I could have easily ignored him if I wanted to. Normally, I would have certainly ignored the child more than enough. However, I was acting on a whim right now. I became curious to see just how far he would go, claiming he would protect Bjornne without even knowing who she was.
"Alright. I will help you become a noble."
“Really?”
Lai suddenly lifted his head.
"Instead, you must show that you are worth it."
“Worth it?”
"Yes."
“How?”
"Enter the Rochester Academy. If you graduate safely without revealing your identity, I will grant your request."
Rochester Academy is the most famous educational institution on the continent. It taught swordsmanship, diplomacy, politics, medicine, and more.
Generally, the children of nobles, excluding heirs to the family title, enrolled in the Academy. This was because it was the fastest and surest way for those who had not inherited the family title to obtain at least a lifetime title.
Unlike other academies that granted admission based on social status, admission to Rochester Academy was relatively easy. Commoners could enroll simply by passing a simple test to verify basic knowledge and paying tuition. However, in reality, there were hardly any commoners who could actually enter the academy.
The basic learning required by the Academy consisted of politics, economics, history, languages, and the arts, which the children of the nobility learned from a young age with private tutors. These were subjects that ordinary commoners could not learn.
The tuition at the Academy was absurdly expensive, to the point where it was unaffordable not only for commoners but even for powerless nobles. Consequently, the only people who could enroll were the children of noble families with a certain level of economic power or wealthy commoners.
Unlike admission, where one could enter with just basic knowledge and money, graduating from Rochester Academy required passing difficult exams multiple times. The majority of students failed the exams and left the academy without graduating.
The exams at Rochester Academy were famous for being difficult. Simply possessing a diploma from there earned one the treatment of a quasi-noble not only within the kingdoms but even across the empire. This was the reason why the children of nobles flocked to Rochester Academy. The official duration of education at Rochester Academy was three years. There was no age limit for admission, but students were required to graduate within a maximum of seven years. If a student failed to graduate after seven years, they were automatically expelled.
At the Academy, two exams were held per year. Students had to receive perfect scores in at least five of the Academy's various subjects to advance to the next semester. This meant that they had to receive perfect scores in at least five subjects over a total of six semesters to graduate.
Getting a perfect score in even one subject is difficult. How much more so for five subjects, each in a different field? It was by no means an easy task. The majority of students gave up halfway or were expelled after more than seven years. I wondered if I was making an unreasonable demand of the child.
"If you lack confidence, it is okay to quit."
Lai bit his lip again. There was no way even a commoner child wouldn't know Rochester Academy.
That place was that famous.
"If I just graduate, will you really make me a noble?"
Lai's yellow eyes flickered with longing. The child's eyes were filled with excitement, anticipation, and passion.
"Yes."
“I want to do it!”
"I will arrange for you to enter the Academy. In return, you must keep yourself completely hidden while you are there. You must never let anyone discover your identity."
"I'll make sure I don't get caught."
"From the moment you entered the Academy, you have had no connection whatsoever with the Merchant Guild. Even if your identity were to be discovered, you must not cause any harm to the Guild."
Lai hardened his face. The Merchant Guild was everything to the child. Being told to sever ties with such a place was like a death sentence for the child.
"Will you still do it?"
Lai remained silent for a long time. The child's lips were thick and swollen from biting them so much. Lai clenched his fist tightly, as if he had finally made a decision.
"I will. I will definitely become a noble and protect Bjornne."
"Alright, do as you please."
Suddenly, I wondered who the Bjornne Lai was talking about was, but I didn't ask.
Click.
"Yes."
“Oh!”
Evan walked in, spotted Lai, and let out a cry. Lai was startled and quickly hid behind me.
"You little brat!"
Evan seemed very angry. He glared at Lai with a distorted face, as if he couldn't bring himself to walk past me and grab the child. Lai fidgeted nervously behind my back.
"I am sorry, Young Lady. It is all my fault for not educating him properly."
Evan bowed his head to me.
Lai took advantage of the opportunity and quickly slipped out of the drawing room. Even as the child ran away, he did not forget what he had to say.
"Soster, you must keep your promise."
Evan's face turned red and then blue. It was the most extreme change in expression since meeting him.
“I’m really sorry.”
"It's okay."
The conversation with Lai wasn't bad. If the child succeeded, I would simply have a competent scholar at my fingertips. It wouldn't be bad for me. It would be the same even if he failed. It sounds harsh, but severing the link with the child was easy. Even if Lai's identity were discovered, it wouldn't affect me.
