Private Tutor to the Duke's Daughter: Volume 4 (eBook)

Riku Nanano (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2022
250 Seiten
J-Novel Club (Verlag)
978-1-7183-8604-4 (ISBN)

Infos

Allen sets out on an overdue trip home to the eastern capital-not just to his students' dismay, but to his own as well. He's been hiding his failure to become a court sorcerer from his parents, so despite his sister's assurances, he finds himself dreading their reunion. Family problems are far from the only troubles awaiting him in his hometown, however-simmering tensions between the city's large beastfolk population and its haughty human aristocracy are about to boil over, and hard-liners on both sides take a dim view of Allen's status as an adopted member of the wolf clan. Meanwhile, the disgraced Prince Gerard hasn't learned from his last defeat, and his rumored rebellion threatens to pull the tutor into a deadly web of conspiracy. Will the unexpected addition of Tina, Ellie, Lynne, and (of course) Lydia be enough to see Allen through his most physically-and politically-dangerous adventure yet?

Textauszug

Prologue

“Your Highness, Lord Richard Lein— I mean, Vice Commander, sir!” A young knight of the royal guard rushed into the abandoned house where I had stationed myself. “All units are in position. We’ve cut off the target’s escape, and we can storm the house as soon as you give the order!”

“Thanks, Ryan,” I replied. “Would you tell them to stand by? And make sure no one forgets their communication orb, but don’t lift the seals until we strike. No changes to the schedule. Maintain sound-dampening spells.”

“Yes, sir!” The young knight withdrew, obviously on edge. He still refused to loosen up, even though I’d told him to call me “Richard” outside of formal occasions. I couldn’t exactly blame him, given that his baronial family owed allegiance to the Ducal House of Leinster, but I could hardly believe that he was the little brother of my sharp-tongued staff officer—a man whom I could practically hear telling me to “just marry into Earl Sykes’s family already and start being a model of meritocracy.”

Believe me; I’d love to, I thought as I opened the shutters a crack and peered out. The cool, early-summer breeze carried a whiff of brine from the Four Heroes Sea. The continent’s largest salt lake was just over the mountain, and its far shore was foreign territory.

Outside, the curtain of night had fallen, and darkness cloaked the mountain village in the northeast of the kingdom. Heavy clouds covered the moon, and there were no lights in the old mansion we were watching either. Its former owner must have hailed from the west, if its distinctive spires were anything to go by. Although hedges bounded the property, it had no walls to speak of.

“We sure got the short end of the stick, didn’t we, Bertrand?” I asked the magnificently bearded man beside me—the most senior knight in Second Company. He was in his prime and wore a cloak over his white armor. “Getting called up to arrest a guy who was one of us until not long ago, I mean—and on suspicion of treason, at that. As far as I know, the kingdom hasn’t had a rebellion since the War of the Dark Lord. And now, the guy who used to be second in line to the throne is plotting to change that.”

“Richard,” he replied, hardening his already stern features, “it doesn’t make sense. They didn’t need to summon us from the royal capital for this.”

“You’re wondering why the Algrens aren’t doing anything, even though the duke made a point to take charge of Gerard, aren’t you?”

“Do you know?” the seasoned veteran asked gravely. The other knights packed into the room were listening closely to our conversation too—they all had doubts about this mission.

The kingdom’s four ducal houses swore absolute loyalty to the crown. There were a lot of historical reasons for that, including blood ties forged on the enfeoffment of the first dukes.

Our nation bordered the empire in the north and the League of Principalities in the south—both major continental powers—while our western border formed the only point of contact with the domains of the Dark Lord, sworn enemy of all mankind. We couldn’t afford to let our guards down, even in the absence of major human-demon conflicts, so the main force of the Order of Royal Knights had become a fixture of the western frontier—accompanied, of course, by the western nobles under the leadership of the Ducal House of Lebufera.

The situation had naturally inspired the four ducal houses to feel responsible for the defense of the kingdom and its royal family. About a hundred years ago, the northern Ducal House of Howard had trounced the empire in a border dispute and forced them to cede the famously productive agricultural region of Galois, which had since become part of the Howards’ domain. My own House of Leinster, rulers of the south, had gone to war with the League of Principalities thrice in the past two centuries. My grandmother and mother had taken part in the second and third Southern Wars, respectively, and annexed one of the principalities in each. The western forces, meanwhile, had won glory in numerous clashes with the Dark Lord’s armies.

The eastern Ducal House of Algren, on the other hand, shared its overland borders with the friendly Knightdom of the Holy Spirit. Between that and the Four Heroes Sea in the northeast, their house had not been blessed when it came to feats of arms. That fact made them all the more eager to risk their lives in displays of loyalty to the kingdom and the crown. I could count the number of Algren dukes who had died of old age on my fingers. Their house’s failure to act in a matter concerning the royal family was inexplicable.

