Night had fully fallen, and it was dinner time. From the moment I returned, the servants had been bustling about, mainly preparing dishes for this evening's meal and decorating the dining hall and table.

When I saw the banner saying, "Welcome home, Young Master Clay!!" hanging up so politely, I couldn't help but feel incredibly embarrassed. Was this some kind of birthday party or what???

The celebratory atmosphere, as if we were about to hold a grand festivity, was something I had never once experienced in my first life. The table was filled with my favorite dishes, a testament to the hard work of the head chef, who had overseen our kitchen affairs since my childhood and poured his heart into cooking them.

Since it was a special occasion, the usual formalities were set aside, and even the servants, who normally wouldn’t participate in meals, joined in for a small banquet.

“Welcome home, Young Master Clay!!”

“You've grown so strong in just a few months...! ‘A man should be viewed with fresh eyes if you haven't seen him for three days,’ as the saying goes!”

“Hey, Clay! This meat pie is absolutely delicious!!”

One after another, the servants approached to speak with me. Some of their comments were odd, but I was used to it by now, so I didn’t let it bother me. Also, don’t eat too much by yourself—I want some, too...

Compared to my first life, this homecoming was completely different, and I was honestly quite surprised by it. However—

“I... I thought I was going to die…”

The valiant hero, who had just been sparring with my grand uncle, was now teetering on the brink of death, so overwhelmed that my initial surprise was entirely wiped away.

After leaving my father’s office, Weiss had been utterly beaten down in the backyard by my grand uncle. What started as a sparring session soon turned into a full-on training exercise. Then Freesia joined in, and the whole situation descended into complete chaos. It was pure madness.

“Gahaha! What are you whining about? After training, you need to eat until you’re full! Eat and let today’s experience properly take root in your body!!”

“N-No more… S-Save me… C-Clay…!!”

The hero, who was having food forcibly stuffed into his mouth by my grand uncle, looked like he was about to throw up, desperately seeking help from me. But there was nothing I could do.

Rather, seeing him in such a state made me reconsider my assumptions. I had thought that since he trained with me regularly and had built up resistance to heavy training, he’d be fine. But even less than an hour of sparring with my grand uncle left him like this.

“Sorry, Weiss. As your master, I see now that my training has been too lenient. Starting tomorrow, I’ll put you through even harsher drills. So for now, just accept your fate and let my grand uncle have his way with you.”

“C-Clay!?”

I’ll collect your remains later... So for today, just give up. The hero let out a silent scream as he was dragged off to the banquet table by my grand uncle for more ‘training’ (i.e., eating). Feeling a little sorry for him, I turned my focus back to deciding what to eat when—

“Brother, are you properly eating your food? Here, please try this. Levia and I picked it out together.”

“Oh, thanks, Alice—”

Alice and Levia stood side by side, handing me a beautifully arranged plate of food. Seeing how strangely close they had become in such a short time, I shot a suspicious glance at the troublesome woman.

“W-What is it, Lord Clay?”

“You haven't done anything weird to my precious little sister, have you?”

“P-Perish the thought! Besides, Lady Alice, who is blessed by the Shadow Dragon, would naturally reject any petty magic from someone like me…!!”

Not entirely convinced by her words, I placed my hand on Alice’s head and checked for any lingering traces of magic.

“────”

As she claimed, I couldn’t detect any of that clinging magical residue. Finally, I let out a quiet sigh of relief.

“Fine, then. But if you ever try anything with Alice, you’ll face the consequences.”

“Y-Yes!”

“Brother, Lady Levia would never do anything so awful. Even though we just met today, I can already tell.”

Alice, who had been listening beside me, spoke firmly. With her saying that, there wasn’t much else I could add.

Being overly protective and having Alice dislike me wasn’t what I wanted. If she ever faced real danger, I would simply step in with force.

──── Still, for Alice to warm up to her so quickly... This woman is quite something.

“Ehehe... Um, is there something on my face?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Feeling a strange sense of rivalry creeping in, I forced myself to hold back. I’m her big brother. The bond we have is built over years. Years, I tell you. As I boosted my self-esteem with this thought, a particularly energetic Freesia suddenly barged in between me and Levia.

“C-Clay! Here! I brought you a meat pie, alright!?”

“O-Oh, thanks…”

She forcefully handed me a plate and, as usual, took a seat right next to me. If anything, she was even closer than usual. With my earlier conversation with Zeke still fresh in my mind, I couldn't help but be... no, I’ll be honest—I was incredibly aware of it.

“Y-You two… aren’t you sitting a little too close? And you—just what are you to Clay, anyway? You stuck with him during the Labyrinth Conquest, and now you even came along on this break…”

Freesia shot a sharp glare at Levia, with me caught in between.

──── What’s with that reaction…? She normally never acts like this, but now she’s giving off what can only be described as ‘jealousy.’ How am I supposed to ignore that…?

The surrounding gazes also felt strangely warm, as if they were enjoying the show. In an attempt to escape reality, I took a big bite of the meat pie in my hands. Yep, delicious.

“I—I am Lord Clay’s property!!”

“Wha—!?”

“Gah!?”

So yeah, I have no idea what that troublesome woman just said. I nearly choked, but I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it. However, since this conversation was happening right in front of me, the next thing I knew, Freesia’s glare turned toward me.

“W-What does that mean, Clay!? When did that happen…? No! I never agreed to any cheating!!”

“Wait. Calm down. What Levia just said is a huge misunderstanding. So please stop shaking me—my meat pie is going to fall out of my mouth…!”

Freesia grabbed my shoulders and shook me violently. The people around us had now switched from warm gazes to ones filled with amusement. I even heard someone shouting, “Hey! What a ladies’ man!!”

──── No, seriously, can someone help me?

I sent out desperate looks, but everyone just continued their casual conversations, pretending not to notice. Such cold-hearted people… Glaring at the servants wasn’t going to help, though, because—

“I—I don’t care if I’m not the first! As long as I can stay by Lord Clay’s side, I’ll settle for being his mistress!!”

“Wait, Levia, shut up. You’re only making this situation even more complicated!!”

“What do you mean, Clay!? Are you saying everything between us was a lie!? That it was just a fleeting game for you!? That’s too cruel!!”

“Ahhh, now you’ve set off some weird switch…”

Everything was a complete mess.

In the end, the biggest mistake I made was underestimating that troublesome woman’s words back then. She had actually been serious. Procrastinating on dealing with issues like this clearly had consequences.

──── Well, it’s too late to regret now...

At least I’ve gotten a little wiser. Good job, Clay.

“Looks like he learned a thing or two about romance at the academy…”

“Ah… Our little Young Master Clay, who was once so small and earnest, is growing up…”

“He’s turning into an adult before our eyes…”

“Terrible! Clay, this is just terrible!! I’m so hurt!!”

Thus, clearing up the misunderstanding with my teary-eyed fiancée (well, almost-fiancée) took an indescribable amount of effort.

…As a side note, it was later revealed that Freesia had been drinking at the banquet, and I learned a valuable lesson—never let her drink too much. Yet another moment of wisdom gained in my life.

Even so, I never wanted to experience that kind of chaos again.