Invitation (1)
Invitation (1)
July was the month when students, in more ways than one, began to unwind.
And I had the distinct impression that this world grew even more relaxed than the one I used to live in.
Since the academy was modeled on the system of a Japanese high school, final exams loomed at the end of July. But that didn't mean the anticipation for the approaching vacation burned away entirely.
And this atmosphere spread more broadly among the commoners than among the children of the nobility.
Nobles were creatures who lived on pride.
Even if the children of noble houses felt that connections were the most important goal and that forming good relationships mattered more than earning high marks, many still considered it a disgrace if their grades fell below a certain level. There were also plenty of noble parents who were sensitive about academic performance.
On the other hand, many commoners could be said to have already had their fortunes made the moment they entered this academy. Commoners outnumbered nobles two to one here, but that was simply because the commoner population within the empire vastly exceeded the nobility. Looking at the number of applicants, the competition for commoners to secure a place was far fiercer than it was for nobles.
Just graduating from the academy without incident posed no great obstacle to finding a way to make a living. Since the institution also served as a military academy, becoming an imperial officer was also an option. Still, they had to maintain the minimum grades to avoid being held back a year.
And as for me...... although I had lost the means to return to a point before mid-June, I hadn't, surprisingly, taken that big a hit.
That was entirely because I had been so thorough with my reviewing and previewing all along.
To be precise, it meant that every time a class ended, I would rewind time again and again until I had a firm grasp of what I needed to understand before moving on. Even during self-study, I rewound time repeatedly to work through each problem's solution until I understood it.
Even by my standards, the thought of looking at the exam questions and then rewinding time to solve them again felt a bit off. However, I also thought that rewinding time by months right before exam period just to take a single test was insane, so I studied diligently all semester long.
No matter how ordinary a person, given enough time at a relaxed pace, anyone can become a prodigy. Time was the one thing I had in overflowing abundance, and this was the result of consistently using it without letting each opportunity go to waste.
Not that I was particularly looking forward to summer vacation.
Because if I went to the imperial palace, the place I could call 'home,' I would unavoidably come face-to-face with the emperor.
Since that incident last June, the emperor hadn't said much, but I was certain that when I returned and saw him, a conversation I very much did not want would come up, a hundred percent.
*
But life didn't only bring bad things.
Even if it was an event that merely delayed those bad things a little, pleasant occurrences still happened now and then.
"An invitation?"
About a week before finals began, Claire came to my room and handed me a letter in an elegant envelope.
It was similar to the one Alice had given Charlotte, but at least the contents written here weren't meant to divert my gaze elsewhere.
"Yes. It's an invitation to our estate."
The Grace estate located on the capital island wasn't far from here. After all, it was a special type of territory, a bit different from the standard domain of a major noble house.
Its actual size was more akin to a large mansion than what one would call a territory. By modern standards, perhaps the size of a slightly large school? There was one large building and several buildings of more ordinary size, with some grounds between them, and a lawn that could pass for a training field......
Of course, owning land and buildings of that scale under an individual's name was impressive in its own right, but compared to a county or duchy whose size wouldn't seem out of place next to a nation or province, it was still a realistic scale.
"I told my father and mother about you, my sister. They said they wanted to meet you, at least once."
When I stared blankly at Claire after hearing that, she quickly shook her head.
"It's fine. I only said that you were the sister I'd been searching for. I didn't say anything else at all...... Ah."
And only after getting that far did Claire seem to recall that the fact itself was a story largely unknown to others.
Looking at me with a slightly anxious face, Claire somehow seemed oddly young, even though she was clearly almost the same height as me.
"Did I...... speak out of turn?"
"Not at all."
I spoke as I opened the envelope.
"House Grace is a loyal family. And...... as long as you were there, it was a story that would have come to light someday."
At my words, Claire blinked a couple of times.
"More than anything, I am the one who brought you to that place. There is no reason for me to be angry now over anything you might have said."
"R-right......?"
With Claire before me, speaking as if a little pleased, I took the letter from the envelope. The stationery was also high-quality paper. The sort only nobles would use.
So even a barony is still a noble house, I thought, as I unfolded the letter. The content was revealed in a handwriting so immaculate I almost suspected it had been produced by a printing press.
[To Her Highness, Princess Sylvia Fangriffon of the Glorious Empire.
The blazing sunlight warms the earth, and the air grows humid with the breeze blowing in from the sea. Some find this weather rather disagreeable, yet at times it also makes for a fine season, offering a ready excuse to travel somewhere.
The place where Your Highness resides is not so very far from here, so we cannot promise you a refreshing breeze or pleasant air like that of another world. However, the verdant lawn within our estate is well-maintained and highly regarded even among the nobility. It is renowned as one of the few places where the eye may find rest amidst the city's drabness.
If you would grant us the honor of sharing tea with Your Highness in the cool shade while admiring such greenery, I do not doubt it would be the greatest happiness House Grace could ever know.
I shall pray that a favorable reply from Your Highness may return through our daughter.
Tuesday, the 11th of July, 1901.
Respectfully yours, Baron Edward Grace.]
Putting the contents aside for a moment, even the handwriting exuded an air of "I am an honest man." Well, there were probably plenty of villains with excellent handwriting too. Maybe I was only thinking that out of preconceptions because I already knew about Baron Grace.
After finishing the letter, I raised my eyes and looked at Claire standing before me.
She didn't seem entirely confident that I would give a positive answer. She stood with her hands clasped behind her back, looking at me with a bit of hesitation. The way she had her head slightly bowed, looking up at me, was an image I remembered faintly.
It was the expression Claire had worn at the orphanage whenever I shared my portion of food with her.
She should have lived a life with nothing in particular to feel self-conscious about, yet seeing that this habit hadn't disappeared at all even after ten years, I felt I could understand how deeply the influence of those five years of having nothing had marked Claire's life.
Perhaps that was why I remembered it so vividly, too. To her, I was probably the first person who had ever shown her kindness in her life.
"Understood."
I carefully folded the letter again and tucked it back into the envelope.
"I shall accept the invitation. Does any date work?"
"Ah, yes!"
At my answer, a bright smile spread across Claire's face.
Honestly, what did a child like this have to go through to end up as twisted as she was in the original story?
Perhaps the fact that she hadn't broken, that she had endured, was the miracle itself. That also meant Claire was that strong a child.
Because she had been the kind of person who could die for her younger sibling, even after they hadn't been on the best of terms by the end.
Still, thanks to this, I would be able to put off facing the emperor for a little while longer, so my heart felt a bit lighter.
And I had wanted to visit House Grace at least once anyway. It was a place I went to in the original story, but waiting around idly until then had felt a little stifling.
"In that case, I will make arrangements to visit immediately after exams and the closing ceremony. Would that be acceptable?"
"That works for me! I'll let my parents know in advance!"
Parents, she said.
Come to think of it, I had only ever traveled around with Claire; I had never properly heard about how she had been raised. The environment would certainly have been good, incomparable to the original story, and that was probably exactly why there had been no particular need for her to tell me about it.
Besides, it was also the protagonist's home.
It didn't seem like a bad idea to hear about how Leo and Claire had grown up directly from Baron Grace and his wife.