47. Off-Season

The release of Armored Core 6 is in no way related to the one week delay of this chapter.

Editing might be a bit scuffed since I rushed due to already being a week behind, ahahaha.

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TN: Toasty
ED: Toasty

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Lydia rested her chin on her hand and looked outside. There is no familiar garden outside her window.
From the Ernest Dukedom, north of the royal capital, Lydia came to escape the summer heat with her family. The view from the manor, which was built on a small hill so she could see their territory, was a vast expanse of civilization and nature interwoven with soft greenery. A cool breeze came through the window and swayed Lydia’s loose and wavy hair.
A light sigh is lost in the breeze.

「Lydia-sama, would you like some tea?」

Her maid, Katherine, made a suggestion. Towards the voice she heard, Lydia turned, and while she was at a loss for what to do, someone else raised their hand.

「I want to each sweeeeets.」

Her maid, Petra, wears a long-sleeved uniform that doesn’t show her hand when she raises it. The excess cloth just folds down.

「Why do you assume you can be of the same importance?」 [T/N: Literally “same rank” but fits]

「Tea isn’t enough by itseeelf.」

「That’s why—」

「Fufu, that’s right, isn’t it? I also want to eat a little.」

Lydia laughs with Petra, who expresses her opinion carefreely. Emilia, who tried to accuse Petra, hears her master’s thoughts and closes her half-open mouth.
Lydia asks Katherine to prepare for four and Petra brings out biscuits from somewhere. Amazed by Petra, Emilia puts saucers and teacups on the table.
After confirming Lydia is sat down in the chair Katherine pulled out, Petra sits down first, then Katherine, who finished brewing tea, hesitated before taking a seat. Emilia, who was reluctant to the end, continued to receive Lydia’s gaze and gave up. Seeing Emilia in her seat, Lydia smiles, satisfied.
Since it’s not the mansion in the royal capital, the existing maids are enough. Since the work for the women who followed Lydia is less than usual, there’s some room for leeway. Because of that, Lydia, only for the time she is at this manor, asked them to indulge her. That is to say, being present with their master.

「It’s deliciiious.」

「It’s no good if you eat too much.」

「If Eric is here, he’ll probably eat the most.」

「I wonder how Eric is doing.」

「At best, he challenged his brothers and is currently beaten.」

Emilia spoke about Erik’s current situation as if she could see it. The family of Earl Kollwitz, which produces knights, and Emilia’s family of Marquis Pechstein, a military family, have a relationship with each other for purposes such as training, and it seemed they were originally acquaintances before they joined Lydia’s guard.
Lydia asked Katherine and her guards to return to their respective homes when she went to her territory to escape the heat. But Katherine stubbornly insisted that the Ernest family would be the place she returned to and wouldn’t give in. As if to respond to Katherine’s choice not to return home, the three guards also tried to refuse.
The three complained that they couldn’t leave her without protection, but Lydia strictly ordered them to spend at least a week with their families. So, instead of staying with Lydia’s escort during the off-season, they would take a week’s vacation one by one. Right now, it’s Erik’s turn to go home to his family.

「Well, I wonder if Erik is okay.」

「Lydia-sama, there is no need to worry about that idiot.」

「Emilia, you shouldn’t talk that way.」

Despite being cautious, Lydia let out a small sound as she imagined Erik triumphantly challenging his brothers to a practice fight. Seeing that kind of master, Katherine smiles with relief.

「Above all else, I’m glad something has distracted you from that sadness.」

「Ah……」

Apparently, she noticed Lydia had let out a sigh. Lydia lowers her eyebrows at the fact she’s worried Katherine and the others.

「I’m sorry for worrying you……」

「It’s fine.」

「I just wanted to eat sweeets.」

Seeing Petra eating the biscuit from the side like a squirrel, Lydia’s eyes widened. She can’t tell if she’s being considerate or sincere. The sight of Petra eating something like it was so delicious was both charming and amusing.

「Thank you.」

Lydia looks at the three of them and smiles softly with gratitude.

「May I ask why……?」

Emilia asked bluntly. Lydia smiles at her sincerity, which couldn’t overlook even the slightest dispiriting of her master.
Lydia is a little worried, but says nothing, and then decides to reveal the reason for her sigh.

