Doubt (2)
Doubt (2)
"...... May I ask what you mean by dangerous?"
A cautious voice spoke. It was Lena Meyer's voice.
On a weekend like this, almost no students stayed in their rooms. The academy had salons for the nobility, along with club activities, small banquets, and tea parties. Young as they were, nobles were still nobles. Building connections and consolidating their power base was only natural.
Those who didn't were either unusually averse to entangling themselves with others or had no need for it whatsoever.
Fortunately, the hallway was empty. Even their lowered conversation carried this far.
Before turning the corner, I slowed my steps. Knowing who Lena Meyer was speaking with would make things that much easier to handle.
"Sylvia Fangriffon is......."
But Lena Meyer's conversation partner couldn't quite begin. She seemed to be hesitating, as though unsure where to start. The voice sounded as if she knew about me, but was deliberating whether it was truly all right to speak.
After hearing that voice, I felt a surge of confidence.
I let my deliberately muffled footsteps return to a bold, confident stride. The sharp clacking echoed loudly through the empty hallway.
"...... Ah."
Mia Crowfield's flustered voice came through.
When I rounded the corner, Mia Crowfield stood in front of a door. It was open just a crack. Lena Meyer didn't peek out. Only her eyes were visible, fixed on Mia Crowfield with a slightly suspicious look.
"Lady Crowfield."
"...... Miss Sylvia."
When I addressed her, Mia Crowfield took a step back and inclined her head slightly. I inclined my head toward her in return.
I'd thought we'd grown a little closer, but she still seemed to struggle, in many ways, with the idea of truly befriending the person who had killed her father. I understood. I'd told her there was another reason, and that she should come find me once she learned the truth someday, but not enough time had passed for her to figure out that truth.
"Your Highness."
As soon as she saw my face, Lena Meyer stepped straight out. The atmosphere was entirely different from when she'd been dealing with Mia Crowfield.
And the way she immediately shut the door suggested she was, for various reasons, concerned about the state of the room inside.
...... But wouldn't acting that obviously make it all too clear that she regarded Mia Crowfield with suspicion?
Well, she herself didn't seem to care in the slightest.
"As I've said before, there's no need to address me as Your Highness within the academy. Strictly speaking, it's actually against the academy rules."
That students were equals who spoke informally to one another without discrimination was, 'ostensibly,' the rule. The flaw was that from the instructors down to each individual student, no one took it seriously.
"But......."
"Lady Crowfield."
"Y-yes!?"
She clearly hadn't expected me to suddenly call her name. Mia Crowfield practically jumped in place, startled. I asked her quietly.
"Just now, you called me 'Sylvia,' didn't you?"
"I, I did?"
Before, she hadn't even used my name properly. At some point, Mia Crowfield had started calling me by my first name like that.
It meant, at the very least, that her wariness toward me had eased a little.
"Have I ever objected to that?"
"Uh, no?"
As if she found it awkward to be asked such a question so suddenly, Mia Crowfield cautiously replied.
I nodded to her, then turned back toward Lena Meyer. Behind her expressionless face, there was a hint of tension. Was she wary of me too?
"So, calling me by my first name is sufficient. In Class A, there's another person who shares my family name, so rather than causing confusion by using my surname, wouldn't it be more efficient to use my given name?"
Besides, the title 'Your Highness' applied not only to me but also to Alice.
"...... Understood."
It seemed she'd accepted my reasoning for the time being. Lena Meyer answered.
Even as she replied, the fact that she stood at ease bothered me, but still, at least she hadn't saluted the moment we met. I supposed I should count that as a relief.
Yet I sensed a slight hesitation in Lena Meyer after she'd answered. She was still standing at ease, but she gave off an air of wanting to say something. I supposed that even if she tried to maintain an expressionless mask, it wasn't as perfectly expressionless as mine.
...... Should I help her train that blank look a bit more? That way, I could prevent her concept from breaking before mine did.
"Is there something you wish to say?"
When I asked, Lena Meyer paused for about three seconds before she spoke.
"In that case, would you not call me by my first name as well?"
Still, when she did speak, there was no hesitation.
"...... Understood. If that is what you wish."
For a moment, Lena's eyes seemed to sparkle...... but I decided to chalk it up to my imagination.
I turned my head to look at Mia Crowfield.
"Th-there's no need for you to go that far for me!"
That reaction stung a little.
Besides, I hadn't been planning to ask that.
It was a bit annoying that she herself called me 'Miss Sylvia' while insisting there was no need for me to call her 'Mia,' but what I'd actually wanted to ask was why she was here.
"May I ask what business brings you here?"
"That is—"
Lena was about to answer my question first, but—
"Th-that is, it's a private matter!"
...... Before she could, Mia Crowfield practically shrieked.
"......."
"......."
Once Lena and I, both at a loss for words, silently stared at Mia Crowfield, her face slowly turned red. Her skin was white, in stark contrast with her black hair, so the blush stood out all the more clearly.
"Th-then, why are you here, Miss Sylvia?"
Was that her way of changing the subject?
Frankly, I thought her redirection was clumsy, but since I'd already overheard at least part of why Mia Crowfield had come here, I decided to let it slide this time.
"I...... have a personal matter to discuss with Miss Lena."
I turned my gaze toward Lena as I spoke. Her already rigid expression stiffened further. She seemed tense because I had come to find her myself.
"Because there was something I wanted to discuss with you in private."
"......A personal matter?"
Mia Crowfield murmured, glancing back and forth between Lena and me. A glint of understanding flickered in her eyes, though I honestly couldn't tell what she was thinking. She probably assumed I was plotting something suspicious again.
"Miss Lena, you mentioned you were raised in a military household, didn't you?"
"That is correct."
When I spoke, Lena snapped to attention as she answered. That was probably her own way of showing pride.
That was the era we lived in. The concept of the nation was just beginning to take root, most countries were swept up in waves of nationalism and militarism, and Romanticism still hadn't ended; it was an age when risking your life to protect your nation and its people was considered a heroic act.
In this world, that atmosphere would probably last far longer. Things like television hadn't been distributed. Radios hadn't even been properly developed, and most communications were wired. There was practically no way to show ordinary people the raw reality of the battlefield.
So it was understandable that being born and raised in a military family, one that had produced multiple commanders no less, was taken as a source of pride.
"Then, do you know how to handle firearms?"
"Of course."
"Is that so."
I looked at Mia Crowfield again as I spoke.
"Very few in the noble class handle firearms. Anyone can fire a gun by simply pulling a trigger, but few wield one as their primary weapon with true proficiency."
In the game, the party member who used firearms was indeed a commoner. Like Lottie.
"That is why I've come to see what level Miss Lena's marksmanship has reached. If a field exercise lies ahead, cooperating with someone who handles firearms like myself could prove advantageous."
I sensed Lena draw a short breath.
"...... What do you say?"
I turned my eyes toward Lena.
"Would you be willing to undertake a request together with me?"
"......."
For just a moment, Lena didn't answer.
"I will."
Then she said it in a voice brimming with certainty.
Thanks to that, I could breathe a sigh of relief for now.