I sighed, remembering the face of the old man, worn out by illness, with whom I’d had an audience the day before. “The short answer,” I told Bertrand, “is that the old duke is sick. Although he seemed well enough when I saw him at the investiture ceremony for new knights of the royal guard and court sorcerers.”

“Couldn’t his sons take command? I seem to recall them being of age.”

I nodded to the veteran knight. “He has four sons, although I think one of them is still in university.”

“And the old duke still called on us? Even discounting the student, he had other options.” It was as good as a declaration that Duke Algren was at odds with his three older sons.

The mood of the knights in the room darkened. Sending us out here to the fringes of the kingdom hadn’t been part of the initial plan. My caustic staff officer and I had been anxiously fearing an outburst from our commander or my little sister—both of whom were cranky after days of being press-ganged into formal diplomatic ceremonies—when a secret missive had suddenly arrived at the palace. It had been in Duke Algren’s own hand and read: “Prince Gerard in close contact with aristocratic faction. Suspect rebellion. Request immediate dispatch of royal guard.”

It hadn’t been easy to decide who would command the detachment, although given the gravity of the situation, the commander, the staff officer, and I were the only options. After a heated argument, the duty had landed on my shoulders.

“Does the lack of ducal support have anything to do with the court sorcerers’ refusal to join us?” Bertrand asked. He looked tense.

“I can’t prove it,” I said. “Still, envoys from the Principalities of Bazel and Atlas—both bordering Leinster territory—turned up as soon as the imperial ambassador left. Not to mention messengers from the Knightdom of the Holy Spirit to inform us of military exercises along the eastern border. It wouldn’t be the best diplomatic move to have both the royal guard and court sorcerers away either—although my sister and the royals’ personal guards are enough, if you ask me.” I raised my hands in an exaggerated gesture to highlight my plausible excuse, but Bertrand and the other knights remained silent.

The royal guard had once been derided as the weakest order of knights in the kingdom, but the past few years had brought big changes following the experimental implementation of meritocracy at His Majesty’s personal order. Although we had only six companies and were less than three hundred strong, we were now considered the kingdom’s elite forces. And we were even more elite now that Gerard and the other remaining conservatives had been dismissed in the wake of the mess they’d made at the Royal Academy.

But all of us knew just how low the old guard would stoop to protect their vested interests—especially since, as the third sons of prominent houses, they were officially nobles in name alone. They had been kicking up a fuss ever since our current commander had taken up his post. Allen might be the only other person who could appreciate the trouble they’d given me.

“You want to know why the duke’s sons aren’t leading the response?” I said. “The oldest, Grant, is preparing a major military exercise with Algren troops to match the one the Knights of the Holy Spirit are holding. The second, Greck, is in the royal capital—the Algrens always turn up to greet ambassadors at the head of an army. The third, Gregory, is sickly, and the youngest, Gil, is a university student. It all checks out. Any other questions?”

“No,” Bertrand replied, “but I’d like a moment to compose myself before we head into battle.”

He withdrew a video orb from his pocket. It displayed an image of...me, being forced to kneel in front of a crowd at the palace maneuvering ground while my house’s head maid, Anna, lectured me. I could see my sister and Allen clashing in the background. I tried to snatch it, but his thick arms stopped me.

“What’s gotten into you, Richard?” he asked.

“B-Bertrand!” I demanded. “Wh-Who gave you that?!”

“The commander and staff officer, on our way out of the capital. They said I would find it ‘soothing.’”

“Excuse me?”

The nearby knights smirked.

N-Not you too! Remind me to share a few stories with your wives when we get back to the capital.

“Attention,” I said, changing my tone. Every knight in the room straightened up. “Let’s go over this one last time. We’re after Gerard Wainwright. He’s suspected of treason. He injured his right arm at the Royal Academy and can’t swing a sword, but he can still cast spells. Don’t let your guards down. Also, according to old Duke Algren, the soldiers guarding him have...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 11.8.2022
• Reihe/Serie: Private Tutor to the Duke's Daughter
• Reihe/Serie: Private Tutor to the Duke's Daughter
• Reihe/Serie: Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter
• Illustrationen: Cura
• Übersetzer: William Varteresian
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Romane / Erzählungen
• Schlagworte: Academy • action • aristocrats • Comedy • Harem • Light Novel • Magic
• ISBN-10: 1-7183-8604-4 / 1718386044
• ISBN-13: 978-1-7183-8604-4 / 9781718386044