A carriage from the Blaffer family appeared at the academy.
Though it wasn’t clear whether the person inside had entered the school building or was lingering nearby, Charlotte seemed to have a rough idea of who had arrived.
「F-father…」
Charlotte’s father.
In other words, the head of the Blaffer family.
Was such a prominent figure really here at the academy?
「…This is bad.」
I muttered under my breath, hoping no one else would hear.
In a way, this situation was more troublesome than running into my cousin Dirk. After all, I hadn’t yet revealed to everyone that Charlotte and I were former fiancés.
And to complicate matters further, Charlotte herself didn’t remember me. Moreover, she bore the emotional scars of our broken engagement, as Claudia-san had informed me. So, broaching the topic had proven difficult.
This was an extremely delicate situation.
Charlotte, of course, was feeling the pressure. Claudia-san, with her stoic expression, betrayed her anxiety only through a single bead of sweat trickling down her temple. I could tell that she’s extremely panicking just from that.
Understandable, considering a noble lady had spent the night in a treehouse within the dungeon. And to top it off, her companion was none other than her former fiancé, now a farmer.
Had rumors reached his ears?
No, acting this swiftly was unusual.
Perhaps he had coincidentally visited the academy for an unrelated matter.
Come to think of it…
「……Charlotte.」
「……Yes?」
「Isn’t your oniisan, the one currently serving in the knight order, an alumnus of this academy?」
「Oniisama? Y-Yes, that’s correct, but… Wait a minute!」
Charlotte seems to have noticed as well.
Most likely, the person in that carriage isn’t the head of the Blaffer family. The information spread too quickly for that. If not the head, then the remaining possibility is Charlotte’s oniisan, someone with connections to this academy—Lawrence-san, I presume.
「Lawrence-sama… It’s quite possible.」
As soon as it became clear that he wasn’t the head, Claudia-san regained her composure.
A bit of an abrupt change in attitude, isn’t it?
Anyway, with this, I regained my composure—so I thought. But then…
「Ano」
「Yes? What is it, Martina?」
「Why does Bale-dono know about Charlotte-chan’s oniisan’s occupation?」
「!?」
Martina’s innocent question sent shockwaves through the room.
…Careless!
In my concern over the visitor, I inadvertently let slip.
「Well, now that you mention it…」
「I’m curious too…」
「I-I’m also very curious…」
Sharp glances from Kiara, Hanon, and Simone.
And then…
「You…」
Charlotte stared at me with a puzzled expression.
Unable to bear it, I sought help from Claudia-san with a glance, but she merely nodded in silence.
Looks like I’ll have to spill everything.
As much as I hesitated to keep secrets from everyone, I’ll proceed while monitoring Charlotte’s emotional state.
Taking a deep breath, I began my explanation.
Leave a Reply