Volume 2 - CH 13

It was the first day after the holidays.

Despite our fleeting hopes, Fol didn’t return to school. Alicia, after hearing about it in the Student Council meeting room after school, brought up that she wanted to pay Fol a visit. However, at this point, not only did Prince Alforth already know that Fol belonged to the royal family, but so did Lady Sophia. It wasn’t possible for them to just carelessly say: ‘Let’s go visit her!’. Therefore, the two of them answered Alicia’s request with silence.

“What’s the matter with you two? A member of the Student Council is sick!”

“I know that. However, Fol is…”

Lady Sophia’s words were evasive. In truth, she probably really did want to go visit her. Sensing that to be the case, Prince Alforth raised his voice.

“Let’s go.”

“You know where Fol lives, Prince Alforth?”

Alicia, who lacked information, was puzzled.

Afterwards, Prince Alforth said that he would prepare a horse carriage and lead us there. And since the carriage would be entering the royal castle –

Upon having realized the situation, it was understandable that Alicia raised her voice in a very un-ladylike manner.

We were led to the royal castle’s waiting room.

Prince Alforth was negotiating a personal meeting with Fol for us, so we were all waiting to be granted permission. However, it seemed like Alicia still wasn’t over her shock.

“How long are you going to stay astonished for?”

“I-I mean, she’s from the royal family! I’ve never interacted so familiarly with royalty… Won’t I get scolded for lèse-majesté, since I’ve been calling her by her name1?”

Looking back on her past actions and words, it seemed that Alicia was feeling anxious. However, I wondered whether she had forgotten that she had Prince Alforth as her violin practice partner? Though, even if she had been told that she was familiar with royalty, I strongly felt like it would have been of no use.

“You do not need to worry. She isn’t someone who would get angry about something like that. She hid her social status because she wished to get to know everyone as one of your upperclassmen instead of as a member of royalty.” 

“…Is… that right? Wait, does that mean that you already knew, Cyril?”

Since I wasn’t in a position to properly talk about it, I merely nodded in agreement. In response, Alicia grumbled: “So you knew and still let me call her Fol… you’re so cruel, Cyril…”

“As expected, people will notice the speck in someone’s eye, but won’t notice the log that is in their own.”2

Later, we gained permission to visit Fol. However, we were requested to divide into smaller groups, so Lady Sophia and I ended up being the first ones to go visit her. And the ones who came to pick us up in the waiting room – were none other than Luke and Chloe.

“…I see. So the person you work for…”

“Yes. Chloe and I serve Eldest Daughter Fol.”

With this information, I was able to piece a lot of things together, like the identity and intentions of the woman who was Fol’s tutor. The hypothesis that I had built up had just gained a little bit more credibility. However, I didn’t yet know whether this hypothesis was correct or not. Therefore, in order to confirm it, I let myself be led to Fol’s room, along with Lady Sophia.

We were led to Fol’s bedroom. There wasn’t really anything in the room that would suggest that a teenage girl of royal blood was living there. Her diary, that she would always vigorously scribble with her pen in, was the only thing lined up on a shelf, as if to prove that she was alive. 

In the middle of this room, Fol was laying down on a princess bed, with her upper body raised up.

“Sophia. And Cyril as well. You came all the way just to visit me.”

“…Good morning, Fol.”

Lady Sophia greeted her in a very un-ladylike fashion. However, it was understandable that Lady Sophia would find it hard to choose the right words. Fol’s blond hair looked a little dull and her face was also pale. Just at a glance, one could notice her pitiful state.

“I apologize for worrying you the other day.”

“Please, don’t apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong, Fol.”

“…You still call me Fol.”

There was a hint of sadness, but beyond that, the expression on Fol’s face was happy. The girl‘s face showed such a smile that anyone could tell that her chest was bursting from happiness.

“I apologize for getting involved with you,” she muttered.

“…Why, why would you say something like that?”

“You must know by now, right? I don’t have much time left. And yet, I have become close friends with you all even though I knew that, someday, I would cause you great sadness.”

“What are you saying?! Even if a sorrowful parting might come one day, I do not regret becoming friends with you, Fol!”

“…You do not… regret it?”

Fol’s eyes widened in surprise.

