Our family's butler was a man who seemed entirely out of place in the ancient castle.
He kept his white hair neatly styled with expensive hair oil, and his face was always perfectly smooth thanks to his meticulous shaving.
As a result, he looked at least ten years younger than his actual age.
Even his clothes were different from those worn by the people of our territory. Rather than garments made from coarse fabric or patched together with pieces of leather, he wore tailored formal suits specially commissioned from a famous clothing shop in the Imperial Capital.
Each suit cost as much as an entire month's living expenses for a family of four independent farmers who owned their own land. Yet he possessed enough of these outrageously expensive outfits to wear a different one every day.
Consequently, unlike my family, who valued tradition so highly that they seemed to be voluntarily living a medieval lifestyle, the butler always looked strangely sophisticated.
It was as though a young gentleman from the early twentieth century, someone I had only ever seen in black-and-white footage, had suddenly appeared in a fantasy drama.
"...Young Master."
"Butler."
As I sat atop one of the ancient castle's spires, gazing at the surrounding scenery, the butler approached without making a sound and called out to me.
As always, he wore an elegant formal suit without a speck of dust on it.
"...Have you told your family?"
"Yes. I wanted to keep it a secret, but I couldn't see any way to convince them to let me go to the Imperial Capital without telling them."
"The Master and Mistress appear to be deeply troubled."
I merely nodded silently at his concerned words.
It was my way of telling him that I hadn't wanted to reveal it either.
"While your extraordinary talent, which has earned you admission to Academia, is certainly something to celebrate, the current political situation is so turbulent that I cannot help but worry."
"You always speak so formally, Butler. Honestly, you sound even more educated than my mother or sister."
"Hoho. In my younger days, this old man worked as a private tutor in the Imperial Capital, though my abilities were rather modest."
"You're being too modest."
We looked into each other's eyes for a moment before turning away with faint smiles, as though we both understood that there was nothing more to be said.
"...You're worried I'll be conscripted into the war, aren't you?"
"As perceptive as ever, Young Master. Although everything I know about Academia comes from rumors, there is no smoke without fire. There is a very high probability that, during your time at Academia, you will be forced to participate in His Imperial Majesty's colonial expansion policies, whether you wish to or not."
"Colonial expansion, huh?"
"After all, isn't the prosperity our Empire enjoys today built entirely upon resources extracted from its colonies through bloodshed and suffering?"
At the butler's words, I instinctively glanced around to make sure no one was listening before responding quietly, warning him to be more careful.
"That's a rather treasonous thing to say, Butler. Someone could report you for saying something like that."
"Hoho. It seems this old man's tongue has grown careless with age. Ahem. In any case, regardless of your intentions, the greed of those in power will likely force you to stain your hands with blood. Will you be able to bear that?"
"No. There's nothing more unpleasant than being forced to follow someone else's intentions, especially when those intentions are driven by such ugly greed."
"As expected, Young Master, you are truly perceptive."
The butler nodded emphatically at my answer, as though it were only natural for any decent human being to think that way, before continuing.
As always, our butler seemed to place extraordinary importance on human morality.
From the perspective of someone who remembered a previous life, even the moral standards he valued so highly seemed rather close to barbarism.
Still, that didn't change the fact that he was probably one of the most upright people in this fantasy world.
How many citizens of this Empire actually regarded colonialism negatively?
Most of them saw the colonies as inexhaustible pots of honey, concerning themselves only with how to squeeze the greatest possible profit out of them.
"Now that you have been summoned to Academia, Young Master, it is inevitable that you will form relationships and become entangled in the interests of various nobles. Our family is by no means insignificant within the Empire, but the Master is not particularly active in outside affairs, nor does he frequently invite outsiders to our estate. Consequently, certain individuals will undoubtedly approach you, his son, for political purposes."
"Well, our family does have quite a bit of money, doesn't it? Even though we don't own a single factory, something even lower-ranking nobles tend to have."
"Money is not the issue. House Frah possesses fertile lands responsible for producing ten percent of the Empire's total food supply. Furthermore, we are one of only two comital houses bound by blood to the fairies beyond the mountains. That makes our family's importance far greater than its considerable wealth might suggest."
"Because our family is the only one that has received permission from the fairies to cultivate the Haydin Mountains."
