Published: August 25, 2025
Angerica threw herself into her studies with such intensity that her expression changed, aiming for the fourth stage of mana compression methods. She seemed very eager to increase her mana to dedicate it to the Demonic Sword Steinluk.
“Lady Rosemine’s compression method is amazing. I deeply respect how you keep coming up with new ideas one after another,” Angerica said.
The one who had to keep up with Angerica’s straightforward rush toward her goals was Brother Cornelius. Alongside Darmel, he had been teaching Angerica for several years as part of the “Raise Angerica’s Grades Squad,” and since he had completed all the classroom studies up to the highest grade just to teach her, he was well qualified.
Brother Cornelius had already finished his own classroom studies so that he could accompany my library visits, only occasionally attending practical lectures. Now, besides accompanying me to the library, he was serving as the instructor for Angerica and the knight apprentices during their study sessions in the multipurpose hall after breakfast and dinner.
“Cornelius, being Angerica’s teacher must be tough, right? Are you managing okay?”
“If Lady Rosemine didn’t go to the library, it would be much easier. How about reducing library visits to once every two days?”
He smiled sweetly and made an outrageous suggestion. I smiled sweetly in return, shook my head, and decided to encourage Brother Cornelius as much as I could.
“There are less than three weeks until I return to Ehrenfest. I believe in you, Cornelius. Please keep up the good work.”
“You have no intention to restrain yourself, do you?”
Brother Cornelius shrugged lightly, as if to say there was no use arguing. He seemed to think that no matter what he said, it was useless.
When I heard “restrain myself,” I placed my hand on my cheek and tilted my head.
“...Restrain myself? I faintly recall having discarded that a long time ago.”
“Restraint is not something to be discarded! Go pick it up!”
Brother Cornelius’s immediate reply made me think of Benno’s fist, and I felt a bit nostalgic.
...Ah, I need to contact Benno and tell him that we might need a large amount of Rinshan and plant paper. We’ll also need to discuss whether we’re going to sell the manufacturing method.
While thinking about teaching him as soon as possible when I returned for the dedication ceremony, Brother Cornelius cupped my cheeks with both hands and pressed them together firmly.
“Lady Rosemine, please don’t suddenly zone out and get lost in your thoughts. Listen to what others say until the end.”
“Please let go!”
I grabbed Brother Cornelius’s wrist, but I couldn’t pry away the hand of a knight apprentice like him. If this went on, my precious face would get squashed.
As I struggled to free my hands, Brother Cornelius’s eyes, which had been angry at first, gradually shifted to amusement.
“You and Lady Rosemine are very close siblings, aren’t you?”
Leonore giggled softly, and Brother Cornelius gasped lightly, hurriedly letting go. Then, he glanced at both of us with a somewhat troubled look.
“It’s only since coming to the noble academy that Lady Rosemine and I have had these kinds of exchanges. We only lived together during the pre-baptism education period.”
“This kind of lighthearted exchange with Cornelius is one of the nice things about the noble academy,” I said.
At the castle, if we didn’t keep a very strict distance, we would be reprimanded. Since we had only interacted as a guard knight and the lord’s adopted daughter, we were only able to close the distance after coming to the noble academy. Still, it could not be said that we had a fully sibling-like relationship.
Leonore looked at me with interest, so I decided to try bringing up a romance-related topic with Brother Cornelius.
“By the way, for the noble academy graduation ceremony, one needs an escort, right? I heard that if a lady doesn’t have a partner, a relative will attend for her. What about the men? Brother Cornelius, would your mother be your escort?”