How to Survive at the Academy Chapter 197

I knew it would be like this (5)

“Are you feeling well?”

It was already late at night when I felt like I could control my body a bit better.

Opening her eyes wide, she lifted her upper body, overcoming the slight fever that remained in her body, and found herself lying on a soft and comfortable bed.

“…where is it?”

“This is my private room in the Ophelis Hall. I have brought you here at the request of Lady Jenika and Lady Lortel.”

“…”

As expected, I was silent for a moment when I saw Bell standing next to me.

For now, all I remember is that I suddenly became dizzy after drinking a glass of water.

It was difficult to accurately judge the situation on this alone, so I asked Bell to explain further.

“It looks like Miss Patriciana has been in trouble.”

“If it’s Patriciana, is that nerdy sorceress from the 4th year?”

“Yes. Haven’t you seen them before?”

“…hadn’t been entangled in anything good before.”

The other day, he had taken Merilda out for a walk and made a fuss about her being abused at the camp.

Her sister, Tracyana, rushed over and patted the naughty boy on the head, apologizing over and over again, and was just about to let it go. After that, Tracyana took part in the recapture of Elte Corporation.

The girl who used to do that this time is messing around with reagents. After all, isn’t that what people fix?

I sighed deeply with my hatchet eyes open and stared blankly into space for a while.

“So, where is he now?”

“I’m being held in Miss Tracyana’s room.”

“Have you been caught…?”

“When I stopped by the room to check the number of people, I was practicing praying on my knees with Lady Tracyana.”

“…”

“He’s quite alive. He’s not from a military family, so I wondered if he was receiving formal training.”

In fact, Tracyana has done nothing wrong, but it feels like she always gets caught up in Patriciana’s troubles and goes to apologize with her. She did it last time too.

I’m sure this time, he’ll grab Patriciana’s ear and bring her back, pressing her head down and giving her an apologetic look.

“Well, why don’t you come back sooner or later with a bunch of presents? I think Ed’s focus will be on checking your physical condition.”

“Everything I do in my life, I experience all sorts of strange things.”

“You don’t have to worry about post-processing. Miss Tracyana is an expert in this field…”

“… side? What side…?”

I lifted myself up, pressing down on my temples. The headache had subsided quite a bit, but I still felt a slight fever running through my body.

“When Lady Patriciana comes back after a big accident, she apologizes in all sorts of different ways… How many different ways there are depending on the other person, so the school is known as an apology expert.”

“…”

“Well, I bet you’re not interested in gossip like this.”

Bell wondered what he was doing, and he was sitting at a table embroidering.

It wasn’t the usual maid’s outfit with a lot of red rose-patterned decorations. It’s late at night anyway, and there’s nothing left to do, so I’m wearing a bit more comfortable clothes.

No matter what she does, she always dresses neatly and neatly, so it is almost impossible for normal students to see her in her everyday clothes.

Even though it is a simple dress and pajamas, the impression of a person can change dramatically even if only the clothes are changed.

“I’m… I’m stuck with magic these days…”

“You look a little unwell. Do you still have some energy left? You can sleep a little more if you need to.”

“No, I can’t stay in someone else’s bed forever. It’s just… these days, I can’t tell if my common sense is lacking or if the students of this bachelor are weird. Kidnapping experts, apology experts… Drinking water terrorists… .”

“…What is certain is that Master Ed is a very common-sense and rational person. You don’t have to adjust your thinking standards to the environment…”

Indeed… If you think about it, it feels like a normal person can count it on his hand. In particular, the students of the Ministry of Pensions and those who are buried in alchemy seem to be more insane…

What the hell is alchemy… No matter how geeky the science is, there is a degree…

“So… what kind of circumstances did I go through to come to your private room and get lost in it? I’m sorry you wouldn’t have time to rest.”

“It’s okay. I have a lot of things to do tonight anyway.”

“If I just lay it down in my cabin, it will recover on its own, but bringing it here was also a job, right?”

“Well… To give you my opinion without adding or subtracting, it seems that leaving it alone in the cabin would have been a much more dangerous choice. The details… it’s complicated to explain…”

Belle put the scarf she had been embroidering on the table and lost herself in thought.

“It’s just… you might be better off resting here tonight. It doesn’t matter as I have to go out periodically to check on the night watch.”

“…When do you go to sleep?”

“I tend to sleep for a couple of hours in the morning and take a nap during the day when I have a certain amount of free time. I tend to have a loose morning schedule or get a good night’s sleep during vacation.”

