Secrets of the Silent Witch - Volume 1 - Chapter SS

Secret Episode: Report of the Silent Witch

To Louis,

Congratulations on your wife’s pregnancy.

Regarding a gift for when the child is born, would an introductory book on mathematics be suitable?

If you have any particular mathematics books you are fond of, please let me know.

Regarding the mission, a lot has happened, and I’ve become the accountant of the student council.

The prince is also on the student council, so I think this will make it easier for me to guard him.

Lastly, regarding the string of incidents incited by Professor Victor Thornlee.

Mr. Thornlee conspired with the former student council accountant, Aaron O’Brien, to embezzle academy funds.

When it began to seem like he would be found out, he wiped Aaron’s memory and attempted to place all the blame on Aaron’s shoulders.

However, his mental interference formula was imperfect, and Aaron insisted to those around him that he’d had an accomplice.

When Mr. Thornlee realized others might find out that he was that accomplice, he used a mental interference spell on Aaron’s fiancée, Selma Karsh, causing her to act recklessly.

Finally, Mr. Thornlee also used his mental interference magecraft on Cyril Ashley, the vice president of the student council, then attempted to make off with the altered documents.

That was when I caught him in the act. I went a little too far. I apologize.

That concludes my report.

Adjusting to life at the academy has been difficult. But I’m going to keep trying for just a little bit longer.

The Silent Witch

Monica Everett

One week had passed since Monica had handed Victor Thornlee over to Louis.

Louis Miller, the Barrier Mage, had become very busy after that, passing Thornlee along to the Mages Guild, investigating further charges, and leaking information to the press.

At last, things had settled down, and Louis was reading over Monica’s report again. No matter how many times he read it, he always finished with a sigh of exhaustion. He could see several sections crossed out and rewritten, so he knew she had done her best to choose her words properly… However…

“No matter how many times I read this, the only praiseworthy sentence in this report is the very first line.”

“The first line?” repeated Ryn, who was standing behind Louis.

He snorted. “She gets good marks for offering her congratulations first. And yet, while her essays are so logical and well-formed, the girl’s reports are an absolute mess!”

It was probably several times better than an oral report would have been, but for a report written by one of the Seven Sages, it was utterly deplorable.

“Being appointed to the student council in such a short time is a remarkable feat, and even I didn’t predict it. That’s the sort of thing that should have been written in detail…and yet, she glossed over it with a simple ‘a lot has happened’? …I know she has difficulty accepting praise, but this is a whole new level.”

Joining the student council meant she’d won the trust of its president—the second prince. And she’d even succeeded in eliminating a shady character in his orbit. This was more than Louis had imagined—or could have hoped for.

…I had had my pupil infiltrate just to be sure, but to think she’d accomplish this much in this little time…

Louis read over the report one last time, then fed it to the flame of a candlestick. Once it had completely burned to ash, Louis pulled out another piece of paper.

This one was a document concerning Victor Thornlee’s future. He’d be permanently stripped of his mage’s qualifications—and it would probably be appropriate to follow that up with exile from the kingdom.

Apparently, his pride as a mage completely shattered, Thornlee was cooperating with the investigation without trouble. For some reason, however, he kept mumbling, “The pigs, the pigs,” to himself, over and over.

“I wonder what sort of dream that girl showed Victor Thornlee,” he mused.

“She claims it was a song about pigs belonging to a man named Mr. Sam,” replied Ryn.

Louis frowned. “That’s a song about pigs being sold off. A rather vulgar song for a girl who seems like she wouldn’t hurt a fly…” He never could understand how Monica Everett’s brain worked.

Sighing, he leaned back in his chair as Ryn set a cup of black tea in front of him. He opened up a drawer in his writing desk and took out his reserve of strawberry jam. Opening the lid, he poured it into the teacup, nice and thick, and mixed it around with a teaspoon. His wife always told him to eat sweets and drink alcohol in moderation, but after so much mental labor, there was nothing better than something sweet. He sipped at his black tea—which barely tasted like black tea anymore—a look of satisfaction on his face.

As he did, Ryn spoke. “I actually had something to ask of you, Lord Louis.”

“What is it? If it’s a silly question, I’ll knock you flat,” replied Louis as he took another sip, his eyes turning to look at her from behind his monocle.

But the spirit, insensitive as she was—or rather, she didn’t have the same sort of sensitivities as a human in the first place—simply continued speaking at her own pace. “Why did you request that the Silent Witch guard the second prince?”

“I would ask your thoughts on that first, Rynzbelfeid.”

Louis’s contracted spirit had little expressiveness to speak of, but she had a habit of trying to act human by imitating those she read about in books. Without moving any part of her face, she brought a finger to her chin in a thinking gesture—then hit her palm with her fist as though she’d thought of something. “When you received this mission to guard the second prince, you worked day and night to create a magical item embedded with a defensive barrier. You gave it to the second prince, who then broke it, which you were very angry about.”

