CH 32

I was told that the results of the recent attainment test had been posted on the school’s notice board, so I went to look at them with Percival.

Aurora’s name shines brilliantly at the top of the list. That’s amazing. I don’t mean to discriminate on the basis of gender, but to be shining at number one, ahead of all the men. You can’t achieve this result with ordinary effort.

Clawis and Rivera’s names were also in the top ten. Percival, by the way, is in third place. The Knight of the Sun is not only skilled in swordsmanship but also in academics, the quintessential Knight of the Sun is seamless in all aspects.

As for me, I generally did as well as expected……and art too. Art, really, was just barely passable, but I passed, so it’s fine.

“……It’s a pity, Sapphiras. If Art hadn’t dragged you down, you would have been in the top 10.”

Mufufu, after all, art is absolutely rock bottom and unrivalled! And I’m still in the top 20, so it’s a good result for me.

“It’s fine, as long as it’s a pass, rankings don’t matter.”

Yes, the important thing is to pass. I won the battle against art! I pump my fist high in my chest and shouted a victory cry. And even if I was just barely there in art, the other subjects weren’t a disgrace to the Duke’s face, so I’m fine with that.

“And then there’s Aurora. She really is amazing.”

“Yeah, it’s going to be hard to catch up with her with ordinary effort.”

Percival said with a brisk smile as he looked at the top of the results list.

“……Even though she’s a woman, she’s clever and knowledgeable, not cute at all.”

“Indeed. No matter how beautiful you look. Even if you’re a little dumb, a cute woman is better.”

“The engagement with His Highness the Second Prince seems to have ended.”

“I can understand the feelings of His Highness the Second Prince, who was moved by Miss Herrera.”

“She doesn’t have the cuteness of a woman at all.”

Behind me, several male students are laughing. They think that she’s not here, so they can say whatever they want. On the contrary, Aurora probably doesn’t want you guys to like her. Or rather, the moment you think of yourself the opposite party, there is a limit to impudence.

If I had furrowed my brows at the ridiculous conversation, Percival would have probably heard their conversation. He had a face that looked like he had just chewed on a bitter fruit.

“Oi, you guys. Watch your mouths.’

When Percival complained, the male student who was at the centre of the conversation snickered.

“What is it, Percival Belisario? Someone with a lower rank than me has no right to say that.”

I glance quickly at the ranking list. The name in second place is Joshua Allbee, or at least that means that the rest of them are below Percival. 

“Heh, then Miss Aurora has the right to say that, right?  After all, she’s ranked number 1. Her name is placed higher than yours.”

“Who the hell are you?”

“It’s not ‘who the hell are you’, it’s Sapphiras”

“Ha?”

I said my name, and Joshua, who must be the son of a high-ranking family, stared at me. One of his cronies whispers in a small voice that it’s not good. He must have realised that I am a student who is receiving support from the Duke’s family.

“I’m only telling the truth. Women should stand up for men. It’s impertinent to try to be smarter than men!”

Oh, he’s taking the offensive. The cold gazes of the female students around him were directed at the man who had made the earlier comment. However, he was oblivious to this and continued with more frowned upon remarks.

“A woman should just give birth to a successor! If they learn to be wise, they will start to talk cheekily to the master who feeds them!”

Hey, hey, that’s a massive frowned upon remark……This will self-destruct on its own without me bothering to say anything. The cronies have long noticed the atmosphere around them and their faces are paling.

It’s too late to realise that now. Such a trivial conversation should at least have been held in a private room. It’s not the kind of conversation you should be having in a place like this, where everyone can hear you.

For those who have a fiancée, if the conversation here is overheard by the other woman, in the worst case, the engagement may be dissolved, and for those who don’t have a fiancée, they will have a hard time finding a fiancée in the future. As for the disrespectful remarks to the daughter of the Duke, Aurora herself would not take them seriously, but I don’t know what the Duke would think.

