Private Tutor to the Duke's Daughter: Volume 9 (eBook)

Riku Nanano (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2023
250 Seiten
J-Novel Club (Verlag)
978-1-7183-8614-3 (ISBN)

Infos

The rebellion is finally at an end, leaving Allen to recuperate with his students in the eastern capital. But neither he nor his home city have long to tend their war wounds in peace. When the unassuming tutor is awarded the title of the legendary warrior he's long admired, he finds himself facing not only the predictable backlash from what remains of the conservative aristocracy but also a challenge from his idol's former comrades in arms! Can he prove himself to some of the mightiest soldiers alive?

Of course, Allen's own standing is far from his only concern. His partner Lydia has mysteriously lost her magical power, while his student Stella's is just as inexplicably growing. His friend Gil is contemplating drastic measures to atone for family crimes. The sinister Church of the Holy Spirit continues to advance its plots abroad. And in the royal capital, a new conspiracy is brewing.

Textauszug

“What? Oh.” I remembered that I had been holding Lily’s hands this whole time and hastily released them—provoking a soft “Aww...” of protest.

Lydia glanced at the maid and said, “Lily, brew tea.”

“Coming right up!” Lily responded. Then she stood up with a little grunt, pondered briefly, and gave both me and Atra a pat on the head.

“Lily!” Lydia snapped in alarm.

“Well then, I’ll be back in a jiffy!” the maid practically sang, giggling as she fled the room. That left me, the dozing fox cub on my lap, and a decidedly miffed Lydia.

So, how do I talk my way out of this one?

“Don’t complain if you wake up with a sword through you one day, cheater,” she grumbled.

“I believe in my own innocence,” I ventured.

“No back talk!” Lydia snapped, pouting as she sat down beside me and pressed her shoulder against mine. “Honestly. Don’t you remember that you’re my—and no one else’s—personal serv—”

Lydia leaned in close to me, sniffed, then narrowed her eyes. “Tell me, why do you smell like Lily’s perfume?”

“Oh, you know,” I replied. “She sat next to me, so—”

“Liar,” Lydia declared, in a tone that brooked no argument. Her gaze made a silent demand.

I had learned that excuses tended to backfire at times like this, so I cast a levitation spell on Atra and patted my newly vacant lap. The willful young lady laid her head on it.

“Don’t think this will get you off the hook,” she said quickly. “Although I’ll commend you for giving your mistress what she wants.”

“Oh, so you wanted this?” I teased.

“Excuse me?! Of course I did!”

“Um... Was that anger called for?”

“You need to be more aware. Well?” Lydia gave me another demanding look.

Your Highness’s wish is my command.

“What did the doctors say?” I asked, running my fingers through her lusterless hair.

“That I seemed healthy,” she replied smugly. “Although I’ll be discharged on the same day as you.”

“I see,” I said slowly.

If the doctors had seen nothing out of the ordinary, that only meant that they had failed to find the root of the problem—not that I couldn’t guess what it was. In the final moments of the rebellion, the church inquisitor Lev had metamorphosed into the monstrous Stinging Sea and assailed the eastern capital. I had linked mana with Lydia—and with Tina Howard, who wasn’t here at the moment—to cast the great spell Lightning Flash, slaying the monster and saving the city. Tina had come through the battle unscathed, while I had collapsed from mental and physical exhaustion—the consequences of ignoring my limits once or twice too often. And Lydia—

“Don’t look at me like that,” she said, reaching up to touch my cheek. “It’s nothing to worry about.”

I squeezed her hand without saying a word.

Lydia was experiencing a severe form of mana depletion, limiting her magical abilities to slight strength enhancement. Her mana reserves were currently smaller than mine, and mine were already below the average. The doctors had declared this a temporary symptom, brought on by her extreme overuse of arcane power, although I found it difficult to feel confident in their diagnosis.

The results of the first examination had most perturbed not Lydia herself, but Tina and Tina’s personal maid, Ellie Walker. Lynne and my younger sister, Caren, had been shaken as well. Seeing how upset they all were had helped Tina’s elder sister, Lady Stella Howard, and me to remain calm. I doubted that I could have managed it otherwise. If Lydia never regained her command of magic, then—

A pinch on the cheek snapped me out of my reflections.

“Silly,” Lydia said. “I couldn’t be happier. I mean, I finally, finally get to be just like you. I’ll admit that it’s not always easy, but I have you here with me. So, what is there to worry about?” After a drawn-out pause, she asked, “Do you not like me without my magic?”

