Lucrezia Academy was still closed the day after Leticiel’s audience with the king.
“Huh? The preparations have been made already?” Leticiel blinked. She had been in her room, reading a book that she’d taken from the manor’s library, when Ruvik came to give his report.
“Yes. We just received news from His Majesty that everything is ready.” This was in reference to the new manor he had arranged for Leticiel. Apparently, she would have to wait at least a day to move because there were still some furnishings that were yet to be delivered, but even Leticiel couldn’t hide her surprise. It hadn’t even been a full twenty-four hours since she had left her audience.
“Isn’t it much too fast? To have preparations for a manor complete in just one day…”
“Are you surprised?”
“No, I’m not surprised. I’m more…shocked.”
“So you are surprised.”
Naturally, she was grateful the preparations were quick. The sooner the better. But to be honest, she had expected things to take a little longer.
“In any case, I understand. Thank you.” Leticiel placed her open book on the table and stood.
“My lady? What are you going to do?”
“Get ready to move. I plan to leave here the instant I receive word from His Majesty.”
Since she could only use her teleportation to visit places she had been before, Leticiel would have no choice but to walk or ride a carriage to the unfamiliar manor. Plus, she wasn’t the only one moving. Ruvik and Nicole would be going with her, so they would need time to get ready. There was no harm in starting her work early.
“All right. Then we’ll get our things together too,” Ruvik said.
“Yes, please do. What should we do about a carriage? Should we take one of the duke’s?”
“Apparently, His Majesty will provide carriages to assist in your relocation,” he informed her.
“Oh, that will be a huge help.”
As Ruvik was explaining the rest of her plans for the day, the sound of hurried footsteps approached and there was a rushed knock on the door before it flew open.
“Excuse me, my lady! I’m sorry I’m late!” Nicole apologized as she entered. Judging by her disheveled hair and turned-up skirt hem, she must have been in a real hurry.
“Nicole, there’s no need for you to rush.”
“I’m terribly sorry! I fell asleep while resting in my room…”
“I don’t mind. In fact, you always seem busy, so you could have rested a little longer.”
“No, I couldn’t possibly! I’m your personal maid, so I must be ready and at your side at all times!” the maid replied cheerfully.
Leticiel couldn’t help but smile wryly as Nicole leaned forward, clenching both fists in a confident pose.
“My lady, would you like to begin packing?”
“No, I’ll have supper first. I’ll think about packing after I eat.”
“Understood. Then I’ll bring you your meal.”
Ruvik left and Leticiel took a look around her room to gauge how much luggage she would have.
At first glance, her room was as luxurious and splendid as befitting any young noble lady’s bedroom, but that was mainly thanks to the furniture. Since Oswald had already furnished her new manor, she wouldn’t be taking any of her furniture with her. Instead, she looked inside her drawers, dressers, and on her bookshelves. She had quite a lot of storage but had been unable to use it all, leaving many of the drawers empty. On the other hand, her shelves were filled with a decent number of items. The things that would likely take up the most space in her luggage would be the dresses in her dressing room, and her books, which were jam-packed onto her bookshelves.
When she actually stopped and took a look around the room, she realized how absurd Drossell’s life was. The outfits and accessories she had been given despite being shunned must have been a partially vain attempt to raise Drossell’s value.
“By the way, my lady…,” Nicole said as if she had just remembered something, calling out to Leticiel who was staring at the stunning sight of all the lined-up dresses.
“What is it?”
“You’ll be taking everything in your dressing room, correct?”
“Yes. What about it?”
“Well, I know I was the one who asked you to, but…how are we going to carry all of this?”
Nicole’s worries were valid. Normally, it would take at least one large wagon just to move the dresses. Although she had the king’s support in her move, he wasn’t expected to send such large transportation.
Leticiel counted the dresses while answering Nicole’s question. “It’s true that you’d need a large number of suitcases to carry them, but I can use sorc—Ahem, I mean, magic.” She pretended to clear her throat to cover up her near blunder. Nicole hadn’t been her personal maid for very long, so Leticiel hadn’t told her about sorcery yet.
“Erm… Magic?”
“Yes, magic that can create a miniature subspace.” Leticiel created a small sphere in the palm of her hand. It was the entrance to the subspace she had created by rearranging the connections between magic elements.
A subspace was a space in a different dimension from the current world. It couldn’t hold living creatures, but it could hold as many items as the caster’s abilities and the size of the space allowed. By packing her belongings into it, she’d be able to carry more luggage than she could have carried by hand, and she’d be able to take it out at any time by opening the entrance after arriving at her new home.
Of course, creating a subspace wasn’t a perfect technique, but it wasn’t likely her move would be completed with a horse-drawn carriage. In that case, there shouldn’t be a problem with her using it to carry her luggage.
“All of this should fit in the subspace. I’m the only one who can open it, and I’ll be able to take things out freely once we arrive.”
“O-Oh…”
“But too large a space puts a burden on the caster’s computing power, so it’s important to stop at an appropriate size.”
“I see…”
Leticiel tried to explain, but Nicole’s responses were lackluster. Leticiel could practically see the question marks her mind was forming.
I guess it’s too difficult to understand without any background. Leticiel ended her lecture, promising herself that she’d explain things more thoroughly to Nicole, who obviously couldn’t comprehend the concept, when she had the chance.
“Hmm… My lady, you really are amazing,” Nicole said seriously after a long pause. She gazed at her mistress, who gave her a chagrined smile, with a mixture of disbelief and awe. “I haven’t worked for you for very long, but…I’m just now realizing how wide this world is!”
“R-Right. You seem very…enlightened.”
“Yes!”
Leticiel left the dressing room, feeling conflicted by Nicole’s insistence that she was fully enlightened despite not understanding the theory itself.
She wouldn’t start packing her things for the move until tomorrow, but she was already feeling nostalgic as she looked around the room. She wasn’t attached to the duke’s family or the manor itself, but this room was where she had carried out most of her activities, so she wanted to savor it. Plus, although the move itself wouldn’t be difficult thanks to her subspace sorcery, there might be clues to regaining this body’s memories in the items within the room.
When she opened her desk drawer, she found well-used pens and ink, along with a mysterious paper that she had no clue what it had been used for. Since she didn’t know what might lead to her regaining her memories, she would take all the memorabilia and junk to her new residence and sort it out there.
A bitter smile tugged at Leticiel’s lips as she thought about how much unnecessary luggage it would add to her move. She was like a hoarder, incapable of throwing things away.
“I should be able to pack everything up tomorrow. Nicole, would you mind helping me?”
“Not at all! I’ll gladly help you!”
After she’d finished her quick look-through of the room, Leticiel sat on her sofa just in time for Ruvik to arrive, pushing a wagon loaded with her dinner.
“My lady, I’ve brought your supper.”
“Thank you, Ruvik.”
Ruvik laid the plates on the table for her. She would eat dinner first and then start getting ready.