Volume 1 Chapter 25 Childhood Friend, I Tried To Protect You In Silence
Looking back, my parents were quite overambitious.
Now that I think about it, it's probably normal for nobles to be overambitious, as there aren't many who aren't.
However, that normalcy was terribly painful for me as a child.
For some reason, they seemed to believe that their son was exceptionally talented, and also that other kids were lacking.
And as they clung to this belief, they disliked the idea of their son playing with other kids.
They said it was a possibility that their talented son could be corrupted by less talented children.
My parents, who wouldn't allow me to play with other kids, started to throw me into gatherings with people over ten years older than me.
Of course, I couldn't relate to those older people, and when my parents weren't looking, I was also bullied by them.
They would say things like, "It's no fun with a kid like you here," "What are you doing here?" and "You're a nuisance."
Amidst all this, the only child my parents allowed me to play with was Elena.
It was because our parents got along well.
And not only that, but she was also very intelligent.
Her presence had an air of sophistication that was beyond that of an ordinary child, and subtle elegance could be sensed in her words.
Well, that was only when adults were around, though.
The moment we were alone with just kids, she would suddenly turn very childlike.
However, since she could switch between those personas, I suppose that meant she was indeed intelligent.
Meeting her was a salvation for me.
She was my savior.
If danger is approaching such a precious childhood friend, then there is no option but to help.
"Are you really having fun playing with me?"
Then Elena said with a smile.
"Oh, do I look like I'm not having fun?"
And.
I was so saved by her smile and words.
As long as I had time to play without my parents telling me what to do, I didn't mind the harassment from older people, and in the first place, the time I spent with them decreased.
Even after entering the school, we were in the same class, and we were still together as usual.
If such a precious childhood friend was in danger, there was no choice but to help her.
"Um, Sir Leve, can I have a moment?"
It was one morning.
I was called by Ms. Natalia.
When we first met, it seemed she had some conflict with Elena, but before long they became friends, and I had started to talk to her occasionally as well.
However, it's rare for her to approach me like this.
"Sure, but is something wrong?"
"It's a bit... there's a place over there where not many people go, can we talk there?"
I wondered what on earth we couldn't talk about in the classroom, but I decided to follow her.
And as soon as we arrived at the so-called quiet place, she opened her mouth with a pale expression.
"Lady Elena is in danger!"
"Elena is?"
Upon asking for more details, it seemed that Elena had caught the attention of some troublesome person.
That troublesome person is apparently the daughter of that wealthy Margrave who was at the match to watch Sir Lorentz.
It seems that the 'bride candidates for Sir Lorentz' are narrowing down to that person and Elena, and they want to eliminate Elena before that happens.
On the day of the match, I had thought it would be troublesome to get involved with the wealthy Margrave's daughter, and my predictions were spot on.
"Um, I wish I could handle it by myself, but the opponent is too strong..."
"No, thank you for consulting me. I'll help Elena, so can you assist me too?"
When I asked her, she nodded with a sigh of relief.
By protecting Elena, I could finally repay her kindness.
Or so I thought.
"I'll give all the information I've gathered to Sir Leve. But we're dealing with a party that wants to settle this peacefully. Of course, Lady Elena will be at risk, and if anything were to happen to us, Lady Elena would find out."
"Yes."
"I don't want to make Lady Elena sad."
"I feel the same. I want Elena to be able to smile freely."
"I understand!"
However, if I want to handle it quietly without Elena noticing, I need more collaborators.
"Let's gather collaborators"
"Collaborators, huh?"
"There must be at least one person who thinks the same way we do"
"Mr. Rolus!"
"You got it right"
Rolus will definitely help us, and if I don't tell him about this, he might get angry later.
The only time Elena, I, and Rolus can act completely separately is when Elena is in Healing Magic class and I'm in Defense Magic class.
Other than that, Elena and I are either in class together or everyone is together, or Elena and Rolus are together.
It would be extremely difficult to separate Rolus alone.
