CH 160

Yesterday, after Caanza filed a complaint against Duke Bayen, I came back after a brief hearing. Originally, a trial would be held after gathering evidence and listening to both sides’ opinions, and it would be impossible for someone like them to be arrested and brought to trial immediately on the spot.

Since the facts of the dispute between Caanza and House Bayen have been mostly clarified in the previous trial, there is little chance of a dispute over the facts just by confirming the complaint. If House Bayen says that the allegations are not true, they will likely be interrogated, but I don’t think there is enough evidence or testimony to overturn the facts of the previous trial.

That’s why we weren’t detained for such a long time after being interrogated for a while, and we didn’t participate in the trial again.

And since I wasn’t personally needed at court, I came to school normally today. As usual, I’m the first to come and wait for everyone else to arrive.

Christa came back to school starting today. As always, she can’t be friends with me at school, so we just greeted each other with a glance, but she seems to be fine. By the way, it seems that Helmut was invited to stay over but he refused and left immediately after, so nothing happened. Christa is a poor girl who would have accepted Helmut going on the offense.

Sophie and the others are coming as usual, but Helene is not. Duke Bayen’s investment fraud case is also being investigated, so Sophie’s family should also be in big trouble. But the three of them come to school as normal. However, the attitude and atmosphere are not normal. They were probably trying to be as normal as possible, but it was clear that they were restless.

And Helene… Helene and Alto will be interrogated and tried, but they are not yet detained as criminals. Helene, in particular, is still being directly judged as a child only for things related to the evening party. Depending on how the investigation progresses in the future, children like Helene and Sophie may also be accused of fraud, but for now, the main investigation is on the adults, so there’s nothing to do right away.

Even so, Helene hasn’t come to school because of the situation surrounding her. Or is it just because she thinks she can’t come to school at a time like this?

Maybe in a few days, Sophie and the others will not be able to come to school as well because the investigation will be so difficult then. It’s also possible that they’re here today because they didn’t know what kind of investigation and how far it would pursue. The decision was late yesterday, and the interrogation of Bayen Faction members other than House Bayen themselves will begin in earnest today.

Well, it doesn’t matter to me. I’d love to see Simon’s debt disappear, and I don’t want Christa to get too jumpy, but that’s also a personal matter. I have no intention of getting involved in national politics or capital politics, so Wilhelm and Dietrich should do whatever they want except for things that are directly related to me.

With that in mind, I was sitting comfortably in my seat when I heard the conversation of the female students around me.

“The exams are next week, aren’t they?”

“They are~. I need to hurry up and get to bed early.”

“I’m going home for the holidays after. What about you?”

“Well, I’m~…”

………… AAAAAHHHH!

OH NO! OH HELL NO! That’s right! The exams are next week!

Wh-Wh-Wh-What should I do…? Didn’t I do anything to study for exams? There are only 3 days left. Next week, 4 days from now, there will be 3 days worth of written exams. After that is the practical test.

According to the information I gathered, the content of the practical exam is different for boys and girls. It is said that the boys are going camping for joint training with all 3 year-grades of students. Practical exams for girls are manners and etiquette.

It’s called a written test, but it’s a bit special and has some nonverbal elements, but there are four compulsory subjects: history, politics, magic, and manners, then military or dance is an elective subject. There are 2 exams per day only in the morning, and only elective exams on the 3rd day.

History, politics, and magic are the same, so no explanation is necessary. Manners include writing, but what does it mean that girls’ practical skills also test their etiquette?

The written exam’s manners component is unisex, or rather, you have to know the manners of each gender, so answer the basic manners in writing. In comparison, the manners of the women’s practical exam have them demonstrate the manners for women in front of the Etiquette Professor. This is done over 3 days, Class 1 on the 1st day, Class 2 on the 2nd day, and Classes 3 and 4 on the 3rd day, so the women’s exam will be over within the next week. Furthermore, Class 1 students will be on the 1st day, so our exam is over in 4 days than the full week.

The military elective is just a written exam about military matters, so it’s not that different from other subjects. As for the dance elective, it’s as it says, so this is actually the same as the practical exam. You will perform in front of the teacher. Since I have chosen the military elective, I have 5 written components, the etiquette practical, and so on.

By the way, even girls can choose the military elective, but there were no other girls than me. On the other hand, there are quite a few boys who have taken the dance elective, so there are fewer military students.