A good night’s sleep is not an everyday occurrence, it’s an event.

No matter how strong and diligent I am, if I live with a pattern like that, I will be exhausted someday… On the contrary, when Bell works hard, his skin glows more and he feels full of energy.

There are people for whom work is the vitality of life and work is the best nourishment. People who are born with that kind of thinking usually occupy high positions in bureaucratic society.

The same goes for Bell Maia.

“I thought I was living a pretty hard life, but you’re a real dog.”

“…?”

“…no.”

This is normal. Once such a way of thinking is established, it is rather strange to ask why you live so diligently.

I wasn’t in a position to say anything about it, so I just nodded.

“Can I get you a light snack? Eating sweets will speed up your accident recovery.”

“It’s okay. To some extent, I’ve overcome the energy of the medicine.”

“I see. I heard that you are going to Cleric Monastery this week, but I was worried about what to do if I don’t recover before then.”

“Even so, it’s a small amount. I’ll somehow overcome this level… However, I wonder what to do if there are aftereffects.”

“I asked Lady Tracyana separately about that, but she said there’s no need to worry. She’ll probably come and explain it to me when the sun rises.”

I nodded and opened my eyes wide while holding down the remaining headache.

As soon as my body and mind calmed down, the view of Bell’s private room came into view.

In a word, it was different from what I had imagined.

No matter what anyone says, being the chief maid of Ophelis Hall is a prestigious and high-paying position. It is also a dream job for anyone working in a related field.

Her outfit was also pretty and flashy, so she stood out for a maid whose modesty was always considered a virtue. That’s the only way to do it.

In fact, it is the same position as the face of this Sylvania, assisting all the distinguished guests attending Sylvania on the front line.

It is also a position where students should be assisted and cared for as much as possible. Because her impression soon becomes the impression of Sylvania.

For that kind of thing… the room is very small. A small bed, a wooden table and a work chair in a space of about six or seven pyeong, a moderately bright window and a simple wardrobe with good storage efficiency.

And there are several portraits of great people hanging on the walls. All that was displayed on the table was a framed landscape painting and a dagger with a wildcat pattern on it.

“The maid’s private room is being used as storage.”

Bell seemed to notice the room looking at her puzzled, so she struck first.

“For me, if the room for sleeping and resting is too large, I feel rather floating… so I’m using the same room I used when I was a senior maid.”

“You’re frugal.”

“It’s rather normal.”

Frugality is, to some extent, a relative concept.

No matter how frugal a person is, it is not easy to maintain such an attitude after working in such a luxurious Ophelis building for several years… even holding the title of head maid.

It’s a position where there’s no problem with a little extravagance, but she’s truly worthy of being called a natural maid.

“What were you doing before you became a maid?”

I felt the energy in my body return, and I swung my arms back and forth.

At the same time, I quietly pushed out the question that was sitting in my heart.

Rumors circulated here and there in Ophelis Hall, but it was not revealed on the surface.

There was no need to delve into Bell’s past, but it wouldn’t be a big disrespect to show a little curiosity.

“hmm…”

However, after thinking about it for a while, Bell spoke up.

“It’s not a very interesting story… so I don’t really talk about it.”

Don’t ask.

After seeing that attitude, anyone will interpret its inner meaning like this.

I decided to gloss over the question, thinking that there might be a rough meaning in it.

“Okay, sorry if I’ve been rude. I didn’t mean to dig anything out.”

It can be rude to ask more deeply about personal history than necessary. I thought, let’s put it this way, and apologized politely, but Bell suddenly shook her head.

On the contrary, it seemed more bewildered.

“Gee… I said something misleading. I’m sorry, Master Ed. I didn’t ask a particularly rude question.”

“what?”

“It’s just what it says. It’s not very pleasant… it ends in a gloomy way, so I don’t bother talking about dark things. It’s not really a story to hide.”

Bell picked up the embroidery she had put down and fiddled with the needle again. I wonder if the story is going to be long.

Judging by the scarf that the needle is being threaded through, it is for students. It seems that they are adding more embroidery while doing the repairs, but it could have been done by a low-level maid, but she was doing it herself.

This is the part that reveals Bell’s way of trying to end most of the things that came to her on her own line.

“I was the illegitimate son of the Planzel family in the northeastern part of the Empire. My surname was taken from my mother’s side.”

Like that, Bell casually jumped in.

