Chapter 7

This is the second chapter of today.

It has been two years since Noel entered the school, and she has advanced to the third year.

This year, Noel turns 15. She has grown taller.

When her uniform became too tight, she consulted with the faculty, and Liza, who had bought a new one, offered to alter her old uniform.

It was as beautiful as a new one, and the fabric was different, as it seemed to be a custom-made uniform. When Noel tried to pay for the alterations, Liza said, "It's just a little thing a maid did, I don't know about money," in a bothered manner, so Noel accepted it gratefully.

Noel's friend, Liza, is a cool and stylish young lady.

The Merrison family is a viscount family, so in terms of lineage, Noel is higher.

However, the Merrison family is very wealthy.

Noel was once invited to Liza's house, which was a grand mansion.

The Vionne estate is large and the mansion is big, but it is very old.

It is like a ruin.

The outer walls are covered in moss, and half of the chimneys are collapsed and unusable. The window frames are mostly tilted, and the shutters are stuck.

The paint is peeling off everywhere, and the number of places where the wood is rotten and damaged is countless.

Noel thought the servants could fix it, but it turns out that carpenters are very expensive.

Even the chimneys that are not broken need to be cleaned of soot.

Noel's mother apparently considered making Noel do it, but decided against it because it would be bad if a noble young lady were seen climbing a roof by the neighbors, as she heard from the estate's gossip.

At this point, Noel even thinks her mother is amusing.

Noel, as a noble young lady, is ignorant of common sense, but she has read books on manners in the estate's library and tries to follow them as much as possible.

She was aware that she was small, thin, and covered in scars, and she did not want to have poor manners on top of that.

Now, the burn scars are gone, but Noel's manners are still not perfect, as they are self-taught.

Liza subtly corrects such manners of Noel.

Despite her aloofness, Liza is very considerate.

"Still, the teachers at the academy are prime catches, aren't they?"

In her third year, Liza often says things like this.

—Or rather, she has been occasionally evaluating boys since before.

Liza is the second daughter, but her family, the Merrisons, is very wealthy. Her dowry is probably well-prepared.

Moreover, the Merrison family operates several trading companies, so there must be many nobles who want to establish connections with them.

"Hey, Noel, aren't you interested in engagement?"

"Liza, you know, don't ask me that.

Why would a prime catch like you ask someone like me, who is a bad investment?"

Noel looked at Liza with a resentful gaze.

"Noel, you're good at magic, so you can do anything.

If you work at the National Magic Research Institute, you'll have many suitors.

Hey, by the way, isn't Mr. Joel, who transferred from the Royal Academy, great?

Girls swarm around him every lunch break."

"Isn't that true for all young male teachers?

It seems Mr. Argan is the best, though."

"Ah... Hey, Mr. Argan is handsome.

His family is a prestigious earldom."

"But, isn't there an age difference? The teachers are in their mid-20s, right?"

"That's the point!

We can seduce them with our youthful charm."

Liza said this forcefully.

"Hmm, elegant Liza talking about youthful charm..."

"If you hesitate, all the good teachers will be married before you know it.

Working as a teacher at the National Academy is also stable in the future."

"That's true."

"By the way, Mr. Arnol Roche was in the middle school section yesterday."

Noel's heart skipped a beat when Arnol's name, whom she meets about twice a week, was suddenly mentioned.

"R-Really?"

For some reason, her heart wouldn't calm down.

"Mr. Roche is handsome, too.

Did you know, Noel? He's a high school teacher."

"Ah, yeah.

Mr. Roche was in charge of the practical part of my specialty during the entrance exam."

"Wow, that's great."

Liza said enviously.

"Really? I was too nervous during the exam to think about anything extra.

Liza, you were more relaxed?"

"I was a bit nervous too.

But, there's no need to be nervous about your specialty, right?

I was more nervous about the target shooting."

"Speaking of exams... Liza, you went to the National Academy from elementary school, didn't you? The entrance exam didn't matter, right?"

"The final exam of the highest grade in elementary school was also the entrance exam for middle school.

By the way, high school teachers came to help.

There are quite a few handsome teachers.

I'm looking forward to advancing to high school.

But, Mr. Roche isn't very popular, so he might be a good target."

"Eh? Why?

He's kind and seems popular."

Noel couldn't help but turn to Liza.

"Because, Mr. Roche has brown eyes and brown hair, right?"

"Um... It's not brown, it's walnut hair and amber eyes."

"Hehe.

That's one way to put it.

But, to be honest, walnut is a type of brown, and amber is a brown gemstone."

"That's true, but..."

"The royal family apparently doesn't choose princes with brown eyes and hair."

"Really?"

"Yes.

Because the color of hair and eyes is influenced by magic, right?

A king with brown eyes and hair wouldn't set a good example for the citizens."

"But, magic and brown hair and eyes aren't necessarily related..."

"True, in reality.

Still, at a glance, high magic power is indicated by golden hair and blue eyes, or black hair and black eyes, right?"

"At a glance, yeah..."

"So, imagine if the king, who greets the citizens during the National Foundation Day, had brown eyes and hair.

Wouldn't it be bad?"

Noel tried to imagine Arnol greeting the citizens at the palace.

—He seems very regal...

"I don't know."

"You lack imagination, Noel.

Anyway, the most popular are golden hair and black hair.

Next, golden-brown is also fine.

Dark brown might be good too."

"...Liza, you're a bit superficial, aren't you?"

—Or rather, your preferences are quite narrow...

"That's true.

Because, it would be unpleasant to wake up and see a strange person at the breakfast table."

"Too specific."

"Noel, you're too careless.

I have to decide on a partner in the next four years."

"Four years, meaning by the time you graduate from high school?"

