Sometimes, there are moments like this.
There are times when I wish that this moment I am experiencing is not reality. Times when I want to deny the reality unfolding before my eyes.
And such a time has come to me.
I stood there, staring at the grand mansion before me. The front of the mansion, sharply angled and towering, evoked images of a sheer cliff.
It was more of a fortress than a mansion. I couldn’t help but think that the Adelhaid Duke might be planning to establish his own principality.
I recalled visiting this place during summer vacation, hoping to have a conversation with Laura. At that time, I had ridden in the carriage sent by Chief Curbin, so this was the first time I was seeing the mansion in its entirety.
“Wow….”
Sofia Sub-priest raised her head and stared blankly at the mansion. She appeared overwhelmed by the majesty of the Adelheid Duke Mansion.
Not finding her expression particularly pleasant, I walked past Sofia Sub-priest. Coming to her senses, she hurriedly followed behind me.
“It’s incredibly large… I’ve never seen a house this big before.”
“It’s the Adelhaid Ducal House, after all.”
“I was born in the Holy Empire, so I never really understood how grand a duke’s status is…. But to think that they live in such a massive mansion….”
It’s true; among the vast Empire, there are only a few dukes. All dukes are originally related to the imperial family through collateral bloodlines or maternal family lines, or they hail from distant royal bloodlines that broke away from the imperial family as vassals a long time ago. So living in a splendid house like this would be fitting.
Sofia Sub-priest and I spent some time exploring the mansion. Its grand and extravagant exterior, while simultaneously restrained enough not to appear vulgar, was certainly a sight to behold.
“The garden—it’s even larger than the academy courtyard…!”
Sofia Sub-priest gasped again at the enormous garden, which was incomparably larger than the courtyard of Caldera Imperial Academy.
There were numerous unnamed shrubs growing as tall as my chest. I also spotted several gardeners walking around with pruning shears.
“Rather than hold the festival at the academy, it feels like we could hold it here.”
“Indeed, it is quite large.”
“By the way, I’m worried about our students…. I wonder if the haunted house operation is going well?”
As she admired the garden, Sofia Sub-priest suddenly recalled the academy courtyard and asked about the festival.
“I think it should be fine. Sir Jericho is there, after all.”
“Hmm… Yes, that’s true….”
I looked at Sofia Sub-priest, who nodded readily, and tried to recall the date.
Today marks the fourth day since the festival began, so it’s Thursday of the Fall Festival week.
From tomorrow, the main event of the Fall Festival will shift to fireworks, meaning that the club booths for the Fall Festival will start gearing up for visitors from today onward.
Since fireworks will be held starting in the evening tomorrow, the practical period for experiencing the club booths will essentially be limited to today until around lunchtime tomorrow.
This means that the haunted house run by the Occult Research Club, which already has a low turnover, will likely see a much larger crowd than before.
I entrusted the haunted house entirely to Daniel, Vivian, and Sir Jericho. Given that Daniel and Vivian have experienced the previous year’s Fall Festival at the academy, they should manage it well alongside Sir Jericho.
Right. The haunted house is not a problem.
“How the haunted house is is one thing, but I am still… a little nervous…”
Sofia Sub-priest swallowed hard, taking in the sight of the massive mansion once more.
As Sofia Sub-priest said, what we truly needed to be nervous about was something else.
‘…Rina von Adelheit.’
The daughter who is cherished by Duke Adelhaid with a resolve to protect her at the cost of his own life, and who is one year younger than Laura.
Sofia Sub-priest and I have come to the Adelhaid Duke Mansion to bring Rina von Adelheit to the festival site before the fireworks take place tomorrow.
Of course, thinking about it rationally, there wasn’t much to be nervous about. We were formally invited guests, and as long as we did what we needed to do inside the mansion, we could leave afterward.
The problem was that what we needed to do wasn’t so simple.
I was worried about how to explain things to Rina, whom I was meeting for the first time, and I imagined that Sofia Sub-priest would be nervous simply because she was visiting the mansion of someone ‘high up.’
“…Let’s go, Sofia Sub-priest.”
“Yes, yes…!”
Having admired the exterior of the mansion for quite some time, Sofia Sub-priest and I slowly began to move forward.
If there was any good fortune, the path leading from the entrance of the mansion to the foyer was a broad road that followed a straight line without any turns or forks. As we walked along it, we steadily approached the mansion’s entrance.
‘…Is there still no one?’
I looked around. There was no one else on the path leading to the foyer except us, and the only other figures I could see were the occasional gardeners revealing themselves from among the shrubs.
