Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: From the First Button
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“…Doria, what should I do?”
“What's wrong, miss?”
I couldn't tear my eyes away from the words stamped clearly on the letter.
When I couldn't bring myself to answer, Doria tried to peer at the paper. I startled and crumpled it up tight.
“Ah, miss?”
“Yeah, Doria. It's nothing.”
“You can crumple paper now!”
“…….”
Doria pulled a notepad from her pocket and began scribbling on it diligently.
“Crumpling… paper… possible…”
Her voice came in fits and starts.
“You're reporting that to my brother too?”
“Of course! The count will be thrilled!”
“Maybe try picking up a different hobby…….”
“Oh my, but this is so much fun.”
She did seem more satisfied with her job ever since picking up this new hobby.
If she's happy, who am I to complain……? I decided to support her interests.
But right now, separate from that, I needed to get her out of here for a bit.
“Anyway, Doria, I'm a little thirsty.”
“Oh! I'll fetch some water!”
Doria tucked her notepad securely into her pocket and left the room.
Once she was gone, I unfolded the letter again.
We regret to inform you that your application for admission has been rejected for the following reason.
Reason: Missing or unsuitable recommender
No matter how many times I rubbed my eyes and looked again, the words didn't change.
And just as predictably, I was shocked all over again.
“Mayches as an unsuitable recommender…….”
This was truly an unexpected turn.
Even if he later became infamous as a total scumbag after turning dark, before that, wasn't he hailed as Ileneias's future, the continent's dream and hope? I figured he'd have enough credit to vouch for me!
My heart sank with disappointment, but amid it all, I felt a tiny bit of relief that I'd sent Doria away.
Doria idolized Mayches, calling him “our count” this and “our count” that.
I couldn't shatter her illusions by telling her that while he's rich, he's a bit lacking in clout.
I'm still the lady of the house, so I'll bear that harsh reality alone…….
Anyway, I couldn't just keep moping. There was still time before Repitelips's application deadline.
Repitelips allowed re-applications as long as you had a new recommender. It really was the academy for the elite, bound tight by blood, regional, and school ties.
I had to find a new recommender within the next week. But there was a big problem.
I didn't know anyone of higher standing than Mayches. Actually, I didn't have any connections at all…….
“At best, I've just gotten a bit familiar with Mayches's friends…….”
And if Mayches was unsuitable, his friends probably didn't have much pull either.
“What am I going to do…….”
I thought convincing Mayches would be the biggest hurdle, but things had gone wrong right from the start.
The official mailbox at Repitelips Academy was flooded with admission applications.
The faculty, who had been watching the fierce competition with fond smiles, gathered urgently because of one particular application.
[Name: Aiel Rudelriz]
They clutched their hearts at the sight of “Rudelriz.” Then they checked the recommender form attached to the back.
[Recommender: Mayches Rudelriz]
The moment they saw those shining letters, the headmaster contacted Mayches directly at his dorm, where he was resting comfortably.
Even though it wasn't at the stage for verification stamps yet, there was already one stamped in the confirmation box.
Mayches went pale and scrawled a rejection signature on the spot.
Leaving the headmaster muttering, “So I must have been mistaken…….,” Mayches teleported straight to the Rudelriz estate.
Grenji, who had been chuckling, “If you keep skipping out so irresponsibly, I'll tell Lady Aiel,” fell silent at Mayches's grave expression.
Mayches quietly summoned Doria.
Doria, called before Mayches, plastered on her best smile, but she fidgeted uncomfortably.
Mayches said to her,
“I'll give you one chance to tell the truth.”
“Lady Aiel said she wants to go to the academy!”
It was such an unforeseen bombshell that even Grenji's jaw dropped in rare shock.
Grenji scolded Doria.
“Why didn't you report something that important!”
“Ah, she insisted it be kept secret…….”
“There are other things to keep secret!”
“I'm sorry!”
Doria wept and apologized profusely.
In the end, she received a subtle punishment: “Report anything and everything concerning Aiel.”
She had been chattering every little detail without prompting up until then, so it wasn't a particularly new order.
Doria returned to tend to Aiel, and Grenji and Mayches sat in the heavy silence of the study for a moment.
Soon, Mayches pressed his brow and spoke.
“Grenji, don't take Aiel's side on this too.”
“Even this butler has his limits, my lord. If Lady Aiel goes to the academy, this old body won't sleep easy even for a day.”
He was right. It would be less worrisome than leaving a child by the water's edge.
Aiel must have anticipated that reaction, which was why she'd pushed this in secret.
And her clever little sister had also guessed that permission was harder to get than forgiveness, at least when it came to herself.
It was an unfortunate side effect of her trust in her brother.
“She's only ever gotten fresh air through the window, so how will she endure academy life…….”
“What if she passes out somewhere alone…….”
Mayches and Grenji sighed in unison. Mayches now pressed both temples with his hands.
“At least with the recommender rejected, the headmaster will discreetly deny admission. The problem is…….”
“Mayches Rudelriz” couldn't possibly be unsuitable, so Aiel would naturally realize he'd done it on purpose.
…Or so Mayches and Grenji overestimated the information savvy of their greenhouse flower, Aiel.
“Just to be sure, if Lady Aiel begs you to reconsider the recommender, can you hold firm?”
“…….”
Seeing Mayches's expression, Grenji nodded. “Yes, I was just asking.”
