Chapter 80
On the night with only two days left until the school festival, Monica had been invited to a certain palatial mansion and was being waited on by its handsome young servants.
Beside Monica, who fidgeted uncomfortably on the sofa, Lewis Miller, the 〈Barrier Magician〉, lounged arrogantly with his legs crossed, accepting wine poured by the handsome young men.
Across from them sat a mature, silver-haired beauty who was likewise being waited on by handsome young men as she sipped from her wineglass.
This silver-haired beauty was none other than the mistress of the mansion and one of the Seven Sages, just like Monica and Lewis: Mary Harvey, the 〈Star-Seer Witch〉.
The 〈Star-Seer Witch〉 was a beauty of indeterminate age who combined the innocence of a dreamy girl with the graceful allure of a mature woman without the slightest hint of incongruity.
Yet more than thirty years had passed since she became one of the Seven Sages, making her the oldest current member by estimation.
It was only that morning that she had summoned Monica to this mansion through Lewis.
Apparently, Mary had wanted to speak with Monica no matter what, but Monica had left the mountain lodge and was currently engaged in a top-secret mission. She could not even tell Mary what that mission was.
That was why Monica was dressed in plain civilian clothes rather than Serendia Academy's uniform, and why she had slipped out of the dormitory with Lewis's help to visit Mary's mansion.
"Th-thank you for inviting me t-t-t-t-today."
When Monica, her face rigid, managed to get the greeting out, Mary laughed with a tinkling sound like little bells.
"My, don't be so stiff, dear~. Oh, yes, how about some red wine from Perle Dande? You're nearly an adult, so you can drink wine, can't you? A little will surely help you relax~"
One of the handsome young servants swiftly came to Monica's side with a bottle of wine in hand.
Lewis waved him away with one hand.
"You'd best refrain if you want a sensible conversation. When 〈Silent Witch〉-dono drinks, things become most troublesome... The last time I gave her alcohol at my mansion, it was a complete disaster."
"Oof..."
Monica pressed a hand to her chest.
When Monica had been staying at Lewis Miller's mansion while preparing for her assignment as the Second Prince's guard, she had accidentally drunk some of Lewis's treasured liquor... and, well, things had gotten very bad. Mostly for Lewis.
"Oh, what a shame~. Then have some fruit water."
"Th-thank you..."
Monica sipped at the fruit water poured by the handsome young man while glancing around the room.
Because Mary Harvey came from a marquis's family and had served the country as one of the Seven Sages for many years, her mansion was every bit as magnificent as one would expect.
The windows were especially impressive. Glass had been used extravagantly, making the scenery outside easy to see.
The glass was presumably necessary for her star-reading, but even so, the mansion had been built with astonishing extravagance.
"Um, so, wh-what kind of b-business did you want to discuss t-today...?"
When Monica asked timidly, Mary tilted her glass slightly and smiled gently.
"Oh, my, it's nothing important at all~. I just wanted to talk with Monica-chan for the first time in ages."
As she said this, Mary cast a playful glance at Lewis.
"I didn't exactly invite Lewis-chan, but... I'll let it pass for the sake of that pretty face. I do love pretty things~."
"Ha ha ha, I am flattered."
Despite saying he was flattered, Lewis looked not the least bit abashed, and Mary let out a wistful sigh.
"What a shame. If Lewis-chan were fifteen years younger, I'd make you my personal attendant."
"Indeed... In that case, shall I grow a mustache before we meet again?"
"My, aren't you adorable!"
"I hardly know what to say when an adult man is expected to be adorable."
When Lewis replied without missing a beat, Mary wore a languid expression and raised her fan to her lips, murmuring, "This is why men are..."
Mary and Lewis were both formidable characters, but they were also indisputably a handsome man and a beautiful woman. The sight of them chatting while being waited on by handsome young men was extraordinarily picturesque.
Monica secretly wondered why she had been invited at all. Anyone could see that Monica alone was out of place. Even the servants would have found it hard to believe that she was one of the Seven Sages, just like Lewis and Mary.
As Monica fidgeted with both hands wrapped around her glass, Mary gave her a friendly smile.
"I rather like you, Monica-chan. We're the only girls among the Seven Sages, aren't we? So I want us to become closer."
"I-I see..."
Beside Monica, Lewis began to say something, then closed his mouth.
He had probably been about to say something along the lines of, "Calling yourself a girl at your age is pushing it a bit." Even so, Lewis seemed considerate enough of Mary to swallow the remark.
