The Story Thus Far

My name is Patience Granger. I’d once been an office worker in Japan, but I woke up one day in another world as the daughter of an impoverished viscount.

I really struggled in the beginning, because our family was quite destitute. Our meals had consisted of bland soup, thin slices of hard bread, and ham sliced even thinner, to the point you could see through it. I’d found solace in my younger brothers, Nassius and Henry, who were adorable little angels!

Eventually I’d visited the church, where I’d been evaluated for magic and found I’d been bestowed a proficiency in household magic. Many commoners were also proficient in household magic, so it was slightly looked down upon, but it had turned out to be incredibly useful for me.

It was mandatory for nobles to enroll in the Royal Academy at the age of ten, and my school uniforms were all hand-me-downs from our relatives! Fortunately, I’d been able to make them good as new using my household magic. Even our worn-out mansion had become sparkling clean thanks to some household spells!

After I’d enrolled in the academy, I became Princess Margaret’s lady’s maid. It took up a lot of my time, which had really hurt because I needed time to do side jobs, otherwise my family would suffer! Such concerns had made me unhappy about this appointment at first, but recently my relationship with the princess had changed.

One year had passed since I’d first started school, and I’d skipped ahead to the senior division, which made Princess Margaret and me classmates. Her friends, who I’d never liked, had started harassing me more than before, but the princess chose me over them. I wouldn’t be so impudent as to claim that we were friends, but it felt like I was more than just her lady’s maid.

Though we had grown closer, another issue soon arose. Princess Margaret had a deep love of music, but instead of focusing myself solely on her beloved music club, I’d also joined alchemy club. The princess had been displeased for a bit, but I’d given her some new songs I “composed,” which seemed to appease her.

It was in the midst of such events that the knight club, of which Prince Keith was a member, had caused some trouble. They’d been forcing the riding club to look after their horses and the magic club to participate in their practices.

I really hated President Hammond! Not only had he been doing those awful things, but he’d been trying to curry favor with Prince Keith. Junior division students weren’t allowed to participate in the annual knight club competition held during the Festival of Verdure, but President Hammond had been going to make an exception for Keith.

Prince Richard, who had already graduated, had also been furious that Prince Keith was being taken advantage of. For some reason, he’d shown up at my house, and then he, along with Percival (who’d come with Prince Richard) and I, had visited Prince Keith’s friends and discussed how to proceed. In the end, it had been decided that the knight club would be dissolved as punishment for disturbing the activities of other clubs.

That had caused quite the violent storm among the students, but Prince Keith and the others had managed to gather the signatures of over half of the student body and petitioned for the knight club to be reborn. They’d succeeded, and I could finally relax.

Now I could focus on making lots of useful gadgets in alchemy club! I also hoped that I could sell my inventions and make lots of money. After all, the Grangers were still quite poor.

Next year, Nassius would be enrolling in the Royal Academy. I was planning to use my magic to make some hand-me-down uniforms good as new for him, but I wanted to buy him brand new undershirts and underwear!

Your sister is going to do her best!

Chapter 1: Let’s Make a Bunch of Stuff in Alchemy Club!

On Friday, I’d had to visit the royal palace, so I hadn’t been able to go to alchemy club. I was now at home, making a list of all the devices I wanted to make. Some were going to be hard to explain, so I drew out some diagrams for them. As I was sketching out all the things I wanted to make, I had a flash of inspiration.

“We wouldn’t need a magic stone for this,” I mumbled to myself. “We could even use it at home. We could also use it twice, so it would save money! Though, I’m not sure if making this would be considered alchemy. I’ll have to ask President Caesar about it!”

My list of possible inventions mostly consisted of rough sketches and hastily written explanations just so I could convey the basic concepts of what I wanted to make, but for this device in particular, I spent time thinking about the specifics. I even wrote in the exact dimensions I wanted.

“I think this is about the size it should be. Oh, I’ll go ahead and make a cover for it.”

I grabbed some scrap fabric from the attic and used it to create a cover for my planned device. I was buzzing with excitement.

I can’t wait to go to alchemy club!

My little angels loved the lamp I’d made for them, but it would stop working once the magic stone was used up. The magic stone the lamp was currently running on had been a gift from the alchemy club. President Caesar had called it payment for the idea, but I wouldn’t be able to get more free magic stones whenever I wanted.

And so I decided to pour my efforts into my side job of painting designs onto ceramics. This was something that I consciously used household magic on from start to finish, so I could knock out a lot of finished objects.

“This is basically copying and pasting a design, right?” I thought aloud. “I wonder if I could do the same to have a side job producing magic circles. I wouldn’t know how to go about selling magic circles to a lamp factory though.”

For now, I focused on finishing the designs on the porcelain tea sets. Once I was done, I summoned Wyatt to retrieve the completed wares.

“You worked quite quickly, my lady,” Wyatt remarked. “There was no need for you to push yourself so hard.”

I’d completed double the number that I usually did, which worried Wyatt.

“You know, Wyatt, I’m also incredibly fast at drawing the magic circles used in magic lamps. Do you know anyone who works in a lamp factory?”

Wyatt had seen the lamps I’d made for my brothers’ room and for myself, and he gasped as if he’d realized something.

“I see,” he replied with a smile. “I will speak to an old friend of mine. But please make sure to rest well, my lady.”

I now had a new side job. I’m done with mending socks! It pays way too little.

When I was at school, I did a side job embroidering. Apparently when a noble lady gets married, she has to bring a mountain of linens, such as cloth napkins, pillowcases, and handkerchiefs, all embroidered with her name. Mary and I both took orders for this kind of work.

This side job was slightly more difficult than it might have seemed, because the backside of our work also had to look neat. Though it was a bit tedious, the extra skill required also meant that the work paid more. As an added bonus, Mary knew someone who worked in an embroidery shop, so we were able to purchase embroidery floss at an extreme discount. I was planning on using some of the thread to embroider Nassius’s name and our family crest into his uniform!

I was also learning needle painting from Ms. McNally, the embroidery teacher. I was excited to gain this skill, because needle painted pieces sold for a high price. That wasn’t a surprise, because an intricate piece could easily take a year to make. My current focus was on learning a variety of techniques, so I was being careful not to use household magic, but I would still occasionally slip up and use it.

According to Ms. McNally, it had been fashionable in the past for noble ladies to master needle painting before getting married. Once married, they would decorate their homes with beautiful works of embroidery to show off how talented they were. I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if it came out that they were terrible at embroidery. Perhaps those noble ladies had forced their maids to make embroidered pieces for them.

There was no longer as much of an expectation for women to cultivate the skill themselves, but there seemed to be an endless stream of noblewomen who secretly bought embroidered pieces to show off.

I’m going to work hard at this!

As usual, my fun-filled weekend quickly came to an end. I didn’t understand why I had to spend this precious time at home taking horse riding lessons, which I hated. I would also get worried for Henry while watching him leap over tall obstacles. What if he got hurt? The anxiety wasn’t good for my heart.

“Did you see that, sister?” Henry excitedly asked.

I’m sorry; I closed my eyes.

“Are you all right, Henry?” I asked back. I was so worried I couldn’t bear it.

“Next is my turn,” Nassius announced.

I don’t think that’s a good idea!

“You can do it! Jump!” Samuel said.

You can’t just say things like that, Samuel!

I was too afraid to watch, but it sounded like Nassius had succeeded.

“I did it, sister!” he shouted.

Being a big sister is tough. I wonder if my heart can take much more of this.

“Aren’t you going to ride anymore, Patience?” Samuel asked.

I’m going to ban you from our home if you keep sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong, Samuel. I already rode enough.

“I must start preparing to return to the dorms,” I said.

Samuel had asked if he could visit from time to time on the weekends, to which I’d said yes. It made me happy to see Nassius and Henry playing with their cousin, so Samuel’s visits were generally a good thing. The only problem was that he kept trying to force riding lessons on me! Well, I wasn’t going to let him!

I’m definitely going to make a bicycle in alchemy club! Oh, but that means I’ll have to remember how a bicycle functions. Guess I’m working on that first.

My brothers were still in the middle of their riding lessons with Samuel, so I gave them quick kisses goodbye and left for the dorms.

They don’t need their sister as much anymore. It makes me sad, but that’s just growing up. Hey, since he annoys me, starting next time I’m also going to kiss Samuel! I bet he’ll hate that!

I spent my ride to the academy thinking such stupid things that I arrived in the blink of an eye.

After sending Mary back home, I put on my coat and headed for the greenhouse. I hadn’t been able to water my plants on Saturday, so I was a bit worried, but I arrived and saw that they seemed fine.

I purified some water and used it on my ridge of plants—and only my own ridge. Otherwise Ms. Makias would scold me again.

I rushed back to my dorm room to get out of the cold. The warmth of my fireplace was comforting. I wanted to just lay on the couch with a book, but I maintained proper ladylike posture and sat up as I read.

I couldn’t focus on my book, because I kept thinking about what Percival had said to me about the possibility of me becoming a diplomat. Being a diplomatic official sounded like such a cool job, and it had been a dream of mine to enter the diplomatic service during my previous life. That said, being a diplomat in this world was likely different from my understanding of the job. I wanted to travel to other countries, but this world had monsters. It could be dangerous.

Time passed as I was occupied with such thoughts, and Princess Margaret arrived on campus. Today I noticed her arrival before Zofie came to inform me.

Princess Margaret shared that the queen had been in a good mood, since Prince Keith’s problems with the knight club had been settled. I’d also thought that the queen had seemed to be in a good mood when I’d visited on Friday.

You shouldn’t cause Her Majesty too much worry, Prince Keith!

On Monday, my day started with diplomacy and world history. Because of what Percival had said, I was quite excited for both classes.

After lunch, I was planning to use my Alchemy II time block to visit alchemy club, because I really wanted to make that thing. However, I was still worried whether making it would be considered alchemy.

I’m sure that alchemy could be used to make it. But we didn’t have alchemy in my previous world, so we had to rely on mundane metalworking there.

For some reason, Philips once again walked me to our classroom where diplomacy and world history were held. As we walked, Philips discussed with Russell how Mr. Cuthbert seemed quite unmotivated, but I had no interest in the topic of our meathead teacher. According to the boys’ conversation, his low spirits were an actual problem, because he was the PE teacher.

“Mr. Cuthbert’s always been tough on mage track and civil service track students, and this whole incident just made more people hate him,” Russell remarked. He’d apparently refused to sign the knight club’s petition.

“Since you’re in riding club, I understand why you didn’t want to sign,” Philips replied.

I didn’t realize Russell is in riding club.

“Sir Russell, my cousin Samuel is also in riding club,” I chimed in. “I hope you will look after him.”

Russell chuckled, seeming to recall my cousin.

“He’s in that group of four, isn’t he? I know he’s also in music club. I’ll watch out for him.”

Now that I think about it, I don’t know if Philips is in any club.

“Do you participate in any extracurriculars, Sir Philips?” I asked.

For some reason, Russell spat as if he’d failed at suppressing a laugh.

“How rude of you, Russell,” Philips chided. “The history club is a storied institution of this academy.”

I didn’t even know that there was a history club. I guess we had those in my previous life too. If I remember correctly, they studied things like earthenware and historical ruins.

“I have no idea how visiting the ruins of a fallen empire could be any fun,” Russell scoffed. “You’re a decent rider, Philips. You should just join riding club.”

Is this the start of another club recruitment war?

“The history club barely has enough people as it is,” Philips explained. “I can’t leave. I’d actually love to have either you or Mademoiselle Patience join.” Philips then turned to me. “How about it? Investigating the reasons the empire fell is quite fun.”

I’ve already got a full plate.

“I’m already in music club and alchemy club, so I’ll have to decline your offer,” I replied. Of course, I didn’t even need to think before also refusing Russell’s invitation to join riding club. “Unfortunately I’m not fond of riding.”

“It isn’t her fault,” Philips said, trying to back me up. “She’s a graceful noble lady.”

Russell just burst into laughter.

“I don’t think graceful noble ladies usually join alchemy club.”

How rude!

“I’m surprised you’re recruiting people for riding club, Sir Russell,” I said. “I would have expected there to be no need for recruiting, given that you have so many members.”

A sour look washed across Russell’s face.

“A lot of people left during that stuff with the knight club. Your cousin and his friends returned, but we failed to recruit new students at the beginning of the year. If things don’t improve, our budget is going to be slashed.”

“Budget, you say?” Philips responded with envy. “Our club gets a mere pittance.”

“Well, you barely have any members to begin with. For riding club, we need to buy feed for our horses, and we need to pay for maintenance and stable hands. If we don’t get more people, we might have to raise our club dues.”

Russell’s words made my heart stop.

I’m not paying anything for music club. Is Princess Margaret paying my dues? Also, if there are dues for alchemy club, I won’t be able to stay in it.

I was starting to get nervous. I felt as if I’d racked up debt without knowing it.

Diplomacy and world history were both necessary subjects when it came to studying to become a diplomat, but my mind was so occupied with these potential debts that I wasn’t able to absorb anything in either class.

I really failed today. Money issues are a big weakness of mine.

I wanted to ask Princess Margaret about club dues during lunch, but I didn’t feel comfortable discussing money.

I can definitely ask the members of alchemy club!

After lunch, I rushed to alchemy club. Well, it was my intention to rush, but Patience walked quite slowly, so I didn’t get there particularly quickly.

“How do you do?” I greeted President Caesar and Benjamin as I walked into alchemy club. They seemed to already be putting their heads together to solve some issue.

“Hey there, Patience!” Caesar greeted me. “You weren’t here on Friday, but we went ahead and worked a bit on the washing machine. I hope that was all right.”

Yeah, you can go make it all on your own if you want.

“President Caesar, there’s actually something I’d like to discuss with you,” I said.

I wanted to ask about club dues, preferably privately.

“Don’t worry, Patience. I understand. You’re concerned about how we’re going to split the ownership when we finish the washing machine and get a patent. The alchemy club actually has rules about how to handle this sort of thing, because we’ve had arguments over it in the past. Go ahead and read them! If there’s anything you don’t agree with, we can discuss it.” Caesar rustled around a bookshelf and pulled out a manual. “I almost forgot, but after you read these rules, if you don’t have a problem with any of them, I’d like your signature.”

He handed me the alchemy club’s handbook, so I read through the club guidelines. There was a breakdown of how ownership was split for the patent of a magical instrument developed in alchemy club. First, the club itself would own ten percent of the patent. That seemed like quite a lot. Second was the student who came up with the idea, who would own thirty percent of the rights.

Ooh, you get that much just for having the idea?

Third was the student who developed the magic circle to operate the instrument; that person would receive another thirty percent. This sounded fair, considering magical instruments all required a magic circle to do anything. The remaining thirty percent of patent ownership would be split equally among all club members.

“The alchemy club has successfully funded its operations through this ten percent ownership of patents,” President Caesar explained. “That’s why I’d love for you to keep contributing through your fascinating ideas.”

I don’t mind that at all.

“All I can provide are ideas; I can’t even come up with my own magic circles,” I replied. “I’m also not very good at designing the mechanical parts of magical instruments. Is it really all right for me to benefit both as a contributor and a regular club member? Also, how much are the club dues?” Without thinking, I blurted out my questions all at once.

I wonder if I’m bothering President Caesar.

“I’m sorry to have gotten your hopes up Patience, but getting a patent doesn’t always lead to making a fortune. There’s a lot of people out there who believe it’s cheaper to hire someone to do a job than to buy a magical instrument. All this stuff is just insurance, so that we won’t argue if we ever do make a fortune.”

I was a bit disappointed by this news, but I wasn’t surprised. The cost of labor in this world was quite low, so it could be cheaper for someone to hire a maid than to buy a washing machine.

“In that case, perhaps there is no point in building a washing machine,” I mumbled.

I hung my head, but President Caesar and Benjamin immediately shook my disappointment away with overwhelming and passionate words.

“How could you say that?!” Caesar exclaimed. “Even if washing machines aren’t practical now, they will be one day!”

“That’s right!” Benjamin chimed in. “One day, alchemy will make the world better!”

“Uh, sure...” I agreed. “So what about club dues?”

“We’re able to fund the club’s operations through donations from previous members,” Caesar revealed. “You don’t have to pay any dues.”

Wait, that means that they’ve successfully profited from inventions in the past! I’m starting to get motivated again!

“President Caesar, would it be all right to create something that doesn’t use a magic stone?” I asked while quickly signing my name to show that I agreed with the club’s rules. I then pulled out my diagram of a hot water bottle.

“What’s this used for?” Caesar asked.

“I know!” Benjamin exclaimed. “It’s a toy that you throw, right? That would make it pretty similar to ryffle.”

Bzzzt! You’re wrong!

“This is a hot water bottle. Before you go to bed, you put hot water inside it, and put a cover on it. Then, you place it under your blanket, and it will keep you warm all night, which will allow you to sleep deeply.”

They seemed...underwhelmed.

“That isn’t all!” I continued. “The hot water inside can be used in the morning to wash your face! It’s a revolutionary invention that allows you to use the same batch of hot water twice!”

I seemed to be the only one excited by my idea. The others were excited, but not by my hot water bottle—they’d gone through my list of ideas without my permission, and found things they were more interested in.

“Who cares about that weird doodad!” Caesar exclaimed. “What is this diagram for?!” He was just like President Albert in his excitement over something new.

“May I make this hot water bottle, President Caesar?”

First I got his permission to proceed, but then I had to go through my list and explain the rest of the items on it. Before I knew it, third period was over.

This sucks! I’m itching to make my hot water bottle!

My next class was herbology, which I had with Benjamin in the greenhouse.

“Whoa, are these dead?” Benjamin said, checking on his plants.

Yeah, saying they’re withered would be an understatement.

“That’s because you slacked off on watering them,” Ms. Makias chided. “Once it’s that bad, there’s no hope for saving your plants. Pull ’em out and add some more fertilizer already!”

Not only were Benjamin’s herbs dead, but Bryce’s and Andrew’s were also hopelessly withered. To my surprise, the other ridges with minor herbs planted were also not looking well.

“Do you want some greater herb seeds too, Patience?” Ms. Makias turned to me and asked. “Your minor herb seeds should be ready soon.”

The entire class turned their attention to me and looked at my plants with envy. My greater herbs were growing vigorously, and the minor herbs I’d left to collect seeds from had now sprouted small yellow flowers. The plant reminded me of ragweeds from my previous life.

“Yes, I would like some greater herb seeds as well.”

I left two of the greater shrubs and harvested the rest. The leaves of the greater herbs were prickly, similar to thistle.

“These are also good enough to sell,” Ms. Makias remarked. “You should become an apothecary. You pass Herbology II. Do you want to continue on to Herbology III?”

I could become an apothecary?! Of course I’d like to take Herbology III!

“Yes, please,” I replied.

Ms. Makias cackled.

“You’re an ambitious one, aren’t you? Just so you know, during the lecture portion of the class, you’ll have to take the tests for all three classes: Herbology I, II, and III. You’d better read the textbook thoroughly.”

I’d nearly forgotten that we would be switching to classroom lectures in May.

After that I retilled my soil with fertilizer and began planting seeds for antidotal herbs.

“The antidotal herb is a finicky plant,” Ms. Makias warned. “An antidote made out of this herb will cure an upset stomach and mild poisons, so they sell well. But, they aren’t very profitable if you have to get an adventurer to forage the herb for you. If you can grow antidotal herbs, you can become a novice apothecary.”

The seeds of the antidotal herb came wrapped in paper, and they were incredibly small and thin. If there had been a breeze, they would’ve been blown away.

“Each seed should be encased in soil before being planted. Well, you could do two at a time. Make sure to purify both the soil and water you use to encase the seeds.”

I collected some soil in a beaker and did the usual chant of “Become clean.” Then, I slowly mixed in some purified water.

“Don’t let the mixture get too runny,” Ms. Makias cautioned. “It needs to form a solid casing over the seeds.”

The process was similar to making a dorodango, a compact sphere of mud that Japanese children often made for fun. I’d made plenty of them as a child during my previous life.

I started by making twenty of these mud spheres, then I washed my hands. After that, I began burying the small seeds in each mud sphere. I figured that if I hadn’t split the process up like this, I would lose track of those tiny seeds. Also, if my hands were all gloppy from working with the mud, it would’ve been much more difficult to handle the tiny seeds.

“You’re pretty smart, Patience,” Ms. Makias remarked. “Go ahead and plant them.”

Both ends of my ridge had two bushes: flowering minor herbs on one side, and the greater herbs I’d left today on the other. I planted the antidotal herb between them.

“Once you’ve sown those seeds, you’ve got to water them. It should go without saying that you need to use purified water. The hard part starts here. Antidotal herbs love mana. You could even say they grow solely off mana, but giving them too much will result in limp, red leaves, and they won’t flower. They’ll also grow long stalks. If that happens, that means you failed. A successfully grown antidotal herb will have green leaves and flowers.”

That sounds difficult. They need lots of mana, but you can’t give them too much?

“Ms. Makias, does that mean they wouldn’t grow if I simply used purified water imbued with mana?”

Ms. Makias disappointedly sucked her teeth at me.

“I wish you would fail just once. Just because you figured it out on your own doesn’t mean you can go around telling everyone how it works. You also better not use your household magic on these herbs. Just imbue the water with your mana.”

She was ever the evil witch.

My understanding was that antidotal herbs loved mana, but directly imbuing the plant with mana would be too much, making them grow too big and causing the leaves to turn red. However, giving them plenty of mana-imbued water seemed like the right course of action.

I think I’m going to do just fine in Herbology! I’m so glad! If I pass Herbology III and the novice apothecary’s exam, I might not have to worry about putting food on my family’s table anymore! I wonder if I have to study pharmacy at Romano University to become an intermediate apothecary? I’ll have to look into that!

I was counting my chickens before they’d hatched. I wouldn’t have been so arrogant had I properly understood just how wicked Ms. Makias could be.

It was now Tuesday morning, and I stopped by the greenhouse before going to wake Princess Margaret up. Stalks had sprouted from my plants.

They look pretty short, so maybe it’s okay.

“Did I fail? Or are leaves supposed to sprout later on?” I had a bad feeling about my plants, but I had no choice but to push forward until next week. “Maybe I put too much mana into the water.”

I was thrown for a loop by the antidotal herbs. I’d imbued the water I used yesterday with plenty of mana, which had resulted in the stalks growing too much. I decided to put a little bit of my mana into the water today, only to learn that if I didn’t use enough mana, the plant ended up looking limp.

I ended up being distracted by the whole situation during music club, for which Princess Margaret scolded me.

Oh, I forgot. I need to ask her about club dues.

“Lady Margaret, I had a question about the club dues,” I said.

Princess Margaret looked lost.

“Club dues? What is that?”

Does she not know what dues are? Or are there no dues for music club?

“I only recently learned that clubs have dues. Sir Russell mentioned that the riding club had fewer members now, which means that their budget may be decreased. If that happens, he said they would have to raise their club dues, so I was worried I had to pay dues for music club. I thought that I might have been causing trouble by having you pay for me this entire time...”

Princess Margaret raised her brows when she heard me say “causing trouble.”

“You are my lady’s maid, Patience. If any fees have to be paid to the music club, then it is my duty to pay them. That is how this works. It’s the same as for your meals on Thursdays at the salon.”

“The alchemy club operates using donations from alumni. How does the music club operate?”

That clubroom is filled with a bunch of expensive looking things, like luxurious chairs and instruments.

“There are instruments that were purchased in the past, as well as those that students bring on their own, which is more than enough. As for other items the club uses, I believe those were left behind by previous members. When I graduate, I’m planning to donate various items in my room, such as the chairs, to the club.”

Students couldn’t join the music club without a recommendation from an existing member, which meant that only high-ranking nobles usually joined. It was no wonder that they didn’t require dues.

“What about the transportation of instruments for the Festival of Verdure and the Harvest Festival?”

I remember seeing the servants who work at the school carrying stuff. Do they just help out for free?

“Who knows? The president probably gives the people who help tips or something.”

President Melissa and President Albert would have no problem paying tips. If Princess Margaret were to become the president of music club, she would also be able to pay tips. I was the only poor person in the club. Even Samuel seemed pretty well off... Suddenly I didn’t want to think about this anymore.

My third class on Wednesday was Pharmacy III. Today I was going to make some antidote using that finicky antidotal herb. Benjamin and Bryce still had their hands full making minor healing potions. They weren’t going to pass the class if they didn’t learn to clean their equipment more thoroughly.

“How are your antidotal herbs looking, Patience?” Ms. Makias asked with a cackle, which was a bit irritating.

After the troubles I had with my plants, I’d done a ton of research on antidotal herbs in the library.

“Ms. Makias, the encyclopedia of herbs I found in the library said that antidotal herbs must not be given mana. It also said that too much fertilizer wasn’t good for the plant either.”

I’d added more fertilizer to the soil after harvesting my greater herbs.

“You finally did some research. Do you remember what I said? It’s for the best that you fail once. Now that you’ve done your research, you can try again. But for now, focus on pharmacy.” Ms. Makias handed me some herbs. “This is how your leaves should look. We’re also going to use the flowers.”

The antidotal herbs she handed me looked nothing like the plants growing in my ridge. They had a slightly strong scent, similar to fish mint from my previous life.

“Wash these thoroughly, then chop up the leaves into small pieces. Make sure to set the flowers aside.”

I was almost suspicious of her instructions, but the textbook had said the same thing about chopping up the leaves. As usual, the textbook’s instructions were lacking and didn’t say anything about not chopping the flowers.

I feel like that would be an easy mistake to make.

“That small is good,” Ms. Makias said. “Next, you’re going to simmer those leaves in some purified water. Once it’s reduced by half, add in the flowers and take it off the heat. Lastly, don’t forget to imbue the mixture with mana the entire time.”

Since she’d already lied to me once, I tried to rely on the textbook rather than her instructions. Again, this textbook wasn’t very user-friendly, and it didn’t mention anything about when to add the flowers. I reluctantly decided to stick to Ms. Makias’s instructions and made the antidote.

“Good job,” Ms. Makias said, smiling as she inspected the bottled antidote I’d made. “You pass Pharmacy III. I have no choice but to give you a certificate of completion.”

“Why did you tell me that antidotal herbs grow with mana, Ms. Makias?” I asked.

Ms. Makias cackled before replying.

“It’s actually true that they can grow from being imbued with mana. It’s just incredibly difficult. Even a minuscule amount of excess mana will make the stalks grow too much, so most people just grow them using purified water. Even so, I thought maybe you of all people might be able to adjust your output of mana and succeed with that method.”

I didn’t understand what she was thinking at all. It was much easier to grow them with just water, and even the encyclopedia said to not use mana.

“Is there a difference between regular antidotal herbs and those grown using mana?”

Ms. Makias just cackled again and didn’t respond.

I guess there is a difference. Or is she just trying to trick me again?

After that, I did some more research using not just encyclopedias but also specialized books specifically covering herbology. No matter how many books I read through, they all said not to use mana to grow antidotal herbs.

“It looks like using purified water is the correct way,” I muttered to myself.

I’d almost given up, but something felt off.

I won’t leave any stone unturned!

“Oh, this book says regarding growing antidotal herbs, ‘By imbuing only buds with mana, the leaves will grow thick and be green on top and purple on the underside. Carefully imbuing only the budding leaves will result in significantly more potent antidotal herbs.’”

I headed to the greenhouse and found some budding leaves on my plants. I singled out only the buds that were still growing into leaves and imbued them with mana. I had to be very careful and patient, because this was a tedious process that took a lot of time.

“Antidotal herbs really are quite finicky!” I exclaimed. I couldn’t help but want to scream out of annoyance.

I was exempt from my second period class on Thursdays, cooking, so I visited the greenhouse and imbued the buds of my antidotal herbs with a small amount of mana. I’d never done something so meticulous before. I had to be careful not to pour too much mana into the plants. If I let my guard down, the mana would all go into the stalks instead of the buds.

I’d planted twenty seeds, so each sprouting plant had several buds for me to work on. After completing this tedious work, I sat down and rested.

“Do I have to do this every single day? I’ll have to wake up early on Saturday so I can finish before Mary arrives. I might have to come back earlier on Sunday too.”

Working to only imbue the buds with mana seemed like it would be good practice for controlling my output of mana. I reflected on how recklessly I’d been using household magic until now.

My antidotal herbs had started with unnaturally long stalks, but they’d eventually started budding leaves, and they were slowly starting to look closer to the herbs I’d used in pharmacy.

“I’m going to work hard and surprise Ms. Makias!” I vowed to myself.

Though I’d made that vow, it wasn’t going to be an easy task. Ms. Makias likely checked on everyone’s plants every morning, so she probably already knew what I was doing.

The bell clanged, signaling that it was time for lunch. Since I’d been working with soil, I used household magic on my entire body to clean myself up. I knew I had to head to the salon, but I just couldn’t bring myself to eat there without Princess Margaret.

“After all, the dining hall does the job,” I muttered to myself.

I thought back to when I’d asked about club dues, and how Princess Margaret had told me to eat at the salon on Thursdays.

I should’ve discussed the issue when she brought it up! Darn it!

Last week I’d also tried to go to the dining hall, but I’d run into Prince Keith and his friends, who had dragged me to the salon.

“Prince Keith has classroom lectures in the morning, right? Then he’ll be at the salon before me.”

The consistent schedule of the junior division was useful in times like this. Hands-on classes required extra time, because students would have to get changed or move classrooms. If Prince Keith was just coming from a standard lecture, then all I had to do was leave a bit later. It also helped that Patience walked slowly. By the time I got to the dining hall from the greenhouse, Prince Keith and his friends would surely be at the salon...

“You’re late, Patience!” the prince scolded. Why is he waiting by the stairs? “Where were you?”

Was he...waiting for me?

“I was in the herbology greenhouse. I had no idea that you would be waiting. I apologize for keeping you.”

He paid no mind to my apology and just headed up the stairs.

“Prince Keith didn’t see you in the dining hall, so he was quite worried,” Ralph said.

I was surprised to hear that. I’d had no idea what sort of worry my absence could cause.

“You’re exempt from your second period class on Thursdays, so I thought you were caught up in alchemy club stuff,” Prince Keith huffed.

He must really hate alchemy club. I wish he wouldn’t stick his nose into other people’s extracurriculars. I’ve never complained about the knight club to him.

“I’m quite busy with growing antidotal herbs,” I shared. “It’s a truly finicky and troublesome plant.”

It’s just like Prince Keith!

I kept that thought to myself, but Prince Keith curiously raised an eyebrow. Perhaps I’d triggered his Verbal Blunder radar.

“Anyway, I wonder what Princess Margaret is eating today,” Ralph interjected, deftly changing the subject.

“I heard that she had ham steak last week,” I remarked.

All that she’d had to do was slice the ham and fry it. I had no idea how she’d failed.

I am curious what she’s having today.

“That sounds good,” Prince Keith replied. He seemed to have finally stopped thinking about what I’d been doing.

“Fretting about all the struggles Lady Margaret must face makes it difficult for me to eat here,” I said. “Starting next week, I will eat downstairs.”

I finally said it! Now my Thursdays are free!

I thought I’d succeeded, but for some reason, Prince Keith wasn’t budging on this issue.

“I’ve been instructed by my sister to eat with you,” he argued. “I cannot break a promise I’ve made.”

There’s no need to be so stubborn about this. Just have fun eating lunch with your friends!

“I just remembered, you’ve gotten several certificates of completion, Lady Patience,” Hugo suddenly said. “Prince Keith is planning to enroll in two tracks in the senior division, and he is having trouble deciding which courses to pursue exemptions in.”

Is he trying to stop me from arguing back? Do they think I’m the problem here? Are you kidding me?

“I believe language arts, math, and magic theory are the easiest to obtain certificates of completion in,” I replied. “If you let your teachers know, you can take the third year senior division test for those subjects during the spring term final exams.”

Prince Keith hadn’t accelerated history and classical literature during his first year, so I left those two out. He’d already gotten a certificate of completion for dance, and he would likely get them for music and art, so I also left those subjects out.

After that, I listened to the boys discuss how they were going to work hard to get certificates of completion in magic practicum and PE as I silently ate my lunch.

Yeah, there’s really no point in my being here.

It was really unfortunate that Prince Keith struggled with classical literature, and I was confident that he could pass history if he just applied himself. After that, he would only have to get a certificate of completion in magic practicum to skip ahead to his third year in the junior division.

I wonder if Samuel will do all right on his classical literature term final.

Just then, I came up with a brilliant idea. Samuel had incredible auditory senses, and Dehn was similar to classical Emperado. Studying Dehn could make him feel less intimidated by classical literature.

I have to try this out! Since Samuel likes music, maybe I should find songs that are in Dehn.

Prince Keith had no problem carrying on a conversation without me, but he was unusually observant when it came to me thinking about other topics.

“What are you thinking about, Patience?”

Should I answer honestly? It’s about classical literature, which he hates... I guess it’s fine.

“My cousin Samuel isn’t very fond of classical literature either, so I was worried that he might struggle with the subject during the spring term final exams.”

Just hearing the name of his detested subject made Prince Keith furrow his brows.

I didn’t realize he hated it so much that his body rejected even speaking of it.

“I’ve heard that your cousin also has a hard time with the subject. Are you that concerned?”

I can’t tell him that I was tutoring him.

“Yes. My aunt has asked that I look after him.”

Ralph and Hugo both nodded in understanding.

“I’m sure he can’t drop below Class A,” Ralph remarked.

“Yes, all of our parents warn us about that,” Hugo added on.

Now that they were all second-years, Prince Keith and his friends knew that they had good grades, and they didn’t have to worry about being taken out of Class A. During their first year, they had been working earnestly to stay in Class A.

“Samuel is skilled when it comes to auditory mediums, so I thought it would be good to teach him Dehn,” I explained.

The three of them didn’t seem to understand the connection.

“I’m planning to take Dehn as part of the civil service course,” Prince Keith replied. “My brother also said I should study a foreign language.”

As always, Prince Keith really admired Prince Richard.

“I’m also studying Dehn with Princess Margaret, and I’ve learned it’s quite similar to classical Emperado.”

Just the word “classical” was enough to trigger a physical reaction from Prince Keith.

“Learning Dehn is quite fun,” I continued. “The grammar is similar to classical Emperado’s, but the words are all current terminology.”

Prince Keith seemed to be a little bit more interested.

“I see. Seems more useful than studying the language of a fallen empire.”

I thought that we were finally done with this topic, but for some reason, Ralph decided to say something weird.

“You’ve also gotten a certificate of completion in dance, right, Lady Patience? That would mean that you are free during fourth period on Mondays.”

I have no idea why he’s asking this! He who yields may live to fight another day, so fine, I’ll tell you.

“No, I have Herbology III during that block,” I responded.

It’s the truth!

“You just said you were in the herbology greenhouse,” Prince Keith pointed out. “Were you lying?”

Prince Keith is so annoying.

“My class is during my fourth period on Monday, but I mentioned earlier that I am having trouble growing antidotal herbs. They have small buds that must be gently imbued with mana. If I used even slightly more mana than I am supposed to, the stalks become overgrown and I will fail. Each plant has several buds that I must imbue with mana, so it is an incredibly taxing task. I have to do the same thing over and over, countless times... Darn Ms. Witch! I can’t believe she said I can’t use my household magic. If I did, I could do it so easily!”

