39 Outsider

“So, what happened after the interrogation?”

“I don’t know. I was strictly there as the guardian of the target of the assault. I have no concern with the subsequent sentencing of the people in that room.”

It was a day where far too much happened. It didn’t end with just the aftermath of the task presentation, the assault, and the interrogation; there was also the notification of the next task, the gracious words from the Crown Prince, the meeting with the Imperial Knights—who were sent to guard the dormitory tonight in case of a re-attack—to discuss security arrangements, confirming Emilia’s mental state…

By the time I finally returned to my private room, the moon had begun to set. I had to share the information I currently knew with Latka, and only after that was finished could I finally get to bathing and changing. I am truly glad tomorrow is a holiday.

“I see. Just hearing the gist of it makes me pity that Stefania girl. Why’d she have to get caught up with a guy like that…”

That was Latka’s reaction after finishing writing down the contents of the interrogation. Seeing him let out a “Haa…” sigh, I felt like saying I was the one who wanted to sigh.

“There’s no ‘getting caught up’ when they didn’t even know each other. She’s a third-year at the Academy; she allowed herself to be taken advantage of because of her usual behavior, and for the sake of her own desires, she went as far as involving the Archduchess. Responsibility will naturally be pursued.”

At first, I wondered what was going on with the Crown Prince’s grand destruction of Stefania’s dignity, but it seemed that once the psychological point that hurt her most was exposed, Stefania began to speak honestly to whatever she was asked.

Her purely personal motivation—wanting to get closer to me and therefore wanting to get Emilia out of the way—has no direct relevance to her crime or punishment. However, without that exposure, Stefania would likely have tried to hide it as much as possible while speaking. Had that happened, the time and effort required for this case would have been on a different scale. One could say it was an effective means of advancing the interrogation and subsequent investigation smoothly and quickly, allowing for countermeasures to be taken according to the opponent’s objectives.

“I guess so. But the mindset is different between a quasi-adult and a full adult, right?”

“Regarding that, the Crown Prince urged consideration. Therefore, there is nothing I should do or can do. That’s all. More importantly, there are the perpetrators. I’ll likely be summoned to the castle within two or three days for future measures and instructions.”

“The assailants, huh…”

Latka muttered with a bitter expression, as if spitting the words out.

“…Was that the guy you mentioned before?”

“Your father.”

“Hey. Stop being so blunt when you know I chose a vague expression on purpose. …That guy, he looked at my face and called out Mom’s name.”

As Latka gets older, his appearance has become more similar to how his father used to look, but in terms of features, it’s only to the extent of a similar brother and sister; he doesn’t have the “mirror image” resemblance shared by the father, Melchior, and me. When he takes my place, he uses makeup to bring his features closer to mine.

The opposite is true when he acts as the maid Elise; he uses makeup to disguise the facial features that would remind people of me. In other words, it is a state where anything inherited through the Caldia blood Latka carries is erased as much as possible. Whatever impression remains after that, logically speaking, would be something inherited from his mother.

From the following morning, the House of Gerda was placed under a state of high alert.

Because the objective of the assault was determined to be the kidnapping of Emilia, and the disappearance of Count Nordsturm and his attendant Melchior was confirmed, a decision was made to change the security arrangements of the Academy. Until things settle down, Emilia will be living under house arrest within the dormitory, and we were notified to refrain from unnecessary outings accordingly.

Well, since my daily routine consists of nothing more than going to the school building and coming back, there isn’t a major change.

“According to rumors spreading among the upper-class attendants, the daughter of Marquis Schutzeroie is currently under house arrest at the Marquis’s estate in the Royal Capital. The reason given is that she cheated on the Oracle selection task. It’s the same for the Holland family.”

“Ah, well, that’s appropriate.”

When I had Teera and the others gather information during the gaps between classes, I quickly found out how the situation within the Academy had been resolved. Since the assault itself is being kept secret, it seems they only needed to come up with a consistent story for the few people who haven’t shown their faces in public since the task presentation.

For Emilia, we decided to call it a sick leave. Since the House of Gerda is located away from the other dormitories, the fact that knights are guarding the area hasn’t spread either.

The reason this matter remains secret even after the task presentation is over is partly because it involves diplomatic issues, but another reason is likely because the assault involved Melchior, and by extension, the Western Alphena Church—the mastermind behind the Royal Capital fire a few years ago.

The upper echelons of this country likely know of the existence of people who can use supernatural powers like magic beasts—magic—and they are avoiding making that public. It is likely for this primary reason that Priest Faris took over the matter of Melchior appearing in the Royal Capital.

It’s not as if we’ve been gagged; information was shared with the Royal Territory Count of Yugfena and the Border Marquis Junas during the three-lord conference of the Yugfena region… but at that time, the content of what was discussed was coordinated in advance with Countess Theresia. I can assume it was judged to be no problem. Ultimately, based on the idea that there is no need to unnecessarily cause anxiety or confusion among the people or subordinates, all three territories, including the Caldia territory, are keeping the information restricted to the upper echelons. The inner court might be thinking the same way.

“…For now, there seems to be nothing for us to do. We’re completely outsiders this time. That’s a good thing.”

“You’re right. The second task is said to be an equestrian competition, so as long as we’re stuck in the dormitory, we can’t even practice… and the preparation of the horses and costumes will be handled by the House of Dovedain, right?”

“That was the notification.”

Regarding the second task, the Crown Prince, who had parted with us after the interrogation, visited the dormitory with Grace and a priest to inform us personally. The task is a “Two-Horse Parallel Walk.” Two horses are lined up like cavalry in a march and made to walk at a trot, competing for both perfection and speed. The Oracle candidate is tasked with providing two horses, a parallel rider, and costumes, just like the first task.

And for the second task, the House of Duke Dovedain will support all those preparations. Rachel and Julia will continue their roles as instructors, but the request for cooperation will become an official one from the inner court to each house, and the Dovedain house will take charge. Elise is dismissed. If anything, she was closer to an assistant on my side, so she is unnecessary for the Dovedain house.

“Eh, but as a model performance, you’ll be marching as well, right, Eliza-sama? Are the preparations for that okay?”

Leka chimed in regarding the request from the inner court and the temple.

From the second task onward, royalty and high nobility sometimes come to watch, and it has become customary for a model performance to be shown at the end of the task presentation. Until now, the Imperial Knights or specialized officials serving the court seem to have handled it, but this year, because they want to focus all their efforts on security, the request was passed to me instead. It is a command in the name of a request. Naturally, I have no right to refuse.

“The attire is full formal wear, the horses are from our territory, and since they said I can arrange any parallel rider I like as long as they have noble status, there shouldn’t be anything special I need to do. As for the rider… since it’s a model performance, it’ll be Claudia, who can ride side-saddle to match the Oracle.”

Since we perform marching exercises all the time within our territory, there is no need to train now. At most, we’ll coordinate a few times and that will be it.

“Since it’s sudden, the inner court said they would cooperate regarding the parallel rider, though…”

“Yeah. I’ll prepare a letter politely declining.”

If I think of the kind of personnel the inner court would likely pair with me for an event within the Academy, the first people who come to mind are Rachel and Julia, but those two will certainly be glued to Emilia’s side. If it’s anyone else, it will almost certainly be someone I have no acquaintance with. I don’t want to increase my involvement with people close to the inner court any more than necessary. Therefore, this matter ends here.

End of 262