These three sure get along well.
Lord and Lady Aspozat were both absent, so it fell to Ville to play host for us. But first, he and Lord Peylon had to deal with a minor hassle. Apparently my guardianship was going to be transferred to House Aspozat for the duration of my stay in the royal capital.
While they talked in the drawing room, Colny, Loks, and I sat a brief distance away. Watching Ville, I could tell he had mellowed out a lot in a very brief period. I almost couldn’t believe that he had been running rampant about the Mystic Forest not too long ago.
I couldn’t help but notice that they said some very interesting things during their conversation.
“Generally speaking, I can’t pull myself away from my domain for too long. I’m counting on you to look after Lera while she’s here in the royal capital,” Lord Peylon said.
“My parents made the same request of me,” Ville responded. “I’ll do everything I can here, and Loks and Colny will both be at the academy. You have nothing to worry about.”
“That’s a relief. Now, have you heard anything about the other daughter?”
“Just that they’ve managed to buy her acceptance into the academy.”
“They paid the headmaster?”
“No. As I understand, the vice headmaster brute-forced it through.”
“How foolish. Well, not much we can do. Once an acceptance letter has been sent out, there’s no taking it back. She’s still thirteen and hasn’t made her societal debut, so I take it you don’t know her face?”
“Supposedly, a girl who fits her description has been appearing at other house’s tea parties and private garden parties. But, unsurprisingly, she hasn’t been brought anywhere near us.”
“They keep us at a distance, even if we are members of the same faction.”
“Most likely because Lera’s been living in your domain.”
Hm? Did I hear my name?
“Never mind them, Lera,” Colny said to grab my attention. “Tell me all about life in Peylon. Have you caught any good monsters?”
Is that really the first thing you want to talk about? Well, it’s very like you, Colny.
What she meant by “good monsters” was anything that had parts that could be turned into an accessory. She was very dedicated to her craft.
“Nothing outside the usual,” I told her. “But I did get some fine threads this year.”
“Really? Do you mean...”
“I had it processed and brought a few bolts of cloth along with me. I’ll give you some later.”
“Oh, thank you, Lera!”
The threads spun by spider-variety monsters made incredible silk and were popular among the nobles in the royal capital. Spiders would form contracts with humans and spin threads in exchange for food. A win-win situation, you might call it.
I had a spider of my own. Its name was Al—short for Albion. It was a super rare variety with a pure white body and icy blue eyes. White spiders had low survival rates and needed human assistance to get by, which made them easy to form contracts with.
Red eyes were normal among these eight-eyed friends of ours. Anything else made them of a rare variety, which were even weaker than the usual white spider. But the threads of rare varieties were said to make the best spider silk. The cloth I had brought with me was some of the finest Al had ever produced. I was certain it would suit the tastes of a girl of the royal capital like Colny.
After that, she asked me all about that summer’s hunting. She wanted to know what was the most common prey, the biggest catch, who killed what, et cetera.
“Oh, and the pearls this year are really nice,” I said at some point in our conversation.
“Is that so? Did you bring any?”
“Of course. I brought some raw pearls. That way you can use them in necklaces or bracelets or whatever you want.”
At Layer Four of the Mystic Forest, there were pearls. Hard to believe, right? Pearls in a forest. And that year’s pearls were small, but all had a fine shape and color, which proved to be much to Colny’s liking.
For the entire first full day after our arrival, I slept. Even I was exhausted after that long of a journey. But the second day, I put on a hat and a white dress meant for strolls and went for a walk around the royal capital. Thankfully, this outfit didn’t require strangulation by corset.
And so I bounded out of the Aspozat residence, only to quickly find myself totally lost.
Wheeeere am I?!
I wanted to punch the Lera of a few hours prior. Colny had been all worried and asked me “Will you be fine by yourself?” and told her I’d be a-okay! And now I was lost! L-O-S-T! What happened to that sense of direction I was so proud of?
There were spells that could be used easily to figure out one’s location. But when I first arrived, Colny warned me that I couldn’t use magic in the royal capital without permission. There were magic sensors placed everywhere and unpermitted magic users were caught immediately. Not only were those sensors developed at the magic research institute in Peylon, they were my idea! I never thought I’d see the day where my own tools were used against me.
“What do I do?” I asked myself.
I hadn’t crossed the walls, so I could at least be certain I was still within the royal capital. There were lots of large buildings, so I was probably close to the royal palace. The Aspozat residence was right by the palace, so I should’ve been able to find my back once I found the main road. But that was the tricky part.
“I don’t get it. Why can’t I find the main road?”
I should have been able to just head straight one way, but because the scenery in every direction looked the same. I couldn’t tell if I was getting farther from or closer to my goal. And after walking around so much, my feet were killing me.
The shoes I had on were dainty things, completely unlike what I wore back in Peylon. Their soles were thin and did nothing to protect my feet against the stone roads. After all, the shoes of rich young ladies weren’t made with walking in mind.
“I don’t know who lives here, but I need to rest,” I said as I leaned against a wall and sat down. Looking up, I saw an imposing gray building. Its walls ran the length of the entire block, which meant it must have been fairly large. I wondered what it was.
“What are you doing there?” asked a sudden voice.
“Whahuh?!”
I turned my head back down and saw two fine-looking men standing before me. Heartthrobs, you could call them.
One wore a black military uniform with silver embroidery and a mantle. His smooth golden hair shone in the sunlight and his long bangs were oddly alluring. His bright blue eyes didn’t escape my notice either. The other had unruly black hair and amber eyes. His uniform was white with gold embroidery.
I was struck by just how tall they both were. Though, according to Colny, I was on the tall side for a girl. I hadn’t met many girls my age, so I just had to take her word for it, and these guys made me look tiny.
The black-clad one looked at me intently. Or was he just surprised? But why would that be the case? While he stood there, the white-clad one asked me a question.
“Are you perhaps waiting for someone, miss? I’m afraid we might not be able to look the other way, depending on the circumstances.”
What’s that supposed to mean? They might not be able to look the other way? I don’t get it.
“I got tired, so I decided to rest here,” I said. “Um, where are we?”
“You don’t know?” they responded in unison.
Wasn’t one of them supposed to be frozen with shock? And was it really that surprising that I didn’t know where this was? Maybe it was the sort of place everyone in the royal capital knew about.
My bumpkin upbringing strikes again.
“I only just arrived in the royal capital. Which way is the main thoroughfare?”
“If you go straight down this way, you’ll reach it soon enough,” the white-clad one said, pointing in the direction I had come from. It appeared I was going the wrong way.
This is why I hate towns full of buildings. I’m just fine in the forest.
“That way then. Thank you very much.”
After just a brief rest, I was able to walk again and set to go on my way. Certain that I could make my way back to the Aspozat residence once I found the main road, I began to walk past the two men—but felt a sudden grip around my wrist.
“Hm?”
I didn’t know why, but the black-clad one was grabbing my arm.