“Hello. It’s been a while, Misha.”
“Huh? Oh…Miss Claire. How do you do.” Misha politely bowed her head.
I was unaccompanied by Pepi and Loretta; I had slipped away from them after spotting Misha, as I didn’t want them to overhear what I had to discuss with her.
Misha Jur was a beautiful girl with silver hair and red eyes. We hadn’t seen each other in quite a while, but her expression was as implacably indifferent as ever. Her cold eyes held no emotion as they regarded me.
“Congratulations on your admission to the Royal Academy. You may be a commoner now, but your family was once proud nobility. You’re different from the rest of that lot. Please, feel free to drop the formalities with me,” I said.
“Thank you, but I think it best if I refrain.” Misha insisted we maintain our roles, something I thought was very like her indeed.
The head of House Jur had once held the rank of marquess. They had overseen matters involving land and architecture. I had heard they had been close with the royal family, so much so that the third prince, Yu, had visited their home to play when he was younger. Those of the Jur line were often stoic and earnest, and Misha had inherited those same traits—to the point that, at times, she was perhaps a little too diligent.
“Very well, then. I was saddened to hear of your family’s misfortunes, however.”
“It was unavoidable. Power struggles are the norm among the aristocracy, as is the loser’s fall from grace.” Misha didn’t seem to be bluffing; she genuinely accepted the reality of her situation. I detected neither trace of regret nor grudge within her. Misha’s willingness to take defeat in stride was yet another trait archetypal of House Jur.
There were, more or less, four bastions of political power in the Bauer Kingdom. One was the royal family, naturally. They were the most powerful people in the country and had ruled for nearly two thousand years. History is never consistent, however, and things had started to change. The current royal family’s power was tied more to their past influence than to anything concrete. Some noble families of the current era exceeded the royal family in terms of both financial holdings and political sway.
Another political bastion was House François, from which I hailed. We were the second greatest political power in the kingdom and had held the position of Minister of Finance for many generations. Both our finances and our political influence perpetually threatened to eclipse those of the royal family. Chancellor Salas Lilium did possess slightly more political clout than we did, but no one came close to rivaling the depths of our coffers. If any noble were ever so foolish as to offend my father, his grip on the kingdom’s treasury could make their lives miserable… Although, of course, he’d never think to use his power to exercise such pettiness.
The third political bastion was Chancellor Salas Lilium’s faction. I specified it as his faction and not House Lilium’s because his house in itself held little sway to speak of. House Lilium was of fairly low standing; Salas had risen to the position of chancellor in a single generation purely by his own merit. While he had far less influence over the kingdom’s finances, he had the ear of many other powerful people. It was an open secret among the nobility that it was only possible for the royal family to push its policies because of Salas’s backing. His faction both revolved around and depended on his charismatic character.
The last political bastion was House Achard, whose family head held the rank of marquess. Their long history was second only to the royal family’s, and their true standing was greater than their rank suggested. Several generations ago, the head of their family had lost a power struggle with House François, causing them to fall from the rank of duke—which I and my family enjoyed—to their current status. However, authority and pedigree carried immense weight to nobles, and in both regards, House Achard remained at the forefront. For now, they were the power most staunchly opposed to King l’Ausseil’s meritocratic policies, and they represented the conservative faction that favored the tried-and-true system of peerage. House Achard didn’t stand out particularly much in terms of present accomplishments, but they boasted a stable influence.
Forgive me—this explanation stretched a little long, didn’t it? I say all this because Misha’s house, House Jur, had lost a political battle against House Achard. House Jur had been a neutral party that refrained from siding with any of the aforementioned four powers, but they had earned the ill will of House Achard and been ruined all the same. Rumor had it that House Achard had been after House Jur’s connection with the royal family, but the truth remained unclear.
“Do you have some business with me, Miss Claire?” Misha asked.
“Yes! Yes, I do!” I had almost forgotten. “It’s about that roommate of yours!”
“Rae? What about her?”
“Oh, I’ll tell you what! That commoner is insane! She blathers the most absurd nonsense at every turn! Never have I met anyone so rude!”
“Huh? Oh, um… I’m most sorry to hear that.” Despite being a little confused, Misha lowered her head and maintained her calm. “Just for reference, could you go into further detail as to what she said to you?”
