Masquerade - Chapter 3
Elia stood next to Bobbin, who was waiting for the carriage. Under the sun that had just passed noon, the flowers in the annex garden swayed. Bobbin, who had been admiring the pleasant scene, turned to the side when she sensed a presence.
“Your Highness?”
“You’re going back to the Academia, right? I’ll go with you.”
Bobbin pushed up her glasses and asked,
“You’re joking, right? And didn’t you say you were tired?”
Elia feigned innocence. Then, as if imitating Bobbin, she nudged her glasses with her finger.
“I have some business at the Academia, so just go along with it.”
“Business? What…”
“How about it, don’t I look somewhat like a student? No one will recognize me.”
“But how…”
“Then will you satisfy my curiosity right now?”
“What are you curious about?”
“Who sent you all to me.”
“I’ve told you many times. We don’t know. We were gratefully selected and are just carrying out this honorable duty.”
“And the one who gave you that honorable duty is the Chancellor.”
“Yes.”
A carriage arrived in front of them. As the coachman opened the door, Elia naturally climbed into the carriage. Bobbin, though worried, couldn’t do anything about the princess and followed her in.
Sitting across from Bobbin, Elia crossed her arms and concluded,
“Then I should meet the Chancellor.”
“If you have business, it might be better to summon the Chancellor here.”
“No, that’s fine. A counterattack should be a surprise, you know.”
“What do you mean?”
“It might be safer if you don’t know?”
Bobbin closed her mouth at those words. She seemed to have a lot to say about her sudden outing, but she sensed that she couldn’t dissuade Elia.
Elia looked out the window and pushed up her glasses, mimicking Bobbin. This should be enough of a disguise. She was wearing large-lensed glasses and had her hair tightly wrapped. With the modest and shabby-looking cloak on top, no one would give her a second glance.
Bobbin added a few more worried words, but Elia just closed her eyes.
The Academia, located in the center of the capital, wasn’t far from the royal palace, so it didn’t take long. As they neared their destination, Bobbin, growing increasingly anxious, spoke again.
“Your Highness, please don’t wander off alone and stay close to me. If anything happens without attendants or guards, I really…”
“Bobbin, calm down. Don’t you know words can become reality? If you keep talking like that, things that shouldn’t happen might happen.”
“Oh my, what a scary thing to say.”
“And there are guards. They’re probably following us.”
“Where?”
Bobbin unnecessarily looked back at the carriage. Elia, still with her eyes closed, added,
“If you could see royal guards outside the palace, wouldn’t that be a more dangerous situation? Rest assured, I never go anywhere without guards. Everyone seems to forget often, but I am a princess.”
Elia, who knew the secret passages of the castle like the back of her hand, had often ventured outside. Therefore, she wasn’t particularly nervous this time either, but Bobbin kept repeating that she shouldn’t wander off alone and should stay close until they got out of the carriage.
Elia escaped from the nagging by bursting out of the carriage as soon as it stopped.
Shaa-aa, the sound of water from the massive marble fountain rang out refreshingly. In the opposite stood an imposing stone building clothed in climbing plants. The green vines that enveloped the entire exterior wall of the four-story building cast small shadows that moved with the wind.
“Your Highness! If you go out like that…”
“Shh, what ‘Your Highness’? Call me Bree.”
A group of scholars poured out of the building, classes seemingly over.
Young men, all wearing cloaks emblazoned with the Academia’s emblem, passed in front of Elia with thick books tucked under their arms. They all looked pale and their conversations lacked energy, as if weighed down by their research. In contrast, the younger students moved energetically across the campus.
While Elia had visited marketplaces and parks before, this was her first time at the Academia. Why didn’t she think to come earlier? The Academia was one of the great achievements of Elia’s grandfather.
A treasure trove of knowledge, consolidating various schools of Shilom.
Thanks to this, quite a few students came from other countries to study, making it a place of active cultural exchange. From Naewin, mainly noble children who wouldn’t inherit titles and children of the merchant class enrolled, and as generations passed, they were selected as faculty, becoming a new force. Since the time of the previous king, they had been recognized for their practical abilities and began to be employed in various fields of the court, and now the Academia had become an institution that produced talented individuals for the kingdom.
