The snow storm battered Daiern Castle for one more full day before passing. However, the ordeal of the two children that had swept in with the snow storm was not yet over.
Chersion still had not given up his intention to become a mage. Euphemina…
‘For now, I made up an excuse that the collar decoration irritated and wounded her neck.’
I’m not sure if she believed it or not.
I’d like to think she believes it since she hasn’t mentioned it again.
‘But for that, Euphemina’s attitude towards Sir Joseph is strangely not the same as before.’
Let me give a few examples.
First, there were many cases where she would stare intently at Sir Joseph for a long time with an expression that made it impossible to tell what she was thinking.
During meals, walks, etc.
Also, whenever she happened to encounter Sir Joseph, Euphemina would stop walking and completely halt whatever she was doing to silently gaze at him.
‘Just hearing this much makes me feel uneasy.’
But this isn’t the end of it.
Once when their eyes met after such a stare, Sir Joseph asked Euphemina, “Do you have something to say to me, young lady?”
Euphemina reportedly answered like this, with a sweet cotton candy-like smile blooming across her face.
Ah, how frightening.
It’s strange. Why is my daughter so scary?
Just thinking about it makes my skin crawl. What on earth could she be thinking about?
“There won’t be any big problem, will there?”
I must have been hugging myself and trembling without realizing it.
Sir Joseph wrapped the shawl he had on his shoulders around me as he spoke.
“Who do you think I am?”
“…”
That kind eye smile certainly had the power to put people at ease.
Before I knew it, my heart melted like snow and my shoulders relaxed.
Well, Sir Joseph is a mage. And a great knight too.
He’s someone who can sufficiently stop Euphemina even if she tries to do something dangerous.
Ah, of course, Euphemina is kind and gentle, not the type of child to do anything harmful to others.
“More importantly, my lady.”
“Yes?”
It was then that Sir Joseph touched my collar, which was buttoned up to my neck.
“When can we continue where we left off… Oof!”
Ah, I’m sorry. I stepped on your foot in a moment of panic.
“Are you alright, Sir Joseph? I’m sorry, it was an accident.”
“An accident… you say?”
“Yes, truly an accident.”
It may sound like a lie, but it’s true. Since the night of the snow storm, I’ve become strangely sensitive to sensations on my neck.
…Now that I think about it.
When I returned to my room later and examined my neck, I was absolutely horrified.
Everywhere Sir Joseph’s breath had touched was red and purple as if bruised.
Looking closely, there were even teeth marks.
‘He’s crazy, absolutely crazy!’
It’s fortunate Euphemina is still a child.
Anyone could see these were marks made with clear intention and purpose.
First, I silenced Loretta, who was flustered and at a loss for what to do.
Since that day, I’ve been deliberately wearing only clothes with high necks like this.
“Anyway, let’s stop such useless talk and make plans to visit the Landgritz estate. For departure…”
Knock knock, there was a sound at the door.
The head butler, Gilaine, entered, bowed his head, and delivered his message.
“My lady. The people dispatched from the Academy to oversee the young master’s entrance exam have arrived.”
They’ve come just in time.
Fortunately, they weren’t any later. I rose from where I had been buried in the office chair.
“Show them to the reception room right away. Move their luggage to the prepared guest rooms, and it would be good to do one final check of the rooms.”
He would take care of the more detailed instructions without me having to say them.
I needed to change into clothes suitable for greeting guests, so I had to leave the office.
“It would be good if we could depart for Landgritz right after Kardiel’s exam is over. If it’s alright with you, could Sir Joseph take charge of this?”
“If my lady trusts me with it.”
Saying he would gladly do so, he kissed the tips of my fingers.
“By the way, my lady…”
Suddenly his whisper settled upon me.
“Actually, those kiss marks can be erased with the ointment I gave you before.”
…Huh?
“Of course, if you don’t erase them, I’ll be very thrilled.”
