Chapter 141
Monica woke earlier than usual, got ready, and went downstairs.
She'd meant to get up earlier than usual, but Isaac was already in the kitchen preparing breakfast.
"Good morning, Monica."
"Good morning, Aike. Is Cyril-sama..."
"It looks like he's still asleep."
Isaac answered as he smoothly peeled a carrot.
For Monica, handling a knife while chatting was an extremely dangerous thing to do, but Isaac wielded his knife deftly as he talked.
He didn't peel the carrots so thickly that they ended up skinny, the way Monica did.
"Cyril usually gets up fairly early, but he must've been exhausted. Let's let him sleep a little longer."
"Cyril-sama is usually an early riser?"
As Monica blinked, Isaac dropped the chopped carrots into the pot and nodded. "Yeah."
"He was probably one of the earliest risers in the boys' dorm, maybe even the earliest. He was always cheerfully scolding Elliot and Dudley-kun, who were bad at getting up in the morning."
Monica and Cyril had been in different grades and dorms, so she only knew him from the student council.
That made little stories like this feel fresh somehow.
As Monica watched Isaac make breakfast and wondered if she should ask him to tell her more, she heard a faint voice from behind her.
'Little girl... Little girl... Help me... Help me...'
Startled, she looked over and saw the 〈Knowledge Keeper's Key Sophocles〉 perched in a pie dish at the corner of the worktop.
"Um, Aike, this..."
"It'd be a disaster if I accidentally lost it, wouldn't it? This way, I won't have to worry about forgetting where I put it."
As her apprentice cheerfully intimidated an ancient magical artifact, Monica nervously looked down at the ring.
There were a lot of things on her mind, but Monica had something she wanted to ask the 〈Knowledge Keeper's Key〉.
"Aike, there's something I want to ask the 〈Knowledge Keeper's Key〉, so I'll talk to it until breakfast is ready."
"Is that so? Let me know if anything comes up. I've got the pie dough resting."
Thinking it was one of Isaac's jokes, Monica was surprised to find the pie dough really was resting beneath a cloth.
When the 〈Knowledge Keeper's Key〉 saw the pie dough, it let out a pitiful, 'Eep.'
Monica set the 〈Knowledge Keeper's Key〉 in her palm and left the kitchen, then sat down in a living room chair. She didn't want Isaac to hear this conversation.
'Whew, I thought I was going to die... Little girl, you did well to rescue me from the pie dish. I commend you.'
"Um, I-I have something I want to ask you..."
'Oh? Ask me anything. I am the Keeper of Knowledge, the one who knows all there is to know in the Ascald Library within the barrier's range. From every field of study to tonight's menu, I can advise you on anything.'
It seemed the 〈Knowledge Keeper's Key〉 had been thoroughly displeased at being put in a pie dish.
With the 〈Knowledge Keeper's Key〉 in good spirits, Monica asked in a quiet voice,
"What Aike said yesterday... Is it true that no ancient magical artifact can identify a particular bloodline?"
The talkative 〈Knowledge Keeper's Key〉 fell silent. From the gemstone came the faintest sound, like a thoughtful 'Hmm.'
Eventually, the 〈Knowledge Keeper's Key〉 spoke in a somewhat lower voice.
'Little girl, who is your apprentice? That man casually let slip that ancient magical artifacts can be used by anyone—a state secret. He can't be just some pie maker, can he?'
Isaac had probably told her about it last night because Monica was one of the Seven Sages who had created the Black Grail.
The Seven Sages were among the few people permitted to know about ancient magical artifacts, and Monica was, moreover, the mage who had developed a magical artifact capable of identifying bloodlines.
He probably thought it best to share the information as they continued research and development on the 〈Black Grail〉.
'Little girl, keep this fact in that flat chest of yours. If you carelessly let it slip, you'll be silenced.'
Monica could more or less guess why the fact that anyone could use ancient magical artifacts was kept secret.
One reason was that ancient magical artifacts could take over people with low magic resistance, so it was more convenient for families with magical expertise and large reserves of magic to manage them.
The other reason was to preserve the authority of royalty and nobility.
Ancient magical artifacts with immense power were symbols of authority. For example, there was the 〈Sunlight Sword〉, said to have been wielded by the first king to found the country.
Hiding the fact that anyone could use it and claiming that only members of the royal family could wield it would preserve the royal family's prestige.
As Monica thought it through, the Imperial princess, Tsetsilia, came to mind.
"...Have you heard of the 〈Mirror of Bern〉?"
'Oh, yes. It was an ancient magical artifact made around the same time as me. It's arrogant, presumptuous, and has a terrible personality.'
The ring was making a very generous exception for itself, so Monica asked it with a grave expression,
"I heard that only women of the House of Achenval can contract with the 〈Mirror of Bern〉."