After all, Mary Harvey was believed to be the oldest of the Seven Sages and the only person in the country called a "prophet."
The Seven Sages stood at the pinnacle of the magical world, and each had a particular type of magic at which they excelled.
Just as Monica specialized in silent magic and Lewis in barrier magic, Mary Harvey, the 〈Star-Seer Witch〉, specialized in astrology.
People who studied astrology were not especially rare, but Mary's astrological readings were exceptionally accurate even among them.
That was why she was called a "prophet" and enjoyed the king's profound trust. Even at meetings of the Seven Sages, she was generally the one who took charge.
Monica suddenly had a thought. Could Mary be indirectly admonishing her for continuing to skip meetings of the Seven Sages?
After all, nearly two years had passed since Monica became one of the Seven Sages, yet she had attended the meetings, held once every month or two, only as many times as she could count on one hand.
"Um, I-I'm sorry I haven't been able to attend the meetings lately..."
When Monica apologized before Mary could say anything, Mary laughed heartily.
"Oh, don't worry about it~. You don't have to force yourself to attend those things. Most of the time, Lewis-chan and the 〈Jewel Magician〉 just trade barbs, the 〈Thorn Witch〉 cheerfully eats vegetables, and the 〈Cannonball Magician〉 snores. And the 〈Abyssal Curse User〉 has an attendance rate less than half of Monica-chan's."
It was a reality that could shatter the image of the Seven Sages into tiny pieces.
"You don't need to look so nervous, Monica-chan. You're actually one of the more diligent members of the Seven Sages, you know~? Oh, yes, thank you for helping calculate my apprentices' observation records the other day. You were a huge help~."
When Monica had been cooped up in the mountain lodge, one of the jobs she had taken on was calculating the orbits of stars observed by the astronomers who were Mary Harvey's apprentices.
It would not be an exaggeration to call it the most difficult job among those Monica had undertaken.
That was precisely what made it so rewarding, and Monica remembered it well.
"You traced one star's records back ten years, didn't you? Recalculating them over and over. What happened with that?"
When Monica asked about the matter that had secretly been bothering her, Mary slowly shook her head.
"Not at all. The observation results still don't match the divination results."
Mary read the future of the kingdom and of individuals from the colors of the stars, the number of times they twinkled, their orbits, and their distances from other stars.
Monica could calculate the observation results, but she did not know whose fate those results represented. All she did was calculate the orbits from the observations and provide the results to Mary.
She did, however, know that Mary had sensed something strange about the movement of one particular star for roughly ten years.
"...Um... the star that you, 〈Star-Seer Witch〉-sama, have been concerned about... whose star was it?"
"His Highness the Second Prince, Felix Ark Ridill."
Monica reflexively drew a sharp breath. Lewis's expression did not change, but one of his eyebrows twitched ever so slightly.
Whether or not she noticed their reactions, Mary rested a hand against her cheek and let out a troubled sigh.
"I focus especially on 〈seeing〉 matters concerning the kingdom's future and the royal family, but... for about ten years now, only Prince Felix's fate has become impossible for me to read."
Mary's words stirred a quiet unease in Monica's chest.
Monica knew that Mary's star-reading was not omnipotent and that she could not see everything.
Even so, the fact that Felix's fate alone had become unreadable at this particular time gave Monica a strange sense of foreboding.
With Casey's attempted assassination and the intruder at the chess tournament, ominous events had continued one after another—and the school festival was only two days away.
(...I have a bad feeling about this.)
When Monica lowered her head with a hand pressed to her chest, Mary leaned far forward and peered into her face.
Mary's pale blue eyes, their focus somehow off, reflected Monica like the surface of water.
"Um, 〈Star-Seer Witch〉-sama...?"
"You look awfully gloomy~. Hee hee, that's right. As thanks for helping me with my work, I'll 〈see〉 a little of Monica-chan's fate."
Mary rose gracefully and crossed to the window, dragging her gauzy robes behind her.
Then, gazing up at the stars in the night sky with her clear eyes, she announced Monica's fate.
"Your romantic luck is at an all-time high! You might even spend a passionate night with a wonderful gentleman☆"
Monica hung her head, looking as though she might throw up, and covered her face with both hands.
"I'm already all settttt."
After all, only a few days earlier, she had received an engagement proposal with chess as a prerequisite."For a prophecy from one of the Seven Sages, that's awfully cheap," Lewis muttered with an exasperated look.