“Ah, it seems that’s the plan, though it hasn’t been announced to the students yet. Apparently, the Crown Prince is still skeptical of the Shadow Unit, so Sera and the others won’t be assigned as guards. Well, the Knight Order will be guarding instead, so I don’t think there will be any major problems, but you should at least worry about the safety of the Royal Family, right?”
Behind the alchemy incinerator, I received details and additional information about the “Knight Order Exercise Inspection” from Viro, disguised as a janitor. As expected of Viro, he knew it as a matter of course.
Elvan seems to still be concerned about Elena being almost kidnapped during her convalescence in Dandole. The Royal Family understood that Grave had intentionally loosened security, but Elvan also condemned him for assigning such a dangerous person to guard Elena.
That’s exactly what happened, but Elena, the victim, still trusts the Shadow Unit to protect her, which made the Crown Prince back down. Even so, Elvan still refused to have the Shadow Unit around him.
If he thought about it a little, he would understand that there is no organization more reliable than the Shadow Unit, even if there are some problems, so he has no choice but to rely on them. But despite being a member of the Royal Family, he didn’t understand that.
I think it’s understandable that people are swayed by emotions, but when I look at Elvan and Amor, I think Elena was more rational when she was seven years old, even though they are all members of the Royal Family.
“The safety of the Royal Family? Including Carla, who is engaged to the Crown Prince?”
In the Dungeon, they were treated and given responsibilities close to the Royal Family because they were engaged to the Crown Prince. But, Clara aside, does Carla really need a guard?
Viro, who was almost killed once, noticed what I wanted to say and frowned slightly.
“It’s not about that scary young lady. Even if it’s said to be a children’s tour, if there are children of high-ranking nobles, there may be things that teachers who are at the bottom of the middle-ranking nobles can’t control, right? That’s why the Crown Prince is going as the supervisor. I heard that Prince Amor was also going to go, but he’s in a difficult position, so it seems that the Crown Prince will be in charge this time.”
“That person? Why would the Royal Younger Brother be involved in a school that has nothing to do with him?”
“Ah… that was still unconfirmed information. Apparently, that Prince is going to become a teacher at this academy. Is it perhaps because of you?”
“…………”
The Royal Younger Brother, who had a distorted desire to protect Elena, is going to become a teacher at this academy?
Certainly, Amor, who was wary of me, seemed to have become even more wary after I showed him the [Iron Rose]… This is going to be even more troublesome.
“Well, Princess (Your Highness) Elena wanted you to be her guard. We can’t ignore her words, but Princess (Your Highness) Elena is in a higher position than the Royal Family, so there’s no problem. I shouldn’t say this, but unlike the previous Royal Younger Brother who died young, the current Royal Younger Brother has only been educated to be a vassal of the King, so don’t compare him to Princess (Your Highness) Elena, who received an elite education.”
“…I’ll consider it.”
I realized that I might have been unconsciously looking at him that way too, and nodded deeply at Viro’s words.
This must be one of the “Scout” lessons. Viro nodded in satisfaction when he saw me nodding, opened a small metal water bottle from the pouch on his waist, moistened his mouth as if licking it, and then puffed on his pipe deliciously.
“…Viro. You can’t drink on the job, right?”
“Y-you idiot, this is just a prop to use for the “down-and-out janitor” act, right?”
“…Oh, I see.”
“It’s true, okay?”
I can’t tell what’s different from Viro as usual.
＊
From what I heard, this inspection and tour is held every year, so it doesn’t seem to be a particularly unusual event.
I was told that the reason why that information hasn’t been passed on to the students is because the content is being kept secret until the last minute because the children of high-ranking nobles are involved.
“If it’s about that, I heard about it from my brother after the entrance ceremony. The official date and place haven’t been decided yet, but my guard will be the Second Knight Order unit that will be conducting the exercise. But… I didn’t know that Uncle was going to be a teacher.”
That night, at Elena’s mansion in the academy, we were reconciling information while drinking tea on the terrace. When Elena heard about Amor, she pressed her fingers to her forehead as if she had a headache.