「……it was with Zack, a little bit ago.」 [T/N: Literally just ‘Zack, a little’]

Emilia throws a look at Petra as she mentioned the boy who is a gardener’s apprentice, so she didn’t know because it was when someone else was guarding her.

「Ahhh, that he said you were a rivaaal?」

Holding a biscuit in her hand, Petra talks nonchalantly. Hearing the words she couldn’t speak directly, Lydia softly groaned and pressed her hands against her chest. Seeing that reaction, Emilia scowls at Petra.

「Why didn’t you immediately say something?」

「As for who was there, it wasn’t me. Besides, the use of force isn’t my field, you know.」

Petra claimed that she wasn’t the one guarding her. How, then, did she know what it was like when Erik was escorting her, Emilia wondered, but remembering what she was in charge of, stopped mentioning it.

「That idiot, you can’t use that word, you know.」 [T/N: Literally only ‘You can’t use’]

Emilia regretted not having been there. Erik is ignorant of the nuances of the female mind. There’s something about him that he can’t perceive it unless it’s an easy-to-understand insult.
So, for irony or metaphor, she doesn’t judge by the contents, but the intuition. Since he doesn’t have much vocabulary even when arguing, Emilia has won every time since they were young.
Because he’s like that, he probably didn’t think about how his master would feel about the seemingly irrelevant words the boy who is a gardener’s apprentice said.

「Isaac-san has a unique choice of words…..」

When Katherine forces a smile, she spoke words of comfort to her master. Lydia takes her at her word and lowers her eyebrows.

「……the time that he said that, I didn’t think about it.」

Lydia also suspected he might have used the word in a different sense. She had never seen him say words with malice. He’s not great at talking, but only when he’s close to an idea, Lydia knows how to point it out.
She was so surprised that his words were said without pointing it out to Lydia. It was a shock to her that a word meaning enemy was applied to her like it was natural. Thinking she was being hostile towards the boy who is a gardener’s apprentice, her face went pale.
In the first place, the boy who is a gardener’s apprentice seemed to think nothing of not being able to meet her while she was returning to her territory, so the answer was given with a frustrated impulse. So, he was even more shocked. She had known him for the longest time after Katherine. And yet, on top of being fine, she was being treated as an enemy? At that time, Lydia understood.
By the time she was able to calm down and think about his true intentions, Lydia had already arrived at her territory.
She couldn’t confirm it because she couldn’t ask, and the thought she was wrong and the anxiety that was possible were conflicting in her heart.

「I ended up saying too much……」

The blood rushed to her head and she had made a remark and refused to say more, then left without even listening to her.

「I wonder if Zack didn’t like it.」

The boy who is a gardener’s apprentice seemed to be okay with hearing the fact he couldn’t see her for a long time. For herself, even if she can’t meet him, his lack of being there doesn’t pose a problem. If such a person threw a one-sided tantrum, even if she had known them for a long time, wouldn’t she lose her temper? Reflecting on her own actions, Lydia could only look back on it, unable to ascertain his true intentions.

「That kind of thing……」

「Lydia-sama.」

Almost as soon as Emilia put her hands on the table and stood up, Katherine quietly calls her master’s name. Lydia turns to her, her eyes full of anxiety. Katherine smiled softly, leaving her seat and returning to Lydia with a small jewelry box.
Katherine opened the small box that can hold a single necklace. Inside was a blue ribbon with a white, small rose charm.

「The person who knows the most that Issac-san is not that kind of person is Lydia-sama, right?」

Katherine smiles and looks into her master’s eyes. After looking back at her jade eyes, Lydia drops her gaze to the ribbon of white flowers.
She received many things from the boy who is a gardener’s apprentice, but this is the first tangible gift he gave to Lydia. This was the only thing she had been given as a talisman and she had brought it with her to her territory. The four-leaf clover, the disappearing rainbow, the melting snow rabbit, and so on, there are many things he gives her that are difficult to keep. That’s why the ribbon he gave her in exchange for not staying by her side became very important.
After staring at the ribbon for a while, Lydia untied the ribbon that had been adorning her own hair as if she had made up her mind.

「Katheirne, can you put it on?」

「Yes.」

At the command of her master, Katherine’s expression cracked, and she replaced Lydia’s barrette with a blue ribbon in the vacant seat behind her. Small, white roses bloomed in Lydia’s hair.
After confirming that, Lydia spoke with resolution.

