The Pleobert Ducal Family

When I walked to the carriage stop, Lucien was already waiting in front of the carriage.

You could have waited in the carriage! I hurried toward it.

"Lucien-sama, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

"I haven't been waiting that long. So, how was the exam?"

"Yes. I think the exam went fine."

"That's good. I wouldn't want to find out now that I couldn't attend school with you, Leon. I got a perfect score too."

Lucien said so with a slightly relieved smile. It was good that we would probably both pass. Even though I thought everything would be fine, I must have been a little nervous after all.

"That was only to be expected of you, Lucien-sama."

"Leon probably had it easy too, right? Ha-ha... Rather than stand here talking, shall we get in the carriage?"

He had a point. We were about to get into the carriage when someone called out to us from behind.

"You're from the Townsend ducal family, right?"

When I turned around, I saw a haughty boy with reddish-brown hair and brown eyes. His clothes were as lavish as Lucien's, so could he be from a ducal family too?

I stepped back while lowering my head.

"I am Lucien Townsend. You are, if I recall correctly, the eldest son of the Pleobert ducal family?"

"That's right. I am Artur Pleobert."

Pleobert! The Pleobert ducal family?!

I had heard that the current head's eldest son was the same age as Lucien, but I hadn't expected to meet him so soon.

The Pleobert ducal family was the foremost noble family in the faction opposed to the Townsend ducal family. In other words, the Pleobert ducal family was the one I needed to be most wary of.

"Did you need something from me?"

Lucien looked slightly tense. That made sense, considering this was the person we'd been told to be especially careful around.

"I intended to warn you when I met you. We never had a chance to talk before now. I hear that the Townsend ducal family says capable commoners should be given opportunities. You should retract that nonsense immediately. If you fraternize with the lowly, you'll become lowly too."

What was wrong with this guy...? First of all, Lucien and Artur-sama were both from ducal families, so their social status should have been equal. Yet he had been condescending from the very beginning, even toward Lucien.

Normally, people were polite until they became friends! Even if it was only superficial politeness.

And what was he trying to accomplish by telling us not to associate with lowly commoners? Even if there was a struggle between their factions behind the scenes, people normally wouldn't say something like that so openly.

"I don't consider commoners lowly. There are many capable commoners, and without commoners, this country couldn't function in the first place."

"You...! I'm giving you a warning, and this is how you respond! My father is always lamenting that those lowly commoners are encroaching on the sacred domain of the nobility."

I had heard that they were a hostile faction, but I hadn't realized they hated commoners this much.

"It is better for the country if capable commoners are allowed to put their abilities to use. Capable commoners gather at this Royal Academy too, do they not? I don't believe they are inferior to us."

"That is impossible! Commoners are savages; they are sure to destroy the country! The very fact that commoners are accepted at this Royal Academy is absurd."

"That is a tradition dating back to long ago. In the first place, this country developed through nobles and commoners joining forces. Have you forgotten that history? Have you forgotten the teachings of the Apostle-sama?"

"Who knows whether the Apostle-sama even existed! Most likely, those lowly commoners deceived everyone. The country can function with nobles alone, without joining forces with commoners. Commoners need only obey the orders of the nobility!"

"You...! You dare disparage the Apostle-sama!?"

This was bad...! I had thought Lucien was calm enough to handle it, but if even he got angry, there would be no way to settle this!

Listening to the two of them argue, I felt as though I was beginning to see the root of the conflict.

In short, the nobles were divided between those who still worshiped the Apostle-sama and those who wanted to discard the Apostle-sama's teachings and advance their own interests.

As I recalled, the Apostle-sama's teachings were: 'In exchange for receiving special privileges, nobles must guarantee commoners at least the minimum standard of living and personal safety' and 'Nobles must not rule over commoners; they must support one another and live together.'

Thinking about those teachings again, they were difficult ideals for a world with a class system to accept. The fact that they had been accepted meant that the Apostle-sama must have been deeply respected and wielded enormous influence.

Still, no matter how greatly someone was respected, that respect would fade with time. If so, perhaps the Townsend ducal family's faction was at a slight disadvantage.

However, people were more likely to act for immediate practical benefits than for ideals or the future. If the factions were still evenly matched, the Apostle-sama's influence probably hadn't disappeared yet.

There were probably also quite a few nobles who thought along the lines of what Richard-sama had said before: 'If the nobles grow even more powerful and commoners are oppressed, the country will eventually fall apart.'

Hmm... The more time passed, the more disadvantageous the Townsend ducal family's position seemed likely to become. The opposing faction would be easy to win over. If they dangled a few practical benefits in front of people, many would probably be swayed.

That's where I came in. If the Apostle-sama didn't appear, I simply had to lift up capable commoners and demonstrate how they could be useful to the country.

