Chapter 43: To the Jade Palace

“Ah- Razé!”

“Sorry I’m late.”

Razé joined the other steering committee members who were taking refuge in a shop.

Carna: “It’s fine. How have you been?”

Razé: “Good. I’ve been working hard to make sure I can spend these few days with you.”

Razé felt exalted after seeing Carna’s face. She had cleared her jobs so that no one could disturb her in these three days. She was overjoyed.

Ruben: “Everyone’s here. Let’s go.”

Razé: “Wait. What about Folia?”

Ruben: “She’ll go to the venue directly later.”

Razé: “I see.”

Razé was wondering why her angel was not with them. Maybe Lord Moldir is reluctant to let her go…

Most likely he didn’t want his precious Folia to stay in another man’s house. Moreover, it was for three days. Razé wondered if he was going to send the same confectionery like the previous time.

Anyway, Razé was more shocked to see how the members’ look. They were in disguise because of the location, but their aura couldn’t be hidden at all. Her first impression was they all looked too dazzling. When she thought about the security and other issues, she felt like she had caused them trouble.

“I shouldn’t have chosen the town for the meeting place. I’m sorry.” Razé felt bad for her lack of consideration.

Carna: “Don’t say that. You don’t have to mind us.”

Razé: “But…”

Carna whispered to her: “Thanks to you, I managed to have a date with Ruben-sama before the meeting.”

Razé felt relieved to hear that so she decided to let the matter go instead of talking about it persistently.

The party rode in a large carriage which had been prepared behind the shop and travel across the mountain.

Adis said to Ruben, “It’s been a while since I last went to the Jade Palace.”

“I haven’t been there since I joined the academy,” Ruben replied to him before turning to Carna. “It’s a comfortable place to live. It has a cool temperature even without using magic. I’m sure you’re going to like it.”

Razé started to feel the PDA warning signal. She hoped the two of them would not delay their works. She wondered how Carna would react when she got to experienced watching other’s PDA herself.

Hmm. This is not good… Due to her specialty, Razé usually didn’t spend much time travelling on the road. It had been a while since she last rode in a carriage. She was sleep deprived and severely tired, so when the carriage swayed from side to side, she started to feel drowsy.

She clenched her fist on her lap, but it felt like she would fall asleep any moment now. Since there were other knights guarding outside the carriage, she felt it should be fine even if she fell asleep. She just hoped that she wouldn’t sleep talking or drool later… Her thoughts started to drift away and then she fell asleep.

It was Claude, who was sitting diagonally in front of her, that noticed Razé had fell asleep while sitting with her head down. The seating arrangement was Claude, Ruben, Carna in a row; while Razé, Ian, Luca and Adis sat on the other side. As a royal butler, Claude was used to be observant of the people around him. So, it was only natural that he would be the first to noticed it.

“Claude?”

Claude had taken off his jacket and put it on Razé. The other members were a little bit surprised when they saw Claude had given extra care to someone other than Ruben. Moreover, the person was a commoner girl.

“… She said she was working this morning.”

Claude didn’t say anything else and just sat with a poker face next to Ruben. It was a cozy silence inside the carriage due to his magic. It was a trivial gesture of respect for her who was working behind the scenes just like him.

* * *

“We’re almost there,” Ruben said as he looked outside the window behind him.

The Jade Palace was a popular mountain retreat. It was built by the former emperor for his beloved wife. It is a beautiful and romantic palace with a long vertical architecture so that the residence could watch the stars at night.

“Let’s wake her up,” Ian said as he reached out his hand. “Razé-san, we’re here.”

Σ(OωO )ﾊｯ!! Razé jumped up to her feet as if she had saw a ghost. Claude’s jacket dropped on the floor. It had become a habit for her to keep a distant from her opponent, so she benched back in the narrow space. When she was about to enter battle mode, she finally realized where she was.

“Err… Aa-… When did… I’m sorry.”

She dropped her hand and picked up the jacket. “This is…?”

“It’s mine.”

Razé felt relieved when she heard Claude’s answer. Although he was an aristocrat too, his profession made him more approachable to commoners.

I’d be dead if the jacket was Ruben’s.

Razé used wind magic to clean the jacket and then returned it to Claude.

Razé: “I’m sorry. Thank you.”

Claude: “Don’t mention it.”

Razé felt bad for troubling him since early that day. Then, she suddenly noticed the Jade Palace from the corner of her eye. She was too excited that she could spent time together with Carna and Folia, but when she thought about it carefully, she realized that it was amazing for a commoner like her to be able to stay in such place for the next three days.

Then, Razé realized that she was going to trouble Prince Ruben and stayed at his place. She was getting anxious thinking how she should conduct herself during her stay in the palace.

―　―　―

“Welcome.”

Once they arrived, a butler dressed in a tailcoat greeted them politely. Razé wondered if he didn’t feel stuffy wearing that in the summer, but then she realized there was nothing to worry since this world had magic. But to an outsider, his clothes look suffocating.

After getting out of the carriage, Razé stood behind the group and followed them.

“What a beautiful palace…”

It was the first time for Razé to visit the Jade Palace. She couldn’t help to heaved out a sigh of admiration when she saw the view that looked like a fairy tale. It felt like a dream to think that they were here to prepare for the school festival.

If Folia was here, she would cheerfully say, “Wow, this place is amazing!” and had a lively conversation. But Razé felt a little awkward since she only had Carna as a friend here.

“What? Are you nervous?” Adis said to her when he saw her being quiet.

Razé: “Maybe a little. Because I’m a commoner.”

Adis: “Hmm. There are only us here. There’s no need to be so anxious.”

Normally Razé would avoid him, but at this moment she was thankful for his gentleman attitude.

Razé: “Thank you.”

Adis: “No need to thank me. I’m just saying the truth.”

It was rare for her to thank him, so Adis decided to act frankly with her.

Adis: “I heard that you were working this morning too. What kind of job do you do?”

Razé: “Mainly cleaning up (monsters). Oh, and cooking too (kind of). And sometimes I do office work (like research, etc).”

Adis: “Hmm. You have quite an experience. So, your dark circle is that bad because you’re so busy?”

Razé: “Huh?”

She was shocked because she thought she had covered it with make-up.

Razé: “What do you mean?”

Adis: “You’re wearing heavy make-up.”

Razé: “…You can tell?”

Adis: “I’m familiar with girls.”

Razé gave him a glare and Adis noticed it.

——She must be complaining about me in her heart.

Actually, Adis also noticed that she had grown thinner, but decided not to say anything about it.