「Until I meet Zack, I won’t be selfishly pessimistic anymore.」

She was worried about her own self-evaluation and she didn’t want to worry Katherine and the others. Even if she apologizes, she won’t be able to see him until she returns to the royal capital’s mansion. She can’t hold onto it forever. Until she meets him again, she believes in the feelings he has given her so far, and wipes away her anxiety.
Hearing Lydia’s determination, Katherine smiled as if to say she did as well. Emilia showed a relieve expression and Petra seemed somewhat satisfied.

「Thank you.」

Looking at the faces of the three, Lydia once again expressed her gratitude.

---

When the tea was finished, someone came to visit Lydia’s room.

「Oh my.」

The person passed by Emilia let out a surprised voice when he saw Lydia’s face.

「What’s wrong, grandfather?」

「No, I just doubted my eyes that my granddaughter was really an angel.」

When Lydia asked, her grandfather Osvin replied with a relaxed smile. Lydia feels this kind of retort is due to being blood relatives with her father, Gerald. Osvin, with his dark blonde hair, looked very much like his father, and it was assumed her father would like this when he grew older.

「Dia, are you interested in horseback riding?」

「Horseback riding?」

「Cisca hasn’t been coming out with me recently.」

Lydia smiles slightly at her grandfather, who shrugs his shoulders, saying that he misses her grandmother, Francisca.

「Grandfather is too energetic.」

Osvin is past his mid-forties and his wife Francisca is nearly the same age. However, the horseback riding he speaks of requires a certain amount of speed, and it being rejected by his wife probably means it’s not a slow, walking-like pace. Aside from the carriage, horseback riding, even if it’s a shared ride, was hard for a calm, old woman.

「My beloved horse wants to run. Does Dia dislike it, too?」

“It can’t be helped. I’ll go out with you on behalf of Grandmother.”

“Thank you, little princess.”

Horseback riding is an experience that couldn’t be done in the royal capital, so Lydia was also a little interested. However, she accepted it with a reluctant look. Despite his wife’s lack of support, he found someone who would go with him, so Osvin gave a thank you kiss.
After obtaining Lydia’s approval, Osvin escorted her to the entrance saying that he was already ready. Of course, he waited for Lydia to get ready. Lydia pulled on her wide-brimmed hat to protect her from the sun and changed into her riding dress. Her hats was tied with ribbons under the chin to keep it from flying off.
A black-coated horse with a saddle was already waiting at the entrance. His whole body, including his belly, was covered with black fur, and his contours stood out clearly in the scenery of the summer blue sky.

「She’s beautiful. What’s her name?」

「She’s Katerina.」

「It is nice to meet you, Katerina. Please treat me well today.」

When Lydia called out the name said by her grandfather and put her hand in front of Katarina, she stared at Lydia then gently brought her face closer to touch her palm. Confirming it was fine, Lydia pats her nose several times.

「She seems cute, doesn’t she?」

「It seems she’s happy when Lydia praised her beauty.」

Osvin spoke for Katarina’s feelings. Lydia was happy that Katarina, who had a large body but kind eyes, let her guard down around her. Furthermore, she was complimented by Osvin for greeting her first. Lydia was told that building a trusting relationship with her horse was the key to riding, so it was a good thing to be able to pay respects to the horse even when she didn’t know that, which made Lydia feel a little embarrassed.
First, Osvin sits on Katarina’s saddle, and then assisted by her grandfather, Lydia sits facing sideways.
Feeling helpless at the sudden elevation, Lydia clutches her grandfather’s clothes. Seeing his granddaughter acting like that, Osvin laughs a bit.

「Well, let’s go. Hold on tight.」

Seeing Lydia nod and grabbing his clothes with both hands, Osvin kicked Katerina in the stomach.
Feeling the vibration with each click of her hooves, Lydia tightened her grip on her grandfather’s clothes to keep from falling.

「Dia, raise your head.」

Osvin urged his granddaughter, who was only looking either at Katerina’s head and the ground for balance, to look up, saying that she would get used to it after a while. When Lydia fearfully looked up, houses were spread out in the countryside under the hill where her mansion was.

