95 – Unveiling the Truth

Not long after the Pontiff departed,

the door of the carriage I occupied opened once more.

“It is finished, young master.”

“…Good work.”

A moment ago, she had been outside the carriage, assisting the wounded,

helping the priests clean up the aftermath.

Ella, who didn’t ride in the carriage, bows her head

to me from outside.

I feel the eyes of those nearby,

hear her even using polite speech.

She bows her head towards me.

“Young master, what is it that—”

“Just a moment, pardon me.”

Before Ella, who had barely lifted her head,

could finish her sentence,

someone interjected.

A voice, deeply resonant.

“Apologies, I have rather pressing business.”

“Ah…no…it is quite alright, Lord Rindel.”

“Haha, I am grateful for your understanding.”

He offers an apology without hesitation,

though he surely knows her station.

And Ella, flustered as if she never imagined

he would apologize to her.

It was a rather strange and curious scene,

the one receiving the apology seeming more apologetic.

“Are you Jennison?”

“…Yes.”

Leaving Ella, unsure what to do with herself, standing behind him,

he turns his gaze to me.

He had been speaking with Ella just a moment before.

In a voice heavy, utterly at odds with his tone.

“I imagine you’ve heard tell that

His Imperial Majesty wishes to see you.”

“..Yes, I have.”

“Then we can be brief.”

Having finished speaking, he rummaged

this way and that within his armour,

before producing an envelope from within his breast.

An envelope sealed with wax,

stamped with the Imperial crest.

“Carrying this on your person will grant you

access to the Imperial Palace.”

“..You came all this way to deliver this?”

“Indeed. Must there be some other reason?”

“..It’s nothing like that.”

Even so, it seemed unlikely the commander of the Imperial Knights

would mobilize for such a trifle.

Surely, anyone in their right mind would suspect

there was something more at play, wouldn’t they?

“Ah, apologies.

It seems I neglected to mention something…”

“..Just as I thought─”

“What happened in the Great Forest this time,

we are truly grateful for it.”

Just as I thought, there was more to it,

expecting some story to spill from his lips,

he instead offered words of gratitude.

Without so much as a flicker of expression.

“..Pardon?”

“If we hadn’t been able to remedy the events

that transpired in the Great Forest, we would have been forced to choose once more.”

“….”

“War, or a precarious peace that could shatter

at any moment, one of the two.”

“….”

“Fortunately, you prevented it,

and I am sincerely thankful for that.”

Utterly blindsided by his unexpected apology,

I was left speechless,

as he turned his back once more

He drifted further away from me.

“S-So…my son…he’s dead?!”

“..It pains me to say, but─”

“Bring him back! Bring him back to life!!”

“That’s enough, Duke.”

He slowly approached Duke Gren, who was still in a frenzy,

skillfully suppressing his outburst.

Ella, watching his retreating figure,

furtively glanced around before stepping into the carriage.

“Young Master, what will you do now?”

“…?”

“His Imperial Majesty wishes to see you…

Shouldn’t you go see him immediately?”

Ella looked at me with worried eyes.

But the emotion within them wasn’t pure concern; it was more like

watching a wild colt about to bolt…

‘..It must be my imagination.’

“Young Master?”

“It’s alright, there’s no need to go just yet.”

“Huh? Young Master, won’t you be in trouble if you do that?”

Instead of answering Ella’s urgent voice,

I waved the envelope in my hand.

The envelope, bearing the Imperial crest, I’d received just moments ago.

“Well, I should probably go as soon as possible.

It *is* an Imperial order, after all.”

“S-So…does that mean you won’t be going right now?”

“Yes, I have a place to stop by in between.”

“….”

“Don’t worry too much, it’s really just a

brief stop along the way.”

*

Reinhardt.

One of the four great ducal houses.

Almost everyone knew the weight

carried by that name.

A family that protected the North, and

one that produced renowned knights.

“Wh-What does that mean, Lady Aria…?”

“Surely those rumors aren’t actually true, or─”

“Jennison…that bloke actually made a pact with the Devil!”

Jennison.

Until recently, a petty man, a half-wit, one who

carried Reinhard’s name on his back.

And now, the subject of the academy’s

hottest rumours,

the younger brother of the noble Aria Reinhardt,

standing before them.

Perhaps it was only natural.

That everyone would hang on every word that fell from her lips.

“What I wish to speak about…it isn’t concerning the

rumours currently circulating in the academy.”

