Greetings to you.
My name is Pannacore, eldest daughter of the Count Silver Silk family of Raywhite Kingdom.
Pannacore Silver Silk.
I am fifteen this year.
Please, call me Panna, with affection.
-0-
Now then… I am currently in a state of confusion.
Yes, truly confused.
Why?
How did this happen?
What exactly am I doing?
-0-
Raywhite Kingdom has three royal houses.
From each of these three houses, a king is chosen.
Which means that Raywhite Kingdom has three kings.
It is a little complicated, but this has been the established system since before I was born, so there is little point in complaining.
Each of the three kings has a prince.
The princes are about my age, or perhaps a little younger.
Each of those princes already has a fiancée chosen for him.
They are simply not yet married.
In other words, the matches are practically decided.
There is little chance of them being overturned.
And so, rather than grinding our teeth in frustration, the noble daughters of Raywhite Kingdom, myself included, have been quite delighted to maneuver behind the scenes in pursuit of becoming a second or third wife.
The legal wife… the first wife, sounds like nothing but trouble.
Second wife or third wife is ideal.
Yes, ideal.
Have one child in your teens, another in your twenties, and your future is secure.
After that, you may spend the rest of your life freely, supported by royal funds.
And as a relative of the royal family, your noble pride is fully satisfied.
For a daughter born into nobility, it is a position everyone aims for.
Love?
Love is something that grows naturally if you spend enough time together.
One cannot survive while worrying about such trivialities.
And of course, I too am one of those aiming for the position of a prince’s second or third wife.
-0-
And then, one day.
An incident occurred.
It seems the princes had a dispute with Alfred-sama, a guest of the Korin Religion.
That alone would not have concerned me, but rumors began to spread that the princes might be disinherited.
We were thrown into panic.
However, we had to respond calmly. Yes, calmly.
For the time being, we would wait and observe without rushing.
This is not opportunism.
Waiting and enduring is an important virtue for nobility.
We would remain on standby until new information arrived.
…………
Though it took some time, the princes reconciled with Alfred-sama.
It appears the matter of disinheritance was set aside.
All is well that ends well.
Nothing seems to have changed.
That is what we thought…
But for us, the incident was far from over.
Unbelievably, daughters of lesser nobles had begun approaching the princes.
Not just one, three of them!
And with remarkable boldness.
Until now, those girls could not even attend our tea gatherings.
And even if they did, they could only sit quietly in the corner.
Yet now….
They are with the princes!
Chatting happily with them!
Fufu.
Fufufufufufu.
Well done indeed.
I must admire them.
No, truly.
I admire them from the bottom of my heart.
They moved.
I did not.
That is the difference between us.
I can accept that.
I can accept it… but I will not forgive it.
That is an entirely separate matter.
Yes, entirely separate.
Do they have any idea how much careful coordination and quiet struggle the daughters of greater nobles, myself included, have undertaken in pursuit of becoming the princes’ second or third wives?
They are not aiming for the princes?
They are aiming for Alfred-sama?
If that is the case, then they should make such intentions clear.
Why, then, are they constantly at the princes’ side?
I have not once seen them together with Alfred-sama.
……
Still, refusing to hear their explanation at all would not be proper.
There should still be room for discussion… surely.
If they were to reject even that, then I would have no choice but to rely on my family’s power… though in truth, my family’s influence is not quite that strong.
While my house is counted among the leading count families of Raywhite Kingdom, circumstances are… complicated.
Yes, quite complicated.
It is embarrassing to admit, but for the past ten years or so, the specialty products of our territory have, for some reason, failed to sell at all.
As a result, we have been burdened with unsold inventory and forced to take on repeated loans to stay afloat.
The reason I aimed for the position of the princes’ second or third wife was also because I wished to ease my family’s burdens, even if only a little.
However, that is now a matter of the past.
My family’s financial situation has improved dramatically.
It seems that the reason our territory’s specialty products failed to sell was because a major merchant house had been obstructing their trade.
We never realized it.
But apparently, the upper management of that large merchant house has since been completely replaced, and the interference has ceased.
Of course, that alone does not mean our specialty goods would suddenly begin to sell.
Our family’s specialty, lace fabric, is a finest-grade product, crafted painstakingly by skilled artisans, worthy of being presented anywhere without shame.
Precisely because of that quality, it is handled at high prices, which makes it difficult to sell.
And yet, then there is Alfred-sama.
Alfred-sama took a great liking to our lace fabric and purchased all of it.
Every last piece.
All the lace fabric piled high in multiple warehouses.
And he paid almost entirely in immediate cash.
Gold coins were stacked before us.
I wondered whether he pitied my family, but that was not the case.
