episode_0079

Episode 79

The midnight search began. The dark academy was filled with a different kind of noise than during the day when it was full of students.

While the search was going on, I was sitting across from Juliana in the director’s office, leaving the command of the scene to Philgret.

Juliana’s face clearly shows her displeasure. As if he was being subjected to something extremely unfair.

But this level of commotion cannot be called a commotion. A case where a nobleman with a title despite his age went missing. It would be weirder not to search.

Juliana spoke in an irritated voice.

“Is it really necessary to do this, Princess Sera?”

“What are you talking about?”

“At best, you’re an orphan from a commoner, right? This means that he was not a seed worthy of entering the world of aristocracy in the first place. Isn’t it true that he has now realized that he is not fit for purpose and has run away?”

Juliana’s confident words left me speechless.

It’s such nonsense that I don’t even know where to begin my argument. William Roberts inherited the status of nobleman through due process, and the disappearance of such a person is obviously a serious incident.

But Juliana’s words weren’t based on logic in the first place. The situation in which he, a commoner, was protected by the royal family must have felt like being invaded from above and below at the same time by the nobles.

The reason they chose kidnapping instead of fearing conflict with me may have been to express their dissatisfaction with the situation in an aggressive way.

I answered with an angelic smile.

“Can I consider those words as official remarks from the Chairman of the Academy and the Sesenne family?”

“Of course, of course. All the nobles in this country must think the same. Shouldn’t we eradicate the maggots before they start attracting flies?”

I also started to get a little angry at the remarks that crossed the line like breathing. Still smiling, I warned Julianna.

“As you may know, I am the official guardian of William Roberts. I will accept that the insulting words directed at him are directed at me. Please be careful.”

Juliana flinched for a moment, but then returned her hostile gaze and spoke.

“Ah, it was like that. However, there are quite a few people who have doubts about that matter. Why did Graham entrust the guardianship of his precious heir to you, rather than to another friend and relative? Hehe, I’m sure it won’t happen, but there are some scandalous rumors going around that there might be a secret relationship between him and the princess.”

No matter how leniently you look at it, this statement can only be seen as an insult to the royal family. The driver at the escort station who was listening next to me put his hand on his waist, as if he couldn’t bear it anymore.

I stopped him and responded lightly.

“Hehe, your imagination is free. But the moment you say that, you will have to prepare for a heavy responsibility.”

“Well… I think it’s the same for everyone.”

Every word is arrogant.

The reason Juliana can act so recklessly against me is because she has some trust in her.

It’s not just the nobles or the Carmel clan. In the novel, she had another setting other than being the president of the academy.

A powerful wizard and owner of a grimoire.

In the development of the humiliation, we teamed up with Carmel in that respect. Carmel was taking on the position of facilitator of all kinds of perverted magic experiments that he conducted against Princess Sera.

The power of the wizard who owns the grimoire is outside the standard. They probably think that this number of knights poses no real threat.

Such confidence was evident in Juliana’s extreme rudeness.

Confidence that even if I became enraged and ordered him to cut off his head, I would be able to somehow defuse, control, or subdue the situation.

I had no intention of revealing my intentions without knowing the full story.

At that time, the door burst open and Philgret returned.

“Princess, I will report to you the results of the search. The search to date has not found anything special.”

“Yes. Thank you for your hard work.”

Has it already been stolen? The possibility of that happening was high enough. But it will still be nearby.

Julianna spoke to me with a smile as if she was confident of victory.

“It seems like it was a pointless commotion, right? There’s no way something like that could have happened here at the Academy of Sessenes in the first place. A person called a princess has such poor judgment… Hehe.”

“It is still too early to make such hasty conclusions, Marchioness of Sesennes. It may have been moved to another location. Besides… there are still places left that haven’t been searched.”

“Do you no longer trust the knights under your command? Where on earth is that?”

Juliana’s expression still has a mocking look on her face, as if it’s funny. I grinned and pointed to the floor.

“Right here. Please search under where we sit, Pilgret.”

“Ah…?”

The corners of the mouth that were raised are shaking. For the first time, a look of embarrassment appeared on Juliana’s face, which had always been relaxed.

“This is the chairman’s office where I work. Of course, there is nothing below. If that were the case, the entire floor and ceiling within the academy would have to be torn out. Isn’t it so lame to act unreasonably just because nothing was found?”

Suddenly my tongue got longer. I didn’t reply to that and spoke to Philgret.

“Take it, Philgret.”

“Yes, princess.”

Philgret immediately gave instructions to the knights. Toward the place I pointed to, the place where faint traces of magical power had been leaking from earlier.

“Wait! I told you to wait! Could it really be true…”

bang!

As the knights’ swords hit the ground all at once, the spot collapsed. A secret door hung on hinges and dangled down the hole.

“With this, we found a place that hasn’t been searched yet. If it’s this suspicious, you can’t help but search it, right?”

Juliana was glaring at me with a wrinkled face. It seemed like they didn’t know how to respond to the unexpected situation.

“Princess Sera… How did you know…? There is a hidden space here…”

“It would be a big mistake to think that everything in the Academy is on your side, Marchioness.”

“Pfft…”

Of course, this was just said so that it could be misunderstood. The reason I knew there was something down there was because I found traces of magical power there.

But one word would be enough to instill all kinds of doubt in Juliana.

“Start a search, Pilgret. Down there is the wizard’s secret space. You never know what might be there, so be careful.”

“Yes.”

As he was about to go down the stairs, Juliana, who had a stone-faced expression on her face, blocked his path.

“Why do you say that, Marchioness of Sesennes? Are you sure that you are refusing to search even though a place like this has been discovered?”

There is… nothing below “. You can swear on my honor…”

Now my tone of voice has become a little more polite. But the content of what was said was not worth listening to.

“Are you unaware of the seriousness of the situation? As the guardian of Viscount William Roberts, I have a duty to seek his safety. If there is more opposition than this, we have no choice but to enforce it by force.”

I sternly gestured to the knights. They were about to pass Juliana and rush straight down.

“Wait, wait! all right! Then I will guide you directly. To the princess… You will probably understand when you see it in person.”

“To me directly?”

“Yes… I will be able to fully confirm that what is below has nothing to do with this incident.”

If you receive an invitation from a wizard, be sure to decline it up to three times.

It’s a proverb in this country. Entering the workshop of a mage with sufficient skills is like entering his stomach.

So this is an obvious trick. Although he was looking embarrassed right now, it was clear that he was plotting something by taking the main force of the knights and I down there.

But I smiled and accepted Juliana’s offer.

“Okay, ma’am. If you say that, it would be wise to respond. Now, please guide me.”

For just a moment, a wicked smile spreads across Juliana’s face. This woman is definitely third-rate as a villain.

Juliana went down the stairs first, followed by me, Philgret, and the two knights.

The space below was almost the same size as the room above. If the chairman’s office above had a calm, orderly atmosphere like the office of a high-ranking person, this place truly felt like a magician’s workshop.

Scrolls and samples are lined up on several desks. In the transparent container, you can see the steam moving up and down as if breathing.

“You saw it, right? This is a space for my personal research and has absolutely nothing to do with William Boy. You must be satisfied with this, right? Now then…”

It certainly seems that William is not here. It also seems to be true that it is a space for magic research.

But if that’s really the case, there’s no reason to create such a secret space.

“That’s right. You were here… studying unholy magic.”

I said that while looking at the scroll spread out on the desk.

Mistletoe in a twisted shape that resembles a cross. Looking at the picture of Mystilia.