"Precisely. Farmland whose fertility never diminishes is every noble's dream, is it not? There are even rumors that the Emperor himself occasionally covets our territory."
"All right, enough boasting about the family. I've heard that speech so many times since childhood that it makes me sick."
When I silently mimed retching, the butler merely shook his head with the affectionate smile of a grandfather watching his troublesome grandson.
He looked as though he had given up trying to correct me.
"Very well. Since you dislike hearing it so much, I shall stop. At least I needn't say anything further about how you should conduct yourself at Academia. You are a perceptive young man, after all."
"Could you stop calling me perceptive? It's starting to make me uncomfortable. I just try to consider different possibilities."
"Most people your age would never think to consider the circumstances surrounding their own family, Young Master. Even the current Duke of House Jevitz, who is renowned as a genius, was supposedly a reckless troublemaker in his youth, relying on his own talents and his family's influence to do as he pleased. Of course, the duke has since become the very picture of an exemplary nobleman."
"Well, people naturally take the things they're born with for granted, just as they take the air for granted. The fact that he was able to reflect on his past mistakes is impressive enough."
"And that is precisely why I call you perceptive, Young Master."
"Ah."
Realizing that I had unwittingly fallen into the butler's trap, I shook my head in frustration.
The old man seemed to enjoy occasionally testing me with questions like these, waiting to hear how I would respond.
Perhaps it was a peculiar form of amusement among educated people.
Although it wasn't particularly enjoyable for the person being tested.
"Anyway, it's already been decided that I'm going to Academia, hasn't it? I'll be careful about how I conduct myself, so please reassure my parents for me. You know, tell them something like, 'The Young Master is perfectly capable of looking after himself.' That sort of thing."
"Hoho. No matter how trusted a servant may be, even his reassurances cannot entirely erase a parent's concern for their child. I suggest you regard the Master's and Mistress's worries as a blessing that comes from having been born to such warmhearted parents."
"But I'm already an adult. Being worried over like that is a little..."
"Although fifteen is legally considered adulthood, Young Master, society still regards someone of your age as little more than an inexperienced boy. Hoho."
"Sigh."
Realizing that there was no point arguing with the butler, I sighed and quietly turned my attention toward the scenery visible through the opening in the spire.
Wherever I looked, I could see the people of our territory working energetically beyond the castle walls.
Winter was finally drawing to a close, and spring was approaching. In the distance, I could make out groups of young men gathering to plow the fields, while women followed behind them, scattering seeds into the freshly turned soil.
The butler and I watched the peaceful rural scenery in silence for some time.
As I gazed absentmindedly at the tranquil landscape, the fragrance of spring drifted through the opening in the spire and reached my nose.
Before I knew it, I had spoken.
"Why doesn't our family introduce automatons? I read in the newspaper that a single automaton can do the work of ten oxen, all day long."
"Well, I doubt the fairies beyond the mountains would be particularly pleased to see something that isn't alive wandering openly around our territory."
"...That's irrational."
"If the world operated according to reason, wouldn't it have become a utopia long ago?"
"..."
Unable to think of a response, I turned and glared at the butler.
He merely gazed wistfully through the opening in the spire.
Then, in a quiet voice, he offered words that could have been either advice or a lament.
"Young Master, technological progress does not necessarily bring only good things. Since you have yet to visit the Imperial Capital, you may not understand what I mean... Nevertheless, please do not be too kind to the people there. You will only end up getting hurt."
"First Mother, and now you. Why does everyone who has lived in or around the Imperial Capital say the same thing?"
"The Imperial Capital may be known as the City of Light, and its outward appearance may be magnificent, but within the shadows cast by that light, there lurk things so astonishingly... repulsive that you can scarcely imagine them. Please, do not allow yourself to be corrupted by them."
With those final words, the butler bowed his head to me and departed from the spire.
I spent a moment contemplating what he had meant before scratching my head and deciding to make my way downstairs as well.
There was still some time before the person assigned to escort me to Academia arrived.
Since I had time to spare, I might as well look around the territory and visit its people to say my farewells.
After all, there was a chance I might never return for the rest of my life.
At the very least, I ought to give everyone a proper farewell.
That way, perhaps I could finally rid myself of the lingering attachments I still had to this place.