Private Tutor to the Duke's Daughter: Volume 10 (eBook)

Riku Nanano (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2023
250 Seiten
J-Novel Club (Verlag)
978-1-7183-8616-7 (ISBN)

Infos

In the course of one disastrous meeting, Allen went from being hailed as his hometown's savior to a fugitive from his own kingdom's aristocracy. Even the brilliant tutor never saw that coming-although his partner Lydia did, if her well-packed suitcase is anything to go by. Finally making good on years of threats, she whisks him away to the city of water, where they can escape their homeland in style. But the renowned tourist destination is currently the capital of an enemy nation, and Allen's friends have more planned for his trip than lying low and taking in the sights. Conspiracy lurks behind scenic canals and historic buildings as rival factions vie to prolong the war or conclude peace, and the specter of a more sinister power moves among them. Even working together, Allen and Lydia may finally have met their match.

Textauszug

Prologue

“Then you’re certain that Mr. Allen escaped the royal capital with Lydia and Atra?” I asked, handing the red-haired man seated across from me a glass of local iced tea.

“Yes, they burned down Marquess Gardner’s house and flew off southward. Thank you. Now I can brag that Lady Stella Howard brewed me tea.” Lord Richard gave me a playful wink, although he was the eldest son of Duke Leinster, governor of the south, and held an important post of his own as vice commander of the royal guard. His subordinates had forced him to take the day off, so he wore a samue to keep cool.

We were in Old Town, a beastfolk district of the kingdom’s eastern capital. This particular courtyard belonged to the parents of my private tutor, Mr. Allen, who also taught my younger sister Tina, our old friend Ellie Walker, and Lord Richard’s younger sister Lynne. The white cloth stretched above our heads shielded us from the sun but let through a refreshing breeze, and I felt right at home in the violet yukata that I’d borrowed from my best friend Caren. Cheerful laughter wafted from inside the house, where Lily and the other Leinster maids were baking treats for the younger girls, who had gone to the Great Tree.

“I’ve been learning from Mrs. Ellyn and the Leinster maids over the past few days,” I said placidly, slowly pouring another glass for myself.

Mrs. Ellyn was Mr. Allen’s mother and one of the few remaining members of the wolf clan anywhere on the continent. She and her husband, Nathan, had found Mr. Allen as a baby and raised him. They were both out shopping at the moment.

“I bet some blue bloods who haven’t kept up with the times will faint when they hear he started a fight in the royal capital,” Lord Richard added. “Although I guess they’d already be out cold, what with my cousin working as a maid.”

His cousin Lily served as the Leinster Maid Corps’s number three. In truth, however, she was the eldest daughter of Under-duke Leinster, who ruled the former Principalities of Etna and Zana on the kingdom’s southern border. She was a ray of sunshine and enjoyed Mr. Allen’s trust—probably more than I did.

“I suppose they’ve gone to the southern capital?” I asked.

Three days ago, Mr. Allen had left us the following note:

I have received a summons from His Royal Highness. I’ll be back soon. Please focus on your assignments in the meantime.

PS: Stella, don’t push yourself until you’ve made a full recovery!

He had then set out for the royal capital with Lydia Leinster, the Lady of the Sword, and little Atra, who despite her childish appearance was actually the Thunder Fox, one of the Eight Great Elementals. I hadn’t worried about the three of them at first, and I’d appreciated his concern for my health. But then had come an urgent message of shocking import:

Mr. Allen refused crown prince’s demands, fled royal capital. Gardner house ablaze.

The report came from the Leinsters’ head maid, Anna, and the Howard maids’ second-in-command, Mina Walker. It seemed inconceivable that they would make a mistake.

“We haven’t heard anything from the southern capital yet,” Lord Richard said, setting down his glass. “They’re still busy fighting the League of Principalities over there. Our maid corps’s number five, Celenissa Ceynoth, is in the Great Tree right now, reporting exactly what happened in the royal capital to Dukes Howard and Lebufera, my mother, Duchess Letty, and Lord Rodde. I can’t tell you anything definite until I hear from her.”

“Oh. I see.”

I ran my fingers over the new notebook of assignments that Mr. Allen had left for me. It contained a formula for controlling the element of light and a few words in his hand: “Remember to rest, Stella.” The spell was meant to combat the strange condition currently afflicting me, which caused a surge of light every time I used magic.

When did he find time to devise this?

After slaying the Stinging Sea—a monster resurrected by the Church of the Holy Spirit—and saving the city, Mr. Allen had been hospitalized due to fatigue. Since his release, he had come to the aid of his old schoolmate Lord Gil Algren and dueled the legendary “Comet,” Duchess Emerita Leticia Lebufera, for the right to inherit the title of Shooting Star. Yet before his departure, he had produced new assignments not only for me, but for the younger girls as well. He had even left his parents a formal letter. And all while his spare time must have been nearly nonexistent.

