The day the royal palace granted permission for Elizabeth's temporary entry into the kingdom, Randy, Elizabeth, and Eleonora hastily departed from the Victor territory.
After crossing the border without incident, the trio traveled peacefully for about ten days, eventually reaching a point where the royal capital was just within sight.
"Now that I think about it, it's surprising that the permission was granted so easily," said Elizabeth.
"Well, my father and your father were scheming behind the scenes, after all," Randy replied with a shrug, gazing at the grassy plains outside the window.
Though he was aware that his father, Alan, and the Marquis Lucian had been pulling strings, Randy didn't know the specifics. Still, he refrained from prying because he understood that he wouldn't be much help in such matters.
A reincarnator.
A second life.
It might sound impressive, but it didn't make Randy a powerful superhero. Even with a head start in this life, he was clueless about navigating the political games of aristocracy or statecraft. There was no shame in leaving what he couldn't do to those who could. Believing you can handle everything is nothing short of arrogance.
"Leave things to the experts… though there's no doubt we've attracted some unwanted attention," he thought.
Randy's gaze shifted to the massive walls of the royal capital in the distance. Elizabeth, too, caught sight of the walls, her expression tightening with visible anxiety. It was no wonder; apart from their border crossing, no one had yet recognized her face.
But the royal capital and the academy would be different. There, people familiar with Elizabeth would undoubtedly take notice. People who knew what had happened to her would inevitably cast curious or judgmental looks in her way.
"Don't worry; it'll only be uncomfortable at first. Right now, you're not the Marquis of Blauvelt's daughter but a civil servant in our house. Whatever happens, I'll protect you," Randy reassured her with a smile.
"Thank you," Elizabeth responded softly with a small nod.
"A master who protects his servant, is it?" she asked teasingly.
"Something like that—just playing to my strengths," Randy replied with a shrug, eliciting a rare smile from Elizabeth. The sight reassured Randy, who decided it was the right moment to retrieve something from his pocket: two bracelets.
———-
Flashback
The day Randy decided to accompany Elizabeth to the academy, he had headed to the Demon Forest immediately after. He claimed it was to hunt for meat for dinner, but that was just an excuse.
The real reasons were 2. First, staying in that tense atmosphere any longer was unbearable. Second, he needed materials for a certain purpose.
"All right, I think I've got everything I need," Randy muttered as he collected the final ingredients for his project: protective charms.
While he was confident in his ability to guard Elizabeth, he had no means of dealing with undetectable threats like poison. To fill that gap, he decided to use his crafting skill to create charms capable of nullifying toxins and paralysis.
After gathering materials in the Demon Forest for some time, Randy sat in the middle of the forest and began crafting.
His goal was to create amulets that could neutralize harmful status effects like poison and paralysis.
"Hmm… what shape should I go with? Rings are probably… a bad idea."
As Randy pondered, a massive lizard lunged at him, only to be crushed by a casual punch. The creature, a Greater Lizard of rank B, was no small threat, but Randy crushed it effortlessly.
"Oh, this one's got better colors," he noted, extracting the lizard's crimson eyes. The gem-like eyes gleamed, their hue reminiscent of Eleonora's.
"Perfect."
Smiling, Randy combined the lizard's red eyes with a pure white magic stone, creating a brilliant red stone. After discarding a duller gem from his pouch, he repeated the process with a blue stone.
Placing the red and blue stones side by side, Randy admired their glow, which reminded him of Elizabeth and Eleonora. Before he could savor the moment, another beast lunged at him, only to be split in two and flung aside.
"Right, now for the next step…"
Deciding on bracelets as the most practical form, Randy melted down unused silverware to shape the bands. He embedded materials from beasts with resistance to toxins and paralysis, attaching the stones as the finishing touch.
After some effort, he completed two bracelets. Each featured a single gem—one red, one blue—on top of the simple bracelets
"Please work as intended," Randy muttered while bringing the bracelets together.
They clicked perfectly into place, merging into one.
The result was a simpe bracelet with no extravagant decors except the two stones.
Pleased with his work, Randy hesitated.
"Will they even accept these handmade amulets?"
Though confident in their effectiveness, he worried they might seem too crude, especially for people like Elizabeth, a marquis's daughter, and Eleonora, a legendary witch.
"I'll see their reactions before deciding whether to hand them over."
——
Present
Back in the present, Randy handed one of the bracelets to Elizabeth.
"This is…?" she asked curiously.
"A charm that protects against poison and paralysis. It's disposable, though," he explained.
Elizabeth's eyes lit up with delight as she accepted the bracelet. Relieved by her reaction, Randy sighed inwardly. He hadn't truly expected her to dislike it, but seeing her joy reassured him nonetheless.
"Lady Elizabeth, would you mind switching with Eleonora for a moment?"
Understanding the reason from Randy's words and the other bracelet in his hand, Elizabeth nodded and let Eleonora take over.
"What is it, brat? To call upon me so suddenly—"
"This is yours," Randy said curtly, handing over the bracelet.
Eleonora raised an eyebrow.
"Isn't the one for the young lady enough?"
Randy shook his head at Eleonora's follow-up comment, "There's only one body."
"Even if there's only one body, the two of you are separate individuals. If I make one for her, I have to make one for you too. Besides Elizabeth, I have to protect you too."
"Hmm," Eleonora mused, smiling with an appraising look.
"You're a surprisingly honest young man, treating me as a separate person."
"Of course. You and Lady Elizabeth are different people. You're indeed weird, but you're still you. It's only natural to treat you as an individual."
At Randy's blunt words, Eleonora let out a hearty laugh.