Even with just that one line of dialogue, while intuition that Bell’s birth was unusual, it was easy to see that his life was not smooth either.

“Do you know Baron Planzel?”

“…I think I’ve heard the name.”

It’s a long name.

However, what is certain is that I have never seen him at the social church in Ross Taylor’s estate. Even though it was a place to send presents, even if you couldn’t come in person, from fairly famous nobles to small and medium-sized nobles.

“Actually, it’s more natural that I don’t remember. The Baron Planzel produced many bureaucrats mainly in charge of long-distance diplomacy with countries on the eastern continent. Geographically, it was located in the northeastern part of the empire, and there were many rough terrain, rather than wagons leading into the interior of the empire. Because I used the sea route a lot.”

“For a baron, he must have been quite old.”

“Well, anyway. You won’t be able to find it on the map anymore. It was merged into the Merlin County. In fact, it’s probably just a microscopic incident from Ed’s point of view, who is from the Roth-Taylor duchy.”

“…”

What does it mean for a noble’s territory to be merged into that of a higher noble?

You can think of many possibilities, but most of them mean that the words are not good.

“As a diplomatic family, I’ve been to foreign countries, especially to the distant eastern continent. I’ve tried to introduce new farming tools and sericulture into the territory, and I’ve also promoted huge civil engineering works to level the rough terrain. “

The name of the Planzel family does not remain in my memory.

However, when I see Belle being able to talk about such details… Sometimes the gap gives me a strange feeling.

For some, a baron on the periphery was just passing by, and for others, it was the cradle that took care of their childhood.

“He made several attempts to make the territory rich, but most of them ended badly.”

“…you were the illegitimate son of the Planzel family…?”

“Yes. He was the son out of wedlock of the official heir, Master Dalvern.”

“It’s… life must’ve not been smooth.”

“Well, if I were a central aristocrat with a fierce power struggle, I would have tried to hide it, but surprisingly I was accepted in a calm manner.”

Since he was pushed out of the power struggle in the first place and is a nobleman from the outskirts who only cares about his own people… Maybe he didn’t even consider the existence of an out-of-wedlock child that could be a political weakness or harm to his eyes.

“Unsurprisingly, I lived in the mansion with some consideration during my childhood. There was almost no attention from the gossip.”

“…”

“So there’s nothing to be said for being hurt while talking about it. I’ve never been ashamed of my status. However, there are some people who are surprised when I say that I’m from an aristocratic family.”

Neither do I.

In a way, isn’t it ironic that the head maid who assists the aristocrat actually came from an aristocratic family?

“But if you think about it once, it’s rather natural. Since it’s a position where you have to treat and manage nobles, wouldn’t it be better to know the etiquette of nobles?”

“If you think about it that way, it is. However, there is no aristocrat in the world who claims to be a maid.”

“That’s why, I was the perfect person to meet. Sometimes the status of an illegitimate child was harsh, but I am very grateful for this status that has allowed me to settle down in recent years.”

In fact, rather than being from an aristocratic family, it seems that the aspect of being smart and sincere appealed more strongly… but I decided not to go into details.

“By the way, isn’t this Aken Island, which is located in the southwest of the northeastern part of the continent, in the complete opposite direction? I accidentally left home and lived a maid life in this faraway land.”

“Ellis-sama, the previous head maid, was an acquaintance of my father. Ellis-sama was also from the Eastern Continent, and he was the one who reached out to children who had nowhere else to go… Also, from a family point of view, no matter how much I had no desire for power, Why don’t you keep the illegitimate child with you until the end? You have to free it to some extent so that it can live its own life.”

At this point I realized

As Bell continued, she was consciously flipping through something grim or somber.

Well, I just had to live. He was from an aristocratic family.

He maintains such a position and talks contemplatively, but there is no way that there was no trials in his life.

I don’t want to make the other person feel gloomy, just in case. Such care is ingrained in the body.

From that appearance, I could see the life of a woman named Bell Mya… Rather, I felt a strange sense of repulsion.

“It must have been difficult.”

“It wasn’t particularly difficult.”

“It was hard.”

“Well, there were times like that, but it’s good when aristocrats also like business cards. Since you spent your childhood in the Ross-Tyler duchy, I don’t dare to give you a business card.”

Skillfully passing it off as a compliment to the other person’s authority is the appearance of an adult who has mastered the way things are done to some extent.

“…okay.”

Here, I folded a number.

However, Bell Maia, perhaps conscious of the fact that I had taken a step back in that way, put her embroidery down for a while and looked at me intently.

