Chapter 45: School!
The other tea party with the baron’s children went surprisingly well. Alicia’s boasting proved popular among both the sons and daughters. She also handled the greedy barons who tried to use their mana without paying.
“Alicia, could you recharge our water arcane stones? We have been vassals of Count Shadowstep for years. Some of our knights even served him on the walls, surely you could spare us a few mana.” The baron asked. His grinning face told another story.
“Of course. How many would you like to charge? Ten stones would be thirty silver—the standard town hall rate. But since you’re a vassal of our lord, I’ll make it twenty-eight silver. Please keep this a secret, alright? Otherwise I’ll get scolded by the town hall officials later,” Alicia said with a smile.
“Ah… maybe some other time. It’d be bad if you got scolded, right? Ahahaha.” The baron laughed awkwardly.
Eli, who genuinely wanted to bring prosperity to her county, could not bring herself to refuse such requests—but Alicia shot them down without mercy.
The moment the baron backed away from her “discount,” Eli realized he had been trying to manipulate her into charging stones for free.
“It’s getting cold, isn’t it?” Eli said, trying to shift the mood.
“Oh, would you like a fireball?” Alicia conjured two floating fireballs that warmed the table, letting the girls enjoy the rest of their tea in comfort.
“I wonder whether Shadowstep even has winter,” Alicia mused. “Sometimes it doesn’t snow there, right?”
“Shadowstep was not a tropical region, but it still had seasons. That’s why commoners could still survive. They didn’t need a well-insulated house or thick clothes either,” Eli asked.
“I wonder about that.” Alicia tilted her head. “I only became Alicia recently… I think the former one rarely went outside and just huddled in bed all day to keep warm. Thank God it didn’t snow, or she wouldn’t have survived.”
“I see,” Elidranthia said softly.
After the parties, it was time to continue with the clinic. Eli later learned that Jadenbale and Rodrique had gone the extra mile by lending plain clothes to wealthy and poor patients alike, citing it was a necessary procedure or Elidranthia’s preferences—probably because they realized she disliked seeing such obvious class differences before her eyes.
It was right for the wrong reason. Still, Elidranthia approved the deed, since it removed distractions from her work.
“Your Royal Academy uniform has arrived, Alicia, Lady Elidranthia.”
Rodrique bowed to the two girls who were playing with their pets in the living room. Pioyi and Qwerty had grown large—larger than a golden retriever. Qwerty’s horn jutted out from the back of its head, and its body stretched longer than one would normally expect of a quadrupedal animal. Its length stretched almost to a hug pillow now. They were almost ready to be ridden; in fact, Elidranthia could sit on Qwerty right now, albeit not for long.
Qwerty hopped and pounced on Pioyi, pinning it with its claw. Its tongue licked the pitiful bird, as if trying to taste its dinner. The pitiful bird chirped, crying and pleading for its master to save it.
“Qwerty, don’t do that! That is not food!” Eli said as she turned toward Rodrique. Unlike its sibling, Qwerty was smart and released the swiftclaw, who then ran toward Alicia, hiding behind her.
“Geez. You are taller than Qwerty, Pioyi! You need to be braver!” Alicia scolded her pet. It was an unreasonable demand—like asking a pigeon to act brave against a cat. A suicidal act. Pioyi croaked a mournful chirp.
“You already eat three chickens a day, and you’re still hungry?” Eli scolded her pet. The pets were experiencing the hardship of all Asian children right now—their masters kept berating them no matter what they did. They could only droop and nod.
Seeing the situation was under control, Eli turned toward Rodrique. “So, what was it about my uniform?”
“Yes, here is your uniform, Milady.” Rodrique handed her the school uniform, hung neatly on a hanger.
The school uniform consisted of a black blazer with a white dress shirt underneath, neatly pressed and buttoned to the collar. A royal insignia was embroidered on the left breast pocket—an intricate crest of gold and blue thread that caught the light whenever she moved. The skirt matched the blazer, cut just below the knee, paired with polished black shoes that clicked lightly against the floor with each step.
“It doesn’t come with hosiery, huh?”
“Yes, hosiery must be bought separately. Need not worry—we can buy them in the capital. That way, you can have the latest design,” Rodrique said.
“That’s unacceptable, Rodrique. What if the size doesn’t fit?” Laura said. “We can’t buy things off the shelves. I believe Lady Elidranthia should buy a custom-made one.”
“Should we make some here? But we need at least seven pairs of socks. Can we do that?”
“Yes, we can! Just give them some money to hasten the process. It’s just white or black socks, right?” Eli nodded. She refused to buy things in the capital, as they were more expensive there.
“Well… that’s true,” Rodrique said. As Elidranthia had pointed out, they were just white and black socks. But unconsciously, for him, brand names mattered. If the socks had been bought in the capital, Elidranthia could have bragged about it to her friends. Still, Shadowstep leaned toward practicality — if the goods were the same, they preferred what was readily available in their own territory.
“Let’s commission a seamstress right now.”
“Understood.”
“I want to try on the new clothes!” Alicia trotted beside Eli.
