The Extra’s Academy Survival Guide - Chapter 145

“I would like to have breakfast with you all, but Selah, the princess of Frost, has arrived at Rothstaylor mansion. Since a member of the imperial family has personally come here, they should be treated with the utmost respect, as is appropriate of a vassal.”

They were in a small reception room at the back of the main lobby.

Although it was small, it was already bigger than the living room of a regular house. All the furniture were high-quality. It wasn’t an easy task to calculate just how much money went into the room.

“So, for this morning, let’s have you guided to your rooms so that you may rest. Then, we can have luncheon together. There are many stories to share and things we need to resolve, right?”

“Yes, thank you, Father.”

It was a conversation with a mask on.

One between a son who had returned after a long absence and a father who welcomed him… Yet there was no sincerity in the conversation between the two.

It was a simple back and forth exchange before the two of them tried to determine each other’s intentions.

“Right now, the house is rather chaotic. Tomorrow evening, we are scheduled to host a rather grand social event. So, all of the servants have been busy preparing for it. I hope you will be understanding if they have been a little negligent. Everyone already has their hands quite full, as distinguished guests of the empire will be participating…”

During a five-day period, all sorts of different distinguished guests would come and go on different days.

Each one of them had a different date they would arrive, a different length of stay, inclination, and status. Since the servants had to take care of all of them, they had their hands full.

“I apologize for coming during such a busy period.”

“No. Rather, it was I who called you to come at this time. During the social gathering, I plan to let the world know that the son I’m so proud of, Ed Rothstaylor, has returned. You’ve been out of high society for so long, you may need to make new connections. I hope this gathering will be an opportunity to do so.”

As Krepin spoke, Yennekar and Lucy sipped tea on the other side of the sofa.

“Over there… Are those the classmates who are taking care of my son?”

“I-I’m… Y-Yennekar… P-Palerover… Ah…”

Sweating, shaking, slurring her words, fidgeting her hands, and trembling her eyes. She had a talent for doing everything that you shouldn’t do when you were nervous.

Yennekar had reached her limit and was out of her mind with nerves. That was because she had to speak in front of a duke that was one of the most influential people in the Empire, and the treatment she had been receiving since arriving was on a different level than she was accustomed to.

As she played with her braided hair for no particular reason, she couldn’t make eye contact. Some might look at that as a trivial type of charm, but it wasn’t something you should do in front of a duke and the head of the house.

“There’s no need to be so nervous. If you are my son’s friend, then you should raise your shoulders proudly.”

As Krepin spoke in a benevolent tone, Yennekar came back to her senses, nodding her head.

“And it’s not like I haven’t heard your name before. Weren’t you the Elementalist who had tremendous skills, able to handle high-ranking spirits without difficulty? And you must be the other one Tanya mentioned in her letter… The famous once-in-a-lifetime genius magician…”

“Lucy Mayreel.”

Her words were short.

Yennekar hiccupped. She was surprised to see Lucy saying her name without acting respectfully or speaking politely. And she did it in front of none other than the duke, who was the head of House Rothstaylor.

Lucy leaned back in her chair as she stared blankly at Krepin, not moving a bit.

It wasn’t just Yennekar—the servants around them also stood completely still. Krepin Rothstaylor was famous for being a benevolent duke. However, he was also extremely harsh to those that crossed the line.

Authority was something established by others. However, there were times when one must show it themselves. Otherwise, disciples would slack, and servants will look down on their lord.

Krepin, who was well aware of that fact, looked at Lucy, who only said a few words.

Even in such an atmosphere, Lucy didn’t change her behavior.

It was one of the two. She was either a person with no common sense, or… she didn’t consider him a threat to her.

Lucy Mayreel was closer to the latter than the former.

The confidence that no one could subdue her.

Even if her opponent held a higher status, she never thought that they would be able to use force to defeat her.

That was why Lucy always acted the way she wanted to, regardless of who she met. That is, except for one person.

Ed Rothstaylor.

“You’ve brought some interesting friends here.”

Krepin finally relaxed his expression. He also seemed to notice Lucy’s confidence, which led to her behavior.

He was sure that she wasn’t bluffing. After all, she held the title as Silvenia’s greatest genius.

