Even a Scoundrel Gets Tired

167 – A Letter, Out of the Blue

Even after she’d vanished from my sight,

she seemed poised to

continue her pursuit,

so I simply fled at full tilt.

In any case, Professor Olliver had already

told me, due to time constraints, that I should

start attending lectures from tomorrow onward,

and that I was free to

rest to my heart’s content today.

So even if I left the Academy right now,

there wouldn’t be anyone particularly

to impede me.

The Princess… well, she could crush me with her status, but

she herself had said she wouldn’t

abuse her authority for personal matters,

so at least she wouldn’t be able to

follow me all the way here.

Just like that, I headed towards my dorm,

filled with the familiar

scent of wood,

and upon arriving there,

what greeted me was

the musty, damp air

that I’d thought I had,

in my own way, grown accustomed to.

A smell you might only encounter in some old,

forgotten countryside village.

It’s an old smell, to be sure,

but a rather comforting one at that.

Following the scent that wafted from the hallway,

I slowly made my way

towards my room,

and the sight of my luggage, which

only this morning had been piled up

in abundance in the corridor,

was now nowhere to be seen.

*Creak*─

The moment I pushed the door open,

Ella sprung from the depths within,

greeting me with unrestrained glee.

Her hair bounced wildly,

a welcome so exuberant it mimicked a large, happy hound.

“Young Master, you must eat!”

Come to think of it,

the lunch hour had long since

slipped by unnoticed.

I didn’t feel particularly hungry,

but after such a long,

arduous drive,

a replenishment of nutrients seemed wise.

Besides, it might be immodest to say so myself,

but Ella’s cooking was undeniably delectable.

Having devoted herself to servitude in the manor since childhood,

her culinary skills were

remarkably accomplished,

worthy of high praise indeed.

Even I, who often skipped meals,

readily devoured her creations.

Mother, of course, adored her food as well.

“Just give me a moment,

and I’ll prepare your meal.”

“I look forward to it.”

“Yes, Sir!”

She beamed and, with a flurry of footsteps,

dashed into the kitchen.

Despite the years that had passed,

she seemed almost unchanged.

Her perpetually bright smiles,

for one thing.

And her stature, which hadn’t altered a jot,

though she’d undoubtedly bristle if I ever

pointed it out.

Still, that enduring innocence was, in a way…

I found myself liking it more and more.

Whenever I saw those unchanging aspects of her,

I could, for the first time,

experience that feeling of security

others so readily spoke of.

*Whirr-whack─*

From somewhere, she came, armed with a trove of cooking implements,

and the sounds of her beginning

to prepare a meal filled the air.

Before long, just a few minutes passed,

and the room began to fill

with the sound of something

bubbling merrily,

and a fragrant aroma.

“Young Master, your meal is ready!”

A stew, redolent with

the scent of fragrant mushrooms.

Back in my life in the modern age,

I wouldn’t have given it

a second glance, even if it were tossed before me,

but now, for me,

it was quite a

mouth-watering meal.

Of course, it was true that her culinary skills were exceptional,

but I had also learned,

the hard way, that pickiness

was of no use whatsoever

in this life.

Above all,

I didn’t want to needlessly leave

any of the food she had poured

her heart into.

*Slurp─*

As the warm stew slid down my throat,

the fragrance of mushrooms

filled my mouth.

It was delicious, and warm.

Even if I couldn’t claim

to be much of a cook myself,

I could, roughly, tell just how much care had gone into her cooking.

“It’s good.”

“I’m so glad!”

She beamed, and then—

Elia, claiming her due.

Since the day I

unpacked my bags in this dormitory,

we had been eating together at the same table.

If the other nobles witnessed this scene,

they would surely mock me, asking

if I was deigning to dine

with a mere servant.

But until now, I had never once dined at a separate table from her.

Of course, in the beginning, she

strenuously refused this arrangement,

but I, at least, wanted her, who I had grown up with since childhood,

to feel a little more comfortable,

if only during mealtimes,

and unable to continually

defy my commands, she

eventually succumbed to me.

‘…Saying it like this, it sounds like I’ve done something wrong.’

“Ah, Young Master?!”

“Hmm?”

“Come to think of it, a letter arrived while you were out, Young Master…”

As soon as she finished speaking,

she scurried

into the room,

and handed me

an envelope, entirely

black,

“A letter? For me?”

“Yes, it was insisted that it

be delivered only to you, Young Master…”

“A letter specifically for me… Ah,”

“…Could it be from Lady Aria?”

