Vladimir’s eyes widened in surprise. “Lady Lydia is giving up? She was the best candidate for our house.”
“You say the strangest things,” Zamira said after a burst of laughter. “The House of Selesnoa is ambitious. They intended to carve a path out for themselves by pushing aside the three grand ducal houses. Besides, Duke Georgi has made his intentions very clear. He’ll devote every resource to putting your younger sister on the throne.”
“It has to look that way from the outside,” Vladimir replied. “The Selesnoas wouldn’t have had the power to do much, even as maternal relatives of the emperor. The moment they realized that, they would have come running to us for support. Holding the reins from the shadows was the best path for us.” Vladimir paused. “Of all people, you shouldn’t take my father’s words at face value.”
“Why shouldn’t I? I’m looking forward to Lady Elizaveta sitting on the empress’s throne, while you lead this empire in the right direction as the duke of Yulmagna and maternal uncle of the future emperor.”
Vladimir sighed. “You know full well such a future will never come to pass.”
“I don’t,” Zamira shot back, a serious expression on her face. She gazed at Vladimir, still close to him. “What I know full well is that no one but you should become the next duke of Yulmagna. That is why I will see Lady Elizaveta become the empress—no matter the cost.”
“What are you even thinking?”
“You can’t tell? I burn with ambition.” The corners of Zamira’s lips lifted once again. “I want to become a duchess—to become your partner.”
“How peaceful...” I said during our short recess between two classes. It was about a week after I had met the former emperor and empress.
“It certainly is,” Flora replied with a smile.
“I’m so sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused you,” Olga said softly. She folded forward, making herself even smaller out of guilt.
I shook my head. “Please, don’t be. I’m simply glad we can spend time with you.”
“Me too! Imagine just how much we’ll be able to brag in the future. We’re spending three years in the same class as two people who got invited to the garden of the God of Music!” Marina exclaimed.
I had no doubt the rest of the class shared this opinion. However, it was true that the previous week had been anything but restful.
Right after the summer vacation ended and the second semester started, I’d made the acquaintance of Lydia Selesnoa, the daughter of a marquess. Lydia was a blood relative of the previous empress, and her number one objective had been to become empress herself, which meant she’d seen me as a rival. The former empress had been invited to the garden of the God of Music in her youth, which had eventually led to her winning the heart of the former emperor. Hoping to earn that honor for herself and walk down the same path, Lydia had spent her life honing her singing.
Completely unaware of that, I’d organized a musical evening to deepen the friendships between everyone in my class. During that little get-together, I’d sung a big hit from my past life, while Olga and Renato—who’d only been able to participate after many twists and turns—had performed a local song from Olga’s marquessate. All three of us had ended up earning Lydia’s ire, which had in turn prompted me to put a plan into action. I’d tried to get the former emperor and empress to praise Olga’s singing and, as a result...Olga and Renato had both been summoned by the God of Music, right in front of Lydia!
This had been a triumphant victory for me and the House of Yulnova, and a crushing defeat for Lydia and the rest of the Selesnoas.
But that wasn’t important right now. Olga and Renato’s invitation to the garden of the God of Music had been recorded by the Music Sanctuary, which had informed the school. After Olga and Renato had returned, they’d gone straight from the detached palace to the Music Sanctuary. They’d only returned to the academy the following day.
Those who’d received an invitation from the God of Music were allowed to enter the sanctuary right away. If Olga and Renato had decided to do so, they would have been allowed to drop out of school. Normally, young men and women with enough mana to satisfy the admission criteria were required to attend the Magic Academy. However, those who’d been touched by divine grace were special cases and could be exempted.
However, Renato and Olga had both elected to keep attending classes. As mana wielders, they believed it was beneficial to learn mana control. They’d come to the conclusion that no matter what they did in the future, completing their educations could only benefit them. Personally, I thought that was the right choice.
So, they’d returned to the academy in a carriage from the Music Sanctuary. Plenty of students had rushed to look at the curious scene unfolding and had seen the priests bowing to them as they bid Olga and Renato farewell, before the two of them returned to their dorms.
Obviously, the story had taken the school by storm.
It was a good thing, so there was no point in concealing the truth, but we’d gone from the uproar about the musical evening to this one. Discussion topics and rumors, I’d come to realize, really tended to stretch on and on in this world. The previous commotion hadn’t even settled before another prod at the hornets’ nest set the school abuzz again.
For a while, students kept looking in from the window of our class to peek at Olga and Renato, and they’d stay close in the hope of hearing them sing or play.
It was no way for nobles to behave, but although almost every student at the academy was in fact noble, the great majority of them were lower nobles. They were also a group of teens. Curiosity and energy oftentimes won over etiquette.
Many had already caught a glimpse of Olga and Renato, and the teachers were making the rounds to shoo away unrelated students, so things had finally started to calm down.
“I must say, I’m glad you decided to stay at the academy,” I said.
“Thank you, Lady Ekaterina. Being here with everyone is so much fun. I wanted to stay until the end,” Olga replied with a smile. Her cheeks reddened, and she added, “Besides, Lord Renato said that finishing our education would make our music richer, so...”
“My! The two of you are certainly close!” Marina said, bringing her hands to her cheeks and grinning despite looking a little bashful herself.