As I ran my mouth, I suddenly realized something. During my first herbology class, Ms. Makias had said that my household magic was a great fit for herbology.

“She played me,” I said, hanging my head.

The three boys just stared at me with exasperation.

“I guess there are a lot of strange teachers in the mage track,” Prince Keith remarked. “I’m surprised that there’s something that even you can fail at, Patience.” The prince sounded amused as he chuckled, which he followed with something I never expected him to say. “You can help both Samuel and me with classical literature. You’re free on weekends, right? Then let’s meet at noon on Saturdays.”

You can’t just decide these things on your own! My weekends are for spending time with my angels!

“Prince Keith, I’m sure you have tutors at the palace more skilled than I am,” I responded.

I don’t want to do this!

Rather than back me, Ralph and Hugo both seemed to be on Prince Keith’s side.

“That sounds like a great idea,” Ralph said.

“Where shall we study?” Hugo asked.

Hey, didn’t you hear me turn him down?!

Ralph and Hugo were probably fed up with Prince Keith’s hatred of classical literature, and they were ready to make it my problem.

I’m going to be someone who can say no!

I mustered up the courage to bluntly refuse, but just as I was about to open my mouth, Princess Margaret appeared.

“Ugh, I’m so hungry, Patience! Please call over a waiter!”

Other girls from the home ec track also arrived and began sitting down. Before I could call a waiter over, Prince Keith snapped his fingers, and a waiter ran to our table.

“I’m fine with whatever can be prepared most quickly,” Princess Margaret said, ordering without even looking at the menu. This was unlike the princess.

“What happened in cooking?” I asked.

The princess furrowed her brows.

“We had to fry fish. But for some reason, my fish turned into a piece of charcoal! It was so bad that the teacher gave me permission to not eat it. There was already a huge commotion at the beginning of class because no one wanted to touch the fish, and the teacher didn’t have the time to make a soup. We were told to just head to the dining hall.”

Fish seemed like quite the difficult task for these students, but after asking for a few more details, I learned that they had just been working with fillets. All they’d had to do was season the fillets with salt and pepper, lightly dust them with flour, then fry them in a pan with some butter.

Princess Margaret ate her lunch as Prince Keith shared his idea with her.

“I think it sounds great,” she responded. “After all, I’m working hard in difficult classes, like sewing and cooking. You should be trying to conquer classical literature as well, Keith. I’ll be counting on you to teach him, Patience.”

It didn’t seem like I would become someone who could say no anytime soon.

Chapter 2: The Saturday Study Session

It was decided that we would get together to study classical literature on Saturday afternoon at the Northcourt home. I brought the idea up to Samuel on Thursday during music club. He told his mother about the idea and arrived at school with a letter from her in hand the very next day. She insisted that we hold the study session at her house. Aunt Lilianna was incredibly quick to take action!

“Are you sure that we won’t be intruding?” I asked Samuel.

“My mother is ecstatic that Prince Keith will be visiting us. You have nothing to worry about, Patience.”

I can clearly picture her making a big commotion about this.

“I really want you to make sure that she knows this is just a study session,” I urged Samuel.

He simply replied that he would try to tell her.

I had more important things to figure out, like how to make studying Dehn fun. When in doubt, it’s best to ask the experts. I headed to the teachers’ offices and looked for Mr. Morse, the foreign language teacher.

“You’re Patience, right? Did you have a question for me?” Mr. Morse was quite loquacious, which made him easy to talk to.

“I have a cousin who is struggling with classical literature, to the point that just hearing the name of the subject sends him running in the other direction,” I shared. “However, he has an incredible ear for music, so I thought that teaching him songs in Dehn may help him react more positively to classical literature.”

Mr. Morse let out an amused chuckle.

“It’s true that Dehn has preserved a lot of the former imperial language. The other dialects of Emperado have changed a lot more since the fall of the empire, so perhaps Dehn is the most similar to the old language; maybe that’s due to the kingdom being more isolated all the way up north. That sounds like a good idea. There are plenty of songs in Dehn. I’d love for you to teach them to your cousin.”

Mr. Morse then handed me a collection of Dehn songs, as well as a book of Dehn folktales.

“Thank you so much, Mr. Morse.”

He waved my gratitude away as if it were unnecessary.

“I may be secretly hoping that this will lead to more students studying Dehn, so there’s no thanks needed. If you need more songs, there should be collections in the library as well.”

I headed to the library, where I borrowed some additional song books. I really hope this will help Samuel and Prince Keith get over their dislike of classical literature.

Now that I was prepared for Saturday, the rest of Friday afternoon was my time to make a hot water bottle in alchemy club! I began counting on my fingers how many hot water bottles I wanted to make. There’s me, Nassius, Henry, my father, Mary, Eva, Wyatt, George, and Matthew!

“I wonder if it’s all right for me to make nine of them. I’ll have to check with President Caesar. Oh, I should make one for Princess Margaret as well!”

The dorm rooms were warm, and the princess’s room at the palace was likely perfectly heated, but Princess Margaret wasn’t a morning person. Having a hot water bottle could perhaps help her wake up more easily.

“Would it be shameless of me to make ten of them?” I mused.

Since I wanted to use my time today to focus on making hot water bottles, I’d prepared a more detailed diagram of a washing machine for the others. While President Caesar and the other members were busy going over my diagram, I could work on my projects.

“You’re late!” Benjamin scolded before I could even greet anyone.

I had indeed stopped by the teachers’ offices and the library before coming to alchemy club.

“I had to take care of some things,” I explained. Actually, club activities only start after classes are done, and it’s still third period right now. So I’m not late! “Here is a detailed diagram of the washing machine,” I said, handing them my drawing. “Can I go make my hot water bottles?”

Benjamin grabbed the diagram and immediately began poring over it with President Caesar.

“President Caesar, would it be all right if I made ten hot water bottles?”

“Sure, do whatever you want,” Caesar replied distractedly.

Yay, I got his permission!

I first started with just making one, since I could potentially spill hot water on myself and get a burn. I had to make sure that the opening threads and screw cap fit together perfectly.

“Become a hot water bottle!” I commanded in front of the furnace while picturing the hot water bottles from my previous life.

The metal transformed into an oval container with a flat bottom. The surface was corrugated, and the opening to add hot water stuck out a bit and was threaded so a cap could be screwed on.

“Become a hot water bottle cap!” I commanded next, and the bottle cap dropped beside the bottle.“I hope this fits properly.” I screwed the cap onto the hot water bottle. “It fits! Now I just have to see if it seals.” I filled the hot water bottle with some water and shook it around. “Looks like there aren’t any leaks or spills!”

Since it was a hot water bottle, I wanted to test my creation using actual hot water.

“President Caesar, would it be all right if I boiled some water?”

I asked for permission, not that I really needed it, and I got the half-hearted response that I’d expected.

“All right, let’s put some hot water in this bottle!” I used a kettle to boil some water, then poured it into my bottle before screwing the cap on.

“It’s so hot!” I exclaimed. “I need to put the cover on.”

Once I had the hot water bottle in its cover, it was warm to the touch. Thanks to the furnace, the alchemy clubroom was by no means cold, but I seemed to run colder than the average citizen of Lawrence. Perhaps the cold I’d experienced when I’d first reincarnated in this world had traumatized me.

I took a seat and hugged my hot water bottle, leisurely enjoying the comforting warmth. Being warm is so nice.

“Did you finish, Patience?” President Caesar asked. He and Benjamin finally realized that I’d been making something.

“Yes. I’m happy with the design, so all that is left is to make several more.”

Caesar reached out as if to say he wanted to take a look, so I got up and handed him my hot water bottle.

“Hmm. It’s pretty warm. Can I remove the cover?”

“It will be quite hot if you do,” I cautioned him. “I put boiling hot water inside.”

President Caesar heeded my caution and only partially removed the cover and began mumbling as he inspected my bottle.

“I see. You put hot water in it before you go to bed, and it’ll go under your blanket to keep you warm. You said you wash your face using the water in the morning? This doesn’t require the use of a magic stone, so it’ll probably be really useful for commoners. This is something my father would like.”

You’d better be impressed! Hot water bottles are revolutionary!

“Is it okay for this to be made with iron?” Caesar asked. “Iron is prone to rusting.”

I hadn’t thought that far. If I remember correctly, copper ones were more expensive.

“Copper would be ideal, but if that is too expensive, just adding a thin copper coating may suffice.” The technology to craft such metal plating seemed to exist in this world.

“If we’re going to plate this with copper, we’ll have to melt some copper,” Caesar said, placing a clean copper pot in one of the empty alchemical furnaces.

I thought you used electricity to plate stuff. Well, this is another world, and anything seems to go when it comes to alchemy.

I dumped the water out of the hot water bottle and placed it into the pot of copper.

“Coat it with copper,” I commanded, and the plating was done. Now that the bottle was copper-plated, the water inside would also be safer to use for washing my face, since it wouldn’t rust as easily. “President Caesar, would it be all right to make some for my family as well?”

They put out the fire in the angels’ room before bedtime. This winter is warmer than last year’s, but it still gets chilly in the mornings.

“Yeah, feel free to make as many as you want. More importantly, would you be interested in selling these hot water bottles through my father’s company?”

“Wait, you want me to make these and sell them?”

I appreciated the offer for another side job, but it didn’t seem right for the alchemy club to be supplying the materials.

President Caesar seemed to understand where my mind was going and he burst into laughter.

“No, no! You would be providing the manufacturing method to the Burns Trading Company in exchange for a percentage of the profits. I think trademarking, which is like the simpler version of patenting, would suffice for this.”

I guess it’s too simple of an invention to require a patent. It’s also possible that a similar thing already exists somewhere out there in this world.

“I’m not really sure how trademarking even works, but I will trust you to handle it, President Caesar.”

Benjamin stared at me in disbelief.

“Shouldn’t you talk to your dad first, Patience? This sounds like it may make a lot of money. You should have your family’s lawyer or accountant handle things.”

I would rather talk to Wyatt than my father. Also, we don’t retain a lawyer or accountant, nor do we have the money to hire one. Also, Duke Burns is supposed to be some hotshot businessman. If he really wants to swindle me, he’s going to succeed no matter what.

“That’s all right. I’m going to put my trust in President Caesar and leave it to him.” I didn’t have much of a choice in this situation.

“In that case, I’ll set up a meeting for us with my father. Go on, make your hot water bottles. When you’re done, we’re going to make a washing machine!”

By the end of fourth period, I’d made eleven hot water bottles. I gave the first one to President Caesar.

“I’ll show this to my father,” he said. “Okay, let’s make a washing machine!”

Arthur and Bryce had now joined us, so the five of us noisily discussed how we would create our washing machine prototype.

“Water goes in, it spins, then it drains. If we place these magic circles on each of these spots, that should work!”

Our washing machine started with a large metal box, which had a water-producing magic circle on the top of it. On the bottom of the inside there was a propeller, which was equipped with a magic circle that would make it spin. Finally, the underside of the box had a magic circle that drained the water. By placing a magic stone on each of the magic circles, our prototype would be complete. Unfortunately, things didn’t work so smoothly.

“It’s already dark outside, Patience,” Bryce pointed out.

I gasped, realizing how late it was. Darn, I was trying to be careful! It’s pitch-black outside!

“I’ll walk Patience back to the dorms,” Bryce announced to the others. “Especially since she has a lot to carry back.”

That’s my fault. I got greedy and made ten whole hot water bottles for myself.

“I’ll go with you as well,” Benjamin said. “It looks like you have a lot to carry.”

Benjamin then took some of the hot water bottles I was struggling to pick up.

“Thank you. I was trying to be mindful about returning before it was too late, but it got dark before I even realized.”

Bryce and Benjamin both chuckled.

“You’ve already become a full-fledged member of the alchemy club, Patience,” Benjamin declared.

Don’t say that, Benjamin! Don’t you know that this club is known for being a gathering of weirdos?

“I hope we can get more members during the Festival of Verdure,” Bryce remarked.

That’s right! This club was close to being dissolved!

“Putting a washing machine on display may not be very interesting for the other students,” I pointed out. “We may have to make a different magical instrument that will draw people to our exhibit.”

“You’re right!” Benjamin suddenly exclaimed, startling me with his loud voice.

There’s no need to roar! Can’t your hair be your only beastly quality, Fluffy?

“Could you come up with something for us, Patience?” he asked.

Wait, you’re putting this on me? Hmm, what about...that? But eggs are expensive, aren’t they?

“It looks like you have an idea!” Bryce observed. He was supposed to be the reasonable one in alchemy club, but even he was pressing me for details.

“Yes, I do, but I’ll share it once I’ve thought it through some more.”

Benjamin began pulling at his hair and whining like a disgruntled pet.

“Tell us right now!”

Thankfully, just then we arrived at the dorm. I’m glad I can get away.

On Saturday morning, I first headed to the greenhouse and poured my mana into only the budding leaves of my plants, using my household magic to simplify the process. Before I’d realized I could use household magic, this process had taken an incredibly long time.

“Gosh, I wonder why Ms. Makias said not to use my household magic.”

Voicing my thoughts always put them through Patience’s politeness filter. My original thought had been more of an insult along the lines of “That stubborn, mean ol’ hag!” Today, I was really grateful for this filter.

“That’s because you can’t control your mana, to the point that you recklessly use magic. You really should join the mage track and learn control.”

Shoot! I didn’t even notice Ms. Makias coming into the greenhouse!

“I don’t like attack spells, so I won’t enroll in the mage track,” I replied.

Ms. Makias cackled.

“You only get to be so naive because there hasn’t been any armed conflict for over a decade. Only fools neglect their defenses during times of peace. If your own life, or if your family’s lives were in danger, would you still go around saying that you ‘don’t like attack spells’?”

I was dumbstruck by Ms. Makias’s words. I’d let my guard down because Lawrence was a peaceful kingdom. In this world, wars could start over the smallest thing. I’d learned all about such situations in world history, but I’d never thought about how it could happen to me.

“I also warned you not to use household magic because your clumsy household magic would make the stalks grow uncontrollably, and the resulting antidotal herbs would be useless. That said, if you keep doing what you’re doing now, you’ll grow some very effective herbs.”

Ms. Makias then wished me good luck before exiting the greenhouse. She was much quicker than you would expect.

She’s definitely lying about her age.

I didn’t think I could handle the mage track on top of my other courses, but I decided to give it some thought. After all, Patience had some really slow feet, so I would likely be the first to die if we were attacked by something. Also, I wanted to be able to protect my little angels.

While waiting for Mary to arrive, I pulled out my course registration form and looked over my schedule.

Yeah, I don’t think it’s possible for me to enroll in the mage track. However, I could probably just take a few courses, like magic control and defensive spells... It would be nice to be able to use healing spells, but you probably need light magic proficiency to take it. That’s too bad!

“I apologize for my tardiness,” Mary said upon arriving. “We received a letter from Countess Northcourt this morning; here you go.”

You could’ve just given me this at home. I’m pretty sure I know what it says.

“I need to bring these hot water bottles home,” I explained. “I’ll help carry them as well.”

Mary looked confused by the hot water bottles, but she proceeded to tie them up into bundles of five with some cloth and carried them with my luggage containing my clothes. All I had to carry were the several books I was bringing back for the study session, since Mary wouldn’t even let me carry one of the bundles of hot water bottles.

Once I was in the carriage, I began reading the letter from Aunt Lilianna. As I’d expected, it was about the study session taking place later today. She was asking what sort of sweets Prince Keith liked.

I know at the very least that he doesn’t like those sugar-crusted cakes.

“Mary, would it be impolite to send Eva over to the Northcourts and have her help them make some sweets?”

Mary wasn’t very fond of Aunt Lilianna, since the Northcourts lived so close to us but hadn’t helped us out. However, she did enjoy that Samuel came over to play with my brothers, and this study session would be for Samuel and Prince Keith.

“If that is what Countess Northcourt wishes, then it would not be impolite.”

Good, because I don’t think Prince Keith would eat any of their cloyingly sweet desserts.

Not only would I have to be out for this study session, but I was also expected to eat lunch at the Northcourt home. In her letter, Aunt Lilianna seemed quite panicked about how I would have to be there to greet Prince Keith when he arrived in the afternoon.

And that means I’m going to have even less time with my angels. All I could do was sigh.

Once I was home, I first went to recharge my energy. I gave my brothers a big hug, which made me feel a lot better.

“Will you be going to Samuel’s house, sister?” Henry asked.

“I would love to bring you with me, but we’re going to be studying classical literature,” I explained. “You’ll have to sit this one out.”

Nassius seemed confused by my response. He liked classical literature, so he didn’t understand why that was a deal-breaker.

“Do you think his dislike of classical literature will be cured with a single study session, sister?” Nassius asked. He’d gotten closer to Samuel through their joint riding lessons, so he’d probably heard about his cousin’s feelings toward the subject.

“I will do my best,” I replied.

I want this to be done after one session! I can’t have my precious Saturdays taken from me multiple times.

After that, I showed Mary how to use the hot water bottles.

“Not only will it keep you warm at night, but you can also use the water inside to wash your face in the morning? What an incredibly useful item!” she gushed.

I agree. It’s revolutionary for poor households like ours.

“I have enough for everyone, so be sure to use them!”

Now I was confident I could leave Mary to handle the hot water bottles. All that was left was to write a letter to Aunt Lilianna explaining that Eva could help, and to send her over. We’d be visiting soon enough anyways, but it was best to let her know as soon as possible. I also included the ingredients needed to make pancakes.

Oh, I also need to talk to Wyatt about letting Burns Trading Company manufacture the hot water bottles. Maybe it’d be better to wait until he’s actually used it. I’ll talk to him about it tomorrow! Oh, I should also let my father know about the bottles and the study session.

I spoke to my father, who listened with a smile as I told him about how I would be tutoring Samuel in classical literature. Once I mentioned that I would also be tutoring Prince Keith, his expression changed to one of surprise.

Yeah, I’m shocked too. I really think the palace tutors should be teaching him.

“Have fun teaching them, Patience,” my father said.

That’s all you have to say?! Gosh, you really are a strange one, father. The only people I enjoy teaching are my little angels.

I received a reply to my letter from Countess Northcourt stating that she would send a carriage to pick me up. Eva would arrive later, after serving lunch at our house.

I only had a little time left, so I spent it with my brothers picking strawberries in the greenhouse. I wanted to bring them as a gift for the Northcourts.

The Northcourt carriage arrived, and Mary and I got on. Do I really need an attendant when I’m just visiting a relative? Mary was carrying a bag filled with fabric for making hot water bottle covers. She was probably going to sew them while waiting for me.

I guess it might be good that she’s coming along, since it’ll be warmer there than in our house.

The Granger home had just barely gotten to the point that it was no longer outright cold. I decided to focus on the idea that we were conserving energy by not burning so much firewood.

Oh, Aunt Lilianna is out front to greet us. She seems pretty anxious.

“Patience, is it true that Prince Keith doesn’t like cake?” Aunt Lilianna asked, completely forgoing any greetings to check what the second prince would enjoy.

“Yes, he’s never once eaten the desserts they serve at the salon. However, he said the pancakes were good when we had them at the summer palace. Eva knows how to make them, so everything will be all right.”

“I see,” she replied, finally seeming to calm down a bit.

Mary proceeded to hand the basket of strawberries over to a butler.

“Oooh, strawberries!” Samuel exclaimed. “The Grangers’ strawberries are delicious!”

You’re eating our strawberries, Samuel? Those are merchandise!

“Where are you manners, Samuel? They are indeed beautiful, though. We should serve them to Prince Keith as well.”

That’s fine, but does she remember that this is a study session?

“Aunt Lilianna, we will be using the hanon for today’s study session,” I explained. “Would it be all right if we gathered in the children’s room?”

There was a huge commotion after that. Every member of the household staff was gathered to clean the children’s room once more and replace the chairs and tables with more luxurious furniture.

While that was going on, I was in the drawing room with Count Northcourt and Samuel drinking tea. Aunt Lilianna seemed busy overseeing all the changes.

“Thanks to you, Samuel has not only gotten to join the music club, but he’s also been blessed with good friends,” Count Northcourt remarked. “I’m grateful to you, Patience.”

That’s right—Daniel, Valdische, and Klaus are all in Class A, so they come from good families too.

“On top of that, you’ve even invited Samuel to a study session with Prince Keith,” the count continued. “What an honor this is.”

You’ve got it all wrong. I was originally planning to tutor Samuel alone, but Prince Keith forced his way in. Though that was the truth, I wasn’t going to share that with the count.

The children’s room on the second floor appeared to be ready, because Aunt Lilianna returned downstairs.

“I think it’s time for lunch. We must be done before Prince Keith arrives in the afternoon.”

The study session is scheduled for the afternoon. He’s not going to show up in the middle of lunch. Whatever, I’ll do as she says.

“Please remember that Prince Keith is here for a study session, Aunt Lilianna,” I said after we finished lunch.

“Gosh, I know that. Samuel said the same thing to me as well. Even then, you will need some tea during your break, no? I think it will be rude to serve tea in the children’s room.”

Understood.

“In that case, we shall come downstairs to the drawing room for tea,” I replied. “I think a break after roughly two hours of studying will be good.”

Samuel looked disgusted, but since his parents were right there, he refrained from complaining about studying.

After lunch, we waited for Prince Keith to arrive in the drawing room. This feels so awkward. Samuel also looked bored.

“Aunt Lilianna, would it be all right if I used the hanon to practice the songs I will be using for our study session?”

She raised a brow.

“My, Patience! You haven’t practiced? You mustn’t come so unprepared. Go upstairs and practice.”

Samuel wanted to join me, but his mother stopped him. He apparently had to be there to greet Prince Keith when he arrived. Being upstairs wouldn’t prevent him from doing that, but I wasn’t going to point that out to my aunt.

Sorry, Samuel!

The children’s room had been transformed into a resplendent space. The chairs and tables had been replaced by much more gorgeous pieces. Aunt Lilianna must have worked really hard to make this room nice.

I began playing some Dehn songs on the hanon. These don’t seem too difficult. During my previous life, I’d enjoyed singing karaoke, so I decided to try singing the songs.

“Dehn really does sound similar to classical Emperado,” I remarked. Singing the songs made their connection even more apparent.

Since I was still a beginner when it came to speaking Dehn, I’d brought a dictionary with me to go over any of the lyrics I didn’t understand.

Wow, this song is actually a really passionate love song.

I continued playing a few other songs while looking up the meaning of the lyrics.

“Prince Keith has arrived,” a servant announced, so I rushed downstairs.

“Welcome, Your Highness,” Count and Countess Northcourt both greeted their guest.

Wait, he brought Ralph and Hugo too? They’re all greeting each other. I guess they’re happy to have the sons of good nobles over.

“I apologize for my selfish request causing you trouble, Count Northcourt,” Prince Keith said, then he turned to me. “Let’s get started with our study session right away, Patience.”

After greetings were quickly exchanged, we headed to the children’s room. Ralph was good at classical literature, so I appointed him my assistant for today. I wasn’t sure how good Hugo was with the subject, so I designated him my second assistant for now.

“Prince Keith and Samuel will be singing songs in Dehn,” I announced. I handed them both some of the song books to look through, then I began playing a song and singing it. “Come on, you two must sing as well.”

Ralph and Hugo, who were peeking from behind, also joined in and sang. After singing the same song a few times, we moved on to another.

“I believe you should have a partial understanding of the narrative of the songs,” I said.

Prince Keith and Samuel both nodded.

“I still don’t see how this will make us better at studying classical literature,” Prince Keith added, sounding skeptical.

On the other hand, something seemed to have clicked for Samuel. He began reading through his classical literature textbook.

“I see. Dehn is similar to classical Emperado. Teach me more songs, Patience.”

I continued having them sing, teaching them several difficult words along the way. Despite Prince Keith’s intense hatred of classical literature, practicing these songs didn’t seem to bother him too much.

“The songs aren’t bad, but I’d like to study the language itself,” Prince Keith said.

That’s a tall order. I’ve only just started learning Dehn myself.

“If you’re all right with basic greetings, I can bring out my textbook.”

From there, our study session became a beginner seminar on Dehn.

“I am Prince Keith,” the second prince said in Dehn.

“I am Samuel,” my cousin responded, also in Dehn.

Ralph and Hugo both joined in, and they all seemed to be having fun. By that point, enough time had passed that it was almost time for tea.

I wonder if Eva made us those pancakes.

“Why don’t we take a break,” I suggested.

Samuel had been resistant toward studying at first, but now he seemed to be enjoying studying Dehn with Prince Keith and his friends.

“It’s been that long already?” Samuel remarked.

We all headed downstairs to the drawing room.

“Oh, those are pancakes!” Prince Keith exclaimed. The drawing room was fully prepared to host tea time. “Ralph, Hugo, you both need to try these! They’re really delicious!”

Neither Ralph nor Hugo ever touched the sugar-crusted cakes served in the salon, but since Prince Keith recommended the pancakes to them, they each took a bite.

“This is really delicious,” Ralph raved.

Samuel loved all kinds of sweet treats, so he happily ate his pancakes as well. They had been served with whipped cream and strawberries, which all disappeared in a blink of an eye. I was a bit concerned, but Samuel had slimmed down some since enrolling in the academy and joining the riding club. He wasn’t necessarily skinny, but he was no longer overweight, so I thought it was fine that he had a healthy appetite.

I’ve always been a shotacon who’s soft on kids!

While we were having tea, Aunt Lilianna popped into the drawing room to check in on us. Prince Keith took that opportunity to thank his hostess.

“You not only let us intrude on your home, but you also served us these delicious pancakes. I’m truly grateful.”

I’m glad he liked them! I’m sure Aunt Lilianna will be able to relax now. As the mistress of this household, she takes her job as a hostess seriously.

“What would you like to do now?” I asked Prince Keith and Samuel. “I think the technique of how you could study is clear now. I believe all that is left is for you to both implement this new method into your own studying.”

Prince Keith thought for a moment before responding.

“My dislike for classical literature has definitely lessened, but I don’t know if it’s enough to get me to accelerate the subject. If I could just pass classical literature, I could skip ahead to being a third-year student. Could you keep teaching me for a bit longer?”

Can’t Ralph just tutor you? I thought, glancing over at Ralph, but he averted his gaze. Ah. I guess he’s already tried countless times.

“I wish to keep learning from you as well,” Samuel said. “I’d also like some help with math.”

Now Samuel wants more studying time too? I keep losing time with my angels.

“Perhaps you are suited to being a teacher, Lady Patience,” Ralph remarked.

Flattery won’t get you anywhere, Ralph.

“Countess Northcourt, would it be all right if we were to stop by again next Saturday?” Prince Keith asked.

Hey, that’s not fair! Of course she’s going to say yes!

“Why, of course you may,” Aunt Lilianna replied. “You are welcome to visit whenever you’d like.”

Good grief. So my next Saturday is gone too. I’m so sad. If I’m going to be stuck with them, then I’m going to start cracking the whip!

“In that case, let’s keep going for just one more hour and study some grammar!” I said with a smile. You all got in the way of my precious time with my dear angels, so you’d better study until you can pass the class!

“You’re scaring me a bit, Patience,” Prince Keith remarked.

Yeah, you should be scared! Welcome to hell!

I made Prince Keith read aloud from the classical literature textbook. At first, he seemed extremely reluctant, but at a certain point it seemed like something clicked for him.

“Oh, so classical literature is just written in classical Lawrencian?” Prince Keith remarked. “It’s a little different from modern Lawrencian, and Dehn is definitely more similar to it, but it’s all based on the same language.”

That’s exactly it! It can’t be that hard, because both Patience and Nassius were able to read it without issue when they were young! You just didn’t get it because your initial dislike of the subject made you resist learning it!

“That is right. All you need to do is memorize some rules of grammar and sentence structure, found in the textbook, that differ from modern Lawrencian,” I explained. “Once you know the grammar, you can increase your comprehension by simply reading more classical works.”

Samuel was a genius when it came to understanding things aurally, so reading the classical literature textbook out loud helped him comprehend the text better, which seemed to surprise him.

“There’s still a lot for me to learn, but I think I can understand the main points of most books,” Prince Keith said, “at least enough that I don’t think I’ll be failing classical literature anymore.”

I’m glad to hear that. Can we please move on to some self-studying?

I was foolish to think that we could move on. Samuel started asking for help with math, and Prince Keith started getting greedy by saying he wanted to get a certificate of completion.

“You will have to work on that yourself,” I said, trying to distance myself from the prince.

“Well, Countess Northcourt said I’m welcome whenever,” Prince Keith pointed out.

I can’t escape because of you, Aunt Lilianna! I want to cry!

Chapter 3: Hot Water Bottles and Needle Threaders

I was given a ride home from the mentally draining study session. Eva had left much earlier—as soon as she finished preparing the tea snacks, she’d walked home.

I’d also like to walk home, if the weather is nice. I don’t think Aunt Lilianna would ever let me do that though. I had to fight so hard just to refuse to stay for dinner when she insisted I did.

My exhaustion disappeared once I was reunited with my angels.

“Did your study session go well, sister?” Nassius asked, full of curiosity.

“Yes, however it seems I will be attending another study session next Saturday as well.”

Henry seemed saddened by the news.

He must be sad that his sister will be gone. I’m going to choose to believe that’s what he’s sad about, and not the fact that we gave away the strawberries.

“Please teach us Dehn as well, sister!” my brothers both asked.

I could never say no to my adorable angels. We went to the drawing room, and I played the hanon while teaching them songs in Dehn.

Their singing is so cute!

It was just my father and me at dinner. Nassius would turn ten in June, so we would all start eating together then. That would be nice, but that also meant that Henry would have to eat alone in the children’s room. I felt bad for him, but that seemed to be the norm for this world. Mary would stay there with him after serving him dinner, but it still seemed a bit lonely. Or perhaps it was actually more relaxing to be able to eat alone.

After dinner, I headed to my brothers’ room, where they were both tucked into bed.

I need to warn them to not kick the hot water bottle.

“This hot water bottle is so warm, sister,” Nassius remarked.

I know, right?! During my previous life, I saw a painting from the Middle Ages that depicted a metal box that you filled with charcoal to warm your covers, but the hot water bottle is way better! That other device made me nervous that it would start a fire.

“You both must be careful to not touch your feet directly to the hot water bottle,” I cautioned them. “If your skin is touching it for a long time, you may get a low-temperature burn.”

Nassius looked at me, puzzled by the term he’d never heard before.

“You know how touching fire would burn your hand, yes?” I asked. “You can also get burned by touching something warm for a long time, even if the temperature is low.”

After that, I gave them each a kiss and dimmed the lamp on their bedside table.

“Thank you so much for making this magic lamp for us, sister,” Henry said.

He was so cute that he ended up getting a second kiss.

The hot water bottle is so nice. I’m so warm and cozy.

I’d slept like a log and had been able to rest from the exhaustion of yesterday.

Young bodies sure do recover quickly.

The water in the hot water bottle had become the perfect temperature to wash my face with.

I spent the morning studying with my angels and picking strawberries in the greenhouse. The riding instructor would be coming in the afternoon, but I was going to be busy speaking to Wyatt.

It’s not like I adjusted my plans to be unavailable when the instructor comes because I hate horse riding. I swear!

“Wyatt, did you get a chance to use the hot water bottle?” I asked.

I could tell from the smile on his face that he’d had a cozy slumber thanks to the hot water bottle.

“Yes, I did. Your father was able to sleep soundly as well.”

All right, how do I proceed?

“I made those hot water bottles in alchemy club,” I explained. “Though I made them using alchemy, they do not require magic stones to operate. The club president is Duke Burns’s eldest son, and he asked if I would be interested in selling these hot water bottles through the Burns Trading Company.”

A serious look washed over Wyatt’s face when I mentioned the Burns Trading Company.

“That sounds like a wonderful proposal,” Wyatt remarked. “Are you planning to give the Burns Trading Company the rights to manufacture the hot water bottles, my lady?”

That’s what I wanted to talk to you about!

“I can only make so many hot water bottles at a time,” I replied. “I believe this item should be mass manufactured and sold at a low price.”

Wyatt smiled and nodded in agreement.

“In that case, I believe leaving the product in the hands of the Burns Trading Company is a suitable idea. If you can bring me any contracts before signing them, I would be happy to review them to ensure that you are not put in a disadvantage.”

That would be great, since I have no idea how contracts work in this world. I’ll have to learn about them moving forward.

The final thing I wanted to do today was work on some side jobs. I’d been too tired on Saturday to do anything. My side jobs had actually gotten upgraded. I was still painting details onto tea sets, but I also had a side job drawing magic circles for magic lamps, which made more money. I was also doing my embroidery side job whenever I had time in the dorms.

For these sorts of tasks, I intentionally used household magic from start to finish. I quickly got the details painted onto the tea sets and the magic circles drawn.

I believe I’ve made enough to afford some embroidery floss. I think I’ll also add some embroidery onto my own uniform, not just Nassius’s. I think the Granger family crest will be good for Nassius’s uniform. For my own uniform, maybe I’ll change things up a bit.

Similarly to how women had their own crests in the Edo period of Japan, perhaps I could come up with something a bit more flattering than the Granger crest’s book and pen, like a book and a rose.

I’ll ask Mary about this.

“Lady Julianne’s symbol was a white lily,” Mary said. “You should pick a symbol for yourself as well, my lady.”

I see. Women can just pick a plant or flower instead of having to wear the family crest. What should I pick?

“I’ll give it some thought,” I replied.

The original Patience would perhaps have chosen a rose, which I could also get on board with because roses made us money. However, I thought that something a bit more commoner friendly would suit me.

Strawberries have cute flowers, and they produce edible fruit!

I embroidered a white flower with five white petals and yellow stamen, then I added some leaves.

This looks good! I could maybe even sneak in a strawberry or two, since I’m still young.

After that, I began drawing a diagram for a needle threader. It wasn’t a complex automatic one, but rather the cheap kind: a piece of metal attached to a diamond-shaped loop of thin wire. During my previous life, my mother used the automatic kind, but when she’d gotten me a sewing kit when I’d moved out, it came with the basic kind.

Maybe this will sell well too.

I wanted to also make a magic iron—especially the small kind that my mother had used to iron out small pieces of patchwork.

A steam iron would be nice too.

Since I was thinking about clothing irons, I started thinking about hair irons as well. Curled hair was trendy right now, and it was styled using a curler that was heated with charcoal. The current styling tools caused burns and damaged hair, so a new tool would be nice. This one would need a magic stone to operate as well!

I remember hair dryers and irons that produced negative ions being expensive in my previous life. I’ll have to bring this up to President Caesar!

“It’s truly a hindrance to not be able to draw my own magic circles,” I mumbled to myself. “Even if I have to sacrifice other classes for it, I absolutely must take Magic Circles II during the fall term!”

Once I was done coming up with my list of things I wanted to make, I moved on to making a list of things I wanted to have. This second list was going to be items I felt I could make on my own, so they were mostly things that wouldn’t require a magic stone to operate.