Still, I was glad. Merely touching his writing made my heart soar and put a smile on my face. What a simple woman I was.

“Does Princess Cheryl know?” I asked at length.

“I don’t know much about the crown prince as a person, but Her Royal Highness is supposed to arrive sometime in the next few days, and she might be able to tell you what you want to know. Not that it’s hard to imagine.” Lord Richard’s eyes flashed. Not for nothing was he Duke Leinster’s heir. He knew what went on in the minds of power-hungry central nobles.

Quietly, I said, “He was wary of Mr. Allen receiving further honors when His Majesty returns.”

The king had granted Mr. Allen the title of Shooting Star in recognition of his martial valor. But although that was a great honor, it didn’t make him a noble. Those conservative aristocrats who hadn’t joined in the rebellion must have gotten ahead of themselves, fearing the future that the advance of meritocracy would bring.

Lord Richard nodded, then moved on to the state of the war. “The two northern marquesses are making their presence felt on our eastern border with the Knightdom of the Holy Spirit. They’ll be reinforced by the western Margrave Solnhofen and forces from the eastern houses. And the easterners will be under the command...of Gil Algren.”

I gave a start. “I’m amazed that my father and Duke Lebufera agreed to that.”

Old Duke Guido Algren had never intended rebellion—the chief plotters had been his sons Grant, Greck, and the missing Gregory. Even so, many areas had seen fierce fighting, and the conflict had claimed lives. So although I had heard of plans to reorganize the Algren forces, I had never imagined that Gil would lead them.

Could it be?

“It was Allen’s idea,” the red-haired knight confirmed, raising his hands slightly. “This will help Gil clear his name, and I’ve been approached privately about letting him join the guard once he graduates from the university. He cried like a baby when he got the appointment, although he claimed he was ‘j-just glad to be getting out of the city before the rest of the department shows up.’”

I slipped my precious sea-green griffin feather out of the bosom of my yukata and pressed it over my heart.

Mr. Allen, please save a little—just a little—more of that kindness for yourself.

Lily and the maids let out a cheer. Apparently, their baking was a success.

“Fighting alongside Allen really brought something home to me,” Lord Richard continued, leaning back in his chair. “I’m cut out for swinging a sword alongside my knights, not running my brain ragged analyzing the situation. Not a great quality for a future duke, wouldn’t you say?”

“I know how you feel,” I said heavily. When it came to natural talent, I could never hold a candle to Lydia, Tina, or Caren. And although I’d resolved to become someone who could protect Mr. Allen—

Lord Richard waved his hand. “You’ll do fine, Stella. You’ve got our newly minted Shooting Star on your side. Lynne’s quite taken with him, and you know how Lydia is, but I wouldn’t dream of barring a Howard lady’s path to love.”

L-Love? I pressed my hands to my cheeks and found them burning hot. Could other people see me blushing?

After taking a moment to compose myself, I managed a stiff “Thank you very much.”

“Please don’t tell my mother or Anna. Anyway, the Shooting Star Brigade seem obsessed with their pledges to Allen. They’ve asked to return west at once. I’m sure they won’t take kindly to this uproar in the royal capital.”

Two centuries ago, during the War of the Dark Lord, the Shooting Star Brigade had won fame throughout the continent. Recently, Mr. Allen had made four wishes of its former officers—the chieftains of the dwarves, giants, dragonfolk, and demisprites. Reforging Caren’s dagger, crafting a new enchanted blade for Lynne, teaching Ellie botanical magic...and discovering the cause of my condition. Not a single one of them concerned him personally.

Lord Richard crossed his legs in ill humor. “Did you hear about the reward Allen’s supposed to receive?”

“He’s ceding it all to you and Chieftain Ogi,” I replied. “Duchess Lisa told me.”

“He asked me to distribute it to the families of the fallen in the guard’s name, as additional compensation. I’m not to tell the beastfolk.”

I was stunned. “What are we to do with him?”

My magician always keeps his priorities straight.

“He gets his way by reducing the psychological burden on others, never mind that he works himself to the bone instead. And the beneficiaries are none the wiser.” Lord Richard paused in his praise. “Stella, I want you and Caren to give him a...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 30.11.2023
• 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 ► Fantasy / Science Fiction ► Fantasy
• Schlagworte: Academy • action • aristocrats • Comedy • Harem • Light Novel • Magic
• ISBN-10: 1-7183-8616-8 / 1718386168
• ISBN-13: 978-1-7183-8616-7 / 9781718386167