'That's the official story. That way, the Duke of Achenval can monopolize the 〈Mirror of Bern〉.'
"B-but the 〈Mirror of Bern〉 takes its contractor's life, doesn't it? Why would they... when there's such a risk?!"
'Why have the women of that family inherited it for generations? The answer is quite simple. Women cannot inherit the headship of the family.'
"—!"
Monica gasped as a horrifying thought came to mind.
'You figured it out? That's right. The House of Achenval has maintained its authority as the house that possesses the 〈Mirror of Bern〉 by always sacrificing one of its women. If they elevate the contractor to the status of a saint, they can throw their weight around at the temple.'
In an emergency, Tsetsilia had been prepared to inherit the mirror and give her life for her country—only for the mirror to reject her, and her grandfather to try to kill her in order to choose a new contractor.
How much resolve had it taken Tsetsilia to inherit the mirror?
Even though the existence of a saint served only to maintain the prestige of the House of Achenval.
Even though anyone besides Tsetsilia could have become the contractor.
(For something like that, Tsetsilia-sama...)
'Ancient magical artifacts have no way to identify a bloodline, but it is also true that some are attached to a particular bloodline. The 〈Mirror of Bern〉 is one such artifact. It has ties to the first Duchess of Achenval, so it doesn't want to lend its power to anyone outside the Duke of Achenval's bloodline, nor does it want to leave that house. But once it lends its power, the contractor dies... That is the burden it bears.'
Monica looked up sharply.
This was the second thing she'd wanted to ask.
"Um, I-I... you don't shorten your contractor's lifespan or anything, do you...?"
'Though it pains me to say it, I am the weakest among ancient magical artifacts... Ahem! My greatest weapon is the knowledge I've accumulated over many years, so my power as an ancient magical artifact is of little consequence!'
"...Er, so?"
At Monica's prompting, the 〈Knowledge Keeper's Key〉 answered in a slightly sulky tone.
'The barrier I can maintain covers, at most, a single library. So the burden on my contractor is very small. I certainly won't shorten their lifespan like the 〈Mirror of Bern〉.'
Monica breathed a sigh of relief at the answer.
Apparently, she didn't need to worry that inheriting the 〈Knowledge Keeper's Key〉 would shorten Cyril's life.
"Then, lastly..."
Why had it refused to contract with Cyril?
Just as she was about to ask, she heard footsteps coming from the stairs. Cyril had woken up.
"Good morning, Monica."
Monica clenched the 〈Knowledge Keeper's Key〉 in her hand to hide it, then turned toward Cyril.
"Good morning, Cyril-sa..."
Monica stopped mid-sentence, her mouth and eyes wide open.
Cyril had come down the stairs without tying his hair back.
His silver hair, long enough to reach his back, shimmered in the morning sunlight streaming through the window.
The sight filled Monica with a small sense of surprise and wonder.
(Cyril-sama looks a little different than usual.)
It was like finding morning dew sparkling on a flower petal on a morning when she'd woken earlier than usual. A simple, little moment of wonder.
"...Monica?"
Cyril tilted his head curiously at the motionless Monica.
With the feeling of a child who'd found something lovely on an unusual morning, Monica murmured,
"It's sparkling. It's beautiful."
Cyril's expression vanished.
Facing Cyril, who stood frozen with a blank expression, Monica paled.
(I was only told yesterday that Cyril-sama feels awkward when people comment on his appearance!)
What on earth had she just said? Cyril must be troubled, too.
Monica flapped her free hand—the one not holding the 〈Knowledge Keeper's Key〉—up and down as she hurriedly spoke.
"I-I'm sorry! Just now, I saw Cyril-sama's hair sparkling in the morning sun and started thinking about the spectral reflectance of fibrous materials. Spectral reflectance is the ratio of spectral density when light strikes and reflects off an object's surface, and it also applies to reflective barriers, but... I-I'll write it out as a spell formula! As a spell formula!"
"Oh, Cyril, you're up. Good morning."
When Isaac poked his head out of the kitchen, Cyril immediately straightened up and greeted him crisply.
"Good morning, Your Highness!"
"That's unusual. You're not tying your hair back today?"
"I apologize for looking so untidy. I can't find my hair tie..."
Cyril lowered his brows and tucked the hair falling against his cheek behind his ear.
Isaac tilted his head slightly, as if thinking, and said,
"Did you look under the bed? You should get those two to help you look. Your eyesight isn't very good, is it?"
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
Cyril and Monica both cried out at Isaac's final remark, delivered so casually.
Monica had never heard that Cyril's eyesight was poor.
Cyril, too, looked at Isaac in confusion.
"Your Highness, how did you know...?"
"Isn't it obvious if you look? You always furrow your brow when you look at things in the distance."
