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433 p3. Noble Faction and New School Year [6]

「…Um, how far are we going?」

「This is information regarding the health of the royal family, you know? Do you think we can talk freely in a place like this where you don’t even know who’s listening? Naturally, I’ve already prepared a suitable place for that.」

「I see…」

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that Ria is the princess of the Vesteria Kingdom.

Information regarding her health is worthy of being classified as a state secret.

After that, we walked in silence for a while without saying a word to each other――.

「We’re here.」

Claude-san stopped at a nondescript straight road on the outskirts of Thousand Blade Academy.

There was a forest to my right and a hedge to my left, and the occasional chirping of birds could be heard.

It’s true that we wouldn’t be noticed here, but… If by chance someone were to pass by, the whole conversation would be overheard.

「This place?」

「You’ll find out soon. Just stand there like an idiot.」

Claude-san said so without any friendliness, and kicked through the neatly arranged brick blocks under the lush hedge.

The next second, the hedge made a deep noise and slid down, revealing a staircase leading to the basement.

「T-This is…」

「No need to be surprised. It’s just a plain old hidden room.」

「A plain old hidden room, huh…」

Come to think of it… wasn’t there a hidden room just like this in the Ringuard Palace?

Hidden rooms might probably be relatively popular among the royal family and their relatives.

「This way, follow me.」

Claude-san gestured with her chin and climbed down the stairs.

After walking for a while, we arrived at a space about 6 tatami mats wide.

「The room is small like a pigsty, but even this amount of space is wasted on you.」

「That may be the case.」

If I reacted to each and every single one of Claude-san’s harsh remarks, the conversation wouldn’t move forward at all.

It’s best to just let things go.

「Tsk, a dull man as usual. Why did Ria-sama fall for this guy…」

「…?」

She muttered something, but right now there are other things that should be prioritized.

「So… Can you tell me about Ria’s physical condition?」

「Let me ask you this first. Has there been anything odd about Ria-sama’s physical condition lately?」

At that moment, a few things crossed my mind.

In early January, when we flew to Belios Castle to rescue the president, Sebas-san said these words when we parted.

【You should keep an eye on Ria Vesteria’s physical condition.】

When I told this to Ria, there was visible dismay in her reaction.

(There is no doubt that Ria is hiding something about her own condition.)

Besides that, Ria asked a very suggestive question on Valentine’s Day.

【Nee Allen. This is just a what if, but… What if my “whole life” was decided by God, and I could never escape from that fate… What would you do?】

I still remember that clearly.

Deep sorrow was reflected in her eyes at that time.

(Ria is hiding a big problem, after all.)

Claude-san clicked her tongue as I came to that conclusion.

「Hey, what kind of delusions have you been cooking up since a while ago? Answer my question. Have you noticed anything about Ria-sama’s physical condition lately?」

「Regarding Ria’s physical condition, there doesn’t seem to be any particular change… But I have a few concerns about that—」

Then I briefly explained Sebas-san’s parting words and Ria’s suggestive question.

「I see… something like that…」

After thinking with a difficult expression on her face, Claude-san turned a serious gaze towards me.

「Ria-sama is suffering from a serious illness.」

「Serious… illness…? Just… what are you… saying!?」

「Calm down, don’t panic.」

With a calm tone, she spat out more words indifferently.

「I can’t go into too much detail, but… this disease has been with Ria-sama since she was born, and it’s been with her for a long time. It’s not something that’s going to happen today or tomorrow.」

「Is that so……」

I felt almost light-headed with the anxiety and relief rushing into my head at the same time.

「His Majesty has taken all kinds of measures to cure this disease for many years, but at present, he has yet to find a solution.」

His Majesty Gris doted on Ria more than anything else.

That doting father would do literally everything in his power to find a way to save his beloved daughter.

「Of course, the only people who know about Ria-sama’s illness are Vesteria’s royal family and a very small number of people close to them. Never reveal this outside.」

「Of course.」

「One more thing… I’ll advise you just in case. Don’t even try to pry into it. Ria-sama deliberately hid her own illness.」

「I know.」

Ria herself wanted to hide this illness.

I am not going to pry into that.

In the first place, there’s nothing I can do.

Zeon’s darkness boasts tremendous healing power, but only against trauma and curses. It has no effect on illness.

「Anyway, if you notice strange changes in Ria-sama, report it to me immediately. You got that?」

「Yeah, I don’t mind… Claude-san, you’ve been returning to the Vesteria Kingdom a lot lately, haven’t you? In that case, how should I contact you…?」

「Idiot. The reason I’ve been taking leaves so often these days isn’t because I’m returning to the kingdom. I use the surveillance cameras installed throughout the academy to closely monitor Ria-sama’s health condition, and report the situation to His Majesty via radio.」

「S-Surveillance camera…?」

Ahead of Claude-san’s line of sight, a large number of LCD monitors could be seen installed on the wall of the basement.

It doesn’t seem like she’s lying. She’s actually monitoring Ria’s daily life in this room.

「Morning, noon, and night, I’m basically in this basement all the time. If something happens, come report it here.」

After saying that, she suddenly turned in a different direction as if saying, “I have nothing more to say.”

「Um, there’s something I’d like to confirm… Is that okay?」

「What is it? If it’s something silly, I’ll chop you into three pieces.」

She shot a gaze as sharp as a blade.

Not feeling hesitant at all, I clearly posed my question.

「What you just told me is a state secret, right?」

「Naturally.」

「Why did you tell me such an important thing?」

「…」

Claude-san had a difficult expression on her face, but then she let out a sigh.

「You are an irredeemable worm. After having poisoned my beloved Ria-sama’s heart, you came to Vesteria Kingdom and peeked at my naked body. A man who possesses both bottomless wickedness and fervent animalistic lust, that is the swordsman named Allen Rodore.」

「Well, uh… I’m sorry.」

I have a lot to say regarding what she just said, but I can’t raise any objections about seeing Claude-san naked.

「But well… as I said during the duel some time ago, I think you do have some redeemable qualities as a man. Rescuing Ria-sama from the Black Organization, recovering Sie-dono from the Empire, and protecting Ringuard from the hands of the demons. You have a chivalrous spirit, guts, and the true strength of a swordsman.」

「That means…」

「Guh… Don’t make me say it out loud! I think you do have value! Just a tiny bit, though!」

Claude-san said so and made an extremely small gap between her thumb and forefinger.

Even I can understand that she is just trying to hide her embarrassment.

「Anyway—as Ria-sama’s knight, protect her even if you die. I’m counting on you, Allen Rodore.」