As expected, Maria’s eyes, too, were sparkling with expectation — she was attentively listening to every single word. However, Katarina, who seemed visibly interested at first, now had a somewhat clouded expression. “Um... Raphael. As you may know, my magical capability is... depressingly low...”
“Ah, about that. While it is indeed true that there were many in the Ministry who have high magical capability, there are equally many who are not as magically gifted. After all, we do not exactly turn away those who are simply interested in magic.”
What I said was true. There were many people in the Ministry who were talented at magic, but not everyone was that way. After all, having a high magical capability and aptitude did not mean that one was necessarily intelligent. Amongst the researchers, there were actually fewer individuals with high magical capability.
“Is that so?! That’s great! Well then... I will work hard... but. Didn’t you say that I needed a letter of recommendation from an important person in the Ministry? Ugh... Then this will be really difficult, won’t it? After all, no one would give someone like me a recommendation...”
The Magical Ministry was a unique organization. Although elites and capable individuals were gathered annually to go through an acceptance test, few individuals made it into the Ministry via this path. The reason for this was simple — those who wielded particularly strong magic, like Maria, were often spoken to at some point during their time at the academy. And those without magic relied on connections instead, or were genuinely recommended by current members of staff.
Furthermore, it wasn’t possible for just any staff member to write letters of recommendation. I myself was on the lowest rung in the Ministry, so my word would not count for much. However.
“Don’t be so sad, Lady Katarina. There is in fact... someone who would write a letter of recommendation for you.”
“...Eh?!”
“In truth, Lady Katarina... my superior has become most interested in you. That person would surely write a letter for you in a heartbeat.” The face of my superior — an individual known for their eccentricity, momentarily flashed through my mind.
When it was time to decide how the affair of my affiliation would be handled, most staff members at the Ministry held their peace. But of course they would; who would want to take in a criminal, a member of a Marquess family, and someone who had wielded forbidden, taboo Dark Magic? No one had wanted to dirty their hands by taking in someone like that. No one... except...
“What, no department wants him? Really? A rare guy like him? How wonderful. Well then, my colleagues. If none of you would like him, I’ll have him.” Saying so, that individual took me in, all the while with that charming, seductive smile on their face. This was how I ended up in my current situation; I was not treated as a special case of any sort, and was working hard just like any other member of the Magical Ministry. In fact, my superior was the person who had taught me how to disguise myself and alter my appearance.
I was surprised that my superior would know about Katarina at all. Once, I had coincidentally met with Katarina on the grounds. After a casual conversation with her, I returned, only to be cornered and practically interrogated. “Are you familiar with Katarina Claes, by any chance...?”
“Your... superior? And this person, they know of me?”
“Yes. I do believe that they are likely to greet you sooner or later. After all, they did mention wanting to speak with you, Lady Katarina.”
For some reason, my superior was very interested in meeting with Katarina. “Where did you meet her? Come now. You simply must tell me,” they said. Ever since then, my superior had been pleased by my tales and stories of Katarina Claes... but it would seem like they now wished to speak to her in person.
Given that my superior had this much interest in Katarina... surely they would have no issues providing her with a letter of recommendation.
“Hmm... well, what kind of person are they?”
“Someone with quite the individualistic streak, I would say. But to me, they are a very kind person.” In fact, Katarina, being strange as she was, may very well get along well with that superior of mine.
“Um, excuse me!” Maria said, interrupting the conversation somewhat forcibly. She had a desperate expression on her face.
“Wh-What is it, Maria? What happened? That expression of yours!”
Upon hearing those words, Maria directed a passionate gaze at the somewhat troubled Katarina. “U-Um. Well... if we were to summarize what we’ve just learned... if Raphael’s superior would indeed write you a letter of recommendation, and you enter the Magical Ministry... then... then! Then we would be together forever!” Maria’s reactions lined up well with my predictions.
