Several days had passed since time rewound.
The human capacity to adapt was a frightening thing. By this point, Milly had grown quite accustomed to the world of three years ago.
She no longer looked at the king of Aviria—long dead in the world before the rewind—and thought, The dead are walking?! Nor did she leap for joy upon acquiring books that, three years later, would be out of print, only to have Bibi recoil in disbelief.
And so, today as always, Milly was in the archive, hard at work gathering information.
Laying it all out like this, I can’t help but feel there are quite a few suspicious points in what Angelina said.
At present, she was writing down key words Angelina had mentioned in the garden and trying to guess their meaning. She still remembered with perfect clarity the events leading up to her murder. What stood out most was a name—Gilbert. That name, which Milly also knew, was a particularly important piece for deducing Angelina’s motive.
Gilbert Fritzner, second prince of the Kingdom of Aviria. Milly traced the long-unspoken name in her mind and let out a small sigh.
As the only daughter of the grand ducal house and the second prince of Aviria, she and Gilbert had once been classic childhood friends. That said, their play together hadn’t lasted past the age of five or so. After her mother’s death, Milly had devoted herself to her studies over friendships and naturally drifted apart from Gilbert.
And yet, that was the name that had come out of Angelina’s mouth.
There was no way he could be unrelated. From the way Angelina had said “I can at last marry Prince Gilbert” and “now I can finally have my happy ending,” she was almost certainly in love with him.
Looking back on her words with that in mind, a certain logic began to take shape. Milly’s guess was that Angelina had tried to kill her for the sake of a happy ending with Gilbert. In other words, Milly was nothing but an obstacle standing in the way of Angelina’s union with him.
Of course, that’s all speculation.
It was frustrating not to be able to say anything for certain, no matter how much she turned it over in her head.
Stretching her arms, Milly slumped forward onto the desk with a groan. If Bibi had been there, she would scold the girl for such unladylike behavior, but with no one around, Milly could sprawl as much as she pleased.
“Still, it might be worth talking to Gilbert,” she murmured the thought aloud, pressing her cheek against the cool surface of the desk.
If she could speak with him, she might gain far more useful information than she ever would sitting here at her desk. If things went well, she might even uncover the motive behind Angelina’s attempt on her life.
Resolved, Milly bolted upright. Right. In that case, I need to decide when to meet him. The sooner the better, but is there even a day when both the grand duke’s daughter and the second prince are free?
She opened her planner, then froze. “It’s...completely blank.” Yes. Absolutely blank. Nothing in the schedule at all.
No way. It’s the middle of the social season, and I don’t have a single tea party or invitation?!
Thinking it had to be a mistake, she shut the planner and opened it again. But no, the pages remained empty. Milly was stunned. Could she really be seeing this right?
I-I’m of marriageable age, for heaven’s sake. Isn’t it abnormal that no one’s invited me anywhere? Wait, could this mean I’m already considered a spinster?
Now that she thought about it, ever since her mother’s death, Milly had scarcely shown her face at social gatherings.
The reason, of course, was her studies. Kyle, who despised socializing just as much as she did, had never scolded her for it, and on the rare occasions they did attend, the grand duke and his daughter would be back home within minutes. Considering that, it might be more accurate to say that the blank planner was exactly what one would expect.
“Since time’s been rewound, maybe I should try showing up at a few more places.”
With a groan that was half complaint, half resignation, Milly closed the nearly pristine planner. No, looked at positively, an empty schedule meant she could arrange a meeting with Gilbert whenever it suited him. She should think of it as convenient, even fortunate.
As she was forcing herself into that hollow optimism, a knock came at the library door.
“My lady, may I?” It was Bibi.
“Yes, what is it?”
“Pardon me. A letter has just arrived from the academy, regarding this weekend’s entrance ceremony.”
“Ah.” Taking the letter, Milly glanced at the sender’s name and curled her lip. Oh, right, there was that event coming up. “A personal letter for a mere incoming student? The prestigious Grandor Magic Academy must have nothing better to do.” She pursed her lips in dissatisfaction.
Bibi smiled in turn. “They can’t help it, my lady. With the grand duke’s daughter enrolling, the academy has no choice but to show consideration.”
“Hmph.”
Grandor Magic Academy, where she had studied in the previous timeline, was the premier institution for learning magic in the kingdom. Its history stretched far back, and many great researchers had emerged from its alumni. Thanks to that, the level of instruction was correspondingly high, and for Milly, who was something of a bookworm, it had been a relatively comfortable place.