"Yes.

By then, Noel will probably skip grades and be gone.

I want to graduate with her. I might enter the academy.

Anyway, if I don't decide on a partner by the time I'm 18, I'm supposed to go to the Dolsen Kingdom and the Alres Empire to find a fiancé."

"Really?"

"The men from the Dolsen Kingdom and the Alres Empire seem a bit arrogant and unpleasant."

Liza frowned.

"Arrogant? I understand the Alres Empire, as it's a superpower... But the Dolsen Kingdom too?"

"I know.

I started attending evening parties as soon as I advanced to third year, so I know.

Of course, the other party is a wealthy country, and ours is poor.

But, isn't it unpleasant to be looked down upon?"

"True...

As soon as I advanced to third year. We're only 14, right?"

"Noel, I'm already 15 because my birthday is early."

"Oh, right. Liza is 15 and tall."

"I don't want to grow any taller.

There are many men who prefer shorter women."

"What is that...

Saying that, Liza, with your perfect figure.

You're too picky!"

"...Why are you angry?"

While Noel and Liza were talking and walking in the courtyard, the surroundings suddenly became noisy.

"It's Prince Robert."

"It's the Third Prince."

"He's so handsome."

Liza reacted to these voices.

"Noel! Let's go see!"

"What? Won't it be considered a crime of disrespect?"

"What are you saying? If seeing the Third Prince was a crime of disrespect, half the citizens would be in trouble."

Noel realized that was true.

It's a common story to hear about the prince walking through the town for an inspection.

Noel hurriedly headed towards the crowd with Liza.

From a distance, the handsome prince could be seen.

—They say the Fourth Prince is handsome too.

Our royal family is full of handsome people.

Noel was impressed.

She thought it was because the queen chose beautiful women, but the bloodline is indeed powerful.

Noel and Liza learned from the gossip of the onlookers that Prince Robert, who usually stays at the academy, had come to meet a professor at the National Academy for some reason.

It was a rare occurrence.

Since it was a rare opportunity, they decided to burn the image of the handsome prince into their memory.

—But, I feel like I've met him somewhere before?

That can't be...

Despite it being their first meeting, she felt like she had seen his face somewhere before.

"It was a feast for the eyes."

While enjoying the prince with a good mood, Liza suddenly noticed that Prince Robert was pushing through the crowd and heading towards them.

"Haha. I knew it.

Golden curly hair.

What a stroke of luck to meet you.

You're Noel, right?"

Noel's mind went blank at the prince's casual manner, but she quickly regained her composure and performed a lady's bow.

"Yes, I am Noel Vionne. It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness."

"Oh, no need for formal greetings at the academy.

I'm still a student, after all.

I've heard that you're Professor Michely's disciple."

Noel immediately remembered.

She had a new cover story.

Previously, it was "I'm helping the faculty as part of my scholarship." In reality, she was training in bestowal magic.

Recently, another excuse was added.

It was decided that Noel would hand over the weapons she enchanted to the knight order, and as a result, she would receive an allowance.

Arnaud and Professor Michely had arranged it.

It was very helpful.

Noel lived on the small amount of cash she received as a scholarship and for materials.

She had no extra money, so she wore Zeraphi's hand-me-downs for her private clothes at the dorm.

Thanks to Zeraphi's large size, the clothes still fit, but they were getting old.

The allowance was appreciated, but it came with increased constraints on Noel's time.

Therefore, helping the faculty alone was not enough, and she was now officially Professor Michely's assistant. The professor conducted research on magic devices in the school's laboratory and also made prototypes.

Noel's skill in manipulating magic was well-known, so the excuse was accepted without much trouble.

—But, why does Prince Robert know about it?

"What's the matter?

I would like you to greet me as a fellow disciple."

"Ah, yes, Your Highness, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Noel realized from Robert's words that he was, in fact, Professor Michely's disciple.

Noel was actually Arnaud's disciple and only met Professor Michely when borrowing a room, but she needed to align her story.

She needed to confirm the details with the professors... While Noel was planning in her head, the prince's beautiful face suddenly approached her ear.

"Don't be careless, bestowal mage."

"Eh?"

When Noel opened her eyes in surprise, Robert gave her hair a playful pat and left with a mischievous smile.

The girls around her were screaming.

Liza, standing next to her, had stars in her eyes.

When they returned to the classroom, Noel was bombarded with questions from the girls.

Noel couldn't answer them properly.

"No, I just met the prince for the first time just now.

We have no connection."

"You were patted on the head, though!"

For some reason, Eliza scolded her.

Eliza was a girl who had been rejected by Dian.

Why are you involved in this? Noel wondered.

"Maybe he mistook me for a small animal?"

Noel answered dismissively, as she was getting tired of it.

"That might be true, though!"

—Why is she agreeing with my joke...

Noel's eyes glazed over.

"You know, Robert is not the type to pay attention to a commoner."

Dian, who was in a bad mood, chimed in.

"Commoner? I'm sorry!

I was just called a fellow disciple by a prince I met for the first time, and my hair was patted. Why do I have to be scolded so much?"

"Really, it was just the first time you met?"

"Of course it was!"

"Well, that's Noel for you."

Dian smiled and nodded.

Dian had a good face and family status but was sometimes mean.

Noel was annoyed, but it was the truth, so she couldn't do anything about it.

Liza had many questions.

Robert seemed to be looking for Noel.

He appeared very interested in Professor Michely's fellow disciple.

—Noel, are you helping with Professor Michely's secret work?

Noel is really good at magic control. I can understand why the professor would take her as a disciple.

Magic research is not something to be peeked at carelessly. It's safer to pretend not to know.

But, Robert's words were intriguing.

Thank you