“Oh my… Sandra, I don’t recall you wearing such a ring before?”
It was during lunchtime the next day.
Lize, who was eating with me in the cafeteria, spotted it with her sharp eyes.
“Yes… Lord Hal gave it to me. It’s the most precious ring I own.”
Sandra replied, gazing dreamily at the ruby ring that glowed red.
At first, I thought about getting her a sapphire ring, the same color as her eyes, but since her crimson eyes, changed by the Dragon’s Favor, are also part of Sandra, I dared to choose a ruby. I’m glad she seems happy with it.
“Hmm, Hal, you say…?”
“W-what is it…”
I felt a little embarrassed by Lize’s grinning stare and retorted defensively.
“No, nothing. You two fiancées are as lovey-dovey as ever, I see.”
“Ah…”
We’re actually married, but that’s a secret between Sandra, Monica, Caz, and me.
It feels a bit strange, but it’ll all be resolved once April 5th arrives, so I’ll enjoy things as they are until then.
“Hehe, may we join you?”
“Lady Saint, Lady Carla. Of course, you may.”
I guided the two who had come with trays of food to our table.
“By the way, what happened to Liliana and Lloyd?”
“Ah…”
Unfortunately, those two had poor results on the last quiz, so they’re being forced to attend supplementary lessons during lunch break.
I feel sorry for them, but I told them to “make sure to review properly” beforehand, and they slacked off, so I won’t say anything.
“In that regard, Lize is admirable. The fact that you’re here means you passed the quiz, right?”
“Ohohoho! Of course! For Lisette Josephine de Capetien, such a test is a piece of cake!”
“Ah, yes, good for you.”
I messed up. I shouldn’t have said anything unnecessary.
Now she’s riding high because of it.
“By the way, changing the subject, a new student has joined Class A today.”
“A new student?”
I couldn’t help but ask back at Christia’s words.
It’s rare for someone to join at this time of year.
If they were a noble from the kingdom, they would have been forced to enroll from April, and I haven’t heard anything about exchange students from other countries.
No matter how I look at it, it’s not normal.
“So, what’s the student’s name?”
“His name is Owen, but he doesn’t seem to have a surname.”
“Eh? Does that mean…”
“Yes. He’s a commoner.”
“Ehhh…”
Why would they deliberately enroll a commoner at this time?
New students will be enrolling in just one week, so it would have been better to have him enroll with them and learn from the beginning.
“Prince Harold, shall I investigate?”
Monica, who had been listening quietly, asked.
“That would be great. Can I leave it to you?”
“Leave it to me.”
Monica will quickly investigate the student named Owen.
Then, all that’s left is to wait for her report.
“Well, let’s eat.”
I said with a bit of playfulness, and we all enjoyed lunch together.
◇
“So, how did it go?”
“Yes… It seems to be a rather troublesome matter.”
Three days after asking Monica to investigate the student named Owen, she reported the results with a serious expression.
First of all, Owen seems to live with his mother in the Royal Capital’s slums.
His mother was apparently a noble lady in the past, but she became pregnant with the child of someone she had an affair with and was disowned by her family.
That child at that time is Owen.
Owen was raised by his single mother and lived a tough life in the slums.
However, because of the environment, his behavior is not good.
Apparently, extortion and assault were commonplace, and he’s quite well-known in the slums.
“How did someone like that get into this Royal Academy?”
“I only obtained this information from the Royal Academy’s records, so I can’t be certain, but it seems the person his mother had an affair with was…”
Here, Monica hesitated, which is rare for her.
It seems to be information she doesn’t want to tell me.
“It’s okay, can you tell me?”
“…Owen’s father is King Aival.”
…I somehow had a feeling.
Yuri said that it was my fate to become a stepping stone.
Now that Wilfred, who was confined, has died mysteriously, it’s only natural that a protagonist to replace him would be prepared.
“Thank you, Monica.”
“No… Prince Harold, so, what will you do?”
“Of course, I’ll leave him alone.”
“Eh…?”
Monica, who usually isn’t surprised by anything I say, widened her eyes in surprise at my answer.
“Well, if that’s the case, I’ll have to meet him next week anyway.”
On April 5th, King Aival will summon all the princes to the throne room.
I’ll find out what kind of person Owen is then.
–After all, he’s just an enemy of mine, a stepping stone.
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