[This is the timeline separator]When I heard that the Academy entrance exam would be conducted through a visit, I was curious about exactly how it would be done.
After all, the exam dates differ, and above all, wouldn’t there be a great risk of cheating since it’s taken in the space where the examinee is most comfortable?
So I asked Sergei about it once.
Of course, I didn’t ask thinking he would know.
Even if the Academy is under the Tower of Honor, I didn’t think the Sages would be directly involved in the Academy entrance exam.
Surprisingly, my expectations were off the mark.
As it turns out, in the case of visiting exams, besides the same exam questions as other examinees, there is an additional test to be taken.
It was exam questions directly set by the Sages.
Sergei said he had set these exam questions before as well.
Because the questions have to be different for each visit.
Also, from the moment the proctor visits, the examinee cannot meet any other family members or servants for two days.
They only meet the proctor and are served only by the people the proctor brings.
“Today is the second day of the exam. The Academy, huh. If I had known earlier that the young lord was preparing for the Academy, I would have prepared too. What a pity.”
At these unexpected words, I looked up from my tea.
I wasn’t the only one surprised; everyone sitting around in the reception room focused their attention on Prince Raphael.
Right now, an early tea time was in full swing in the reception room of Daiern Castle.
It was almost time for Kardiel’s Academy entrance exam to end.
Although it’s obvious he’ll pass, maybe because I’ve become a mother, it was difficult to just wait with peace of mind.
In the end, I was about to pace outside the room where Kardiel had stayed yesterday and today, along with Sir Joseph.
I couldn’t have imagined meeting Sergei and Prince Raphael in front of that room.
Listening to their story, their positions were a bit different from mine.
Sergei was standing there to say “Congratulations,” while Prince Raphael said he just wanted to see Kardiel’s face.
He said he had felt lonely for the past two days.
That’s the situation that led to this tea time in a nearby reception room.
“Your Highness, the Academy, you say?”
At Sergei’s question, Prince Raphael, who was scratching his chin with an embarrassed smile, opened his mouth.
“Yes. Actually, His Majesty the Emperor mentioned it once. He said to consider enrolling since it’s a place where I can learn the necessary knowledge for a monarch and also form friendships with outstanding talents in advance. At that time, I was feeling suffocated being confined in the imperial palace, so I shuddered at the thought of being confined again in the Academy, but…”
Well. I heard that upon entering the Academy, everyone has to live in dormitories. They say external access is also restricted until graduation.
“If I’m with the young lord… I think it wouldn’t feel confining.”
Oh ho. I covered my mouth in genuine surprise.
“Even just being able to have sword practice with the young lord every morning and evening would be enjoyable.”
For a moment, that young face smiling brightly seemed so lovable.
Especially since Prince Raphael was openly expressing his friendship with Kardiel.
Although I had hoped for Prince Raphael to get along well with the children, relationships can’t always go according to parents’ wishes, can they?
Suddenly, my head tilted. Words that were difficult to understand had crept into my ears.
“But sword practice? Kardiel hasn’t been properly learning swordsmanship for long, so wouldn’t he be insufficient as an opponent for Your Highness?”
I had heard that Prince Raphael had subdued the gang of ruffians that Dorothea had been using before without major injury.
It seemed natural to think that Kardiel wouldn’t be suitable as a sparring partner for such a prince, unless he was in a position to learn from him.
“Pardon? Surely not.”
But Prince Raphael shook his head with round eyes at my words.
Strangely enough, even Sir Joseph, sitting next to me, was chuckling as if my words were amusing.
“Now that I see, it seems the young lord is quite modest and has never boasted to you, my lady, but in fact, even when he started learning from me, he already had more than basic skills.”
“What?”
Now it was my turn to be surprised.
What does this mean?
As I blinked my eyes, asking for a detailed explanation, Sir Joseph and Prince Raphael began to expound competitively on how excellent Kardiel was.
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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