by Funa
“Y-yes. I must commend you for standing up to my subordinate’s in order to protect that boy. It was courageous, and so, I would like to offer you this reward.”
The guard pulled a coin purse from his breast pocket.
Yes! It was all going perfectly according to her plan.
Adele fought fiercely to hold back her grin as the guard handed her the purse.
She was surprised at the weight of it.
It was then that she realized that everyone was looking—at her and the impoverished boy.
However you looked at it, the boy appeared far poorer than Adele, who was wearing an academy uniform.
How would it look if she took the money and ran?
Another problem.
“Y-you take this!”
“Huh?”
“That knight over there—he said it was an apology, for frightening you!”
“Really? Thank you!”
Adele groaned inwardly. There went her escape funds.
Still, she handed over the coin purse. Her hands trembled softly.
Seeing this, the captain of the guard bristled.
All the color drained from his face, but there was nothing he could do to stop the purse from changing hands. He could not violate the goddess’s orders by speaking of what had come before.
Just then, a voice rang out to save the captain, who was by now dripping with sweat.
“Allow me, as deputy captain, to reward this brave young girl in the captain’s stead.”
Thank goodness! the captain thought and reminded himself to thanks his deputy. He had seen his life flashing before his eyes.
Adele was equally relieved. What luck! Now I should be able to add to my escape fund!
In order to save a child’s life, Adele had reflexively used a barrier, a type of magic unknown to this world. On top of that, she had feigned possession by a goddess, tricked a pack of soldiers, and forced everyone to pretend that nothing had happened.
And thanks to this whole improvised scheme, she had even ended up with some money in her pocket. Adele was filled with an innocent joy.
But she was naïve, lacking in experience. She knew nothing of the cunning of man.
Those weaknesses left her wide open.
***
It was the evening following the incident.
Inside the palace, three individuals gathered in the king’s office for a discussion.
They were the king, the guard captain, who was called Bergl, and the third princess, Morena.
“Is this all true?”
“I would never dream of telling you such a lie.”
“Father, you must believe him!”
“Hmm…”
The king thought for a long time, and then made a decision.
“Very well. Bring that girl to the palace.”
“Father!”
“Your Majesty, we mustn’t!”
While Bergl and the princess panicked, the king spoke plainly.
“With so many people having seen the incident, there is no way we can stop the news from spreading. We cannot assume that such an important person would be left unmolested. Though some day she may still catch the attention of some other noble or the ruler of another country, for now, would it not be beneficial to ingratiate ourselves to the goddess?
“We can say that we are simply giving thanks to the girl who used her own body to shield a child, who prevented the tarnishing of the princess’s image. Is there any fault in that? Is it not a perfectly natural course of action, for a king and a father?”
“Ah…”
“Morena, you must give thanks to the one who shielded you from disgrace. You must befriend her, no matter what.”
“O-of course, I will gladly. That is all I could wish for…”
“All right, then. Bergl, as you know the girl’s face, I will leave to you the task of tracking her down. Begin your search at once!”
“Yes, sir!”
***
The search concluded swiftly.
Adele had been wearing her uniform, and the guards were quite familiar with the uniforms of both of the city’s academies. On top of that, Adele’s splendid silver hair made her stand out even more than she might have otherwise. Finding her was easy.
Straight away, Guard Captain Bergl met with the dean of Eckland and described Adele’s appearance.
There was no way that the dean could lie to a royal knight, who had come on the king’s imperial decree. Naturally, he ignored the viscount’s gag order and told the knight Adele’s full name and status.
The dean did this without ill intention, thinking that it would give the girl a better position. He truly believed that he was setting a young girl on the road to prosperity.
And so, the guard captain reported the results of his investigation to the king. Soon after, the honorable young daughter of Viscount Ascham received a message, inviting her to come to the palace straight away.
***
“…That is to say, the King would like to extend an invitation to the honorable young daughter of Viscount Ascham. Here is the letter.”
The messenger, a certain Viscount something-or-other, handed her the envelope. Adele stared down at it, a hand to her head.
How could this have happened?
Even with a goddess’s decree, it was impossible to expect that many people to keep a secret—or assume that kings and nobles would be happy to leave a girl who was touched by the goddess alone. Yet this thought had not occurred to Adele, who naively imagined that she would be able to continue living a normal, peaceful life. That all changed the afternoon a teacher called her away during lessons, leaving her to languish alone in the reception room with this messenger.
If I don’t do something, they’re going to lock me up or restrain me. Or even worse—will they strip me down and dissect me? No goddess is going to come leaping out of my belly!
What do I do what do I do what do I do?
I have to think!
Work, you stupid gray matter!
Suddenly, something occurred to her.
This noble messenger before her hadn’t been present at the time of yesterday’s incident, and the guards, who would have recognized her, weren’t present.
