The Radiant Young Lady of the Dark Family - Chapter 47
Zhao’s eyes widened in surprise. His face showed he hadn’t expected Hasa to use this moment as an opportunity. Soon after, he nodded with a more comfortable smile than before, seemingly pleased with Hasa’s boldness.
“Of course.”
As soon as his permission was given, Hasa asked without hesitation.
“What is the devil’s language?”
“……How does Miss Cellie know about that?”
“I happened to hear about it on the day Professor Mandro was executed. They said it was what Professor Jual Mandro had been researching.”
Zhao clicked his tongue softly. When two or more people gather, stories inevitably leak out. He muttered this to himself and glanced at Hasa.
If it were anyone else, he might have hesitated, but considering she was someone whose profession was eliminating heretics, and remembering her composure that day, it didn’t seem right to lie. Zhao continued.
“To be honest, as I said then, I didn’t know much about heretics or devils. That incident just became the reason I started taking interest. So there’s not much known about that language research.”
Zhao drummed his fingertips on the desk, lost in memory.
“I understand Professor Mandro conducted this research alone without reporting it to the Academy. He would occasionally mention it to other professors during drinking sessions, but everyone just took it as drunken rambling.”
“Then why was it called the devil’s language?”
“I think Miss Cellie might know better than I do.”
He met her gaze.
“I only learned about this while cleaning out Professor Mandro’s room recently, but apparently it’s a language used by heretics. They say it’s created by flipping and overlapping the strokes of ancient characters.”
“……”
“I’m not sure how this sounds to Miss Cellie, but the ancient language is literally the language used by the Empire’s ancestors. If something like that resembles the devil’s language, it would naturally cause quite a stir.”
The Empire was a country where the monotheistic religion of Mercer held immense power, and the people believed in God second only to the Emperor. This was entirely due to the power of both the Emperor and the Papal Office.
These two groups, once opposing forces, had joined hands at some point. The decisive reason this was possible was that religious faith was intertwined with the imperial family’s power.
The decisive reason people worship Mercer as the absolute deity is the church’s promise that absolute peace will accompany Mercer’s blessing. And the power inherited through generations of the imperial family is the ability to heal.
Perhaps it was natural for the Emperor to delegate the elimination of heretics to one family.
From the imperial family’s position, they couldn’t publicly announce matters about devils or heretics, nor could they pretend that real things didn’t exist.
Therefore, Cellie is a weapon that protects the faith in Mercer.
Hasa nodded after contemplation.
“Thank you for discussing this with me.”
As she said this, Zhao smiled slightly.
“I should thank you for listening. But this is interesting.”
“Pardon? What is?”
Zhao looked at Hasa with curious eyes.
“I hear you’ve been spending time with Bertolph lately, is that true?”
Has the rumor already spread enough to reach the professors’ ears? Hasa nodded with a face tinged with embarrassment.
“Yes, he’s helped me a few times. But why……”
“He came by recently asking about the exact same thing.”
Hasa’s eyes grew wider.
“Berl did?”
***
Hasa left Zhao’s office. As she closed the door and walked down the corridor, she recalled their conversation.
‘How did Berl know about that?’
‘Well, he is a Radant, isn’t he? All incidents and accidents at the Academy are reported to the Grand Duchess, and that becomes something Berl needs to handle. After all, Bertolph is the heir to the Grand Duke’s position before being an Academy student.’
With those words, Zhao gave her a look asking if that answered her question.
Hasa stopped for a moment.
It seems this was why Berl had said he was going to meet Professor Zhao last time. As Professor Zhao said, there was nothing strange about it, but somehow Hasa felt uneasy about the fact that Berl was investigating the same thing she was.
“Haah.”
As she let out a deep sigh, wind blew in through the open window. As she fixed her hair that had been blown to one side, she could see the central tower through the window. More precisely, the man standing below it.
Berl was there. Despite the considerable distance, his distinctive appearance made him immediately recognizable. Even though he wore the same school uniform as others, it looked different on him.
‘It’s hard for white clothes to look that good on someone.’
As Hasa was thinking this, one of the female students standing opposite him, at the front of a group, held out a letter to him. Her shy face was so red it could be felt even from here.
Heize’s words about admiration and fear.
Heize’s words about admiration and fear.
While most students couldn’t easily approach him, it seems there were some who could express their feelings like this.
“Well, it would be more strange if he wasn’t popular with that face.”
Hasa became curious about Berl’s reaction. As she focused on him holding the letter, Berl said something and then smiled beautifully.
“……”
Obviously, he didn’t reserve such smiles just for her. He maintained that gentle smile until the group of students who delivered the letter disappeared.
“Making people misunderstand for no reason.”
Hasa muttered this and was about to go her way. But the moment Berl turned around, the letter in his hand vanished.
Though just for an instant, it seemed like sparks flew when his hand holding the letter cut through the air.
Hasa spoke to herself while blankly watching the scene.
“Did he… burn the letter?”
At that moment, Berl turned his head. Hasa instinctively crouched down to hide. Even as she hid, she thought it was impossible for him to spot her.
Not only was the distance far but there were so many windows when looking up at this main building from the central tower.
Even while thinking this, Hasa couldn’t bring herself to peek out the window again.
***
When she returned to the dormitory, Heize came running to Hasa. Thanks to Heize, who always welcomed her warmly when she returned, Hasa had adapted well to dormitory life.
“Were you studying?”
Seeing Heize wearing glasses, Hasa asked this, and she smiled sheepishly.
“Not really.”
“Then?”
As Hasa asked while unwrapping her scarf, Heize continued shyly.
“I wrote down some things I wanted to tell Hasa before I forgot.”
“What is it?”
“Actually, since you seemed curious about the Grand Duke’s son, I found out some things.”
Hasa’s eyes widened at the unexpected words.
“My father has been supplying goods to the Grand Duke’s household for a long time. I remembered that and asked if he knew anything.”
“You didn’t have to go that far.”
When a flustered Hasa said this, Heize replied with reddened cheeks.
“We’re friends now. I just wanted to help with what I could. It’s just how I feel.”
For the daughter of a major trading company, Heize seemed to have been hurt several times during her academy life due to her trusting nature.
After that, partly by choice and partly by circumstance, she couldn’t make friends, and she always said Hasa was her first friend.
Hasa smiled faintly, feeling both grateful and sorry for these feelings.
“Thank you for saying that. I’ll listen carefully then.”
After saying this and sitting face to face, Heize continued with a brightened expression.
“Apparently the Young Grand Duke was in poor health when he was young.”
“His body?”
“Yes. He was so ill that he could barely do any outdoor activities and had to recuperate in the mansion. There were rumors that he suffered greatly because they rushed the succession ceremony at such a young age, but those rumors quickly dissipated.”
Heize swallowed once at the end of her sentence and whispered.
“Then the Grand Duke passed away, and strangely enough, after that timing, the Young Grand Duke started appearing in social circles.”
Heize added that this was likely true since it was something her father remembered.
It was definitely concerning information. The relationship between the deceased Grand Duke and the Young Grand Duke, and the story about his illness.
After thinking, Hasa thanked Heize.
“Thank you, Heize.”
“Oh, it’s nothing. By the way, Hasa, would you like to go to Central Town with me this weekend? I know this dessert shop……”
“Ah, sorry, Heize. This weekend won’t work, but how about next week?”
“Do you have plans this weekend?”
“Yes, I think I need to visit home.”