“Yes, I seem to recall something like that.”

“I believe that perhaps, in your rage, you vented your frustrations on the weak-willed Silent Witch to try and make yourself feel better.”

Hearing her rude remark, one would doubt Louis was truly her master. But then, she didn’t call Louis “Master” in the first place. This spirit had never had any intention of respecting him.

Louis returned his cup to the saucer and glared at her. “Just who do you think I am, exactly?”

“I hear from many different sources that you have a bankrupt personality and enjoy bullying the weak.”

Another scathing criticism. Louis’s handsome face twisted into a frown, and he continued in an exaggeratedly sorrowful voice. “Oh, how deplorable it is! I am so misunderstood.”

“Misunderstood?” repeated Ryn flatly.

Louis slowly brought the corners of his lips up into a smile. The purplish-gray eye behind his monocle gleamed with belligerence. “Bullying the strong is much better sport than bullying the weak.”

This was hardly a respectable motto. Not only was the idea alarming, but he hadn’t even denied the comment about his personality.

Even presented with Louis’s sinister grin, Ryn remained impassive, merely tilting her head to the side. “Lord Louis, it would seem to me that you are quite entertained with your tenacious tormenting of the Silent Witch. Does that not qualify as bullying the weak?”

“Her? Weak? Do you have any idea who you’re talking about?”

“The Silent Witch spoke to me of how she was appointed to the Seven Sages from the waiting list.”

The waiting list. Those three words made Louis’s lips twist sardonically.

Two years ago, the Aquamancy Mage—a member of the Seven Sages at the time—had decided to retire, and so they had held a screening to decide who would be the replacement.

Originally, this meant only one person would be accepted. However, another one of the Seven Sages, who was advanced in age at the time, suddenly fell ill and was forced to retire. That meant they would need two.

The ones they’d chosen had been Louis Miller, the Barrier Mage, and Monica Everett, the Silent Witch.

The screening had consisted of an interview and practical combat trials where only magical attacks were permitted. Monica had hyperventilated during the interview out of nervousness; the way she’d passed out, eyes rolled back in her head, had been quite the rare disturbance. That was probably why she thought she had been appointed from the waiting list.

But none of the Sages serving on the screening committee had ever said a word about whether Louis or Monica was more talented.

“…She does seem to be convinced of it—but who can say if that’s truly the case?”

True, Monica had committed a massive blunder during the interview. But she’d still been chosen as one of the Seven Sages. There must have been a pretty good reason for it.

Louis closed his eyes and recalled the combat test from two years ago. He was the former commander of the Magic Corps. He was considered an accomplished dragon slayer and was practically undefeated in battle. He had assumed a little girl with no combat experience could never hold a candle to him.

But then! That little girl—Monica! Wailing and crying, snot dripping from her nose, she had thrown out one absurdly powerful attack spell after the other, eventually completely shutting Louis out.

Louis was known as one of the more martial mages, but he couldn’t so much as scratch this puny fifteen-year-old girl.

If a spell was particularly powerful, or wide ranging, or if it included any special effects, the chant would grow longer and longer in proportion.

And yet, the Silent Witch could easily wield magecraft that was high in power, wide in range, and chock-full of special effects without chanting at all.

Louis Miller had pride in his own genius. But if he was a genius, then Monica was…

“As the Barrier Mage Louis Miller, I can say this for certain. She is a monster.”

Louis had firmly declared that this little girl, who never made eye contact and was always looking down nervously, was a monster.

After being shown the gap in their strength during the combat trials, he was not very happy to hear Monica insist she was selected only because she’d been on the waiting list.

The whole reason he’d dragged her along to slay the Black Dragon of Worgan was to instill some confidence in her. But after she’d defeated it, she’d fled right back to hole up in her mountain cabin.

You defeated me. If you put yourself down like that, then what does that make me?

Louis took another sip of his tea and narrowed his eyes. “I told my fellow Sage that should this mission fail, it could, at worst, mean execution—but I doubt the probability of that is very high.”

“Why is that?”

“You see, His Majesty ordered me to secretly guard the second prince. But I couldn’t believe that’s what he really meant… I think the king’s true intention is to keep an eye on the second prince in secret.”

The second prince was a talented young man. He excelled at both book learning and swordsmanship, and he had gained the trust of nobles both within and without the kingdom with his strong diplomatic abilities—despite still being a student. His handsome features and soft smile—more from his mother than his father—charmed anyone who saw him. He mastered everything easily and had a superb understanding of how people felt and thought. Finally, he had his grandfather—Duke Clockford, a high noble with the most authority in the kingdom—at his back. Felix Arc Ridill had a lot going for him.

…And yet, he remains mysterious.

Louis always got an eerie feeling from the young man—it was like something disturbing lurked beneath that soft, friendly smile. But when Louis had attempted to pry into what was making him feel that way, Felix—with that soft smile of his—had passed it off and deflected.