“That would be so, yes.” I gave the desperate Maria a gentle smile — and the young girl returned the gesture, genuine happiness lighting up her face. And then...
“Lady Katarina, let’s join the ranks of the Ministry together. I will do what I can to help! Please, you must, oh you must!” Maria said, holding Katarina’s hands as her eyes sparkled.
Ah... things are smoothly progressing according to plan. With this, Maria was now my ally, and Katarina had set her sights upon working at the Ministry... with this, we would be together next year as well.
While I do apologize for using you in this fashion, Maria... I really do not want to hand Katarina off to Jeord. I would like her to stay by my side... for just a little while longer.
★★★★★★★★★
A fountain shot up like a geyser from the central pool, and the falling droplets of water formed a rainbow. Carvings made of wood changed their shape over and over as people watched on. Around them were vibrant wreaths of flame. A small tornado of wind whipped up flower petals into the air.
Standing next to this ethereal scene, all I could do was face the endless stream of crowds and visitors with a forced smile. This wasn’t just a party that lasted for a few hours or some ball. I couldn’t keep this irritating smile on my face the whole day!
But next to me was my twin brother, Jeord, with his usual flawless smile on his face. Naturally, since he’s quite the capable guy.
I’m Alan Stuart, and was born with my twin sixteen years ago. When we were younger, Jeord always did the best at everything so effortlessly, all with that smug face of his. I couldn’t help but feel inferior to him.
But during that time, I met that strange noble girl. She was the daughter of a duke, and yet she’d hike up her skirt, run everywhere, and climb up trees like some kind of monkey. I’d never met anyone like that before. Katarina Claes... a kid who broke all the rules when it came to how noble girls should act.
She taught me one thing, though. That everyone was different, and everyone had their own unique strengths. Once I understood that, I could finally relax. The tension faded from my shoulders as my inferiority complex towards Jeord vanished.
After that... for some reason, I always wanted to be around Katarina. Why? Because it was peaceful. It felt good. All I wanted to do was spend more time with her, but... as the years went by, I started to feel my heartbeat speeding up and my face turning red if she brushed against me or anything like that.
Just when I was wondering what that was all about... that happened. Katarina was nearly killed. It was only then that I noticed my own feelings for the first time. I had fallen in love with my brother’s fiancée, of all people.
It’s not like I can just walk in and take his fiancée away. If it was just some kind of political marriage and the two of them didn’t care for each other, then that would be one thing. But just look at the guy. Even I get embarrassed just watching Jeord go love crazy when he’s around her. Though Katarina, for some reason, never seems to notice.
And then there’s the fact that I had a fiancée of my own; Mary Hunt, the daughter of Marquess Hunt. Wise and beautiful, she’s the very image of a noble lady. I felt like a girl like that was wasted on me. I liked her, and wanted to cherish her forever... but it wasn’
t love. It’s more like how a brother might feel for a sister. I realized the difference once I noticed my feelings for Katarina.
Once I understood all this, I went to speak with Mary. I was planning on canceling our engagement, since I was in love with someone else. Of course, I couldn’t just go and say “Oh, that someone else is my brother’s fiancée,” so I just told her it was “forbidden love.”
Then, Mary said she herself felt the same way. She had feelings for someone else, and it was also a kind of forbidden love. We talked about it for a while, and she decided that she wanted to stick with the current arrangement. After all, she’d just be engaged to someone else if we called it off. I agreed with her suggestion, and so our engagement is still on.
Who was this forbidden person that Mary loved so much? I had no idea. She said she’d never give up, though. I promised her that I’d call the engagement off if she ever managed to reach a conclusion with the person she loved.
As we both cheered each other on, I found myself getting closer to Mary. It was under her request that I started keeping an eye on Jeord’s movements and telling her everything he did. Katarina was a dear friend, and we didn’t want Jeord to have her all to himself.