“I wonder if I could make a treadle sewing machine. My grandmother had one, but I don’t know the specifics of its construction. It would definitely be nice to have!”

I drew out diagrams of what I could remember, like the bobbin and how the top and bottom threads would cross over to sew fabric. I also drew a general diagram of the entire sewing machine.

“I don’t think this is enough information to actually make a sewing machine. This will require further discussion. Actually, I feel like everything I want to make requires further discussion.”

If I can successfully produce a sewing machine, though, I might be able to make money off of it!

Just then, Henry appeared to summon me.

“Samuel and the riding instructor are here, sister!” Henry announced, his eyes beaming with excitement.

“Thank you,” I replied, my chest feeling heavy.

I’d rather spend my time thinking about my profitable sewing machine rather than horseback riding.

“You’re late, Patience!” Samuel energetically called out.

Since you have so much energy, why don’t you use it to study classical literature or math?

I wanted to say those things to him, but I was a mature noble lady, so I wasn’t going to be mean.

“I must return to the dorms, so I don’t have much time,” I explained.

“Then hurry up and get on a horse!” Samuel ordered.

You’d better watch out next week, Samuel. I’m going to be extra hard on you!

Once I was back at the dorms, I began thinking about what sorts of devices required magic stones, and what types didn’t. Of items that didn’t require magic stones, sewing machines and bicycles could be incredibly useful to have. I was lamenting the fact that I hadn’t been a STEM major in my previous life. I could only recall some of the mechanisms used in these devices. It also sucked that I couldn’t just pull out a smartphone and look these things up.

Back in my previous life, I could look anything up using my phone. I remember reading an isekai story in which someone got access to records of the entire world. I’m so jealous.

“Oh, I need to go to the greenhouse!”

I threw on my coat and headed for the greenhouse. Once I was there, I quickly poured mana into the budding leaves on my antidotal herbs. Growing these plants had truly been an ordeal until I realized I could simplify the process.

“You’ve passed Herbology III as well. All that’s left is to pass the final exams for all three levels at the end of the spring term.”

Ms. Makias seemed to make no noise when she appeared. She made it sound like the exams would be easy, but it seemed likely there was going to be some sort of catch. Perhaps the exams were actually incredibly difficult.

“When will the classroom lectures begin?” I asked.

She’d mentioned before that I just had to read the textbook, but that sounded too easy.

“They start in May. You can attend them if you want, but why don’t you grow more greater herbs and antidotal herbs instead? If you manage that greenhouse over there and grow them for me, I’ll buy them from you at a fair price.”

I’m getting offered another side job!

“You don’t want to grow them yourself, Ms. Makias?”

“You trying to make an old woman do hard labor? The herbs we use in pharmacy are so expensive in the winter, and too many students keep messing up and needing to try again. It’s a real pain. I wish they would just give up on taking pharmacy if they realize they’re no good at it.”

Passing pharmacy and herbology would allow a student to take the novice apothecary’s exam, so I could understand why many students wouldn’t give up on the class easily.

I totally get it!

I’d been thinking about growing herbs in the greenhouse at home and selling those, but it would be difficult to care for the plants while I was away at school. I also didn’t know if I could prepare purified water in advance and leave it at home.

“I would like to grow the herbs,” I said to Ms. Makias.

I welcome anything that lets me make money! I’m also going to participate in those lectures. Ms. Makias has said multiple times that she doesn’t like slackers. I’ll have to trust that she’s going to pay me a fair price for the herbs.

Ms. Makias then led me to the greenhouse I would be managing.

“This is it,” Ms. Makias said.

This greenhouse was double the size of the one we’d been using for class.

“This seems quite spacious,” I commented worriedly.

Ms. Makias just cackled.

“Makes this a worthwhile challenge, no?” Ms. Makias then grabbed a pouch that had been hanging from her waist and threw it at me. “Here are the seeds. Grow them however you’d like. I’ll buy them for a higher price until spring, when adventurers start foraging for herbs. I’ll take care of harvesting them, so just focus on growing as many as you can.”

After saying everything she needed to, Ms. Makias scurried away.

Yeah, she’s way faster than I am. She was gone in the blink of an eye.

“First, I’ll need to mix fertilizer into the soil. Oh, wait, I won’t need it for the antidotal herbs.”

Antidotal herbs are a hassle to grow. Maybe I should only grow greater herbs. No, scratch that. I have a feeling that the antidotal herbs I can grow will sell for a lot.

I divided the greenhouse in half, then I made several trips to bring in buckets of fertilizer, which I mixed into one half of the plot.

“Today I’ll just plant the greater herbs.”

I soaked the seeds in some purified water, then I planted them. I watered the soil with more purified water, then used some household magic.

“Grow!” I chanted. “That should be good enough for today!”

Princess Margaret may be back by now.

I cleaned myself up with some more household magic and hurried back to the dorms.

Of all the times I could possibly run into Prince Keith, of course it would be right now.

“You seem like you’re in a hurry, Patience,” Prince Keith commented.

That’s right! I’m going as fast as I can!

“Yes, I am. Princess Margaret may have returned already.”

“My sister’s not here yet,” he shared with a smile.

Thank God, I made it back in time.

“So, where were you?” the prince asked.

Do I have to tell him about everything I do?

“The greenhouse,” I said, keeping my answer short and simple. I decided to not mention that I was doing a side job for the school.

I don’t need any pity. The Grangers may be poor, but we’ve got a lot of pride!

“Are you still having trouble growing antidotal herbs?”

Wow, I’m surprised he remembers. Is he amused by my failure?

“No, I actually received a passing grade on my antidotal herbs. I was at the greenhouse to take care of something else.”

I wish that Prince Keith would focus on studying classical literature and history instead of sticking his nose into other people’s business. I think he’s just barely going to be able to skip ahead.

Ralph and Hugo appeared, and I thought I would finally be free. Unfortunately, I somehow ended up sitting with them in the dining hall to talk.

“The study session on Saturday was quite fun, Lady Patience,” Ralph remarked.

You’ve always been good at classical literature, Ralph. Also, when did he start calling me “lady”? I feel like he just called me Patience last year. Hmm, I can’t remember. At the very least, I’m pretty sure that Hugo didn’t refer to me as “Lady Patience.” Maybe he’s addressing me formally because I’m Princess Margaret’s lady’s maid.

“Thank you, but I don’t think you or Sir Hugo needed the extra lesson,” I replied.

The two scrambled for a response.

“It helped us study Dehn as well!” they insisted.

Do you really want to be that close to Prince Keith at all times? Sounds rough.

“I’d like you to teach me history as well, Patience,” Prince Keith said.

You should really have your tutor at the palace help you with that.

For some reason, Hugo had the same request.

“I am also struggling to skip ahead in history,” Hugo admitted. “I would like to learn from you, Lady Patience.”

Hmm? Something seems off here.

“What are you doing, Patience?” a voice called out.

It seemed that Princess Margaret had returned to the dorms.

“Patience helped me study classical literature, and I am slowly beginning to understand it,” Prince Keith said to his sister. “That is why I’m asking her to teach me some more.”

From the way that Prince Keith was speaking, it sounded like he wanted even more than our second study session this coming Saturday.

You’re killing me, Prince Keith.

“Oh, my! I can’t believe Keith is motivated to study classical literature. This is wonderful! Patience has always been good at teaching. I’d love for her to tutor me in household math as well.”

The princess and I headed upstairs to her dorm, and I became busy with other tasks, like looking over her household math homework. Eventually, I forgot that something had bothered me about the conversation earlier. After all, Princess Margaret’s household budget for class was a complete mess.

“Um, this column is supposed to be for income, and this column is for expenses, yes?” I asked. “Why are they mixed up?”

At this rate, the princess wasn’t going to pass household math. I had her start her budget from scratch on a new page.

Household expenses in this world could be different from what I remembered from my previous life, so I quickly skimmed through the textbook.

It’s all pretty much the same, at least in terms of the fundamentals. That said, I didn’t realize magic stones count as a utility expense. Also, it costs so much to own a horse! We’re definitely going to keep renting for a while. And this example of social expenses seems way too high. Is this a normal amount people spend on social events? Ugh, what the heck is a beauty expense?! The only thing I’m completely unfamiliar with for a household budget is labor costs, but I’m more concerned about these beauty and social expenses! Should these examples really be so high?!

Even though the basics were familiar, the textbook was full of things I wanted to comment on.

“Oh, I see, so beauty expenses include the cost of purchasing gowns.” I’d have expected that to be part of the normal clothing expenses. Well, I guess some things are different. “All that is left is to get the sum of the numbers in that column, then you will be done.”

After she finished filling out the income and expenses for her budget, Princess Margaret let out a heavy sigh.

“I heard that before the changes to the curriculum, all you had to do in household math was simply add up the numbers in a filled out budget,” Princess Margaret shared. “You simply needed to know addition to pass the class.”

That sounds way too easy. This budget shouldn’t be hard to do, as long as you read the textbook. Princess Margaret only makes mistakes because she doesn’t like math and instantly rejects anything related to it.

I proceeded to make some tea for us.

“When you explain things, it sounds incredibly simple,” the princess remarked. “I wonder if the teacher is making things more complicated on purpose.”

“I highly doubt that,” I replied. “I’m sure if you took the time to carefully listen in class, you would have no trouble understanding, Lady Margaret. It may also help to read the textbook before class.”

Perhaps Princess Margaret was having trouble because of all these different expenses that she was unfamiliar with. Reading the textbook could possibly make it easier to understand.

“Are you suggesting I review material before class? But I just finished doing my homework... Fine, I’ll do it. I’ll try reading the textbook.”

While Princess Margaret read through her textbook, I continued thinking about tools that wouldn’t use magic stones.

A bicycle sure would be nice. I think it’s much safer than a horse. I also know the general construction of a bicycle. I hope I can spend third period tomorrow making a bike.

I had diplomacy and world history on Mondays. Ever since I’d learned that Percival wanted to be a diplomat, I’d become incredibly interested in the job.

I wonder what a diplomat in this world even does? In my previous life, international travel was quite normal, so they would help keep people from their home country safe, or deal with trade disputes... Right, there’s also issues of territory.

Unlike Japan, the Kingdom of Lawrence was not an island nation. It shared borders on land with other countries, and from what I’d learned in history, there had been many wars. Being a diplomat was likely a difficult job during wartime.

For some reason, Philips was once again walking me to our diplomacy class.

I already know the way to class. Is he just walking with me since we’re going to the same classroom?

“Will you be attending Romano University, Sir Philips?” I asked. I’d heard that many of the students enrolled in the civil service track would go on to attend Romano University.

“Yes, I’d like to become a diplomat.”

Just like Percival!

“Philips just wants to see historical ruins around the world,” Russell chimed in. “He wants to be an archaeologist, but his parents are against it. He’s so spineless.”

I can understand why he’d choose to be a diplomat. It’s a government position, so he probably would be allowed to visit ruins and historical sites during his free time.

“You’re not diplomat material either, Russell,” Philips remarked. “Acting so irresponsibly could cause trouble for the kingdom.”

Wait, they both want to become diplomats? I guess it’s a popular career.

“That wouldn’t happen,” Russell countered. “So, are you aiming to take the diplomat’s exam too, Patience?”

My previous goal had been to become a bureaucrat after graduating from the Royal Academy. Now, though I knew I wanted to attend Romano University, my plans after that were undetermined.

“I’m not sure yet,” I responded. “I do not even know if a woman can enter the diplomatic service.”

Just then, our teacher Mr. Fotchner entered the classroom.

“A female diplomat?! That sounds wonderful! Part of a diplomat’s job is spreading the culture of their home country. This is something that we are falling behind on in comparison to Sonia, Cordova, and Estena. I wish you the best, Patience!”

Wait, I haven’t decided on becoming a diplomat yet! Also, is Lawrence seen as culturally backward in comparison to other countries? Mr. Morse also said that Lawrencian Emperado is seen as harsh and nonartistic.

“That is a statement I must challenge, Mr. Fotchner,” Phillip chimed in. “The culture in Lawrence is vastly superior to that of other countries, to the point that they cannot be compared.”

“I do agree with that; however, it is also true that we haven’t shared our culture with other countries,” Mr. Fotchner replied. “The Kingdom of Sonia is famous for their romance practices, and the Kingdom of Cordova is known for adopting various cultures from around the world. The Holy Empire of Estena is culturally completely committed to religion. You could say that Lawrence has struck a happy medium in terms of cultural features, but there’s nothing that stands out about our culture in particular.”

Wow, this seems like it’s going to explode into a debate. Mr. Fotchner is good at getting the students riled up.

“There’s no denying that the Kingdom of Lawrence is impressive when it comes to our cultural advancements,” Russell argued. “Most magical instruments are made in Lawrence, and most of the famous pieces of music were composed by Lawrencians. Sonia only has romance novels, while our kingdom’s literature addresses the depths of the human mind.”

Mr. Fotchner shrugged his shoulders.

“That may be true, but none of those things are acknowledged by other countries. Many composers are indeed from Lawrence, but they often found fame while in Estena. Also, while we do invent many magical instruments, they’re mostly used in Sonia. Commerce in the southern part of the kingdom is completely dominated by Cordova. Do you see the problem now?”

The entire classroom was now participating in this debate.

I’ve also been wondering during my activities in alchemy club why it is that we invented magic lamps, but they’re more commonly used in other countries.

“Is it that magic stones are too expensive in Lawrence?” I wondered aloud.

We Grangers hadn’t been able to use our toilet for a while because we had been too poor to afford magic stones.

I hadn’t meant to voice the thought in my head so loudly, but Mr. Fotchner was suddenly pointing at me.

“You noticed something very important, Patience! Magic stones are more expensive here than in other countries. Why is that?”

The debate grew even more heated after that. People argued about other countries having more monsters, so they could hunt more of them, while others pointed out that perhaps they were importing cheaper magic stones from somewhere else.

“I want you all to look into this before our next class! Not just about magic stones, but also why musicians operate out of Estena rather than Lawrence. Think about why other countries might not praise our cultural achievements. You can pick any of those topics, just summarize your findings in an essay and submit them to me!”

History was in the same classroom, so we continued discussing the same topic during the break between classes.

“What are you going to research, Mademoiselle Patience? You were the first to point out the prices of magic stones being an issue. Will you be researching that?”

Philips calling me “mademoiselle” was still a bit embarrassing, but I didn’t dislike it to the point of asking him to stop. It sort of felt like someone calling you “deary” instead of “miss.”

Thanks to what I knew about the lives of famous musicians in my previous life, I had a good idea of why musicians from Lawrence often became famous in Estena.

“I believe many other students will write their papers on magic stones. On a different note, I suspect that musicians may choose to work in Estena because writing religious songs allows them to receive patronage from the church, which offers them stability. However, I do not know if there will be enough about this topic to write an essay.”

Russell suggested that I borrow the book The Musician Verrier from the library.

“That book went into detail about financial stuff,” Russell explained. “I borrowed it because I like Verrier’s music, and I remember being quite disappointed by the book. I know that you need money to survive, but he probably had no idea that his diary would be published after his death.”

Oh, I understand. I’d also be surprised to read a famous person’s diary and find detailed entries about their finances. Though, I am interested in reading about it, since it gives you a look into what life was like at the time. I guess I really am different from other nobles.

In world history, we got to the point in time when the Kazarian Empire had taken over the western half of the continent. We ended just before their expedition to the east began. It reminded me a lot of Alexander the Great’s conquests. Learning about them had been quite the task, since Alexander’s conquests took place all over the world.

Philips seemed to be a big fan of Emperor Hadrianus, who had led this eastern campaign.

“I’m so excited for next week!” he exclaimed.

Russell seemed exasperated by Philips’s enthusiasm, which was also something I’d gotten used to.

After lunch, I was going to be quite busy. I was going to spend third period in alchemy club so I could go over my design for a bicycle. I planned to wait until Friday to make my needle threader. It was better to wait to make things until Friday, when I had a lot more time. After third period, I had herbology, which I’d technically passed, but I wasn’t going to let my guard down until I actually harvested my antidotal herbs. I also needed to start planting antidotal herbs in the other greenhouse.

I arrived at alchemy club, and President Caesar and Benjamin were working on the washing machine. They wanted to head for the finish line, but they still hadn’t begun work on the draining system.

“You’re finally here, Patience!” President Caesar said. “We were waiting for you so we could talk about the Festival of Verdure!”

Oh, right. I forgot that was a thing.

“It didn’t seem like there were very many students stopping by the exhibit last year, so instead of just having inventions on display, I think we should set up some sort of stall to offer refreshments,” I said.

Benjamin seemed disappointed by my idea.

“No one wants to buy anything made by the alchemy club,” President Caesar remarked. “That said... I have heard that the stalls run by the handicraft club and art club have done well.”

I see. I spent all of my morning in the auditorium last year, then I had to help with the student council in the afternoon, so I didn’t get to look around the festival that much.

“Um, what is our budget for the Festival of Verdure?” I asked. My idea required material expenses.

President Caesar’s eyes lit up as he exclaimed, “You’ve got an idea, don’t you, Patience?! You can use however much money you want!”

Absolutely not, President Caesar!

“I think we should sell ice cream during the festival,” I stated.

The two seemed to be unfamiliar with ice cream. There were no mentions of ice cream in the original Patience’s memories either, but I’d assumed that was because the Grangers had been too poor to ever have any.

“What is that?” Caesar asked.

I drew out a diagram of an ice cream maker while explaining that it was a dessert made by freezing and churning a mixture of eggs, milk, and sugar.

“There’s no point in discussing this without first trying this ‘ice cream.’ Oh, by the way, my father said he’d like to meet you. We have those ingredients at my house. Would you be able to make it there?”

I figured I could probably whip up some ice cream using my household magic.

“I can, but I won’t be able to stay with the alchemy club stall for the entirety of the festival. Since this is the alchemy club, we’ll have to create the ice cream maker.”

President Caesar and Benjamin both were in agreement about that point.

“Of course. We’ll think about how we’re going to make it once we try this ice cream thing. So, what is your availability?”

Ugh, it sucks that my Saturday is taken up by the study session.

“I am free on Sunday,” I replied.

My weekend is all gone! I am definitely happy about getting to sell my hot water bottles though.

“I’ll have to check with my father first, but I’m sure that will be fine. I’ll pick you up at noon on Sunday.”

Oh, did President Caesar pick up on the fact that we’re poor because we don’t have caretakers on staff? Or maybe he needs to come over and get my father’s permission, since he’s technically inviting a noble lady over. All these social rules are so annoying. Either way, I’m glad we don’t have to pay to rent a horse.

“I’d like to try the ice cream too,” Benjamin said.

It was decided that Benjamin would visit Caesar’s home as well, and with that we wrapped up our discussion about the Festival of Verdure. President Caesar and Benjamin went back to focusing on the washing machine, and I proceeded to draw my diagram of a bicycle while trying to remember its construction.

“I think this is a good overall diagram. There’s the frame, the wheels, the chain, the pedals, the saddle, and handlebars. I think the brakes worked by squeezing a lever on the handlebar, which pressed a rubber pad against the wheel to slow it down. Oh, also, a bicycle has to have a ding-ding!”

As I mumbled aloud to myself, I continued drawing my bicycle diagram, only for Benjamin to come over and snatch it out of my hands.

“What are you trying to make next?” he asked.

President Caesar came over as well and stared at my diagram while tilting his head in confusion.

“You use these protruding boards to spin the wheels... Is this some sort of golem?”

Golems are basically fantasy robots, right?

“No, this is a vehicle called a bicycle. You sit here, and you press these pedals with your feet. You can use this to move faster than on foot. If I can successfully make this, it may turn out to be more useful than horses.”

They both gave me strange looks.

“How did you come up with this thing, Patience?” President Caesar said with a look of disbelief.

Is he annoyed? Maybe this was a bad idea.

“It’s absolutely incredible!” he gushed. “You sure are talented at coming up with inventions that don’t require magic stones!”

That’s because my family is poor.

From there, they both helped me, so we began working out the different mechanisms of the bicycle.

“There’s a bunch of small parts that we’ll have to make, but I’m sure this is something my father would like to sell as well!”

Benjamin stared at the bell I’d drawn in the diagram and tilted his head.

“Is this necessary?” he asked. “I don’t see why you’d need to call over a servant while riding the bicycle.”

Bells aren’t just for summoning servants, you know?

“This is to warn anyone who may be walking in front of you to let them know that the bicycle will pass them.”

Benjamin and President Caesar both gave me another look of disbelief.

“You haven’t even made this bicycle yet, and you’re already thinking about passing others on the road?” President Caesar commented. “You truly have a vivid imagination, Patience.”

“Shouldn’t you wait to worry about that stuff until after the bicycle is done?” Benjamin remarked.

If you have a bicycle, you gotta have a ding-ding! That’s what I believe, at least.

I used up all of third period coming up with designs for the various parts of the bicycle, and there were still many more parts to be designed.

Oh well, I guess we can save designing the bell for later.

I was impressed with how quickly President Caesar and Benjamin could come up with diagrams for the various parts.

Why are they so much faster than me! They must just be more suited for sciency things, while I’m more humanities minded.

Once they understood the overall premise of how the bicycle worked, they seemed to get a solid idea for how the individual mechanisms would work.

“Sir Benjamin, we need to head to herbology,” I pointed out.

Benjamin was running his fingers through his hair, tousling it while completely entranced by the challenge of designing a bicycle.

“Right, we need to head to the greenhouse...” Benjamin then turned to Caesar. “Please don’t add to my diagrams while I’m gone, President Caesar.”

Your diagrams? That’s my bicycle, you know? Whatever, it’s fine. Boys sure do like tinkering with machines.

At the greenhouse, I harvested the seeds from the remaining minor herbs, as well as my antidotal herbs. I wanted more seeds from them, so I left two plants behind. I’d already gotten plenty of seeds from Ms. Makias, but those were all for growing in the other greenhouse. The seeds I got here were going to be for my personal use.

Next winter break, I’m going to plant these at home and sell them! The price of these herbs will go down during spring and fall, so I’m not going to plant them just yet.

“I’ll buy those antidotal herbs at a premium price, Patience,” Ms. Makias said.

Of course I’ll sell them to you! I wonder how much money I’ll be getting at the end of the term. I’m so excited!

“Okay, I’m done with class. I need to head to the other greenhouse!”

Benjamin was still struggling with his unhealthy minor herbs, and he stared enviously as I rushed out of the greenhouse.

You’ll need to be more diligent about watering your herbs, Benjamin. Otherwise your second round of plants are also going to die.

“Today we’re planting antidotal herbs!”

I once again had to make lots of little balls of mud. After making them, I filled each one with a tiny, thin antidotal herb seed. I didn’t have just the single ridge in a plot like in class, so this was a lot more work. Once I planted all of the seeds, I watered them using purified water. Starting today, I was going to have to visit the greenhouse every day. That wasn’t a big deal on days when I had some extra time, but I didn’t have any free time on Tuesdays.

I would likely get a certificate of completion in sewing once my polka dot gown was complete, but if I could, I would prefer to stay there with Princess Margaret. Additionally, there was still a possibility that I had to make a total of six gowns to pass the class.

“I also have music club on Tuesdays, so I’m busy after classes too. I have no choice but to come in the morning!”

I had no problem with waking up early, because the standard bedtime here was incredibly early. The Grangers went to bed early partially because it helped save on candle usage, but lights out at the dorms was also very early. Since I didn’t have a clock, I didn’t know the exact time, but it seemed like I was going to bed at nine or ten. In my previous life, I usually went to bed at midnight, and it had been completely normal for me to stay up until two in the morning on weekends.

I think I remember hearing that while you’re growing, it’s best to sleep before eleven.

Despite staying up late often, I’d been quite tall during my previous life.

I guess genetics play a part too.

Chapter 4: Bicycles

On Friday afternoon, I would be visiting the alchemy club, but I had some work to do in the greenhouse before that. I refreshed the greater and antidotal herbs with purified water, and I also used some magic on them. For the antidotal herbs, I had to make sure my magic only affected the budding leaves, so those took a bit longer.

“Today I’m going to make needle threaders! I’d also like to make some bicycle parts after that. I wonder if there’s anything I can use in place of the rubber needed for the tires and brakes.”

I tidied myself up using household magic and hurried to alchemy club. I was determined to make sure I didn’t stay too late today.

“Hey, Patience! You’re late.” President Caesar always said I was late, but it was still only third period, so I was technically early. “Come, we’re going to make a bicycle!”

Unfortunately for President Caesar, I was more interested in making needle threaders. I was confident that the needle threader, just like the bicycle, would be something that the Burns Trading Company could sell. Well, that’s what I thought, but actually I had no idea what sort of products they usually sold.

“I’d like to make needle threaders today,” I told Caesar.

I showed him a sketch of my next pursuit, and he was visibly disappointed.

“You should be making the bicycle, not...this thing! Come on, we’ve made the diagrams for the various parts! I want to make the parts so we can put them together!”

President Caesar pulled out diagrams with the bicycle parts drawn out in incredible detail.

“Um, do we have the materials to make the tires and the brakes? The tires in particular need to have air inside them, so they require a material that is flexible yet sturdy.”

President Caesar had been on the edge of his seat, ready to dive into building this bicycle, but he froze for a moment.

“We’re putting air inside them?” Benjamin said, jumping into the discussion. “Hmm, a material that’s both flexible and sturdy... What about slimes?”

I decided to use this opportunity to sneak away and make my needle threaders.

“This isn’t thin enough to fit through the eye of a needle,” I mumbled while inspecting my creation. “It might work for an embroidery needle, but even so, the wire needs to be thinner!”

I ended up failing several times, but I successfully made two types of needle threaders. One was a thicker, sturdier threader that was for use with embroidery needles, and the other was an ultrathin threader for use with standard needles. I first made sets for Princess Margaret, Mary, and myself. I thought about how many more I should make, and I settled on making ten of each type. I would give some as samples to the Burns Trading Company, while the others would be for handing out to the embroidery and sewing teachers.

“Patience, we’re going to save the tires and brakes for later and make the other parts first,” President Caesar declared. “The brakes on a carriage are made of metal, so we can make a metal one for now. We’ll also just make the wheels out of wood or metal.”

President Caesar appeared to be desperate to build this bicycle. Since I’d finished making my needle threaders, I finally joined in.

“This chain is complicated,” Caesar muttered. “Do you want to try making it, Patience?”

I studied the diagram that President Caesar drew, then I visualized bicycle chains from my previous life.

“Create a chain!” I incanted.

“This looks pretty good,” Caesar remarked. “Let’s continue on with the other parts!”

Eventually, the other members of the club arrived, and we continued to make the bicycle parts. There were so many pieces to make, I probably would have used up all of my mana if I’d had to make them all on my own. Since the diagrams included the size of each part, as long as we all followed the plans, the separate parts should work together, regardless of who created them.

“It’s time to assemble everything!” President Caesar exclaimed.

I wasn’t happy that our wheels were made of metal, but slime powder wasn’t something the alchemy club just had on hand. The boys happily handled the assembly, and though there were several defective parts that had to be remade, we successfully completed our first bicycle.

“This is a bicycle?” Bryce asked.

He and Arthur had joined in the middle of making the individual parts, so they hadn’t fully grasped what the completed item would look like.

“I believe it would be best if the wheels weren’t made of metal, but it’s technically ready to use,” I said.

Everyone turned their attention to me.

What’s going on?

“So, uh, how do you make it move, Patience?” President Caesar asked.

Oh, right! No one here’s ridden a bicycle before.

“It is my first time as well, but I will try riding it,” I said.

I straddled the frame and took a seat.

“Wait!” Bryce called out. “Are you sure you should ride it like that, Patience?”

At first I was confused as to what he was concerned about, then I remembered that this was a world where it was improper for a lady to ride horses astride.

A bicycle frame is way thinner than the back of a horse, so this should be fine, right?

“Yes, this is the only way to ride it that I can think of,” I replied.

For some reason, Bryce was blushing. I had more important things to deal with, like seeing if the bicycle actually worked.

I gripped the handles, raised my feet, and I began pedaling. As I’d expected, it wasn’t the most comfortable riding experience because both the wheels and the seat were made of metal.

I want to make a leather cushion for the seat.

I rode around the clubroom, testing the brakes as well.

These also need improvement!

“It’s incredible!” President Caesar raved. “I’d like to ride it as well!”

The boys were all like excited children, eager to ride the bike, but they all needed more practice. They could only move it by stepping forward while seated.

“I still think the wheels should be changed to air-filled tires,” I said. “The brakes also don’t work very well. And the seat could be improved by changing it to one made of leather.”

No one was listening to me—they were all too focused on riding the bike.

“This is amazing, Patience!” Caesar called out. “You can move quickly without a horse! It’s a revolutionary invention!”

Yeah, bicycles are pretty useful. You can’t travel too far on one, though, since you have to pedal it yourself. Even so, it’s more than enough to get around Romano.

“Let’s make tires, President Caesar,” I urged him once more. “We must also make improvements to the brakes and the seat.”

This time, he finally heard me.

“I see now why a bell is necessary,” Benjamin chimed in. He was already trying to move on to making the bicycle bell.

Bells already existed in this world, usually as a method to summon servants. Some people had ropes in their room that could be tugged to ring a bell in the servant’s workroom. The Granger house was quite spacious, but there was no such system set up. The Laforets’ house, which I’d visited on the way to the summer palace, did have a bell system. The place was ginormous, so a mere handheld service bell likely was too quiet to be heard across the mansion.

“President Caesar, would you be able to show these needle threaders to your father? This thin one is for regular needles, while this thicker one is for embroidery needles.”

President Caesar seemed dubious of my needle threaders, but he accepted the threaders that I’d wrapped up for him.

“I’ll show them to him.”

It seemed he didn’t quite understand how useful these needle threaders were.

“I am a bit worried that your father won’t be able to see how useful these needle threaders can be. Please ask him to have your housekeepers or maids try them.” Maybe it’s just not something men would find useful, aside from tailors I guess. “Oh, I must get back to the dorms!”

It was starting to get dark outside. Bryce was completely engrossed in the bicycle, so I returned to the dorms on my own.

“Tomorrow is the study session, then I’m visiting Duke Burns’s home the day after that,” I muttered to myself. “I’m barely going to have any time with my angels.”

I managed to return to my dorm before it got dark. Princess Margaret was already back at the palace, so I had some free time. I decided to do some embroidery for my side job and study up on government and law.

I also had to read The Musician Verrier and write a report. I’d slowly been making my way through the book, and it was more of a domestic account book rather than what I’d expected from a diary. I couldn’t stay focused while reading it, which was why I hadn’t finished yet.

I should give up on trying to read the whole thing. I’ll skim the rest, and collect his income and expense records from his time living in Lawrence. I’ll do the same for his time in Estena, then I’ll compare the two.

I did just that, and the difference between life in the two countries was obvious. I proceeded to finish writing up my report, making sure to include excerpts from the book.

Though Duke Laforet’s love of music felt too intense to relate to, people with his level of passion were probably necessary to keep musicians in Lawrence. As far as I could tell from my government textbook, the government didn’t have anything like a department of cultural affairs. It seemed that nobles who were passionate about music, theater, and literature financially supported artists as patrons.

I should add to my paper how we need an agency that supports cultural activities.

My report was finally done, so I decided to have a leisurely dinner at the dining hall.

I love being able to relax like this.

Once I was done, it was time to do some work!

Aside from my embroidery for my side job, I was also learning to needle paint in Embroidery III. Needle painting required the use of thin embroidery floss made of silk, so I had been making very little progress. I’d been working in small sections so I didn’t give in to the urge to use household magic. I figured I could start using my magic once I’d actually gotten a handle on the technique—otherwise, finishing the piece would likely take me an entire year.

Currently, I was doing my side job, embroidering linens for noble ladies who were about to get married. This work required embroidering the lady’s and her partner’s initials onto cloth napkins and other items, which was a lot of work. I was making good money doing it, though, so I couldn’t really complain. Since this was for work, I consciously used household magic from start to finish, focusing on churning out as many as I could.

There’s so many cloth napkins this lady’s bringing with her to her spouse’s home. They must be super rich people who host extravagant dinners and parties.

“I’m done with embroidery work,” I mumbled.

All that was left to do was to visit the greenhouse tomorrow morning, then wait for Mary to come get me.

I can’t wait to go home. I’m definitely going to eat lunch at home with my angels! Hopefully Aunt Lilianna is a bit less anxious this time, since it’ll be the second study session.

The next morning, I headed to the greenhouse and took care of my greater and antidotal herbs. After that, I returned to my dorm and sat in front of the fireplace. As I was warming up, Mary arrived around the usual time.

“I have a letter from Countess Northcourt for you, my lady,” Mary reported.

Again? Just do the same thing you did last week! I know Eva taught her chef how to make pancakes, so why can’t she just serve those again?

In an effort to maximize my time with my angels, I read the letter during the carriage ride home.

“I’d like to pass on eating lunch with her,” I mumbled. “Wait, she wants something other than pancakes? How troublesome. I think the other treat Prince Keith enjoyed was cookies. He was scarfing them down.”

I guess we’ll have to send Eva over again. Wait, baked goods like cookies and pound cake can just be made at our house. We’d just need to get the ingredients, then we could bring them over.

I detailed my plans in a letter, and I also informed my aunt that I would be eating lunch at home. Then I handed the letter to Mary to deliver. While she was doing that, I was going to spend time with Nassius and Henry.

“The countess sent a response, my lady,” Mary announced upon returning.

It looks like I won’t be getting my way.

My aunt insisted that I eat lunch at her home and wait for the prince’s arrival with her. Also, she wanted Eva to teach the recipes to her chef, so Eva had to go over to the Northcourt home as well.

What a hassle.

I felt like a child being dragged away from the playground as I boarded the carriage with Mary.

I’m going to make sure this is the last study session! I’m going to become someone who can say no!

The study session went smoothly. Prince Keith’s disdain for classical literature was fading, and he appeared to have spent the past week diligently studying. At this rate, he was going to have no problem accelerating the class. Samuel had also studied quite a bit, and though he wasn’t quite ready to skip ahead in classical literature, it was definitely not going to hold him back. He would have no problem remaining in Class A.

“I believe you are both doing well enough for classical literature now,” I said.

With this, the initial objective of this study session had been fulfilled. Next was looking over Prince Keith’s history studies and Samuel’s math.

I have no intention of making these study sessions a regular thing. I’m going to pull out all the stops!

“For history, please study using these with Sir Hugo,” I said to Prince Keith. “If you memorize these, you should be able to receive a certificate of completion.”

I handed him some flashcards I’d prepared. A historical event was written on one side, and the year it took place and details were on the other. They had holes punched through them and were tied together instead of being attached to a metal ring like I would’ve used during my previous life.

“I have to memorize all of these?” Prince Keith asked.

“Yes. Please work together with Sir Hugo. Quizzing each other is a very effective way to study. Go on, try it.”

There’s no time for slacking off!

Ralph was twiddling his thumbs, so I had him help Samuel with math. I wanted to spend this free time on leisure reading, but instead I read through my law textbook. I really wanted this to be the last study session, so I wasn’t holding anything back.

