The address that Regina wrote down was located a little bit south of the Imperial Capital’s center— it was located in the middle of the New Town where the wealthy and middle-class citizens mainly lived. It was a three-story, elegant brick building structured like apartments in modern Japan, with similar buildings lining the street.
I thought she would live in the center of the city — the Old Town, aka the aristocratic district, or maybe in some luxurious mansion with a sprawling garden, seeing that she had been bestowed the title of a Baron… It was all just speculation, however, since it turned out it was almost the same as any other middle-class mansion.
Well, from what I glimpsed during her stay with us in Regina’s hermitage for about a week, I would say that such a utilitarian residence suited her unadorned personality just well enough.
Speaking of which, apparently Ms. Christy came from a family of local landowners, not an aristocrat. The house of a local landowner was slightly different than an aristocrat’s house or that of a knight’s lineage, in that it was a title of a person influential in the local area —such as a wealthy farmer or a wealthy merchant that had occupied the land since their ancestors— given in private recognition by the feudal lord. Basically, an honorary position, making them halfway normal citizens and halfway retainers.
Provided that their position was being the feudal lord’s subordinate, their names would not appear in the Directory of Noble Houses, but in the eyes of the general population, they stood a rank above normal citizens.
Anyway, given Ms. Christy’s wealthy familial background, she was admitted to a middle-class academy in the Imperial Capital at the age of 12 with excellent grades and was later found with a talent for Magic Arts. She then knocked on Regina’s door —or half-forcibly tossed into Regina’s doorsteps, apparently— who opened some kind of small, private school for Magic Art at the time, and became her apprentice since. While the other apprentices failed one after another (I can basically see this happening right in front of my eyes), Ms. Christy managed to stay under Regina’s tutelage for 4 long years. Things were finally looking up… when, out of nowhere, Regina abandoned her school and disappeared completely (and it was only much, much later that she learned that Regina was living in seclusion in a hermitage in Tenebrae Nemus).
And that part of the story is, how do I put it… it’s very much relatable.
Being practically banished from Regina’s school, Ms. Christy somehow managed to re-enroll in the Imperial Academy of Magic through the help of her former senior apprentices, and with her extraordinary efforts and talents, she graduated first in her class after six years of enrollment.
After that, while working as a court magician, she worked as a tutor for noble families, royal families, and even the imperial family, and later became a professor at the Imperial Academy of Magic, and in recognition of her achievements, the Emperor endowed her the surname Brandmüller and the title of a Baron… thus was the story of success of Christiane Rita Brandmüller, the model lady of character. She was my sister apprentice.
…anyway, all of that was politely explained to me by the 50-something man with stern but refined features and gray hair, and majestic mustache who had guided me into the room after I knocked on the door uninvited. Apparently, he was Royce Bard, the steward of the mansion.
By the way, it was obvious enough from his body gestures and attention to detail that the man was no amateur. He must be either a former military man or a martial arts expert of some kind. To be honest, I had no confidence I could win against him with bare hands.
And now, I wondered if our conversation had fallen on a deaf ear. Across the parlor table, Ms. Christy, without touching the aromatic tea that her housemaid had brought for her, was staring into Regina’s letter that I had brought with a single-minded focus.
I delivered the letter with the seal unbroken, meaning I had no idea what was written in it, but it became obvious to me that, whatever it was, it could not have been something that was very good for the heart.
Even the usually wise Ms. Christy had become a kaleidoscope of emotions the further she read the letter… the changes of expression she went through were quite dramatic.
From bewilderment, to shock, to sheer stupor, to astonishment, confusion, and then agony.
Finally, with indignant rage, she slammed the letter down the table.
“That senile Mentor. How… how egotistical can she be?!”
Even after she screamed, Ms. Christy’s shoulders still trembled with all the anger. She had to take deep, heavy breaths before she could calm her agitated temper.
“…” While I knew this was not a fault of mine, being the bearer of the bad news, this whole thing made me somewhat uncomfortable. I corrected my sitting posture before I mechanically poured myself a cup of tea and took a sip, not that there was any meaning to the gesture.
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“I understand the gist of it. —Jill!”
Ms. Christy suddenly directed her eyes to me, warranting me to reflexively place my cup on the saucer and straighten my back. “Y-, yes!”
“Mentor’s letter provided me with your situation. …why, it even included various things that simply make no sense and truths I would rather stay ignorant of.” I had a feeling she was subtly emphasizing the ‘make no sense’ and ‘stay ignorant of,’ though…
That was when Ms. Christy, hands massaging her brow, sent me a rather bitter… or perhaps, sympathetic gaze, and let out a long, heavy sigh. “Haah…”
Well, I was at a loss for what to do either. I could only tilt my head, puzzled.
“To be honest, with the death of His Imperial Majesty, having the grand f…err, having Mentor on the move is a source of concern.” Ms. Christy then sighed again. “…but who would’ve thought she would toss such a hassle my way and disappear again.”
By hassle, did she mean me?
“…” My face was hung low, awkwardness washing over me when Ms. Christy softened her tone lightly.
“Aah, I am not reproaching you or anything. I’m just angry at our mentor’s selfishness… to think she would put my sister apprentice through the same fate as me, I can’t even express how stunned I am. In any case, I am now the one responsible for your protection.”
“I am sorry, Miss Christy. I’ve brought you much inconvenience.”
I stood up and bowed after she gave me her reassurance.
“Don’t be. As I have said before, you and I are both sister apprentices who drew the short end of the stick. It is the duty of the senior to protect her junior. Don’t humble yourself.” She then gestured to me to sit back down.
I bowed once again and sat down. “By the way,” Ms. Christy continued, “she said here you received an ID from her, can you show it to me?”
“Ah, yes. Here it is.”
As instructed, I took out the scarlet metal plate that I had tucked away in my pocket and put it on the table. Ms. Cristy’s face immediately tightened at the sight, and I noticed a slight gasp from Mr. Royce who had been standing in silence.