“I don’t think that’s a fair question,” I answered stiffly.

“Tell me!” Lydia whined, squirming on my lap like a little child. Atra woke up and started to imitate her while floating in midair.

Good grief.

I pushed Lydia back down, peered into her eyes, and murmured, “Magic or no magic, you’re still Lydia. I’ll always like you.”

“As you should,” she crooned, giggling. “Oh, but not being able to cast healing spells will be a problem.”

“That’s true. You fight at close range, so—”

“That’s not what I mean!” Lydia interrupted, sitting up and pressing her forehead against mine. Then she closed her eyes and took my right hand in both of hers. “I won’t be able to heal you right away when you get hurt. And you’re always so reckless.”

“And you’re not?” I countered.

“As long as I’m with you, no one in the whole world can beat or hurt me. That won’t change, even if I can never cast another spell! Am I wrong?”

I sighed and admitted, “No, you’re right about that.”

Lydia beamed and laughed in self-satisfied delight.

“Once we get out of the hospital, you should ask my dad to take a look at your watch,” I said, scratching my cheek. “And you ought to neaten up your hair. It’s so pretty, it would be a shame to leave it like that.”

“True. I need to grow it out again, since a certain someone is just crazy for long hair. Oh, and you’ll be the one to fix it up.”

“Oh, really, I—”

“I won’t let anyone else touch it.”

“My, Your Highness is certainly fond of making unreasonable demands.”

“Only to you.”

I clearly wasn’t winning this argument. It was time to change the subject.

“By the way,” I said, “about that ribbon I sent you in the southern capital—”

A wail from Lydia drowned out the rest of my sentence. “Th-That was mean,” she grumbled petulantly. “Don’t bring it up. A-And anyway, you lost my staff too, remember?”

Evidently, she felt guilty about incinerating the ribbon.

Atra landed on the sofa between us and curled up. While we both petted her, I decided to get a nagging question off my chest.

“I’m told that you were going berserk until you fought the girls and they brought you back to your senses. Is that true?”

After an awkward silence, Lydia admitted, “It’s half true. As for the other half...” She held up the back of her right hand, which no longer bore the mark of Blazing Qilin. According to Atra, the great elemental had fallen into a deep slumber. “I could hear a girl’s voice frantically calling out to me. ‘Don’t worry,’ she said. ‘Our dear child is alive. You should be able to sense him.’ Incredible, isn’t it? Those few, simple words were like light—a single ray, piercing the inky darkness. It was such a vivid feeling. I’ll never forget it as long as I live—and even into my next life.”

“Then, all along, Blazing Qilin was trying to help you to—”

“All right! Serious talk is over!” Lydia declared. “Save all that for after we’re out of the hospital! You already gave my mother the Lalannoyan spell-pistol and the church insignia, remember? So the only thing you ought to be doing right now is spoiling me rotten. Nothing else matters!” A moment later, she added, “Are you sure you can’t get that ring off?” and started fiddling with Linaria’s gift, glaring daggers at it all the while.

I untangled her dull scarlet hair with my fingers while I mentally reviewed the problems vying for my attention. I suspected that Duchess Rosa Howard, the mother of my students Tina and Stella, had been murdered by sorcerous means. And I believed that the curse that had held Atra in chains—one devised for use against the Etherhearts—was my key to finally cracking the case.

Then there were the Eight Great Elementals and the great spells. Although I had learned their names, I still knew virtually nothing else about them. Nevertheless... I looked down at Atra on my lap. I had promised these girls that I would save them.

I supposed that I’d also made some progress in the matter of the “defective key”—apparently a reference to myself.

And I couldn’t forget the “Sage,” who had bound Atra and battled Linaria, or the “Saint,” whose title Lev had screamed. Both were cause for concern, but the Saint particularly unnerved me. Under cover of that farcical rebellion, the Church of the Holy Spirit had looted the remains of the Stinging Sea and some part of the Great Tree from the royal capital, as well as texts from the eastern one. Those thefts must have been their primary objective—which made their decision to imbue Lev with the power of Stone Serpent and transform him into a new Stinging Sea all the more baffling.

Could that part have been directed solely at me? No, that’s ridiculous.

Lydia stopped prodding at the ring. “I can’t get it off,” she announced, pouting. “Listen, do you mind if I slice through it?”

“I most certainly do,” I replied wearily.

“Unbelievable. You never let me have any fun.” After...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 14.9.2023
• 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: 1-7183-8614-1 / 1718386141
• ISBN-13: 978-1-7183-8614-3 / 9781718386143