“Have you finished your first round of studying?” I asked Prince Keith and Hugo. “I’m going to test you now.”

I retrieved the flashcards from Hugo and quizzed the boys, making them compete to see who would get the most answers correct. Looks like they’ve done a good job memorizing these.

“I’m going to mark the cards that you got incorrect. For your second pass, you only need to go over these ones.”

The boys whined about how they couldn’t do it, but I needed to push them. It was retribution for stealing my precious time with my angels. I had Ralph switch to history and quiz the boys, and I went to help Samuel with math.

Samuel was working on multiplying and dividing fractions, and his work was a complete mess.

I understand. I also got confused about why you had to flip the numerators and denominators.

I went over how fractions were just division several times with Samuel, then I had him try solving some problems on his own. After repeating this process, it finally seemed to click.

“Oh, I see now!”

“If you keep solving these problems, you’ll master fractions!” I cheered.

Yay! Now I can say goodbye to these study sessions!

Just as that thought crossed my mind, there was a reserved knock on the door.

“Countess Northcourt would like you to know it is time for tea, my lady,” Mary reported.

Aunt Lilianna had probably sent Mary to call for me instead of having her staff summon the prince to the drawing room.

Whatever. It’s fine. I’ve finished what I came to do.

The boys were so exhausted that it felt as if I were having tea with corpses. I, on the other hand, felt refreshed as I sipped my tea.

“Can’t you go easier on us, Patience?” Prince Keith grumbled. He seemed to have regained enough energy to complain after eating some pound cake and cookies.

Ralph and Hugo also seemed reinvigorated. The young have so much energy.

“Since today will be the last study session, I simply wanted to do everything I could,” I replied. I’m never doing this again!

Samuel’s head still seemed to be jumbled by fractions. You can get through this, Samuel!

Prince Keith looked like he wanted to refute my claim that this was the last study session.

I really don’t want to do this again. I won’t refuse helping Samuel. I don’t mind helping a shota, and he’s my cousin. He’s also been a good friend to my brothers.

I managed to make it to the send-off of Prince Keith and his friends, and the study session came to an end. Samuel seemed to have picked up on the fact that I was trying to avoid more study sessions with Prince Keith.

“If I have any trouble with my studies again, would you still help me, Patience?”

Of course I’ll help you, Samuel.

“Yes, I can help you when you visit us if you’d like,” I replied.

That put a smile on Samuel’s face. Seems like this pouty boy’s gotten pretty soft around the edges.

“In return, I shall help you with horse riding!”

I’d like to politely decline your offer.

“I won’t be home tomorrow,” I shared. “I will be visiting the home of an upperclassman from the academy.”

I figured it was best to let him know my plans because I didn’t want him to get upset thinking that I was avoiding the riding lesson.

Before I boarded the carriage to head home, Aunt Lilianna sneaked an envelope into my hand.

“Thank you so much for helping Samuel with his studies, Patience,” she said. “This is just a small token of my gratitude.”

Judging from how thin the envelope was, it likely contained a check.

Yay! I hope we can use this to buy things for Nassius’s upcoming enrollment in the academy. We have hand-me-down uniforms, but I’d love to get him new shirts and underwear.

Apparently the fabric that I’d received from Aunt Charlotta was no good for dress shirts. I’d learned that they needed to be made out of a sturdier fabric, so I’d been wanting to buy some.

The uniforms for the academy came in two versions: one for summer and one for winter. The designs were the same—the summer version was just made with a thinner fabric. The difference was more apparent in the boys’ uniform, since the jackets were clearly made out of different materials.

Students from upper-ranking noble families wore jackets that looked quite warm. The material seemed similar to cashmere. They also had separate dress shirts for summer and winter.

“I’ll give this to Wyatt and ask him to buy some fabric that I can use to make Nassius’s dress shirts!” I excitedly told Mary.

“While that is a good idea, you should use some of it for yourself, my lady. You could purchase some bows or other hair accessories.”

Oh, this might be my chance!

“I agree. I’ve actually been wanting a new hair accessory. Tomorrow, on the way home from my upperclassman’s house, I’d like to stop by some shops.”

I think this will work! Wait, why is she staring at me like that? I’m kind of scared... What’s happening?

“My lady, when was this visit to your upperclassman’s house decided? Have you gotten permission from your father? Also, who is this upperclassman?”

Oh, shoot. I’ve been so busy that I forgot to tell Mary and my father about it.

“I’ll get permission from father when we get home,” I assured her. “I was invited to the home of Sir Caesar Burns, my upperclassman from alchemy club.”

Mary anxiously clasped her hands together.

“You are going to visit Duke Burns’s home?” She seemed oddly tense.

“Yes...? Oh, please don’t get the wrong idea, Mary. I’m visiting because we’re going to discuss selling my hot water bottles. I’ve told Wyatt about it, but I forgot to let father know.”

Once she heard that this was a business meeting, Mary finally relaxed.

Did she think we were going to discuss marriage or something? That’s so ridiculous.

We arrived home, and I headed to my father’s study. I’d been discussing my plans with Wyatt, but I’d forgotten to inform my father of them as well. I knocked on his door and waited for a response before entering.

“I will be visiting Duke Burns’s home tomorrow to discuss selling the hot water bottles,” I announced.

My father put the book he was reading down and smiled.

“Those hot water bottles are a wonderful tool. I’ve heard from Wyatt that you’re interested in sharing them with the world. I wish you luck.”

It seemed Wyatt had passed the information along. Though my father had been kept in the loop, I wanted to remember to tell him these things myself moving forward.

Chapter 5: The Burns Residence

It was Sunday morning, which I planned to spend with my angels.

I’m not going to let anyone bother us, no matter what it takes!

I helped them study art, music, and dance. From there, we enjoyed some playtime. We went outside, where we jumped rope and raced on stilts. I lost by an incredibly wide margin.

“Let’s head to the greenhouse and pick some strawberries,” I said.

We picked some for everyone at home to eat, as well as some to bring as a gift to Duke Burns’s home. I’d picked some yesterday as well, but I’d given the plants some extra encouragement using household magic, so today there were bright red berries peeking out from the leaves.

“Are you going out again today, sister?” Nassius asked. There was sadness in his eyes, which pained me enough to nearly take me out.

I need to stay strong. I want to sell my hot water bottles.

My desire to sell the invention was partially motivated by money, of course, but I also wanted other people in the world who were cold at night to sleep warmly. It was awful to wake up in the middle of the night during the cold of winter.

“Yes, I am. I’m going to talk to someone about selling those hot water bottles that you use.”

Henry had seemed a bit low in spirits until now, but hearing that made him perk up.

“That’s good! The hot water bottles are so warm!”

“If you can sell them, they’ll help all the people out there who are too cold to sleep,” Nassius said, also excited by this news. “I’m wishing you luck, sister.”

I’m going to do my best!

Our main course for lunch was an omelet. Egg-based dishes were uncommon in our house, and my father also seemed to be surprised by it. We sometimes had them after I visited the royal palace, but I hadn’t been there in two weeks.

“Eva received the eggs as a gift from Countess Northcourt to thank her for her help making the desserts for the study session tea break,” Mary explained.

“It’s so yummy!” Henry said with a beaming smile, which got rid of all of the exhaustion I’d accumulated over the course of both study sessions.

He really is an angel!

After lunch, I figured all that I had to do was wait for President Caesar to come get me. Unfortunately, Mary snatched me and made me change into clothes meant for outings. I’d put on my uniform, figuring that I’d head to the dorms as soon as I got back from the Burnses’ home, but apparently that wasn’t acceptable. Mary also did my hair in a more complicated style than usual. It was still a half updo, but there were several braided sections.

Right as I finished getting ready, President Caesar arrived. This was the first time I was seeing him in clothes other than his uniform, and it was clear that his family was very well-off. Caesar greeted my father, then he asked for his permission to invite me to his home. Once he had my father’s permission, I boarded his carriage with Mary, who was coming as my attendant.

This whole process is so troublesome.

“You look like a normal noble lady when you’re dressed like that,” Caesar remarked.

Don’t say such things! You’ll make Mary worried about what I’m getting up to at school!

“You look like a proper noble yourself, Sir Caesar,” I replied.

We both couldn’t contain our laughter.

“Oh, I just remembered, our housekeeper gave your needle threaders incredibly high praise. My father was also shocked to hear what she had to say. He’d like to sell those as well.”

Yay! Needle threaders really are super useful!

“Also, Benjamin barged in this morning demanding to eat ice cream. He visits often, so his visit itself isn’t a problem, but he shared too much with my father, so we’re in a bit of a predicament.”

It seemed that Benjamin and Caesar had known each other for a while. I guess it’s that high society connection.

“What sort of predicament?” I asked.

“It’s about the bicycle. We haven’t even finalized the design, but my father is already incredibly interested in it. If we don’t do something, he may take the idea from us. I need you to help defend it at all costs, Patience.”

Caesar’s father sounded like he could be quite pushy, and I was weak to pushy people.

“Your father seems quite interested in tools that do not use magic stones, Sir Caesar.”

He commented on that when I showed him the hot water bottle.

“That’s right. He said it’s because not many commoners can afford magic stones.”

Your father is absolutely right! A year ago, we Grangers couldn’t afford them either!

Our conversation made the time fly, and before I knew it, we’d arrived at the Burns home. Just as I’d expected, it was a massive and brilliant mansion. I was about to meet Duke Burns, who was known for being a skilled businessman, so I was a bit nervous.

President Caesar escorted me out of the carriage. Wow, I didn’t know he could act like a gentleman. I’m pretty impressed.

A butler opened the door and welcomed us inside.

“Hey Patience!” Benjamin greeted me. He seemed quite carefree for someone who’d just blabbed about our secret project, but I appreciated his demeanor because it helped me relax.

Once we entered, Mary was led to a separate room. Seriously, is there any point in attendants accompanying nobles?

The three of us headed to the drawing room, where a man was waiting. Is Caesar going to become this dapper and handsome when he’s older? He’s got such dashing salt and pepper hair. Well, I’m a shotacon, so he’s not my type.

“Father, I’d like you to meet Patience Granger,” Caesar said, introducing me. Once he was home, he really seemed like any other upper-ranking noble.

“Welcome, Lady Patience. I am Alois Burns. Please have a seat.”

Duke Burns seemed like someone who would be easy to talk to. It was no surprise that this man had founded his own company. He came off as friendly, but you could tell from his gaze that he could see right through people.

A beautiful upper-class maid of the Burns household served us tea. I’ve heard that wealthy families have pretty and classy maids, but this is the first time I’m seeing it for myself. Though Duke Burns was a businessman, it was undeniable that he was in the upper echelon of the nobility.

The hot water bottles didn’t come up right away. As we had tea, we first discussed academics and the alchemy club.

“Benjamin is actually my nephew,” Duke Burns shared with me. “I believe he spends more time here than he does at Marquess Priest’s home.”

Benjamin angrily puffed his cheeks.

“Please talk some sense into my parents, Uncle Alois! They won’t stop complaining about my enrollment in the mage track. Every single day, they continue pestering me, telling me that it isn’t too late to switch to the civil service or knight track!”

I didn’t know that Benjamin was the son of a marquess. Well, judging from the way other students treat him, I’d figured he was some kind of high-ranking noble. It all makes sense now.

“You must do that on your own,” Duke Burns replied. “So, Lady Patience, I’d like to discuss the hot water bottle and needle threaders you passed along to Caesar. I’d like to manufacture and sell them through the Burns Trading Company.”

The conversation had abruptly shifted from small talk to business. I’ve got to switch gears!

“Yes, Sir Caesar informed me of your interest. Thank you, and I would like to proceed with an agreement.”

Caesar gave me a look of disbelief that said, You’re going to agree, just like that?

“You seem to understand how business works, Lady Patience,” Duke Burns remarked. “You deserve the same trust you’re putting in me. I have prepared a contract. I’d like you to take it home and look it over before signing.”

Since Patience was only eleven, this contract definitely needed to be discussed with my father and Wyatt, but I decided to skim through it on my own anyways.

“Do you have any problems with the contract? I’ll also hear out any demands you have.”

I trusted Duke Burns to handle business, but there was one point in particular that I wanted him to be aware of.

“No, there are no problems. However, I would like the hot water bottles and needle threaders to be priced as affordably as can be managed. The winters in Lawrence are quite cold, and I made the hot water bottle in hope that it could be used by those who couldn’t afford enough firewood. Also, I believe the needle threaders will be very useful for women who’ve given up on jobs that require sewing because of their age.”

Duke Burns promised that he would make both items inexpensive for customers.

“You know that you’d make more money by pricing them higher, right, Patience?” Benjamin pointed out.

You’re missing the point, Benjamin!

“You should enroll in the civil service course and study some more, Benjamin,” Duke Burns commented. “If you have the time to be constantly visiting alchemy club and Caesar, you surely must have the time to enroll in both tracks.”

Oh, he got scolded by Duke Burns. I guess President Caesar isn’t getting in trouble because he understands what I’m trying to do.

“I’m sure Patience will invent plenty of items that will make her a fortune,” Caesar chimed in.

That’s right! I’m definitely going to make a killing off of the wealthy! I thought with a smile. Duke Burns seemed to pick up on my intentions.

“Does that include that new device you’re making, the bicycle?” the duke asked.

This is all your fault for not staying quiet, Benjamin.

“We still have many improvements to make,” I responded.

Duke Burns was intimidating, but I wasn’t going to back down on this point. If we sold the bicycle in its current state, we would be putting a defective item on the market. I just smiled and refused to speak more on that topic.

“Oh, I just remembered!” President Caesar suddenly exclaimed. “Patience wants to sell a dessert called ice cream at the Festival of Verdure, and she’s going to make it for us today.”

He’s pretty good at changing the subject.

“Yes, that’s right,” I replied. “Ice cream is usually served during the summer, but enjoying some in front of a warm fire is also quite luxurious.”

President Caesar, Benjamin, Mary, and I all headed to the kitchen.

“I’ve prepared eggs, sugar, and milk for you,” Caesar said.

I was under Mary’s strict observation, so instead of making it myself, I instructed the Burnses’ chef on how to prepare the ice cream. It would be faster if I could just do it.

“Please separate the egg yolks from the whites, then gently whisk the yolks,” I instructed. “Then, you’ll add some sugar... That’s enough! Once it’s thoroughly combined, please stir in some milk. After that, you’ll add some heavy cream. That looks like enough.”

The rest would be done using household magic. The chef handed the bowl to me, and I used a spoon to taste the mixture. It’s good, thank God! I was worried since the chefs here are always dumping tons of sugar into desserts.

Since the mixture contained raw eggs, I decided to purify it just in case.

“Become ice cream!” I chanted at the mixture.

Ms. Makias would likely be annoyed by my lame choice of words, but that was the most succinct way I could describe a spell that churned and froze a mixture at the same time.

“This is ice cream,” I announced. “Oh, would you mind chopping up some of the strawberries I brought?” I asked the chef. “Then, I’d like you to put half of the ice cream in a separate bowl.”

I added the chopped strawberries to half of the ice cream, then I churned it again with magic. I took a taste, and it had a lovely, fresh strawberry flavor.

“My lady!” Mary quietly snapped, scolding me for tasting the mixture.

I mean, I can’t serve this to Duke Burns without tasting it first.

“To serve the ice cream, please scoop it into glass bowls,” I told the chef.

President Caesar and Benjamin had just hung back and watched the entire time.

I want them to make an ice cream maker. I wonder if this helped them understand.

We returned to the drawing room, where another beautiful upper-class maid served us the glass bowls, which were filled with two scoops of ice cream, each a different color.

“Hmm, so this is ice cream,” Duke Burns remarked.

Since I’d made it, I dug in first.

“It’s delicious!” I raved.

It had been a year and two months since I’d come to this world, and it was my first time having ice cream since then. I never would’ve craved it while at home, since it was so cold in the winter, but I could enjoy it here since Duke Burns’s drawing room was warm.

The duke, Caesar, and Benjamin all took a bite, and they were pleasantly surprised.

“This will definitely be well received at the Festival of Verdure!” President Caesar exclaimed. “We might even get ourselves some new members!”

President Caesar is always the same at his core. He must really love the alchemy club.

“If you develop a magical instrument that makes this ice cream, my company will happily sell it!” Duke Burns chimed in. “Such a device would be perfect for summer garden parties!”

Duke Burns sure is passionate about his business. Oh, I think I have a great idea, and I’m not going to waste this opportunity.

“Duke Burns, I haven’t seen much of the world aside from my home and the academy,” I said. “Would it be possible for me to visit the Burns Trading Company?”

Caesar and Benjamin both stared at me in disbelief.

“I never knew you were so sheltered,” Benjamin bluntly blurted out.

Since Caesar was in his father’s presence, he politely kept his mouth shut.

“Absolutely, Lady Patience. I would be happy to arrange a visit for you.”

Duke Burns seems to understand what I want, which is to conduct market research! It’s an important part of doing business!

I’m so happy!

This was my first time going out since I’d sneaked out of the academy and peeked at the nearby bookstore, produce shop, and flower shop. Visiting the Northcourts didn’t count, since I just stayed in their home.

Visiting someone’s house is not the same thing as going out!

Mary, President Caesar, and Benjamin were all tagging along, so I had to keep such complaints in my thoughts.

Duke Burns’s home was in the area where most upper-ranking nobles lived. The Granger home was also in this area, probably because our family used to receive a proper income.

Not long after the carriage departed, we entered an area with smaller homes. Though they were relatively smaller, these homes would have been considered stately mansions during my previous life.

We traveled a little farther, and the residences no longer had front yards. They were also built a lot closer together, which reminded me of the cityscape of Paris. Along the roads were apartment buildings of a similar construction, which likely had courtyards at the very least.

I wonder if this is where lower-ranking nobles and rich commoners live.

“That’s the Romano branch of the Burns Trading Company,” Caesar pointed out.

The Romano branch was a grand building that reminded me of time-honored European department stores. It blended into the townscape, but its decorated pillars and the items displayed behind the front windows drew your eyes. It definitely looked polished by this world’s standards, but as someone who’d grown up in the city in my previous life, it was a bit lacking and plain.

It seems like they’re just showing off what sells well. This needs improvement!

Though I wasn’t blown away by the storefront, I was still thoroughly inspecting it. I definitely wanted to know what items sold well.

Since it’s winter, coats are the most popular clothing item right now. Magic lamps seem to be the most popular of the magical instruments. Wow, they even sell swords and armor. They’ve also got tableware and cooking utensils... They’ve pretty much got everything aside from food.

Though the display in the front windows wasn’t anything special, it was perhaps effective in that it showcased what the store had to offer.

“We’re going in!” President Caesar called out, urging me to get moving since I’d been caught up looking at the window displays. He continued his chivalrous streak and opened the door for me.

I guess he really knows his etiquette.

“The first floor is for tableware, pots, and other tools,” Caesar began to explain. “The second floor is mainly for clothes, armor, and other fabric-based items. The third floor is mainly premium items, like magical instruments and swords.”

It seemed that the higher the floor, the more expensive the products would be. Though there were mostly cooking utensils and tableware on the first floor, there was also a section for other sorts of items at an affordable price, such as cloaks.

I wanted to take my time going through the store, but Caesar and Benjamin were already headed for the second floor.

Do men not like to shop or something? They seem to only be interested in looking at what they want to buy.

We got to the second floor, which both Caesar and Benjamin quickly walked through again, headed for the third floor.

Yeah, they must not be interested in browsing.

“Wow, there’s a lot of stuff on display,” Benjamin remarked.

Though I was interested in the magical instruments on the third floor, I also would’ve liked to look at the clothes and other items on the second floor.

It’s not fair! Boo!

Though I was internally complaining, I still went ahead and browsed through the magical instruments.

“There sure are a lot of lamps,” Caesar commented. He and Benjamin completely skipped the lamp section of the floor.

I could understand why, since these were basically the mass-manufactured version of what we’d assembled in Alchemy I. They were quite pricey, but not so much that they would be impossible for me to purchase. I could probably make enough from my embroidery side job to buy one.

Mary was standing behind me, looking at the lamps as well. Does she want one? I’m sure it’s easier to read and sew using a lamp rather than candlelight. I could make her one, but we couldn’t buy the magic stone needed to operate it.

“Are magic stones more expensive in Lawrence than in other countries?” I asked.

Caesar turned around.

“I’m not sure. I’ve never thought about the price of magic stones. Do you know something about the price, Patience?”

You darned rich kid! You’ve never had to struggle because you didn’t have a magic stone!

“That question is a part of my homework for diplomacy,” I explained. “The main topic is how we can get foreign countries to acknowledge Lawrence’s cultural achievements. According to Mr. Fotchner, although many magical instruments are made here, they’re mostly used in Sonia. I thought that it could be because magic stones are more affordable in Sonia.”

Benjamin also had no idea whether magic stones were relatively expensive in Lawrence.

“I think Powell, the manager, would know more about that,” Caesar said.

I wanted to keep browsing, but Caesar dragged me to the manager’s office.

“Sir Caesar and Sir Benjamin? Why, hello. Are you here looking for a magical instrument?”

Judging from the manager’s reaction, it seemed Benjamin also frequented the store.

“Do you have a moment, Powell?” Caesar asked. “This is Patience Granger. We’ll soon be manufacturing and selling a hot water bottle and needle threader she invented.”

The manager smiled and introduced himself.

“I am Max Powell. It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Patience.”

I greeted him back, then did as he encouraged and took a seat. Mary was also offered a chair, and she sat behind the sofa we were on.

“We came here with a question for you, Powell,” Caesar explained. “Are magic stones more expensive here in Lawrence than in other countries?”

Powell looked surprised by the question.

“I never thought you would take an interest in business, Sir Caesar. I hope this isn’t a foreboding premonition of what’s to come... Jokes aside, it is true that magic stones here cost around twenty percent more than they do in the Kingdom of Sonia. Where did you learn about this?”

Twenty percent more?! Are they even allowed to sell them for such a ridiculous markup?!

“They’re that expensive?!” Caesar and Benjamin both exclaimed with shock.

“I don’t think the difference in monsters and the number that are hunted is significant between our kingdoms,” Caesar remarked. “I see! They must be importing them from the southern continent. Wait, I thought Cordova does the most trade on this continent.”

Caesar sure knows a lot. All of this seems to be news to Benjamin.

“Are there a lot of monsters in the southern continent?” Benjamin asked.

“I’m not sure, but their biggest exports are magic stones and spices,” Caesar replied. “I agree with my father, Benjamin. You should enroll in the civil service course. You’re severely lacking in common knowledge.”

“How could you be so cruel?” Benjamin mumbled.

Caesar hadn’t enrolled in the civil service track, so he appeared to have studied on his own.

“Magical instruments aren’t widespread in the Kingdom of Cordova, so they are likely exporting their traded magic stones to the Kingdom of Sonia,” Powell chimed in.

That makes sense. I guess Sonia isn’t just the kingdom of romance. They must be focused on enjoying cultural activities through modern technology. I’m not interested in romance, but I’d love to visit Sonia. I never want to use a chamber pot again, so I’m definitely not going to Cordova. I’d also like to avoid their spit-producing dialect.

“In that case, why doesn’t Lawrence import them from Cordova as well?” I asked. I found that strange.

“That’s probably because a Sonian princess married into the Cordovan royal family,” Caesar replied. “I’ve heard rumors that King Carlos is absolutely smitten with Queen Leonora. Cordovan businesses probably pay lower export taxes on goods going to Sonia.”

They get a tax break over such a silly reason?! That’s crazy!

“Well, this kingdom does import magic stones, but considering the export taxes associated, they end up being too expensive for common folk,” Powell commented.

They really are expensive! Can’t we make magic stones cheaper? I don’t know how to go about doing that. We didn’t have those in my previous life.

“We must make useful tools that do not require magic stones!” I said enthusiastically to Caesar and Benjamin.

“They’d no longer be magical instruments!” Caesar argued.

“Magic circles and magic stones go hand in hand,” Benjamin pointed out.

They both seemed exasperated, but Powell liked my enthusiasm.

“I agree, Lady Patience. I hope you succeed.”

“The bicycle doesn’t require a magic stone,” I reminded my companions.

“The bicycle gets a pass,” Benjamin insisted.

“That reminds me, I wonder if we can get something to use for the tires here,” Caesar said.

I guess the bike is okay because they like it. So unfair.

Though I was displeased, I also wanted to improve the tires on our bike, so I worked with the other two to look for something we could use.

“Mr. Powell, have you heard of any plants in the southern continent that produce a sticky sap?” I asked. “Or do you know of any sturdy but flexible materials?”

Powell thought for a moment, then he replied, “I apologize. I haven’t been to the southern continent, so I’m not aware of any such plants.”

I’d hoped that there were rubber trees, but even if they existed, I probably couldn’t get my hands on the sap.

“They have slime powder in stock, so let’s try using this,” Caesar suggested. “There’s also leather that we can use for the seat.”

“We also need to add some cushioning to the seat, Sir Caesar,” Benjamin said.

Wow, they’re really obsessed with the bike.

“Oh, we can also make the handles easier to grip by wrapping some leather around them!” I chimed in.

Well, I guess I’m excited about it too.

Mary silently tugged at my sleeve.

“My, I didn’t realize it had gotten so late,” I remarked. “I must return to the dorms.”

I had to leave without getting a chance to browse through the tableware, pots, and clothes, which was quite unfortunate.

President Caesar and Benjamin both accompanied me home, and my father was quite surprised when Benjamin also appeared to greet him. I couldn’t deal with that, because I had more pressing matters to handle. President Caesar passed the contract along to my father, but further discussion would have to wait until next week because I wanted to get back to the dorms before Princess Margaret did.

They have to come in and greet your parents when they pick you up, then they have to follow you home and greet your parents again. Noble customs are so annoying.

Though I was rushing, I didn’t forget to kiss my angels goodbye.

I headed back to the academy, and I barely made it back to the dorms before Princess Margaret.

Thank God...

Chapter 6: Busy with Classes and Clubs

It was only Monday, but I was already busy. I’d just barely made it back to the dorms in time yesterday, so I hadn’t had a chance to stop by the greenhouse. I’d woken up early today so I could go to the greenhouse and look after the greater and antidotal herbs. The two greater herbs I’d left planted in the classroom greenhouse looked like they would soon be ready to harvest seeds from. After checking on those, I watered my two antidotal herbs.

“You’re pretty diligent,” Ms. Makias said, appearing out of nowhere as usual. “You can harvest the seeds from those greater herbs tomorrow.”

She always scares me, and she’s so quick.

I’d been trying to get around quickly, since I still had to return to the dorms and wake up Princess Margaret, but I had nothing on Ms. Makias when it came to speed.

My first class today was diplomacy, for which I’d ended up writing two papers: one on musicians, and one on magic stones. As always, I walked to class with Philips.

We arrived at the classroom, and there were already students discussing their reports. We’d all left homeroom at the same time, but since I was slow, I was the last to arrive. I need to practice walking faster!

“Hey, Patience,” Russell greeted me. “Was that book useful?”

“It was incredibly useful, Sir Russell,” I replied.

Since the other students were showing their papers to each other, I joined in and showed Russell my papers.

“Whoa, this is impressive!” he exclaimed.

Is there something odd about my paper? Are reports written up differently here? I’m getting worried.

“What’s all this fuss about?” Philips said, taking a look at my report.

“I can’t believe you were able to organize so many details from that book, then put it all into a report,” Russell said, praising my summarization of Verrier’s household accounts. “You’re really smart, Patience.”

I’d probably only done so well because I’d helped Princess Margaret with her homework for household math.

Philips proceeded to read through my second, shorter report on magic stones, and he looked surprised.

“Oh, it looks like we arrived at the same conclusion,” he remarked.

I read through Philips’s report, which was quite a bit more thorough than mine.

“Your paper is much more detailed than mine though, Sir Philips.”

I read through Russell’s paper as well, which took a more generalized approach to analyzing the topics at hand. He’d done research about the Kingdom of Sonia’s Ministry of Culture and had written about how our kingdom needed a department of cultural affairs.

In class, we had discussions about our various papers. Though everyone had done research for their reports, no one had been as thorough as Russell and Philips.

“Patience, Russell, and Philips all pass,” Mr. Fotchner announced. “I encourage the rest of you to work a little harder.”

Mr. Fotchner praised my work! Yay!

In world history, our lesson covered the beginning of Emperor Hadrianus’s eastern conquests. Philips seemed very excited during class, while I on the other hand found myself critical of the late emperor. I believed that excessive expansion was one of the factors that had led to the fall of the Kazarian empire, so it seemed wrong that the emperor had spent so much of his financial resources on this expedition. Bigger didn’t always mean better.

“We’ll get to keep learning about Emperor Hadrianus’s conquests for the next few weeks!” Philips raved.

I won’t rain on his parade with my thoughts.

“I’m bored,” Russell grumbled. “He travels all over the place, and it’s difficult to remember what year each event takes place.”

I’m on Russell’s side. I’m probably going to struggle with years the most during the spring final.

During lunch, Prince Keith, Ralph, and Hugo all thanked me for the study sessions.

I didn’t actually teach Ralph anything, but I appreciate it.

“I followed your advice from the other day and thought back to previous tea parties,” Princess Margaret reported. “Thanks to you, I passed Etiquette I! Unfortunately, I didn’t have any space for Etiquette II in my schedule, so I’ll be taking it during the same block as Etiquette I.”

It was nice to see that things were going smoothly for Princess Margaret.

“The assignment in Etiquette II is a luncheon, and in Etiquette III it is a dinner party,” I explained. “I’m sure you will do well, Lady Margaret.”

The princess was confident she could receive a certificate of completion, which put her in good spirits.

“Yes, but I’m still going to struggle with household math, as well as sewing and cooking. Everyone seems worried about the assignments for this week.”

Princess Margaret had apparently burnt her ham steak as well, but hadn’t completely charred it like she had the fish. Ms. Spencer was probably reworking the dishes she’d planned for the class to make.

“I’m sure you will do fine, Lady Margaret,” I said. It didn’t seem like there was much else I could do aside from encouraging her.

I realized that Prince Keith and his friends didn’t chime in on topics like this, so perhaps discussing the home economics track would be good during lunch. Any other topic would be too dangerous, because Prince Keith would always have something to say about it. Right now, the prince and his friends were discussing the knight track, so all was well.

For now, I had some free time in my schedule after lunch, especially today, because I’d stopped by the greenhouse in the morning. Until classroom lectures began in May, I would be spending this period at alchemy club.

“Hey, we’ve been waiting for you, Patience,” President Caesar called out.

Benjamin was already there as well. They’re both here so soon after lunch. Do they even eat?

“There’s precedent for processing slime powder into a flexible material, but it’s probably not durable enough to be used as a tire.”

I’d never seen a slime, nor had I worked with slime powder before.

“What is slime powder used to make?” I asked.

Caesar and Benjamin both seemed bashful as they replied.

“It’s something used for toilets.”

I guess I’m not supposed to talk about toilets, since I’m a girl.

Once water was added, the slime powder turned into a squishy substance.

“May I touch it?” I asked.

They looked at me as if I were asking a nonsensical question. Hey, I just needed to be sure! In some fantasy stories, slimes have acid that can melt people!

Since it seemed safe, I touched the slime. Whoa, it’s slime. I mean, of course it is!

“It seems that it tears easily if you pull at it,” I remarked. The soft, flexible texture was similar to rubber, but it wasn’t strong enough. “What if we try mixing some powdered charcoal into the slime powder?”

I only thought of that because of the black rubber used for tires.

“Let’s try it out!” President Caesar exclaimed.

We gathered the charcoal under the furnaces, and I pulverized it with my household magic.

“Your household magic really is useful,” Caesar remarked. “You’ve also pretty much gotten certificates of completion in both pharmacy and herbology...”

That reminds me, President Caesar has probably taken the herbology exam.

“What is the lecture portion of herbology like?” I asked. “Ms. Makias said I only need to read the textbook, but I’m worried that won’t be enough, so I’m planning on attending the lectures.”

Benjamin burst into laughter.

“President Caesar has never made it far enough in herbology to get to the lecture portion!”

“And I’m betting that you won’t either!” Caesar snapped back.

You two probably kill all your plants because you’re so focused on alchemy.

“I’ll ask around about it, Patience,” Caesar said. “It would be nice if you could simply read the textbook, since that would free up more of your time.”

I was grateful for President Caesar’s words and endless love of alchemy.

“Thank you very much,” I said. I guess I’ll rely on him.

We proceeded to prepare several different mixtures with varying ratios of slime powder to charcoal. Both President Caesar and Benjamin were thorough during these steps.

“I think this is pretty good,” Caesar commented.

We’d succeeded in making the slime more durable, but it was much too hard to become a tire.

“This may be good for the brake pads,” I said.

We had a hard time deciding on a ratio to use for the tires, so I decided to leave the task in the boys’ hands. I went back to one of our failed slimes, which had very little charcoal in it. It was soft and squishy, which made it pleasant to touch.

“What if we were to use this squishy slime for the seats?” I suggested. I bet putting this slime under the leather seat cover would make it comfortable, I thought, and I began testing my theory out. “President Caesar, what do you think of this? Oh, it may also be good for use in carriage seats!”

Carriages were fine for traveling within Romano, but my butt had hurt after the longer trip to the summer palace. I figured it could be nice to have seat cushions made out of leather stuffed with slime. We had plenty of leather to work with, so I sewed some cushions and stuffed them to the brim with slime. Then, I tested one out by placing it on a chair and sitting on it. Yeah, this seems good! Next, I need to test its durability!

“This is probably good for the bicycle seat,” Caesar remarked. “You’re really good at coming up with ideas for commercial products, Patience. I bet those seat cushions will sell well among nobles who travel back and forth between Romano and their distant territories.”

“While I agree, I’m worried about the durability of the slime,” I replied.

President Caesar thought for a moment, then smiled.

“Slime powder is pretty inexpensive. After all, commoners use it for their bathrooms. I believe refilling the cushions when they deflate would suffice.”

“In that case, we could also sell this squishy slime wrapped in thin sheets of fabric, ready to be used as refills,” I suggested.

“You’re strange,” Benjamin commented. “You don’t know a lot of things that everyone knows, but you come up with amazing ideas.”

Benjamin had technically complimented me, but I agreed with his point that I lacked knowledge about common life in this world. Collecting all the chamber pots in a home to dump them out into a cesspit seems like a lot of work. They probably solidify the waste using slime powder to easily dispose of it. Well, that solidified waste still needs to be dumped in the cesspit.

Toilets that ran on magic stones also were connected to the cesspits, but they required additional construction to install in a home, like adding sewage pipes.

I know it’s more work, but I definitely want toilets to become a common part of homes.

Such thoughts weren’t getting us any closer to making a tire.

“It’s time for herbology, Sir Benjamin,” I pointed out.

All the unfinished projects were calling Benjamin’s name, but I shooed him out of the club.

“You don’t need to go, Patience?” President Caesar asked, looking confused that I’d stayed.

“Yes, I’ve passed the practical portion of herbology,” I replied, and he stared at me with intense envy. “Wouldn’t it be better for you to choose a different elective, President Caesar?”