If only they would curb this blatant fawning over her title.
Reluctantly, she slit the seal with her finger. Inside was a sheet of stationery crammed with writing and a single card of some sort. An invitation.
She lost all desire to read the letter at first glance, but tossing it aside unread wasn’t an option. With no real choice, she began skimming. It proved to be a long-winded greeting from the headmaster.
“He says my intelligence reminds him of my father. I can only hope he didn’t mean it as an insult.”
Having grasped the gist, Milly handed the stationery over to Bibi. The maid’s eyes widened at the speed with which she had finished.
“Y-You’ve already read it?”
“I read enough.”
“My, but so quickly, and with a letter this long! That’s called speed-reading, my lady.”
“Nothing so grand. I merely skipped over all the useless lines.”
Resting her cheek on one hand against the armrest, Milly lowered her eyes. Alongside all the long-winded flattery, the headmaster’s letter had included a request.
An invitation to join the student council. He asked me the same thing before the rewind.
“The academy’s student government cannot do without your abilities.” That was the gist of the latter half of the headmaster’s message.
Grandor Magic Academy, unlike most schools of magic, had a student council. It was said to wield considerable authority within the academy, heavily involved in its management. Naturally, not just anyone could join it; a direct invitation from the headmaster was required. For the daughter of the ducal house, such a request was only to be expected.
Of course, she had been asked the same thing in the previous timeline. Back then she had flatly refused. Unsurprising, given that she preferred to devote all her time to study.
“My lady? Is something the matter?”
Roused by Bibi’s voice, Milly blinked a few times. “No, it’s nothing. Could you bring me some stationery? I’ll write a reply now.”
“At once!”
“I’d like the scented paper, with the floral fragrance.”
Watching Bibi bow and leave the room, Milly sifted through the hazy fragments of her memory. Now, who was it that served on the student council?
In the previous timeline, Milly had had no interest whatsoever in the student council. She couldn’t say what they had done, let alone recall the roster of members with any clarity.
She did remember that the second prince, Gilbert, and the son of the knight commander had been involved, but that was about the extent of it. In hindsight, her utter disinterest in those around her had been something of a flaw.
I do recall, though, that there were very few girls on the council. At the time, I suspected the headmaster of blatant sexism.
Once she enrolled, however, she had been surprised to find rules that seemed to favor female students, and events that clearly catered to the tastes of girls their age.
Milly still didn’t understand the necessity of that one event where boys and girls were paired off to do stargazing together. Just thinking back on it was unpleasant. She remembered the pitying looks cast on the poor boy who had been paired with her, terrified into silence by her own. That, at least, was a nostalgic memory now.
“I suppose there’s no harm in at least hearing them out,” she murmured the thought aloud, picking up the envelope once again.
Inside was the invitation that had accompanied the letter. Ostentatiously decorated, it announced the welcome party to be held in the academy courtyard following the entrance ceremony.
Judging by the wording, the invitations had gone out to students whose families had made substantial donations upon enrollment. Naturally, that meant most of those present would be from high-ranking noble families, and the student council members would certainly be among them.
Last time, I handed this straight to Bibi and told her to throw it out.
But this time was different.
Now that she had developed an interest in the people around her, even this sort of gathering piqued Milly’s curiosity. In the end, if she didn’t change something about herself, the future would remain unchanged. If she wanted to still be alive and well three years from now, she needed to start reexamining the small things.
If that were the case, then it would only make sense to attend the sorts of parties she’d ignored before the rewind. As that thought carried her along, an idea struck her.
“That’s it. At that party, I can see Gilbert.”
A stroke of pure genius, to pat herself on the back.
Gilbert would surely attend the entrance welcome party, and she could take the opportunity to ask him directly about his connection to Angelina. More than that, it would make a perfect first step toward filling in that starkly empty planner of hers.
Yes. I’ll write to Gilbert. If I tell him I’d like to meet at the party after the entrance ceremony, I’m sure he’ll agree.
With that, Milly suddenly found herself looking forward to the party. She wrote the date carefully into her planner and closed it as delicately as if it were made of glass.
“My lady! I’ve brought them!”
Turning at the bright voice, she saw Bibi carrying a bundle of stationery.
Milly let out a small, cheeky smile at the sight, then immediately began composing her letters in her head, one to the headmaster, and one to Gilbert.