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Girls will finish their exams by the end of next week at the longest. After 3 days of written exams, all they had to do was go to the practical for 1 day. The day of the practical changes depending on the class, but if I finish the practical on the 1st day, I will finish written exams on the 4th day of next week. Compared to that, the men’s practical exam is troublesome.

Again, after 3 days of written exams, the boys had to go camping and jointly train with all three year-grades of students. The camp training period is 10 days, and it will take until the end of next week. It’s basically the rank-and-file soldiers and knights who stand on the front lines, but even high-ranking nobles can stand on the battlefield. High-ranking aristocrats are commanders in the rear, while middle and low-ranking aristocrats are front-line commanders.

We can’t say there’s no chance the students here at school won’t stand on the battlefield in the future. You don’t get many opportunities to stand on the front line and imitate soldiers, but sometimes you have to make camp. Therefore, the three years will jointly conduct camping training near the royal capital.

The construction and maintenance of the campsite will be done jointly by all 3 years of students, and after that, each year and each class must clear various tasks. It seems that they actually enter the forest to explore and hunt. I don’t know the details because it has nothing to do with me, but…

Then, only the boys will take exams over 2 weeks, and when the whole schedule is over, they will have 3 days off by the start of the following week. You only need to come to the school for the last 3 days, and those 3 days end in the morning and there are no regular classes.

2 days are used for the announcement of grades, the processing of submissions and handouts, and simple reminders. The rest is the beginning of the long vacation of 2 months.

My exams will be over in the first 4 days, so I’m off for almost 2 weeks. In that case, I would like to connect it with my long vacation without attending the closing ceremony. 2 months off and 2 1/2 months off are completely different.

In fact, it seems that some of the people whose parents’ homes were far away started moving immediately after exams. Since I’m not that far away, relatively, I have to attend the closing ceremony. It’s not that the school doesn’t allow it. Those who go back to their parent’s house as soon as the exam is over don’t have permission to do so, they just do it on their own. In my case, it’s because my parents are here and they don’t let me take time off.

“What’s wrong, Flora?” Mikota asked as she sat next to me. “Your face has been all over the place since a while ago.”

“Mikoto… we have exams next week, right?” I said, sharing my despair.

Well, it’s good to have company when rushing into exam study hell.

“I know that. What about it?” Mikoto answers quietly.

“Huh……?” I said.

She doesn’t care? You’ve gotta be kidding me…

“How are you studying for the exam?” I asked.

“It can’t be helped if you’re in a panic now, right? It’s the usual problem of things piling up,” Mikoto said.

… That’s right. She’s got a point… but I’m usually too busy to study… from now on, I’m still dealing with the court case. Am I the only one who’s having this trouble…?

Fuck…! I have to remember this!

In a blur, 3 days passed and today is what Earth would call Sunday. Claudia came first thing in the morning even though I had an exam starting tomorrow. I was told to dress up as a knight and come to the Royal Guard Division, so instead of wearing my usual dress, I dressed like a knight.

“What in the hell is going on…?” I asked as Claudia arrived.

“Come on, Floto, hurry up!” Claudia replied.

Claudia urged me to change my clothes and leave the house right away, but she didn’t tell me what she wanted. I just need to hurry, hurry, hurry up. Walking side by side with Claudia and entering the training ground of the royal castle, the various Guards were all lined up. Maybe?

I’ve never seen so many people gather before, so this must be the original number or something close to it. Not everyone trains here all the time. Some people are out on missions and patrols, so just because we’re here doesn’t mean they’re all here.

“Finally here, huh?” Horst said. “You guys are the last. You don’t have to line up in your original formation, so just head to the end of the line.”

I arbitrarily lined up at the end of the Royal Guard Division, as ordered by Horst with all his usual gruffness. Or rather, I don’t know where I should line up, even if it’s called my formation. At times like this, if you don’t participate properly on a regular basis, it’s a little awkward to form up.

“From the middle of next week, the annual camping drill will begin!” Horst called out, his usual playfulness replaced with a seriousness befitting a Division Commander. “This year, as in the previous year, Prince Ludwig and Prince Rutger will also be participating, so please be especially careful not to put them in danger! These are each unit’s areas of responsibility…”

The attitude is good but what is he talking about? I have a feeling he’s saying something incredibly troublesome, don’t you? What’s this got to do with me?

“Claudia…… this has nothing to do with me, does it?” I whispered to Claudio in front of me.

“Floto, call me Claudio here,” Claudio replied.

“Aah, sorry, Claudio,” I said.