I felt like I was exploiting Mary’s pure feelings. I didn’t feel good about it, but... honestly? Keeping Jeord and Katarina’s bond from deepening any further was a good thing for me, so I gladly cooperated with her.
I was keeping an eye on Jeord today too. Mary had asked me to make sure that he didn’t end up alone with Katarina. It’s a request from my fiancée, after all. With that reason in mind, I decided to get in Jeord’s way as much as I could. I’m not the type who’s good at giving up.
I was spending so much time thinking about the situation with Mary that I hadn’t noticed that Katarina had showed up until she was already next to Jeord. They seemed to be talking happily. They really get along well, huh? But Mary asked me to be on Jeord’s tail, so I walked towards them, planning on disrupting their meeting.
“Oh, it’s you two. So you’re finally here? Thought you wouldn’t make it, see. After you said all that about ‘I’ll come by with gifts!’ this morning too... thought you wouldn’t get here, being this time and all,” I said as I approached them.
“I apologize... A bunch of things slowed me down along the way.”
“That right? I figured you ended up eating endlessly at the stands and forgot all about the time.”
“...” Katarina’s expression became rigid. Guess I hit the nail on the head. But... Katarina... you’re as easy to read as ever.
“Here, for you. Please try them.” Obviously trying to change the subject, Katarina withdrew something from her bag and gave it to me. From what I could see, it was a pack of snacks, the same kind that another member of the student council, Maria, made.
Jeord asked about how well the snacks had sold, and Katarina responded joyously. “Yes, they were very popular. In fact they’d almost sold out by the time I arrived.” She was so glad, talking like she was the one who had sold all the snacks.
“Is that so? That is good to hear, Katarina,” Jeord responded. But then Katarina seemed to be thinking about something. She didn’t respond, even when I called out to her. She was lost in her own world.
“...Again, Katarina...?” Jeord asked, obviously exasperated. Sometimes, Katarina would forget all about her surroundings and just stand there, unable to hear a thing. This was one of those times.
“Hey, Katarina Claes! Lady Dimwit! No good... she isn’t listening at all.” I tried calling out to her once more, with a slightly louder voice this time, but she didn’t say a thing. It was obvious that talking to her was pointless now. With that, I lightly rapped her head with a free hand.
“Wh-What are you doing?!” I didn’t even use that much force, but Katarina seemed extremely surprised, staring at me with squinted eyes.
“Your fault for not listening when people are talking to you,” I said. It was true.
“Th-Then all you had to do was say something! You didn’t have to rap me on the head!”
She’s got a lot of nerve being the offended one here! I guess she really didn’t hear anything. “What are you blathering about, dummy? I did that already! It’s your fault for not reacting at all.”
With that, Katarina started pouting, vocalizing her displeasure as she did so. Ugh... The way her eyes slant upward when she pouts like that... is kind of cute too. But I won’t be shaken. I immediately started to mess with her hair.
“That is quite enough, Alan. I would strongly prefer that you do not touch her so casually.” Jeord’s hand was now firmly around my arm. He was smiling as always... but his eyes were not.
“...Ahh, Jeord... you’re always like this,” I sighed in spite of myself. This twin brother of mine was usually relaxed and carefree... but when it came to Katarina, his emotions always floated up to the surface like this.
I had barely touched her, and yet Jeord was staring daggers at me, as if he was ready to kill me if I went any further. Geez, what a pain. I would have loved to go back in time and show Jeord’s expression to my past self, back when I’d thought he was perfect in every way.
Not only was Jeord Stuart a lovestruck fool for his fiancée, he was also way too uptight. Even Mary, my own fiancée, had this to say: “If he were to restrict Lady Katarina in such a way... it would only provoke those around him to look upon him with distaste. And sooner or later... Lady Katarina herself would be tired of him.”
“Aren’t you being a little too uptight? Keep that up and you’re going to be disliked eventually... that’s what Mary says.”