Still, she had crossed the line and clearly showed an attitude that challenged the Rothstaylor name. But Krepin was in an urgent situation, where he needed to quickly go out and meet with the Princess of Frost.

“Well then, let’s talk slowly over lunch later on.”

After saying that, Krepin stood up from his seat.

“…Ah, that’s right. I have something to give you, father.”

* * *

“Then, if you need anything please call on me.”

Creak.

The servant gave her greetings politely before carefully closing the door.

Ed Rothstaylor’s personal room.

The room the pathetic and stupid third-rate villain used before entering Silvenia Academy.

It was surprising that the room remained completely intact, despite him being excommunicated. Though, in the first place, there were already so many empty rooms in the mansion that the waste of space was negligible.

I had also heard that Arwen Rothstaylor’s room wasn’t touched and was left as-is. However, that was probably because it held a special meaning.

The room was as large as three regular rooms put together. I sat on one side of my bed in the luxurious personal room.

On the table next to the bed, there was tea that the servant had poured. I picked up the teacup and poured it into the flowerpot by the window.

I then wandered around the room for a while, looking for any possible traps or monitoring magically engineered devices. However, nothing caught my eye.

I then locked my door to make sure it worked. I also finished checking whether the windows would lock properly.

A basic safety check like that… It didn’t mean much, since Krepin could break through anything if he really wanted to. Still, I had to be at least a little cautious, so I did that much.

“Hmm… Is there anything else to check?”

All the servants had welcomed me, Krepin was glad to see me, and the room was left exactly as it was.

Regardless of the situation, it felt as if I had returned home. I couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief… But still, I couldn’t lower my guard.

Then, when I decided to check all the other possible risks, just in case…

Creak

The door to my room opened. Seeing as they came in without knocking, it wasn’t a servant.

The reason I couldn’t see her face at first glance was because of her petite body. If I lowered my head, I could see Lucy, with her white hair hanging down as she pushed the door.

“Lucy… Didn’t you say that you were going to stay in the same room as me?”

Because of the useless war of nerves that she had with Krepin, Lucy didn’t’ dare say that she would share a room with me.

After all, if she had said those words in front of my father, everything would have been flipped upside down. Lucy shook her head as she walked into my room, holding a pillow in her arms.

She then threw herself onto the large bed in the corner of my room. It was cute to see her buried in the sheets on my bed.

“Wake me up if something happens.”

After saying that, she quietly fell asleep.

I didn’t need to worry, despite her sleeping soundly like that. That was because she could quickly wake up whenever the situation was dire.

More than anything, didn’t she already promise to stick with me and protect me while we were in the mansion? I could see that she was keeping her promise to stay next to me, so I was rather grateful towards her.

Even though she wasn’t interested in anything and acted as if she was living her life in a half-assed manner, she never forgot to help when something major happened.

I started to look through the room again, leaving Lucy alone so she could sleep in peace.

When I opened the closet, there were several luxurious outfits that seemed to have been recently washed. It seemed that they had prepared it in advance so that I could wear it while participating in the social gathering.

The bed sheets, curtains, and even sofa covers were spotless, with no dust in sight. It seemed like they cleaned the place up after hearing the news that I was returning home.

I then headed towards a private table on the opposite side by a window. It looked like a study desk that was meant to be used when studying for school or reading a book.

I opened all the drawers to see if there was anything worthwhile inside. Ed Rothstaylor’s junk was still inside.

Most of it was luxurious jewelry, ties, ceremonial daggers, high-end writing tools—things like that.

Thud, Thud

But when I tried to check the top drawer, it didn’t open.

It looked like it was locked from the inside.

“So, I just wanted to ask you. Maybe… the reason behind you trying to get out of our House by whatever means necessary… Was it related to that ‘drawer’…?”

“…Drawer…?”

“The drawer… the one in your room that you never let me get close to or open. At some point, you even locked it with a key. Even now, back at the Rothstaylor mansion, it should still be there…”

“This… is it the drawer that Tanya was talking about…”

I calmed my breathing.

There was something inside of it.

Something that Ed Rothstaylor tried to hide before I took over his body.

If they really hadn’t touched his room, then that meant whatever it was, it was still likely in the drawer.

