Reborn As Noble

The wedding day.

Javier sat at one of the tables with all his girls. His mother was seated with Garius and all her co-wives: Garcinia, Phenelope, who was now dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief as she watched her only son, Heres, at the altar.

Eriditih, who was quietly enjoying her meal, and Mylezra, who was seated near Garius, trying her best to control her visibly love-struck, dreamy expression.

Javier glanced around.

Hmm? I don’t see Aelius around.

Don’t tell me he went to meet Athine even after Mother strictly told him not to see her before the wedding?

Just as he was about to turn and whisper to Liana, a voice came from behind him.

”Little brother, can I sit with you?”

Javier turned.

”Ah... Aelius... I was just about to gossip about you.” Javier wiggled his eyebrows with a cheeky smile.

Liana stood up gracefully from the chair next to Javier and moved to sit on the other side of the table, still close but making room for Aelius to sit beside Javier.

Aelius let out a long exhale. ”Thanks, Liana.” He sat down next to Javier and leaned back in his chair with another weary sigh.

”Oho?” Javier narrowed his eyes playfully. ”Looks like someone is restless~”

Aelius shook his head and let out yet another long exhale before taking a sip of the wine Liana had poured for him. ”I don’t know.”

”Oh? What’s wrong? Missing Athine~?”

”Yeah... you could say that. Not being able to see her makes me... worry.”

”Really? Just worry?” Javier wiggled his eyebrows again, his grin widening.

Aelius exhaled. ”You don’t understand, little brother.”

”Heh~ Of course I do.” Javier smirked. ”You two have been inseparable since you were kids. You grew up side-by-side, and now you’re both lovesick and restless when you’re apart for even a few hours.”

”Yeah... I guess so...” Another weary sigh escaped Aelius.

Javier chuckled softly. ”For your information, Brother Aelius, Athine is indeed attending this wedding.”

”Eh? Where?”

Javier pursed his lips and subtly gestured toward the first-floor balcony overlooking the courtyard. There, seated at a beautifully decorated table and surrounded by her attending maids, was Athine. She was smiling softly, her gaze fixed on the ceremony below.

”Ah...” Aelius leaned forward slightly, and his eyes softened the moment he spotted her. Athine noticed him looking and gave a gentle, discreet wave from the balcony.

”That’s the reason the wedding venue is in this huge courtyard, so Athine could attend it from the balcony without having to navigate the crowd. Did you think you were the only one worrying about her? She wanted to see you, too, even if from a distance.”

Aelius smiled, some of the tension leaving his shoulders. ”I guess you’re right.”

”Besides,” Javier added, giving him a sideways look, ”you may not be able to meet each other for another three days, but that doesn’t mean you can’t contact and chat with her using a mana talkie, right?”

”Ah...” Aelius blinked, a look of sudden realization dawning on his face.

”I completely forgot about that, little brother. I forgot we live in a nation with special inventions and magic tech... all thanks to you.”

Javier puffed out his chest and wiggled his eyebrows with a cheeky grin. ”Thanks to this genius inventor~ But sad~ Someone really forgot about all the convenient tools I made to make life easier~”

”But, little brother...” Aelius shook his head again, his expression still troubled. ”I might be able to hear her voice... but I can’t see her face. I can’t see what she’s doing, how she’s feeling... it’s just not the same.”

Javier exhaled dramatically and snapped his fingers. ”Damn... it’s hard to watch you like this.” He leaned in slightly, lowering his voice. ”I wasn’t going to release this thing early, but I can’t stand to see you looking so lovesick and miserable.”

He took out two sleek, rectangular devices from his dimensional storage. They were made of polished, dark metal and crystal, with a smooth, glowing surface.

”If you’re already this restless just because you can’t see her for a few days...” Javier continued, his tone shifting to something more teasing yet concerned, ”I wonder what will happen when her belly starts to grow bigger and you’re away in Gaze Town or handling merchant guild business for week.”

”What is this, little brother?” Aelius leaned in, his curiosity piqued.

Everyone at the table turned their attention as Javier powered on one of the devices. Its surface illuminated with soft, blue light, displaying intricate, shifting runes.

”This is a Mana Phone,” Javier explained, his voice carrying a hint of pride. ”It can transmit live images and sound over long distances. Since this is still a prototype, I haven’t added the text-chat function yet. But for now... it lets you see and talk to someone, no matter where they are. Since the mana satellite is already up there.” He pointed a finger toward the sky.

”So how am I going to see her with this?” Aelius asked.

Javier chuckled softly, his eyes focused on the glowing screen.

”I’ll set it up first. I need to connect this phone through a contact profile.” He activated the front-facing mana-cam function and handed the device to Aelius. ”Take the best picture you can for your profile. Something you’d want Athine to see every time she looks at your contact.”

”Err... like this?” Aelius asked, lifting the device and looking at his own reflection on the screen.

”Yeah. Make it good.”

”Oh.” Aelius nodded, glancing up at the screen before swiping a hand through his hair and adjusting his posture. ”So what do I do next?”

”Just tap the round icon on the screen and press it to capture.”

”Like this?” Aelius tapped the screen, and a soft chime sounded. He looked at the captured image. ”Eh? Not really the handsome one. How do I change it?”

Javier exhaled and shook his head. ”Here, press this to retry.”

”Oh, okay.” Aelius smiled and took another picture. ”Mm~ This one looks good. So what next?”

”Give me the phone.” Javier extended his hand, and Aelius handed it back.

”Now I’ll link the contact. Since Athine doesn’t have a profile picture yet, I’ll give her the instruction manual later on how to set it up.” Javier said, handing the device back to Aelius.

”So what next?” Aelius tilted his head.

”Now you press this button here for video call, and this one for voice call. Then tap Athine’s name, I’ve already set it up.”

”Like this?” Aelius pressed the video call button, and the device in Javier’s hand began to softly chime with a melodic ringtone.

Javier held up his own device to show Aelius. ”And when you two try to call each other, since you’re calling Athine...” He swiped the ”accept call” button on his screen, and his own face appeared on Aelius’s display.

”Boo!”

”Oi! Don’t show that face on this!” Aelius jolted before breaking into soft laughter.

( End Of Chapter )