I only made the suggestion; the child made the choice. I cannot go easy on them just because they are young. I only hoped that I would never end up abandoning the child.
"Is that the item I requested?"
"Yes."
Evan, who had been fidgeting nervously while watching my reaction, readily held out the box he was holding in response to my question. I took the box from him and opened the lid.
“That’s great.”
Inside the box was a pendant crafted exactly as I had ordered. My maternal grandfather made it for me.
It was a birthday gift for Landt that came to mind upon seeing the seal.
Nobles could have their own seals when they turned sixteen. Landt is currently twelve years old. Although there were still four more years left before he turned sixteen and became an adult, I wanted to make a seal unique to him.
The seal engraved on the pendant was exquisite and beautiful. The flower language of a three-leaf clover is 'happiness'. I hope my puppy is always happy.
A wolf wrapped in a three-leaf clover. That was the seal of Landt that I chose.
"I will escort you home."
As I stood up from the sofa, Evan quickly went behind me and stood guard. Since I had come out secretly, I was not accompanied by any knights or even a maid, but I did not feel the need to go back while being escorted by him, as he was busy.
"It's alright. Just call a carriage."
“Are you uncomfortable with me?”
"..."
I turned around toward him. He was looking at me with a serious expression.
"I am your knight. Protecting you is my goal and my mission."
"I know you are trying to keep the knight's oath you made to me. But please do not push yourself too hard."
Although Evan is my knight, I had no intention of binding him to me. Before he was my knight, he was the leader of the Pison Merchant Guild, and he possessed too much talent to be confined to the frame of a knight.
"You don't necessarily need to be bound by your promise to Grandfather, Evan."
I gave him a gentle smile, as he still wore a serious expression. He was a man of integrity. To keep his promise to my grandfather and to fulfill the vow he made to me, he whipped himself and overworked himself.
He is the type of person who gives orders. It seemed like a good idea to help him carry at least one load.
"Grandfather will understand, too."
"At first..."
He stopped me as I tried to turn around. His upright, bluish-gray eyes were staring straight at me.
"At first, I intended to follow the Count's will simply because that was his will."
"..."
I couldn't guess what he was trying to say. He continued speaking calmly.
"Do you know when I first saw Young Lady?"
"Isn't it the day my grandfather passed away?"
He shook his head.
'It's not that day?'
I am certain that the first time I saw him was the day my maternal grandfather passed away. I have no memory of seeing him before that.
"I once went to the Elliott family with the Count. It was the day of the Marchioness's funeral."
"Ah!"
A memory suddenly came to mind. The boy—no, the young man—who had held onto my maternal grandfather as he was about to collapse.
Was it? I couldn't remember the face. But the bluish-gray eyes that had stared intently at me came vividly to mind.
"The girl who stood composedly amidst the people's whispering was impressive."
His eyes, which had looked sharp overall due to the lack of double eyelids, curved softly.
"I could tell at a glance that she was the girl I had to protect."
He slowly clenched his hand and gave a bitter smile.
"I felt a desire to protect the girl standing alone amidst people who made no attempt to hide their malice. Not at anyone's request, but of my own free will."
"Are you saying that is me?"
Evan's gaze turned back to me. There was firm determination in his eyes.
"Please let me keep the vow I made in my childhood, my lady."
He bent down and reached out his hand toward me. I could not refuse him, as he said it was a path he had chosen himself.
"I will gladly accept your oath, my knight."
I gently placed my hand on top of his hand that was extended toward me.
I left the building under the polite escort of Evan. He gestured for someone to bring the carriage. I looked up at the sky beside him. The sun was already setting toward the ground. It seems I have been here longer than I thought.
"I'm sorry. You will have to wait a little while."
It was sunset. The streets were already bustling with carriages heading back to their respective homes. It was difficult to get the carriage ready quickly in such a chaotic situation. It was largely my fault for not giving advance notice of the return time. Nevertheless, I found myself laughing at the sight of Evan fumbling and apologizing.
"Sir, you apologize every time you see me."
"Sorry, ah, no..."
He couldn't find an answer to my words and didn't know what to do. His face turned bright red, like his ears peeking out from between his short hair. I ended up laughing out loud. He looked bewildered at the sound of my laughter.
"Suddenly, I am reminded of what Anasha said."
Anasha said that Evan is usually blunt and handles things in such a decisive way that sometimes she wonders if he is even human, describing him as someone who wouldn't shed a single drop of blood even if you stabbed him.
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