Chapter 2: Important Things I Vowed Never to Do Again
In the 4000th year of the Earth Calendar, traveling between the Moon and Earth was nothing more than a casual excursion.
Aside from the significant differences in price depending on the type of shuttle, every vessel promised a comfortable journey through space.
The shuttle Lillian was currently aboard was a top-tier “First Class” vessel, a massive 200-meter class ship. The interior featured private cabins ensuring absolute privacy, and there was even a small bar where passengers could enjoy food and drink.
For safety reasons, shuttles were regulated to complete the transit between the Moon and Earth in roughly three to six hours. Lillian had chosen the three-hour course.
The reason was simple: she wanted to get home, finish her business, and get out. That was all.
“Um… I feel like I’m incredibly out of place here…”
Debonair was also in Lillian’s private cabin.
Her own family was reasonably well-off, but not to the extent that they could effortlessly secure a First Class private cabin on a whim. They were “comfortable,” perhaps upper-middle-class nobility at best.
Likely because of this, she was acting quite restless.
“I’m sorry. Was this a bad idea?”
Lillian asked as she plated a piece of prepared cake and handed it to Debonair.
Debonair shook her head vigorously, waving her hands in a flustered denial.
“No way! I’m actually really happy you invited me!”
“But I don’t plan on staying at my parents’ house for long. I’m only asking you to tag along to support my lie—that I’m spending time with a friend on a little trip after my errands are done. I truly feel bad about it.”
“I don’t mind at all. Even if I went back to my own home, I wouldn’t have anything to do. My papa would just try to set me up on marriage interviews or tell me to quit the military anyway.”
Lillian had shared some of the details regarding this homecoming with Debonair. Lillian felt that Debonair was the only friend she had who might go along with such a farce, so she had asked while fully expecting to be turned down—yet, for some reason, she received an immediate “OK.”
The fact that Debonair had been a bit too eager was slightly concerning, but since she didn’t seem to be forcing herself to participate, Lillian felt at least somewhat relieved.
“If you want to go on a trip, I don’t mind. This is technically a vacation, after all.”
“I-I’m happy to go anywhere, as long as it’s with Lillian-san…”
Debonair muttered, bashfully poking her index fingers together.
“Is that so? Then let’s grab dinner when we get back to the Moon. I know a good place.”
“Yes, I’d love to!”
“With the whole crew of the Seneca.”
“Oh… okay…”
Debonair’s shoulders slumped visibly.
Time passed as they engaged in such trivial conversation and made small promises.
The destroyer Chousei and its two subordinate patrol boats escorted the shuttle, flanking it as it moved. Without incident, the shuttle descended toward Earth, and the escort duty was handed off to an atmospheric fighter wing.
(Military ships are one thing, but even this shuttle can enter and exit a planet’s atmosphere without the passengers feeling the change in gravity. Restored technology from the past… I have the curiosity to investigate it, but…)
Lillian called to mind the grueling mission she was about to undertake.
In a sense, this might be the hardest thing she had ever done in her life. It was an act that required immense resolve. She would have to swallow her pride and suppress the fear that this might become a permanent trauma.
Lillian took a deep breath to steady herself. Then, she grabbed Debonair by both shoulders.
“W-What is it? So suddenly…”
Debonair began to fluster, but for some reason, she suddenly closed her eyes.
Ignoring that, Lillian stared intently at Debonair and spoke.
“I have a favor to ask. No matter what I do from here on out, I need you to promise you will never speak of it publicly. And I want you to forget everything you see. Do you understand?”
There was a heavy, oppressive pressure in Lillian’s words.
Ah, this isn’t what I thought it was, Debonair realized.
“Yes…”
Debonair nodded repeatedly.
Debonair felt she would never forget Lillian’s expression at that moment.
It was the look of someone who had made a tragic resolution, but also the look of someone staring into the distance, having resigned themselves to the idea that nothing mattered anymore.
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*
Just because the Earth Empire utilized a peerage system didn’t mean everyone dressed like they were in the Middle Ages, nor did it mean every home was a castle.
Some lived in utilitarian luxury penthouses; some maintained Japanese gardens, while others built residences styled after traditional Chinese architecture.
They were, in essence, what one would call “old-world celebrities.”
However, it seemed the Luzor family valued “good old traditions.” Their home was a mansion straight out of a storybook.
Surrounded by white stone walls, it featured a massive gate adorned with a design of some animal—a lion or a tiger, perhaps—designed by a famous artist.
When the gates opened, a stone-paved path and gardens stretched out, featuring two fountains along the way, before the mansion itself finally came into view.
“[Welcome home, Lillian-ojou-sama.]”
As the entrance doors opened automatically, a crowd of servants—more than Lillian had ever bothered to count—greeted her and Debonair.
“This is my friend. Treat her with the utmost hospitality. Ensure there are no discourtesies.”
“As you wish.”
Lillian gave the order as if it were second nature. The numerous servants bowed respectfully and moved to provide Debonair with the highest quality of service.
Debonair was led away to a guest room, looking half-swept away by the sheer momentum of it.
“Ojou-sama, regarding your luggage…”
“I have none. I’ll be heading to a hotel soon, so please have a car prepared. Where are my father and mother?”
“They are already awaiting your return in the Great Hall.”
Continuing her conversation with the elderly man who had served as the head butler of this estate for many years, Lillian walked down a hallway carpeted in deep crimson. Flanked by various furnishings and paintings of questionable subject matter, she finally reached the doors leading to the Great Hall.
Lillian felt a twinge of regret. She didn’t want to do this. Of course she didn’t. Her “inside” was that of an old woman, after all.
But this was for the sake of the future.
Lillian bolstered her crumbling spirit and prepared for the challenge.
The doors were opened.
“Oh, my—!”
The first thing to hit her was her mother’s high-pitched voice.
Because she obsessed over beauty and health more than most, She looked remarkably youthful for someone in her forties. Combined with advancements in anti-aging technology, the two of them could almost pass for sisters when standing side-by-side. Even so, there were fine wrinkles that couldn’t be entirely hidden.
This mother, Maryline, pulled her returning daughter into a tight embrace.
“Our family’s Valkyrie has returned!”
Ever since the Tiberius Incident, her mother had taken to calling Lillian “Valkyrie.”
She likely used it as a term of praise for a “goddess of war,” though she probably didn’t know the legends about them carrying the souls of the dead to the heavens.
That aside, her mother possessed surprising strength, carrying Lillian over to her husband, Pignard.
For a seventy-nine-year-old soul to be carried in her mother’s arms like that… the shame alone was staggering.
“I have returned, Father, Mother.”
Once brought before her father, Lillian abandoned all dignity. She respectfully took her father’s hand and then clung to him like a young child.
“Oh! Oh! My darling Lillian! My pride and joy! You’ve returned safely! Tell me, are you hurt? Did you get space-sick? If any insolent officer bothered you, tell Papa immediately! I’ll have them transferred to the Stellar Observation Corps instantly!”
He actually had the power to do it, which made him terrifying in a way.
Pignard was incredibly soft on his daughter. She was his only child, born relatively late in his life, so his doting was perhaps inevitable.
“No, no, I’m perfectly fine, Father. Everyone has been very kind. Oh, and I brought a friend with me today. She’s the girl who is always good to me—I believe you met her once before?”
“Ah, that girl. Yes, yes. To be friends with you, she must have good judgment. If she isn’t here, she must be in the guest wing. Fine, I’ll have the finest cakes served to her. Hahaha!”
“Thank you, Father!”
Lillian felt goosebumps breaking out all over her body as she turned on the charm.
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