“It’s so lively. I should have come earlier.”
Bobbin, noticing Elia’s excited mood, had no choice but to guide Elia through the Academia. Most of the princess’s professors had been with Elia since the time she used to collapse frequently, so they couldn’t be too strict with her.
In the end, as Bobbin recited some information, Elia looked around distractedly, when a familiar figure entered her view.
“Hm?”
Elia reflexively turned her head. Her gaze fell on an extremely tall man. He was walking on the opposite colonnade, but he didn’t look at all like a scholar from here. Perhaps due to his rare physique, if anything, he gave off more of a knight’s impression. But it wasn’t his size that caught Elia’s eye.
“Huh?”
He resembled him.
He looked very much like that person from last night.
“That, that man…”
While Elia hesitated, the man disappeared around a corner. It was so brief that it almost seemed like a hallucination. Did she see wrong? Well, if you think too much about one thing, you might see things incorrectly. Elia pushed away the uneasy feeling and followed Bobbin.
“Let’s go to the research room first.”
“Why the research room?”
“Are you planning to rush straight to the Chancellor’s office?”
That was the plan, but it seemed she had been found out. It was an impulsive action from the start. Bobbin narrowed her eyes as if she could see right through Elia’s thoughts.
“First, have a calm conversation with Gaian in the research room.”
It did seem unreasonable to just barge in. Elia had no choice but to quietly follow Bobbin.
“It’s here.”
While Elia was pondering whether the man she just saw was indeed the one she was looking for, Bobbin announced their arrival at the research room. Following Bobbin into the research room, familiar faces like the sleepy professor and Professor Schuilern were visible among the high stacks of papers and books.
Elia marveled at the chaos that was the research room. It was hard to believe that policy proposals for the kingdom were exchanged in a place that looked almost like a garbage dump.
An old man, hurriedly moving with an armful of documents, made eye contact with Elia. It was Gaian, a history professor who oversaw Elia’s lessons. He approached, his white beard and hair fluttering.
“Your Highness? Why have you come…”
Elia put her index finger to her lips, afraid someone might hear.
“Shh! What ‘Your Highness’? Call me Bree.”
“Bree?”
“I came to meet the Chancellor…”
Gaian turned her head sharply towards Bobbin.
“Professor Bobbin! What’s going on?”
“Her Highness expressed a desire to see the Academia.”
“No, I wanted to see the Chancellor…”
The old man, seemingly not hearing Elia’s words, closed his eyes tightly and touched his forehead.
“Even so, how could you think to bring Your Highness directly without any attendants!”
When the strict-natured Gaian scolded Bobbin, Elia raised her voice in response.
“Do you think I’m someone who should be confined to the palace?”
Gaian still treated Elia as if she were a weakling who might collapse anywhere. This was despite the fact that she had noticeably improved in health over the past five years and now showed no signs of illness.
“Usually, royalty who haven’t come of age live that way.”
“I’m five years older now. I’m twenty-five!”
“Even so! How could you without any guards!”
“I have enough guards. As I told Bobbin, it’s more dangerous for the guards to be seen outside the palace.”
Unable to say more to Elia, Gaian turned his criticism back to Bobbin.
“You should have stopped her!”
Bobbin must feel wronged, but it couldn’t be helped. After all, it was Bobbin who had stopped Elia when she said she was going straight to the Chancellor’s office.
Soon they were exchanging loud words, leaving Elia alone. Elia took the opportunity to turn towards the entrance of the research lab. Pretending to look around the interior of the lab, she quickly opened the door and came out.
She pushed up her heavy glasses and looked around the corridor. This seemed to be the east wing, but how should she move towards the Chancellor’s office? She pulled out a rough map from her sleeve. It was a small map that Bobbin had playfully drawn for her a few months ago when she expressed curiosity about the Academia.
“Let’s see, here’s the guest room, and the Chancellor’s office…”
The Chancellor’s office was across the wing. It was the building visible past the central garden.
The professors wouldn’t be of much help either, so it was right to meet the Chancellor as originally planned. Elia calmly organized the questions she would pour out to the Chancellor as she walked along the map.
