Chapter 19
“Raines… He’s been causing trouble for the academy and the Knights lately. The Count and Countess are worried… But we don’t know the reason, so I don’t know what to say.”
Leo slumped his shoulders apologetically. Sue shook her head slightly.
“No, that’s not true, Sir Leo.”
“Yes? What do you mean…?”
“Noel… Sir Raines has been attending the academy regularly for about a month now.”
“Hmm? Is that so?”
Leo asked back, bewildered.
“Yes.”
Sue nodded. There had been a period when Noel hadn’t been coming to the academy, but not anymore.
“Hmm… That’s good to hear.”
A faint smile returned to Leo’s face. Sue was inwardly relieved. But what he said next was something she couldn’t ignore.
“He hasn’t been coming home lately. So, I haven’t heard much from him. It seems I was mistaken.”
“Huh?”
Sue frowned at his casual remark.
“Are you saying… Sir Raines hasn’t been returning to the Noel residence?”
“Yes.”
Why?
She wanted to ask, but she held her tongue. Leo didn’t seem to know the details either, and judging from his expression, it wasn’t anything good.
“He even abandoned his Knights training… Why is he suddenly acting so recklessly…”
Leo covered his mouth with his hand and closed his eyes slowly, as if his head was aching.
Something was strange. She felt a sense of dissonance she couldn’t explain. Was it because what Leo was saying didn’t quite match up with what she knew?
Sue found herself repeatedly trying to understand the situation of the boy who claimed to be her ‘friend’, a situation she had never anticipated.
“Sir Leo, wasn’t Sir Raines on sick leave because of a sprained ankle?”
“…I suppose Raines told you that?”
Leo’s brown eyes suddenly glinted coldly. Sue, feeling an inexplicable pressure from his gaze, nodded meekly.
“Hmm, I see.”
“……”
“Well… it’ll be fine.”
The feeling of being crushed under a heavy rock quickly disappeared.
“Please take care of Raines, Lady Byron. If you don’t mind… I don’t need any compensation for the accident, but if you see Raines, could you please tell him that the Count is worried? Those who aren’t authorized can’t enter the academy.”
Leo smiled, a little playfully, but also a little strained.
Was he momentarily angry because of Noel?
It wasn’t uncommon for a distant relative who lived outside the capital to be treated like a servant to the heir when they came to stay with the main family. Although she hadn’t heard it directly, Sue guessed that Leo was in that kind of position.
“Yes, I’ll tell Noel when I see him at the academy.”
That should be enough. Sue looked at Leo, who was smiling pleasantly, and felt relieved that the situation hadn’t escalated beyond what she had feared.
“Thank you, Lady Byron. I look forward to seeing you again soon.”
Leo Noel. The somewhat enigmatic man left the old hospital.
Sue didn’t arrive at the academy until almost lunchtime.
It wouldn’t have been a big deal if she had missed a day of classes, but she couldn’t bring herself to skip the Sports Festival practice.
As she was about to pass through the gate, after greeting the guards as usual, she ran into Acrea, who was also entering.
“Master Acrea, good afternoon!”
She didn’t know where he had been, or if he was just as late as she was, but he was surrounded by a dozen servants. Sue couldn’t get too close, so she had to greet him in a loud voice.
Sue wondered if she was going overboard, but she decided it was better than not doing anything and smiled as she always did.
“Hello.”
Acrea responded to her greeting in a flat tone. But as expected, the conversation went nowhere. Before an awkward silence could fall, Sue quickly continued.
“Well then, have a good day.”
“Yes. …Blessings upon the empire.”
Sue instantly realized that Acrea had forgotten her name again. Well, it can’t be helped. It wasn’t the first or second time this had happened, so she brushed it off and hurried into the building.
“You’re late, Byron.”
Upon entering the Black Eagle Class, only Noel greeted her. The moment she saw him, Sue couldn’t help but think of Leo, who didn’t resemble Noel at all.
“Why are you late?”
Noel asked, walking alongside Sue as she headed towards her seat.
“There was a bit of an accident this morning.”
“An accident?”
Noel stiffened and asked back, surprised by the unexpected word.
“Yes… I should apologize to you.”
“To me?”
“I’m sorry. I caused trouble for Sir Leo Noel.”
“Leo…?”
Noel frowned.
So something did happen.
“What happened?”
Sue briefly explained the accident to Noel, who asked in a low voice. That on her way to the academy, the coachman had caused an accident, and the person who had been injured was Sir Leo of the Noel count family. It was a simple explanation, but both Noel’s expression and Sue’s thoughts were a little complicated.
