Silent Witch

Book 12: Chapter 10: The Price of Happiness

Book 12: Chapter 10: The Price of Happiness

It has been three weeks since the new semester started.

So far, Monica has been able to live her days as Monica Norton without being exposed by Felix, and without encountering Hubert Dee, the man who has a rivalry against her.

Sometimes Robert would barge into the classroom and suddenly read a poem (?) or invite her to play chess, but other than that, it was mostly peaceful.

The student council work was not busy yet, and her left hand was also getting better. She still had a weak grip and it hurt when she put some force on it, but she could open and close it lightly, much more naturally than before.

The only change that happened recently was that Albert joined the study sessions with Glenn after class.

Albert, who had been attending Minerva until a while ago, had some knowledge of magic. He hit it off with Glenn and they started studying magic together.

Albert was good at understanding magic formulas, but bad at manipulating magic with his senses. That's why he benefited from studying with Glenn, who was the opposite type.

Lately, Glenn was teaching Albert how to cast a flying spell, and Albert was teaching Glenn how to cast a tracking spell. After studying together like that, they would sometimes have tea at Albert's place.

Monica had been able to spend her days as Monica Norton without being exposed for these three weeks, and she was a little bit yes, just a little bit careless.

Even though none of the problems she faced had been solved.

It was the day of the student council meeting, but there was some time left until the third-year classes ended, so Monica decided to have tea with Lana, who invited her to a later time. It would have been nice to enjoy a tea party in the courtyard on a sunny day, but today it was snowing from the gray sky. So, they decided to have a tea party in the indoor tea salon.

It was a small tea party with only three participants: Lana, Claudia, and Monica. Lana prepared the tea cakes, and Monica prepared the coffee. The warm coffee with plenty of milk was what Lana had requested. It was honestly nice to have a friend like what she liked.

Lana took a sip of the coffee and sighed.

"I really like Monica's coffee. Monica, why don't you open a coffee shop? This coffee would definitely be popular in the royal capital."

"Ehehe, r-really"

Monica blushed and Claudia said quietly with a coffee cup in her hand.

"You should take good care of that pot. The rubber at the joint is a special rubber from overseas It's not easy to replace."

The coffee pot, which was her father's legacy, was divided into upper and lower parts, water was put in the lower pot, ground beans were set in the funnel, and the upper pot was set and heated. The rubber was used at the joint between the upper and lower parts.

The rubber, which was heat-resistant and durable, was an important part that maintained the airtightness of the pot. According to Claudia, it was not something that could be easily replaced even if it deteriorated.

But Lana argued against Claudia's words.

"Oh, I think you can get it in Southern Doll. Recently, the import volume of high-quality rubber has increased. There is a lot of demand because of the various mechanization that is going on."

"It's not cheap, is it?"

"Uh, w-well, that's true, but"

Lana sipped her coffee as if to cover up and continued, "Speaking of Southern Doll"

"The merchants there seem to be flowing to the empire. And the new emperor who likes new things, has lowered the taxes and given preferential treatment to the merchants."

"Because of the lower taxes, they are having trouble with our foreign affairs department, I hear."

"Yes, yes. And to compete with the empire, Southern Doll's side also wants to start a new business. My father seems to be planning to invest in it."

Monica didn't really get the point of the conversation, so she quietly sipped her coffee and Lana looked at Monica and said.

"Hey, Monica. Have you thought about what you're going to do after graduation?"

"Huh?"

Monica was surprised by the unexpected question.

Monica and the others were currently in their second year of the senior division. There was still more than a year left until graduation.

But even without that, Monica had never thought about what she would do after graduation.

Monica was at this academy to protect Felixin other words, her mission would end when Felix graduated this year, and Monica would return to the life of the Seven Sages as the Silent Witch.

Monica realized that again felt a chill in her heart, and smiled awkwardly.

"Um yeah, I haven't thought of anything yet."

The man who had once chased Monica around Minerva snorted happily and tilted her chin up to make her look at him. He had the same sharp eyes and the same burning red hair as in her memory.

He was the nephew of one of the Seven Sages, the Artillery MagicianHubert Dee. He looked down at Monica with a smirk on his face.

Monica trembled and looked around with only her eyes. Fortunately or unfortunately, there was no one around.

Monica gathered all the courage she had in her and squeezed out her voice.

"I, I'm Monica Norton now. I have an important mission, and I'm hiding my identity Please, please don't call me Everett."

Monica, who had been abused by her uncle in the past, and who had been chased by Hubert at Minerva, had her memories mixed up and was in a panic. Tears were already welling up in the corners of her eyes, and her throat was shaking miserably with a hiccup.

Still, the previous Monica would have screamed and run away from this place. Considering that, it was a big step to be able to ask him directly.

Hubert seemed to think about something and narrowed his eyes suddenly. His hand that was holding Monica's shoulder and chin didn't loosen.

"Hmm hmm hmm If my uncle knew that you were on a mission at Serendia Academy, he would have told me not to interfere with your mission If my uncle doesn't know, it means that only a few of the Seven Sages know, about a political issue Speaking of which, it's convenient that the second prince is here, huh? Hmm hmm, so, the mission is to protect or investigate the second prince?"

Hubert looked rough, but he was very smart. He understood ten from one, and his thinking speed was as fast as when Monica was at Minerva.

"Please, please don't tell anyone about me"

Monica pleaded with a sob, and Hubbard looked at her like a rabbit caught in a trap.

"Please? Sure, I'll listen to you."

Monica found a ray of hope in despair.

Ah, this senior, who didn't listen to me, has become a little softer over the years, she thought.

Without knowing that Hubbard was licking his lips above her head.

"But, there's a condition."

"Huh?"

"Right now, I belong to the "Magic Duel Research Club" at this academy. Do you get it? We do magic duels every day after class. You join there."

Monica's ears turned pale as Hubert whispered lowly.

"Let's do it every day until we graduate ma-gic-bat-tle."

"I, impossible, impossible, I can't use magic with my current status, and I also have the student council's duty."

Student councils are prohibited from joining clubs or research groups. So Monica, as a member of the student council, couldn't accept that condition.

But Hubert told her mercilessly.

"Then, quit the student council."

"N, no I don't want to."

Monica shook her head weakly, and Hubert's eyes sparkled.

"You said "no" instead of "impossible", right? That means you can continue your mission even if you quit the student council, right?"

"!!"

What Hubert said was right. It was true that being a student council member made it easier to protect Felix, but quitting the student council didn't mean that the mission would be impossible to continue.

Still, Monica didn't want to quit the student council. She had finally gotten used to the job and was starting to get relied on.

"Please, please, anything but that, please"

Monica pleaded with a sob, and Hubert hummed and suddenly lifted Monica over his shoulder.

Monica gasped and flailed her arms and legs.

"L, let me go let me go, please!"

"Then, let's go talk to the student council directly, shall we, Mo-ni-ka?"

It was then that Monica finally understood.

This senior's habit of not listening to anyone hasn't changed a bit since then.