“If he’s not a teacher yet, I don’t think he’ll interfere unnecessarily, but Aria, please be careful. He might try to eliminate you from me based on the ridiculous criteria of “personal feelings”.”
“Can he overturn the Royal Order? That person?”
“In that case, he might take hostages or other weaknesses, or use force…”
Elena said that much, then looked at me in my maid uniform again and sighed with a wry smile.
“Both of those would be useless against you.”
“Even so, Aria-san’s appearance is so lovely that some people may misunderstand.”
From the side, the butler placed some light sweets on the table while saying that, and another maid re-brewed the tea.
“Elena-sama, I believe it’s about that matter, but we have some additional information that arrived earlier.”
“What is it, Jiiya?”
“This inspection is an exercise in a place far from the Royal Capital, so most of the young ladies are expected to decline. In that case, Princess (Your Highness) Elena will be in a group alone, or with a male student recommended by the academy, but a boy has been squeezed in there.”
“…Who is it?”
Elena smiled elegantly, even feeling intimidating, at the words of the butler, who is a member of the Shadow Unit and has served Elena since she was born.
“He is Nasanitaru-sama, the grandson of the Temple Head of the Royal Capital Holy Church, who holds the title of Baron of Vestments. The recommender is Prince Amor.”
“Oh my…”
The Temple Head of the Holy Church with the title of Baron. I don’t know how high that status is in my “knowledge”, but looking at Elena’s expression, it’s probably better to look at it as one or two levels higher than the Baron title you would normally think of.
“I have memories of playing with that person when I was little, when I went to the Holy Church Temple. At first, he was so cute that I thought he was a young lady from somewhere, and he cried when I put a flower crown on his head. Even so… I know that Uncle is a devout believer, but what is he thinking?”
Elena’s mutter is in the form of a question, but she probably has some idea from her exasperated expression.
In my opinion, he might be trying to put Elena in the Temple to isolate her from the strife of the secular world, and for that purpose, if he is seen as having a status equivalent to an Earl, as I imagine, he might even be considering marrying her off.
Moreover, it’s Amor’s own decision, ignoring Elena and His Majesty the King’s intentions, who are prepared to become queen for a short period of time.
“Let’s be careful for now. It’s difficult to read the actions of people who really act on their emotions.”
At Elena’s words, I, the butler, and another Shadow Unit maid who was there nodded silently.
Elena has very few allies she can trust. These two, who have been taking care of her since she was born, and Sera, whom she took with her as a follower even in the Dungeon, are probably the only ones.
That might be why she keeps a suspicious person like me by her side. For Elena, who can’t rely on her parents or even her brother from the bottom of her heart, I thought that I would protect only her heart.
＊
The class divisions in this academy are just to divide the number of people for group activities and to assign a person in charge called a homeroom teacher to manage them.
In the first year, the students receive basic education, so they are divided into classrooms according to the number of students, but from the second year onwards, they only take the desired subjects, so it doesn’t mean much other than having a homeroom teacher.
As Elena’s guard, I was of course in the same class due to the academy’s consideration.
Carla was in a different class, and the strange girl I saw at the entrance ceremony was also in a different class. The boy who is the grandson of the Temple Head is also in a different class, so the academy might have wanted to separate the students who seemed to have problems as much as possible.
In the class, Elena is surrounded by female students from middle-ranking nobles and has a gentle smile on her face, but she didn’t try to take off her “mask for the outside world”.
Even the young ladies seem to hesitate to step in any further, and when Elena and I are talking together, there are times when they keep staring at us from a distance that doesn’t get in the way.
In this way, about a month passed without any problems for us (especially) Carla, and around the time when the signs of spring were faintly felt, it was announced that the Knight Order’s exercise would be inspected for middle-ranking nobles and above.
The exercise takes place in a grassland area between the central royal family’s direct jurisdiction, where the Royal Capital is located, and the Marquis von Karl’s territory, belonging to neither. The unobstructed sea breeze makes it unsuitable for habitation, but this means no one complains about using it for exercises.
As expected, almost no female students wanted to go to a place without even an inn within three days’ carriage ride, with only a few participating overall.
