Two Weeks Later
“Hmmm.”
“……Why are you doing that?”
Irien, who had been studying my expression, let out a soft nasal sound and smiled faintly.
“Your face is very easy to read, Lord Kallion.”
“……Is that so?”
Easy to read? I didn’t think so. I blinked slowly and asked back, and Irien covered her mouth, laughing quietly as she tilted her head and gazed at me.
“Even now.”
“Hmm.”
“It shows so clearly.”
Normally my face was either annoyed or blank, so maybe even the slightest change stood out. Deciding there was no point denying it, I answered.
“Well, my honesty is part of my charm.”
“Pfft…….”
Shrugging with a nonchalant reply, Irien burst into a long laugh.
“Really, you never lose, do you?”
“……It feels like I’ve been losing the whole time today.”
I hadn’t won even once. Not that winning or losing mattered much anyway.
“Ah… time already.”
Irien, who had been savoring her tea with a pleasant smile, suddenly looked out the window and murmured. A faint shadow fell across her previously bright, peaceful face. It wasn’t reluctance to leave, but regret that the enjoyable time was ending. Just what had happened that day ten years ago to make her wear such an expression?
“It’s not as if today is the only day we’ll meet.”
Of course, it wasn’t as if she could come whenever she wanted, and I would never go to her side. Still, we might meet again someday. ……Though I would very much prefer not to. Looking into those eyes, I had the feeling we would meet again whether I liked it or not.
‘Wait, why am I comforting her?’
The situation was absurd, but since she was finally leaving my cozy, comfortable home, I could afford to be magnanimous.
“I know that.”
At my words, Irien gave me a meaningful smile. What was that about? She had done the same thing with Serena. Was there something I didn’t know? I searched my memory calmly, but nothing came to mind.
“Even so, I should get going.”
“I can’t exactly live here, after all.”
“I could live here, though?”
“……I must politely decline.”
What nonsense. If she lived here, who would be responsible for my peaceful daily life? I answered while breaking into a cold sweat. Irien giggled softly, then slowly rose to her feet.
“I’ll have the carriage prepared.”
“Please do.”
Since she was a guest of the family—and one who had come to see me—it was only natural that I see her off. To escape the situation even a little, I opened the drawing-room door first and stepped out.
Whew. Once I left the drawing room, I felt like I could breathe again. Letting out a breath, I undid one button on my stifling clothes and began walking slowly.
@
Irien had said she needed to speak with Father, so I came out first and waited in front of the carriage. Staring blankly at the sky and watching the drifting clouds, stray thoughts began to surface.
Irien. If I really thought about it, she was someone who matched my ideal type. Wealthy, beautiful, and powerful. She wasn’t my older sister, but she was the closest thing to it. Of course, the only comparison points were Serena and Irien, and one of them had fallen so low she was only now climbing back up, so comparing them felt embarrassing.
Even so, I was far too timid a person to even consider being with the Grand Duke’s precious daughter. Besides, in the original story, she definitely……
‘Nah.’
Why was I even thinking that far? As I shook my head, a gentle breeze stirred my hair. Nice weather.
“……She’s coming, right?”
“Yes. She said she wouldn’t go……”
Carried on the wind, I could hear Father and Irien’s conversation, but I let it pass through one ear and out the other. It probably wasn’t anything important. Even if it was, it wouldn’t be important to me.
Blinking slowly, I turned my gaze toward Irien and Father as they approached.
“Thank you for seeing me off.”
“……It’s only natural.”
Smiling brightly, Irien spoke to me, and I answered with proper courtesy. Father was staring daggers at me from the side, so I couldn’t act the way I usually did. One wrong move and my head would get bashed in. Noticing me glancing at Father, Irien—who had already caught on—smiled again.
“Well then, let’s meet again soon.”
“Yes, Lady Grand Duchess.”
I escorted Irien as she boarded the carriage after exchanging polite greetings. Taking the hand I offered, she climbed in slowly, then leaned in slightly and whispered near my ear.
“I will never give up.”
“……”
A chill ran down my spine. I couldn’t respond to her words. Irien simply smiled at my silent self, offered an elegant farewell, and boarded the carriage.
“Well then.”
“Please return safely.”
Seemingly reluctant to leave, Irien kept the window open even after boarding and continued waving. I waved back.
“I’ll see you at the Academy.”
Beyond the carriage as it began to pull away, words I absolutely could not ignore reached my ears. Staring blankly at Irien waving from the carriage window, forgetting all decorum, I mulled over what I had just heard.
What?
“……The Academy?”
Why the hell was that insane school name from the novel suddenly coming up?
……Ah. This was the world inside the novel.
@
Right. I had momentarily forgotten, but such a thing did exist in this world. The Academy. An educational institution where status meant nothing and only skill mattered…… the empire’s finest. Why students from neighboring kingdoms and even non-human races attended an imperial institution, I didn’t know, but it existed nonetheless.
In the novel, whenever the Academy appeared, it became either a target for terrifying beings like the Demon King or demon races, or the center of the romance fantasy where the protagonist got entangled with all sorts of heroines.
If someone asked how I could have forgotten such an important place—
‘……Why would I ever go there?’
I had thought there would be no reason for me to attend. Unlike the 21st century, this world had no compulsory education. Nobles were expected to receive various forms of education at home from a young age, and that was considered socially normal. Attending an institution called “school” or “the Academy” wasn’t something taken for granted.
By medieval standards, at twenty years old, one was already expected to function as an adult. The only reason someone would voluntarily attend the Academy at that age was one thing: to learn skills that couldn’t be properly taught in daily life. More precisely, things like magic or swordsmanship. Since good teachers were rare, the Academy offered high-quality instruction for those who might otherwise fall behind. Or, as a small society in itself, it served as a place for social networking.
Either way, for someone like me—who had no talent for magic or the sword, and possessed not even a speck of sociability, nor any intention of gaining any—the Academy was not a place I belonged.
‘……But.’
Why did the back of my neck feel so cold? The only person who would cling to me like that had already left in the carriage.
“……Father?”
“Call me Lord.”
“Ah, yes, Lord. I’m misunderstanding something, right?”
“A misunderstanding.”
When Father suddenly spoke like that, I could guess the reason. His decision was already made, and as the head of the family, he had finalized it—so this was an unspoken warning not to argue further. But I couldn’t back down. As I said, the Academy was a battlefield. Setting foot there would surely bring nothing good.
“I wonder.”
“No, what is this about the Academy all of a sudden? I have no talent, you know?”
Honestly, me attending the Academy wouldn’t benefit Father or the Helios Marquisate. It would only make people laugh at the fact that the Helios Marquisate’s good-for-nothing had no talent either, and it would only tarnish the family’s honor.
“I’ll just end up being a laughingstock if I go there, won’t I?”
“……I wonder.”
“Pardon?”
Strangely enough, Father didn’t seem to think so.
“I used to think that way too. But lately, I’ve been thinking I might have been wrong.”
“……”
What on earth had he seen to change his mind? A sigh escaped me, but I swallowed it down. Father, however, turned his back without another word and began walking away.
“Enrollment is in two weeks. Prepare yourself.”
Wait. Seriously?