“…No, if it were her, she wouldn’t

bother with this kind of seal.”

“Then…”

“I should go at once.”

“I… I’ll come with you!”

*Bang*—

The conversation ended with the resounding crash

of a door slamming open and shut,

The room, emptied in the blink of an eye,

held only

a black envelope, Charlotte’s seal

pressed upon it, swirling in the drafts.

*

“Just a moment, I promise?”

“Saintess, truly, this time it cannot be…”

“It will only take a moment,

do you perhaps not trust me?”

“No, it is not that, but…”

Meanwhile, while the world

basked in warm sunlight,

reveling in life’s joys,

the Holy Knights of the Order

were enduring a torment of never-ending commotion.

The Saintess’s escape

during the recent banquet.

Although the Saintess

had returned safely,

and the people who had taken her

were deemed not to be wicked,

that day was, without a doubt,

the most startling day for

the knights sworn to protect her.

Who was Tern, the one charged

with her protection?

He had seized the seat of Holy Knight Commander

at a remarkably young age,

a man of talent among his peers,

and of exceptionally diligent effort.

Therefore, when he ascended to the position,

not a single one of them

dared to mention his youth,

to say he was unfit for the role.

Instead, they offered him

their sincere congratulations.

‘Hey, Tern. Let’s go already.’

‘Yeah, it’s mealtime… no food if we’re late?’

‘You go on ahead, I’ll

stay a little longer…’

“Heavens… at that rate,

you’ll ruin your health entirely.”

“If sacrificing this one body allows me to draw even a little closer to Her Grace…”

His devotion and diligence were,

amongst the Holy Order knights,

undeniably the truest of the true.

Of course, even the Order itself

vaguely recognized this fact, and so,

he who by rights should have faced

punishment most severe, instead

received a censure, not a dismissal,

thanks to his usual conduct and

the earnest pleading of the Holy Maiden.

“…Though even censure will be quite the blow for him.”

In truth, it was censure in name only,

little more than a consideration

from the upper echelons, an order

to finally rest and recuperate, but

such was his inherently diligent nature

that even this paltry censure

would strike him with considerable force.

“I’m telling you, just a little more is all I need!!”

“..Holy Maiden, you truly mustn’t continue like this…”

But he likely doesn’t realize it.

Just how many Holy Knights

envy him at this very moment.

Just consider the events

that have transpired lately.

The unprecedented incident of the

Holy Maiden vanishing mid-banquet, or

the search for her that took them

to nearly every corner of the Empire, only

to find that Her Grace had already

returned to the Order, or even

the recent journey with the

Holy Maiden to Duke Reinhardt’s manor, only

to discover that the manor had been utterly shattered.

Unequivocally, all these events

that have occurred recently…

It must have felt heavier for the Holy Knights than anything before.

And so it did now.

“Saintess, His Holiness is currently…”

“…Inside, I know that.

Sergeant.”

“…”

Whatever she witnessed in that mansion then,

Upon her return to the Order,

The Saintess staged a sit-in, insisting she see His Holiness,

And His Holiness did not grant her request.

If only someone, anyone,

Had backed down by now, it would have been a blessing,

But alas, for the Holy Knights,

It was most regrettable that

Even after all the years of consideration for one another,

This time, it seemed, neither of them

Had any intention of yielding.

‘Saintess, His Holiness says

To return later…’

‘…The reason?’

‘Ah… He said his work isn’t finished yet.’

‘I came to discuss something

More important than work.’

No matter what, the Saintess insisted

She must see His Holiness today,

Displaying a stubbornness

She had scarcely shown before,

While His Holiness, for his part,

Declared he had too much work

Piling up today,

And steadfastly refused a private audience with the Saintess.

‘…Thanks to them, we’re dying inside.’

“Your Holiness, are you listening?!”

“S-Saintess, raising your voice like that…”

“I came to ask about the [Maggi]!!”

“S-Saintess? What sort of…”

Screeeeeech─

At the Saintess’s audacious words,

a flicker of discomposure brushed across

the faces of the Holy Knights guarding the Pontiff’s office.

Just then, the door,

bolted shut as if never

meant to be breached,

that ironclad fortress, began to creak open from within.

“…Enter, Saintess.”

“….”

“It seems you have

uncovered something, after all.”

As he ushered the Saintess

into the room, a certain

bitterness, never before witnessed

upon the Pontiff’s face,

weighed heavily there.