The academy suggested that the few female students should stick together, but that idea was dropped as soon as Carla-san decided to participate.
＊
On the appointed day, Elena-san, myself, two other female students, and a boy named Nasanitaru-kun, the grandson of the Temple leader, gathered to ride in the same carriage. Nasanitaru-kun was shorter than me and even a little smaller than the petite Elena-san, with truly feminine features. He seemed slightly displeased to find out how tall we were.
“Are you Miss Aria-san? I would like to discuss something regarding the journey. Would that be alright?”
“…Understood.”
While preparing for departure at the meeting place, I was approached by a knight. Why me? It shouldn’t be public knowledge that I’m a bodyguard. Where did he hear it from?
The young man, identifying himself as the squad leader of the First Company of the Second Knight Order, responsible for Princess (Your Highness)’s protection, led me and a few knights, presumably his subordinates, to a building within the academy that resembled a knights’ station.
“We’re about to depart, so we don’t have much time.”
“It won’t take long. Members of the Second Knight Order are also helping prepare Princess (Your Highness)’s carriage, so it should be fine.”
The young man and I faced each other in a reception room-like space within the station.
“Let me brew some tea. I acquired some good tea leaves from the Calfaan Empire, so let’s boil it with sugar as they do there. It has a unique flavor, but it becomes delicious once you get used to it.”
“Weren’t we going to talk about the journey?”
When I said that without showing any emotion, he gave a slight wry smile at my attitude.
“Princess (Your Highness) would surely allow us some time to enjoy tea, wouldn’t she? Also, forgive my lack of introduction. My name is Joey. I, for one, would love to hear the story of the adventurer who joined the renowned ‘Rainbow Sword’ at the youngest age.”
“…Where did you hear that?”
Joey, the young man who gave his name, faltered for a moment at my quiet question, without changing my tone or using Intimidation, as if he saw something.
“…His Royal Highness the Prince told me. He informed me that you are a highly skilled scout, even reaching Rank 4.”
“I see.”
That man, huh… Information leaks are troublesome, especially from someone with status and too much time on their hands.
After that, Joey’s subordinate brought tea with a peculiar aroma. I licked the rim of the offered cup before gently placing it back on the table, narrowing my eyes.
“Will we be talking soon?”
“You’ve only just had your tea, haven’t you? Or shall I have something light to eat prepared?”
“Were you told to stall me like this?”
“What…”
At my words, Joey showed a smile as if he had been told a joke, but a slight Killing Intent was born within him, and a faint commotion could be heard from outside the room. I paid it no mind, lightly tapping the cup with my fingertip.
“This much ‘sleeping draught’ won’t work on me.”
At those words, Joey’s subordinates burst into the room, opening the door with a bang.
Joey also drew his sword and stood in front of his subordinates, pointing its tip at me as I stood up, grinning.
“You have poison resistance… We’ve been told to avoid killing Princess (Your Highness)’s associates if possible. Even if you’re Rank 4, a scout is helpless against knights in this confined space, right? Let’s have you be good.”
Even within the same rank, the scout class is considered inferior in combat compared to warrior types and Magicians. In a head-on fight between a warrior and a scout, the warrior would likely win.
“Is the Princess (Your Highness) your target?”
“We are knights of the Aristocratic Faction. To have Princess (Your Highness) stand as our new leader, a ‘persuasion’ is being arranged. I commend you for noticing, but our comrades are already departing as escorts—”
“邪魔だ” (Jama da) – “You’re in the way.”
Stepping forward mid-sentence, I pierced Joey’s throat with a Hidden Weapon from 【Shadow Storage】, and as he collapsed to the floor, unable to grasp the situation and spitting out the continuation of his speech in blood, I fluidly stabbed my Black Knife, drawn from my right calf, into his heart, leaving him unable to comprehend what happened.
It seems the Aristocratic Faction hasn’t given up on Elena-san yet.
Next time, Aria’s Blade growls at the existence of a noble manipulating the Aristocratic Faction’s knights from behind.
Finally, the battle begins.
An existence that will join Aria’s side as well…