“Ah! I see! So your mother is that kind of woman.”

I clap my hands and say in an exaggerated tone.

“Ha?”

“It’s not ‘Ha?’ You said so yourself just now, didn’t you? Women should be uneducated and should only have children at the behest of men. That’s the kind of woman your mother is, isn’t it?”

“!”

Joshua’s face contorted hatefully. You’ve said things that even demean your own mother, you know. You’ve been so disrespectful to the mother who gave birth to you and raised you.

Well, I’m sure Joshua’s father is a man who thinks like that. Like Sapphiras’ father, aren’t there a lot of low-class men in the nobility? Maybe they’ve had too many extravagant meals and their heads are not working.

“Isn’t it very attractive for a woman to make an effort to acquire knowledge and culture? There may not be many places for women to learn at the moment, but the time is coming when women will be active. What’s wrong with learning for higher knowledge? It is true that not all efforts lead to results. Unfortunately, there are mountains that cannot be crossed. But isn’t it important to accept that and still make unceasing efforts? It’s not cool to make statements that humiliate your opponent because she’s a woman and cover up your own inadequacies. Besides, you were talking as if you were the ones to choose, but no one would choose a guy like you. If it were me, I would refuse even if I died. It’s absolutely impossible. It would be terrible if I stayed with these guys and let people think that I am a man of equally low standards, let’s go quickly, Percival. Let’s have a cup of tea to freshen up.”

“Ah, that’s right. In any case, the conversation just now is being overheard by more than a few ladies. I don’t think we will be treated on the same level.”

As I leave, Percival chases after.

The girls gathered in front of the notice board whispered to each other in secret and fled the scene. Some of them may be daughters of higher family rank than them. Or maybe there are daughters of families that are close to the Duke of Bloomfield. I wonder how their remarks would be conveyed from the mouths of such girls.

I was so intoxicated by my triumph over art, and now I’ve been completely drained. As I headed towards the café terrace for a change of mood, talking about today’s sweets, I found Clawis and Rivera standing in the corner of the courtyard with serious expressions on their faces.

“Isn’t that Clawis and the others?’

“Yeah, looks like it.”

“What are they doing in the corner of the courtyard?”

I ran up to them with a light heart, wondering if they’d found something interesting to observe.

“Hey, Clawis! Rivera!”

“……Sapphiras and Percival?”

“What’s up? Did you find anything interesting?”

“No, not really……”

I got a somewhat brusque response. Maybe it’s something they can’t talk about.”

“Ah, you don’t have to talk about it. There are some things that I, as a commoner, shouldn’t be asking you about. But if there’s anything I can help you with, just let me know.”

When I said this, Clawis and Rivera looked at each other and opened their mouths with a small nod.

How much does Sapphiras and Percival know about the situation in our country?”

“Eh……what, out of the blue?”

“They say that there are some problems between His Majesty the King, who wants an alliance with the human race, and His Royal Highness the King’s Brother, who is reluctant to do so.”

Percival said it in a very euphemistic way, but in other words, the king and the king’s brother have different ways of thinking, which means that a civil war is imminent. Percival knows a lot about other countries. I’ve had too many things going on lately that I haven’t even sorted out my current situation yet. When the range gets a little wider, I don’t know anything anymore.

I instinctively looked at Percival with respect.

“I’m sensitive to what’s going on in the neighbouring countries because of my family background.”

Oh, I see. You never know what might happen at the border. If someone swings a sword at the northern end of a continent, you can’t be sure that there won’t be a war at the southern end. It is probably necessary to always be aware of what is happening in the countries of the continent, in order to identify the factors that are at play when something important happens.

“……there’s a civil war in our country.”

“Ha?”

“What?”

“What is happening in my country will be known, but right now I have no way of knowing the details of what is happening in my country. I had heard from Melchior-dono that a civil war had broken out.

Clawis said, as if he was trying to spit out something bitter.