Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Imperial Children's Academy
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The maid sisters were acting way too suspiciously.
On top of that, ever since the trial, I'd been plagued by doubts like, 'Is Dad really such a pushover?'
'I need to probe these sisters a bit.'
I furrowed my brow and sank deep into thought.
I was mulling over how to lead them into a perfect guided confession when the carriage door creaked open just a crack.
“Leonhardt, Ashid?”
I widened my eyes toward the familiar faces peeking through the gap in the open carriage door.
They looked like they'd received a solid pep talk, wearing solemn expressions.
“No way, Honey Bun!”
“I'm here, Lady Sien.”
Leonhardt arrogantly claimed the seat to my left, gazing at me with soulful eyes.
“Why the sappy look?”
“Sappy! That's not it.”
“Then?”
Right then, Ashid, who had quietly slipped into the seat on my right without anyone noticing, whispered softly.
“Thanks to Lord Matthias's grace, we're going to the academy too.”
“Really?”
I rolled my eyes. Sure, I deserved to attend the academy, but Leonhardt was a once-in-a-generation genius who didn't need to go at all.
“Sounds fun.”
'…Yeah, it'd be good for these kids to make some friends.'
Since we were headed to the academy anyway, I hoped something interesting would happen.
'More importantly, I was planning to ask the maid sisters about Dad's shady behavior…'
But I couldn't bring up Dad right now. It felt a little awkward doing so in front of Leonhardt.
'Leonhardt doesn't have any family… I'll ask later!'
Deciding to change the subject, I grabbed the hands of Leonhardt and Ashid, who were flanking me like knights.
They had submitted their enrollment applications the instant they heard I was going to the academy.
Truth be told, now that I was ten, I could've gone alone just fine.
But they insisted it was a matter of loyalty and absolutely had to come with me.
Hearing that made the thick trust we'd built up feel pretty gratifying.
“Everyone, let's hurry to the academy!”
Just then, Ashid whispered timidly.
“I-Is it okay?”
“Hm? Why?”
“I heard the bullying's intense.”
“Then I'll protect you!”
Ashid stared at me with wide, startled bunny eyes. I met his gaze with a grand, bulging stare of my own.
I figured he'd blush shyly and say 'Yes!'
But…
“No, I should be the one protecting you.”
He drew a firm line. Even as I gawked at him in wide-eyed surprise, Ashid said nothing more.
The carriage carrying the three of us wound through bumpy unpaved roads before merging onto a splendid boulevard.
The Imperial Children's Academy, built for nobles, was said to sit on the priciest land in the heart of the empire—and it sure did.
Even I, accustomed to the Mirmod family's extravagance, felt dazzled by the brilliantly vibrant street unfolding before us.
We'd finally arrived.
At the Imperial Children's Academy!
“…Phew!”
Imperial Children's Academy.
Of course, Dad hadn't just tossed me into the academy willy-nilly.
'I've got Ashid on the left, Leonhardt on the right.'
Sure, connections might already be tightly knit inside the academy like Ashid said, but with this lineup, no one would dare lay a finger on me.
And beside me…
“Heh heh heh, I'm already looking forward to it!”
…the imposingly muscular maid sisters too!
Even if the bullying was bad, they surely wouldn't attack a Mirmod like me.
'I might actually get to take it easy at the academy!'
I trotted down the gold-leaf-adorned corridor, taking in the surroundings.
Gold here, gold there!
It was a sight that naturally elicited gasps of awe. Far from living up to its name as the empire's repository of knowledge, the academy looked like it had been literally painted with money.
“Why's everything so shiny here?”
Leonhardt flicked up his mask and said.
“Most academy graduates end up as the empire's key figures, and they keep funding the remodeling work. In a word, a virtuous cycle!”
More surprising than the fact itself was that Leonhardt knew the academy's history. I blinked at his eyes peering out from behind the mask.
Come to think of it, his everyday mask seemed even shinier than usual.
'No way, was he really looking forward to the academy that much?'
Leonhardt almost never got chances to make friends his age, so it made sense.
Feeling glad we'd come together, I squeezed his hand and said brightly.
“Thanks, Speed Wagon. Ah, no—Leonhardt!”
“Hmph, this much is nothing.”
I dazedly watched Leonhardt tilt his nose up proudly, then turned my head aside.
“Isn't that Lady Sien Mirmod?”
“You know, the one from the paternity test at the trial?”
“Yeah, that's her!”
Whispers from the academy kids reached my ears. I curiously perked them up. How did these kids already know about me?
'Something feels a little off. Do rumors usually spread this far?'
It felt just like someone was pulling strings from behind the scenes. I tilted my head in bewilderment. And right at that moment.
“As expected, Lord Matthias must've pulled some strings.”
“…?”
I perked up my ears at Leonhardt's words.
'What did our Dad do?'
It was an awfully suspicious mutter. I gripped Leonhardt's hand tight and whipped my head toward him.
