Documents
Elizalina’s Side
“…Found it, found it.”
Elizalina had come to the royal castle’s archives. Amid the mountain of documents there, she located the records from the noble academy and immediately began flipping through them, searching for information on Lux.
“Lux, Lux…!”
As she rapidly turned one page after another in search of Lux’s section,
“Lux~! It’s Lux~!!”
At last, she reached the page containing Lux’s file. Elizalina stopped turning the pages.
Lux Rodwell, Title: Count Household
“Lux Rodwell of the Count household… Rodwell!? Rodwell, as in that household famous for its kindness! Ahh~! That’s exactly Lux’s family! I really must visit and personally thank his parents for bringing him into this world and raising him to be such a sweet boy! But wait… greetings… huh? Hold on a second, does Lux have a fiancée!?”
With that sudden thought, she quickly scanned the section noting the presence or absence of a betrothed. Finding it marked “None,” Elizalina let out a sigh of relief.
“Thank goodness… If he had been engaged, I would’ve had to do whatever it took to break it off, but if there was no one to begin with, then I don’t have to see that sad look on Lux’s face!”
She then continued reading, turning her attention to Lux’s overall score from the academic exam conducted at the noble academy.
Second Place: Lux Rodwell – 937 points
“Waa~! Lux scored 937 points and got second place! The first exam at the noble academy is supposed to be notoriously hard by tradition, and yet he still did this well. He really is such a hard worker~!”
She then shifted her gaze downward to check the detailed breakdown of scores by subject.
“Ah, the sixty-three points he lost are mostly from tactical theory… That makes sense, Lux does seem like he’d struggle with that… Wait? I’m good at studying, practically across the board, and of course I can do tactical theory too, so maybe… just maybe I could use that as an excuse to summon Lux to the castle? Like, ‘I’ll tutor you!’ But if I do that, he might find out I’m royalty… If I haven’t been exposed by then, maybe I could just buy another estate and invite him there instead… That way it would be just the two of us, having a private study session… Sounds so fun~!”
Deeply smitten with Lux, Elizalina couldn’t stop her fantasies about him. She continued imagining all sorts of study-related scenarios with him. When she finally calmed down, she moved on to read about Lux’s daily life at the noble academy.
Compared to other students, he is highly motivated in his studies, serious, earnest, and courteous in demeanor. Teachers hold great expectations for his future.
“Of course they do! Haa, Lux… Lux…”
Elizalina, while poring over the documents, found her feelings for Lux growing even stronger.
Two Recorded Interpersonal Incidents Within the Academy
“…Huh? Lux… involved in interpersonal trouble? That Lux, of all people…?”
Shocked by the sudden revelation, Elizalina leaned in and read the entry carefully.
One: On the first day of classes, numerous reports were received of a verbal altercation between Lux Rodwell and Zald Zarden. According to witnesses, Zald Zarden of the Marquis household unilaterally harassed Lux Rodwell of the Count household. Initially, Lux Rodwell responded calmly, but after a certain remark from Zald Zarden, he began to argue back, resulting in a heated exchange… That night, Zald Zarden was assassinated by an unknown party. However, since he was later found guilty of treason, the matter has been quietly dismissed among the nobility.
As she read the entry, Elizalina’s gaze grew hollow.
Then she spoke in a flat, emotionless voice.
“If someone like that, who did this to Lux, were still out there living carefree, I would’ve had to erase them… but I see. He’s already dead.”
Murmuring in a detached tone, Elizalina moved on to read the next entry.
Two: On the day of the academic exam results announcement, numerous reports were received of Lux Rodwell sparring three against one with Zolma Zordan and two other male students. Although Lux Rodwell did not file a complaint, several accounts state that he overwhelmed the three. Therefore, the matter was dismissed. However, the three students were found guilty of numerous other offenses and were expelled from the noble academy and stripped of their titles in accordance with national law.
After reading the second entry, Elizalina spoke again in the same cold, mechanical tone.
“Both the Zarden and Zordan households are notorious for their excessive pride in their rank. It doesn’t show in the documents for Zarden, but at least with Zordan, the fact that this happened on the day of the exam results says everything… They saw that Lux had outperformed them. So they ganged up on that sweet boy… how pathetic.”
Elizalina had seen more of the noble world than anyone else. She understood better than anyone how rare it was for someone born into nobility to grow up with the kindness that Lux had.
“Lux really is amazing… He can handle a three-on-one with ease thanks to his swordsmanship. He came in second on a ridiculously difficult exam, and even though those fools attacked him out of petty pride, he didn’t report it… He’s truly kind. But I know that kindness alone isn’t enough, not in the world of nobles. No… not even in the world of royalty. That’s why Lux will be engaged to me and become royalty himself one day, right? But don’t worry… as long as you stay exactly the way you are, Lux, I’ll take care of everything else that could ever hurt you. I’ll keep it all out of your sight.”
Imagining Lux, Elizalina smiled gently with the same empty gaze. Then she continued.
“So… those three who did this to you, and got off with nothing more than expulsion and loss of title… I’ll clean up every last trace of them myself. Lux, I love you. I love you so, so much.”
After that, Elizalina began gathering information to “deal with” the three male students.