Her words scattered into the air,

and the reactions of the crowd were

each unique in their own way.

“…Oi, what? So it isn’t about that?”

“What’s the point, then? Did we come for nothing?”

Sighs of discontent from those who assumed it was

naturally about the rumours,

“No, perhaps it’s a story even more grave

than the rumours themselves?”

“…Is there anything more grave

than making a deal with the Devil?”

Curiosity from those wondering what it could possibly be,

if it wasn’t this or that.

“…Aria Reinhardt,

still a beauty to behold.”

“Ah…Lady Aria, if you have the time,

would you perhaps care to join us for tea—”

Those who remained simply out of interest

in Aria Reinhardt herself.

The gazes, a mixture of these three groups,

all converged upon Aria once more.

“Everything I will say and show from this moment on

is based on the truth.”

She took a step forward.

To leave a footprint large enough to

turn the academy upside down.

*

Suddenly, a sound utterly unforeseen.

The reaction of those who heard was, for the most part, identical.

“What utter nonsense are you spouting, Lady Aria?!”

“..Oh dear, Lady Aria, could it be that someone is

threatening you─”

“A magnificent person such as Duke Reinhardt

would never say such things to your child─”

“I think you must be mistaken,

that one has always been like that─”

First, they refute the statement.

Without caring if it’s a lie,

or a truth they don’t want to believe.

“No, so all of his actions up until now

were because of orders?”

“Lady Aria, even if you are family,

I think you’ve chosen the wrong person to defend─”

“Even if that were the case, the things he’s done

cannot be justified by orders─”

And then they criticize the person who offered the opinion.

Saying it’s absurd.

Denying it with their entire being.

Not even attempting to listen.

“I asked him directly.

Why he had changed so suddenly.”

“Changed? What do you mean..?”

“Why he had suddenly become someone who hurts people,

why he suddenly adorned himself with luxury and pleasure.”

“Ha, from the start, that one was a filthy sort,

bringing several women to his bedchamber─”

“Did you witness that?”

The sharp gaze of the woman speaking

turns toward one of the students.

“The sight of him taking a woman to his bedchamber,

or engaging in carnal acts with her,

and then throwing her out without taking any responsibility,

did *you* ever see that?”

“Ah..no, rumors..”

“Humans who don’t even know where those rumors originated from

certainly are quick to speak.”

Aria’s gaze, which had been directed at him,

She scanned the surroundings once,

and from the staff held in her hand,

a blue magic circle began to unfold.

“Please, bear witness to this.”

“Wh-What?!”

“T-To the sky…”

The blue light burst forth the moment

the blue magic circle’s deployment from her staff finished.

That light manifested a scene in the air.

The scene of her confronting Duke Reinhardt back then.

“D-Duke Reinhardt?”

“Lady Aria is there too?”

“This is…recording magic?

No, a magical artifact… perhaps?”

She didn’t stop there.

Merely showing it wasn’t enough, it seemed,

for even the sounds were brought to life.

“[…How could you do this to your own child?]”

“[…It was a necessary act for the sake of the family.]”

“[Is the family that important?! Even over your own -]”

That conversation, from that time, echoed loudly,

vibrantly, for all the students gathered here to hear.

“…What on earth did I just hear?”

“S-So it really was true?”

“…Ha, you fools.

It’s obvious this information has been fabricated…!”

“Senior Lianna.”

Yet there were still those who could not believe.

The name of a Duke weighed too heavily,

and Jenison’s infamy stood too tall,

to be believed with only these things.

Therefore, she called out once more.

The name of an accomplice who would help her.

To instill conviction in them.

“C-Can you… hear it?”

“Yes, I can hear it clearly.”

“Ah, really? That’s a relief.”

She, who had been subjected to especially

concentrated harassment by Jenison within the academy.

Indeed, perhaps she was the greatest victim of all.

Her voice, it spilled forth from the magic circle.

“Senior, can you speak of it?”

“Ah… well, you see…”

And now, she,

finding courage, begins her tale.

Words she could never utter before.

Words she swallowed and held within.

Of what happened to her.

Of the proposal he made.

Why she accepted it.

All that transpired until now,

she speaks of it all, leaving nothing out.

“Ah… and… and…”

“It’s alright now, Senior.”

“Ah, is it…?”

“Yes…”

This much will suffice.

Aria’s final words,

that single phrase echoing forth.

Towards the silence that now fills the space around them.