秘密入口

The station square had to be the busiest place all day long no matter the season, with its space filled with passengers along with magic cars and carriages coming to see them off. 

Today was the weekend, which brought in an even larger crowd than usual. However, unlike other times, the station square was wrapped in an unusual atmosphere.

The reason was due to the presence of \'Empress\' Meria Dragoon of the Dragoon region. With her escorts by her side, she had set up her convoy right in front of the exit, the route disembarking passengers took.

—Just who was the person that the Empress herself had come to meet?

The question naturally appeared in the minds of the passersby, a murmur breaking out among the crowd.

However, a quick look revealed she wasn’t the sole noble present. Amidst the crowd, an amicable-looking old man donning a snug robe raised his voice to greet Meria.

"He is...... wait, is he Sir Godorfun the Buddha...?"

One of the onlookers guessed the identity of the old man, making the crowd noisier.

The overwhelming tense air continued to dominate the station until ten minutes after 10 AM. The arrival time of the direct train from Dragreid.

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"How long has it been since we last met, Meria? How are you doing? But to think a person of such illustrious standing as yourself would personally come to greet a mere viscount family, what a day to see. Don\'t you fear tainting your reputation if word spreads?"

Hearing a nostalgic voice from behind, Meria harrumphed. Though the nostalgia wasn’t due to fond remembrance, it was just that they were once classmates in their time at the Royal Academy.

"...And here I wondered which dying insect’s chirp just reached my ears, so it\'s just you, Godorfun. Indeed, it has been a good while. But for all that is holy, would you mind not getting on my nerves today? 

Surely, you must have heard of the shame I had to swallow during our seasonal local lords’ meeting. When it comes to that family, my honor has already been shredded. One time could have been a mishap, but I wouldn\'t let shame get the better of me again.

Anyway, let\'s not talk about me, so you\'re out again without companions, huh? Must be nice being a leisurely old man like you. But what\'s the meaning of you coming here and greeting a student\'s parents? After becoming a teacher of the Royal Academy, you need to at least make sure that no student will receive preferential treatment, alright?"

Godorfun narrowed his eyes, his hand stroking his white beard.

"Hohoho. A pot calling the kettle black. I am here as the director of the Royal Academy, not as a class teacher. As for my goal, then it\'s simply to check if I can recruit them."

As soon as she heard Godorfun words, Meria\'s face scowled in disgust.

"Tsk, so you know, huh? Maybe you should stop being a fly on everyone\'s walls, old geezer. That said, while there\'s no doubt about their talent... is that really the only reason for this personal visit? 

But sheesh, that family is certainly going to be the death of me. Ever since word got out that that irksome family went out for a trip, our magic birds had been working overtime, from the countryside to Dragreid to the Royal Capital. They’ve been so busy that those birds have lost so much weight despite them being trained precisely for such long flights! Do you know how many complaints I have received from their breeder?!"

Godorfun, however, had a pleasant smile as his hand continued to slide down his white beard.

"Fuhahaha! It must have been a festive time for the handlers of the magic birds with all that postage… As for whether I’m sure, it\'s certainly impossible without meeting Sir Schord in person... though it seems that he doesn\'t have any children."

But contrary to his \'uncertainty\', Godorfun\'s expression was certainly that of rejoicing, akin to an excited child awaiting his parent\'s arrival. Meria further scowled at his reaction.

"Hmph, I know no ordinary person can elicit such vagueness from you... As far as I’ve heard from our scouts’ reports, he seems like an average, good-natured old man, nothing special... But it could be another of his masks for all we know. 

I don\'t care anymore, however. Even if we had a chance before, it would be impossible to make him our Dragoon family\'s exclusive tutor now no matter what tactic we use, considering he\'s caught your eye. The world won\'t allow it. Either way, I’m more concerned about the Rovenne couple right now... 

I\'ve tried to summon them so many times, but each time, they would decline, citing excuses like lack of funds, lack of free time due to territory management, and they even had the audacity to use the maintenance of their kitchen garden as an excuse once. I couldn\'t get them to meet me ever since that seasonal meeting. I had wondered if they were planning to migrate to another region, though all the reports stated that they truly were busy with management and farm work. It was as if social life wasn\'t even within their range of activities."

Meria ranted in a begrudging tone. 

But as a crafty noble that she was, there was always more to it than what she made things out to be. 