“What did our Dad do?”
“Huh? Huh?”
“You just said super quietly, 'Lord Matthias must've done something,' like that.”
Leonhardt looked thoroughly troubled as he turned his head away.
“Th-that. You've got sharp ears, huh?”
It was really weird. Seeing Leonhardt nervously bite his lip, I felt a strange suspicion bubble up.
“…Why beat around the bush? What did he dooo?”
'Time for a head-on battle!'
A head-on battle meant!
Deploying the Sien-style elongated-tail skill, pronto!
I pouted at Leonhardt, putting on a sulky act.
The second I puffed out my cheeks, Leonhardt started fidgeting anxiously, stamping his feet.
“Th-that. Why're you pouting like that!”
“Hm?”
“…You mad?”
“Nooo. Just tell me already.”
It was then.
Ashid, who had been hovering quietly like he wasn't even there, whispered cautiously from beside us.
“It was nothing big.”
“…Huh?”
“Nothing Lady Sien needs to worry about.”
Ashid flashed a pure, delicate smile like a cornflower.
'Feels like he's drawn a line.'
Caught off guard by how subtly different he was from his usual self, I just blinked stutteringly.
“Y-Yeah…”
“Yes, let's head in.”
Taking a calm look at Ashid's face, he was back to his usual gentle expression.
I'd been so busy bickering with Leonhardt that I'd neglected Ashid, making him feel unfamiliar—I decided to let it go.
I stuck out one hand each toward Leonhardt and Ashid.
“Come on, let's go in!”
***
The three of us burst energetically into the academy classroom.
Three empty seats assigned just for us were huddled together at the far back.
I set the bookbag the maid sister had packed on the chair, then swept my gaze around.
'The vibe's kinda weird?'
It was self-study period, and we should be allowed to chat until the teacher arrived.
But the kids exchanging glances with each other felt like outright exclusion.
'Come to think of it, a chilly silence fell the moment we opened the classroom door?'
I dragged my chair with an unnecessary screech. The kids started flinching. Some even peeked our way. At least they seemed curious about us.
“Fluffball.”
“Hm?”
“The atmosphere here's so…”
'Leonhardt notices the weird vibe too!'
I let out a whoosh of a sigh, gearing up to agree. That's when Leonhardt flashed a goofy grin and shouted.
“The atmosphere's awesome! Bet I can make tons of friends!”
The already frosty classroom vibe turned to solid ice the instant he finished.
I sighed inwardly and shook my head.
'As expected, Leonhardt's always holed up in the family manor, so he has no clue!'
Whispers started drilling into my ears from all directions again.
“Hmph!”
“That kid must be Sien Mirmod!”
“The daughter of that tyr… guy?”
I lifted my eyebrows at 'tyr… daughter.'
I could see Leonhardt perk up his ears, Ashid rolling his eyes.
Those two had caught exactly what the kids were trying to say.
'Couldn't hear it perfectly, but there's definitely something.'
I shot Ashid and Leonhardt a sharp zap of a glare, then strained my ears to eavesdrop on the kids.
***
The Mirmod family had parachuted a whopping three kids into the academy!
That alone was enough to set the students' hearts ablaze.
The Imperial Children's Academy was notorious for its brutally tough entrance exams.
Yet here they were, waltzing in midway without taking the test?
Exaggerating a bit, it felt like watching admissions corruption in action.
And this was the Mirmod family, no less. As overflowing as their infamy was the number of people grinding their teeth against them—like the kids from pro-Crown Prince faction families, for instance.
Liena, the little lady from a prime pro-Crown Prince family, opened her mouth.
“This is totally outrageous!”
“Yeah.”
“How can anyone just bribe their way in midway like that?”
Liena chirped on like a bird.
She knew full well the Mirmod family's bird-dropping prestige, but Liena had her own reliable backing.
She snuck a glance at Leonhardt's scary expression and deliberately raised her voice.
“They can't threaten us over stuff that happens in the academy anyway!”
By decree of the founding emperor, the academy's interior came with blanket immunity privileges.
They held their heads high arrogantly, glaring daggers at Sien. Even knowing full well they were being glared at, Sien sat primly at her desk without so much as a twitch.
Instead, Leonhardt at her side and the famed temple healer Ashid were the ones shooting glares back at them.
It was enough to work up a sweat on its own, but they played it cool and kept yapping.
“That kid—turns out even growing that merchant guild wasn't her own doing.”
“Th-that's news to me?”
Overly self-conscious, their tone turned theatrical. Liena shot a glance Sien's way and amped up her voice.
“Bottom line, this is all wrong! It's unfair for some unproven kid to enroll in our academy!”
“Yeah, totally unjust and unreasonable!”
She had no clue what 'totally unjust and unreasonable' really meant, but the kids all chimed in, united in rejecting Sien, Leonhardt, and Ashid's shady admission.