Chapter 95
Busy Cyril apparently had other work to attend to, so he soon left.
Cyril usually accompanied Felix, and that had been the original plan too, but perhaps something unexpected had come up.
Monica felt a little sorry that she could not help Cyril, but turned her attention to Felix. Felix had just left the exhibit room, accompanied by several nobles.
Apparently, he was going to guide those nobles to another exhibit area.
'Silent Witch-dono, please be careful not to get too close to the Second Prince.'
The voice she heard directly in her ear belonged to Lyns. Lyns had probably been vibrating Monica's eardrum directly, just as in the entertainment district.
'I learned my lesson in the entertainment district. The Second Prince has an exceptionally sharp instinct for detecting tails. Fortunately, it appears his destination is a room with windows, so I will watch him from the treetops. I will report if any suspicious person approaches, so please keep a reasonable distance, Silent Witch-dono.'
Monica was not good at tailing people, so it would probably be best to follow Lyns's advice. Otherwise, this would turn into a repeat of the entertainment district.
In the first place, security throughout the academy had been tightened since the day of the chess tournament incident, with soldiers stationed here and there. Security was so thorough that Monica almost wondered whether she needed to stay on guard at all.
(If I get too close to His Highness and he starts thinking I'm suspicious, it'll all be for nothing... Yeah, I'll keep my distance.)
After confirming which classroom Felix had entered, Monica moved a little farther away from it.
Just then, she spotted Lana coming around the corner of the hallway toward her.
When Lana noticed Monica, she ran over, waving. Then she saw the white rose ornament pinned to Monica's chest and gave her a meaningful smile.
"Heeey... Hmmm... I see..."
"......? What's wrong?"
"Yes, yes, I'll make you extra cute for the ball, so look forward to it."
Lana seemed to be having fun for some reason. Monica nodded vaguely, not quite understanding why, then asked about the matter that had been on her mind.
"Lana, are you done with the final check of your outfit?"
"Yep, everything's perfect. And Father's carriage should be arriving soon, so I was thinking of going to meet him. Would you like to come with me, Monica? I want to introduce you to him."
Lana's father, Baron Collet, was apparently a shrewd merchant who had amassed an enormous fortune. But he was not a person who frequented court, so he should not know what Monica looked like.
Monica was considering whether it would be all right to meet him when Lana's face suddenly stiffened. Her eyes narrowed sharply, and a tight furrow appeared between her brows.
Wondering what was wrong, Monica followed Lana's gaze and let out a small "Ah."
Standing where Lana was looking was a Minerva student who had once been Monica's friend: Barney Jones.
Barney looked from Lana to Monica, then opened his mouth as he lifted his glasses with his fingertips.
"...So you're not wearing makeup today? You look much more like yourself that way."
Though Barney's tone was prickly, it also sounded strangely awkward.
Still glaring at Barney, Lana clasped Monica's hand.
"Monica, let's go."
"Ah, um, wait..."
Monica felt bad for Lana, who was trying to protect her, but there was something she absolutely needed to discuss with Barney.
After all, she had not spoken with Barney even once since she was attacked by an assassin at the chess tournament a few days earlier.
"I have something I need to talk to Barney about..."
When Monica said this haltingly, Lana peered into her face anxiously.
Not wanting to make Lana worry, Monica curled up the corners of her lips and gave her an awkward smile.
"I'm okay. I really am."
"...If he does anything to you, scream as loud as you can and say, 'That tacky four-eyes shoved his face under my skirt!' We can socially ruin him without resorting to violence."
Lana said something so menacing with such utter seriousness that Barney's cheek twitched.
Monica soothed Lana with a wry laugh.
"It's okay... Really, I'm okay now."
She was still nervous, but Monica no longer found it frightening to face Barney.
That was surely because Lana had shared with her the courage to move on from Barney.
"You go meet your father, Lana."
"...All right."
Lana nodded reluctantly, stuck her tongue out at Barney, and left.
Watching her brave retreat, Barney wrinkled his nose and muttered.
"...Quite a dependable friend you have there, don't you think?"
Monica nodded with a slightly embarrassed smile at Barney's heavily sarcastic remark.
"Yes. She's a friend I'm proud of..."
Having his sarcasm brushed aside, Barney let out an exaggerated sigh and shrugged.
"Let's move somewhere else first. I don't want to stand here having a conversation."