It seems Alfred-sama has channels through which to sell lace fabric, and it was loaded onto a large merchant vessel belonging to the Marde Trading Company, which is closely connected to the Korin Religion.
In other words, it was business.
A transaction from which both sides benefit.
And thus, my family is gradually regaining its strength.
Not fully restored yet.
We are repaying debts across various regions, but it seems some parties protest, claiming that sudden repayment is inconvenient for them.
In other words, they prefer the state in which my family remains indebted to them rather than being repaid.
I can understand their reasoning, but if we are offering repayment with interest included, refusing to accept it seems rather improper.
Well, I shall leave those negotiations to Father…
In any case, I feel nothing but gratitude toward Alfred-sama.
He is the savior of my house.
And yet, those daughters of lesser nobles claim they are aiming for Alfred-sama…
Considering Alfred-sama’s wealth, perhaps it is not surprising that some might be dazzled by it.
……
I owe Alfred-sama a great debt.
I cannot allow ill-mannered schemers to approach him.
From those daughters of lesser nobles, I shall hear their defense… no, I shall properly hear what they have to say.
With my maid in attendance, I made my way to the place where I was told the daughters of lesser nobles were gathered.
-0-
The Pandoro Mansion.
Also known as the Archive Museum.
It is a residence built for the purpose of storing and managing the vast number of documents held by Raywhite Kingdom.
Because it stands near the royal castle, the mansion is equipped with numerous meeting rooms of various sizes, and many different people make use of them.
I have heard that the daughters of lesser nobles are gathered in one of the Archive Museum’s meeting rooms.
I arrived at the entrance of the mansion, however…
It was larger than I had imagined, so I called out to a staff member nearby.
The employee, as if accustomed to such matters, immediately guided my maid and me.
I appreciate the efficiency, but is that not a little strange?
I only said, 「Um…」
And yet, we were led to a certain door.
The employee left us there and returned to his duties.
If one is to guide someone, one ought to see it through to the end…
Well, no matter.
The daughters of lesser nobles should be here… hm?
There is something written on a thin board affixed to the door.
《To those entering.
From this point onward, silence is commanded.
The same applies to attendants and those of similar station.
However, speaking to avert danger to one’s master is permitted.》
In other words, we are to remain quiet.
That much I understand, but…
Why are the names of the three kings of Raywhite Kingdom listed in the corner as those responsible for this notice?
Is this a royal decree?
……
In any case, nothing will happen if we simply stand here.
Let us enter the room.
I signal to my maid, and she opens the door for me.
Ordinarily, one would knock first, but there is a sign on the door reading 《No knocking required》, so surely it will not be considered discourteous.
Upon entering… it was not a room, but a corridor.
A long hallway lined with many doors to the left and right.
And a single standing signboard.
《One hundred sheep.
Eighty-seven have fled.
Go to the room of the remaining number.》
?
What sort of question is this?
As I hesitated, my maid pointed toward a nearby door.
Upon it was written 《Room One》.
Next to it was 《Room Two》.
I see.
Then let us proceed farther inside.
-0-
I arrived at 《Room Thirteen》.
There was no one inside.
However, a new question awaited me.
《To the one who came from the entrance.
Thirteen sheep.
After purchasing more, there are forty-four.
Proceed to the room of the number bought.》
And also…
《To the one who came from another room.
Advance to the door at the very end of the corridor.》
So, if someone entered this room by mistake, they would be sent back through the farthest door?
Well, I would not make a mistake on a question of this level.
I am quite good at calculations.
Our frugal household circumstances were rather strict, after all.
I solved each question in turn and continued onward.
-0-
The questions were not limited to arithmetic.
There were questions on grammar, on law, and even on the rules of commerce.
I see.
They demanded silence from my maid so that I could not consult her.
Oh? Now it is a riddle.
Fufufu.
This is starting to become rather enjoyable.
-0-
There must have been around fifteen questions in total.
Following the answer to 《The Final Question》, I proceeded to 《Room Two》.
There, the daughters of lesser nobles should be…
They were there!
Yes, they were there!
The three of them appeared to be occupied with paperwork and did not turn their faces toward me, but… they were indeed there!
So this must be the goal of the questions.
A sense of accomplishment fills me.
Ah, no, no.
I must not forget my purpose…
Just as I thought that…on either side of me… hm?
A prince?
The princes?
Excuse me?
With flawless etiquette, where are you escorting me?
You wish me to sit here?
Eh?
And what is this mountain of documents piled up before me?
「Since you overcame those questions and made it this far, your calculations must be perfect!」
「Your reading comprehension is flawless as well!」
「And you can respond flexibly to any situation!」
The three princes declared in unison.
「「「Please! Help us!」」」
…eh?
………………EH?
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