“W-well…” I dithered. “She said she l-li…liked me…”
“I’m sorry? I couldn’t quite hear you. Could you repeat that?”
“I-I said…”
“Yes?”
Why must I endure such embarrassment? One such as myself is far too proud to repeat such drivel! I muttered, “This is all that blasted commoner’s fault…!”
“Er, Miss Claire?”
“Anyway, make sure that commoner learns to show the nobility proper respect!”
“But as far as I’ve ever seen, Rae is a fairly polite person…”
“In what way?! If one were to boil all the moisture out of rudeness until it consolidated into the shape of a person, she is what would be left!”
“Are we still talking about Rae?” Misha asked with a tilt of her head.
How strange. Did our impressions of that commoner really diverge? “Just out of curiosity, what manner of person do you consider that girl to be?”
“Hmm… I suppose I’d describe her as…normal?”
“Normal?! That—that thing is normal to you?!”
“Yes. I don’t know what it is about her that rubs you the wrong way, but Rae really is just an ordinary girl who doesn’t stand out much.”
I was beginning to feel faint. That commoner is normal? Oh dear, could it possibly be true that all commoners are like her and I’ve simply been none the wiser? I fear for Bauer’s future, if so.
“She’s a bit on the quiet side,” Misha continued, “and there’s nothing particularly noteworthy about her. Oh, but she is a natural academic.”
“Normal… That commoner is…normal?” I was still hung up on the “normal” part. What a frightful thing commoners must be. If this was the case, it truly would be for the best for nobles to lead the kingdom, lest the whole country come crashing down.
“How would you describe Rae, then?” Misha asked.
“She’s a pervert.”
“Huh?”
“I. Said. She’s. A. Pervert! What is with her?! She tried to court me with no consideration to either her lowly status or the fact we’re of the same gender! She can’t possibly be sane!”
“I’m sorry, she tried to what? Court you?”
“Yes! I’m sure she only meant to tease me, but there’s nothing funny about it! Not in the least!”
As I continued to vent, on and on, Misha tilted her head, confused.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Nothing. Well… I just can’t help but feel you might have mistaken Rae for someone else.”
“Impossible. She’s that worryingly thin-looking commoner with black hair in a medium bob who’s slightly taller than me, yes?”
“That’s her. You remember her quite well.”
“How could I not, after she left me with such a traumatic experience!”
“Is that right?” Misha began to chuckle.
“Excuse me? Misha? Is there something funny about all this?”
“Forgive me, Miss Claire. It’s just that you seem to be enjoying yourself a bit.”
“What?! Enjoying myself?”
“Yes,” Misha said with a light smile. “As befits a noble, you always present a brilliant smile to everyone, but that’s nothing more than a mask. You only show your real self to your friends—people like Pepi and Loretta. Am I right?”
“Of course n…” I began, but I trailed off. Perhaps she was right.
“Yet here you are, freely expressing your true feelings. I can’t help but feel you’re actually quite interested in Rae.”
“You’re wrong! You’re absolutely wrong!” Was Misha insinuating that I was letting my guard down around that commoner? Impossible! “I just wanted to warn you, as her roommate, of her improper behavior—”
“Yes, I understand. I’ll give her a stern warning. But have you considered the possibility that Rae only behaves that way toward you?”
“Huh?”
“As in, perhaps she finds you special?”
Wh-what? Special? I thought. “I-In any case, I believe I’ve made myself clear! I won’t let her off the hook so lightly next time, so make sure her nonsense ends here!”
“I will, don’t worry. I’ll make sure to warn her nice and thoroughly.”
“Please do! And with that, I bid you good day!”
I turned on my heel to leave Misha.
“Miss Claire, where did you go?”
“We were so worried when we couldn’t find you.”
“I’m sorry, Pepi, Loretta. I just had to take care of some business.”
I met up with my two friends, and together we had tea at our usual arbor. The black tea my longtime maid Lene poured for me was delicious, but…
“She finds me…special?”
The words Misha had said stuck with me.
There was nothing pleasant about being liked by a commoner. Nothing at all…
Yet I just couldn’t get that girl’s blithe smile out of my head.