She had already confirmed Allen\'s father was a so-called \'gifted\' person from his past conduct after a detailed investigation. But, whether it was due to that blessing or maybe it was just his inherent nature, social life was never a priority in his schedule. Plus, he seemed to be strangely obsessed with the Claubia Forest Mountain Range in his hometown. 

As long as it was there, she believed their chances of migrating were rather low. However, despite her numerous political maneuvers to get Bellwood under her direct command, the situation remained a stalemate. His guard was far more solid than she had assumed. 

She even suggested financing him with lucrative terms to safeguard the Claubia Forest Mountain Range, which was apparently the Rovenne house\'s larger-than-life wish for generations. However, he turned down that offer with sophisticated language, saying that they needed a sustainable industry first, and due to that, he didn\'t wish for urgent changes at the moment.

Though Meria believed these were Bellwood\'s words, they originally came from Celia. After all, Bellwood had a salted fish-like nature, devoid of desire. Such a keen sense to realize the downsides of accepting a high noble\'s tempting proposal could only be from her.

"Fumu. Then again, that just means there\'s something about the Rovenne family that\'s worthy of such evaluation. Though that brat is a deviant, Sir Schold also appears to be an out-of-the-norm person. In fact, their entire family is crawling with unconventional people."

Godorfun uttered with a narrowed gaze.

"My word... I’ve never been so annoyed with anyone before. Trying to increase their sphere of influence, making many acquaintances, scoring some sweet deals— which among those wasn\'t common among nobles? But such is a double-edged sword. One must have the skill to wield it craftily, lest they try to reach for something beyond their capability and bring doom upon themselves. 

Yet... their lack of desire is uncanny in itself, leaving almost no gap. The baffling thing? Their fame is still on the rise...... Say old man, if you’ve figured something out from your sources, can you just tell me who in the world is Celia?"

Godorfun, however, didn\'t show any inclination to say anything.

"Tsk... you really are insufferable. At least your past self had that faint cuteness to him. I still remember your nickname before, crybaby Godorf. 

Ahh, whatever. I just need to discard my sense of shame. I’m the only one among the Marquis who can appear so openly before them while the others can only gnash their teeth. It would be unbecoming of their status to meet a mere viscount whom they aren\'t even acquainted with. I bet they have their ears in everyone’s business, but it\'s not as if they would dare interrupt me who\'s meeting them merely for some *business*. Better not get in my way, old man."

Meria had just finished her remark in a gloating manner when the crowd once again buzzed as they parted to the side, opening a pathway for the arrival of another significant person.

Meria\'s eye sharpened when she saw the newcomer.

"This is... quite a coincidence, eh, Sir Godorfun? Meria-san?"

It was Randy Von Dosperior walking toward them along with his son Eddie Dosperior. 

Their glory days might have long passed, but they, too, were a Marquis family on par with the Dragoon. And when it came to bloodline legacy, the Dragoon was nowhere near the Dosperior.

"...What kind of wind has brought you here today, Randy? Surely, this place isn\'t under the jurisdiction of the Royal Guards. Pray tell, you just happened to pass by, right?"

Randy shook his head, his lips curled in a broad smile.

"Of course not, that would be boorish of me. I’m just on a personal errand since it\'s my day off."

"...It\'s really a surprise coming from you. I know you value Allen Rovenne from what I\'ve seen in the Marquis meeting... However, I do believe the fame of the Dosperior family isn\'t so cheap as to personally visit a mere viscount couple, right? It stands true to the other Marquis too. I won\'t nitpick on the code of nobility now, so make haste to your home for today."

The two Marquises\' gazes collided. And after a moment of glaring at each other, Randy heaved a bitter sigh.

He erased the smile from his face, and in a barely audible tone, he whispered.

"I’m here to meet my sister, one— well, we had thought she died… So you have no right to butt into our affairs… to stop me from meeting my sister I could only helplessly leave to her fate before."

A combative aura emerged from the otherwise mild-mannered Randy. He had made himself clear: he wouldn\'t be budging from here today.

Seeing as the atmosphere in the station square became intense, one of the police officers — he was watching the situation from a recently established police booth — hurriedly left for the nearby Central Military Post to get help.

On the other hand, Meria finally started to grasp the answers to all her questions.

"............So that’s it. No wonder...... No wonder your exchange with Romario felt somewhat off. And you knew this already, Godorfun?"

Meria glared at Godorfun as if she wanted to eat him alive.

However, Godorfun merely tilted his head in supposed confusion, remarking \'Maybe?\', leaving Meria to click her tongue in discontent.

The increasingly suffocating atmosphere of the station square showed no sign of abating.