Herbology just might not be a good fit for him. Not in terms of magical ability, but just that he might not have an interest in or fondness for herbs.

“Nope. When I enrolled in the mage track, I made a decision to complete every single course!”

In that case, all I can do is wish him luck.

We spent the rest of the day working on the bicycle tires. Today had turned out to be a hectic start to the week.

I didn’t have any free time on Tuesdays, so I woke up early the next morning as well. This made it the second day in a row that I’d visited the greenhouse in the morning.

My morning classes were geography and foreign language. I’d already returned the Dehn song books I’d borrowed from Mr. Morse. Princess Margaret and OG Patience were both talented in music and had good ears, so we’d both made a lot of improvement in our Dehn skills.

After lunch was sewing. My plans for my gown were to sew the main pieces together, then to sew on the polka dot pattern.

“I’m going to be in trouble if you get a certificate of completion,” Princess Margaret remarked during lunch.

Neither Prince Keith nor his friends would speak up when we were discussing the home ec track, since they didn’t know what might incur Princess Margaret’s anger.

“I may end up finishing my gown today, but I may have to sew as many as six gowns in total before I can pass the class,” I replied.

Neither the princess nor I had details on how the curriculum for sewing had changed.

“That may be true. After all, it would be sad if you were the only senior division student dressed in your uniform during the Festival of Verdure and the Harvest Festival.”

Actually, I think there are a lot of students who would prefer to attend in their uniforms, including you, Your Highness. I don’t want to even attend the dance in the first place; I’d at least be slightly more comfortable if I got to wear my uniform.

“It sounds like you’re forbidding her from getting a certificate of completion.”

Prince Keith and his friends had obediently stayed out of our conversion, but President Albert decided to chime in while passing by our table.

“My, of course not,” the princess responded. “Please refrain from saying things that would cause a misunderstanding.”

I don’t think there’s any misunderstanding here.

“Really? Then I guess all is well. I want Patience to get all the certificates of completion that she can, so she can keep writing new songs for us. I feel like she’s been directing all of her efforts toward the alchemy club these days.”

As usual, President Albert was annoying to deal with. Please don’t say stuff like that in front of Princess Margaret.

“You’re mistaken,” I said, nipping the allegation in the bud to prevent Princess Margaret from nagging me later.

“Am I? Ever since you joined the club, Caesar has been in a good mood.”

“Isn’t that because the alchemy club avoided dissolution?” I pointed out.

Also, he’s obsessed with making washing machines and bicycles. I guess his excitement is obvious to others too.

“Well, I’m sure that’s a part of it... Just what are you doing there, Patience?”

President Albert was the leader of the music club, so he had no right to order me around in regard to alchemy club matters.

“You’ll have to ask President Caesar,” I replied.

President Albert just huffed and walked away. For some reason, Prince Keith seemed surprisingly displeased by all this. I could understand Princess Margaret being upset, though her objections would be unreasonable and motivated by her love of music. But why was Prince Keith of all people annoyed? He had nothing to do with this.

Ralph and Hugo began talking to the prince about various things, trying to take his mind off of whatever was upsetting him.

Wait, is this my fault? No, that doesn’t make any sense.

During sewing class, I gave Ms. Cameron two needle threaders as a sample of the upcoming product.

“My, these are quite useful.”

Ms. Cameron immediately understood how they were meant to be used, and she seemed pleased. I knew it. People who do needlework understand how useful these are.

Of course, I gave some to Princess Margaret as well. I taught her how they were used, and she was incredibly pleased.

“You made this using alchemy as well, Patience? That hot water bottle is so warm, and it’s been very nice. I’d love to give both these needle threaders and some hot water bottles to my mother and Jane as well.”

It seemed that Princess Margaret was now slightly more willing to forgive me for double-dipping into alchemy club.

“I’d be happy to,” I replied.

I was visiting the palace this Friday, so I planned to make the hot water bottles and needle threaders by then.

Princess Margaret and I continued to chat as we worked on our pieces, and I managed to finish my dress.

“I’d love to buy these needle threaders through the academy, Patience,” Ms. Cameron said. I’d called her over to check my work, but somehow we were discussing the needle threaders. “Where can I get these?”

I agree that everyone in class probably needs one. Ms. Cameron was lending her needle threaders to the particularly clumsy students. I wonder who those people could be...

“This is something I made, and it will soon be sold by the Burns Trading Company.” Ms. Cameron seemed passionate about getting her hands on them as soon as possible. “Are you looking to purchase them for the embroidery classes as well? If it is only a handful, I could make them myself, but if a large quantity will be necessary, I must ask that you urge the Burns Trading Company to begin production and sales as soon as possible.”

Ms. Cameron said she would speak to Ms. McNally and the other home ec teachers before bringing the discussion to the Burns Trading Company.

Promoting your products is an important part of business.

“Oh, I see that you’ve finished your gown, Patience. Yes, you sewed it very well.”

It’s time to find out whether I’m getting a certificate of completion or if I have to sew six whole gowns. My heart is racing a bit.

“If this were last year, I would’ve given you a certificate of completion for your level of skill. I’m sure you’re aware that the curriculum got a bit stricter this year. Unfortunately, I’ll need you to also sew a winter gown before I give you a certificate of completion.”

Though it wasn’t a total of six garments, I did still have to sew another piece. I could hear Princess Margaret quietly letting out a sigh of relief. After all, she always managed to do crazy things when I wasn’t looking. I’m going to try to teach her the basics while I can.

“I’ll have the fabrics for the winter gowns ready by next week,” Ms. Cameron informed me, so the rest of today was going to be spent on making sure Princess Margaret sewed as much of her gown as possible!

“It looks like you’ve completed most of the skirt portion,” I remarked. “Next is sewing the front and back bodice pieces, then you’ll sew that onto the skirt. Once you do that, the basting will be complete.”

I used some tailor’s chalk and drew the same symbol on the pieces that were meant to be sewn together. With that, the princess would know where to sew to be ready for next week.

“You should be careful around Caesar and Benjamin, Patience,” Princess Margaret suddenly warned while pinning together the pieces marked with the same symbol.

I just stared at her, confused.

“Ugh! You don’t understand your own worth!” the princess grumbled. “Albert is obsessed with your musical talent, and those two will surely become obsessed with your skills in alchemy. You’re the only girl in alchemy club, so you must watch out for yourself.”

Though I had lots of ideas, I didn’t have the skill yet to bring them to life. Princess Margaret didn’t know that, and at the moment, more important than my safety in alchemy club was the fact that she was pinning things out of place!

“Lady Margaret, you must pin the pieces together correctly. Otherwise, the dress won’t come out like the pattern.”

It was difficult to pin things properly, so I could understand why the princess struggled. What I found more concerning was that the princess’s sewing speed seemed incredibly slow. Basting stitches were basically long running stitches, so this should have been a quick process. I really need to make a sewing machine! It won’t need a magic stone, so I can probably sell them through the Burns Trading Company! Wait, the problem there is that I don’t really remember the specifics of the components of a sewing machine. I guess I’ll have to save that idea for later.

My current priorities were building a washing machine, a bicycle, and an ice cream maker. I was personally interested in making a hair iron, as well as magic lamps for Mary and my father. I was also thinking of making some hair irons as gifts for my aunts and my cousin Lucene.

I didn’t know what would make a good gift for Lord Salius, but I wanted to thank him for the sword fighting lessons he gave my brothers. I didn’t even know what life was like for a knight, so I couldn’t begin to imagine what he might need.

I wish I could’ve explored more of the Burns Trading Company store.

Chapter 7: Lots of Activity!

It felt like this entire week was going to be about slime. Slime powder was actually quite the complex material.

“I think this ratio is good,” Caesar announced.

After lots of trial and error, we’d finally settled on an ideal ratio of slime powder to charcoal. Unfortunately, this was only the beginning of our journey to creating tires.

“I want to fill the tires with air,” I explained.

In order to do that, I first had to make a pump, as well as a metallic valve stem and cap. I thought back to the tires from my previous life as I drew out the details of the parts.

“I see, so this is how you get the air inside.” Once he understood, President Caesar seemed fired up, and he proceeded to make the pump, as well as the valve parts. “You try making the tires,” he instructed. “You need to make them the right size to fit the existing wheel.”

Usually, a bicycle tire was a tube separate from the rim, but for now we were making a solid piece that was attached to the wheel we had. This was a point that could be improved in the future.

I set the metal wheel and valve parts in front of our slime-charcoal mixture, then visualized a tire from my previous life.

“Become tires!” I incanted, pouring a good deal of mana into my casting.

“Whoa, so this is a tire!” Caesar exclaimed while inspecting one. “Let’s try filling it with air!”

I never would have imagined I’d find myself in another world using an air pump to fill bicycle tires. As I worked to inflate the tires, Benjamin suddenly demanded I switch with him, so he took over the pumping.

Man, I have no stamina at all! I thought as I caught my breath.

As Benjamin worked on the tires, I decided to make three more hot water bottles and several needle threaders, since I wanted to bring them with me to the palace on Friday.

“The tires aren’t filling up with air,” Caesar remarked. “We may need to rethink the construction of this pump.”

It seemed like air was leaking from somewhere, and Benjamin was also exhausted.

“Yes, but for now, let’s attach the wheels to the bicycle!” I said.

“We absolutely should!”

The three of us worked together to attach the wheels to the bicycle, then we stuffed the leather seat with some soft slime. We used the hard slime mixture for the brake pads, and we also added some thin strips of leather to the handles.

It’s getting a lot closer to the bicycles I remember!

“Try riding it, Patience,” Caesar encouraged.

Both our president and Benjamin could only waddle forward with their feet, so I hopped onto the bicycle and pedaled it around our clubroom.

“It’s quite good,” I commented.

It was then that I ran out of time. I had to head to Embroidery III, where I wanted to learn some more needle painting skills before I allowed myself to use household magic.

“You could afford to skip your classes just a little bit, Patience,” Benjamin said.

I was completely flabbergasted by his comment. Even if I were okay with skipping class in principle, I actually wanted to take embroidery. It helped me get side jobs, and I enjoyed doing it.

“No, I will go to class!” I responded firmly, then left the club.

Though I’d acted like a diligent student at alchemy club, the truth was that there was a part of me still thinking about other possible uses of slime powder during embroidery class. Not only could it be used for cushions and balls, but if it had similar properties to rubber, then it could also be used to create elastic for use in fabric. If we could turn it into a water-repellent material, we could make capes, tents, and covers for wagons!

“I’ll be giving you a certificate of completion, Patience,” Ms. McNally said.

Shoot! I got so wrapped up in thinking about how to profit from slime powder that I unconsciously used household magic! I’d accidentally finished up my needle painting piece.

“I’m so sorry, Ms. McNally. I accidentally used my household magic. I still have much to learn about needle painting, so a certificate of completion at this point would be problematic.”

Ms. McNally inspected the entirety of the landscape I’d needle painted.

“I have nothing left to teach you,” she insisted. “Also, I wanted to tell you that these needle threaders are amazing. I’ve spoken to the sewing instructor about them as well. Please let the Burns Trading Company know that we’d like them in stock as soon as possible.”

My needle threaders seemed to be quite popular with those who did needlework. I hope they sell well! Of course, I asked for them to be priced affordably, so I’m only going to make a small profit off of each one.

This world seemed tough for both children and women. Needlework didn’t earn you a lot of money, but it was a job that even older women could do, so I had hopes for the needle threaders to be useful for those who would need them.

Convex glasses for the elderly might also be a good invention!

“Ms. McNally, you mentioned before that wives used to embroider their husbands’ surcoats. Is it all right for someone who is neither a wife nor a fiancée to embroider a cape and gift it?”

Ms. McNally seemed to be the type to love anything romance related. She squealed with joy and clasped her hands together like an innocent schoolgirl. Even the other students couldn’t help themselves from listening in on our conversation.

“That is absolutely fine, but if you are not careful, the recipient may think you are fond of him.”

“Um, I was actually thinking of giving a cape to my cousin, but would that be inappropriate? He gives my brothers sword fighting lessons, and I’d like to thank him with a gift.”

The room filled with sighs of obvious disappointment. I didn’t realize people liked discussing romance this much. I guess it’s fair, since there isn’t much in terms of entertainment in this world.

“There is nothing wrong with gifting your cousin with a cape,” Ms. McNally assured me. “Oh, I have an idea! I heard in the teachers’ office that you’re also enrolled in mage track electives. If I recall correctly, there is supposedly a magic circle that grants protection that you can embroider onto a cape. I remember reading about it in a historic tale about knights.”

I hope this historical romance about knights is accurate...

Though I wasn’t sure if it was even real, it certainly would be nice to add a magic circle of protection onto the cape. I also wanted to use slime powder to make it water-repellent! After all, Lord Salius would visit us at least twice a month, and serving him tea didn’t feel like enough of an expression of gratitude.

For Lucene, who sent her daughter’s riding instructor over for the boys, I wanted to prepare a hair iron and a needle painting. I think her husband’s from a port town, so maybe a seascape would be good.

A hair iron alone would probably be enough of a gift for my aunts. Oh, but if they’re going to visit their husbands’ territories, maybe it would be good to give them the slime seat cushions too. I bet their butts hurt during their travels. It’ll also serve as a free sample that can be field-tested.

Over the weekend, I would be delivering the signed contract for hot water bottles and needle threaders back to the Burns Trading Company. While I was there, I wanted to buy some leather, as well as a cheap cape to experiment with a water-repellant slime coating. If the experiment went well, I planned on giving the cape to George, since he also served as our family’s carriage driver. The passengers were fine in the rain, but the driver got soaking wet, so it would be nice if he could have a protective cape.

Since I’d gotten a certificate of completion, I left embroidery and went to find Mr. Kubrick, who taught magic circles. I asked him if there was a magic circle of protection.

“A magic circle of protection? What are you going to use it for?”

It exists!

“My cousin is a member of the First Cavalry Division,” I explained to Mr. Kubrick. “I was thinking I could embroider it onto a cape for him.”

Mr. Kubrick nodded understandingly, then he groaned. Is something wrong?

“I believe the members of the First Cavalry Division wear matching capes, but I’ve also heard that some of them embroider their family crest or the name of a patron saint onto their capes. I don’t think there’s any issue with embroidering a magic circle of protection onto the cape, but it’ll be a lot of work. It also won’t be effective if you use regular thread.”

Magic circles were operated by magic stones, which was likely why standard embroidery floss wouldn’t be effective. I was quite disappointed.

“Wait, does that mean there is an embroidery floss that would work?” I asked.

Mr. Kubrick smiled. I have a bad feeling about this.

“In the past, there was a hero who is said to have donned a cape with a magic circle of protection embroidered onto it. It sounded so exciting, I did tons of research into it. You have skills in dyeing, embroidery, and alchemy, in addition to knowledge of magic circles. I encourage you to combine these skills and find a way to make this magically protected cape a reality.”

So he’s just a guy chasing after a dream based on a heroic story he read as a kid... Well, to be honest, I don’t mind that. I’m going to take on this challenge!

“Here is the research I gathered,” Mr. Kubrick said, handing me a messy pile of papers. “I truly hope you succeed.”

It was very clear that this research had been a hobby of his. It’s going to be hard work to read through all of this. I feel like I have extra homework to do over the weekend.

“If Henry is going to become a knight, I absolutely need to be able to embroider a protective magic circle onto his cape,” I mumbled to myself, “so I may as well start looking into this.”

This was not only a token of my gratitude toward my cousin, but an endeavor for the sake of my beloved younger brother. Your sister is going to do her best!

This cape business was going to take a lot of work. Just organizing Mr. Kubrick’s research into useful and irrelevant documents was going to be a big task. I set that matter aside for now and headed to music club.

I’d already finished composing all of the songs for the glee club, and I’d already prepared several new pieces for the music club’s own performance, so I thought I was set. Unfortunately, reality wasn’t so simple.

“You’ve written your new pieces already, right, Patience?” President Albert asked. “In that case, we’re going to visit the glee club.”

What? Why do I have to go to the glee club?

“Did you finish the lyrics, Albert?!” Princess Margaret asked with, well, glee. Not only was she not stopping him from dragging me off, but she seemed to now be leading the way.

“They’re finally done, so the glee club is going to start song rehearsals. I think it’s best for the composer to be there for that. If there are any high notes that are impossible for them to hit, we may have to make adjustments.”

That’s something you could handle on your own, President Albert, I complained internally. I don’t want to end up fighting with the choir club. Louise is scaaary.

“Wow, I didn’t realize that the glee club is in the same room as the choir club,” Princess Margaret remarked. “They have enough members to be a full club on their own. Student Council President Rufus must be a slow worker.”

It was definitely a problem that the choir club and glee club were forced to keep using the same clubroom, despite the fact that there were other clubrooms available. It was also probably uncomfortable for them, since they’d initially been part of the same club. I was perhaps naive to think of all this as someone else’s problem.

“This seems like too many people to be the glee club,” President Albert commented.

Even before he’d pointed it out, it was obvious there were a great many female students. They were likely the members of the choir club. After all, Louise was among them.

Ugh, I want to run away! I feel like we’re on our way to an argument!

“Hey, thanks for coming, Albert,” a student greeted him. He was probably the glee club’s president, Marcus Lambert. He had dark blond hair and brown eyes—kind of a textbook display of handsomeness. He’s too grown for my own tastes.

“What’s going on, Marcus?” Albert asked. “I thought we were starting rehearsals. Are you going to be performing with the choir club after all?”

Saying stuff like that is going to start a fight, President Albert!

Just as I’d expected, a fierce-looking student glared over at us.

“This is the choir club’s room,” she huffed. “I believe we’ve ordered former members to leave the premises, but it seems you’ve forgotten.”

Harsh, but I agree that a separate club should be held in a separate clubroom. I guess the student council hasn’t gotten around to handling this since they were overwhelmed by all that stuff with the knight club. But even if that’s the reason they’re behind, they’re taking way too long to resolve this.

“The choir club meets on Mondays and Wednesdays, President Emilia,” Marcus pointed out. “That is why the glee club only meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Why are you here on a Thursday?”

“We’re here to practice for the Festival of Verdure,” Emilia replied. “Do you have a problem with that?”

Oh, they were trading off days, but the choir club decided to be mean and show up on a Thursday. How childish of them. Instead of being so petty, they should try to be more positive and focus on practicing. Of course, I’m not kind enough to give them that advice. I’m also too scared to say anything.

The argument appeared to be heating up, so the members of the music club decided to leave. I was glad to see that even President Albert had the smarts to stay out of a fight between the glee club and the choir club.

I naively thought that we had avoided conflict, only to find out that the music club had caught a stray bullet. President Marcus had gone on to speak to the student council about speeding up the process for the glee club to be officially recognized, and as a result, the glee club was finally able to get its own clubroom.

That in itself was fine; however, it had led to President Emilia of the choir club lodging a complaint with the student council against the music club, stating that it wasn’t right for the glee club alone to receive new compositions from the music club. She’d likewise complained about the dance club, who’d provided choreography for the glee club’s musical.

Doesn’t she have anything better to do?!

I had suspicions that President Albert had fanned the flames of Marcus’s dissatisfaction with the choir club, and that the former had been the one who’d encouraged the latter to start the glee club. If that were true, I definitely didn’t deserve to get wrapped up in this kerfuffle.

It was now Friday. I was visiting the palace after school. I was free during third period, but Princess Margaret had embroidery, so I wouldn’t be leaving just yet.

“I’d like to do some experiments with slime powder in alchemy club, but if I go, I don’t think I’ll be able to leave,” I mumbled to myself.

I instead decided to read through Mr. Kubrick’s research. First, I skimmed through all the documents and separated them into three general piles: documents about magic circles, documents about magic stones, and documents about embroidery floss. As I’d expected, there was the least amount of research on embroidery floss.

This world doesn’t do that fantasy cliché of using spiderwebs to embroider, does it? That totally wouldn’t work... Wait, silk is just spit out by moths, so I guess it could be possible.

As I was staring at the piles of documents, deciding which to start reading through, there was a knock on my door. The only people who visited my room were Princess Margaret, her attendant Zofie, or Mary. Yeah, I don’t have a lot of friends; so what?

“Who is it?” I asked, unsure of who else it could be.

“It’s Louise.”

Huh? Louise doesn’t live in the dorms though... I guess maybe she’s allowed to enter because she’s a girl? I don’t think Princess Margaret’s friends ever visited the dorms... Whatever, it’d be childish of me to turn her away, even though I have a bad feeling about this.

“Come in,” I said, opening the door for her.

Louise swiftly stepped in, perhaps so that she wouldn’t be caught by the housemother. She definitely sneaked in. I knew something was up.

“How do you do?” I greeted her, trying to get some more information out of her.

“Fine, thank you,” she replied. “May I sit?”

No, you may not. I feel like I’m going to be dragged into a muddy swamp.

Before I could respond, Louise just sat down. Judging from her behavior, she was perhaps quite desperate.

“I’m here today to discuss the music club,” she said.

Not the choir club? I can feel storm clouds coming in.

“My, what about the music club?” I replied, feigning ignorance.

“President Marcus from the glee club is in the same class as the music club’s President Albert. President Emilia is also in second-year Class A with them.”

Wow, I know quite a few of the senior division’s second year students. President Caesar and Percival are also Year 2 Class A. I wanted to think about anything else, since Louise was implying that the choir club knew that President Albert had cajoled Marcus into starting the glee club.

However, there probably wasn’t any proof of this. Even President Albert had the wits to not announce his plans loudly in front of the class.

Or would he? No, I think we should be fine. Louise is probably bluffing, trying to bait me into revealing something. She sure has underestimated me.

“My, I had no idea,” I responded.

I can easily play the part of an innocent schoolgirl. To be fair, I don’t even know what really happened. I can just imagine it happening; that’s all.

“Not only that, but the music club has also provided the glee club with new songs, and has requested help from the dance club. Many are saying this is exactly like the recent incident with the knight club. I came here to warn you, because it would be terrible if the club that Princess Margaret is a member of were to be dissolved.”

That doesn’t make any sense. The knight club was doing things like forcing the riding club to care for their horses, and making the magic club join in on their practice.

“As far as I’m aware, the music club was simply asked by the glee club for help, so we provided them with new songs,” I explained. “The same goes for the dance club. No one has been put at a disadvantage by helping the glee club.”

Louise raised an eyebrow. She’d probably expected the threat of the music club dissolving to scare me. Sucks for you, Louise.

“I apologize for cutting things short, but I am to accompany Princess Margaret to the royal palace today,” I said. “I have to get ready, so I must ask you to leave.”

Louise glared at me. She’d been upset by the fact that I’d been chosen to be Princess Margaret’s lady’s maid ever since I’d first been appointed to serve her, and apparently still held a grudge.

“Those songs are better suited for the choir club,” Louise argued. “Also, it’s completely blasphemous to include a song dedicated to God in that stale romance.”

Her true feelings were finally out. She’d probably seen the glee club’s sheet music or had heard them rehearsing.

“Amazing Grace” is an incredible song, so I can see why Louise would want to sing it.

“Why don’t you switch to the glee club, Lady Louise?” I suggested. “The choir club has too many female students, while the glee club doesn’t have enough.”

Louise was quite good at singing, but the choir club was a girl’s club. Not only was seniority prioritized, but they also seemed like they were strict about noble hierarchy. Since Louise was the daughter of a count, she was in the upper tier in terms of status, but she probably wouldn’t be getting any solos as a junior division student. Even if she managed to get a solo, the choir club’s performance happened at the same time as the knight club’s competition, which was the main event of the festival.

“That wouldn’t...” she mumbled. “That song is so perfect for me...”

Can you do all this complaining at home? Please leave already.

Louise was quite greedy. She didn’t want to move into the dorms, but she still wanted to be Princess Margaret’s lady’s maid. She wanted to sing good songs, but she didn’t want to leave her storied club to join the newfangled glee club.

She’d been born to a count, bestowed with light magic, had good grades, and was a beautiful girl. On paper, she appeared to have nothing to complain about, but there seemed to be things she couldn’t stand. I don’t want to get involved with this spoiled noble lady.

Once Louise left, I found myself still feeling frustrated.

“If you want to be the princess’s lady’s maid that badly, just move into the dorms!” I snapped at no one. Yelling helped me feel refreshed. OG Patience was a proper lady who wouldn’t normally do such a thing, but I needed to let loose from time to time.

I wrapped up the hot water bottles and the covers I’d sewn in some cloth, and I wrapped the needle threaders in some paper. I ended up having a lot of luggage. Third period was about to end, so I needed to hurry to Princess Margaret’s room.

Once we were at the palace, Zofie carried the hot water bottles for me. It was apparently wrong to make a noble lady carry things.

“I’ve returned, mother,” Princess Margaret announced, greeting the queen gracefully.

“Welcome back, Margaret,” the queen replied. “Have a seat, Patience.”

Princess Margaret sat down, and I took a seat beside her.

“Patience brought hot water bottles for you and Jane,” the princess shared. “She also brought some needle threaders.”

Zofie proceeded to set the hot water bottles down in front of the queen.

“What are these used for?” the queen asked.

Princess Margaret handled the explanation. Since she’d been using the hot water bottle I’d given her, she’d gotten quite familiar with it.

“At night, you fill it with hot water through this opening, and it will keep you warm in bed, making for a very comfortable sleeping experience,” the princess explained. “The water stays warm enough that you can also use it in the morning to wash your face.”

The queen listened to Princess Margaret’s explanation with a smile.

“This will be a wonderful item for those who cannot afford magic stones, or much firewood. Thank you very much, Patience.”

I should have expected no less from the queen than to immediately think of the poorer subjects that this invention could help. Next, I pulled out the needle threaders that I’d wrapped in paper and handed them to Princess Margaret.

“These are needle threaders that Patience made,” the princess explained, handing the parcel to her mother. “I have also used them in sewing and embroidery, and they’re incredibly useful. I wanted you and Jane to have them as well.”

The queen opened up the paper wrapping and looked at the needle threaders. She seemed to immediately understand how they were used.

“These look quite useful, Patience. I’m also glad to hear that Margaret is making a diligent effort in her sewing and embroidery classes.” The queen then noticed that there were three hot water bottles. “Oh, I thought you’d brought these for Jane and myself. Who is this one for?”

Since I was a shotacon, I couldn’t help but make one for Prince Marcus. Perhaps it would have been better to have made one for the king.

“That hot water bottle is for Prince Marcus,” I replied. “I thought he should have one, because my younger brothers have also said that it has helped them sleep soundly.”

The king can buy one from the Burns Trading Company.

In the end, I couldn’t help but prioritize the shota.

The queen let out a hearty chuckle.

“You’re very kind to those weaker than you, Patience. It’s a wonderful quality to have.”

I didn’t do it for any sort of impressive reason like that, I thought, feeling a bit bashful.

“Patience has also composed several wonderful pieces for the glee club’s performance during the Festival of Verdure,” Princess Margaret announced.

Though the princess had succeeded in passing Etiquette I, it seemed that she would still prefer to avoid questions related to academics. I proceeded to play several pieces for the queen, then I was given a ride home.

It was nice to get an extra night with my brothers. I was going to be in their room until dinner, so I could catch up on what had happened while I’d been away.

“I’m going to study hard so I can skip ahead as well, sister,” Nassius announced.

I wanted to let him know that he didn’t have to work so hard, but truthfully, senior division classes were much more interesting than junior division classes.

“Just don’t push yourself too much,” I cautioned him.

Nassius was probably going to do well in academic subjects. For practical ones, which PE teacher he ended up with would likely be the biggest factor in whether he could pass. If he ended up having Mr. Cuthbert, he was probably going to struggle. Even Russell had complained about his class.

It was the next day, and I had plans to visit the Burns Trading Company in the afternoon, so I wanted to go over the contract with Wyatt during the morning.

“There are no issues with this contract, my lady,” Wyatt said. “You will need the viscount’s signature here, and your signature here, then you should be set to deliver it.”

Wyatt then handed me two small notebooks.

“What are these?”

“This one is a pocket ledger for your bank account,” he explained. “I believe it would be best to have the Burns Trading Company deposit your earnings into this account. The second is a checkbook.”

I was surprised to have my own bank account. Sure, Aunt Lilianna had given me an envelope with what seemed like a check as payment for tutoring Samuel, but I’d never expected I’d have my own account and checks.

“I was hoping that the money could be used for the household,” I explained to Wyatt. My main reason for coming up with all these inventions using alchemy had been to help the angels.

“The vegetables from the garden, the harvests from the greenhouse, and your earnings from side jobs are enough for the household, my lady. Ideally, you would have never had to take side jobs in the first place... Please use this money for your future.”

I was an eleven-year-old with a checkbook, but I could only spend the amount of money in my account, which for now was the one-hundred-tiem minimum deposit that had been necessary to open the account. Even so, it was nice to have money I could spend freely!

I headed to my father’s study to have him sign the contract.

“Father, is it really all right for me to have my own account and checkbook?” I asked.

I was a child who couldn’t even sign contracts on my own. Was it really okay to let me have a checkbook?

“That’s for the profit you’ll be earning from inventions you came up with. Of course you should use it.”

Unlike Wyatt’s response, my father’s words were a bit more idealistic, but that was fine.

Once my father signed the contract, I signed my name below his. I was surprised to see that he had incredible penmanship. In my mind, academics were people with messy handwriting, but perhaps this was to be expected, since we were nobles.

Oh, I should teach Nassius and Henry calligraphy too!

I spent the rest of the morning with the angels, jumping rope and picking strawberries in the greenhouse. Since they’d both grown, I allowed them to each eat up to six strawberries. These strawberries were smaller than the ones from my previous life, so it didn’t feel excessive. I also picked some to bring as a gift for the Burns family.

Just as we’d planned, President Caesar arrived by carriage to pick me up. He greeted my father, then Mary and I boarded the carriage. This time, I wanted to do some shopping at the Burns Trading Company store, so Mary had gotten some money from Wyatt. Apparently, a noble lady wasn’t supposed to carry money around, and her attendant was to pay for her.

Now that I think about it, this is going to be my first time shopping in his world!

This time, Duchess Burns also joined us. She was an incredibly gorgeous woman. Is she really Caesar’s mom? I guess he mostly got his father’s genes. I don’t see any of the duchess’s elegance in Caesar.

“You must be Lady Patience, one of the new members of the alchemy club,” Duchess Burns said. “If Caesar ever causes you any trouble, you must let me know. I will give him a proper scolding.”

On the surface, she was just a beautiful mother, but it seemed that she was quite the plucky parent. It also seemed that Caesar was scared of his mother. He was like a kitten being seized by the scruff of his neck.

“It seems that my mother has taken a liking to you, Lady Patience,” Caesar remarked. “It’s rare for her to be fond of a young noble lady.”

The duchess then smiled at me. The people of this world sometimes have terrifying smiles.

“You’re one to talk, Caesar,” the duchess said. “You seem to like Lady Patience as well. Be careful, as you mustn’t push a young lady too hard. Your obsession with alchemy may blind you at times. Do not forget to be considerate of others just because you are feeling fine.”

She’s right. Sometimes the alchemy club keeps going even though it’s pitch-black outside. Bryce is the only one looking out for me.

“Thank you very much,” I replied simply.

In fairness, I should be warning them myself.

After that, Duke Burns signed the contract, and the objective of my visit was satisfied.

“I’ve been contacted by the Royal Academy; some teachers were asking if we could get some stock in of the needle threaders as soon as possible,” Duke Burns reported. “Now that the contract is signed, we can begin manufacturing them.”

Looks like my efforts to promote them worked!

“Did you do something, Patience?” President Caesar asked, keen as ever.

“I simply gifted the sewing and embroidery instructors with samples of the needle threaders,” I said. “Oh, I also gave some hot water bottles and needle threaders to Her Majesty, so there may be an order for more coming from the palace.”

There was a sparkle in Duke Burns’s eye. He likely sensed that this would be a great business opportunity. It seemed like he was ready to take off, but the duchess stopped him.

“Lady Patience, would you like some tea— Alois, what are you doing?”

The duke couldn’t go against his wife. He sat back down, and we all had tea together.

“Is that bicycle you mentioned before ready yet?” the duke asked.

I guess he hasn’t given up on the bike. Even President Caesar looks exasperated.

“Father, the bicycle still has many more improvements to go through before it’s ready for sale,” Caesar replied.

He’d probably meant that as a declination to share more, but it was a clumsy move. Just as I expected, the duke seemed intrigued.

“That must mean it’s almost complete. I’d love to take a look at it.”

See, I was right! Don’t come crying to me now, President Caesar. After all, I think it’s better if we can sell a bunch of these. I’m not just working on improvements to have fun.

I ignored President Caesar and took another sip of tea.

What a wonderful aroma.

Chapter 8: My First Time Shopping

After having tea with the Burnses, I was escorted by President Caesar to the Burns Trading Company store. There, Mr. Powell was going to take care of setting up my account so I could receive my earnings.

Hee hee, I’m so excited! I’m going shopping for the very first time!

I was grinning with delight, and Mary tugged at my sleeve. Apparently my behavior wasn’t very ladylike.

“You’re acting weird, Patience,” President Caesar said. Even he was suspicious of my cheerful demeanor.

“This is my first time going shopping,” I explained. “Mary is always going out to purchase things for me.”

“Isn’t that normal for noble ladies?”

You just don’t get it, President Caesar! Sure, online shopping from my previous life wasn’t so different from having someone buy you things, but it’s more fun to go in person and pick out things for yourself!

We arrived at the store and immediately headed up to the third floor to see the manager, Mr. Powell.

Just going up these stairs is enough to make me winded. I really need to get stronger.

“Are you all right, Patience?” President Caesar said, seeming surprised by how quickly I’d gotten exhausted.

Even Mary was perfectly fine. I was way too weak.

“I’d like the usage fee to be paid to this account, Mr. Powell,” I said, handing him my brand new pocket ledger from the bank.

“You have one of those?” Caesar remarked.

“My father had an account made for me for this deal,” I explained.

Mr. Powell wrote my account number down into his own account book. Since I wanted my products to be sold at small margins so we could sell more, I suspected I wouldn’t be making much of a profit. Even so, it was nice to have some money that I could spend freely.

“All that is left is the shopping I wanted to do, so you are free to return home if you’d like, President Caesar,” I said.

Caesar glared at me.

“I’ve promised Viscount Granger that I would look after you. I can’t just toss my duties aside without getting you home safely.”

Social etiquette in this world is so exhausting.

Since we both had rules to follow, I looked around the shop with President Caesar and Mary.

“What are you looking for?” Caesar asked.

Shopping isn’t just about finding the item you’re looking for, President Caesar. It’s the process of looking around the store, then deciding what you’re going to buy. He just doesn’t get it.

“I’d like to get a cape for our servant, George.”

Both President Caesar and Mary gave me a strange look.

“I don’t think that’s something you need to be buying,” Caesar remarked.

Mary nodded in agreement.

“I’m interested in making the cape water-repellant,” I replied. “That way, he won’t get wet on rainy or snowy days.”

President Caesar held his head in his hands.

“You always say the most bizarre things. Do you know how many things we could make if it was possible to turn fabric water-repellent?”