“You… met him?”
“Yes. He was a kind and pleasant person.”
Sue, unconsciously defending Leo, blurted out the words, wiping away the sweat that was forming on her brow. It was because Noel’s expression wasn’t very bright after hearing that Leo ‘hadn’t been coming home’. Sue continued, leaving Noel, who was hesitant to answer, behind.
“I don’t know the details, but Sir Leo asked me to pass on a message.”
“A message?”
“That the Count and Countess are worried about you.”
“…”
Sue saw Noel’s eyes waver. But she quickly averted her gaze from his blue eyes, which were fixed on her.
“You…”
“…”
“…Never mind. It’s nothing.”
Noel opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again.
Should I have been the one to ask what was wrong?
The thought crossed her mind, but it quickly vanished. She was curious about what was happening with Raines Noel. But at the same time, she didn’t want to know.
She didn’t want to burden herself with his problems just out of curiosity. Prying into his family affairs just because she was curious wouldn’t be fair to Noel.
“Noel, if you have any problems, you can always tell me. We’re friends.”
Friends.
Sue, clutching her waist under the desk, looked up at him and smiled kindly. This too was half an act.
That afternoon, Sue focused on her Sports Festival practice. But no matter how many times she tried, the magic power she injected into the Cribon kept backfiring and leaking out. With Melaine’s help, she had managed to stay in the air for a while, but completing the course was impossible. At this rate, she wouldn’t be able to pass the baton to the next runner.
“Sigh… I fell again.”
It was her fourth fall today. Sue had already gotten over her fear of falling from the sky and was leisurely counting the clouds on the grass. She had almost no magic power left, and perhaps because of the accident that morning, she was physically exhausted as well. Thinking she should call it a day, she slowly got up.
“What are you doing?”
Just then, as if in a déjà vu, she heard someone’s voice nearby. But it wasn’t Melaine’s clear, high-pitched voice. It was a low voice that sent shivers down her spine. Sue gripped the grass tightly, feeling a long shadow looming over her.
“Master Fritz.”
She turned around, and as she had expected, she saw his indifferent face looking down at her.
A handsome face with a low, commanding voice, slightly unkempt black hair, flat green eyes, a sculpted nose and jawline. Even in the shabby training uniform, he exuded an air of nobility. Every detail about him screamed that Shina Fritz was the protagonist of this world.
“I was practicing…”
“Master Fritz!”
Before Sue could finish her excuse, Melaine’s voice rang out from above. Within seconds, Melaine had descended with the rest of the female team members.
Sue, Melaine, Ains, Ricelancer, and Vercia.
Sue was a little touched that the female members of the Ribbon Race team were finally gathered in one place.
“What brings you here?”
Melaine asked, catching her breath. Fritz stroked the Cribon beside him and replied casually.
“I wanted to see how practice was going.”
“Ah, so it’s time for your rounds.”
After spending six years at the same academy, it was inevitable that you would end up on the same team as Fritz at least once. That’s why the five team members, including Melaine, understood why he was here.
Shina Fritz was a man of many talents. He excelled at everything, from physical activities to magic. He was truly a man chosen by fate.
With his talent and his childlike competitiveness, Fritz always volunteered to be the coach and trainer for his team during the Sports Festival. Ever since practice began, he had been making rounds to each practice area, coaching any students who seemed to be struggling.
It was all for the sake of his own victory, but the students were touched and felt a sense of loyalty just from receiving his guidance.
“Have you timed yourselves yet?”
Fritz asked, and Melaine looked troubled.
“Um… No, not yet. Some of the girls are still struggling…”
“Really? Who?”
Fritz’s flat green eyes scanned the five female team members. It wasn’t a scary look, but it felt like an arrow had pierced her chest, and Sue unconsciously clutched her heart.
“Byron and Vercia aren’t skilled enough with Cribons to be timed yet.”
Ains spoke up on behalf of everyone, answering for the hesitant Melaine. Sue closed her eyes tightly when her name was called. Ains hadn’t said it to criticize or belittle Sue and Vercia. She was simply using the quickest way to escape Fritz’s annoying supervision and coaching.
“Who are those two?”
“…I’m Byron.”
Sue slowly raised her hand. Vercia immediately followed suit, waving her hand excitedly and shouting, “I’m Vercia, Master Fritz!”
“Can you tell me specifically what you’re struggling with?”
Fritz asked without hesitation, looking back and forth between Sue and Vercia. Sue waited for Vercia to speak first, but when she didn’t, Sue had no choice but to answer.