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Chapter 31: Stefania’s Scheme

With only half a month left until the announcement of the task, the atmosphere among the students became visibly restless.

Everyone was more talkative than usual. Which hall would be used? Who would be the candidates? Who would serve as evaluators for this round of the priestess selection? Rumors and speculation buzzed everywhere, turning the entire academy into a hub of information gathering.

According to Elise, most students had been instructed by their families to report back on the academy’s state during the selection process. In other words, this too was part of their education.

For me, much of this was irrelevant—I already had access to fairly accurate information. But it was the perfect opportunity to assign Emilia this task as training.

Handling information was an essential skill for any noble engaged in politics. And for Emilia, whose life would forever remain tied to the court, it was all the more crucial.

During the day, I had her actively gather information, and every few days she reported back, learning how to evaluate and sift through what she collected. To reinforce the training, I had Reka and the others in the retinue assist, with Vanita serving as her instructor. His grasp of information skills was excellent, and it would be useful for everyone to learn from him.

Even with her regular assignments, Emilia now had this extra burden, leaving her dizzy with exhaustion. But I pressed the point. I knew that when one was already busy, tasks only piled up further. Better to train her capacity now.

◆◆◆

“Over here, Count Kaldia.”

“Thank you.”

“N-no… excuse me.”

The young knight of the royal guard who had shown me to my seat quickly retreated to his place by the wall—as if fleeing. An impressive display of running away while still walking.

I had tried to keep my tone gentle, but it seemed I still intimidated him. In the past, I would have dismissed this as distaste for Kaldia’s ill reputation. But ever since Ratoka scolded me for ignoring such things, I’d been paying closer attention to others’ reactions. Even so, all I could sense was tension and wariness. Since gaining notoriety as a key figure in ending the war, such reactions had become common, especially from younger nobles.

Looking around the hall, I thought the gazes here were at least friendlier than in the House of Lords.

The security for the priestess selection announcement would be handled jointly by the royal army patrol stationed at the academy and the royal guard knights. As Emilia’s bodyguard, the guard had kindly allowed me to sit in on their planning session.

“My apologies for pulling you away from your studies, Count Kaldia,” said the commander of the guard with calm courtesy.

“Not at all. I’m grateful for your consideration, Marquis Schtzeuloie.”

The middle-aged man with striking red hair looked surprisingly gentle for the leader of the guard. He bore no resemblance to his daughter. Noticing my gaze, he offered a faint smile.

“We want you, as Lady Emilia’s escort, to be aware of the security measures. However, within the academy, you are also a student and one of our charges. We will ensure that you will not be burdened with tasks on the day itself.”

“I will do my best not to disrupt security.”

We exchanged nods, our short dialogue serving to clarify my role to everyone present.

“Now then, regarding the security arrangements for the first trial in seven days…”

As promised, today’s meeting was primarily the final confirmation of the first trial’s security plans. Movements of patrol units, key positions, numbers of guards—all were reviewed in detail. Most of the personnel were unfamiliar to me, so I memorized only what pertained to Emilia’s movements. Of course, strict confidentiality prohibited note-taking.

Throughout, I watched carefully, but the marquis showed no odd behavior. He certainly didn’t seem as interested in me as his daughter Stefania had implied. It was hard to believe a marquis’s daughter would tell such a shallow lie, but…

When the meeting adjourned, the marquis departed without a single personal word to me.

Which meant—sadly enough—that Stefania’s claim about her father wanting me as an accompanist had been a complete fabrication.

I sighed. What was she thinking? Was it a ploy to use me for her own gain in the priestess selection? Or just an attempt to spite Emilia?

Either way, it reeked of her personal emotions. And the more I thought about it, the more tiresome it became.

No matter how often Ratoka scolded me… I simply had no patience for unraveling the subtleties of other people’s feelings.