“Yes, I do. That is exactly why I’d like to try it out. If I succeed, I’d also like to use it to make covers for wagons, as well as tents.”

There was a sparkle in President Caesar’s eyes.

He’s just like President Albert.

“It sounds like you have an idea to make this possible. Tell me!!!”

President Caesar was so terrifyingly emphatic that I reflexively hid behind Mary.

“I need to do some experimentation before I know if it will work,” I said from behind my maid. “It’s only theoretical at this point.”

“Then tell me what this idea is. We’ll invite Benjamin over right away and start experimenting!”

He wasn’t going to let this go, so I decided to accept the help. After all, testing different ratios of mixtures was going to be annoying to do on my own.

“Slime powder thickens when water is added to it. If we add an additional component that will help make it water-repellant, we may be able to paint that onto fabric.”

“Hmm...”

Since President Caesar seemed to have calmed down, I stepped out from behind Mary.

If I remember correctly, waterproofing sprays were made out of silicone resin. During my previous life, I had always used waterproofing spray on my canvas and suede shoes, so I’d looked into the contents of the spray. That silicone was made out of silicon dioxide. I remember learning in chemistry that quartz is made out of silicon dioxide. I wonder if the same applies here? Oh, I have an idea!

“Does the shop have any quartz sand, the material used to make glass?”

I’m an idiot! Quartz sand is just crushed quartz, which means it’s silicone dioxide! I should’ve learned more chemistry.

“We have both quartz sand and slime powder in the clubroom,” President Caesar replied.

“In that case, I’ll only need to purchase the cape. I also have plenty of other things I’d like to test out, so I must get some embroidery floss as well. I may even need a magic stone.”

I still wanted to embroider a magic circle of protection onto Lord Salius’s cape, and I’d come to the conclusion that it likely wouldn’t work without a magic stone. In the research that I’d gone through, there had been references to a magic stone being sewn onto the cape. It made sense, since magic stones were needed to activate magic circles.

“Will you tell me your ideas, Patience? You’ve got more plans than just the waterproofing, don’t you?”

My mention of purchasing a magic stone had likely made Caesar realize my other tests were for a different project.

“This is a project based on some research that Mr. Kubrick did,” I explained. “It has to do with a hero who was said to have donned a cape with a magic circle of protection embroidered on it.”

President Caesar leaned in way too close, and without thinking, I once again hid behind Mary.

“You must be referring to Magius the Dragon Slayer!!!”

He’s pretty much screaming. Boys sure do love stories about heroes. I have memories of OG Patience reading them too, but she never got this excited.

Mary held her arm out as if to shield me from President Caesar.

“Yes, that was the name that came up in Mr. Kubrick’s research. However, I’m not sure if the stories about his cape are true. My cousin is in the First Cavalry Division, and he gives my brothers lessons in sword fighting, so I thought this cape might be a nice way to thank him.”

“Don’t be ridiculous! This is so much bigger than a mere gift!”

After raising his voice, Caesar sat on the floor.

I hope he isn’t feeling sick or anything...

The next moment, Mr. Powell arrived.

I guess screaming at a noble lady who’s hiding behind her attendant is bound to draw people’s attention.

“You’re causing a disruption, Sir Caesar,” Mr. Powell said reprovingly. “If you could please just continue this discussion in my office...”

President Caesar immediately stood up, exhaled deeply, then apologized to me.

“I’m sorry for raising my voice, Patience. The Dragon Slayer’s cape is something I’ve long dreamed of, so I lost my composure. I caused trouble for your attendant as well. If there’s anything you want, I’d like to get it for you as an apology.”

Since I’d been hiding behind Mary, she’d been the one yelled at by Caesar. I should apologize too.

“I’m sorry, Mary.”

“I am all right, my lady,” she replied, looking a bit pale.

From now on, I won’t hide behind her.

“I’d like to make it up to you by buying a magic lamp,” I said. “It will be a better light source than candles when you’re working with a needle. We’ll have President Caesar buy the magic stone.”

President Caesar insisted that a single magic stone wouldn’t make for a proper apology, so he ended up buying us several stones.

“You’ll be able to use the lamp for a while now,” I remarked.

Mary gave me a look that said Is this really all right?

“This is a gift of apology for causing you trouble,” I said. “Please do accept it.”

After that, I bought a large men’s cape, a magic stone, and lots of embroidery thread. I probably could’ve bought the embroidery floss at a specialty shop, but Mr. Powell said I would get an employee discount, which I couldn’t pass up.

President Caesar insisted on also paying for the magic lamp, and though it was difficult to turn him down, I was determined to buy it on my own. Using Mary as a shield was my own mistake.

I began checking out, and it seemed like Mr. Powell was giving me much too large of a discount.

“Um, this seems like I am only paying for the magic lamp,” I pointed out.

“Well, I believe that this is the start to a long relationship, Lady Patience,” Mr. Powell replied with a smile.

Though I didn’t think he was totally lying, part of the discount was likely as an apology for Caesar’s behavior.

“Thank you very much,” I said, deciding not to argue and accept his kindness.

If we succeed at making water-repellent fabric, I’ll leave sales to him!

Once we were done shopping, we headed home in the Burnses’ carriage. Even after his outburst at the store, President Caesar still wanted to discuss my ideas.

“When are you going to test out the waterproofing, Patience? Also, when are you going to start working on the embroidered cape?”

Mary looked exasperated by him.

“I am planning on doing lots of experimentation at alchemy club to test out waterproofing methods,” I replied. “As for the cape with the magic circle of protection, I believe Mr. Kubrick’s research is enough to design the magic circle itself, but I think I may need to look more into what sort of embroidery floss is necessary. There isn’t much research on the thread used. Magic circles drawn onto paper or stone don’t move around, but a cape will flutter around. The thread may need to be able to conduct mana. I also need to think about how the magic stone will be attached... In other words, I won’t be able to start working on it right away.”

President Caesar listened to what I had to say until the very end, without interrupting me. This is one of his good qualities. I wonder if that mother of his drilled listening skills into him. Although, he did seem to forget about them earlier...

“I wonder why Mr. Kubrick had all this research and never thought to share it with me...” President Caesar remarked disappointedly.

“Perhaps he didn’t share it with you because you never asked about it,” I pointed out. “There may also be the fact that you do not have any experience with dyeing or embroidery. After all, I think the main issue with recreating this cape will be how we process the thread.”

“Dyeing and embroidery... Those are skills I don’t have. Still, I’d like you to show me the research as well, Patience. I’ll get permission from Mr. Kubrick myself.”

I didn’t want to just share someone else’s materials without permission, but I was happy to share if Mr. Kubrick allowed it.

“Of course. I’ve only just started planning this project, so I would be happy to have your help.”

President Caesar’s whole face lit up with a beaming smile. Despite all the time we’d spent together, it was only now that I realized he was actually quite handsome.

“Let’s do our best to make Magius’s cape!” he exclaimed.

Man, we’re going to be so busy. We’ve got the washing machine, the bicycle, the ice cream maker, waterproofing, the magic circle cape, and I also want to make a hair iron. Wow, I guess I’m really into alchemy club.

Chapter 9: The Blooming of the Cherry Blossoms

It was now my second spring in this world, and the cherry blossom trees I’d planted in the backyard were blooming. They hadn’t bloomed last year, perhaps because I’d planted them too late in the year.

The Burns Trading Company had successfully sold many hot water bottles during the winter. I’d had Mary take my pocket ledger to the bank so it could be updated with the latest transactions, and I was shocked by the number that had been deposited into my account.

I knew that I would be getting a detailed report down the line, but what I knew as of now was that the hot water bottles were being sold for two rhoms each, and somehow a whopping five hundred rhoms had been deposited into my account.

That’s the equivalent of fifty ten-rhom coins! Just how many water bottles did they sell? Oh, wait, I almost forgot about the needle threaders.

The needle threaders were being sold for fifty tiems each. They also seemed to have sold well, along with the slime seat cushions, which were quite popular. They’d become a necessity among nobles who traveled long distances by carriage. The slime cushions were ten rhoms each, and the refill cushion was three rhoms. The price of the cushions was quite high, but apparently, they were still selling well.

The cushions may be accounting for most of this profit.

I’d also gifted seat cushions and hair irons to my aunts and my cousin Lucene. I hadn’t finished the needle-painted seascape for the Satisfords yet, since I’d been quite busy.

“Now that the cherry blossoms are blooming, we must have a flower viewing!”

I was exhausted from my activities in both alchemy and music club, so I was planning to relax on the weekend by enjoying the flowers with my angels.

In alchemy club, we’d successfully completed our washing machine, and President Caesar had helped create the magic circle for my hair iron. I’d also adapted that magic circle to make regular-sized and small clothing irons. We were applying for patents for all of these inventions through the alchemy club, and we were also planning to sell items through the Burns Trading Company. I’d shown some of our creations to the sewing teacher, and she seemed quite interested in them. We were probably going to have a lot more people interested in buying these products.

We’d also created a prototype of the ice cream maker for the Festival of Verdure, but we still had yet to make a test batch of ice cream.

Our second version of the bicycle was also complete, and we’d added training wheels to the first version. The bicycles were also going to be showcased during the Festival of Verdure, which is why we’d added training wheels to one of them. It was hard to understand how convenient a transportation method it was without riding it yourself. The club was also looking to get a patent for the bicycle.

We were currently working on creating a method of waterproofing, and it had proven quite difficult. I’d also started working on the magic circle cape, which was giving me an even harder time than creating a water-repellant coating for fabric. As I’d expected, the embroidery floss was going to be the key to this project succeeding. I’d tested the efficacy of the magic circle on a small piece of fabric, and it worked fine when the fabric was lying flat on a disk, but as soon as it was moving, the magic circle stopped working, because it would get distorted. Additionally, I still didn’t know how to go about attaching the magic stone to the cape.

I’d also been working hard at my side job growing herbs, which was going to come to an end now that spring had begun. I was looking forward to seeing how much I made at the end of the term.

President Caesar had asked other students in the mage track about the lecture portion of herbology, and it turned out that it really was just covering the material in the textbook. I still couldn’t trust what Ms. Makias might do, so I was going to attend the lecture at least once. I’d heard that the test was incredibly difficult, and the pharmacy textbook wasn’t very helpful, so I figured the same would likely be true of the herbology textbook. More specifically, just like I had to do with the pharmacy textbook, I was anticipating that there would be information not included in the textbook that I would have to look up on my own. I was going to have to be proactive, since Ms. Makias didn’t like slackers.

“If I pass herbology, I’ll be able to take the novice apothecary’s exam!”

I was a bit more financially comfortable now, but we still had to prepare for Nassius’s upcoming enrollment into the academy. If I became a novice apothecary, I could sell minor healing potions, greater healing potions, and antidotes.

I also wanted to buy a horse, but that also meant constantly buying feed, which was going to put a dent into our finances. Manure could be used to fertilize our gardens, which was a bonus, but I needed to give this thorough consideration before I made a decision.

“I wonder if Nassius is planning to commute from home or move into the dorms. I can consider buying a horse depending on what he wants.”

I figured that if Nassius wanted to commute, that would be a good excuse to buy a horse, but Nassius had already decided to move into the dorms.

“Since you live in the dorms, I will do the same,” he told me.

Our home had gotten a lot more comfortable since my first few months here, so it would be fine to commute, but Nassius seemed to think it would be selfish of him to commute while I was living in the dorms. And since it didn’t seem like I’d be able to quit serving Princess Margaret anytime soon, I had no choice but to keep living in the dorms.

“If you move into the dorms, Henry will be all alone at home,” I pointed out. “It’s fine for you to commute from home, Nassius. We just need to buy a horse.”

I tried to persuade him to change his mind, but Nassius just shook his head.

“Both Henry and I know what will happen if I move into the dorms. Also, you can just buy a horse when Henry enrolls in the academy, since he’s probably going to enroll in the knight track. I’m going to enroll in the civil service track, so I can just use the horses at school during PE.”

You’re such a sweet boy, Nassius! I couldn’t help but hug him.

“You’re right. A horse is necessary for the knight track.”

I hope I can complete the magic circle cape by then.

I proceeded to update Wyatt on how much I’d made from the Burns Trading Company, and he seemed happy for me.

“I’d like to use this to buy a horse for Henry, but I’m not sure if it is enough,” I said. “They’re quite expensive, right?”

Wyatt gave me a troubled look.

“Please use this money for yourself, my lady. If we need a horse, I will make it happen.”

Can he really make it happen? I guess there’s three years until Henry enrolls in the academy. Oh, I’ll have graduated by then. I’m planning on continuing my education at Romano University, but would it be better to start working instead?

“You mustn’t think only of your younger brothers, my lady,” Wyatt insisted as if to scold me. “You are important as well.”

I guess he’ll figure something out. He sounds like he might have a lead for getting us a horse. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll just have him use this money.

It was no good to be spending all my time worrying about money when there were beautiful flowers blooming just outside.

“We should have a flower viewing on Sunday,” I said to myself.

The next day, I had Eva prepare some sandwiches and bite-sized pieces of fried chicken. Vegetables were expensive during this time of year, so we were growing them in the green house—along with strawberries, of course. We sold a lot of what we grew, but we also kept some of it for ourselves, since it was hard to eat enough fresh produce in the winter.

The recipe for the chicken was simple, but since it required a large amount of oil, it was a luxury to be able to make it. It was worth it, since I wanted our flower viewing to be extravagant. I’d originally wanted the lunch to be a picnic under the cherry trees, but Mary wouldn’t allow it. It wasn’t the worst thing, since it was definitely easier to eat while seated at a table.

“They’re so beautiful!” Nassius exclaimed while looking up at the flowers.

Yeah, isn’t this view from below the best?

“Did we always have trees like this?”

My father hadn’t even noticed that I’d planted these trees last year. Wyatt, if your plan for a horse is to get my dad working again, I don’t think it’s going to work.

“Do these trees make any fruit?” Henry asked, seemingly unimpressed by the natural beauty. In Japan, they would’ve said he preferred dango over flowers.

“Yes, they do. These trees should produce cherries.”

“I want to eat them!”

Henry’s so adorable when he’s excited. He really is an angel!

Our lunch under the cherry blossoms was very fun, and it made me want to practice the lute more. It would have been nice to have some accompanying music, and I couldn’t walk around with a hanon.

After lunch was...horseback riding. As usual, Samuel also visited. The boys were always happy to see their cousin, which made me happy too, but as one might expect from someone who would join a horseback riding club, he was strict when it came to riding lessons, which I didn’t enjoy.

If I had to be ordered around by Samuel, I would much rather practice playing the lute than riding a horse.

I took my obligatory ride on the horse. See, I can make it walk around. I think that’s more than enough. As I climbed down from the horse, the riding instructor gave me a wry smile.

“I see that you aren’t very fond of riding, Lady Patience.”

That’s right, but I’m not going to say that to the instructor’s face. That wouldn’t be nice.

“I’m easily frightened, and I can’t help but think of what might happen if I fall.”

A light bulb appeared to go on over his head.

“I see... That must be why Lady Angela won’t jump over obstacles. She must be afraid.”

I can’t believe him. Of course she’s scared! I’m terrified just watching my angels jump over those obstacles! Angela might have to keep suffering if her mother won’t let this go. I’m sure all the girls enrolling in the academy next year are getting riding lessons. I feel so bad for them, though I’m sure that some are actually enjoying it.

Princess Margaret had chosen her own friends, but she hadn’t made the best choices. I wasn’t sure if Princess Jane would be doing the same, but if she was, then she would likely pick girls who had similar hobbies. That made it difficult for me to ask Lucene to stop forcing the riding lessons on Angela.

My brothers were happily jumping over obstacles on horseback with Samuel. As a shotacon, this view was an absolute treat.

All right, it’s time to get ready to leave.

I got up to give my brothers goodbye kisses, and I decided I was going to kiss Samuel as well.

Kissing a boy against his wishes would’ve gotten me arrested in my previous life, but here, I’m allowed to give my cousin a kiss on the cheek! Ugh, it looks like he’s going to avoid me by staying on his horse. I guess he’s on guard since I kissed him last week. I’m going to have to give up for today.

“See you later, sister!” my brothers said, bidding me farewell for the week.

I gave each little angel a kiss and got aboard the carriage.

Chapter 10: Let’s Prepare for the Festival of Verdure

At the academy, I was much too busy to be enjoying the flowers. There was so much to prepare for the Festival of Verdure in both music and alchemy club.

“Albert is too involved with the glee club,” Princess Margaret grumbled.

The princess had initially been excited for the glee club’s performance, but she had now gotten annoyed with the entanglement of our clubs, which didn’t seem like it was going to be resolved anytime soon, likely because President Albert couldn’t let go of the fact that the choir club had complained to the student council.

The music club had its own recital to prepare for. I wished President Albert would focus more on his own club, especially when it came to reviewing the new members’ compositions. I’d listened to Samuel and his three friends’ pieces, and though they were quite good, they felt a bit lacking in oomph. I wanted Albert to advise them on how they could improve their songs.

The student council apparently had had a lot of difficulty determining the schedule for the auditorium. They eventually decided that the glee club would get an hour and a half in the morning, and the theater club would get two hours in the afternoon.

The music club and choir club each got three forty-minute slots. The music club had one in the morning, two in the afternoon, and the choir club had two in the morning, one in the afternoon. This was apparently going to switch every year.

The glee club was the only one to have less time, but that was because it was a brand new club. It had apparently been quite a hassle to get everyone to agree to this breakdown.

“Moving forward, use of the auditorium will be allocated based on votes,” President Rufus announced. “Every student, along with any guardians that have notified the academy of their attendance, will be given a single voting ticket. The number of tickets acquired by each club will affect the following year’s schedule!”

It likely wasn’t the student council president’s idea to propose such a new system. President Albert and President Marcus had likely come up with the idea as a way to harass the choir club. After all, the choir club’s performances had never been that popular.

“Albert needs to watch his back. I won’t be able to bear it if the music club ends up getting the fewest votes.”

Princess Margaret and I both let out deep sighs.

“Most members of the choir club are girls, so they’re likely going to go to other male students and ask them to vote for them,” I pointed out. “I’m worried that President Albert hasn’t considered the possibility of them using such tactics. People won’t only vote based on talent.”

The glee club’s musical was shaping up to be quite the show. Their dancing and acting still needed work, but even the rehearsals were fun to watch. This world didn’t have movies or TV shows, so there were few forms of entertainment. Even the happily ever after that had once seemed stale was enjoyable when played out in the musical.

“That’s a good point. Not every student is knowledgeable about music, and the first-years’ songs need some work.”

I nodded in agreement. Princess Margaret knew what she was doing when it came to music. The new members’ pieces were all made with earnest effort, but they all felt off, perhaps because they hadn’t had much experience. Samuel’s was the best of the pieces, since he had a good ear. Surprisingly, Daniel’s piece was quite stiff and sounded antiquated. Klaus’s song sounded like a patch of weeds that could become a beautiful flowerbed. Valdische’s composition just required a bit of adjustment to be good.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we were busy helping the first-year students with their compositions. I wished President Albert would help too, but he was always visiting the glee club.

“I’m sure you and Princess Margaret can handle it,” he would insist. Though his vote of confidence was high praise, it didn’t actually help us.

As a result, Princess Margaret was hard at work whipping the first-years into shape, and I tried to help with members’ compositions every now and then. Thanks to our efforts, the music club would likely manage to come in third in the voting at minimum. At least I hoped so.

My only problem now was alchemy club, which had so many inventions to showcase. There was the washing machine, the hair iron, the clothing iron... Those were all inventions that seemed typical of the alchemy club—using them would make it clear how great these inventions were, but they wouldn’t attract much of a crowd.

“Let’s have people ride the bicycles!” President Caesar suggested.

He’d gotten quite excited by that idea and ended up making a third version of the bicycle. Now that our bike had gone through several iterations, it had improved quite a bit, and everyone in alchemy club could now ride properly.

I think this will attract an audience. Boys love machinery like this.

We still had to figure out how we would tackle the ice cream. I had to be in both the music club and glee club’s performances, so I was going to be stuck in the auditorium all morning.

“We must either build many ice cream makers so we can make a lot at once, or build a freezer so we can store a lot of ice cream.” Not only did we have to make that decision, but I was also worried whether the other members would be able to successfully make the ice cream. “We’ll have to do a test run. I also need to teach them how to serve people... This sounds like an impossible task.”

I couldn’t imagine the members of the alchemy club serving people ice cream. The closest comparison from my previous life was a butler café, but these were all people who were usually being served, not serving others.

“I agree,” Caesar said. “I’ll have the high-ranking maids from my house handle the serving.” He then looked only at Benjamin, Arthur, and Bryce, and said, “I’d like you all to ask your maids to help out as well.”

President Caesar didn’t ask the same of me, either because he knew that we only had one maid or because he specifically didn’t want to cause Mary any more trouble.

“There’s no point in debating the rest without trying things first,” Caesar said. “Patience, can you write down the amount of eggs, milk, and sugar needed? Oh, we’ll also need bowls and spoons.”

Since we had the raw material to make glass, it was decided that we’d make our own bowls. After all, it was better if they all matched. We also decided to make our own spoons, since the ones we had at home were made of silver and couldn’t just be taken easily. For the spoons, we decided on copper, since it was a material with good thermal conductivity. We had to make a mountain of both.

Oh, I’ll also need to make ice cream scoops!

“We should use a ticket system for riding bicycles,” I suggested. “We can set a time limit and have everyone take a numbered ticket. We could also have them enjoy some ice cream while they wait.”

We had requested a classroom that was facing the courtyard for the club’s showcase. The best would be a corner classroom that had easy access to the courtyard. We were planning to have people ride the bicycles out in the courtyard, where we would also sell ice cream. The classroom itself would be divided in half: one side would be for showcasing our other inventions, like the washing machine, and the other would be for preparing the ice cream. I thought back to cultural festivals at high school and college while quickly sketching out a diagram for our space.

“You’re good at drawing, Patience,” Bryce commented.

It’s thanks to all my training from doing side jobs.

“The desks and chairs in the classroom don’t have enough flair,” I remarked. “If we had some nice outdoor tables and chairs, we could have an elegant setup in the courtyard.”

I drew a rough sketch of a patio table and some matching chairs and showed it to the others. There was a part of me that hoped they had outdoor sets like this at home that they could bring.

“Would these be made out of iron?” President Caesar asked, looking curiously at my sketches.

“Yes, and they’re coated with a layer of paint, which makes them weatherproof, which is why they’re for use outdoors.”

“That sounds like it would be great for a summer barbecue,” Benjamin chimed in, impressed by the sketches.

Does patio furniture not exist in this world?

“All right, let’s make these as well! I’m sure they’ll sell well!”

We ended up with so many things to make. It didn’t seem like we’d have any time to work on waterproofing or the cape.

On Friday, we tested the ice cream machine, and it was a huge success. Unfortunately, that meant that we might have an entirely different problem.

“This is the tastiest dessert I’ve ever had!” Arthur raved.

“This will definitely attract people,” Bryce said enthusiastically.

It was their first time trying ice cream, so they were both very excited.

“Yes, yes, that’s all good, but the main problem is deciding how much ice cream to make,” President Caesar said. “Since we got a classroom facing the courtyard, we’re going to use half of the outdoor space for the bicycles, and the other half will be furnished with the outdoor tables and chairs... We might need to have tickets for the ice cream as well.”

We’d decided on making the ice cream ahead of time and keeping it in a freezer, which naturally meant that we would also have to make a freezer. We’d already created a magic circle to freeze items when we were coming up with the ice cream maker, so all we needed to do was create a box and add magic circles for freezing and air circulation. Though it sounded simple, it was quite complicated to execute.

“You can leave the freezer to us,” President Caesar said. “I want you to focus on coming up with the measurements for the ice cream ingredients. It would be nice if we could also have some with strawberries in it, like that batch we had the other day.”

Caesar proceeded to hand me a bunch of eggs, milk, heavy cream, and sugar. The eggs would likely be fine at room temperature for one night, but I was worried about the milk and heavy cream.

“I’d like a small refrigerator please!”

“Are you kidding me?” Benjamin barked. Despite his annoyance, he made me a small box that circulated cool air.

“This is amazing, Sir Benjamin!” I exclaimed. “If you took away the box, this would be a cold air fan!” It appeared I’d said too much, because Benjamin began fervently creating a cooling fan.

I had so much to take back to the dorms with me: an ice cream maker, a mini fridge, and a massive bag of sugar. And the fridge was absolutely loaded with milk, heavy cream, and eggs.

“I’ll carry these for you, Patience,” Bryce said. He was always very kind.

Arthur even volunteered to help, so we left President Caesar and Benjamin, who were completely absorbed in making a cooling fan.

Once I was back at the dorm, I put together a to-do list. I had so many things going on that I’d likely forget without writing it all down.

First was my gown for the Festival of Verdure. That’s done, so check! I also wanted to make a hair accessory to go with my gown. I hadn’t done that yet, but I did decide to use the same navy fabric as my gown did. I also had to buy new shoes, which I added to the list.

Next were my tasks for music club. Making new compositions? Done! Reviewing the first-years’ compositions? That’s in progress, but we’re almost done! Prepare for my accompaniment for the glee club’s musical? Done!

Finally, there were my tasks for alchemy club. We needed an ice cream maker, which we’d already made. Check! We also needed bowls and spoons, which I noted on the list. I need to finalize the ice cream recipe. I just need precise measurements, so this one is in progress. The last item was the outdoor furniture, which obviously hadn’t been made yet.

I decided that this weekend, I would prioritize finalizing the ice cream recipe and making my hair accessory. Oh, I should also buy shoes!

Chapter 11: Ice Cream Is Delicious

It was Saturday, and Mary and I carried my heavy luggage to the carriage—part of the way, that is. George wasn’t allowed in the girls’ dorm, so Mary had run back to the carriage and called him to the dining room, where we handed things off to him.

“What is all of this, my lady?” Mary asked as we boarded the carriage.

“We’re going to sell ice cream during the Festival of Verdure,” I replied. “I haven’t properly measured out the ingredients before. I need to write out an exact recipe, otherwise, each batch will taste different.”

Mary’s eyes sparkled with excitement when she heard me mention ice cream. She’d likely had some at the Burns home when I’d first made it.

“That sounds very important,” she responded enthusiastically.

“Yes, but it’s not going to be easy, since all of my measurements must be precise.”

The ice cream maker I’d be using this weekend was a large model that could make roughly two liters of ice cream at a time. We’d also designed a smaller model, which is what the Burns Trading Company was actually going to sell.

Maybe I should’ve used the small model for my testing, then just multiplied that recipe for the large model. Well, the alchemy club only has access to a large model right now, so this was my only choice.

My plan was to do two test batches over the weekend. I could even do half batches to save on ingredients.

Though I had some work to take care of, I was always going to prioritize my angels above everything else. Nassius had learned most of the material taught in the first year of the junior division. If he could pass magic practicum, he would be able to skip an entire year. I was confident that he could also pass art and music, but when it came to dance and PE, his chances would likely depend on who ended up being his teacher. Henry was also mostly caught up with everything he needed to learn prior to his enrollment.

He’s so smart! I had an education in my previous life, so my accomplishments are to be expected, but Henry is an actual seven-year-old. He’s so impressive!

“You’re both doing a wonderful job with your studies,” I praised them.

The Grangers truly seemed to be a family of sharp people. Not only were my brothers doing well academically, but Nassius was also becoming a strapping young man thanks to his sword fighting and horse riding lessons, and Henry was healthy and full of energy. I’d learned that Henry often helped Matthew with his work, perhaps because he had extra energy to burn off.

For lunch, we had a dish made with summer cabbage. It wasn’t available in the markets yet, but I’d given our plants some extra encouragement with magic, so they had been ready for harvest early. Half of the harvest was saved for Eva to sell, since it was best to sell while the prices were still high. The summer cabbage was also just a good vegetable, since the leaves were tender and delicious.

“This is quite good,” my father remarked.

I’d asked Eva to make cabbage rolls using the tender leaves of the summer cabbages. Cabbage rolls were a great dish for the frugal, since you could really stretch out a small amount of meat. Even in my previous life, I’d preferred my cabbage rolls to be more cabbage than filling.

“The summer cabbage is so sweet, sister,” Nassius commented. He was always good at picking up on subtle flavors.

Henry, on the other hand, had simply scarfed down his meal.

“We’re going to be harvesting lots of this cabbage, so you should eat up,” I replied.

Not only were we expecting more cabbage, but I’d also planted other things, including peas, lettuce, and potatoes.

We made it through this winter without starving, and I’m going to keep up the effort this year too!

My angels were showing steady growth, and I’d gotten a bit taller too—the latter point was the reason I needed new shoes. My current pair were at their limit.

After lunch, it was time to start working on my ice cream recipe with Eva.

“The Festival of Verdure is in May. Will raw eggs be safe to eat?”

Even in April, Romano was a bit chilly in the mornings and evenings, but once it was May, there would be plenty of hot days. I could likely sanitize the eggs with my household magic, but I absolutely did not want to give anyone food poisoning during the Festival of Verdure.

“I’ve heard from Mary that ice cream is a frozen treat,” Eva said. “If it is something usually eaten in summer, I think it would be safest if the eggs weren’t raw.”

The recipe we were developing today was also going to be included with the ice cream makers that the Burns Trading Company was going to sell, so food safety was a top priority.

“First, we’re going to combine the sugar and milk, then we’ll heat that up,” I instructed. “Once the edges of the mixture start bubbling up, the mixture should be taken off the heat. We’ll beat some egg yolks together, then combine that with the milk and sugar. Once it’s all mixed together, return the mixture to the stove, where it will cook for about five minutes. Then set aside the mixture to cool down, during which time we’ll whip some heavy cream. The heavy cream will get combined with the milk mixture, which then goes into the ice cream maker.”

Eva proceeded to follow my instructions, aiming to make a one-liter batch. I left it up to her to decide the amount of sugar and egg yolks, since she was more experienced with cooking than I was. She’d also made my recipes based on foods from my previous life countless times, so I trusted her not to use excessive sugar.

While Eva worked on the recipe, I thought about how to use up the egg whites. A sponge cake would be nice, but I think meringues are the way to go. Not only do they last a while, but we could even sell them.

Once that was decided, I used my household magic to help Eva with some of the process. I cooled the mixture and whipped the cream, but Eva had to be the one to actually combine the two.

“My lady, should I put this mixture in here?” Eva asked.

Though I could just churn and cool the mixture using my magic, I decided to test out the ice cream maker.

“Yes, this should be all that’s needed.”

Unlike the test batch I’d made in alchemy club, this ice cream base had cooked eggs, so it could end up having a different texture or flavor. All we could do was test them out.

“I’d like to make a new recipe using the remaining egg whites,” I said. “It only requires egg whites and sugar, but the sugar needs to be a lot finer. You just whip the two together, then make it into small mounds and bake them.”

We can use the piping tip I made before! I’d made metal piping tips for Nassius’s birthday cake earlier in the year, as well as an eggbeater, which Eva was particularly happy about, since it was easier than using a fork. For today, I handled the whipping with my magic. Eva then transferred the mixture into a piping bag and began piping small circles.

“The heat shouldn’t be too high,” I warned her. “They need to be baked thoroughly at a low temperature.”

It was a bit frustrating to be forbidden from doing things myself, but I also couldn’t deny that Eva was a great chef. Mary was actually allowing her “lady” to stay in the kitchen for quite a long time, perhaps because she’d enjoyed ice cream just that much.

The ice cream mixture was in the maker, and the meringues were in the oven, so I could now leave the rest to Eva.

I decided to make a hair accessory with Mary until it was time for tea. I used the dark navy fabric to make a bow, then I cut out small circles of white fabric to add a polka dot pattern.

“Is your gown made of the same material, my lady?” Mary asked. She seemed worried that the color was too dark for the season.

“Yes, but the collar is white, and I sewed on the same pattern with these white circles,” I explained. “The sewing curriculum became more difficult starting this year, and I’m also sewing a winter gown now. I also have to sew a lining into it, so it’s a bit challenging.”

I’d actually already finished sewing my dark green dress for the Harvest Festival, and I’d begun working on a second piece, which was a beautiful shade of blue. The sewing teacher had said she’d feel bad if I had to wear the same gown for three years, so she’d given me three dresses worth of fabric. The fabric for my third dress was red, which the teacher had insisted on because I’d kept choosing cool colors. I’d never worn red during my previous life, so I was a bit worried about it. I felt that I’d look really childish wearing it now, so I was planning to hold on to it and use it for a gown when I was in my third year.

I hope that by then, I’ll look more glamorous. I was pretty thin all over during my previous life, so I’d like to have more of an hourglass figure this time.

There hadn’t been any good options for summer fabrics left, so the teacher had promised she would purchase some more for me before the fall term. In other words, I was going to end up sewing a total of six gowns. Since I was still growing, she was going to accept four of the six pieces being only basted. I’ve got my work cut out for me.

“I’d like some new shoes,” I mentioned to Mary. “My current pair is too tight.”

They’d been a bit loose at first, but I’d grown into them, and now my shoes were too small for my feet.

“My! I apologize for not noticing sooner.”

I’d been hoping that we could maybe go shopping together, but Mary was going to go buy them on her own. Darn!

We didn’t regularly have teatime at the Granger home, but we did today—and with ice cream! We still had a little further to go before we’d be well off enough for daily teatime.

“I’ve never had anything like this before,” my father said, surprised by the ice cream.

Nassius and Henry both seemed obsessed with it.

“This dish is called ice cream, sister?” Nassius asked, looking sad that he’d already finished his.

“That’s right. Tomorrow, we’ll make a batch that’s strawberry flavored.”

That news brought a smile back to Nassius’s face. He’s so cute!

It was understandable that he wanted more, since we only served a small portion during tea. We were saving the rest of the batch to serve after dinner.

“This is so good, sister!” Henry raved, also disappointed that there wasn’t any more.

Don’t be so sad, Henry. It wouldn’t be good to fill your stomach up with cold things. It’s still only April.

“In alchemy club, we made an ice cream maker, so we’ll be able to enjoy this treat in the summer as well,” I assured him.

If we didn’t have eggs, we could even try making sherbet. As always, the only eggs we had were those gifted by the queen, since they were still too expensive for us to buy. Sugar was also a premium item, since it was imported from the south. Could maple sugar be harvested in this part of the world? I should look into that.

Eva’s recipe seemed to be great as-is, so the only decision I had to make with the strawberry ice cream was whether to use fresh strawberries or jam. I guess jam might be easier for the Festival of Verdure. I think we’ll make a thin jam that can be swirled throughout the ice cream, creating a marbled look. That’ll be easier, which is good since I can’t be at the club all day.

“It would be nice if we could get the cooking club to help... It might not hurt to ask President Caesar.”

I didn’t know anyone in the cooking club, so it was very possible that they wouldn’t help us. The alchemy club also didn’t have a great reputation among female students. In fact, almost the entire rest of the student body thought they were weirdos.

I wonder why the alchemy club members are seen as weirdos but the magic club members aren’t. Oh, it was probably those dirty lab coats! I bet they gave people a bad impression of the club. Well, they’re always sparkling white now!