“The second prince is quite the con artist. We won’t be able to outwit him without thinking outside the box.”

That was why Louis had chosen Monica as his collaborator—nothing about her added up, with her monstrous talents and shy personality.

“Like I said, I want to bully the strong, not the weak.”

“In other words, you want to bully two strong people at once—the second prince and the Silent Witch.”

Louis simply offered a handsome smile without confirming or denying.

Finally, he turned his back on her to signify that the conversation was over, before putting some more jam into the teacup, which was about half empty at this point. It was pretty much just jam now.

Ryn watched him impassively, then gave a firm nod. “I understand. I shall revise my personal estimation of you to man with a morally bankrupt personality who enjoys bullying the strong.”

“Revise the part about my ‘morally bankrupt personality,’ too, you failure of a maid!”

* * *

While Louis Miller was enjoying his jam-filled tea, the second prince in question, Felix Arc Ridill, was in his dorm room. He was also drinking some black tea, prepared for him by Wildianu. He, of course, wouldn’t do anything so nonsensical as put an entire jar of jam into it. No, the prince melted only a single cube of sugar into his cup.

“I suppose we’ve mostly finished sorting out the Thornlee affair,” he said calmly as he drank. “And it seems the introductions to the club leaders have gone over without issue as well.”

Although Monica was extremely shy, she had managed to greet everyone before the day was over, then return to the student council room with Cyril. Felix smiled a little—as he’d thought, leaving Monica in Cyril’s hands had been the correct choice.

Despite how he sometimes seemed, Cyril was a helpful person who was good at taking care of others. Most importantly, he was able to fairly judge a person on their abilities rather than just their social standing. The trouble was that he was so loyal to Felix that he went a little out of control sometimes.

“It seems neither Elliott nor Lady Bridget has accepted Lady Norton just yet, but… Well, the new student council shouldn’t have any problems doing its job, at least.”

And that meant things were just about wrapped up.

As Felix finished his tea, Wildianu—who had transformed into a servant—offered a modest comment. “I am somewhat surprised. I had thought Duke Clockford would criticize you.”

“That’s true. When something goes wrong at the academy, it means my management has fallen short.”

Duke Clockford was Felix’s maternal grandfather and one of the most influential people in the kingdom. He was also, essentially, the ruler of Serendia Academy. Even Felix, the second prince, couldn’t defy him. That was why some people called Felix a puppet prince or Duke Clockford’s lapdog.

“But this time,” he continued, “it’s likely the duke can’t be cross with me. After all, he was the one who originally hired Mr. Thornlee and ordered me to select the former accountant O’Brien for the student council.” The Barrier Mage—the one who had arrested Mr. Thornlee—was surely in Duke Clockford’s bad books now. “Still, it is a shame. I would have liked to hand down judgment personally on Mr. Thornlee like I did for Aaron O’Brien.”

“Were you aware of his involvement in the embezzling?”

“Yeah. I was thinking he would give himself away soon, but it looks like someone beat me to the chase. The Barrier Mage has been sticking his nose into my business lately, after all. He probably caught on to Mr. Thornlee’s crimes in the process.”

His voice cold, Felix took a small broach from his pocket. It was a gorgeous broach, once embedded with a large sapphire—but the sapphire inside was cracked and coming loose from its gallery. Felix plucked the cracked sapphire up and held it to the light.

When he focused, he could see magical formulas engraved in the blue jewel. This broach had been imbued with magecraft; it was what they called a magical item. Louis Miller, the Barrier Mage, had told the king it was to protect him, and the king had passed it to Felix. And it had indeed been imbued with a defensive barrier that would activate if he came under attack.

But that wasn’t the only effect it had been imbued with.

“As long as I wear this broach, the Barrier Mage knows exactly where I am. It has a formula embedded within it to tell him.”

“…Yes.”

That was why Felix had given the broach to Wildianu to destroy as soon as he’d received it. To everyone else, Felix appeared an amateur when it came to magic. Even Louis probably hadn’t expected him to notice the surveillance tracking formula inside it.

“The Barrier Mage is watching me… But is it at the behest of the first prince’s faction or His Majesty?”

Either way, he knew it would behoove him to act with care for the time being. He leaned back on the sofa and gave a long sigh.

“Well, if they were going to assign one of the Seven Sages to monitor me, there’s someone else I would have preferred.”

“…And who might that be?” asked Wildianu dubiously.

Felix’s face broke into an enchanting smile. “The hero of our kingdom—the one who defeated the Black Dragon of Worgan as well as an entire horde of pterodragons in one fell swoop. The only person in the world who can use unchanted magecraft, the kind of genius who only appears once in a millennium…”

As he spoke, his voice grew more passionate, bringing a touch of scarlet to his handsome white cheeks. He seemed almost entranced, as though he was speaking of someone very dear to him.

“The Silent Witch—Lady Everett.”