“It’s been a long time since I’ve heard children fight.”
Donovan replied to his murmur. “Lady Libby and young Master Giuseppe are always on good terms.”
“To think that two people on good terms would fight over Theresa, who is not even in there. Really.”
Raul shook his head, found Theresa’s letter, and looked over its content again. As if reporting to the boss, the letter clearly summarized the matters and listed them in polite sentences.
“I should go to Valhalla.”
Donovan almost jumped. All kinds of talented people gathered in Valhalla. Hence, they had no choice but to send Squire’s children there, but the parents’ observation was unprecedented. Not even Duchess, but Duke Squire himself visiting? This was something neither Willow’s side nor the Squire’s elders would welcome.
“Master. That’s—”
Raul cut off his words with an expression that he wouldn’t listen to his rebuttal.
“Prepare the donation.”
“Does Master even need to do that? It’s for your opponent, Willow family.”
“You know that the emperor is pressuring Squire while pretending to be worried about family disputes.”
The emperor was clearly on the side of the Willow family. To be exact, he hated the Squire family so much. Therefore, he pretended to dissuade the two families famous for being enemies among the great noble families and always persecuted the Squire family for undermining the solidarity of the empire.
Raul smiled crookedly, recalling the emperor’s shining appearance. “If we take this opportunity to pretend to be on good terms, he might bother our children less this social season.”
Donovan couldn’t answer back.
Fortunately, Theresa entered Valhalla, and thanks to Clybe’s unconventional club activities, she was able to avoid the emperor’s grumpiness, but even that had its limitations.
“At this point, I will have to see Damian myself and decide whether or not to select him.”
Donovan immediately set an example. “I will prepare as you ordered.”
* * *
Knock, knock.
“Lady, are you up?”
I raised my heavy eyelids to the voice of Eloise waking me up in the morning and answered in a hoarse voice. “Um… Come in…”
Click. Eloise entered the room and gaped at the books and papers scattered on the desk and floor.
“Did Lady study until late again? Your eyesight will deteriorate.”
“I have to do this much to keep up with the lecture.”
I stretched my stiff body and yawned. I didn’t get enough sleep, but this was the same when I was in Korea. It wasn’t an unusual lifestyle. I’m not particularly overdoing it at this level.
But lately, I haven’t been feeling in good condition. It wasn’t bad, but I had frequent headaches. Is it because there are a lot of things to pay attention to?
It wasn’t an exaggeration, but actually, I’ve been studying magic to the extent that I’ve been overdoing it since the start of school. It wasn’t just because the magic was interesting but because it was an investment to survive.
It may take a long time to find the gates of paradise. There were a total of five dimensional doors that could lead to paradise. They opened at the same time in even-numbered months.
Before entering Valhalla, I opened one door and obtained a large number of slush funds hidden by the former Duke Squire, so now there were four left. It meant that if I was unlucky enough to find the door to paradise at the very end, I would only be able to see the true ending in October. Because only one dimensional door could be opened in one month.
In the end, it was inevitable to develop characters and proceed with the story according to the actual game.
I sat at the table, swaying like a zombie, and ate breakfast. When I asked Eloise for something simple, she brought me chicken soup and salad instead of bread and jam. This soup looks like Baeksuk. I feel at ease.
Eloise felt sorry for me as I slowly and forcefully stuffed the food into my mouth. “Does this not suit your taste too?”
“It’s the best. Why?”
“For some reason, the new chef wasn’t very trustworthy. I will go and ask them to make it again.”
“No. It’s really delicious.”
Eloise became very sullen. “I will pay more attention tomorrow, Lady…”
It seemed that she thought I was deliberately giving her a hint. I gave up trying to explain further. These days, Eloise was sensitive and picky about what I ate and how much I ate. I’m saying it’s delicious, but there’s nothing wrong with making it more delicious…
“Yes. Take care of it.”
Eloise asked as I was getting ready after finishing the meaningless breakfast.
“Today is the day of the social club orientation, right?”
“…Yes.”
Finally, the club registration period was over. I safely became a student council member and was soon to be appointed. I was a little nervous at the thought of having to deal with the magic beasts in person, but I wasn’t scared or worried.
There were other things that were really scary and worrying. It was Clybe OT. Valhalla traditionally held parties to welcome newcomers in each club, and so did Clybe. I really don’t want to go.
At first glance, I heard that the number of members of Clybe this year was the highest ever. It meant that the number of Clyde’s Bride-to-be was at an all-time high… No prince in the Middle East would have had this many brides.
I asked Eloise with a slightly depressed expression. “Have you heard back about the selection of Damian West as my escort yet?”
“No, there has been no news yet.”
That’s strange. It’s something that shouldn’t be this late. I wondered why, but it was only a matter of time before Damian became my escort anyway.
“Should I go to the duchy today and ask?”
I nodded, took out the small box and letter I had prepared last night, and handed them to Eloise.
“I have one more thing to do for you.”
“Please speak.”
“I plan to run the Squire Scholarship Foundation in earnest from now on. To do that, I thought it would be good to publicize what kind of talent the foundation has.”
To put it grandly, Damian was the only person who belonged to the foundation. I spoke shamelessly. “Please mobilize the knights to inspect Damian West’s residence, which is registered with the foundation, and make a large inspection. Where Damian lives is where Squire will protect.”
Eloise twinkled her eyes. “Certainly, commoners who are vulnerable to monster attacks will find great value in publicity like this. What a wonderful idea.”
The knights would march vigorously through the streets carrying flags embroidered with colorful butterfly crests symbolizing the Squire family, promoting the foundation’s existence. The commoners would envy them, thinking that if they belonged to the Squire Foundation, they would be safe as well as their families.
…However, it was all a trick. I had no intention of running the scholarship foundation properly. Since it was already mid-March, it was time for an incident in which beasts eroded by demons would attack the village where Damian lived.
If that situation wasn’t stopped, Damian’s black heart would increase. It was because the area under the jurisdiction of the Squire family next to it attacked at the same time and was safely protected.
I tapped my chest and said, “There is no need to charge the family for the cost of marching and inspecting. I have someone who can help me.”
The person who would help was the late Duke Squire. Asking Raul to process the expenses would be complicated and take a long time, so it was better to do it myself. That money was rotten anyway.
I also held out the small box. Inside it was a high-grade ruby. “And this is the price of hard work.”
Eloise waved her hand with a look of great perplexedness. “I’m alright, Lady. I’m just doing what I’m supposed to do as your maid, and they’re paying me.”
“It’s because I feel sorry for you for coming all the way here alone and suffering. Take it.”
I forcibly handed over the small box to Eloise. “Since it’s a good jewel, matching it with a new accessory would be nice.”
Eloise was so moved that she blushed. “…Thank you, Lady. I didn’t expect you would care about me this much.”
There were so many jewels, so I gave her the right amount, but I was shocked to see her liking it too much. I quickly got ready and left the front door.
“I’ll be back.”
The way to school was still quiet. That was inevitable. Only a few nobles used the dormitories. Since there doesn’t seem to be anyone to bump into, I can read a book comfortably.
Reading on the way to school, which had become a habit before I knew it, and heading to the main building, I looked around once in a while. It was because I wanted to refrain from the coincidence of bumping into Damian.
Then I found a guy who I shouldn’t have met. Needless to say, it was Clyde.
“…”
“…”
We frowned at the same time. Of course, we didn’t greet each other.
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