Since we were making freezers, it was possible that we could make the ice cream ahead of time. I need to check with them to see how much they’re planning to make!

On Sunday, Samuel visited in the afternoon, so he joined our taste-testing of the strawberry-flavored batch.

“This is called ice cream? It’s delicious!”

Samuel was trying to play it cool, but after he’d devoured his ice cream, he stared at me while I finished mine. I’m not giving you any. It was nice to see that the new flavor was so well received.

Chapter 12: Will We Be Ready in Time?

I had nearly as much to bring back when I returned to the dorms. George carried everything to the dining hall, and Mary and I took several trips to bring it up to my room. There was still a lot, but since the ice cream ingredients were used up, the return trip was a bit easier.

Over the weekend, I’d finished my hair accessory to go with my gown for the Festival of Verdure, and I’d also gotten a new pair of shoes. I’d even written a new piece for music club and practiced my accompaniments for the glee club. In other words, preparations for alchemy club were a bit of a mess.

“Maybe the bicycles would have been enough,” I wondered aloud to myself.

Since I didn’t know how much ice cream we would need to make, I was worried about the amount of work that needed to be done. Though I had a lot on my mind, there were plenty of senior division students who were a lot more anxious than me.

“I don’t think I’ll finish my gown in time, Patience,” Princess Margaret lamented as soon as she arrived at the dorms. “I may need two extra hours a week to work on it.”

She thought that she’d need to take two additional blocks of sewing during her free periods on Monday and Friday in order to finish her gown in time. Taking sewing four times a week sounds rough, not to mention that she doesn’t even like sewing. I’m sure she would be able to take music four times a week with no issue.

“How are other students doing?” I asked. I only had the class once a week, so I wasn’t sure how the rest of the class was doing.

“Everyone is panicking,” the princess replied. “Our pieces are nowhere near being gowns.”

Perhaps the teachers had overestimated the students’ skills when changing the curriculum.

“I wish there was something I could do to help...”

Ms. Cameron allowed me to point out any mistakes Princess Margaret made, but I wasn’t allowed to actually correct any of her work. That already made things difficult, but I also had six whole gowns of my own to sew, which was quite a lot. The gowns for the Harvest Festival were especially challenging, since they needed to be lined. I’d thought that I wouldn’t be able to get through this without a sewing machine, but I was already too busy in alchemy club, since we had to prepare our ice cream stall and the bicycle test rides.

“You know, reinforcing all of the edges was a lot of work...” I mumbled to myself.

Even with how well I had been doing in sewing class, it had taken me what felt like forever to finish reinforcing all of the edges of my fabric pieces. There was no way I could let Princess Margaret wear a grown with frayed edges to the festival ball.

During my previous life, there were gluesticks that could be used to hem the edges of fabric. I’d used it before on some curtains I’d had when I was living alone, which had been slightly too long. I’d used the adhesive and set it with an iron, and the hem had stayed fused even after washing.

If alchemy club wasn’t so busy, I’d ask them to help me make an adhesive, but we don’t really have time for that... I feel like I could make something usable with slime powder. What are adhesives usually made out of? This world has books, so they must use something in the binding process.

I inspected the books in my room, and as I’d expected, they appeared to be held together with some sort of adhesive.

“It would be nice if this adhesive worked on fabric...”

An adhesive would likely be easiest to use in the form of a stick, which could be achieved by hardening the adhesive with slime powder. The only problem I had was finding the time to experiment with adhesive formulas.

It was Monday, and after lunch, I headed to alchemy club. I came immediately after I’d finished eating, but I was still told that I was “late.” I can’t help it; I walk slowly.

“Did you finish the ice cream recipe?” President Caesar asked, and I handed him the completed recipe. “Hmm? I don’t think the mixture was heated in the initial batches.”

“That is correct. If I make it myself, I can sanitize the eggs with magic, which eliminates the need for any cooking. However, if we are going to sell ice cream makers, a cooked recipe would be safer. So, how many people were you planning to make ice cream for?”

“Hmm...” President Caesar groaned while thinking. “I don’t know how many students will stop by. We decided that the test rides for the bicycles will be ten minutes each. All that requires is giving out numbered tickets, so it’s not too difficult to prepare for...”

Benjamin also thought about what would be best. These two are always here.

“I think it’s best that we make more than we think we need,” Caesar said. “If we have any leftovers, the club members can buy them.”

With that decided, I had them both help bring all the items in my room to the clubroom. They couldn’t enter the girls’ dorm, so I had to make several trips up and down the stairs to bring everything to the dining hall.

“Why didn’t you ask the dorm maid for help?” Benjamin asked, exasperated by my lack of efficiency.

If I gave them a tip, they probably would move all this stuff for me, but I’m stingy.

“From now on, we’ll store everything in the clubroom and transport it from there,” President Caesar said. “Here, take this key.”

George could go to the clubroom, so transporting everything was going to be a lot easier now.

“Is it all right for me to have your key?” I asked.

In music club, only President Albert and Vice President Rupert had keys to the clubroom. If I was remembering correctly, President Caesar and Benjamin both had keys to the alchemy clubroom.

“Of course. Both Benjamin and I spend all of our time there anyway.”

Though I couldn’t say that was necessarily a good thing, I decided to hold on to Caesar’s key until the Festival of Verdure.

“I think it’ll be best if we make the ice cream ahead of time and store it in the freezer,” I said. “If it’s all right to have leftovers, I can prepare extra.”

We now needed to decide how big of a freezer to make, which I was going to leave up to President Caesar and Benjamin.

We proceeded to carry everything to the clubroom, then we put everything away.

“President Caesar, is the glue used in books made from animal hide?” I asked after we were settled. If I didn’t ask right away, he was going to turn his attention to something else.

“Probably... Do you have another idea, Patience?”

My answer came with another question.

“Yes, I’d like to make a glue that eliminates the need for sewing, but I’m not sure if I can do it...”

The adhesive needed to be something that wouldn’t seep into the right side of the fabric, and it also needed to create a somewhat permanent bond. I was already plenty busy with festival preparation in alchemy club, but I couldn’t just ignore all the girls who were having trouble finishing their gowns.

“It’s fine if you want to work on that, Patience. I’m sure you’ll need it for the home ec track. If you could just make examples of the glass bowls, tables, and chairs, then we can take care of the rest.”

I’d already sketched designs for all three, so I proceeded to use alchemy and make examples of each item.

“You could probably make a living just doing this, Patience,” Benjamin remarked, complimenting my work.

Thanks, but I think I’ll leave the rest to you two.

President Caesar said he would get me some hide glue, but even so, I didn’t know if I was going to be able to make my fabric glue.

On Tuesday, during sewing class, I took a look at Princess Margaret’s gown to see how much work she had left. I was relieved to find that she’d finished basting the dress.

“If you only need to do the final construction, then I think you will be finished in time,” I said.

Unlike the princess, some students hadn’t even finished basting their pieces.

“Since you numbered each of the pieces, I was able to avoid making any mistakes,” Princess Margaret replied.

Oh, I see. The students who aren’t done basting have to rip apart and redo their gowns.

“The final seaming will be done in the same order as the basting, but the stitches will need to be much smaller,” I explained. “Otherwise, the final gown won’t look neat.”

Princess Margaet had been quite slow even when doing the uneven stitches used for basting, so once she started doing the final construction, her sewing was very slow. It was going to be torturous for her to create six gowns like this.

After the Festival of Verdure, I’m going to start focusing on making a sewing machine. But, for now, my focus is on creating fabric glue! It’s way too dangerous for students to be dancing in ballgowns sewn like this. It could be good to reinforce their seams with glue. That means the glue absolutely can’t bleed to the right side of the fabric. Darn, a little bit of bleeding wouldn’t be too much of an issue if it was only on the hem. This project just got even harder.

On Wednesday, President Caesar was busy in the morning, but I now had a key, so I decided to hole up in the clubroom. He’d actually gotten the hide glue for me like he’d said he would.

I’d used hide glue before in art, but that had been to secure a canvas onto a frame, and canvas was a thick material, and our warm-weather gowns were made of thin fabric.

I dissolved some slime powder into water, then mixed that with the hide glue. I wrote down the ratios I used in a notebook and began formulating my fabric adhesive. Even after lunch, I continued working on my formula.

“How is it going, Patience?” Benjamin asked.

I was struggling to get my ideal mixture.

“It won’t harden the way I’d like it to, but I can’t go too far with thickening it because I need it to be somewhat smooth to apply...”

This was something that could easily take months to make, so I was nervous that I wouldn’t be able to make it in just a few weeks.

“You should step away from it for a little while,” Benjamin suggested. “Sometimes you miss things when you’re pushing yourself too hard.”

Aside from my first class in the day, I’d pretty much spent the entire day working on my slime-glue mixture. My eyes were tired, and my shoulders were tense.

“You’re right. I’m going to take a break.”

Our clubroom was filled with the outdoor chairs and tables for the festival, which all looked exactly like my examples.

“All that’s left to do is paint these,” I said. “I think white or dark green would be best.” There were quite a few glass bowls, as well as ice cream makers and a freezer that were in progress. “I wonder if we’ll be ready in time for the festival.”

President Caesar saw me worrying and smiled.

“You’ve already finished your gown, right? I’m sure that your teacher will do something about the students who won’t finish on time.”

I guess...

“If she would just let me sew them, I could finish them in an instant.” I hadn’t meant to complain, but it just slipped out.

“That wouldn’t make for much of a class, would it?” President Caesar replied, and everyone laughed.

I know I shouldn’t worry, but it would be really nice if the glue could be used to keep their gowns from fraying, at the very least.

“What sort of glue are you trying to make?” President Caesar asked. He sounded as if he were going to help.

“You still have to prepare for the festival,” I muttered, not answering his question.

“You’re the only one who can make ice cream! If we don’t finish this glue soon, the rest of us are going to have to crack some eggs!” Benjamin said with a laugh.

Yeah, I don’t think I can trust anyone here to cook.

With that, we all worked together on formulating a glue that could be set with heat, wouldn’t wash away, applied smoothly, and didn’t affect the right side of a fabric.

“Thank you so much,” I said.

Our test formula survived a wash, and it didn’t bleed through the fabric. We also made the actual container for the gluestick, which could be adapted for lipstick. Currently, people used lip rouge that was painted on with a brush. I knew that was the convention because I’d seen some on Princess Margaret’s dressing table.

I should try making lipstick, I thought, excited by the prospect of hefty profits.

Chapter 13: Exhausted by Festival Preparations

I needed a little courage to be able to show Ms. Cameron my fabric glue. Since it was an item that eliminated the need for sewing, I was worried that she might think I wanted to cut corners.

“You can apply it like this, then set it with an iron,” I explained as I demonstrated. “This way, it won’t come off, even after washing the garment.”

Ms. Cameron silently thought with her arms folded across her chest. She was usually always smiling, but today she had a stern look on her face.

“May I try it myself?” she asked.

Ms. Cameron took the gluestick, applied the glue onto the edge of some fabric, folded it over, pressed it with an iron, then tugged the fabric to see if it would come apart.

“My, it really is fused together. It doesn’t look like it has affected the other side of the fabric at all... You’ve come up with an impressive item!”

I’d thought she was going to scold me, but to my surprise, she complimented me! Perhaps the stern look on her face was a result of her taking my demonstration that seriously.

“Of course, I do think it is best to properly overlock pieces with sewing, but there are many students who aren’t too confident about sewing.”

The Burns Trading Company was going to start selling the fabric glue as well, but in order to have some to use before the Festival of Verdure, I gave Ms. Cameron some samples. Otherwise, some students weren’t going to be able to finish their gowns.

“I’m going to need those magical irons as well,” Ms. Cameron remarked. “I’m sure the small ones will be useful for working on details.”

She’s buying the irons too! I guess it’s hard for noble ladies who don’t have ironing experience to use those heavy charcoal-filled ones and press out all the seams.

All the overlocking and hemming work that was left for the students had now become easier, but Princess Margaret and many others still had much more sewing ahead of them.

As for myself, the first-years’ pieces for the music club recital were done, and I’d thoroughly practiced my accompaniment for the glee club’s musical, so I spent all of my free time holed up in alchemy club.

We’d finished our freezer, so I was currently working on making lots of ice cream. I’d use the ice cream maker here and there, but I mainly just used household magic to speed things up. Magic was especially useful for stirring the batches swirled with strawberry jam, because it produced a beautiful marbled effect.

“This should probably be enough,” President Caesar said.

We had six containers of ice cream in our freezer. Each container held two liters of ice cream, which was forty servings. We were planning to serve everyone two scoops—one of the milk flavored ice cream, and one of the strawberry—so we had a total of 120 servings.

“What if it isn’t enough?” I asked.

“We’re only going to make a hundred tickets, so once we’re sold out of those, it’ll be done,” he replied, laughing off my worry.

It appeared that the remaining twenty servings were going to be for friends, family, and others, since we wanted to give some to the maids helping us out as well.

President Caesar had all the unused egg whites delivered to my house, which I was going to have Eva make meringues out of.

On the day of the festival, I wouldn’t be able to come to alchemy club in the morning because I had my music club performance and glee club accompaniment.

“The ice cream is going to be rock hard after sitting in the freezer, so you must take the container out a bit before you want to use it,” I cautioned the other members. “Also, I’m going to be busy with rehearsals the day before the festival.”

After that, we prepared some signs for our events. Unlike last year, this wasn’t going to be a plain exhibit in a classroom. We created several wooden signs that read “Bicycle Test Rides” and “Ice Cream Taste Testing.” We also added some drawings to the signs, which I mainly handled.

“You’re good at drawing, Patience,” President Caesar commented.

Once the signs were done, we prepared a schedule for the bicycle rides, a reservation sheet, and tickets to buy ice cream. Making all of these reminded me of the festivals I’d participated in during high school and college in my previous life, and I felt quite nostalgic.

It was decided that the first-year students and I would be performing in the morning slot of the New Composition Recital. Princess Margaret was going to play in the afternoon.

“Lady Margaret, I must be at alchemy club after noon. Will that be all right?”

President Albert just laughed.

“I bet Lady Margaret is going to be in the auditorium the entire day. Most of the other members, including myself, will probably be doing the same, so you have nothing to worry about.”

Princess Margaret actually had a different idea though.

“I’d like to try that ice cream thing you came up with,” she said. “Why don’t we skip the theater club’s performance and go eat some ice cream?”

President Albert, Rupert, and several other members all seemed interested in trying a new dessert.

“I’ll have some tickets set aside for you,” I said.

Samuel overheard us.

“I’d like to eat some ice cream as well,” he chimed in. “It was very delicious.”

All the other members turned their attention to Samuel.

“You’ve had it?” Daniel and his other friends asked with burning curiosity.

“I tried some at the Granger house,” Samuel revealed. “It was cold, sweet, and incredibly delicious.”

I ended up agreeing to secure tickets for everyone in music club. We’d been thinking the taste testing would be a simple affair, but we now realized that Samuel and his friends would tell their classmates about it, as would the other music club members.

“At this rate, we won’t have enough,” President Caesar commented.

We’d nearly sold out of tickets already, so I rushed to make four additional containers of ice cream, and our freezer was completely stuffed. We also made additional tables and chairs.

“These eighty servings will be for selling on the day of the festival,” Caesar said. “We might not have time to wash all of the dishes, so we should also make extra bowls and spoons.”

The classroom space had access to water, so we’d planned to have a maid washing the bowls and spoons, but it looked like they were going to be too busy scooping and serving ice cream. It was truly a detriment that I couldn’t join until the afternoon.

“After lunch, Princess Margaret is going to come try some ice cream,” I reported. “Would it be possible to reserve a table for her?”

“Sure,” President Caesar said approvingly. “You know what? Maybe we should take reservations for the taste testing too. We don’t have to do it for all the tables, but we could designate a few as reservations only.”

We weren’t going to be serving just students from upper-ranking noble families, but their parents and guardians as well. In order to avoid any chaos, it would be best to set up reservations. So, we created a second schedule for the taste testing, as well as a sign-up sheet for reservations.

We ended up fully booked in the blink of an eye. Many of the students who knew their parents would be attending ended up making reservations.

I’m so glad we decided to get high-ranking maids to help. It would be terrible if we were accidentally rude to any parents.

“We’re filling up on reservations for the bicycle test rides too,” President Caesar remarked. “I hope this will lead to us getting more members...”

The alchemy club exhibit wasn’t going to be deserted like it had been last year, but the popularity of our offerings wasn’t necessarily a reflection of how many students might join the club. Though, this year, our lab coats were going to be sparkling white, so we’d perhaps make a better impression on others, at the very least.

On the day before the Festival of Verdure, I had to accompany the glee club’s dress rehearsal. The time slots for music club had been decided a lot more easily than they had been the previous year. The first year students and I were all performing in the morning, so they just had to divide the senior division students among the two afternoon blocks. The first year students were going in the morning because they were also in riding club, which had a competition in the afternoon.

“By the way, I absolutely will not stand for our club receiving the least votes,” Princess Margaret snapped.

I’d completely forgotten about the voting system that had been implemented this year. The number of votes each club obtained would determine how much time they got in the auditorium the following year.

President Albert laughed off Princess Margaret’s concern.

“Choir club and the theater club are going to be fighting for last place. I have no idea why the theater club chooses such depressing performances every year.”

I learned from President Albert’s exasperated comments that they were going to perform a depressing tragedy again. Maybe it’ll be better than the mythological play from last Harvest Festival.

The theater club’s performance was a story in which an old king died after being treated coldly by his family. It was similar to King Lear from my previous life, but it was about the king and his sons, not his daughters. It was a much more violent story with many deaths.

The glee club’s dress rehearsal was pretty much a success. There was room for improvement when it came to the members’ acting skills, but their singing and dancing was good. The dance club members who joined as background dancers were particularly wonderful, so much so that I wish they could’ve been swapped with some of the main cast. Of course, it could turn out that they’re terrible singers.

“The glee club is going to be a formidable opponent,” Princess Margaret remarked. It seemed she wouldn’t be happy unless the music club obtained the most votes.

I wasn’t really worried either way, since I couldn’t care less about how long our performances were. Can’t we just focus on quality over quantity? I kept that thought to myself, since voicing it would only cause problems.

“I’m heading to alchemy club,” I announced.

With Princess Margaret’s permission, I left. The princess still had to make some final touches to complete her gown, including ironing it. Yes, she had just barely finished it in time for the festival. I’d heard that several students were still sewing their gowns. Ms. Cameron must be so busy.

High-ranking maids from several households had gathered at alchemy club. Wow, they’re all so pretty. Their beautiful lace-trimmed aprons and headpieces really add a lot to the look. We’re going to have an actual maid café!

“I also had these treats brought over from the Granger house,” President Caesar explained to the group.

He handed me the meringues that Eva had baked. They were packaged in small bags I’d made ahead of time. I’d dyed some scrap fabric pink and blue to turn into ribbon for the packages, so they looked quite cute. After all, aesthetics were important too.

“I’d like everyone to try some,” I said.

We opened up one bag, and we all tried the meringues together. They melted as soon as you put them in your mouth.

“These are delicious,” Caesar remarked.

“Yes, they are. They make lovely gifts if you need something that will last several days.”

It was decided that we’d sell the meringues in the taste testing section of our exhibit.

“Can I leave you in charge of the ice cream, Patience?” President Caesar asked. It appeared he’d forgotten that I wasn’t going to be here until the afternoon.

All the other alchemy club members were completely focused on the bicycles. They’d built a fourth model with two wheels in the back, making it a tricycle. It was supposed to be a cargo trike, but for now, the back space had a chair so it could accommodate a passenger. It was similar to the cycle rickshaws in southeast Asia. The passenger trike was quite popular with the members of alchemy club, and none of them came over to the ice cream area.

I guess it’ll probably be mostly male students test riding the bicycles, so the cycle rickshaw will make it easier for female students to ride too.

President Caesar was excited about this possibly leading to more girls joining, but I wasn’t confident that would be the case.

“Please listen, everyone,” I said. “I won’t be available before noon, so you must learn how to direct the maids and when to start pulling ice cream out of the freezer.”

I proceeded to teach the maids how to create round scoops of ice cream and serve them.

“You will be plating one scoop of the white milk-flavored ice cream, and one of the pink strawberry-flavored ice cream,” I explained. “Once those are in the bowl, you will garnish it with some mint. I’d like you all to try it for yourselves and taste test your bowls.”

The high-ranking maids had not been chosen only for their beauty. They were also incredibly skilled, and after a single demonstration, they created perfectly round scoops of ice cream.

“My, this is delicious,” the maids raved.

I’m so glad they like it!

After that, I explained our reservation system to them, and that was the end of their training.

Are the other members even listening?

“Maybe one of us could be the driver of the passenger tricycle. Or would it be better to let a student who wants to test ride it be the driver?”

The boys were buzzing with excitement over the trike taxi. Are you guys going to be okay? It takes a lot of stamina to pedal those with a passenger riding. Though it was rude, I couldn’t help but think about how the members of alchemy club were all quite lanky.

Chapter 14: The Festival of Verdure Is a Huge Success!

The music club’s New Composition Recital was sandwiched between the choir club’s performances. I wasn’t looking forward to running into Louise, but it would likely be unavoidable.

“As always, the choir club has such antiquated song choices,” Princess Margaret criticized.

Louise was singing too, but her performance felt lacking and didn’t really stand out from the other female students onstage.

“Aren’t there boys in the choir club as well?” I asked.

I’d seen several male students during the Harvest Festival performance, but today, they were nowhere to be found. Are they all a part of the afternoon performance?

“You really are behind on the latest news, Patience,” the princess replied. “The boys all switched to glee club. I’ve also heard that many of the female students have switched as well, since they can’t get solos in choir club unless they are upper-ranking nobles. The choir club isn’t merit based, which a lot of members were dissatisfied with, so they’ve all left for the glee club.”

I see. No wonder why the choir didn’t feel filled-out. There’s just fewer people in general.

I’d been leisurely reviewing the choir club’s recital as if I were a simple audience member, but once it was over, it was time for the music club to go onstage. The hanon that had been standing off stage was brought to the middle along with the sign to introduce performers.

President Albert then greeted the audience in a practiced manner.

“We will now begin the music club’s New Composition Recital,” he announced.

We’d had a lot of first-year students join this year, so I didn’t have to turn the pages on the sign, which made things a lot easier for me.

The first-years had apparently drawn lots to decide what order they would perform in. First up was Klaus, who was an angelically adorable boy and my ideal kind of shota. He played his new piece, which had been a patch of weeds that we’d somehow arranged into a beautiful flowerbed, along with one of my pieces, “Cat’s Waltz.”

“Bravo!” an audience member cheered.

Oh, it looks like Duke Laforet is here again this year.

Next was Samuel. His new composition was titled “Summer Lightning,” and it had rocklike elements which I quite liked. For his second piece, he played “Nocturne.”

Duke Laforet is getting a bit rowdy with excitement. Oh, President Albert’s making him quiet down. Thank God.

Daniel was next. His song had been the hardest to arrange into an acceptable piece, but we’d managed to polish it. He also played “Farewell,” and I was impressed with how good he was.

The final first-year to go onstage was Valdische, whose new piece was titled “Trot.” It was a song meant to be danced along to, and it really captured the essence of a horse’s trot. He also played President Albert’s technically complex piece. Wow, I can’t believe he can move his fingers that quickly!

I was the final performer of this slot, and I played “Heroic Polonaise” and Princess Margaret’s new piece, “Song of the Youth.” The music club’s performance received hearty applause, which was a great relief. All that was left for the morning was the choir club’s second performance.

“You did well, Patience,” Princess Margaret said.

I appreciate her praise, but I’m more curious about the shadow drawing closer to us. Is that Duke Laforet?

“Patience Granger, right?” the duke said, walking up to us. “You are incredibly talented. I would love for you to come perform at my home.” There was a terrifying seriousness in his eyes, but luckily, Albert stepped in.

“Father, the performances will continue. We should return to our seats.”

Princess Margaret seemed worried as well.

“Duke Laforet is quite dangerous,” she warned. “You must be careful, Patience. Do you have anyone you could get engaged to?”

The Grangers are too poor to get any marriage offers regarding me... Oh, wait, over winter break, Aunt Amalia passed along a proposal to my father.

We’d immediately turned it down, but if push came to shove, perhaps I would have to run back to that proposal. I definitely didn’t want to become President Albert’s stepmother.

I hope it wasn’t from someone too much older. I’m a shotacon, so I don’t really like older men.

The choir club’s performance was so boring that I’d been thinking about such silly things. Louise was still performing in the second set, perhaps because they had just lost that many members.

“It’s time for us to head backstage,” Princess Margaret announced.

Next up was the glee club’s musical, so all of us music club members who were instrumentalists in the performance headed to the dressing room. We walked in to find the members of the glee club dressed in their costumes and buzzing with excitement. Members of the dance club, who were joining as backup dancers, were also there, so the dressing room was overflowing with people. It was a stark contrast with the choir club, which only had a handful of performers onstage at a time.

I was playing the hanon; Princess Margaret was playing the flute; Valdische, Samuel, and Daniel were all playing lutes; Rupert and Klaus were in charge of percussion; and President Albert was conducting.

Alec and Eliza was very good. The audience also seemed to enjoy it, and they were cheering and applauding. The highlight was when Eliza sang “Amazing Grace” to pray for Alec’s safety when he left to fight in the war. I could see why Louise had wanted to sing it.

“The music club may have some serious competition for first place,” Princess Margaret muttered. “Anyway, we should go have lunch.”

“I’m going to do my best to convince my father to stop pursuing your talents, Patience,” President Albert informed me. “Still, I think it’s best that you stay by Princess Margaret’s side. My father is much more obsessive about music than I am. There’s no telling what he might do.”

Now I’d been warned to stay with the princess. Duke Laforet must be pretty dangerous if even his own son is worried that he’ll kidnap me.

I was going to be busy with alchemy club after lunch, so I decided to cast a vote for music club before I left.

Just like the previous year, partitions had been put up in the salon, since Princess Margaret and Prince Keith wouldn’t be able to eat if they were constantly greeting every parent that stopped by their table to say hello. As always, Ralph and Hugo were there to have lunch with the prince.

“What are you doing after lunch, sister?” Prince Keith asked.

The knight club was done with their activities in the morning. I was going to alchemy club, so I’d been hoping that Prince Keith could keep Princess Margaret company, but their conversation was taking a different turn.

“After lunch, I’ll be visiting the alchemy club to try some ice cream,” Princess Margaret shared. “After that, I’ll go to the auditorium for my performance in the New Composition Recital. That’s why I’d like to ask you to accompany Patience, Keith. I want you to watch over her and make sure Duke Laforet doesn’t drag her to his home.”

“You worry too much, Lady Margaret,” I said, trying to refuse any such accompaniment. I’m going to be so exhausted if I have to spend the day with Prince Keith. “That would never happen. I will be fine.”

“Duke Laforet isn’t married, right?” Prince Keith mused. “You’re going to be in trouble if he’s as crazy about music as Albert is.”

Is this kingdom okay? Why are its dukes such weirdos?

“That’s precisely why I’m worried,” Princess Margaret replied to her brother. “Earlier, he was inviting Patience to his mansion. Albert stopped him, but I don’t think she’ll be able to decline his request without me by her side.”

Prince Keith’s brows angrily furrowed. I agree. A middle-aged man shouldn’t be forcing an eleven-year-old to do anything. On top of that, he’s a duke, so I can’t say no.

“Very well,” Prince Keith said. “I won’t leave Patience’s side.”

It was decided that I would be escorted around until the fourth period bell, at which time Prince Keith would take me to the sewing classroom. That was when parents and guardians were scheduled to leave, so I could resume accompanying Princess Margaret.

“Wouldn’t you like to explore the festival for yourself?” I asked the prince. “After this, I’m going to be at alchemy club for a while, so I will be fine.” I was still trying to get out of being babysat, but neither Princess Margaret nor Prince Keith would budge.

“You don’t know how scary nobles can be, Patience,” Princess Margaret said. “If you get forcibly dragged off to his home, terrible rumors will spread, and you won’t be able to find a proper suitor. In the best case, you would become Duke Laforet’s second wife, but it’s very possible that people would simply treat you as his paramour.”

The lover of a middle-aged man?! That thought gave me goose bumps. No way! I don’t want that!

We turned down dessert, since we would be having ice cream next, then we headed to the alchemy club’s exhibit area.

“My, there are so many people here,” Princess Margaret remarked.

I’d been in the auditorium all morning, so I didn’t know that the alchemy club’s stalls were absolutely crowded with festival attendees. Both the bicycle test riding and ice cream taste testing were huge hits.

“Patience! You’re finally here!” President Caesar and Benjamin both exclaimed, greeting me with great enthusiasm.

“We have a table reserved for you, Lady Margaret,” I said. “You’re welcome to join her, Prince Keith, Sir Ralph, and Sir Hugo.”

Considering the huge turnout, I would likely be safe among all these people. Princess Margaret and the others took their seats, and I headed to our little kitchen set up in the other half of our showroom so I could help the maids.

“We don’t have enough bowls,” a maid reported.

There were signs that some dishwashing had been attempted, but it appeared that they’d been much too busy serving guests to be able to actually clean up. I rolled my sleeves up and began washing the bowls, then I used household magic to dry everything to simplify the process.

“Have you had lunch?” I asked the maids.

The Burns household had sent packed lunches for everyone, but it didn’t seem that anyone had eaten yet. I prepared some tea, then I had the maids take turns having breaks, two at a time.

While the maids took their breaks, I prepared the bowls of ice cream. If I handled all the kitchen work, we only needed two maids working to actually serve the guests.

It didn’t seem like any of the alchemy club members had taken a lunch break either. I’d been starving when I’d first arrived in this world, so I was always against skipping meals. The maids had finished taking their breaks, so now it was the club members’ turn.

“President Caesar, please go have lunch,” I interrupted Caesar, who was proudly explaining how our bicycles worked.

“Got it,” he replied, but I didn’t believe him. My skepticism was only made stronger by the fact that instead of taking his break, he made me help with organizing the guests lined up for test rides.

Model I was the easiest to ride, since it had training wheels, but it wasn’t very popular. Everyone wanted to act tough and go for Model II or Model III. Surprisingly, Model IV was most popular with the parents and guardians. President Caesar had hoped that it would help get more female students interested in alchemy club, so it was unfortunate how things turned out. There were lots of parents enjoying the Model IV together as a couple.

Princess Margaret and the others appeared to have finished eating their ice cream, so I went by their table to see them off.

“That was very delicious, Patience.”

Yay, I got a compliment! I may as well use this opportunity to advertise.

“The tool used to make this dessert will be sold through the Burns Trading Company. It’ll come with the recipe, so those who purchase it will be able to eat ice cream whenever they’d like.”

Not only did that pique Princess Margaret’s interest, but Prince Keith, Ralph, and Hugo were all staring at me, their eyes glimmering with excitement. I guess I just landed some sales!

Princess Margaret met up with other members of music club and headed back to the auditorium. They’d all skipped the theater club’s performance, which was understandable, since they were performing a depressing tragedy. Prince Keith, Ralph, and Hugo all stayed at the alchemy club stalls. I felt like my fellow club members were staring, suspicious of the prince and his friends. I guess it’s weird for them to be here. Prince Keith and his friends have nothing to do with alchemy club whatsoever, yet they’re hanging around here.

“Would you like to try riding a bicycle?” I asked. It would be suffocating to have them standing by my side the entire time, and it was also uncomfortable to have them just twiddling their thumbs.

“We haven’t reserved a spot,” Prince Keith pointed out. I knew he was being polite, but I’d noticed him enviously staring at the other students who were tiptoeing forward on the bicycles.

“The Model I doesn’t have many reservations,” I let the prince know, but he didn’t seem to like that idea. He probably thought that it was uncool to need training wheels. “I think it’s better to smoothly ride off than have to tiptoe your way forward.”

“If that’s what you think, Patience, then I’ll try it,”

That’s an interesting way to phrase things. Does he trust me because he thinks I know a lot about bicycles or something?

“There are the handles, and if you squeeze here, you can use the brakes,” I said, explaining how to operate the bicycle.

Prince Keith was able to ride the bicycle with training wheels smoothly, probably because he was very athletically skilled. Ralph and Hugo were also able to ride the bicycle successfully.

“This is fun, and it’s pretty useful,” Prince Keith remarked. He looked over at the Model IV and seemed to take notice of its potential.

“Yes, if you’re only traveling a short distance, you won’t need a carriage.”

Prince Keith scowled.

“You shouldn’t go out on your own on a bicycle, Patience. Duke Laforet isn’t the only one targeting you. There are lots of people who will target you for your talents.”

Would anyone who isn’t obsessed with music target me? What is he talking about?

“The ice cream maker and bicycles aren’t the entire exhibit, are they?” Ralph asked.

I proceeded to guide the three of them to the showroom, where we had the washing machine, fridge, freezer, clothing iron, and hair iron on display.

“Is this washing machine thing supposed to replace maids?” Prince Keith asked. “The fridge and freezer seem good for the preservation of food items. I understand what the clothing iron is, but what’s the hair iron for?”

I got busy answering all of Prince Keith’s questions, and by the time I was finished, we had sold out of both ice cream and meringues.

“We are all sold out,” President Caesar announced to the crowd, and some of the students looked toward the guests who’d made reservations and began complaining.

I checked with the maids to see if we had any extra ingredients, and we fortunately had some, so I quickly whipped up two more containers of ice cream. We didn’t have much time, so instead of using the ice cream maker, I quickly prepped them with household magic. Prince Keith and his friends all looked at me with disbelief.

“I’ve made forty more servings, President Caesar,” I reported. “But we’re now completely out of ingredients.”

All the students who had crowded around the stall were now enjoying ice cream.

“I hope that some students are now even slightly interested in joining our club,” President Caesar remarked. “Even if that doesn’t happen, it looks like the bicycle and ice cream maker will sell well.”

That made sense, since the showroom was quite empty. People actually interested in joining the club would have been intrigued by our inventions on display, rather than just the eye-catching stalls outside. Regardless, it appeared that the Festival of Verdure would come to an end without any troubles.

“The maids can handle cleaning up,” President Caesar assured me. “You need to go get dressed, don’t you?”

President Caesar was aware that starting this year, female students were required to wear the gowns they’d sewn themselves during sewing class to the festival ball. Perhaps the students in Year 2 Class A had also made a fuss about it.

“I do, but I don’t have much interest in the ball...”

My attempt to try and stick around was futile, because Prince Keith and his two friends were right behind me.

“We’ll escort you to the sewing classroom, Patience,” Prince Keith said.

“Go on,” President Caesar insisted.

Without any other choice left, I headed out with the prince and his friends, feeling like a child being dragged off the playground by her parents.

“Your gown is done already, right, Patience” Prince Keith asked. He was probably thinking that the only reason I could have for dreading the ball was that I hadn’t had enough time to finish my gown.

You don’t get it. Junior division students get to show up in their uniforms, but senior division students have to dress up. I was short even while in the junior division, so if I’m in a whole gown, I’ll stand out—in a bad way.