「Waaah…」

For Lydia, who lives in the royal capital with many buildings, it was refreshing to see the view so wide and green. She seems to have been here before her younger sister Flora was born, but she was young and didn’t remember much. The blue sky spreads to the mountain range on the boundary with a refreshing feeling to it. The wind feels refreshing not only because it is located north of the royal capital, but also because of this scenery.

「This territory is wonderful, isn’t it?」

「Yes, very!」

Lydia affirmed her grandfather’s proud words. Osvin smiled with satisfaction at his granddaughter’s honest impression, and held Lydia’s waist with one hand as if embracing her.

“Then I’ll show you a better place. Close your mouth for a while.”

「Eh……?」

In response, Osvin kicked Katarina in the stomach, increasing her speed. Feeling the strong pull, Lydia’s head is flung into her grandfather’s chest. Because she was instructed to do so, or rather because she was surprised, Lydia had no choice but to remain silent.
Without her grandfather’s support, Katarina’s power could easily cause Lydia to fly off. She knew that if she opened her mouth, the vibrations would bite her tongue. In the wind that became a little stronger due to the increased speed, Lydia heard laughter and looked up to see her grandfather laughing happily.
With that innocent boyish smile, Lydia’s fear of speed faded away. Following her grandfather’s gaze, she looked far ahead and saw the scenery rushing by with the wind. The scenery reflected in her eyes changed one after another, and Lydia’s heart leapt at the wonder of each scene, the outlines melting like watercolors.
Before she knew it, the exhilarating horseback riding had ended and they had arrived at their destination. The place where Osvin brought them was a meadow. Lydia holds her still pounding chest. The gentle breeze that passed through the meadow soothingly caressed Lydia’s cheeks.

「How was it?」

「At first, it was scary, but then it was fun.」

When he asked her how she felt, Osvin narrowed his eyes, seemingly in delight as he saw his granddaughter’s face shining in his eyes.

“It’s good to be honest. This is my favorite place, so I’m glad I was able to show it to Dia.”

Lydia overlooks the meadow while still riding on Katarina. The world was only two colors: the green grass without blooming flowers and the blue sky. Only the sound of grass whistling in the wind reaches her ears.
With a sight like this, it makes you feel refreshed, like one’s mind becomes empty. Lydia could understand why her grandfather liked it. There’s no words said, just a scene that spreads out before one’s eyes.

「I came here when something bad happened to me, back in my day.」

Oskin suddenly muttered that. When she looks up at his mumbling, Lydia nodded as if she were asked if she was better now. If one is in this meadow, even a gloomy feeling will be blown away.

「It seems Dia didn’t need it anymore.」

Lydia’s eyes widen at the words of her smiling grandfather.
After thinking a little, she understood her grandfather was aware she was discouraged. He was worried not only about Katarina, but also his family. Lydia reflected on the fact she was trapped in her thoughts and smiled at her grandfather.

「I’m glad I came here.」

When Lydia said she would like to come again, Osvin happily nodded.
Returning to the house, her father Gerald was jealous they went out as just the two of them, and argued with her grandfather about going out with Lydia next. In the end, her grandmother Fracisca and her mother Octavia intervened, and it was decided everyone would go on a picnic.
Like this, plans with her family piled up, and Lydia’s summer passed.

—

When she noticed, the climate settled down and it was time to return to the royal capital.
As the carriage is shaken and gradually approaches the manor, Lydia’s expression gradually changes to an urgent one.

「Oneeee-sama, something…?」

Looking up, Flora worried about her sister’s expression as she clenched her fists over her knees. She looks at her sister, wondering if she became nauseous on the carriage.
When her sister entered her sight, Lydia smiled and sighed.

「Flora……. it’s fine.」

Flora, who saw her expression not completely changed, hugged her sister.

「Laaaura is fine. So, I will separate it from you.」

「Thank you.」

Lydia put on an expression of relief and hugged her sister, her sister’s kindness trying to separate the gloomy energy.
However, while holding Flora, Lydia’s thoughts were looking to solve something.
The next time she met the boy who is a gardener’s apprentice, she didn’t think about how to apologize to him. And she has to confirm the true meaning of the word. Despite the encourage of Katherine and believing in his personality, will it affect his evaluation from the time they were unable to meet? She regrets the fact that she left unilaterally last time.
Will she be forgiven when she apologizes? That anxiety is giving way to fear.
She was afraid of what kind of expression the boy who is a gardener’s apprentice would make.
Her heart tightened with a disagreeable pounding.
Lydia knew this feeling. Her eyes shook with anxiety and saw her father sitting opposite of her. Gerald sweetly smiled at his daughter as if he was smelling flowers.