"So, you've fallen in love with me, have you?"
"How does it always come to that?" Randy responded, exasperated.
As Eleonora laughed again, "Don't be shy now," Randy couldn't help but retort.
"Once you get your body back and if you're a beautiful and curvaceous, I'll consider it."
Eleonora burst into laughter once more. "Look forward to it," she said, as her consciousness withdrew and Elizabeth returned.
"Curvaceous…? Is that so?" Elizabeth murmured, her gaze a little cold.
"J-just kidding!" Randy hastily waved it off, causing Elizabeth to giggle and clasp the two bracelets together on her wrist.
"They're beautiful. The colors represent me and Eleonora, don't they? Thank you, Lord Randolph. I will cherish them."
"Glad you like them," Randy replied with a sigh of relief. But what Elizabeth said next froze him in place.
"Lord Randolph, since we'll be spending a lot of time together, could you speak to me more casually? Like you do with Eleonora?"
"Uh?"
Randy let out a dumbfounded noise and immediately shook his head vehemently.
"N-no way, Lady Elizabeth. I couldn't possibly speak to you like that!"
"But I'm your attendant now."
"Urgh… well, that is true, but still…"
Cornered, Randy hesitated before finally giving in.
"Alright, fine. Since you're my attendant, I'll speak casually. But if I do, you'd better be ready—I won't hold back."
"Of course!" Elizabeth replied with a beaming smile, bright enough to make Randy feel like he could do anything.
"Alright then, let's activate the amulets first," Randy suggested.
Elizabeth glanced down at her bracelet.
"You need to channel magic into each stone to activate the effects. Even though it's the same body, the magic will respond to your individual souls— Li-Elizabeth's and Eleonora's."
For a moment, Randy almost called her by a nickname "Liza" but faltered, reverting to "Elizabeth."
But Elizabeth looked a little dissatisfied, making Randy inwardly curse his mistake.
Elizabeth followed his instructions, channeling her magic before switching with Eleonora again.
"That boy's surprisingly cute, isn't he?" Eleonora teased, laughing as she activated her part of the bracelet.
"Shut up," Randy muttered, pouting as he turned to look out the window.
"Now then, brat," Eleonora said, "I'll grant you the privilege of giving me a nickname."
"I don't want it. Is this some kind of prank?"
"Don't be shy," she teased again.
Realizing Eleonora's gaze is full of seriousness, Randy sighed in resignation.
"Your name, Eleonora, is a bit… imposing, huh? Alright, let me think."
"Yup. I'm a legendary magus apex after all."
Eleonora nodded happily, and Randy sighed, "Well, I guess there's no other way."
(Eleonora… Normally, it would be Nora…)
The name "Nora" felt far too strong-sounding for someone as strong as Eleonora, and calling her that directly just didn't sit right with Randy. After all, he had been granted the privilege of giving her a nickname. If that was the case, he figured he might as well pick an adorably teasing one. A mischievous grin spread across his face.
"I've thought of the perfect nickname."
Eleonora's expression turned slightly sour at Randy's mischievous grin. She likely realized what he was up to, but it was already too late.
"Your nickname is Ellie. How about it? Cute, right?"
"What is that absurdly cute nickname?!"
"It's a nickname. It's supposed to be cute."
Randy laughed with a devilish "Heh heh heh" and clapped Eleonora on the shoulder, grinning triumphantly. "From now on, I'll be calling you Ellie."
Since it was her own suggestion that had led to this, Eleonora couldn't easily object. Though her smile stiffened slightly, she gave a resigned nod.
"Fine. I'll allow you and that little girl to call me Ellie."
With that, she disappeared, leaving Elizabeth to return in her place. But the moment Elizabeth reappeared, there was something wistful in her gaze.
"Elizabeth?"
"Yes?"
Her smile looked happy, but there was a faint hint of dissatisfaction.
(Does she… want a nickname too?)
As Elizabeth tilted her head slightly, meeting Randy's gaze, he tried to guess what she wanted.
(I have no idea if this is the right move, but… let's give it a shot.)
Recalling her earlier expression, Randy took a deep breath and spoke up.
"I was thinking—calling you Elizabeth all the time sounds kind of stiff, don't you think? But 'Liza' is already used by the members of the marquis family, right?"
Elizabeth's eyes lit up with a hint of expectation as she caught on to Randy's intention.
"Yeah… Elizabeth, huh…"
(The obvious choice is Betty, but that feels… off in so many ways.)
"Elizabeth… Eliza… Liza… how about Liz?"
"Yes! Please call me Liz from now on!"
Her beaming smile was dazzling.
(Whoever called her 'The Ice Princess' clearly had no clue.)
Randy felt both relief that he had chosen correctly and an urge to push his luck. Her smile was so dazzling that he turned away his head. Then, he offered her a proposal.
"When it's just the two of us, you can call me Randy. I'm not a fan of all this formal nonsense."
Randy shrugged, and Liz nodded.
"Understood. I'll do so from now on, Randy."
The combination of her smile and her use of his nickname was overwhelming.
(If the Marquis found out about this, he will probably drown me in the ocean.)
While Randy worried over his fate, the carriage drew closer to the royal capital.
"Nicknames between a master and their subordinate? It reeks of lustful relationship!"
"Shut up! Mind your own business!"
"Y-Yes, exactly! There's nothing inappropriate about us—!"
The lively chatter spilled out from the carriage, prompting Harrison, the coachman, to glance up at the blue sky.
"Ah, youth. What a wonderful thing," he murmured, his words carried off by the autumn breeze.
——
Gimme power stones!