Claudia would be Claudio in the Royal Guard Division, won’t she? Even though I was asking others to use Flora and Floto properly, I was careless. Let’s be careful from now on

“So… you’re in the Royal Guard Division, so it’s bound to be related to you, right, Floto?” Claudio said. “You don’t have to worry because you’re in the same squad as me.”

No… I’m not worried about the squad divisions, but… wait, whaaat?! I’ll be participating too!?

“I have an exam too, don’t I?” I asked.

“It will be over in 4 days from the start of the week, right? The first few days of the camping drill are not a big deal anyway, so you can join us from the 5th day on.”

Huh… doesn’t this feel like there’s no escape anymore? Do you want me, a normal student, to do that? After that, I thought about various things while randomly paying attention to Horst’s words, but once I understood there was no out, I gave up.

When Horst’s briefing is over, we are divided into squads and hear the briefing of our captains. Then we are split into groups and it moves to a per-squad meeting. In addition to me and Claudio, our group consisted of an old man who seemed to be a veteran and a young knight who looked like a newcomer.

“It’s a strange team, isn’t it?” I said. “Is it okay to have so many fresh recruits?”

“What are you talking about? Both you and I are veterans, aren’t we? It’s normal for each group to have one or two newcomers, right?” Claudio said.

Ah… ah~… I see. We’re both young and I rarely come to the Royal Guard Division, so I tend to forget about it, but in terms of the number of years since I was in the organization, it’s been more than 5 years. If that’s the case, it’s normal to be in the middle of my career. It’s not as bad as a newcomer, and it’s not as senior as a veteran. Isn’t it the time when you have to do the most work?

“I don’t usually show up in the Royal Guard Division, and I’ve never been an escort for camp training, so I don’t know anything…” I said.

“We’ll give you instructions, so it’s fine,” Claudio said. “That’s why Commander Horst put you and me in a team together.”

I see. I’m counting on you, Sir Claudio. I’m more senior than him, but I haven’t participated in any training or activities… I knew I couldn’t run away anyway, so I prepared myself. Even though it’s a simple camp training near the royal capital, it’s also dangerous. It seems that the Royal Guard Division is attached every year as an escort because it is important if the sons of high-ranking nobles are not injured during training.

“So… how are we dressing for the day?” I asked.

“Of course, full armor… ah!” Claudio cried, flustered as he seems to realize what I meant.

Yes. The Royal Guard Division has its own corresponding armor set, but I don’t have a suit of it. What’s more, even if I borrow someone’s chest plate, mine is too big for normal men’s fit, and if I wear armor with cups or allowances for my breasts, they’ll find out I’m a woman.

Now I’m hiding my body with a cloak that covers my whole body again, but I don’t think I can hide it with just a cloak during camp training. I don’t know how Claudio usually deceives everyone, but Claudio’s chest is still small compared to mine, so I guess if I crush it with a wrap, it will somehow work out. But I can’t do anything after just crushing it with a wrap.

“We can’t flatten your chest…” Claudio said. “So, we’ve got no choice but to make everything else larger, too…”

“Make everything else larger…?” I asked.

I have only a bad feeling. And my hunch came true.

………………

…………

……

“Buhahahaha…! What in the hell is this?!” Horst said, laughing as soon as he sees me.

After each squad’s meetings were over, Claudio took me to the changing room. I was forced to wear armor there…

“Uupupu…” Claudio snickered, trying to suppress his laughter. “It’s, this is the only thing I can do. Hold on, Floto.”

He was the one who made me wear this thing and still, he’s laughing. I can see that the other members of the Division are looking at me from afar as they come out of the changing room and are also laughing.

I’m wearing a fairly large suit of armor right now. That’s because the size that fits my physique normally doesn’t fit my chest. And if it’s a huge armor, even if the chest fits in, the rest will naturally be left over. That’s why I put padding in my stomach and force myself to wear it, but it only looks like a person with a strange body type with a big and fat torso. Even I laughed when I saw myself in the mirror.

“He-Hey, are you telling me to participate in the camping drill dressed like this!?” I complained.

“It’s your fault for not having a suit of armor ready,” Horst said heartlessly.

And at that, I was forced to join the escort while in this weird and clumsy outfit.

T/N: For those wondering, “Why can’t Flora have a suit of armor made?” Aside from the fact that there are no ready-made suits of metal armor in this day and age, it will still take weeks if not months to bang out an entire suit to Flora’s unique measurements, while keeping allowances to hide her feminine figure. Plate armor was EXTRAORDINARILY expensive, which is why only rich nobles wore it.