“Actually, who hasn’t had a hard time? Everyone has ups and downs in life, and especially in a special environment like Ophelis Hall, you see such a scene more often.”

“I can’t bear to say no. Right now, starting with me, the family is stumbling around.”

“Yes. That’s right, so I’m not asking for sympathy for my misfortune or pleading for sympathy by bringing in a petty tragedy.”

The round moon outside the window.

The permeating moonlight, as always, illuminates the world equally.

Unlike the dazzling midday sun, it is a light that casts a shadow, but there are times when the light that subtly permeates as if it is present or not is rather more calming to people’s hearts.

If the light is bright, it is dazzling. Sometimes, there are times when you need a light shining softly from behind.

In fact, Bell Maia was such a human being as a lantern. She doesn’t show up, but she’s the kind of person who’s clearly there.

“Still, it wouldn’t be polite to dismiss Ed by saying don’t pay attention to Master Ed’s curiosity.”

“No, it’s okay. Rather, it’s my curiosity that’s insignificant. I’m busy living my life, but I don’t have the energy to even ask about the past of other people’s lives. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to tell me.”

“No. I’m not saying it because I don’t like it. It’s rather my honest feeling that I want to say it.”

“…?”

I’m not saying I’m not proud of my misfortune.

When I looked dumbfounded at the attitude that contradicted what he had said a few seconds ago, Bell Maia also added a comment with a shy expression.

“What I just said is general, and if the opponent is Ed Ed, there is also a change of heart on this side.”

“A change of heart? Are you saying you have something you want to tell me?”

“Yes. Well… Since you’re Master Ed, there’s something I want you to hear.”

It’s embarrassing to see a woman who has always been businesslike no matter who she treats come out like this.

However, I am not a person who deserves to have personal feelings for me. I know that fact, and Bell knows it well.

Rather, there are relationships that are comfortable because they are businesslike. Because I had an insight into that fact, I raised a white flag and spoke to Bell, who was persistently forcing me to use honorifics.

“Do you know about the end of the Planzel family?”

Whoever it is, tragedy and comedy intersect in life.

If you reflect on the way you have lived, there must have been a lot of sad and happy things.

I don’t know how many tragedies lay in Bell’s past, but my intuition was calling out.

At least in this case, it was the thickest among the murky past that Bell had been hiding.

As always, the graceful and clean tone of the voice remains the same.

“From a macro-historical point of view… yes, a periphery aristocrat without a desire for power usually meets a similar end.”

“Was it used as a throwaway card in the power struggle of high-ranking nobles?”

“It’s similar. It’s an obvious story to explain, but I remember the ending clearly. It’s a story from when I was young. Just at that time, Alice, the head maid from the previous generation, came to the Planzel Mansion as an honored guest.”

Belle closes her eyes.

What he must have looked like as a child, only Bell himself knows.

Bell does not go into details. She just blurts out and talks.

“There was talk that the amount of tribute demanded by the Marquis Merlin, the lord, could no longer be met with the tax revenue within the estate. The baron’s valuables were sold, the servants were fired, and personal assets were robbed, but the estate’s warehouse continued to grow. It was empty.”

“…”

I had some guesses, but I just listened with my mouth shut.

“The baron went to his lord, the Margrave Merlin, and tried to appeal to him, but it didn’t work at all. When he told him to give up at least one person, Baron Planzel realized. What the Margrave Merlin wanted to offer as a tribute was anything but a relatively beautiful appearance. He was the illegitimate son of an insignificant baron.”

He’s talking like a stranger, but the illegitimate child’s name is probably—

“It’s not a person whose name is listed on the family tree, it’s just a planche’s illegitimate child who is only half blooded… It’s enough to just give it away. Surprisingly, living with the possessions of the Marquis may be a happier life for the person himself. Well, it’s a hand jab, but it’ll take a while.”

“…”

“However, for some reason, the baron was just staring at the illegitimate child he had raised in his arms with a vague eye. Family love sometimes leads to a curse that blocks a person’s path.”

The speed of the hand embroidering stitch by stitch is constant.

Bell Maia was a maid who faithfully carried out her assigned tasks at any time.

“However, the baron came up with a groundbreaking method. A way to forcefully publicize the matter so that even the central nobles can’t easily overlook it while the Marquess doesn’t move as he wants and takes a blow.”

“…”

“It was a truly innovative solution that could completely eliminate all the pain that had been inflicted on him.