“Ah, Alicia will have her maid outfit.”
“Eh? Why? I’m also a student at the Royal Academy, right?”
“Yes. Why can’t Alicia have the same uniform?” Elidranthia frowned. “Wouldn’t this make it seem like our territory looks down on mages by placing them beneath nobles?”
“Yes, you are formally a student, Alicia. But since you are a commoner, you need a patron — and that patron is none other than Lady Elidranthia. This prevents others from poaching you or offering disadvantageous contracts. And no, Lady Elidranthia, as long as Alicia wears a high-quality maid uniform, no one will judge you harshly. In fact, other nobles would criticize you if you dressed a commoner in the same clothes as yourself. We are not like the theocracy. Mages are respected, but they are still beneath nobles.”
“...As long as Alicia has an allowance and a high-quality dress, that’s fine, I suppose.” Eli still frowned at the blatant discrimination against commoners. She hated nobility, but her experience on Earth made her hate theocracy even more. She tilted her head. “Do other houses treat commoners the same way?”
“Well… distinguishing them by clothing is the simplest way. That’s why I chose this method, Milady. Others do it through language and etiquette — such as ensuring the patron always walks ahead of their vassals, or requiring the vassal to bow whenever their patron passes. If you simply change Alicia’s clothes to that of a maid, you can forgo such subtleties and treat her as you always do,” Rodrique explained.
Elidranthia nodded in agreement, praising Rodrique for catching on to her meekness and compensating for it.
“But the Royal Academy has uniforms for a reason, right?”
“Alicia will have her uniform,” Rodrique said, “but she must always wear her maid outfit unless told otherwise. This is an acceptable compromise. We show that we still stratify our society like other nobles, while also following the academy’s rules. If Alicia has to wear her uniform, then the fault lies not with us, but with the academy.”
Elidranthia felt dizzy from all the politics. She was still just a kid—why did she have to deal with things like this?
“Anyway, that’s about it, Alicia. Your uniform will be sent to you tomorrow. I’ll have Laura prepare for your departure to the Royal Academy.”
“Alright.” Eli nodded.
“Ahem! That applies double to you, Alicia,” Rodrique added as he saw her returning to her pet. “You need to help our lady prepare for her studies—and yours as well. The journey will take more than a week since you’ll be traveling by carriage, not by fast horse like before. Don’t forget to bring enough clothes.”
Jadenbale then entered the living room, bringing with him the sword he had promised earlier—the Sword of the Court, or Épée de Cour.
It was a slender, thin blade, even finer than a rapier, more decorative than functional. A blue gem crowned its pommel, its glow channeled through the hilt and along the blade, casting a faint, ethereal blue sheen. The hilt was bound in silver fabric, smooth to the touch yet gleaming like silk, while the guard was adorned with gold filigree. Both girls stared in awe at the shining weapon.
“Alicia, are you here? Before you go to the academy, here is the sword I promised you,” Jadenbale said, handing her the rapier in its black wooden sheath.
“Wow! It’s beautiful! Thank you, Mr. Jadenbale!” Alicia lunged for the sword, gripping it with both hands. It was even cooler than she’d imagined—it carried that ethereal, legendary air she always associated with fantasy weapons. (Of course, the blue glow was purely decorative.) Now that she had it in her hands, there was no way she’d ever let it go.
“... Please be mindful, okay? This sword can still kill people. Don’t use it as a toy.” Jadenbale wondered whether he had done the right thing. Giving Alicia a sword felt like a parent handing their child a gun, albeit an outdated one. He had a bad feeling about this.
“... Sir Jadenbale, don’t I get one too? I want one!” Eli eyed the sword with open envy.
“Absolutely not. It’s bad enough for Alicia—a woman—to carry a sword, but a lady such as yourself should not bear weapons,” Rodrique protested.
“Not fair.” Eli sulked. She wanted a weapon! If these bigots refused to give her one, she would scour the marketplace and find one herself.
Rodrique, sensing Eli’s apparent jealousy, grew nervous. He glanced at Jadenbale, silently begging for a solution.
“Ah—what about a dagger? If it’s small enough, you can pass it off as a fruit knife or personal utensils. Perfect for cutting cakes, steak, or fruit during tea parties!” Jadenbale suggested quickly.
“That will do! Thank you, Sir Jadenbale!” Eli beamed. A dagger was her weapon of choice in the old world. While swords were out of fashion, modern soldiers still carried daggers even now.
“Erm… I apologize, but I don’t have any dagger fashionable enough to give you, Milady. Most of my military daggers are rather roughly made.” Jadenbale gave a wry smile.
Eli stared at him, aghast. Her soul seemed to leave her body as despair filled her heart. How could this be? Was Sir Jadenbale a villain? How could he promise her something and not have it? That’s right—Sir Jadenbale was an evil villain! He had taken her hope!
“I’ll search through my collection,” Rodrique rolled his eye. “Let’s see if I can find a knife worthy of being Lady Elidranthia’s personal blade.”
A beacon of hope shone through Eli’s dark heart.