episode_0138

The Imperial Academy’s campus was quiet.

Even though the threat of Tricky Green was real and the Imperial administration had declared war, the Academy seemed largely unchanged.

Even though great chaos was spreading across the continent, the faces of the students walking around the schoolyard in the evening did not seem to be overshadowed.

ah.

The students from countries that joined the imperial family, including the Kingdom of Primira, either returned to their home countries long ago or stayed at the Academy on the condition of naturalizing in the empire.

In Daniela’s opinion, having the opportunity to naturalize and remain in the Empire is a blessing.

Even if she had been given the same choice, she would not be able to easily throw away her heavy responsibility. So on the one hand, I was envious.

Carl, who was walking ahead, turned his head and looked at Daniela. Above the chiseled nose, his eyes were the same color as the sun.

Somehow, he seemed quite different from the Duke of Mainer. Daniela thought back to the Duke she had met several times and tried to guess the shape of the sword.

No matter how many times I compared them, they didn’t look alike. The only difference was the hair color. Even that was the same blonde, but with a completely different tone. Just like Daniela’s platinum blonde hair and Karl’s blonde hair were different.

If so, then Karl would resemble his mother.

Daniela thought about what she knew about Carl. Then she suddenly wondered who Carl’s mother might be.

What kind of woman is this that gave birth to Carl, a man born into the Mainer family, such incredible talent with the sword and such beautiful… looks?

‘An unknown foreign knight… … ‘

The first thing that comes to mind is the Blair de Dahlia from Primira.

But Daniela immediately shook her head.

‘Then it’ll be difficult…’

Blair is Trixie Green’s adoptive mother and a knight of the Royal Family.

She has been deceiving the world with her husband for over ten years.

If that woman were Carl Maynor’s biological mother, the empire would be turned upside down.

‘Now that I think about it, Karl seemed close to Beatrice…’

But it seems Daniela wasn’t the only one who thought of Blair de Dahlia.

Coincidentally, Carl was close to Blair’s nominal daughter, Beatrice.

It was the Christmas Eve that fueled the bold suspicions of the wealthy.

Just before Tricky Green’s identity was revealed, Carl danced with her at the Christmas Eve party.

Because of this, there was talk that he had some kind of relationship with the princess, and that the bond may have started with his biological mother, Blair.

The result is intervention by the church.

The Knights Templar, the Archbishop, and even a saint came to the Academy.

In the face of suspicion, there was no such thing as the owner of the Holy Sword.

The investigation into Carl Maynor has been ongoing for a long time.

An investigation that even the Duke of Mainer had no choice but to permit. Only after mobilizing the saint’s divine powers was Karl able to free himself from the sect’s suspicions.

There is no trace of the princess.

This was Saint Alana’s conclusion.

The saintess, who appeared after a hundred years, examined each sword with the power given to her by the gods, and found absolutely no trace of the royal family’s magic in it.

Only then did those who knew the sword feel relieved. Especially the students of the Academy, including Daniela.

Now that even Chloe has defected, there are few students left who can represent First Class.

If we lose the sword, the morale of the entire Academy may drop, so it’s a good thing.

And dare I say, all the other students’ worries about Karl combined couldn’t have come close to the amount of concern Daniela had for him.

‘thank god…’

Without Daniela even realizing it, as she spent time with Karl for her father and country, her thoughts toward Karl grew stronger, as if the falling raindrops were slowly soaking her clothes.

*

“Daniella, have you been borrowing books like those and reading them in the dorm?”

Sitting on a relatively quiet bench, Carl suddenly asked.

“Oh, those kind of books… … ”

“Then what should I call it? A dirty book?”

“… … ”

Daniela looked at the ground, her face flushed red, her hands clenched tightly on her knees. She didn’t have the confidence to face them.

Now that I think about it, this kind of conversation… feels familiar. What was it…?

ah!

Beatrice de Dahlia.

I think the conversation flowed like this when I got caught by that woman.

At that time, I felt even more miserable than I do now.

“Well, anyway, I asked if he had rented it and taken it to the dorm.”

Carl looked at Daniela, who was bowing her head.

“… That’s right.”

“So I didn’t see it on the bookshelf a few months ago. This has changed a bit too.”

“Yes?”

“Ah. No. I’m just talking to myself.”

The knife brought back memories of the original.

Actually, I knew about Daniela’s hobby a long time ago, but I didn’t bother to approach her and make it my strategy route. At that time, Beatrice and Alana were already a headache and I couldn’t handle them, so I didn’t have time to worry about it.

However, sometimes, out of curiosity, when I happened to visit the library bookshelf, I would look around to see if Daniela was in the corner like in the original. All I found was an empty corner of the bookshelf.