"Y-yeah. Somewhere with fewer people... I'll show you."
When Monica started walking, Barney followed silently behind her. There was no conversation between them.
When they had walked through Minerva's halls as students, they had walked side by side, chatting about trivial things and their classes... But now, this distance and their failure to meet each other's eyes were what their relationship had become.
It made her a little sad, but Monica's heart no longer ached.
＊ ＊ ＊
Monica led Barney to the back garden where she used to eat lunch alone.
"Not many people come here... so."
"This is exactly the sort of place you would like. Let me guess—you used to eat here alone, didn't you?"
"A-at first..."
But things were different now. She ate in the cafeteria with Lana and Claudia, sometimes joined by Neil and Glenn as well.
Monica fidgeted with her fingers, then glanced at Barney and broached the subject.
"Did you come as an escort for a Minerva teacher, Barney?"
She had assumed Barney had entered as an escort for one of the invited teachers, as Roberto had, but Barney shook his head.
"No. Given what happened, none of Minerva's teachers are attending this year."
There had been a casualty among Minerva's teachers in the incident a few days earlier. Minerva was apparently in turmoil over Eugene Pittman's death.
Given the circumstances, it was only natural that Minerva's teachers would refrain from attending. It felt improper, but Monica was a little relieved. Her greatest concern had been running into one of the Minerva teachers who knew her.
"...Huh? Then how did you get an invitation, Barney...?"
"Who do you think I am? I'm a member of House Ambard, you know. Getting an invitation was easy enough once I applied to the academy."
"Oh, I see..."
Monica did not know many details, but apparently Barney's family, House Ambard, was one of the most prestigious noble houses in the Riddil Kingdom. Barney had been proud of that fact, and even as a student, he had constantly said things like, "We of House Ambard..."
As Monica reminisced about that, Barney continued, speaking a little faster than usual.
"That's right, you said there was something you wanted to talk to me about, didn't you? Knowing you, I assume you want to ask, 'Why didn't you reveal my true identity back then?'"
"......Yes."
After Monica defeated the assassin who had impersonated Eugene Pittman, Barney had hidden Lyns to keep Monica's identity from being discovered, then lied that he had been the one to defeat the assassin.
Thanks to that, Monica's identity remained secret, and she was still able to stay at the academy.
──Barney had no reason to protect Monica.
In response to Monica's question, Barney answered smoothly and fluently, as if he had prepared the answer in advance.
"At first, I wondered why you were at Serendia Academy. I assumed it was just one of the Seven Sages' little games of playing student. But considering that the Second Prince is at this academy and that there has been an intruder at Serendia Academy, it would be reasonable to conclude that you were dispatched to protect him, wouldn't it?"
Barney looked at her as if prompting a response, so Monica bit her lip and nodded faintly.
Her mission was supposed to be top secret, but there was no longer any point in trying to fool Barney.
"If you came to this academy on the Seven Sages' business and are guarding the Second Prince, then helping you is only natural for a noble of the Riddil Kingdom, isn't it? That's the only reason I protected you, Seven Sages-sama."
Barney went out of his way to emphasize that he had helped the Seven Sages out of noble duty, not his friend Monica.
Then he leaned in to peer at Monica's silent face and smiled spitefully.
"Are you satisfied, Seven Sages-sama?"
So, to Barney, Monica was not his friend after all.
Barney kept thrusting that fact at Monica again and again, as if he were trying to drill it into her.
Surely, Monica's words as a friend could no longer reach Barney.
Even so, there was one thing Monica desperately wanted to ask him.
"......You don't have to answer if you don't want to, but..."
"Oh? What is it? If you are ordering me, Seven Sages-sama, I will answer anything as a member of House Ambard."
Barney responded with heavy sarcasm. Monica closed her eyes once, then opened them and met his gaze directly as she asked.
"...Barney, why did you enter the chess tournament?"
Caught off guard, all expression vanished from Barney's face.
Ever since Monica had reunited with Barney, she had been unable to stop wondering.
Back when they were still at Minerva, Barney had mocked chess as "a pastime for bored people."
He had insisted that, since he had come to Minerva, an academy for training mages, he should devote his time to mastering magic.
That was why learning that Barney had entered the chess tournament had surprised Monica for a reason entirely separate from the shock of their reunion.
Barney grimaced at Monica's question, as if she had hit a sore spot.
Monica began to worry that she had said something cruel, that she might have hurt Barney.
