Me? At the Academy? (1)
To Miss Lilith Rosewood,
"…"
A chill ran down my spine the moment I read the letter's very first line, and it took me a moment to calm my startled heart. I managed it, barely.
Well, it couldn't be helped. Seraphin had always been a character with remarkable insight in the game, one way or another.
After Ethan revealed his recent transformation at the masquerade, love letters from noble daughters across the land would come flooding in. And given that a single young master could never read them all himself, it would fall to me, his exclusive maid, to manage them — which, from Seraphin's perspective, was surely a perfectly "predictable" situation.
Meeting her in person really is kind of unsettling, though.
Again, nothing to be done. That was simply the kind of character she was from the start, and denying Seraphin's characterization at this point would just be absurd. So I gave up on overthinking and turned my attention to her letter — the one ostensibly addressed to Ethan, but delivered straight into my hands.
I trust you have been well, Miss Lilith Rosewood? As I am watched by many eyes, I must first beg your understanding that I had no choice but to reach out in this manner.
Having cooperated with me under the full moon before, you surely need no signature from me to know who I am. So, as a precaution, I shall refrain from writing anything concerning my personal circumstances in this letter.
I owe you a great debt for what happened. Had you not cooperated with me that day, trusting me without a shred of suspicion, we would certainly have suffered far greater losses. When I consider the outcomes of the other paths I glimpsed, I can only be thankful that things ended as well as they did thanks to you.
How you knew of my clarity under each full moon shall remain unasked. So too shall the question of how you wielded that power despite being a commoner. Indeed, considering what transpired that day, I owe you ample compensation — and I write to inform you that preparations for it are already underway.
Further details are written on the back of this letter.
The back of the letter?
…She meant the second page, sealed beneath the wax.
I'd learned in-game that it was in one's best interest to check anything from Seraphin as quickly as possible, so I immediately used a silver knife to peel the second sheet free.
Where the first page had been crammed with pleasantries and reminiscences, the second bore only a single short sentence, centered on the paper.
We shall meet soon and speak in person.
…Soon?
Just when exactly was "soon"?
As far as I knew, there was only one scenario in which Princess Seraphin would send a letter with deliberately vague wording like this. Someone of Seraphin's caliber only used half-measured phrasing when a situation was so certain that writing it down couldn't possibly cause any trouble…
No way.
Driven by a nagging hunch, I stuck my head out the window — and there it was, a lavish carriage making its way toward the estate. I dropped everything I was doing; the first order of business was fetching Ethan from the room next door.
"Y-Young Master! Princess Seraphin has come to visit Blackwood Estate!"
"…Now?"
After all, I had an imperial guest who'd arrived at Blackwood Estate without warning to receive first.
"It has been some time, Young Master Ethan."
"The honor is mine, Princess Seraphin. Thank you for taking the trouble to visit Blackwood Estate yourself."
An imperial reception had been improvised out of nowhere in the drawing room of Blackwood Estate. Around the table where Princess Seraphin and Ethan sat facing one another, every servant in the house had gathered, brewing an atmosphere of collective tension.
Most of them were nervous simply from the novelty of seeing royalty for the first time, while the male servants were all but visibly distracted by Seraphin's looks.
I was just concluding that any serious conversation would be difficult under these circumstances when Seraphin swept the entire crowd from the drawing room with a single gesture.
"We are about to discuss a private matter, so I would ask everyone to withdraw — only those truly needed may stay."
At her declaration, the servants of Blackwood Estate murmured among themselves and one by one hurriedly filed out of the drawing room. As I stood there awkwardly trying to gauge whether I was meant to leave too, Ethan settled my fate from his side, decisively.
"I see. Everyone withdraw except Lilith, my exclusive maid."
…So I was staying after all.
Well, of course. This whole audience had come about because of a letter addressed to me in the first place — it would make no sense for the person actually meant to talk to vanish now. Whatever "speaking in person" entailed, I'd wager at least half of it concerned me.
Once the rest of the household had filed out, only four people remained in the drawing room: Ethan and myself on the Blackwood side, and on the imperial side, Seraphin along with her guard, Luke.
Someone like Luke was close enough to Seraphin's inner circle that she'd simply been left in place. She had a tight mouth; even if she heard things about me, she'd never blab…
"What are you doing, Luke? You leave too."
"…Pardon?"
"We're about to discuss private matters. I said only those truly needed may stay."
"…"
That was the face of Luke, Princess Seraphin's personal guard, as she registered the shock of not being counted among the "truly needed." Still, refusal was not an option where Seraphin's orders were concerned, so instead of arguing, her guard quietly withdrew.