No longer have to see the suffering of the people of the province, no longer have to take responsibility for the remorse of turning a blind eye to them, no longer have to be heartbroken by the sad face of an ignorant illegitimate illegitimate child, It’s a way to get out of here once and for all.

“

“what is that?”

asked lightly.

The answer came back heavy.

“All you need to bring is a few things to prepare. A long rope and an old, shabby wooden chair.”

“…”

“The rope should be long enough to be looped and tied to the ceiling, and the chair should be light enough to be easily kicked over.”

The words ended there.

silence.

Maybe 30 seconds? Is it 1 minute?

Without talking to each other like that, I quietly lowered my gaze in the quiet room.

“It’s not a story that ends so gloomily. Should I say it’s good and punishing evil? Like in a traditional fairy tale, the Marquis Merlin faces a terrible end.”

“I’ve roughly heard the story. It’s a story that all senior professors know.”

“That’s right. The story of Marquis Merlin is certainly famous. Two years later, while trying to buy off the Prime Minister of the country without hesitation, he was met with a headwind and went down magnificently. Since the evil deeds in the meantime have accumulated… It’s a natural consequence. But… I do think like that.”

Bell spoke with her eyes closed.

Normally, I don’t dare to say it, but since the other person is Ed, I really want to say it.

I now understand the meaning of those words.

“It’s not a very good decision to kill yourself.”

“…”

“No one knows what will happen in the future.”

If the baron had closed his eyes and handed over his illegitimate son to the Marquis at that time, he might have laughed heartily at his downfall two years later.

Saying that, Belle opened her eyes gently and inserted a needle into her scarf.

The back of the young girl who opened the baron’s door and entered.

Only Bell at that time could remember what kind of scene was reflected in her youthful eyes.

“Sorry for the gloomy talk.”

“No. It’s nothing to apologize for. And to tell you the truth, I’m living as hard as I can.”

“I know too. Master Ed is living his life harder than anyone else.”

Bell put down her embroidery for a moment and looked out the moonlit window.

“Fortunately.”

“Tell me when you go to Cledric Monastery. I’ll give you some refreshments and some presents to enjoy on the way.”

“Thank you for the refreshments, what is the present?”

“The abbot is someone I know. He’s helped me a lot in many ways, and he’s a nice person. I want to give you a gift while I’m on my way, so the refreshments are like a bribe to ask for the gift delivery.”

“There’s no need to bribe something like that… It’s a snack, but I’ll be grateful.”

Before long, Bell lifted the candlestick in the corner of the room, thinking she was going to check on the night watchman.

“I think it’s better to wake up in the morning when the sun rises. It’s not recommended to walk in the forest at night until you feel better.”

“Is that so… I think it would be better to calm down and go out…”

“Well, you’ve been through a lot of embarrassing things. There are so many times in my life that I’m dumbfounded and encounter unexpected situations… Every time I do that, there’s something I consciously say.”

Bell lifted the hem of her dress as if to rest in peace, bowed politely and said.

“Even if I’m a bit embarrassed, I always say it like a habit, as if I’m telling myself.”

Much of Bell’s past is still a mystery. Even if she only saw that piece for a while, she shouldn’t try to judge her life carelessly.

It must have been a life full of all kinds of trials that I couldn’t have imagined.

Nonetheless, it was something she had always rummaged through. As if she was hypnotizing herself.

As if he had predicted from the beginning that things would turn out like this. This is the secret to maintaining a lofty figure, as if there was no need to panic at all.

*

“…I knew it would be like this.”

It was the next morning when Patriciana and Tracyana broke through the door and put their heads first on the floor.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!!!!! I committed a sin to death!!!!!!”

The series of processes of opening the door, throwing a pile of presents on the table, sliding on the floor and hitting the head were almost art.

The figure of Tracyana sitting next to her and putting her head down at the same time, with Patriciana’s head stuck on the floor.

If I had to give art points, it would be close to 100 points out of 10 points.

“My little brother!!!! Even if he doesn’t know anything, he doesn’t know too much!!!!”

“…Ah, ah…! It hurts…! Ugh, uhh… I’m sorry…”

“I’m really, really sorry!!!! I’m so sorry!!!!!!!!!! I do!!!!!”

I was sitting on the bed, looking down at my twin sisters, who were hanging their heads, with a puzzled look on their faces.

No matter how much I was, the sight of a 4th grade senior putting his head down… was a bit awkward to just watch.