episode_0111

July is a time when students are free in many ways.

And especially, this world seems to have a more relaxed atmosphere than the place I used to live in.

Since it was an academy built on the Japanese high school system, there were final exams at the end of July. However, that did not mean that the anticipation for the approaching vacation completely died down.

And this atmosphere spread more widely among commoners than among children of noble families.

Nobles are creatures who live with pride.

Even if they were children of noble families who believed that school ties were the most important goal and that making good connections was more important than getting good grades, there were many children who thought it was a ‘shame’ if their grades fell below a certain level. There were also many parents of noble families who were sensitive about grades.

On the other hand, there were many commoners who could be said to have had their fate set the moment they entered the academy. Although there were twice as many commoners as nobles, that was because there were far more commoners than nobles in the empire. In terms of the number of applicants, it was harder for commoners to enter the academy than for nobles.

As long as you graduate from the academy safely, you won’t have any major problems finding a way to make a living. Since it’s also a military academy, it might be possible to apply to become an imperial officer. However, you’ll have to maintain a minimum grade level to avoid being delayed.

And I… … I lost the ability to go back to how I was before mid-June, but surprisingly, it didn’t hit me that hard.

That’s because I always did thorough preview and review.

To be exact, I mean that at the end of every class, I would go back in time several times to make sure I understood what I had learned and moved on. Even when I was studying on my own, I would go back in time several times to understand the solutions to each problem.

No matter what, I thought that going back in time to solve the exam questions again was a bit much, even by my standards. However, I thought that going back in time by a few months right before the exam period just to take the exam once was crazy, so I studied hard throughout the semester.

Even the most ordinary person can become a genius if they take their time. The only thing I had was time, so I used it consistently without letting any opportunity slip by, and this is the result.

That doesn’t mean I was particularly looking forward to summer vacation though.

If you go to the Imperial Palace, a place that can be called ‘home’, you will definitely encounter the Emperor.

The Emperor hadn’t said much since the incident last June, but I was certain that if I went back and saw him, he would tell me something I didn’t want to hear.

*

But not all bad things happen to people.

Even if it was just a small incident that postponed the bad thing for a little while, something pleasant often happened.

“Is this an invitation?”

About a week before the final exams began, Claire came to my room and handed me a letter in a fancy envelope.

It was similar to what Alice had handed Charlotte, but at least the content written there wasn’t intended to divert my gaze elsewhere.

“Yeah. It’s an invitation to our territory.”

The Grace Estate within the system was not that far from here. It was a special type of estate that was slightly different from the estates of the general nobles.

The actual size is more like a mansion rather than a territory. If we think of it by modern standards, it would be about the size of a large school. There is one large building and several buildings of average size, a small amount of land between the buildings, and a lawn that could be called a playground… …

Of course, it was impressive to own such a large piece of land and buildings in one’s name, but it was still a realistic size compared to the county and duchy, which would not be strange when compared to the size of a country or region.

“I told my father and mother about my sister. They said they really wanted to meet her.”

When I heard that and looked at Claire from afar, Claire quickly shook her head.

“It’s okay. I just said that you were the sister I was looking for. I didn’t say anything else… … Ah.”

And only after saying that did Claire seem to remember that this fact itself was a story that was hardly known to others.

Claire, who was looking at me with a slightly anxious face, looked strangely young even though she was clearly about the same height as me.

“Did I say something useless?”

“No.”

I said as I opened the envelope.

“Because Grace is a loyal family. And… …as long as you are there, it is a story that will come to light someday.”

Claire blinked twice at my words.

“First of all, I am the one who brought you there. Now, there is no reason for you to be angry about what you did.”

“That, yeah… … ?”

With Claire in front of me, who seemed a little happy, I took out the letter from the envelope. The paper on the letter was also luxurious. The kind that only nobles would use.

Even if he was a baron, he was still a nobleman. As I thought this while opening the letter, I saw that the contents of the letter were written in such a clean handwriting that it seemed as if it had been printed on a printer.

[To Princess Sylvia Pangriphon of the Glorious Empire.

The hot sunlight heats the earth, and the wind blowing from the sea makes the air humid. Some people find the weather somewhat unpleasant, but sometimes it is a good season to use the weather as an excuse to go out somewhere.

It may not be that far from where the princess resides, and it may not offer the cool breeze or fresh air of a paradise, but the green lawn within our territory is well-maintained and well-received even among the nobles. It is famous as one of the few places where your eyes can rest in the middle of a somewhat dreary city.

I have no doubt that it would be a great pleasure for us at Grace to be granted the honor of having a cup of tea with the princess in the cool shade while appreciating such greenery.

We will be praying that we can receive a positive response from the Princess through our daughter.

Tuesday, July 11, 1901.

His Majesty the Baron Edward Grace.]

Even though the content of the letter was like that, the handwriting itself gave off an atmosphere that said, ‘I’m being honest.’ Well, there are probably many villains with good handwriting. Maybe it’s because I already know about Baron Grace that I have a stereotype about him.

After I finished reading the letter, I looked up and saw Claire in front of me.

Claire didn’t seem to be sure that I would respond positively to this letter. She was looking at me with her hands behind her back, slightly hesitant. The way she looked up at me with her head slightly bowed was also a sight that I vaguely remembered.

It was the expression Claire would make every time I shared my share of food with her at the orphanage.

She probably lived without really caring about anything, but seeing that habit not disappearing at all even after 10 years, it seemed like she knew how much of an impact those 5 years of nothing had on Claire’s life.

That’s probably why I remember him so clearly. He was probably the first person in my life to show me kindness.

“Okay.”

I said, carefully folding the letter again and putting it in the envelope.

“I will respond to your invitation. Does the date matter?”

“Ah, yeah!”

Claire smiled brightly at my answer.

Seriously, what does a kid have to go through to become as twisted as in the original?

Perhaps, it was a miracle that Claire survived without breaking. It also means that Claire was a strong child.

Because in the end, he was the kind of person who could die for his younger brother, with whom he had not been very close.

Still, thanks to that, I was able to see the Emperor’s face a little later, so my heart felt a little lighter.

And, I wanted to visit Grace at least once. It was a place they went to in the original work, but it was a little frustrating to just wait around until then.

“Then I will make it so that I can visit you right after the exams are over and after the graduation ceremony. Is that okay?”

“Then I’ll be happy! I’ll tell my parents in advance!”

Because they are my parents.

Come to think of it, I only hung out with Claire, but I never really heard about how she grew up. It must have been a much better environment than the original, and perhaps that’s why there was no need to say anything about it.

Besides, it was also the main character’s house.

It might not be a bad idea to hear directly from Baroness Grace and her husband about how Leo and Claire grew up.