Akuyaku Tensei Dakedo Doushite Kou Natta. - Chapter 244

`I Reincarnated As A Noble Girl Villainess But Why Did It Turn Out This Way? – 244

Part 4 “Appropriation” – Introduction

Chapter 1

Episode 22 The Three Student Ladies

Earl Terejia’s “Let’s cooperate as much as possible” seems to have been resolved with a very quick arrangement.

The following day off, he introduced me to the three guests he had brought to the dormitory.

“How do you do, Lady Kaldia? I’m honored to meet you.”

“The honor is mine. Thank you for joining us here today.”

Of those three, two of them were first-year students that had enrolled this year.

The first one was Julia Terejia Rittergau, one of the marquis’ granddaughters.

She was the youngest of Marquis Rittergau’s three granddaughters. Under the influence of the Marquis, she made her debut as one of the pinnacles of aristocratic daughters who weren’t pushed by the social circles of the royal capital, and she was said to be the talk of the town.

The other one was Rachel Zastin.

She was the daughter of Duke Zastin, one of the only five dukes in Arxia. Regarding her lineage, she was to be the most majestic lady in the society of this generation’s women, and someone I had already seen in previous games. In  the game, she was the one who went against Emilia for the position of Shanaku Priestess during the Advent Festival in her third year.

And the other one is an advanced student from the House of Lords, who was also participating in the selection of the Shanaku Priestess.

As she went down from her carriage, I thought… “Ah, I’ve missed seeing her face”.

“Long time no see, Lady Elize.”

“It certainly has been a long time, Lady Elise. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to see you after entering the academy.”

“Oh, don’t mention it. I couldn’t make time to come visit you during the summer either. But yeah, I couldn’t wait any longer and just came here.”

Elise Sherstock, the daughter of Baron Sherstock, had the same flowering smile she had before becoming an adult, like that of an innocent girl.

It had been our first reunion in five years.

Perhaps thanks to the medicine she was using, her complexion seemed to have improved and she looked more healthy and charming. Elise had grown into a fine woman who felt affection and kindness like the spring sunshine.

“I would’ve liked to have you here for a more carefree venue… Not exactly like this, but… Maybe I could have invited you over for a tea party or something…”

“I’m sure it would’ve been a great tea party. I’ve heard a lot of great things about you. But I’m sure it was better this way. I was a little nervous because I couldn’t come visit you for so long… … I’m happy that I’ve been invited to come help you, Lady Eliza…”

“Is that so? Then I’ll accept your kind words. I’ll definitely invite you to a tea party later as an apology. As for today, thanks for being an instructor for my caretaker.”

“Yes, I’ll do my best. Ah…”

As I held out my hand to escort Elise, she opened her eyes wide, and after letting out a chuckle as if she had found that funny, she finally placed her hand over mine.

“The rumors were true, huh? I wonder if you need some lady lessons, Lady Eliza.”

“…Please, don’t tease me.”

The fact that someone I’d known since childhood was telling me off on my behavior made me feel embarrassed.

As I guided Elise, who was enjoying the fact that she was being escorted, to the reception room where the other two were waiting… Well, I thought she would be the one to ask.

But now, I felt that I should be asking her to teach me how to behave as a woman. It seemed that Elise would be the only one who could teach me such a thing, even after overcoming my annoyance and embarrassment.

I imagined that it would be a lot of fun if we could have Ratoka join us and spend some time together, the three of us…

After greeting the three of them, I once again explained to them the reason that brought them here.

Emilia was being taught in the manners suitable for the imperial court of Arxia, but she lacked the behavior and knowledge unique to women because her education prioritized learning about culture, then academic subjects, and so on, purely by memory.

The selection of the Shanaku Priestess would also test her on her femininity, so I wanted to make sure she had that covered.

“So you’d like her to be polished as a lady of Arxia, right? Well, my granduncle has already filled me in, and my grandfather has also asked me to do it. I will gladly help you.”

“I don’t mind helping either. I’ve also been asked to do this by my grandfather.”