「Hmm? Making that kind of face, what’s wrong?」

「I remember…… the morning I apologized to my father.」

That was it. Even then, her heart ached with fear.
She could barely have a minimal conversation with her busy father and just before, she had shown the worst of herself, so even if she apologized, her father would look at her with cold eyes and her legs froze.
At that time, she was brave because he assured her she would be okay. So what should she do when she doesn’t have the courage to deal with him?

「I……」

「Dia.」

At Gerald’s voice, Lydia, with weakening eyes, looks back at her father. Reaching out to his beloved daughter, Gerald caressed her cheek.

「My dear Dia. I love Dia. Of course, Via and Flora both also love Dia.」

True to her father’s words, she’s carrying the warmth of her sister Flora in her arms. Looking next to her father, her mother gives her a loving smile. Her father’s hand touches her cheek gently.

「So it’s okay. There’s no one in this manor that doesn’t like Dia.」

The assurance her father gave her that she was loved was not in words, not in attitude, but in everything. Why did she want to cry when she was surrounded by love? Lydia held back the tears and nodded at her father’s words. She had gained the courage to overcome her fears.
Just like that, the carriage arrived at the front entrance of the Ernest manor.
Lydia, who was getting off the carriage with her father’s help, heard an unexpected voice.

「Ojou!」

Surprised by the voice, which she didn’t expect to hear at this time, Lydia’s heartbeat jumped.
The boy who was a gardener’s apprentice showed up to meet her when she wasn’t ready. He exchanged greetings with Gerald and the others, but he wanted to speak to her. He isn’t making a face, at the moment she hears his request, she involuntarily hung her head.
Lydia, unable to look up at her, hears her father’s voice.

「Dia, what are you going to do?」

Prompted by his voice, she lifted her face, and met eyes the same color as hers.

「I……」

「There’s something you want to say to Isaac, isn’t there?」

She doesn’t know when, but Lydia knows that her father noticed. Recalling the courage her father had given her, Lydia nodded in determination. As if praising her determination, Gerald patted his daughter’s head.
She is left alone at the entrance with the boy who is a gardener apprentice and silence falls between them. That’s probably why she heard the loud sound of the front door closing.
She was worried about how to apologize, and while she missed the timing to start talking,the gardener’s apprentice boy opened her mouth first.

「Ojou, I’m sorry about the other day!」

「……」

Why is he apologizing? She’s the one who should be apologizing.
However, as she searches for the words to apologize, he tells her his own feelings without hiding it. Unlike her, who can’t speak well, he’s unfair.
He apologized, saying he realized he had made a mistake in his wording. He said he wanted to explain the meaning of those words, and even though he thinks he isn’t apologizing, he wants Lydia to know, so she agreed.
Lydia held her breath as she waited to hear what words he would say.

「It’s because Ojou is beautiful.」

「Eh……?」

Lydia was taken aback by his unexpected words. Not noticing Lydia’s behavior, the boy who is a gardener’s apprentice still keeps talking. She was stunned by the fact that he was not joking, but seriously saying things that would embarrass her just by listening.

「While I think Ojou is amazing, I also think you have to work hard to become that kind of person. I was just thinking I can’t lose so one-sidedly, so what else can I say other than rivals……」

「Wh…… wh……」

Lydia, who knew and understood what he meant by rival, was horrified by the embarrassment that slowly rose up.

「Does Ojou know what that’s called?」 

Why would he use such a vague term? And why would he leave it up to her to give it a name? There’s no way to understand such a thing. So, she wanted him to stop looking at her with such eyes.

「I… I don’t know……」

Reflexively trying to spit out a parting word like last time, Lydia somehow managed to stop. She was on the edge of falling into the same pitfall again.
She missed the chance to apologize, and Lydia struggled with if the stream of conversation would flow away. Her cheeks are hot because of him and she groaned because she couldn’t organize her thoughts.
At the end of her worries, Lydia resolved herself and asked.

