DPAA 70

chapter 70

“Miss, are you sure it’s alright to go without a maid to see you off?”

“Yes.”

Larisa said as she climbed into the carriage.

“It’s only a few hours to the academy anyway. You’re not so weak that you’d die from being alone for just that time.”

“Well, you’re not a goldfish, so you wouldn’t die from being neglected. But wouldn’t it be inconvenient?”

“No. I’m comfortable being alone.”

“Oh… I see.”

The maid replied curtly.

Her attitude might seem somewhat cheeky, but she had practically grown up with Larisa and had always taken care of her.

She had even followed Larisa when she entered the Escleef Ducal Mansion, so it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she was Larisa’s closest confidante.

This meant such teasing was completely permissible between them.

“Anyway, make sure you don’t get lonely without me!”

“Well, Miss, if you’re not around, I have nothing to do, so it’s comfortable for me.”

“Should I fire you?”

“Oh dear. Would you forgive me if I licked your feet?”

“Ugh. Disgusting.”

“Then I guess I should do more.”

“Honestly, I don’t even know who’s the mistress and who’s the maid.”

Larisa smirked and closed the carriage door.

“Have a safe trip, Miss!”

“Yes.”

Once the door was fully shut, the carriage bearing the Remembral family crest began to move.

Larisa sank into the soft seat.

“Phew.”

Her body felt relaxed, but her mind was extremely busy.

‘First, the urgent matters have been handled.’

Just before the late second semester of the Political Science Department at the academy began, Larisa had quietly investigated the ducal household’s budget while reorganizing the servants under her control.

As Kanis had initially suspected, the closest aides of the Duchess were blatantly siphoning funds from the ducal accounts.

They did use double-entry bookkeeping out of minimal courtesy, but it was sloppy in the extreme.

Any professional with expertise would immediately notice how strange the ledgers were.

Helena wasn’t that foolish, so she was probably tacitly allowing such audacious behavior.

Of course, Larisa had carefully reviewed every single ledger and memorized them.

She planned to create copies at the academy later.

Once she saw the numbers, she remembered them perfectly—this was safer, given how many eyes were within the ducal household.

“Ah.”

As she organized her thoughts, she gazed out the window and muttered in admiration.

“Will we arrive at the academy around 1 PM?”

“Today, the horses are in particularly good condition, so we should arrive slightly earlier than that.”

The driver answered earnestly.

“I see. Around 12:30, then?”

“Yes. Probably around that time.”

“Alright.”

Having finished the conversation, Larisa leaned back into the seat once more.

‘The match starts before 1 PM… I should be able to see it just in time.’

Having received Kanis’s previous message, Larisa already knew today was her final match.

The Duke might know too, but it was unlikely he would visit the academy.

It was an open secret that he wasn’t particularly fond of his eldest daughter, but revealing just how poor their father-daughter relationship was in front of everyone would be a different matter.

‘Judging by the young lady’s personality, she wouldn’t even bother putting on an act to please the Duke.’

Even during the summer break, she had given the current Duchess a hard time.

Before the change, she had been aggressive only toward subordinates, but from that summer on, her approach reversed completely.

From strong-weak-weak-strong… to strong-strong-weak-weak…

‘Wait, isn’t that backwards?’

Normally, it should have been strong-strong-weak-weak here.

Well, as long as she treated those she recognized as her own people well, it worked.

Before, Larisa thought her mind was so clouded that she couldn’t distinguish friend from foe.

There was no ill will, considering how stressed she had been, but Larisa was curious about what caused the change.

She stopped musing and began paperwork.

Having been busy with various tasks in the ducal household, she intended to catch up on her backlog now.

Scritch, scratch.

After a few hours of pen scratching, the driver spoke.

“Miss, we’ve arrived at the academy entrance.”

Larisa organized the documents she had been reviewing.

“Good work.”

She briefly acknowledged him and got out of the carriage without anyone escorting her—a remarkably casual act for a young lady of a count’s family. She was, in fact, accustomed to it.

Nothing was more annoying than having a man follow her every time she got out of a carriage.

After sending her luggage off with the servants, she briskly walked toward the arena, a fair distance from the entrance.

[All players, please enter!]

As she took her seat in the stands, the announcer’s voice sounded at just the right moment.

Larisa, seated in the back row, carefully observed the waiting room.

Far away, two people walked out with upright posture.

She shifted her gaze to the female contestant.

Even in her dark-blue uniform, with her blue hair, Kanis looked like a literal blue cotton swab.

Of course, she wasn’t a mere swab—she was extremely valuable. Judging by her plans, she might soon be referred to as “Sir Cotton Swab.”

Larisa snorted at her silly thought.

‘Come to think of it, it’s the first time I’ve seen the young lady in the arena.’

The Political Science Department’s semester always started a month later than other departments, and except for the final semester of the fourth year, it ended a month earlier.

The Magic Department’s tournament always finished within the first month of the semester.

So the only event Larisa could attend was the final match. Until now, Kanis hadn’t even made it past the preliminaries, so Larisa had never seen her compete.

She had heard plenty about her, though.

• Beeeeep!

The buzzer signaling the start of the match sounded. Larisa watched eagerly, curious to see what kind of match Kanis would put on.

Eager, yes… she was eager.

‘What the hell…’

She couldn’t see anything at all.

The entire arena was ablaze with blue and white currents.

Both Kanis and Daen primarily used lightning-element magic, causing the chaos.

The blindingly bright light made it nearly impossible for Larisa or most of the audience to see the match clearly.

About ten seconds passed.

As the white currents were swallowed by the blue, a low voice sounded through the flashes.

“I’ve lost.”

The light vanished instantly.

Daen raised his hands loosely and declared,

“I surrender.”

Larisa’s mouth dropped open.

What… what was that?

‘The young lady…!’

Absolutely incredible!

After the tournament final, there was a medal and prize ceremony.

Larisa looked at Kanis, standing atop the highest podium.

“First place, Kanis Esclief.”

The academy principal placed the gold medal around Kanis’s neck, his expression subtly strained.

He must have been dumbfounded.

Up until last semester, she had been ranked 400th out of 400 students in the Magic Department from first-year to fourth-year. Now, she had shot up to first place.

Given her current momentum, she had a strong chance of ranking first among all 1,600 students, including the Swordsmanship and Political Science Departments.

Larisa crossed her arms and watched the rest of the medal ceremony.

The principal called the remaining students in order.

“Second place, Daen Grace.”

For the first time since enrollment, Daen was not the top student and accepted the medal calmly.

“Third place, Claude Esclief.”

Claude, who was expected to throw a fit, simply bowed politely.

After this, certificates were awarded without medals.

“Fourth place, Luna Einser.”

“Fifth place, Daniel Ion.”

“Sixth place, Asphodel Luxelrod.”

“Seventh place…”

The ceremony continued until the tenth place.

“Tenth place, Bella.”

She was the only student in the top ten without a surname.

Larisa thought she was somewhat impressive.

Just somewhat.

‘As expected, she’s adapting well. I wonder how her reputation is in the academy…’

Larisa focused on Kanis, the girl she needed to watch immediately, rather than the girl who would never be connected to her.

At that moment, she heard whispers.

“What’s this? Lady Esclief is first place?”

“Finally, the Duke must have bribed the academy principal.”

“Did you watch her match?”

“No. We arrived late… the entry time was until 3 PM anyway.”

They were Political Science students who had started their semester a month late.