After all, it appeared that they were able to come to an understanding within the House of Lords, and it seemed that Miss Julia and Miss Rachel were given detailed instructions by the heads of their respective homes.

With such a kind backup, Emilia’s potential objective could be to be married into the royal family or another family closely related to it.

Something like “I feel like I haven’t been put on a fixed path yet, so I’m still deciding what to do.”

That could be the case, if she ended up not being chosen as the priestess even after taking lessons from these two. The environment was at the highest level, so that could be Emilia’s plan if she ended up not delivering results.

“At any rate, I was surprised. We thought that it was like that because of its relation to the house, but… there’s another baron house.”

At the glance of Miss Julia, Elise, who had been quietly listening to the conversation so far, smiled with a hint of uneasiness.

“It’s… As if some old friend was talking to me. At any rate, Earl Terejia had stepped out of his boundaries to order me to act as a counselor to Lady Kaldia.”

“My granduncle did that? He must be an incredibly talented man.”

Miss Julia laughed. Her comment didn’t seem to have had too much of a malicious intent to it, but the strong-minded way of speaking of this exalted girl caused Elise to smile awkwardly.

Her attitude was a little intimidating, but I couldn’t say anything from the position of someone who was asking her for help. I wondered if I shouldn’t have told her that I already have a personal relationship with Elise.

“…Well, there couldn’t possibly be anyone more suitable for that job. He is Earl Terejia, after all. I was a little confused because you called herself ‘Elise Sherstok’… But you were the runner-up for the position of priestess two years ago and the year before that, right?”

But before that, Miss Rachel came in with her quiet voice. It was a thoughtful voice that I couldn’t think could belong to someone one year younger.

Miss Julia murmured the words “runner-up” as if they had gotten stuck in her mouth.

I wasn’t privy of that piece of information either, so I was just as surprised.

Eventually, the candidates for priestess were narrowed down to two. Although it wasn’t as good as the one to be actually chosen as the priestess, being the runner-up was still a very honorable position. Especially if one were to be the runner-up for two years in a row.

Though I would have gotten wind of her having been a runner-up and being honored enough to have entered a high academy…

“But sure enough, weren’t you going by the last name ‘Rowen’ by that time?”

“Yes, you’re well informed. I was adopted by the Rowen family on my mother’s side until I entered the high academy, so I went by that last name.”

“I’m sorry… Professor Elise Rowen?”

Miss Julia, who had been silently listening to Miss Rachel, suddenly interrupted her.

“Yes?”

“Aren’t you the same Professor Rowen who was researching quasi-drugs?”

“…Yes, that’s right! We might even find your name on some old documents.”

Elise nodded as if it wasn’t such a big deal, and this time it was Miss Julia who was shocked. Miss Rachel seemed to be the same, as she opened her eyes wide and let out a “Well…!”.

As for me, I was completely speechless. Before I knew it, my childhood friend had become such a celebrity…

However, I had heard the name of Elise Rowen before. It was the name of the professor who swiftly started researching quasi-drugs at the academy. It was the name of an unusual female researcher, so I clearly remembered that it had been published in the information magazine of the House of Lords at some point.

“So… Have you been acquainted with Lady Kaldia because of your research?”

Elise quickly glanced at me in response to Miss Rachel’s logic. With a slightly mischievous smile behind her expression, she shook her head back to Miss Rachel as she saw my subtle nodding.

“No, it was before that. Thanks to this domain’s kindness, I stayed in Kaldia for several years for medical treatment. At that time, I was suffering from forest disease.”

The other two looked straight at me with a surprised expression on their faces, as if asking me, “A childhood friend…!?”. Why?

“After that, Lady Kaldia institutionalized the use of beeswax from Lenvia, the first quasi-drug, so that I could go on to higher education. For that reason, I went on a research path to repay her kindness.”

“”Huh…!?””

The other two hid their mouths behind their fans as if they had heard something shocking. And then they looked at me again. Why?

“…Well, that’s right.”

Not knowing what surprised them so much, all I could do was nod and affirm Elise’s story.