Grenji suggested another approach.
But it was the kind that required Mayches to steel his resolve.
“With a week until the deadline, how about spending this weekend in the dorms?”
“I'd rather you strike me with lightning.”
And so, Mayches found himself facing the longest separation from Aiel in history, quite suddenly.
Grenji subtly informed Aiel, using the excuse of His Highness the Prince's poor condition, that the family head had to go to the imperial palace this weekend and wouldn't be home.
Grenji felt bad seeing Aiel look especially downcast, but he believed it was the right choice.
And then, Saturday evening, where every second felt like an hour to Mayches.
Bzzz—
Mayches noticed a faint light in his dorm's private mailbox.
He opened the lid. Inside was a small stone like a bird's egg.
A video recording magic device.
Confirming it was from Rudelriz mansion, Mayches cupped the pebble in his hand.
Soon, a scene emerged from the stone, floating in the air.
[Miss, look here~.]
Aiel turned at Doria's voice. Mayches's eyes widened.
Aiel wasn't standing in the hallway she usually walked so diligently.
Around her glowing white silhouette in the light, thick green untouched by melting snow abounded.
It was the Rudelriz garden.
[You're showing this to my brother too?]
[Of course! We have to show this momentous occasion to the count!]
[Did you buy that device yourself, Doria? Aren't attendants supposed to use their own money for that……?]
[Don't say that, miss. I can already picture how happy the count will be~.]
[…Yeah. We even picked the weekend on purpose, but he's busy… Well, people's lives come first.]
Aiel's damp forehead had a few strands of ash-gray hair stuck to it as she spoke.
Mayches blankly reached out toward the empty air. For a moment, it felt like their eyes met.
[Brother, hurry back! I've already decided what flowers to plant!]
Aiel's unreachable eyes crinkled prettily.
Her sparkling gaze, as always, brimmed with firm resolve. Mayches felt a pang in his chest.
Doria's voice, unseen in the video, came out choked.
[You don't know how long we've waited for flowers to bloom in this garden.]
The gardener standing beside Aiel pressed his usual hat to his chest, looking moved.
[I’ll do my very best, miss…….]
Doria shifted the angle slightly to capture Grenji standing rigidly beside Aiel.
Aiel soothed Grenji, who was shedding tears, as if it were routine.
Grenji, silently dabbing his eyes with a handkerchief, shifted his gaze to the device Doria held.
[…Now we must find shoes that suit you, my lady. My lord.]
Mayches realized those words meant Grenji's surrender.
Mayches looked at Aiel's fluffy white slippers. They looked too thin for outdoors.
Aiel, who always seemed to brighten the Rudelriz mansion, had steadily grown in ways he hadn't noticed, preparing to embrace a new world.
Mayches watched her face as she breathed heavily yet deeply, taking in the fresh air.
Doria's voice rang out again.
[Miss~ Whose little sister are you~?]
[Doria, you're good at this social stuff…….]
Aiel fiddled shyly with her hair, then made a face like, “Eh, whatever.”
She spread her arms wide toward the device, her face beaming with that glassy smile again.
[I'm my brother's little sister!]
Mayches sat blankly on his bed.
His hand, reaching to touch the round device again, hesitated.
He sorted through his tangled thoughts for a long time. More than that, he sorted the heavier emotions weighing on his heart.
He activated the device once more and, seeing Aiel shout [I'm my brother's little sister!], couldn't hold back any longer.
Mayches returned to Rudelriz mansion and was greeted by Grenji standing by the teleport circle as if waiting.
“Where's Aiel?”
“She's asleep.”
Mayches carefully opened the door to Aiel's room.
It was earlier than usual, but Aiel was fast asleep with the covers pulled up to her neck. Mayches suddenly recalled the moment she first stepped onto the bedframe.
“…Grown this much in the blink of an eye.”
Mayches gently stroked Aiel's hair.
Grenji, who had been bawling in the video, now chuckled dryly.
“How about permitting enrollment if she attends only twice a week?”
“…….”
“Doesn't Lady Aiel need new friends now too? Last time, she looked so happy playing with your friends…….”
Mayches rubbed his dry face. The butler was quick to pivot, at any rate.
Mayches muttered lowly, already deflated.
“You said I wouldn't sleep easy even for a day.”
“The older you get, the less you sleep anyway.”
“The outside world isn't as kind to Aiel as Rudelriz mansion.”
“She'll do well. Maybe even better than we think.”
“…….”
“If you're truly worried, stick by her side at the academy. Wouldn't you be better at protecting her that way?”
Mayches and Grenji's eyes met.
Seeing the young count's eyes widen in realization, Grenji raised one eyebrow.
“If she attends twice a week, that's two more days you'll see Lady Aiel—”
“…Grenji.”
“I'll speak to Lady Aiel about reconfirming the recommender.”
He was a capable butler, aside from always taking the lady's side over the count's in their quarrels.
…However, there was one thing the two overlooked.
The lady of Rudelriz liked forging new paths as much as she liked taking detours.
“…One might not be enough, but what if it's not just one?”
Even one dragon is useless, but collect them all and they grant wishes.
Ileneias's future might not cut it alone, but six or so could roughly fill the gap in influence……?
…Neither the family head nor the butler had any inkling of such an outrageous idea brewing in Aiel's mind.