Monica timidly looked up at Cyril and asked,
"Cyril-sama, is your eyesight bad?"
"Not bad enough to need glasses. I can see Your Highness's and Monica's faces from here..."
Although he said he could see, Cyril narrowed his eyes ever so slightly when looking at Isaac, who was a little farther away.
When Monica thought of Cyril, she pictured a stern face with a furrowed brow, but perhaps some of that was simply because he couldn't see well.
As Monica was reeling from the revelation, Isaac spoke as if it were nothing unusual.
"Of the student council members, Cyril had the worst eyesight. Monica's eyesight is pretty good, by the way."
"Ah, yes, it is."
Just as Isaac said, Monica had good eyesight, despite having spent so much of her life reading books in dim places.
As Monica marveled at how he'd even noticed something like that, two weasels came running down the stairs.
Ture had the hair tie in its mouth.
"Cyril, your hair tie was hiding under your pillow."
Pike spoke in Ture's place, since Ture had its mouth full.
Ture hopped onto Cyril's shoulder and offered the hair tie with its little hands.
As Monica watched Cyril tie his hair back with practiced ease, she was reminded once again that she knew next to nothing about either Cyril or Isaac.
＊ ＊ ＊
Just as they'd finished breakfast, Claudia, who had been staying at the inn, came to visit.
"...This is incredibly stupid, but I'll see it through to the end, at least."
Claudia said that as she glared at the 〈Knowledge Keeper's Key〉 on the table.
Cyril sat with his fists on his knees, watching the 〈Knowledge Keeper's Key〉 with a tense expression.
Monica was nervous for a different reason than Cyril, and kept glancing back and forth between the 〈Knowledge Keeper's Key〉 and Isaac.
Isaac was the only one smiling amiably, and he was still wearing his apron. It was a sign that he'd start making a pie depending on what the 〈Knowledge Keeper's Key〉 said.
Meanwhile, the weasels were rolling around on the sofa. They seemed to like it. How peaceful.
'Ahem, ahem. I've spent the night thinking. Cyril Ashley. I don't like you, but rejecting you outright would be rather narrow-minded. So I'm going to give you a trial.'
"...A trial?"
Cyril replied with a stiff expression, and the 〈Knowledge Keeper's Key Sophocles〉 drew out the moment with great ceremony.
'Cyril Ashley! If you want me to acknowledge you, fight and defeat the descendant of the wicked woman who once held the Ridill Kingdom in her grasp!'
"A descendant of a wicked woman?"
Cyril folded his arms and tilted his head.
Then he gasped, as if an idea had just occurred to him.
'That's right. The descendant of the most wicked witch who once controlled the Man-Eating Rose Fortress—the 〈Thorn Witch〉—is one of the Seven Sages of this country! Fight that wicked and tyrannical witch's descendant and win, and I shall acknowledge you as my master!'
At that moment, the 〈Knowledge Keeper's Key Sophocles〉 was thinking:
It didn't know the current 〈Thorn Witch〉, but surely she was a fearsome villain who turned people she disliked into flowerbed fertilizer or drained their blood to feed the roses. It had to be true.
Ordering someone to fight such a terrifying witch's descendant was an utterly unreasonable demand. Besides, even if you wanted to meet one of the Seven Sages, you couldn't just arrange to see them.
But surely stubborn Cyril would agree to the 〈Knowledge Keeper's Key〉's terms.
Then, once Cyril started making moves to meet the current 〈Thorn Witch〉, at just the right moment,
'Though it may be impossible, I cannot help but acknowledge your spirit in attempting to challenge that terrifying witch's descendant.'
It could say something like that and acknowledge Cyril.
...And yet, for some reason, the atmosphere in the room was strange.
All four of them wore indescribably awkward expressions.
Wasn't this where they were supposed to tremble at the unreasonable demand, crying, "W-what?!" and "No, not that terrifying witch's descendant!?"
And yet Claudia leaned back in her chair with a thoroughly exasperated look, muttering, "...I can't deal with this." The pie maker was muttering, "If we're going to that house, I'll have to disguise myself properly," while his so-called master, that little girl, fidgeted with her fingers and watched Cyril.
And as for Cyril Ashley himself, the most important person there, he didn't look frightened or flustered. He just looked confused.
Feeling awkward, the 〈Knowledge Keeper's Key〉 cleared its throat, despite not having one.
'Ahem. Well, the Seven Sages are the country's foremost mages. I understand why you would be bewildered, since they're not exactly easy to meet...'
For some reason, everyone there stared at the little girl all at once.
The shabby little girl hunched her back, looking more and more uncomfortable, and muttered, "Um... um..."
Amid all this, Cyril spoke with a look of resolve.
"Monica, I'm sorry, but could you lend me some paper and a pen?"