Furthermore, the messenger’s discussion with Adele made no mention of the goddess or of yesterday’s incident. He had merely offered an invitation to the “third princess’s benefactor.”
Even though he had said nothing of the goddess to Adele, it was still possible that he knew about it. However, given his fairly natural comportment, it was most likely he did not.
He hadn’t asked her anything about the goddess or the particulars of the incident. He’s just an errand boy! Adele realized. He must not know anything about it.
Thanks to that fact, she realized she had an out. It was time to test that newfound confidence in her acting skills!
“Hmm? I am to deliver this to young Miss Ascham?” she asked.
“Huh?”
The messenger gaped at her unexpected reply.
“What I am asking is, do you wish for me to deliver this invitation to the daughter of Viscount Ascham, who attends Ardleigh Academy?”
“What? Huh?”
Adele continued to press the increasingly confused messenger. “The honorable young daughter of the Ascham household attends the upper-class Ardleigh Academy—on the other side of the city. The Ascham family generously donated money so that I might attend academy, but I do not carry the Ascham family name. If I were to claim otherwise, I would be killed! Someone has made a mistake of some kind.”
“Wh-what?!”
“Please do not reveal that you came to me in error. I’ll be in a great deal of trouble if I displease the Viscount and lose my financial support.”
“I-I understand! Don’t worry, I won’t tell a soul. I’m so sorry…”
With that, the noble messenger swiftly departed, no doubt heading for Ardleigh.
The invitation had been for tomorrow morning, Adele
thought.
I guess this is it…
It was time for her to escape.
When she returned to the classroom, Adele was inundated with questions from her curious classmates. She’d caused a fuss by being called away during class, but she quashed the whispers with a simple explanation. “They had the wrong person.”
Marcela and the girls still looked worried, but they calmed down when Adele whispered, “They were looking for my stepsister.”
***
Upon returning to her dorm at the end of class, Adele quickly began her preparations.
First, she had letters to write.
One to her three friends, one to all her classmates, one to the matron, and one to Aaron, the baker. In each, she apologized for her sudden departure, expressed her thanks for their friendship and assistance, and explained that, due to unforeseen circumstances, she was dropping out of school.
Halfway through, she stopped to eat dinner, and by the time she was finished writing, it was already late at night.
And now, the next step… At least I don’t have much packing to do.
In the little more than a year at the academy, Adele hadn’t managed to accumulate any new luggage. Her spare clothing and the wages she’d saved were all stored away in the loot box. Her room appeared as vacant as ever.
After going back and forth for some time, Adele decided to keep the uniforms and gym clothes she had been lent. They were getting fairly worn, so it was likely that they would be disposed of rather than passed on to another student. She decided it should be fine if she kept them.
After all—if she didn’t keep them, she would have nothing to wear. As was only natural, Adele had grown in the year since her arrival. The clothing she had brought with her initially was now too small.
She lined up the letters on her desk and borrowed just one blanket from the bed, which she shoved into the loot box. Then, she looked around the room.
It was empty. Perfectly empty.
“Farewell!”
She uttered a soft goodbye, and then, suddenly remembering, took out from her desk drawer the plate with the bone.
Cats weren’t fond of humans who fussed over them too much, so Adele, who only scratched behind the cat’s ears or on her neck or face when requested, was the perfect companion. The cat visited often, and Adele let her sleep on her bed as she pleased.
However, in terms of food, Adele was only able to provide bones, which left the cat dissatisfied. It hadn’t taken Adele long to realize that the cat was wandering to the other girls’ rooms for handouts.
For some reason, though, it was only the girls’ rooms. She never visited the boys…
“You were a stray to start, so I’m sure you’ll be fine,” Adele whispered. “Besides, when the other kids mention the name of the cat they’re taking care of—Blackie, Goldeneye, Crooktail, Cricket Eater, and so on—I think they’re all referring to you!” Adele nodded to herself, then said, “Now that’s enough of that. It’s time to escape!”
***
The next morning, Adele didn’t appear in the classroom when the day began, and the worried instructor asked another teacher to go to the girls’ dorm and check for her. Upon arrival, the teacher found only the abandoned room and the four letters that had been left there. Soon, a panic arose.
Even though she had always hoped to be completely average, no matter how you look at it, Adele was an outstanding pupil, beloved by students and teachers alike.
Yet upon opening the letters, they found that her disappearance had been of her own free will. Furthermore, because she had expressed her intent to withdraw from the academy, the school had no further recourse. The best they could do was to contact her guardians.
“What’s the meaning of this?!” Kelvin demanded when he found out, his expression disturbed.
“Of what?” an unhappy Marcela asked.
“You know what I’m talking about! Adele! Where did she go?! Why did she leave?!”
He was as insufferable as ever, but Marcela could tell that, unlike before, his blood was boiling out of genuine concern for Adele, so she had no choice but to acknowledge him.