But… There was no way to open it right now. I didn’t even know where the key was.

“…Should I break it?”

It didn’t look all that sturdy.

However, smashing the desk as soon as I arrived was something that would make me stand out. If a servant reported it, Krepin might become suspicious of me.

And even if he didn’t get suspicious, I still didn’t know what was inside of it. So, I couldn’t just go ahead and use force.

It might be some papers that could be easily damaged. Maybe it was a magically engineering device that has a lot of sensitive parts.

“Hmm… Maybe I can just try and break the lock delicately… But that is still too much for my magic power resonance…”

Crack.

At that moment, a small force was applied to the lock. There was hardly any change to the outer appearance, but it felt as if the hinge connecting the internal locking device was broken.

In fact, when I gently pulled on the drawer, it opened more smoothly than I thought.

“…What?”

As I turned around, Lucy, who was lying on the bed, changed her posture.

It looked like she was laying down without a thought, but in fact, she was thinking about me.

She was certainly reliable. Whenever I was with Lucy, it seemed that I would never face a sudden death.

After I gave my thanks, I pulled the drawer all the way out and opened it.

Inside… there was a massive pile of letters.

I wanted to look through it all, so I took out a bundle and placed it on the desk. All the letters were handwritten by Ed.

“This… What in the world…?”

It seemed like it would take some time to read through all of them. Still, I needed to at least figure out what the letters were about.

I took the letter on the top as I read through it roughly from top to bottom. Of all the letters in the pile, that one seemed to be the most recent.

‘Dear sister Arwen, who I admire deeply.’

I took a deep breath as I scratched my chin. I couldn’t help but be taken aback.

It… was about the character, Ed Rothstaylor which there was no way of knowing… completely unknown territory.

A third-rate villain who exited from Act 1, Scene 1. The story of a stupid bastard… who was excommunicated for framing the protagonist, Taylee McLaure, in vain.

‘If I go on like this, I will soon die.

What is the meaning of a life where I have to die anyway? What value is there in a life that is just waiting for a promised death?

My life, drunk on Rothstaylor’s glory, was short. However, now I’m going to finish it all.

Sister, I guess you can’t reply to these letters anymore. So, I will find my own path. I can’t make the same choice as you, sister.

My journey as a member of House Rothstaylor ends here. But my life doesn’t.’

As I read through the fragmented contents… I quietly held my breath as I put the letter down.

I turned the letter over as I looked back at the remaining pile of letters.

They were the letters Arwen and Ed had exchanged while they were both still alive. Judging by the amount, it was enough to span a few years.

As I continued to unfold the papers, a feather fell out from them, falling onto the desk.

“This… is a quill… No. Is it just a feather?”

Picking up the feather, I grabbed the end of it, flipping it around. It was a feather engraved with a mysterious red pattern.

I didn’t know its use. I put it down on the desk as I looked at the piles of paper, taking a deep breath.

First off, it seemed I had something to do whenever I had time.

I needed to put the massive number of letters all into my head.

* * *

Krepin Rothstaylor held onto a letter that contained the seal of Princess Penia.

Seeing that there were no measures taken to seal the letter, Princess Selah swallowed her dry saliva.

Is it that Krepin Rothstaylor, a person crucial to the imperial family, has already taken the side of Princess Penia?

Otherwise, there was no reason for him to be holding onto an unsealed letter. That letter was a symbol of her complete and total trust.

“You seemed to be misunderstanding something.”

A luxurious breakfast in the early morning.

Selah, who visited the Rothstaylor estate, was treated with utmost hospitality.

She exchanged a light conversation with Krepin, but her gaze didn’t move away from the letter in his hand.

The sharp Krepin seemed to have pinpointed exactly what Selah was thinking.

“An unsealed letter doesn’t symbolize their trust in the receiver… Rather, it is their trust in the messenger of the letter.”

That was right. It was a rare and stupid misunderstanding that Selah had made.

Krepin smiled as he put the letter he was reading back into his pocket.

“I think Princess Selah must be wondering who the one that delivered this letter was, yes?”

Before all the influential individuals across the continent arrived at the Rothstaylor Estate… There was already a strange ongoing current, like the eve of a storm.

There was only one day left before the massive social gathering that was held only once a year.