…Apart from shooting me one last resentful glare on her way out the door, that is.
Hey, it's not like I'm staying because I want to.
They kept me here because they had things to say to me, so what was with the jealousy? Halfway through wondering whether I'd needlessly earned a grudge from a troublesome person, Ethan shifted from the center of the sofa to its far end, gestured at the empty seat, and beckoned to me.
"You can sit too, Lilith."
"…Pardon?"
"The conversation is mostly going to be about you anyway. Sitting in with us beats standing apart listening — easier to focus that way."
"…"
"I think so as well, Miss Lilith."
"…Very well, then."
Both of them were rushing me, so with no other choice, I quietly lowered myself onto the empty seat. Seraphin in front of me, Ethan beside me.
Sandwiched between a princess and a young master — either of whom could crush me with their status alone just by existing — I sat there carefully gauging the mood. In the silence that followed, it was Seraphin who broke it first.
"First things first, I suppose I should tell you why I made the journey to this Blackwood Estate at all."
"…"
"…"
"I offer my sincere gratitude to the two of you, who gave the most to the subjugation of the King Serpent during the Monster Wave at the palace."
"N-no, I… that is, I hardly did anything of the sort…"
"If my modest efforts proved of service to the Empire, that alone is joy enough for me."
Unlike me, flailing in my embarrassment, Ethan responded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Watching that effortless poise, I could confirm it once and for all — the man truly was a young master of nobility.
"The reason I invited you to my side here at Blackwood today, rather than summoning you to the palace, doubles as an expression of that gratitude. It would have been discourteous in every way to make the two of you, who gave your utmost to save as many lives as possible until the very last moment, travel all that way to the distant palace."
"N-no, not at all… it's no discourtesy…"
"Nonsense, Your Highness. If a princess summons, then answering that call is simply a noble's duty, is it not?"
…Why is Ethan being so unbelievably smooth today, of all days?
Don't tell me this guy really is interested in Seraphin and acting on it? So despite saying otherwise in words, in practice Ethan was just like every other guy after all…
"And besides, a setting like this would be far harder to arrange at the palace."
"…?"
"With Young Master Ethan and Miss Lilith both present, there could be no better place for a leisurely conversation among the three of us. Wouldn't you agree?"
"Th-that's true…"
She had a point. If Ethan and I had been summoned to the palace together, no such setting would ever have materialized — an environment where only three people could talk freely: Seraphin, Ethan, and me, his exclusive maid.
"May I ask how the matter I spoke of before is coming along, Your Highness?"
"The timing is somewhat tight, but I believe we should manage to complete it within half a year. Though realistically, baronet will be the best we can do for rank."
"That is more than enough. All that matters is proving the fact of nobility, after all."
…What? What were they talking about right now?
Watching the two of them dive into some grave private discussion the moment they'd summoned me here, an odd anxiety began quietly sprouting in my chest.
Seraphin, having checked my reaction from across the table, kindly turned to explain to me what she and Ethan were going on about.
"There's nothing to worry about, Miss Lilith. This isn't about stripping anyone else of their noble standing — it's simply the work of establishing an entirely new, created house."
"…Pardon?"
"We can't hide the secret of a maid who can wield magic forever. Thankfully, Her Highness says half a year will suffice, so we'll manage to make it in time for academy enrollment next year."
"W-wait, just a moment. From what the two of you are saying, I cannot understand anything at all. A new house, academy enrollment — all of this is entirely foreign to me…"
With every exchange between them, my questions only multiplied, and the anxiety in my chest began growing far faster. Sensing something wrong, Seraphin glanced toward Ethan and posed a careful question.
"Young Master Ethan… you haven't properly explained any of this to Miss Lilith, have you?"
"I did bring it up once, but this is the first time the details have been discussed."
"…He told me about it, Young Master Ethan? I'm terribly sorry, but I have no memory whatsoever of hearing anything about what the two of you are discussing right now."
"What are you on about? I told you last time. That I'd somehow take care of a maid troubled over not being able to use magic. I even said we might have Princess Seraphin's cooperation."
"Th-that… I understood that to mean simply keeping the secret that I can use magic…?"
Ethan, spouting all this as if it were perfectly self-evident while I couldn't remotely keep up — I felt no small amount of bewilderment toward him. Unable to watch the two of us any longer, Princess Seraphin herself stepped in to add to the explanation.
"Miss Lilith."
"Y-yes!"
"It seems you haven't yet heard the full story from Young Master Ethan, so allow me to state it clearly, once more."
"…"
"Miss Lilith — have you ever considered enrolling in the academy with noble status?"
"…Pardon?"
Me?
At the academy?
…How, exactly?