After Elena headed to Healing Magic class, I decided to fake an illness and slip out of class to meet Rolus.
And so came the time for Defense Magic class.
I easily slipped out of class and arrived at the Attendant waiting room.
I quietly called Rolus and brought him out into the hallway, and it seemed he was waiting for me too.
"I also had something I wanted to consult with Sir Leve"
I thought it might be a different matter since Ms. Natalia wasn't talking to Rolus, but it seems that's not the case.
"This is..."
What Rolus showed me quietly was a letter addressed to him from a person named Lorentz.
Apparently, this morning, when Rolus and Elena had parted ways, Lorentz had quietly handed the letter to him.
Rolus agreed to read it, so when he looked through it, it said, "I'm worried that I might cause trouble for Ellie, so I'd like your cooperation."
It also seemed that Lorentz wanted to deal with this incident without Elena finding out.
"We all think the same way."
"Huh?"
"Ms. Natalia was aware of this whole situation too. So, we're trying to figure something out before Elena catches on. That's why we came here at this time. I also thought of getting Rolus to help us."
"Of course, I'll help. Rather, I'm the one who should be asking for your assistance."
Rolus deeply bowed his head.
At that moment, I clearly heard footsteps that weren't ours.
I thought, "Oh no," and tried to hide, but it was too late.
"It must be class right now. Why are there students here?"
It's only natural to be scolded since I skipped class using a fake illness.
However, it was so sudden that I couldn't think of an excuse, and not even a voice would come out.
But somehow, if I don't manage to talk my way out of this, and I get scolded, Elena might ask why I was being scolded.
That would be bad.
"Hmm?"
As I was swirling around with various thoughts, the teacher who found us snatched the letter from my hand.
"Ah, I see."
The teacher muttered as if understanding after reading the letter.
"Handling it without being noticed, huh? Lorentz and Elena's attendant... and you?"
Without pausing after his mutter, the teacher tilted his head while looking at me.
"Huh?"
"You're, Elena's, what? Also, your name."
"I'm Elena's childhood friend, Leve."
"Hmm."
While making a sound of understanding, the teacher still tilted his head.
I have no idea what this teacher is thinking, but he hope he doesn't interfere since the time for our plan is already limited.
"Me, Lorentz, Elena's Attendant, and Leve, we don't have enough people to deal with this without being noticed. The only other person we could get involved with is... Rudger, who was there when Mister Bruno called Elena."
What? He's not just getting in the way, he's trying to go ahead with the plan on his own...?
What's going on?
Who is this teacher?
While I was confused, Rolus, who was next to me, spoke up.
"Will you cooperate with us, too, Mister?"
"If it was just a fight between students, I wouldn't get involved, but this is a fight between two people. I want to put an end to it before it develops into a family feud. You never know what a woman will do when a problem like this arises."
"...Is that based on personal experience?"
It slipped out unexpectedly.
Because the deep furrow in the teacher's brow was just too noticeable.
"Leave it to your imagination. So, is it possible for all the collaborators to gather for a meeting without Elena noticing? Well, from the looks of it, it seems difficult considering you're skipping class to be here."
Since I was asked that, I explained the current situation to the teacher.
I mentioned that there's another collaborator named Ms. Natalia, that Elena, me, and Elena and Rolus are usually together, and while I still don't know if Rudger will cooperate, he can move around relatively freely.
"Then after school, let's have Rolus guide Elena to leave early, and we can hold a meeting. It should be fine if I tell Rolus the details the next day, right?"
"That would be very helpful."
Thus, from that day on, the plan to resolve the issues without Elena catching on began.
But who is this teacher that is so incredibly helpful?
I planned to help Elena and repay the favor, but I started to worry if I could actually be of any use.
"We've managed to recruit one of the followers of that rich Margrave's daughter, so with Ms. Parsley, Ms. Percella, and I, we can guide them!"
That was said by Ms. Natalia.
What on earth did this girl do to recruit a follower?
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