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Volume 6 Chapter 3 Part 1

Translation and editing by Team Foxsunes

「The one in charge of the education of the medium?」

The time when one night after the welcome party, I gratefully shared breakfast with the princess, is what this was about. Probably because I was tired from the long trip, I was treated with consideration, in this room were the same faces with whom I shared the carriage with during the journey… namely none but me and that man, the princess and the young man Heinrich. As the princesses’ first retainer, the fact that even I was treated as a VIP frankly felt like I was about to reach my limit. After all, wherever I went, I was originally part of the ordinary people. For that reason, to neither attend to others nor be attended to was certainly a considerate thing for me. 

Turning the contents of what I had been told by the young Heinrich over in my head like that, even so early in the morning, Heinrich was already fully dressed and nodded to my words with a wide smile. Probably minding the frowning man next to me, smoothly evading his intense stare, while wearing this gentle smile Heinrich opened his mouth.

「The ones taking care of this time’s public affairs, with the princess at the head, have all been assigned a role. The princess will carry out the ceremony, I will be the diplomat, Sir Agedilus will be the princess’ aide and advisor, the soldiers are her guards; the lady in waiting is the person taking care of the princess. That is what you will be, miss Filmina. Do you understand what your role entails?」

It was a gentle inquiry, but it stung in my chest more sharply than I thought. My role. I was at loss for words, being asked again. Up until now, with “watching over the princess’ choices” in my heart, I had been sitting in this place, but I felt like I was dealt a finishing blow. Because it had been my goal, but not my role. That was of course not the answer Heinrich expected from me.

A pair of eyes as green as young grass stared at me, as I was trying to find the words to answer. The lights floating in them were like on a calm lake, but it felt much scarier than being impudently stared at.

「Heinrich. Are you not asking an ill-natured question? That Filmina accompanying me this time is my selfish wish, is something even you know, is it not?」

The princess looked at Heinrich sharply with her amber eyes. Heinrich plainly nodded 「That is so」and returned his gaze to me once more.

「You might already be aware, but your current status is exceedingly complex. Because you might be called the princess’ associate to an extent, but it is certainly not the case that you came here to play. Therefore, for your “role”, I would like to teach you the manners of a noble toward the medium. Someone who is met by the future Prince Consort in the royal capital, must not in any way be thought of as a savage without knowledge nor etiquette. You remember that I said, if we happen upon who has been trained to be his Highness the Prince Consort of the medium, we wish for your cooperation, don’t you? The house Adina is an old lineage. You, who originate from that same house Adina, is aware of the suitable knowledge and etiquette, are you not?」

That I felt like I was just implicitly threatened  with「Don’t make me say you can’t do it!!」was probably not my imagination. When it came to etiquette, I was aware that since a young age manners were taught in a strict way by the mother or nursing mother. If I was asked if I could be taught all of that along the way by other people, then that was again packed into answer, but right now I was honestly not in the mood to say such a thing. In the first place, I can’t possibly win an argument against an elite diplomat who can go against high ranking people from various nations at such a young age. While I was being overpowered with the pressure of silence in the moment, nodding countless times, the young Heinrich’s wide smile widened.

「Very well. Except for the manners, in short anything involving politics or magic, me and Sir Agedilus will take charge of respectively.」

「Edi as well?」

As I stared at the man beside me involuntarily, his expression unconsciously changed from just a frown to a more stern one, and let out with a sigh

「I can’t be helped」.

「I became deployed as a wizard of the Black Lotus Court for this reason in the first place. To judge if that medium can use magic… spiritual magic among that, correctly and to correct him if he cannot is my goal. Because historically, as for the one called the favorite child of the spirits, people who drowned in the power of the spirits and self-destructed are the majority. 」

「Is that so…」

Edi agreed with a somewhat bitter touch in his voice. I got the feeling that in this world, just being loved by many spirits was to succeed. I had thought that was why that kind of behavior was allowed at the party, but in reality it was not such a simple story.

Be that as it may, in my eyes, this meeting of the princess and the medium was essentially a formal marriage meeting and a trial period. But it wasn’t just me who thought so. If the young Heinrich and even that man went out of their way to the extent of taking charge of her education, then I had to think of this as really planning to greet the boy as the Prince Consort.

Actually, hadn’t the princess herself spoken of it like that? The person who would eventually become her own partner, was already all but decided. At the same time that I came to understand that it was such a thing, the anxious feeling in my chest suddenly grew.

I wondered how the princess herself felt about that medium becoming the Prince Consort, which meant her husband. Now that I thought of it, I had not asked that most important thing. As I cast my view in the princess’ direction, our eyes met just when she took a sip of the medicinal tea brought from the capital. Her amber-colored eyes narrowed as if she were troubled.

「Sorry, Filmina. I’m making you do work.」

「Not at all. If I could be of service to you even a little bit, I couldn’t be more joyed at that. 」

The princess should absolutely not have to apologize. Although it was certainly me who had been asked for a favor by the princess, in the end I had decided to come here myself. If there was anything else I could do, besides being at the princess’ side, it meant coming here had surely been effective.

When I gave a reassuring nod, the princess showed a relieved smile. Completely enchanted by her suddenly tender smile, I ended up getting poked by the man beside me.

＊＊＊

And just like that, I came to meet the medium. In front of me a boy, with his long hair tucked in a turban, red-copper-colored eyes and gleaming tanned golden skin, sat stately on a chair. In front of the chair he was sitting on, a table had been set up and a plate and cutlery were put on it. However, his behavior did not indicate he had any interest in that. On the beautiful facial features of the boy showed a sour look that seemed clearly bored. While he was wearing a wry smile that hid none of his inner feelings, I curtsied, holding the hem of my dress.

 「From today on, I will be the one who may teach you the way of our royal capital. My name is Filmina Von Lancent. Pleased to be of service to you.

 I waited a bit like that, but no reply came. When I raised my head again and looked at the medium he held up his nose and faced the other way. He was not looking this way at all. In the corners of the room the guardsman and care-taking woman were far from admonishing this behavior. They were all smiles and watched over him saying 「Oh my oh my」. It looked as if he had been raised quite a spoiled boy.The medium’s behavior might also be because of me. If it was that man, the princess, or Heinrich standing here instead, they might not get rejected as obviously as this. To put it simply, I was being underestimated. I started to want to complain to Heinrich why, of all things, my lessons should be the first to be held. However I had the feeling that if I did that, he would just smile gently and say 「I would not have minded if you just told me you couldn’t do it, you know?」then after being notified that I’m no longer in the game, I would immediately be made to leave. I felt like I was being tested by the young Heinrich again.

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