The letter addressed to the students contained only an apology for not saying goodbye and a thank you for all their kindness up until that point. Without any other explanation, it was more than natural that he would come to Marcela and the other girls, who had received their own, separate letter.
“Family problems. A conflict of succession. It’s not such a rare thing among noble families.”
“She was the successor?”
“No, she was in the successor’s way. They would’ve made her disappear, so she vanished herself first.”
“Wh…”
Kelvin was lost for words, but Marcela simply sighed.
“What are you so worried about? Whether that girl will make it out there? You should be happy that she’ll be living freely, without the burden of her meddlesome family. Just what have you seen in her all this time?”
“I just…. I never got to apologize, or to thank her…”
“She was always saying that she wanted to ‘live normally,’ but do you really think that’s possible for someone like her?” Marcela said. “Somehow or other she’s going to slip and end up center stage. Wouldn’t it be best for you to work hard to become a man who can proudly show his face in front of her, when that time comes?”
“………”
As Kelvin silently walked away, Marcela watched with a tender gaze.
Seeing this, the other boys began to whisper among themselves.
“Marcela… She’s a nice girl, isn’t she?”
All the boys nodded in agreement.
***
In the palace’s audience room, the king, the third princess Morena, and a number of nobles gathered. Other matters of the day had been dispensed with, leaving only the girl. Morena sat beside the king, prepared for the meeting.
Initially, she had thought they would meet privately, just the two of them, but this girl was to become an important acquaintance of hers. Therefore, it was determined they would wait until the end of the daily audiences, then bring the girl forward, so that everyone could see the princess with her.
“Presenting Viscount Ascham and the honorable young Miss Ascham!”
At the herald’s announcement, the Viscount and his daughter Prissy, promenaded into the audience room. They proceeded forward, dropping to one knee before the throne, their heads bowed.
They were both utterly delighted.
Yesterday, an agent of the palace had suddenly arrived, telling them, “The third princess most sincerely wishes to welcome the honorable young Miss Ascham to the palace, so that the two of them may become friends, if it so pleases her.”
A friend to the princess!
Having a friend in the palace was an extraordinarily valuable connection, and the princess herself would have a direct line to the princes and even His Majesty. There was a strong possibility that Prissy might even catch a prince’s eye.
She didn’t know what had caused them to seek her out, but perhaps the fourth prince, who had just entered the academy this year, had already come to desire her…
With these possibilities in mind, Prissy’s fancies flourished wildly, and the Viscount’s were not far behind.
“Show your faces.”
At the king’s order, the Viscount and Prissy lifted their heads, eyes sparkling.
The king looked to the third princess, Morena.
However, Morena only stared blankly, not speaking.
“Hm? What’s wrong?”
“Ah, well, um… Who might these two people be?”
“What? Is this not young Miss Ascham here before you?”
“I don’t know this person…”
Overhearing the king and the princess’s conversation, the people assembled began to whisper. There had been some sort of mistake. Viscount and daughter, not understanding the situation, were dumbfounded.
“Where is Bergl?�
�� asked the king.
A royal guard answered, looking troubled. “Ah, well, he went to the audience waiting chambers not long ago and then left in something of a hurry.”
A voice was raised from amidst the assembly. “Your Majesty, might I be granted permission to speak…?”
“Hm? Oh, Count Bornham. Yes, you may speak.” Perhaps this man would know something. The king gestured for him to stand.
“Thank you very much!” Count Bornham said, then turned to Prissy, the young Miss Ascham, and inquired, “Young lady, where might your mother be at this moment?”
“Mother? Why she should be at the Ascham estate here in the capital right now…”
“Hmm… Well then, your beautiful golden hair—I presume it was inherited from her?”
“Y-yes, that’s true…” Prissy answered, without understanding precisely why she was being asked such a thing.
Count Bornham now turned and addressed the king.
“My wife was close friends with the Lady Ascham during their time at Ardleigh Academy. Twelve years ago, we received word that she had given birth to a daughter, and my wife and I paid a visit to the Ascham home.
“The infant we saw at that time had gorgeous silver hair, inherited from her mother… However, that mother lost her life three years ago in an accident. Something peculiar is happening here…”
“That child has nothing to do with us!” Prissy suddenly exploded. “She was his first wife’s child! We Aschams have no need for her! So we flung her from our home and forbade her to use the family name! She—”
Viscount Ascham frantically clapped a hand over Prissy’s mouth, but it was too late.
Count Bornham continued, calmly. “A father has every right to raise his daughter as he pleases, but in this case, there is a bit of a problem with the situation.
“As I just said, my wife was close friends with the Lady Ascham during their time at Ardleigh Academy. Ergo, the Viscount only married into the Ascham family. The Ascham family blood runs through neither the Viscount who stands here nor this daughter, but through his previous wife’s daughter, who was chased away.”