“Do inform Lady Mary that her concern is most misplaced.” His response was cold. His eyes were cold. Gah... this guy’s impossible. Lovesick fool.
Also... he’s being a little too hard on my arm, yeah? All I did was touch her head a little bit. Look at him, hugging and touching Katarina all day. And that’s okay? What a stingy guy. Just as I was about to give Jeord a well-placed retort of my own out of sheer irritation...
“Jeord, Alan.” I heard voices call out from behind us. I turned and saw that two couples were walking towards us, with the man in front smiling.
Gah...! Someone even more irritating than Jeord is here...
“Elder Brother Jeffery, I see you have come to visit.” As Jeord said... this man was none other than Jeffery Stuart, our oldest brother. He shook both our hands with a most annoying expression. A little behind Jeffery was...
“And you too, Elder Brother Ian.” And Ian Stuart... our other older brother. He was the direct opposite of Jeffery, always with a serious expression. He bowed slightly.
Ever since enrolling into the academy, I hadn’t seen my brothers much at all. Even though we lived in the same place growing up, they two of them were always busy fighting over the throne. They hardly spoke to their younger brothers at all, or even had anything to do with us. We weren’t very close.
Before I went to the academy, I would occasionally run into them at the palace. I never knew how to deal with them. Especially our oldest brother, Jeffery...
“Oh, if it isn’t Lady Katarina Claes. It has been quite a while,” Jeffery said to Katarina, in a most casual and carefree manner that wasn’t prince-like at all.
Yeah... she met him once. She met them both, actually, during Jeord’s and my fifteenth birthday party. Judging from her expression, though, she probably didn’t remember them at all. Jeord, who had been watching the entire time, quickly whispered bits of information into her ear.
“Ah, yes. It has... been quite a while indeed, Prince Jeffery, Prince Ian...” With that, Katarina went quiet. If she didn’t remember my brothers, then she definitely wouldn’t remember their fiancées. Jeord started subtly whispering again.
“It’s good to see you Lady Randall, Lady Berg.” Jeord had unmistakably just reminded her of their names... but Katarina greeted them naturally, as if she had known of them the entire time. My brother’s fiancées, in turn, greeted her as well.
“What brings you to this place today, brothers?” Jeord asked.
Jeffery was the one who answered. “Why, to witness my beloved little brother’s amazing performance on stage, of course!”
Ah... this brother of ours. He’ll never change. Jeffery has always been like this. The rumors were one thing, but I honestly had no idea whether he was all there. He always acted like a normal person at official functions and stuff, but he was carefree and casual the rest of the time, always saying stupid things with that irritating face.
Naturally, Jeord knew this all too well. “So... how about we come clean, Ian?” Ignoring Jeffery altogether, he instead turned to Ian for answers.
“Of course. We are here on royal business. A routine examination... inspection of the Academy of Magic. I suppose Jeffery is here on similar grounds as well.” Ian was the same as always too. He was serious and rigid, and that’s about it.
“You suppose? Ah. I see that you two have not arrived together.”
“It goes without saying. We had just crossed paths with each other, coincidentally, moments ago.”
Jeffery and Ian were always fighting over the throne... so, you know. They’re not often found together, or seen together at all. Even so... looking at them now, the two seemed to get along okay. They weren’t at each other’s throats, anyway.
But I knew that each of them had their own political factions to answer to, so I supposed they couldn’t be too friendly with all those eyes around them watching.
Before I knew it, Jeffery, who had been collectively ignored by both Jeord and Ian, now turned his eyes on me. Ugh, this is definitely bad.
“Eh? You’re both no fun, Jeord, Ian! Well then... come here, Alan! Big Brother is here to see you!”
“H-Hey! Stop it. Don’t hug me,” I was now firmly in Jeffery’s embrace. I was already at this age... to be held by a man, even if he was my brother, was just too weird. I struggled against Jeffery’s arms.
My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, Volume 3 Page 9
