Our short break was over all too quickly, bringing me back to the academy for a new term. Going from the Aspozat residence to the academy by carriage didn’t even take fifteen minutes. We left shortly after noon, so the sun was still high in the sky. Arriving at my dorm room, I found the door marked with signs of a trespassing attempt.
Which one of you did this? Who tried to force their way? I’ve got video evidence.
“Oh, Ribbons?”
On the monitor I saw Ribbons, and unless I was mistaken, she had gained more ribbons. What was that idiot doing? Looking at the date, it appeared she returned early so she could try to bust into my room. In which case, one very upset stomach would keep her at bay for the time being. This wasn’t even the first time she had triggered the trap. Some people just never learn.
In the video, she rattled the knob, then kicked the door when she saw that it wasn’t opening. Was this girl really raised in the house of an earl? Okay, I know, I didn’t have any room to talk. But even though I was raised among musclebrains, kicking a door would’ve incurred the fiery wrath of Sheebis the caretaker.
Either way, she was causing a ruckus, getting in my business. Presumably the black knight was the cause of this? Or maybe the third prince? Whoever it was, she was barking up the wrong tree. Except Ribbons wasn’t the listening type.
“And that’s the gist of it.”
As a matter of course, I reported the Ribbons trespassing incident to Colny. Though we could’ve talked about this in the cafeteria, she thought I might want to talk to my friends, so we met up in her room.
“How dreadful. What do you suppose she was trying to accomplish?”
“For now, all I know is that she wanted to enter my room.”
I didn’t know what she would’ve done if she had made it in. After she tried to accuse me of stealing her grades, there wasn’t much nonsense she could get up to that would surprise me.
“I wonder if she thought it up herself, or if her father put her up to it,” Colny wondered. “Perhaps we should notify Loks.”
She then got up and headed to her desk. She pulled out a...transmitter?
“Oh? You’ve got a transmitter?”
“Mother lent it to me. She thought I may need to contact my brothers at some point.”
Which would imply Ville and Loks both had one as well.
After a brief discussion over the transmitter, Colny put me on.
“My brother wants to talk to you.”
I took the receiver and spoke.
“Moshimoshi, Lera speaking.”
“You still open with that odd greeting.”
Through the receiver, I heard Loks’s mirthful voice.
“I hear Darnir Duval tried to break into your room?”
“That’s right. Just like with Miss Cucumis and her gang, I have it recorded.”
“Miss Cucumis? Oh. The Nallison girl. If you have footage, be sure to hang on to it. There might be a use for it.”
“All riiight.”
What sort of use? I was too afraid to ask.
“That’s right, Lera.”
“Yes?”
“Is the door mechanism still there?”
“Trap? You mean the thing that gives them an upset stomach? Yes, it’s still active.”
“I see. Then as long as that spell is in effect, she shouldn’t be any trouble.”
“I hope so.”
Only that wasn’t the first time Ribbons had tripped it.
That evening, I was having a lively chat with my friends about our break.
“I’m so jealous, Lowell. You were with both Winville and Loksusad, right?”
“Both were busy most of the break, so I barely spent any time with them.”
“Is that so? But you ate meals with them, didn’t you? Ahh, I wanna eat with theeeeem.”
Lanmia’s fervor for the Aspozat brothers hadn’t dissipated. Next to her, Luchirs was very tired. Apparently these two had spent the break together. Their mothers were good friends, so they had been visiting each other since they were young.
“That’s right, this is something I heard from my mother,” Lanmia said, lowering voice. “That boy from the viscount’s family was bothering Lera, right?”
“Oh, the older son of Viscount Nogdeid,” Luchirs added.
That’d be the dimwit brother. Wonder what happened to him.
“I hear he caused quite a bit of havoc throughout town.”
“What?”
According to Lanmia, he and his friends went on a rampage through a shopping district during the break. Not only that, they took things and didn’t pay for them, like they were common robbers or something.
That moron is a noble, isn’t he? I’m sure he isn’t struggling for money.
“They went into a shop and took items on display without paying. I hear it was a shop mostly used by commoners,” Lanmia continued, answering the questions in my head. “He then told the shopkeeper, ‘A man of the nobility is deigning to use your shop. Let your tears be ones of joy.’”
What the hell? Is everyone in the noble faction like that?
“Supposedly a fair number of academy students witnessed it, so I’m sure they’re talking all about it in the boys’ dorm.”
Lanmia sneaked a glance at our surroundings. Perhaps she thought the other tables were discussing the same gossip. With just a little bit of auditory focus, I gave it a listen.
“So they say. I can’t believe it.”
“He might be the great-grandson of Marquess Bilbroza, but he can’t get away with everything.”
“Oh, I hate to imagine what people might think if I’m in the same faction.”
“My father was quite frustrated when he heard the story.”
Similar conversations were happening throughout the cafeteria.
Oh, there’s Colny. But her table has a sound-blocking barrier around it. That’s just like her. She probably knew I’d do something like this.
“Lowell, it can’t be easy having someone like that accosting you,” Lanmia said. Both she and Luchirs looked worried for me.
“Don’t worry,” I responded brightly. “I’ve got permission.”
“Huh? Permission?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
I couldn’t really tell them that the crown prince had given me total freedom in how I responded to the dimwit brother if he came at me again. There was a chance I’d end up very grateful for the crown prince’s decision. Now I could send that boy running for the hills if he tried anything.
“That reminds me, that’s not the only reason people are talking about you, Lowell.”
“There’s more?”
“Um, well, it concerns the Duval from the other class. She hasn’t been feeling well for the past few days, and she hasn’t left her room.”
I nearly spit out my drink. The trap must have gotten her good. By the sound of it, the would-be intruder was still suffering. Those effects were set to last twelve days, after all. I wonder if she understood that her stomach was like that because she had tried to open my door.
Probably not. Nonetheless, it didn’t worry me since I didn’t think she’d be able to get the magic lock open, and if she got the runs every time she tried, she’d probably give up.