Ascendance of a Bookworm

“As for the supervision duties, if permission is granted, I will entrust them to Prince Hildebrandt. If not, we will proceed as we did last year, so please don’t worry.”

Though I doubted permission would be given, I said this indirectly to encourage him, all the while searching my mind for a suitable topic for the tea party. We needed a subject that even Hildebrandt, who hadn’t yet enrolled in the noble academy, could find interesting. Topics related to lectures shared with Hannelore or the social dynamics at the noble academy would only alienate Hildebrandt, who knew nothing about them. Since I’d been told to avoid the precious common ground of the library committee, I couldn’t think of anything right away.

…What topics do royalty enjoy?

With Anastasius, I had only ever talked about Eglantine. As long as we discussed Eglantine, he was generally in a good mood, so that was enough. But with no clue about what Hildebrandt liked, there was nothing I could do. Since he had just finished his baptism ceremony and was supposed to be staying secluded in his room, I had no information about him.

…A topic everyone here can get excited about. The only commonality is the noble academy, right? Ah, that’s it!

“Prince Solange, I’ve always wanted to ask—are you familiar with the Twenty Mysteries of the Noble Academy?”

The moment I brought up the subject, Hannelore and Solange both widened their eyes slightly and eagerly jumped at the change of topic.

“I know a few strange stories handed down at the noble academy, but I don’t think there are as many as twenty.”

“I’ve heard a few as well. Like Solange said, I don’t think there are twenty either.”

It seemed both knew some of the mysteries. Hildebrandt also appeared interested, his bright purple eyes shining as he leaned forward slightly.

“The Twenty Mysteries of the Noble Academy? What kind of stories are they?”

“Students have fun adding to them, merging similar ones, modifying them, so they keep changing shape. Whether they’re true or false, no one even knows their origins. A civil official I know told me these were stories from when our Fathers and Mothers were students at the academy.”

“Please tell us, Rosemine.”

It seemed the change of topic had succeeded. Everyone looked at me with eager faces. Though Hildebrandt looked excited, I felt sorry because I didn’t know the details. Rather, I planned to have Solange and Hannelore speak so I wouldn’t have to say anything unnecessary.

“Well then… there’s the statue of the god that dances on graduation night, the pavilion where the goddess of time plays tricks, the Gewinnen who start the ditter duel, and the unopened archive. I don’t know many details, but Solange-sensei and Lady Hannelore know some of these stories, don’t you? Please share them with us.”

“Arthur, do you know anything?”

Hildebrandt said this, looking up at his attendant. Arthur, a twenty-year-old attendant, smiled wryly and placed a hand on Hildebrandt’s shoulder.

“Please listen carefully to Solange-sensei's story.”

You mustn’t make the attendants the center of attention at a tea party. They should remain in the background. Hildebrandt, out of habit, had asked, then softly murmured “Ah” and faced front. Solange watched the socially inexperienced child with warm eyes and whispered, “Which story should we start with?”

“How about the story of the supreme deity of the altar? There are shrines dedicated to gods scattered throughout the noble academy. There was a mischievous student who kept playing pranks at one of those shrines. Since he never directly harmed students or teachers, he was only admonished. The bolder the student got, the more pranks he played. But one day, after a sudden downpour of brilliant light, he vanished without a trace. That student never returned.”

“Eh? Where did he go?”

When Hildebrandt and Hannelore asked with scared expressions, Solange smiled softly once, then shook her head quietly.

“Unfortunately, no one knows. Even if someone thinks they can sneak past the gods’ eyes and do bad things, the gods see through it all. Princes and princesses must listen well to those around them and behave properly, or the supreme deity of the altar in the inner chamber will awaken and take them away to heights far above.”