“I won’t regret it. Even if I were able to go back to that day, I would still choose to become friends with you, Fol.”

“…Thank you. I didn’t expect you to say something like that.”

Fol let out a somewhat embarrassed laugh. Afterwards, little by little, she began to open up about her current condition. It wasn’t much different from what we had heard from her maid. She told us that she didn’t know whether she would live for more than half a year.

I tried to probe for the name of the illness, but as expected, she wouldn’t tell me. She merely said that it didn’t make her stay always bedridden like this. From time to time, her condition would worsen, but once it improved, she would be able to return to her normal life.

“I have a request for you. Can’t we perform the play like we had planned to?”

“…Perform the play? Would that not be harmful to your body?”

“It might be. However, I want to leave something behind to prove that I was alive.”

Faced with Fol’s ardent wish, Lady Sophia clutched at her own heart.

“At first, I thought I would be satisfied with leaving behind just my diary. But when I heard your joyful musical performance, I thought that I didn’t just want to leave something like that behind. I wanted to try to do something that would leave a trace of me in someone’s heart.”

That was the reason why she had a change of heart and allowed Lady Sophia to become a member of the Student Council.

‘I want to linger in someone’s heart. I don’t want to be forgotten.’ It was the last means of resistance left for a girl who knew that she couldn’t escape death. My chest felt painful when hearing her sorrowful cry of ‘I don’t want to die!’ 

Lady Sophia turned her gaze towards me. I felt that she was seeking out my opinion, so I responded with a nod. Encouraged by my action, Lady Sophia turned her gaze back to Fol.

“I understand. Let’s perform the play like we have planned.”

“…Would that be alright?” 

Fol’s blue eyes were wide open.

“We might have known each other for only a short time, but you’ve treated me very kindly, Fol. I have no reason to refuse your wish.”

“…I’m so happy. Chloe and Luke wished me to stop it, saying that it’s detrimental to my body.”

There was no servant that didn’t worry for their master’s body. However, when serving someone, there will naturally be times when the master’s wishes go against the servant’s good intentions. Nevertheless, I believed that, if their master wished for it with all their heart, it was the servant’s duty to fulfill said wish.

That was the reason why neither Chloe nor Luke had tried to stop us from visiting.

As servants, they must be consumed by doubt regarding whether Fol had understood their intentions or not. 

…No, I was sure that Fol understood what Chloe and Luke were thinking. After all, she was very similar to Lady Sophia.

If she wished to leave behind memories of her even when she fully understood the situation, there was nothing others could do to interfere.

Thinking along these lines, I took a step back and watched over Lady Sophia and Fol’s conversation.

In this manner, it was decided that the Student Council’s play would take place according to schedule. 

Since a long visit would be detrimental to Fol’s body, the conversation came to a close after that. However, just when we were on the verge of leaving, Fol addressed me.

“Cyril, my tutor is curious about you. Do you have… any idea why?”

These words were sudden, but not unexpected. I got a little nervous because my Lady was present, but Fol kept her sentence ambiguous. It seemed she was considerate of my situation.

Nonetheless-

“Before I answer that, please let me ask you two things. What is that tutor to you?”

“To me? I would say… that she is to me what you are to Lady Sophia.”

Thinking about it objectively, she probably meant that they were a servant that she felt she could trust. However, I hate to say so myself, but if that was all she meant, then there was no need for Fol to compare her to how Lady Sophia sees me.

It was possible that she knew about Lady Sophia’s feelings. But, since Fol’s tutor was a woman, her words probably didn’t have that kind of meaning.

Since that was the case, I needed to consider what other nuances beyond that there could be.

For example – the connection between a transmigrator and their student. Fol’s tutor was a transmigrator, and she suspected me to be one as well. The chance of Fol knowing this was high. 

However-

“Then, my second question. Do you know what your tutor’s intentions are?”

“I feel like she’s curious about you because you are similar to her.”

“…I see.”

Then that meant that it was because we were both transmigrators. However, Fol had phrased that as a guess. The underlying meaning was that she wouldn’t know why her tutor was looking for other transmigrators.

I had a few ideas on why this tutor hadn’t explained her reasons to Fol. And, since they trusted each other, I was able to narrow those reasons down even more.

