be heard from all around.

And so, I turned fourteen.