It was the evening of the day the incident occurred.
In the royal palace, in the king's office where everyone had been dismissed, three people were having a conversation.
The king, the captain of the guard, Bergl, and the third princess, Morena.
"…Is all of this true?"
"Would I gain anything by lying about this?"
"Father, please believe me!"
"Hmm…"
The king pondered for a while before making up his mind.
"Alright, let's invite that girl to the palace."
"Father!"
"That's—"
To the surprised and anxious third princess and Bergl, the king said calmly,
"Given that so many people witnessed it, there's no way the information wouldn't leak. We can't just leave such an important person alone. Who knows when some noble or spy from another country might notice her…
Besides, as long as we don't mention the goddess, we can invite her by saying we want to thank the girl who saved a child and protected the princess from disgrace. Is there any problem with that? As a king and a father, it's only natural, right?"
"Ah…"
"Morena, you should thank the person who protected you and ask her to be your friend."
"Yes, I would be delighted to…"
"Good, then Bergl, since you know what she looks like, I'll entrust you with the task of finding her. Start the investigation immediately."
"Hai!"
The search ended quickly.
After all, Adele was wearing the school uniform, and the guards were familiar with the uniforms of Ecland and Ardrey Academy. Adele's striking silver hair also stood out.
Captain Bergl immediately met with the headmaster and confirmed Adele's identity.
A knight under the king's command couldn't lie, and the headmaster, who had no ill intentions, revealed Adele's true identity and full name.
He believed this would improve Adele's position and that it would be a chance for her to rise to prominence.
Captain Bergl then reported the results to the king, and a messenger was sent to invite the daughter of the Ascam viscount to the palace.
"…So, the king wishes to invite the daughter of the Ascam viscount. Here is the invitation."
Adele, looking at the envelope handed to her by the messenger, a viscount with some name, clutched her head.
(How did it come to this…)
No matter how much it was a command from the goddess, with so many people involved, there was no way the secret could be kept. The royal family and nobles wouldn't just ignore a girl who was said to house a goddess. Adele, who had been thinking she could continue living a normal life, was called out of class and found herself in a private reception room with the messenger, feeling at a loss.
(I have to do something. At best, I'll be confined and surrounded. At worst, I'll be imprisoned or dissected? They won't find a goddess if they cut me open!!
What should I do, what should I do, what should I do…
I need to think, I need to think…
Come on, my gray brain cells!!)
While desperately thinking, Adele suddenly realized something.
This messenger, the viscount, wasn't there at the time.
There was no knight with such a prominent belly.
And in the conversation so far, there had been no mention of the goddess or the incident itself, only that she was a 'benefactor of the third princess.' The messenger probably didn't know about the goddess.
(The messenger doesn't know anything about the goddess or the incident?
This person is just a messenger, completely unaware of the situation!)
Then, there might be a way out. With her recently improved acting skills!
"Huh? I'm supposed to deliver this to the daughter of the viscount?"
"Huh?"
The messenger, taken aback by Adele's unexpected words, was stunned.
"No, I mean, isn't the invitation supposed to be delivered to the daughter of the Ascam viscount who attends Ardrey Academy?"
"Huh? What?"
Confused, the messenger continued to be flustered as Adele added,
"The daughter of the Ascam viscount attends the upper-level Ardrey Academy, not here. I was admitted here with the Ascam family's financial support, but I'm not allowed to use their name. If I did, I'd be killed. Someone must have made a mistake."
"What!?"
"Please keep it a secret that the messenger came to me. If the viscount gets angry and cuts off the support, it would be a disaster."
"Alright! I won't tell anyone. I'm sorry…"
With that, the noble messenger hurriedly left, probably heading to Ardrey Academy.
(The invitation is for tomorrow noon… This is the end, I guess.)
Adele decided to leave.
When she returned to the classroom, her classmates, who were curious about Adele being taken away by an excited teacher during class, bombarded her with questions. However, they calmed down when Adele said it was a case of mistaken identity.
Her worried friends, Marcela and the others, finally relaxed when Adele whispered, "It's the stepdaughter."
After class, Adele returned to the dorm and immediately started preparing.
First, she wrote letters.
One to Marcela and the other two, one to all her classmates, one to the dorm supervisor, a message to the baker Aaron about her sudden resignation and gratitude, and a withdrawal form for the school.
After dinner, she spent a considerable amount of time writing the letters, and it was already late at night when she finished.
(What's next… Oh, there's nothing else.)
During her time here, Adele's belongings had hardly increased. Her spare underwear and food were all in the item box. The room was almost empty.
After some thought, Adele decided to take the school uniform and sports clothes, which were loaned to her. Since they were well-used, they would likely be discarded rather than given to other students, so she thought it was fine to take them. Besides, she had nothing else to wear.
The clothes she arrived in were too small after more than a year of growth.
She placed the letters on the desk, took one blanket from the bed, and put it in the item box. Then, she looked around the room.
…It was impressively empty.
"Goodbye!"
She softly whispered, then remembered and took out a plate with bones from the desk drawer, moving the letters to the bed.
(Since she was originally a stray, it should be fine. And, Cro, Gold Eye, Hook Tail, Bug Catcher, and all the other names you have, they're all you, right!)
Cats don't like people who fuss over them too much, but Adele's place was comfortable because she didn't fuss over them and would scratch their ears, necks, and faces when asked, and let them sleep on her bed.
However, Adele noticed that the cats, dissatisfied with her only giving them bones, would patrol other girls' rooms for food.
For some reason, they only went to girls' rooms, not the boys' dormitory.
"Alright, time to escape!"
The next morning, when Adele didn't show up for class, a teacher, worried, asked another free teacher to check the girls' dormitory. They found the empty room and the four letters, causing a commotion.
Despite her own intentions, Adele was a beloved student, both by the students and the teachers.
From the opened letters, it was clear that her disappearance was voluntary, and a withdrawal form was left for the school. The school could do nothing but contact her guardian.
"What's going on!"
"What do you mean?"
Marcela, who was confronted by a flustered Kelvin, asked irritably.
"It's about Adele! Where did she go? Why did she leave?!"
Despite his usual overbearing nature, Marcela knew Kelvin was genuinely worried about Adele, so she reluctantly decided to talk to him.
The letter to the classmates only contained apologies and thanks, without any explanation of the situation, so it was natural for Kelvin to come to Marcela and the others, who received separate letters.
"It's a family issue. Succession problems. It's common among nobles, not unusual."
"…Is she going to inherit?"
"No, she's the one who's in the way. She probably disappeared to avoid being eliminated."
"Wha…?"
Kelvin was speechless, but Marcela smirked at his reaction.
"What are you worried about? Do you really think something will happen to her just because of this?
She's probably overjoyed to shed the troublesome family name and live freely. What have you been looking at in her for over a year?"
"…But I haven't thanked her or apologized to her yet…"
"Even if she always said she wanted to live a normal life, do you really think that's possible for her? She'll probably slip up somewhere and end up on the stage.
When that happens, wouldn't it be better if you were a man who can show your face to her?"
"……"
Marcela watched Kelvin leave silently with a slightly kinder look.
A boy watching this muttered,
"Marcela… You're a good woman…"
The other boys around him all nodded in agreement.