"Um, it's okay if you don't want to answer. I'm sorry for asking something so strange..."
"I'm leaving Minerva soon."
"...What?"
At the unexpected words, Monica froze with her lips half parted.
When Monica looked up in surprise, Barney was smiling in a way that was part bitter amusement, part resignation... and utterly exhausted.
"My older brother died in an accident last month. Ah, it wasn't a conspiracy or an assassination or anything like that. He went on a long horseback ride to show off despite being terrible at riding, fell off, and broke his neck... A stupid death, fitting for that brother of mine."
Monica did not know much about Barney's family circumstances.
She had only heard that he was the second son of House Ambard, and that his older brother would inherit the title.
That was why Barney had been studying so desperately at Minerva: to become one of the Seven Sages and obtain the rank of Magic Count, equivalent to a count.
But if Barney's brother had died... then naturally, it would be Barney, the second son, who would inherit.
"...Barney, are you giving up on becoming one of the Seven Sages?"
"Yes. I'll return to my family home in the winter and devote myself to studying to become the next count. So I went along with that silly little chess tournament for a while."
He had burned with anger and a desperate hunger for recognition, convinced he could never be acknowledged simply because he had been born the second son.
He had used that dissatisfaction as fuel, working himself to the bone and building up achievements enough to earn recognition from those around him.
When all of that came crashing down in an instant, what had Barney felt?
Even if the position of next count that he had wanted so desperately as a child had fallen into his lap like this, there was no way he could simply be happy about it.
"To be honest, I was relieved. I really was."
"...What?"
"Now I can give up on my dream of becoming one of the Seven Sages."
Monica was at a loss for words. Barney muttered, his face heavily marked by fatigue, as if speaking to himself.
"The truth is... somewhere in my heart, I had already given up on becoming one of the Seven Sages. I did that a long time ago."
It was difficult for Monica to believe what Barney was saying.
After all, Monica had watched Barney's efforts up close, more closely than anyone. Barney had been diligent. He had talent, too. Everyone had believed, without a doubt, that he would become a first-rate mage in the future.
"...Is it my fault?"
At Monica's hoarse question, Barney gave a self-deprecating sneer.
Was he sneering at the foolish Monica, at himself... or perhaps at both?
"Yes. It's your fault. You showed off your magic without incantations and forced me to see the overwhelming difference in our talents... Of course that made me realize it. That I could never reach you, that I could never compete with you."
Barney let out a dry laugh, rolled his eyes behind his glasses, and looked at Monica.
"And yet you would smile at me so innocently, looking as if you wanted me to praise you. I remember thinking, 'Oh, screw you.'"
No matter how much malice and hatred he piled on, there was no force left in Barney's voice.
He had already given up on the future he had envisioned for himself as one of the Seven Sages.
"You kept insisting that I was your friend, but I never wanted to be your friend."
Monica had already stopped hoping to live up to Barney's expectations.
Even so, the fact that Barney had reached out to her, only to deny the days they had studied together, still hurt.
Barney said this to Monica as she looked down.
"...I wanted us to be equals. Rivals."
Monica blinked, then slowly raised her bowed head and looked up at Barney.
When Barney saw Monica's vacant expression, he snorted derisively and laughed like his usual self.
"Well, I am quite talented. I'll make a name for myself as the greatest Ambard count in history. Ah, since we'll both be counts, that means we'll be equals in rank, doesn't it, Magic Count Everett?"
"...Huh? What? Oh, um... yeah."
At Barney's sudden change in attitude, Monica nodded haltingly, and he folded his arms and laughed arrogantly.
"I'll become such a capable count that one day you'll want to rely on me. When that day comes, please come crawling to me in your pathetic state."
He said it like a parting shot, then turned his back on Monica as if they had nothing left to discuss.
Monica and Barney would probably never be friends again.
Even so, it was not as if everything had been lost. Even after a friendship was broken, a new relationship could surely grow in its place.
Monica bowed her head toward Barney's retreating back.
"......I sincerely thank you for your assistance with my mission, Barney Jones-sama of House Ambard."
Barney stopped, turned only his head to look back at Monica, and smiled faintly.
It was the same nostalgic smile he had once given Monica when she tearfully begged, "Barney, help me," as if he were saying, "Honestly, what am I going to do with you?"
"That's right. You can spend the rest of your life thanking me."