At first, I didn’t think it was a realistic possibility. However, remembering  the words Lady Sophia had said after their dance, during the entrance exam, and what Fol had said just now, I could see ‘her’ true form.

Therefore-

“Would you let me speak to your tutor?”

I was expressing that I was curious about her as well.

“…Are you saying that you’re going to satisfy her curiosity?”

“I’m not sure. I won’t know until I hear what she has to say. It is possible that I won’t be of any use to her. However, I think that I want to try and talk to her. Please, could you tell her that?”

If my hypothesis was correct, this should be more than enough to make my intentions clear.

And yet-

“I understand. Then, I’ll arrange for you two to talk after the school festival,” Fol said, probably without understanding all the facts.

I casually told her that it would be best to meet with her tutor as soon as possible, but she seemed to have promised Fol that she could do whatever she wanted until the school festival.

There were about two weeks to go until the festival. Naturally, ‘she’ understood that there wasn’t much time left. Moreover, if she had also decided that it was alright to meet after two weeks, then she had probably devised a plan on how to make it in time before then.

While it made me a little anxious to leave the decision to someone else… I also felt that it would all work out. I might have gotten laughed at if I were to talk about my reasoning, but I still dared to say that it was valid. Therefore, I accepted Fol’s suggestion and promised to meet with ‘her’ on the last day of the school festival.

That night, I was summoned by Master Grave. The man waiting in the office looked somewhat exhausted. To someone like me, the amount of responsibility he must have to carry as the head of a Marquis household, was unimaginable. 

“Cyril, I have several things I want to talk to you about. Firstly, I want to talk about the play.”

Naturally, I had told Master Grave that Lady Sophia was performing in a play. I thought that, being the doting father he was, he would leave his schedule open so that he could perhaps attend the play somehow, and that was the reason why he had business with me. But I was wrong.

“An unofficial request came from the King. He wishes for the play to become a success no matter what.”

It seemed that Fol’s ardent wish had reached the King’s ears, and he had sent a letter asking us to take good care of his niece. It seemed like simple small talk, but the contents were still a request from the King. We were forced into a position where failure, let alone refusal, wasn’t allowed. Nonetheless, since Lady Sophia herself was enthusiastic about the play, there was only one way for me to answer.

“Please, leave it to me. No matter what, I will make the play a success.”

“Yes, leaving it up to you does put me at ease… is what I would like to say. However, I will give you this piece of advice instead. Don’t involve yourself with the play too much and behave prudently for a while.”

I wasn’t able to nod in agreement immediately. The main reason was that I wasn’t able to understand why he would tell me such a thing. I quickly mulled over the thought in my head.

“You’re telling me not to participate in the performance?”

I was only going to be the narrator. However, the play’s main stars were royalty and the daughter of a Marquis. It could be said that simply taking part in it would be an extraordinary honour. 

“No, I am not telling you to go that far. This advice is for your sake. Since your work is very spectacular, the royal family have set their eyes on you. You probably know what I mean?”

“…Yes. Because of the matter of being Prince Alforth’s temporary tutor.”

Although I had gotten permission from the Queen, objectively speaking, it was still quite a big deal. A butler from another household, not to mention a child, was arrogantly addressing a member of the royal family. It wouldn’t be strange for people to frown down upon it.

“…No, it probably goes beyond that.”

“Of course, I do have some ideas in mind… are you saying that it has become a problem?”

I thought that we were discussing the matter of a butler from a Marquis household behaving audaciously. However, Master Grave immediately denied the idea.

“You’ve been honoured with the gratitude of the royal family. That is precisely the problem. The royal family has completely set their eyes on you now.”

“…I see.”

So we were talking about me getting recruited. If I were to be scouted by the royal family, I wouldn’t be able to stay by Lady Sophia’s side. If I didn’t want that to happen, I should not stick out any more than I have so far. To add to that, the fact that he was telling me about this certainly meant that he had rejected a request from the royal family for my sake. Therefore, I bowed my head in gratitude for his advice.

…However, in addition to Prince Alforth’s tutoring being already a done thing, teaching him was for Lady Sophia’s sake too. When I thought about that, I couldn’t refuse. In order for the play to be a success, just like the royal family requested, it was necessary for him to improve even more.

It would appear that I have fallen into a quite dangerous situation.

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