“Until recently, I borrowed it and watched it in the dorm, but a few days ago… ”

“Again?”

“The dormitory is kind of stuffy… ”

Daniela kept trailing off in a raspy voice. It was embarrassing.

“You’re the type who enjoys thrills?”

“Yes… Yes?! Oh, no!”

“No, that’s not true.”

Suddenly, Daniela flinched and waved her arms.

Although he strongly denied it, to Karl it seemed like he was just someone who enjoyed the thrill of looking at books on a bookshelf that people occasionally passed by.

Carl laughed heartily.

“You were reading it so openly, but didn’t you actually want to get caught?”

“Don’t tease me… … ”

“Sorry. I was just kidding.”

She was on the verge of tears with a red face. So Carl decided to be mean only up to this point. Just until she was on the verge of tears.

Daniela didn’t respond, just watched the knife.

Karl took something out of his uniform jacket pocket. It was Daniela’s secret novel list that Karl had taken out of the bookshelf and been telling her.

“What is that? Oh, how did I read the books…?!”

To be exact, it was Daniela’s library loan list. There were many books that I had read from the bookshelf without borrowing them. I had often read from the bookshelf before I was caught by the princess.

Therefore, this is not a complete list.

Even taking that into account, I still wondered how he could know so much so accurately.

“Daniela, we are at war.”

“… … ”

Daniela crossed her arms over his shoulders and shrank. She felt embarrassed and then she felt cold again. The autumn evening air felt chilly.

“Thanks to the preciousness of the Imperial Academy and the value of the Academy proven by history, everyone is trying their best to prevent the aftermath of chaos from reaching them.”

Karl took off his jacket naturally and put it on Daniela’s shoulders, who was feeling cold. A faint lemon scent wafted out in an instant. It was thick with the scent of the perfume Karl was wearing.

The scent of the knife felt uncomfortable yet warm.

Daniela blushed again.

“The wave of confusion will sweep over the Academy.”

“I know… ”

I know.

One day, the aftereffects of war will spread to the Academy, and the Academy students will have to make a decision.

The same goes for Daniela and her allies.

So I knew it more keenly. I wanted to completely ignore it.

“I will do what I can for my father.”

“?”

“To oppose the royal family and find Beatrice.”

Carl smiled faintly as he said Beatrice’s name. His voice sounded faintly wistful as he called her ‘Beatrice’ instead of ‘Trixie Green’.

“This list… I wonder how you found out about the books you borrowed?”

Daniela nodded cautiously.

“To help my father, I was looking for traces of Beatrice left behind in the Academy.”

“What does that have to do with me—“

He also calls the princess ‘Beatrice’ and says something rude. Daniela tried to look angry, but stopped herself because of a memory that came to mind.

The puzzle has been put together.

“At first, I thought she was the one who borrowed it. You may not know, but she was a strange woman, right? Beatrice, I mean.”

“… … ”

“I even thought that it might be natural to have a hobby of reading such provocative and daring novels. Well, there were a few novels that were so extreme that even I felt embarrassed.”

It was so severe, Daniela realized that Karl’s words were now directed at her and not the princess, so she shook her shoulders again and lowered her head.

“But if you look closely, where have you seen these novels before?”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah. I remember the original story clearly.”

“?”

It feels like the context is broken.

Daniela suddenly felt uncomfortable with Carl’s words about the ‘original’.

“There, you were the only heroine reading books with these titles.”

I couldn’t understand what he was talking about, so I tried to ask again, but stopped myself. His golden eyes, filled with the red glow of the sunset, were staring straight at Daniela.

Karl put the list into Daniela’s hesitant hands.

Daniela immediately looked at the list in her hand. She looked at the top. Now she was starting to get a feel for what the list was about.

“Beatrice de Dahlia’s Loan List”

The hand holding the list trembled.

The list Karl brought was of books Daniela had borrowed under Beatrice’s name.

Since being caught by Beatrice a few months ago, Daniela has been borrowing novels under Beatrice’s name.

Beatrice had given her permission, and since she could borrow it under someone else’s name, she could enjoy her secret hobby to her heart’s content in the dormitory without anyone finding out.

But that’s…

“You borrowed a book in the name of a traitor who caused a stir in the world. Are you more clumsy than you look?”

The problem was that it continued even after Beatrice left the Academy.

I didn’t even realize it, and I didn’t think about it for the time when I could feel the only sense of liberation.

“Tell me what happened.”

“Yes?”

“What happened with Beatrice. Tell me everything.”

The thick voice of the sword became clear.

The gentle gaze had suddenly become sharp, and when Daniela looked up in surprise, all that was there was the hunter’s gaze, demanding an answer.