This meant that no one from the Adelhaid Ducal House was out to greet us.
It was unlikely that Duke Adelhaid would come out to greet us personally. I had heard that he had to leave the mansion due to an important matter, despite originally intending to greet us.
Since Duke Adelhaid had already sought permission beforehand, it was something I was fully aware of.
It was a matter more important to him than his dearly beloved daughter. While I was curious about what that could possibly be, it was brief. I decided not to dwell on Duke Adelhaid’s business.
“Oh, Head Priest.”
Sofia Sub-priest gently tugged at the collar of my priest’s robe and pointed to a certain spot. I shifted my gaze to where her finger was pointing.
On the straight path leading up to the mansion’s entrance, a small group of four or five people was slowly approaching us from a distance.
“Wh-who could they be?”
“They must be the ones who came out to greet us.”
“Hmm…. It’s not Laura, I believe…”
Since Laura was currently involved with the club booth at the festival site, the identity of the Adelhaid Duchy personnel greeting us naturally narrowed down.
As we approached each other, the distance between us and the greeters quickly closed. Soon, four people stopped in front of us.
I glanced at the person at the forefront. It was a face I had seen before during my previous visit to the mansion.
“Welcome to the Adelhaid Ducal House, Professor Antorelli.”
“Good to see you. Butler Alfred.”
It was Alfred, the loyal butler of the Adelhaid Ducal House. Despite being an elderly man with white hair, his robust physique, neatly groomed beard, and well-combed hair made him appear amiable even without exchanging many words.
As I acknowledged him, Alfred’s wrinkles around his eyes crinkled as he smiled warmly.
“Haha… I’m always in good health. Thank you for thinking of this old man.”
“Not at all. By the way, the person behind you is….”
I stopped looking at Alfred and shifted my gaze to behind him. There, slightly further back, stood a dignified woman facing us.
“Ahem. The person over here is….”
“Enough. Alfred. I will introduce myself.”
“Understood, My Lady.”
As Alfred stepped back in compliance, the dignified woman behind him took a graceful step forward.
Just standing there, her presence exuded an air of nobility. Her upright posture resembled that of a bamboo that would not bend, and the vibrant crimson hair visible beneath her large-brimmed hat looked like a passionate summer flower.
“I am Emma von Adelheit. The mistress of this house.”
Emma von Adelheit. The wife of Duke Adelhaid, and the mother of Laura and Rina.
And now, in the absence of Duke Adelhaid, she is the one who effectively represents the Adelhaid Ducal House.
With a somewhat haughty expression, she suddenly extended her hand toward me. The white, slender right hand she offered had its palm facing up.
In the presence of the duke’s wife, unless there is a special exception, it is customary to show respect and courtesy by lightly kissing the back of the hand.
Yes, unless there are extraordinary circumstances.
I gently turned her hand over. When I shook her hand without kissing the back of it, one of Emma von Adelheid’s eyebrows slightly raised.
To avoid any misunderstandings, I quickly preempted her response before she could speak.
“My respect is directed only toward the Lord, who has shown compassion to me.”
“…You are a rare priest. Did you come from the Holy Empire?”
“My parents came from the Holy Empire, but I was born and raised in the Empire.”
“Hm…. Which apostolic society do you belong to? The Blue Rose Society? The Little Brothers of St. Francis? The St. Francis Prayer Group?”
“I do not belong to any.”
“…You’re rather peculiar.”
While she said that, Emma von Adelheid’s expression wasn’t particularly negative. I gently spoke to her.
“May the Lord’s grace be with you. I am Lucio Antorelli, a senior priest in charge of the first-year A class theology at the Caldera Imperial Academy and simultaneously serving as the head priest of the seminary chapel.”
“You are a senior priest, yet you are not associated with any apostolic society?”
“That is correct, Lady Duchess.”
“Hm…”
Emma von Adelheid, trailing off, began to scrutinize me carefully.
She did not glance around in a frivolous manner but instead rolled her eyes slowly, taking in my appearance from head to toe.
Thanks to having asked Sofia Sub-priest to help me tidy my hair earlier, I felt relieved. I had already put away my glasses in my priest’s robe.
After observing me steadily, Emma von Adelheid stopped her inspection at a point where I didn’t feel offended. I thought to myself that even the noble society must have its own difficulties.
“It’s an honor to meet you. Professor Antorelli.”
She said that while smiling, and I couldn’t find any pretense in the smile that I saw.
It was a smile indicating that I had passed the first hurdle in meeting with the ailing Rina.