If I were the Apostle-sama, it would be easy. I could reveal the truth, receive special treatment, and be granted high-ranking noble status even without graduating from the Royal Academy. If I used all-attribute magic, everyone would probably believe me.

Well, I could still do that if I wanted to, but lying wouldn't be right. The thought of being punished by divine retribution scared me.

So, although it was a roundabout approach, I would demonstrate my abilities at the Royal Academy in areas other than all-attribute magic. After graduating, I would be granted noble status, at which point I could reveal my all-attribute affinity and become a high-ranking noble.

Revealing my all-attribute affinity before gaining noble status would be far too dangerous. Nobles, other countries, and all sorts of other people would target me.

Obviously, unless I was the Apostle-sama, there was no way I could be granted noble status as a special exception without graduating from the Royal Academy.

It was complicated, but the current situation in this country and my own circumstances were finally coming together in my mind. Until now, I had gathered information, but it hadn't really felt real.

Everyone around me had been kind.

So, what should I do about the current situation? The two of them had been glaring at each other for a while now, and it felt as though they were about to come to blows. If I interrupted, it would definitely make things worse. And if they found out I was a commoner, things would become even more complicated.

But we would be attending school together from now on, so they were bound to find out about me and things were bound to become complicated anyway. I had already accepted that. Still, I wanted things to remain peaceful at least until I enrolled.

While I was hesitating over whether to speak to Lucien, someone approached us.

"What are you two making such a commotion about?"

"Your Highness...! It has been a long time."

"It has been a long time."

It was Stefan-sama! Someone who could stop the two of them had arrived! Lucien and Artur-sama bowed deeply, so I followed suit.

"Ah, there is no need to be so formal. This is the Royal Academy, after all. Now, what happened?"

"It is nothing worthy of Your Highness's ears. I deeply regret causing a disturbance in such a conspicuous place."

"I deeply regret it as well. I apologize."

Lucien answered the prince's question, and Artur-sama followed after him.

"I see. Then you may go home now. If your carriages do not move, many people will be unable to leave."

That was true. The carriage stop was laid out like a roundabout, but Artur-sama was standing in the path of the carriages, so many of them couldn't leave even though their passengers wanted to go home.

However, no one dared complain to a ducal family, so everyone had been waiting patiently.

Artur-sama had been too caught up in the argument to notice, but he hurriedly cleared the way.

With the prince watching, he couldn't say anything and walked off toward his own carriage. Finally, he was gone!

"I am terribly sorry for causing you trouble, Your Highness."

"No, don't worry about it. I owe Leon more than I could ever repay."

Stefan-sama said those final words quietly enough that only the two of us could hear them, then gave me a slight smile and walked away.

He was incredibly polished for someone his age! As expected of royalty!!

I was impressed by how smoothly Stefan-sama had handled things, but Lucien looked as though he wasn't entirely satisfied.

Hmm? What was wrong?

"Leon, let's get in the carriage first."

"Yes."

Once we finally got into the carriage, Lucien pressed me for an explanation.

"Leon, you know Stefan-sama too!? I never heard about this!"

"Huh? Didn't I tell you?"

"You didn't!"

"Huh? But you know I went to teach magic to Martine-sama, right?"

"I heard that from Grandmother. But I never heard that you taught Stefan-sama too!"

"No, I only taught Stefan-sama occasionally. He just happened to come by while I was teaching Martine-sama."

I had first met Stefan-sama when he thanked me for curing Martine-sama, and I had only seen him a few times since then.

"Then what was this debt that could never be repaid?"

Ah! Maybe Lucien didn't know that I had cured Martine-sama?

"Lucien, do you know why I ended up teaching Martine-sama magic?"

"That was... because you're an amazing mage, wasn't it?"

As expected, Lucien didn't know. Had I never told him? Thinking back, it had come up that I could use all attributes and cure illnesses, but I didn't think I had mentioned Martine-sama.

In the first place, hardly anyone knew that Martine-sama had suffered from a serious illness.

I wasn't sure whether I was allowed to tell Lucien.

But if Stefan-sama had said that, perhaps he meant that I could tell Lucien too? I couldn't decide that on my own. I would ask Richard-sama when I got back.

"I don't know whether I'm allowed to tell you, so I'll ask Richard-sama first."

"Is that so? ... All right."

Perhaps my serious expression got through to him, because Lucien nodded.

That same day, I told Richard-sama what had happened, and he checked with Alexis-sama.

Apparently, it was all right to tell Lucien. Stefan-sama had been told that the Townsend ducal family knew about my abilities, so he had assumed that Lucien already knew.

I then told Lucien that I had cured Martine-sama. He was quite surprised, but he seemed to understand Stefan-sama's words now.

That finally settled the matter. I had only gone to take an exam, but I was incredibly exhausted.