「~~Zack, how was it without me……?」

「Eh?」

「Um…… was it lonely, or something……」

While she was in her territory, she was able to spend time with her family, including her grandparents, and she was able to get along with Katherine and the others more easily than usual, so she had a good time. However, sometimes she thought it would be nice if the boy who is a gardener’s apprentice was also there. When the sweets were delicious, when she found beautiful flowers, in such trivial moments she felt unsatisfied without him.
thinking about it, she hadn’t seen him for over a month. So didn’t he feel a little unsatisfied as well?

「No, not at all.」

Her faint hopes were immediately dashed and Lydia was at a loss for words.

「That’s because I was thinking a lot about you.」

「Wh……!?」

「I thought things like, it would be nice if your family could enjoy the time with no outsiders present or that it would be nice if the perfume grasses and purslanes were blooming when Ojou came back. I also regretted that if Ojou isn’t there, I couldn’t properly take a break.」

However, Lydia was shaken by an even stronger remark. Does he know what he’s saying? How embarrassing was it that he remembered her so much that he didn’t feel unsatisfied. It would have been nice if he had remembered her a little while I was gone. This was too much.
He tilts his head as if to ask what’s wrong. Lydia recoils, saying that she can’t bear to hear more from him. However, she becomes irritated by the fact that she is the only one who is upset, and glares at the gardener apprentice boy.
Trying to complain that it’s unfair to be the only one who’s upset, Lydia is taken aback. His outlandish remarks diverted the conversation, but she recalls that she brought the topic up to create an opportunity for her to apologize. Realizing that she would never be able to come up with an apology at this rate, Lydia resisted the urge to reprimand him.
She takes a deep breath to calm herself down and bites her lip once before opening her mouth. Unable to see his face, she kept her eyes down.

「……Zack?」

「What is it?」

「Um…… the time we parted.」

「Yes?」

「I didn’t listen to Zack to the end…… I said too much…… so…」

Her heart was pounding with anxiety, but she pushed her fears away as she remembered the encouragement of Katherine and the encouragement of her father. And so she says the words that she wanted to rouse herself to say

「I’m sorry.」

「It’s fine. I’m sorry too.」

He softly laughed.
Seeing that smile made her feel like it was so easy.
The boy who was a gardener’s apprentice was as he always was. So, as if it were a lie that they hadn’t seen each other for over a month, Lydia pointed out the things that bothered her and asked for corrections as normal. Even so, he laughs and Lydia almost reprimands him again.

「Yep. Welcome home, Ojou.」

It’s the first time he’s said that. As soon as she realized that she was back, she felt a little dizzy.

「I’m home.」

When she answered while feeling embarrassed, the boy who was a gardener’s apprentice smiled brightly. It was a smile that reminded her of the meadow and sky she saw with her grandfather.
Once reconciled, Lydia heads for the front door to enter the mansion. The gardener’s apprentice boy volunteered to open the door for her since she had no other servants.
When he put his hand on the door handle, the boy who is a gardener’s apprentice suddenly stopped his movements as if he had noticed something.

「Zack?」

When Lydia tilted his head, the gardener apprentice opened his mouth while pondering something.

「It was only recently, but……」

「What are you talking about?」

「Even if I was told I wouldn’t be able to see you, I couldn’t imagine Ojou wasn’t here.」

He explained that he didn’t realize he couldn’t meet her, and if he was lacking in prudence, then he could be convinced of something like that.

「I didn’t think something like because I knew you were coming home, I don’t want to see you, but I feel like I was thinking often of Ojou. Is that lonely?」

「I…… I don’t ask me!!」

A topic she didn’t want to be mentioned again brought heat to Lydia’s cheeks. Even then, he asks Lydia something he doesn’t understand. She wanted him to please stop leaving the definition to others.
Lydia made the boy who is a gardener’s apprentice firmly promise that from now on, he would not ask her for answers that he himself did not understand.

---

An overall shortish chapter, it looks like I got the chapter I thought would have happened last time, haha.

It was cute, I did like how Katherine reminded Lydia of the kind of person Zack is. Anyways, 3 more chapters until the end of this volume! See you all next time.

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