“I’m just going to participate for a bit before returning to the dorms,” I said.

Prince Keith seemed exasperated by the fact that I was heading to the ball with the intention of leaving early.

“You have a certificate of completion in dance,” Prince Keith argued.

I only got that because President Caesar took the lead in our dance, but if I tell him that, he’s probably going to get upset. I’ll keep that to myself.

“Prince Keith, Sir Ralph, and Sir Hugo, thank you very much.”

I never ran into Duke Laforet, and though I never thought I was actually in danger of being kidnapped and dragged off to his home, I wanted to thank them for escorting me.

“You really need to be careful, Patience,” Prince Keith warned.

He was making me start to worry, but if things really came to it, I could flee to the safety of the suitor Aunt Amalia had discussed with my father. Good grief.

Chapter 15: The Festival of Verdure Ball

Partitions had been set up in the sewing classroom, behind which students were getting dressed. Princess Margaret had already changed into her gown, but her current hairstyle didn’t go with it.

“I’ll style your hair for you, Lady Margaret,” I said. “You’ve brought your own hair accessory, right?”

She usually wore her hair sideswept, but that wasn’t the best style for dancing. I undid her hair, put it all up into a nice updo, then added on the light green bow that matched her dress.

“You look lovely,” I remarked.

“You really are incredible at styling hair, Patience.”

Princess Margaret was truly beautiful in her chartreuse gown. Okay, I should get dressed too. I put on my polka dot gown, put half of my hair up, then curled the sections that were down. Finally, I put on my polka dot bow, and I was ready. I stepped out from behind the partition, and for some reason, everyone was staring at me.

“You look absolutely magnificent, Patience,” Princess Margaret raved.

I was the only one who had a patterned gown, so I stood out quite a bit. I may have made a mistake. Just quickly glancing at the others, their gowns all looked properly sewn, though it was possible that there were mistakes that could only be seen up close.

Next we headed to the ballroom, and the junior division students stared enviously at the senior division students’ elegant gowns. Students suddenly started buzzing, and I saw that Percival had walked in. Yeah, he’s as handsome as always.

“I heard Percival won the knight club’s match,” Princess Margaret shared.

I see. It’s no wonder he’s stealing the attention of every girl.

“Why don’t you ask him to be your shield?” she suggested.

No way. We’re in completely different leagues— Hey, wait! Don’t wave him over like that, Your Highness!

“Did you need something?” Percival asked.

Shoot, he’s here now. He was even more handsome up close.

“You’re Patience’s second cousin, right? I want you to protect her from that music-obsessed Duke Laforet.”

I’m pretty sure the danger is all in your imagination, Princess Margaret. I’m way too young to be targeted by him. Wait, why are you taking her seriously, Percival?!

“That sounds like a big problem,” Percival replied. “Duke Laforet is single, so it would be very hard to turn him down. If you’d have me, I’d gladly act as pest repellant for you. After all, I am indebted to you, Lady Patience.”

Princess Margaret seemed satisfied, but I on the other hand felt as if I were lying on a bed of nails.

“Go ahead and dance,” the princess urged. “I’ll dance as well.”

The beautiful Princess Margaret would have no trouble finding someone to dance with, so she sent me off to dance with Percival, which I did while being showered with glares of envy.

“Sir Percival, Princess Margaret was exaggerating earlier,” I said.

Percival didn’t agree.

“Even if you weren’t in this situation, I would be here. I’ve been hoping that we could proceed with marriage discussions, Lady Patience.”

Wait, what?! So the proposal brought over by Aunt Amalia was from Percival?!

“Really? I’m sure there are ladies out there much more beautiful than me, and from much better families to boot.”

I wasn’t trying to be modest—it was the honest truth. Now that I was no longer thin as a stick, I was looking cuter than before, but there were plenty of beautiful girls among the daughters of nobles. Though their personalities were awful, I’d never seen anyone as beautiful as Princess Margaret’s former friends during my previous life. It was like being among popstars and supermodels.

Percival chuckled. Ugh, it’s unfair for him to be so good looking. Even if I don’t have feelings for him, I can’t help but get butterflies when I’m this close.

“I like how honest you are, Lady Patience,” he said in a low voice.

Gosh, he’s making me blush.

“This is also a calculated move for me,” Percival shared. “A diplomat’s wife must be someone who can be a trustworthy partner.”

He had a point. I’d been worried for a moment when he said that it was a calculated move, but there was no way he was expecting to get rich off the Grangers or anything like that.

“Do you have any interest in the diplomatic service?” Percival asked.

I did indeed have interest in becoming a diplomat. I’d wanted to become one during my previous life, but the exam had been too difficult, and I’d given up before I ever even tried. Once I’d gotten a job, I’d regretted not having even made an attempt.

When he was seducing me to be a partner rather than a lover, it was harder to refuse. Though Klaus was much more my type, as a suitor, Percival was still a million times better than Duke Laforet. The one detriment to being with Percival would be that being by his side would constantly get me that look wondering, Why you? I could even feel people thinking the question at this very moment.

“I haven’t thought about marriage yet,” I replied. “Becoming a diplomat is one of the paths I’m considering. I’d like to take my time to think about it while at Romano University, which my father agrees with as well.”

Even though I’d turned down his offer of marriage, Percival had a satisfied smile. “I have no problem with that. Please consider marrying me as a potential path as well.”

Wow, Percival will make a great diplomat. He’s smiling, but it’s clear that he won’t back down. He’s a strong opponent for an easily swayed person like me.

Once the song ended, Prince Keith invited me to dance.

“I’m looking forward to dancing with you again, Lady Patience,” Percival said. He was smooth even while parting ways.

Prince Keith, my next partner, was a skilled dancer as well.

“What were you talking about with Sir Percival?” the prince asked.

All you had to do was not ask that, Prince Keith. You’re so childish.

“He was suggesting that I join the diplomatic service with him,” I replied.

That seemed to surprise the prince.

“Right, you’re also enrolled in the civil service course. Wait, is Sir Percival going to become a diplomat?”

He didn’t know? He’s so shocked.

“Yes. He’s apparently going to be done with the knight track at the end of this term, so he will be enrolling in the civil service track in the fall.”

Prince Keith seemed completely taken aback.

“But Sir Percival won the match... Aha, this must be why he didn’t become the club president.”

Though his departure would be a blow to the knight club, Percival was going to make a skilled diplomat. Thanks to this shocking news, Prince Keith didn’t ask any more awkward questions. He was probably too lost in thought.

My dance with the prince came to an end, and I thought I would finally get to sit down and take a break, but President Albert came up to me next.

“Why don’t we talk while dancing?” Albert suggested.

I was surrounded by other female students where I was seated, so it would indeed be easier to have a conversation if we were on the dance floor. He probably wanted to update me about Duke Laforet.

“You don’t have to worry about my father, Patience. I told him that I’m interested in marrying you, and he was happy to stand down.”

What the heck?! Also, I think that just created a different, new problem! Yeah, Albert is a hundred times better than Duke Laforet, but I’d rather not live a life that revolves solely around music.

“I’m not thinking about marriage yet, President Albert,” I replied. “Also, I’m planning to attend Romano University after graduating from the academy.”

Though President Albert was on the same page with me about not getting married yet, he had a strange reaction to my mention of attending Romano University.

“What are you going to study there?” he asked.

Apparently, Romano University didn’t have a music department, so in President Albert’s eyes, it was a waste of time to attend. I definitely couldn’t make things work with Albert. He wouldn’t allow me to pursue anything other than music.

“I’m unsure of what I’d like to do, so I want to learn more at Romano University in order to make a decision,” I explained.

“That’s ridiculous. You’ve already been gifted with an extraordinary talent for music!”

I wish I could run away. Oh, perfect! The song ended.

“Let’s dance, Patience!” Prince Keith called out with perfect timing. In that moment, he was like Prince Charming, riding in on his white horse to save me.

“Thank you very much,” I said as we began dancing. Since he’d escorted me around the academy during the afternoon, I figured I should update him on the situation. “It appears that Duke Laforet is no longer an issue.”

“Is that because you’re going to marry Albert instead?”

“My, that would never happen.”

Prince Keith seemed pleased, and though an intense look had appeared on his face for a moment, he was now smiling.

“Can you actually turn down a proposal from a Laforet?” he asked.

Oh, I hadn’t thought about that. I don’t know if the Grangers are in a position to turn down an offer like that. I guess that’s why Princess Margaret is pushing me toward Percival. If I at least had a fiancé, then I could turn down Albert.

“Such matters will be decided much further in the future,” I replied, trying to wriggle my way out of this topic. I really do hope that it’s a looong while before any of this matters.

My next dance was with Caesar, whom I never would have expected to show up to an event like this.

“I apologize for not helping clean up,” I said.

President Caesar was in a good mood and insisted that everything was fine. Apparently, he’d gotten a third-year from the junior division to join alchemy club.

“He was interested in the bicycles,” President Caesar shared. “It’s not exactly alchemy, but he says he likes tinkering with machines.”

Oh, that’s great!

“In that case, I may be able to get his help in making my sewing machine!”

Oh shoot, I’m not supposed to discuss new inventions around President Caesar! Our dance immediately stopped to discuss the sewing machine.

“I see, a machine that can sew fabric! We also need to work on Magius’s cape!”

As we continued our discussion of alchemy projects, Benjamin, Bryce, and Arthur all came over and joined in. We’d completely forgotten about the ball.

“I believe the thread is going to be the key to recreating this cape,” I said. “We must be able to use the thread to channel the mana from the magic stone in order to activate the magic circle.”

Our conversation morphed into a heated debate.

“You must dance, Patience,” Princess Margaret exasperatedly ordered.

Aww, this is way more fun than dancing, I thought, but I did as she said.

I proceeded to dance with some of my classmates from the civil service track. Philips and Russell were both skilled dancers. I wonder if you need to be good at dancing to become a diplomat.

I was surprised to find out that Benjamin was also a good dancer. Then I danced with Bryce, who turned out to be the easiest to dance with. Perhaps that was a result of his considerate personality.

Since I didn’t have much stamina, I was quite exhausted by that point. Princess Margaret and I headed back to the sewing classroom, changed into our uniforms, and returned to the dorms.

Princess Margaret’s eyes were glimmering with anticipation. She’d given up on finding love for herself, since she believed that she would be entering into a political marriage, but she still loved to talk about romance. Once at the dorms, we had tea together, and I updated her on what had happened at the ball.

The princess burst into laughter when I told her about my conversation with Albert, but though she was amused, she still seemed a bit worried too. A jobless viscount couldn’t turn down a proposal from such a high-ranking member of the nobility.

“I think Percival is the best choice after all,” Princess Margaret declared. “He recognizes your talents. Albert does as well, to a certain extent, and in my opinion, the offer to sponsor you and open up a music parlor should get him high marks... You’re undecided though, right?”

I agreed with the princess. Being with Percival would afford me the most freedom when it came to my future. He’d also likely let me study other things on the side, like alchemy and pharmacy.

“Caesar might be a candidate too,” the princess pointed out.

I really couldn’t imagine that happening. Princess Margaret sure does love discussing my love life.

Chapter 16: Final Exams for the Spring Term

After the Festival of Verdure, it was time for final exams. I was in the midst of studying like crazy in an attempt to get certificates of completion for government and law. There were so many things I had to memorize, which made it hard work.

On top of that, I also had papers to submit for my business and economics classes. For my project for diplomacy, we were assigned Cordova, which meant we had a lot of research to do. We’d probably been given the difficult option because our group had smart students, like Philips and Russell.

I’d gone to the herbology lectures a couple times in May, but it really was just material straight from the textbook, so I decided to instead do lots of research in the library on all the herbs listed in the textbook. As I’d suspected, the herbology textbook was very unkind toward its readers, as it had left out a lot of important information. I had to do my own research on which combinations resulted in more effective medicines, and which combinations of herbs had to be avoided at all costs. It was a lot of work to be required to take exams for Herbology I, II, and III. In most subjects, just passing the third level of the class would earn you a certificate of completion, but Ms. Makias wasn’t very nice.

Princess Margaret was also studying hard in an attempt to get certificates of completion in language arts and magic theory. She’d put in serious effort on her last piece for art class, which had earned her a certificate of completion. She was also planning to get certificates of completion in history and classical literature in the fall. She’d also been studying hard for child-rearing, which she wanted to get an exemption from. That last one was probably going to be easy.

The princess also mentioned that she planned to start the fall term with extra sewing blocks already in her schedule. The fall gown needed to be lined, so she wanted to avoid having any last-minute sewing like she had with her last gown, which had ended up a lot simpler than she’d initially planned it to be, because she hadn’t had the time to sew on the decorative lace she’d wanted to use. For someone as fashion conscious as Princess Margaret, that was likely upsetting.

As for the auditorium votes, the music club just barely got the most. The runner-up was the glee club, and in a distant third place was the theater club. The choir club obtained the fewest votes by an incredibly massive margin.

“It seems that students who knew that we provided the songs for the glee club’s musical voted for us instead,” Princess Margaret said. She was in high spirits after finding out that the music club had received the most votes.

Man, the fall of the choir club is intense. Almost all of their first-years jumped ship to join the glee club, so they just don’t have the power that they used to. I’m going to keep avoiding Louise, since she’s probably going to blame me for everything.

Since it was time for final exams, both music club and alchemy club had basically suspended club activities. I wonder if Samuel is doing all right. If he needs any help, he’ll ask me over the weekend, right? I think his grades are good enough for him to stay in Class A.

I somehow managed to finish up my paper for business. I’d used the greenhouse at home to create a business that sold vegetables through preorders. It was pretty much what I’d already been doing. I’d had Eva help me with the prices of vegetables.

My paper for economics was an extension of that. I researched what vegetables would sell better, and I graphed the price fluctuations of various vegetables. That also was accomplished through lots of help from Eva, because she’d had over a decade’s worth of records detailing the price of groceries she’d purchased, which I’d used as part of my research.

While I was putting together my paper, I realized that around the time I’d been reincarnated into this world, the price of food had skyrocketed. That winter had been particularly cold, and in the northern part of the continent there were people who’d frozen or starved to death. I’m going to keep storing food for us so we never go hungry again.

As for other events during this time, May was when roses went into full bloom. I found roses that were white with pink edges, yellow with a red center, purple, and all sorts of other colors. I took cuttings of the various roses and planted them all at my greenhouse back home. The red and pink roses that I’d previously been growing were replanted out in the yard. These bushes were sturdy ones that had survived the period of negligence, so they would likely continue to bloom proudly out in the yard.

Selling roses in the winter had earned us a lot more money than I’d expected, so roses took up half of the greenhouse space. Just as OG Patience had told me, roses were indeed incredible. Though, I’d prioritized food back then, since our family had been starving.

I also planted some summer vegetables, since the winter was for growing leafy greens, herbs, and strawberries.

I had no idea what I would be doing in the summer. It was possible that I would be invited to the summer palace, like I had been last year. If possible, I wanted to spend my summer at home with my angels, just relaxing. I had lots of vegetables I wanted to plant, and I also wanted to think about Magius’s cape and building a sewing machine. I also wanted to finish my needle painted piece. After all, the Satisfords were sending a riding instructor to our house three days a week. I found some pockets of free time here and there to work on it, but it was only halfway done. Even if I were to use household magic, there were intricate color changes that made it difficult to finish.

I popped in to music club and alchemy club at least once a week, but I ended up spending most of May buried in my studying.

Final exams went all right. I also submitted my papers for business and economics. Team Cordova won the debate in diplomacy class, and the atmosphere in the class was a bit awkward. The teacher said that from now on, he would split us into different groups, so Philips and Russell were likely going to be assigned to separate ones. It was no surprise, since they’d completely obliterated the students on the Lawrence team through intense debate, and we’d won in a landslide.

It was time for final grades to be announced, and I still had no plans for the summer.

“It appears that Richard will be traveling outside the kingdom,” Princess Margaret shared. “Mother’s been busy preparing for that.”

Romano University also had summer breaks, so during that time Prince Richard was likely being sent out to learn about foreign countries, since he was next in line to be king.

I’m jealous. The Grangers are too poor to travel overseas. Such envy ended up harming me, because soon after, I was summoned to the palace.

“I think you’ll be invited to the summer palace again,” Princess Margaret said.

Yeah, I think so too. I’ll only get to spend a little bit of time with my angels this summer, I thought, suppressing a sigh.

“Jane is ten years old now, Margaret,” the queen pointed out to her. “This summer, you must take the lead and be an example for her.”

Oh, Princess Jane is ten now! She’s no longer with the caretaker, and she gets to join us for meals.

“I’m sure serving Margaret has left you exhausted, Patience,” the queen said. “You should relax and have a leisurely summer break.”

That means I don’t have to go to the summer palace, right? Princess Margaret didn’t seem too happy about it, but Queen Victoria shot her a glare, which made the princess keep her mouth shut. I did my best to maintain a neutral expression and hide my overwhelming joy.

“I think you rely too much on Patience, Margaret,” the queen continued. “During the summer, you are to wake up on your own.”

Gosh, that’s going to be tough.

“In fall of next year, you will be making your debut into society,” Queen Victoria remarked. “You must be more considerate of these things.”

Making your societal debut meant you were considered an adult. Would Princess Margaret leave the dorm? Maybe she won’t need a lady’s maid anymore. It was foolish of me to carelessly think such things.

“You will be turning thirteen next year, right, Patience? You shall make your societal debut alongside Margaret.”

Huh? Is that even possible? My family is really poor. It was also quite soon to be debuting. Catherine and some others had been buzzing about how they were making their debuts this fall, which was how I’d learned that even fourteen was a young age to be making your societal debut. The girls in our class were envious of Catherine and her friends.

I’d heard various rumors on the topic and learned that some people even debuted when they were only twelve, but people who did that usually were betrothed to someone already, and the debut was mostly a way to show off the engagement to noble society. In those cases, you would debut alongside your suitor, but you wouldn’t attend the reception afterward.

“My, it would be fun to make my debut with you, Patience.”

Princess Margaret was happy about her mother’s order, but I would rather make money using alchemy than attend a party.

“You have nothing to worry about, Patience,” the queen said. “We will make all the preparations necessary for your debut.”

It sounded like my gown and everything else would be taken care of, but even so, I wasn’t really interested in the whole thing. My father was also currently unemployed, so I didn’t know how it would appear if his daughter was out making merry at social functions. I was doing my best to maintain a neutral countenance, but it seemed my worry was obvious.

The queen smiled and continued speaking.

“We’ve caused a lot of trouble for the Granger family, but I believe you will be hearing some good news in the fall.”

Does that mean my father’s getting a job? No, I can’t get my hopes up! I know I shouldn’t...but I can’t help but feel excited!

The queen then turned to her daughter.

“You must obtain as many certificates of completion as you can by next fall, Margaret. You will primarily only be attending functions on weekends, but there are always situations which call for exceptions.” Queen Victoria looked over at me. “I’m sure I don’t have to worry about your credits, Patience.”

Wait, I’m losing my weekends with my angels because of parties?!

“Your studies at the Royal Academy will take priority, so during the social season, which is between fall and winter, you will attend several functions, but it won’t be very many,” the queen explained; she likely wasn’t interested in making Princess Margaret attend trivial soirees. “You will be studying with Jane over the summer.”

If Princess Margaret focused on studying classical literature and history, she would likely be able to get certificates of completion in both subjects at the end of the fall term. She was quite close to passing magic practicum, but she’d unfortunately failed at passing the entire course.

“I do my best studying when I’m with Patience,” Princess Margaret remarked. “Keith was also finally able to comprehend classical literature thanks to Patience’s tutoring.”

Wait, don’t tell her that. Oh no, the queen has such a wide grin. I’m scared!

“Until you change your spoiled way of thinking, I will instruct the tutor to be extra strict with you.” It seemed that the princess had an intense summer ahead of her. Still, she’d probably get to have some fun too, like going swimming in the ocean, horseback riding, and playing the hanon.

Good luck, Princess Margaret!

Chapter 17: Nassius’s Birthday

Since I’d visited the palace, I got to go home on Friday. I’d also received my usual basket of eggs and other goodies, so it was time to bake Nassius a birthday cake! Well, Eva would be doing the actual baking.

“Welcome home, sister,” Nassius greeted me.

He’d grown so much that we were now at the same eye level, which threw me for a moment. He was on his way to surpassing me in height.

“You’ve gotten so tall, Nassius,” I remarked.

“Yes, well, I am almost ten years old,” he pointed out with a smile.

Henry had grown as well, but he was still shorter than me. I gave the younger of my brothers a tight squeeze, feeling bliss in the moment as a shotacon.

This year, I get to spend my entire summer break with them! I’m so happy!

Once Nassius turned ten, he would have to dress up for dinner, so I needed to prepare some clothes for him.

“Soon, you’ll have to be on your own for dinner, Henry. Will you be all right?”

I’d been worried about Henry being all alone. The customs here weren’t very friendly toward children under ten.

“Mary will be with me, so I’ll be okay,” Henry replied. I wished he could join us, but there wasn’t much I could do, because this was conventional within the nobility. “Also, Nassius needs the chance to learn table manners.”

That’s a good point. The boys ate with proper etiquette in their room, but Henry was often overly energetic, which was normal behavior for a child five or six years of age. Unfortunately, that wasn’t acceptable at a noble’s dinner table.

“You’re not one to talk, Henry,” Nassius chimed in.

Nassius had also become quite active. Not only had he been horse riding and sword fighting, but he’d also been helping out Matthew in the garden. It was great to see, since he’d always been a bookworm.

Perhaps spending time with Samuel had also influenced this change. Our cousin had been chubby when we’d first met him, but he’d started slimming down after joining the riding club at the academy. Samuel sometimes came by on the weekends, which was nice for Nassius. He’d only had Henry or me to play with, so I was glad he could spend time with someone closer to him in age.

I used the old uniforms from Mary and Aunt Amalia to make patterns and sewed a tuxedo jacket for him. Once summer break rolled around, I was probably going to be sewing a lot more. I wanted to sew a bunch of dress shirts for Nassius to wear to school, as well as some other clothes for Henry and my father. We’d also been unable to provide anyone on our staff with new garments for several years, so I wanted to make some clothes for them as well.

During the summer, I would be busy tending to the gardens, but I also wanted to continue my research for the alchemy club. I couldn’t wait to take Magic Circles II and III, but until then, I could continue to make things using the magic circles in my textbook. I also had to design my sewing machine, and I still wanted to do some more research on the thread used in Magius’s cape.

Though my plate already seemed to be overflowing, I also wanted to be able to spend time with my brothers. That thought made me realize that the only time Nassius and Henry had ever gone outside was when they’d visited the church for their proficiency evaluation. They were quite sheltered, so it would be nice to take them out somewhere.

Do people have picnics here? I guess there are monsters in this world, so the outdoors may not be a place to leisurely enjoy a meal. You might end up being a creature’s lunch.

We were celebrating Nassius’s birthday on Saturday, since Sunday was going to be too busy with the boys’ riding lesson and my return to the dorm. Nassius was dressed formally for lunch, and he looked very handsome. That’s my little angel for you!

The starter was a salad with freshly harvested vegetables, which was topped with thin slices of chilled chicken, which were juicy and delicious. The soup was a tomato soup, which was made using the tomatoes we had been growing in the greenhouse. They hadn’t quite ripened on their own yet, so I’d used my household magic to speed things up. We had T-bone steaks as our main course, which looked quite big because of the bone included, and they were served with a side of steamed cabbage and potatoes.

“Happy birthday, Nassius!” I cheered.

Dessert was a birthday cake topped with strawberries, which I’d been growing outdoors. The cake was decorated nicely with whipped cream, and it was topped with ten thin candles, which I’d made.

“Make a wish, then blow out the candles,” I encouraged him.

Nassius looked serious for a moment, then he blew out the candles. I wonder what he wished for.

“The cake is delicious, sister,” Nassius raved. I’m so glad he likes it!

Henry also appeared to be crazy about the cake, which was adorable.

“I can’t believe you’ll already be attending the Royal Academy next year, Nassius,” my father suddenly said.

It’s so rare for him to speak up unprompted. He’ll answer questions and stuff, but he never really joins in on our conversations. Oh, is he talking because he has news for us? Is he getting a job?

I got my hopes up and waited for my father to say more, but he simply resumed eating his cake and said no more. Queen Victoria had suggested that he would return to work in the fall, so he should already have some news to share. It was strange that he hadn’t said anything.

Since Nassius was turning ten, he was getting his own room. He would still use the children’s room to study with Henry, but he would be sleeping alone in his own room. For his birthday gift, I’d prepared a bedside lamp. He hadn’t ever voiced any fears of the dark like Henry did, but I thought he should have one, just in case. If he didn’t need it, he could always just sleep with the lamp fully turned off.

I continued to spend the afternoon with my brothers, practicing the hanon with them in the drawing room. I could afford to forget about my side jobs for a day and have some fun. It had been a while since I’d been able to leisurely spend time with my angels, but I couldn’t bring myself to fully enjoy it.

I feel like I’m forgetting something... Oh, there’s those proposals from Albert and Percival. Will they just go away if I ignore them? Wait, no, it would be worse if our families discussed things without me. I’ll have to talk to my father about this after dinner. Right now, I’m busy playing with the angels!

By then, we had moved to the children’s room, where we were all playing a game. I should sell this game through the Burns Trading Company!

I had a bad habit of leaving important tasks for later whenever I was with my angels. As a shotacon, I couldn’t help it. I’d let myself off the hook for it, but unfortunately, I couldn’t escape reality. Wyatt came to the children’s room to get me. Whatever he needed, it had to be urgent, since he never usually came here.

“A plethora of documents have arrived for you, sent from the Burns Trading Company, my lady,” Wyatt informed me. “These require your attention urgently, do they not?”

The paperwork was for the washing machine, freezer, fridge, cool air fan, ice cream maker, clothes iron, hair iron, bicycle, slime-filled seat cushions, and fabric glue. The alchemy club had submitted patents for everything but the fabric glue, for which President Caesar had insisted that I personally submit a patent. I’d argued against taking off the club members’ names, since they had helped come up with the ratio of ingredients, but Caesar wouldn’t budge. He’d laughed and insisted it was fine because he didn’t think the alchemy club would have been able to even think of ingredients they would need for a home ec item on their own.

The royalties from patents owned by the alchemy club were split four ways: ten percent to the club’s funds; thirty percent to the originator of the idea; thirty percent to the person who made the magic circle; and the remaining thirty percent to a pool which was equally split among club members. President Caesar had created most of the magic circles used in these inventions, but Arthur and Benjamin had contributed to a couple as well.

“I shall have the documents delivered to your father’s study,” Wyatt said.

Can’t we just take care of this after dinner? I’m busy playing reversi with the angels... Looks like the answer is no. I can tell from the smile on his face that he’s not leaving without me.

I followed Wyatt to my father’s study, where I proceeded to sign the assorted documents. They were various contracts, and there was a mountain of them, so it was a lot of work to read through them all. Wyatt looked through each one before handing them to me, but I also read through them, just to be safe. After all, since it was my name on them, I would be responsible for handling any issues.

“You’ve created so many magical instruments, Patience,” my father remarked. He’d also read through the contracts prior to signing them, so he knew about all of the inventions.

“Well, I simply suggested items that I thought would be convenient to have,” I replied. “The actual magic circles used in them were created by President Caesar and Benjamin.”

I really need to learn about magic circles ASAP. I’m leaving all the hard work to everyone else.

“That doesn’t apply to some of these, which aren’t magical instruments, like the bicycle and the fabric glue.”

“That is true. Those do not require a magic stone to be used. Since magic stones are so expensive in Lawrence, I want to make tools that don’t need them, if possible.”

Our signatures were now on all of the paperwork, so I was free to leave his study, but I still had to speak to my father about the proposals. If he wasn’t looped in, my father could receive an offer of marriage from the Laforets and accept it without knowing any details. On the surface, it would be a great deal for our family, since I would be marrying into quite a wealthy family.

“Um, could I have a moment of your time?” I asked.

It’s times like this that I wish my mother was alive. It would’ve been easier to talk to her about this stuff!

“Sure, what’s this about?”

I was having trouble bringing the topic up. Since I was a coward, I decided to start by discussing my societal debut, which the queen had likely told him about via letter. My plan was to use this topic as a jumping off point to eventually discuss marriage.

“Her Majesty informed me that Princess Margaret will be making her debut into society during the fall of next year,” I shared. “Her Majesty said I was also to make my debut at that time.” As I’d suspected, my father seemed to have heard about this already. He nodded, urging me to continue. “Well...you may be receiving a proposal addressed to me from the president of the music club, Albert Laforet, because Duke Laforet has taken a liking to my musical skills. I was also asked by Sir Percival to be his partner in the diplomatic service. He said he would be asking Aunt Amalia to handle discussions between our families.”

My father seemed pretty surprised. He seemed deep in thought for a while before he finally spoke up.

“What do you want to do, Patience?”

Wait, you’re letting me decide? I don’t want to be forced into a marriage with Albert, but I also don’t know if I’m allowed to decline.

“While I enjoy music, I’m not sure I want to be limited to it being my only pursuit... As for Sir Percival, he is very handsome, and I do not have the courage to be at his side.”

I’d given sincere answers, only to be laughed at by my father. How rude!

“It’s too soon for you to be discussing marriage,” my father said.

I agree, but I think the bigger issue is whether we can say no to the Laforets. Are we allowed to decline an offer from them?

“Sir Percival said he would be happy to be used as a shield to help me with rejecting the Laforets’ offer,” I shared. “He said that while I am at Romano University and thinking about my future, he would like me to consider becoming the wife of a diplomat as one of my options.”

My father nodded along, satisfied with Percival’s request, since it followed his desire for me to take the time to think about my future while attending university.

“Do you have feelings for Percival?” he asked.

Don’t ask me that. I don’t dislike him. I guess I like him, but I don’t know if I want to marry him. In that sense, I feel the same way about Albert—he’s a music-obsessed weirdo, but I don’t actively dislike him. I just don’t want to marry him! If this were a race, I guess Percival is half a step ahead of Albert. I bet if the girls crushing on him knew what I was thinking, they’d rip me to shreds. That’s also one of my concerns.

“I am fond of him, but I’m not sure if it is a ‘wanting to marry him’ sort of fondness.”

My father just nodded silently. Don’t you have any advice for me? I’m disappointed.

It was Sunday, and the riding instructor would be coming in the afternoon. Samuel came to visit, and I asked him about his finals. I figured he’d probably done fine, but I was still a bit worried.

“I’m pretty sure I passed language arts and magic theory,” he informed me. “I think I did all right on classical literature, history, and math too. I already got a certificate of completion for music, and I passed magic practicum, art, and dance. I thought I did better than the passing students in PE, but I still didn’t pass. I think Mr. Cuthbert has something against the riding club. Even Daniel, who is the best at athletics in our class, didn’t pass.”

His finals had pretty much gone how I’d expected. His situation with PE was tough, since Mr. Cuthbert had been the previous advisor to the knight club. It seemed that he now resented the magic club and riding club, even though they had been the ones troubled by his club. Mr. Cuthbert is really problematic.

Samuel proceeded to ask me about my plans for the summer break.

“Are you going to the summer palace this year?”

Why is he asking me that? Did Aunt Lilianna put him up to this?

“I’m planning to spend the summer at home,” I replied.

A beaming smile spread across his face. He’s so adorable!

“In that case, would you, Nassius, and Henry like to come to Northcourt County with us?”

Wow, an invitation to our relative’s territory. I wanted to take care of the gardens here, but it would be nice to give the angels a chance to go somewhere outside Romano. This is tough.

“Well, Henry is only seven, so he wouldn’t be able to join us for any meals...”

Nassius would be ten, so he would be fine, but it would be sad for Henry if he had to travel all the way there only to be kept apart from us.

“While at our house in Romano, I had all my meals separately until I was ten, but in Northcourt County, I only had dinner separately,” Samuel revealed. “Henry won’t be able to join us for dinner, but my mother said he could for other meals.”

In that case, it wouldn’t be any different from when we’re at home. Hmm, what should I do?

As I mulled over my decision, Henry, who I didn’t know had been listening, answered for himself.

“I’d like to go, sister!” he said, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

He must know that I’m weak to his requests.

“I promise to look after Henry, so please let him come too,” Nassius said.

Don’t worry, Nassius. I was deciding whether we should all go or not—we would never go without Henry. I’m just not sure if I want to leave since I was planning on spending my summer working in the garden and researching stuff for alchemy club.

“I’ll get back to you after speaking to our father,” I said. It’s such a useful phrase in times like this, I thought, only for my carelessness to invite an attack.

“Northcourt County is on the coast,” Samuel added on. “I’ll teach Nassius and Henry how to swim.”

My brothers’ eyes glimmered with excitement, which was understandable, since they had never seen the ocean before. Samuel’s pretty clever. He knows that it’s easier to convince my brothers than me.

Henry took off running toward our father’s study. It was too late to stop him. Even if I could, I didn’t want to, because I was now determined to get my angels to the beach.

My father gave us permission to go, so it was decided that we would be spending our summer in Northcourt County. There was no time to waste on riding lessons, but Samuel wouldn’t let me go.

I want to use magic on the plants growing right now so I can plant a bunch of new stuff before leaving for the summer! Well, I still have school on Monday, since that’s when we get our grades back, so I guess I can wait until then. Oh, I need to prepare clothes for Henry too! I sewed some new pieces for Nassius, since it was his birthday. Henry’s current clothes are getting pretty tight, so he definitely needs new stuff.

I told Mary that we would be visiting Northcourt County, and she began panicking over preparing new clothes for Henry, just as I’d expected. Youngest children are always forgotten about until the last minute. I was the youngest during my previous life, and I hated having to wear my older sister’s hand-me-downs. I got new clothes for everyday wear, but anything fancy, like for a piano recital, was a hand-me-down. I’m going to sew Henry some brand new clothes!

I returned to my dorm room, and I found a letter from Ms. Makias tucked under my door.

“She wants me to visit the teachers’ offices on the last day of classes? I wonder if this is about the herbs I sold her.”

Wyatt refused to accept the money I made through the Burns Trading Company, so I’d been saving it up. I planned to use the money to pay for Henry to go to college, since Nassius and I had both been given scholarships to Romano University. It was possible that Henry would choose to join the knights’ order immediately upon graduation, which was perfectly fine, but I wanted to be prepared in case he wanted to first attend university.

Since I already had other funds being saved, I’d decided that the money I made from the herbs would be purely for fun. And now, since we were going to visit Northcourt County, I wanted to give the little angels some allowance they could spend. I’d also never bought anything on my own, so it would be nice if we all got to experience shopping on our own, perhaps by buying a souvenir or something.

Such thoughts had taken up some time, and Princess Margaret was now at the dorms. I visited her room, and Zofie prepared tea for us while we chatted. The princess seemed quite exhausted.

“Would you like to come to the summer palace with us, Patience?” Princess Margaret asked. “My mother wouldn’t refuse you. The court ladies aren’t good at waking me up.”

I guess the queen is being stricter with her. She must’ve gotten in trouble for not being able to wake up in the mornings.

“I’m very sorry, Lady Margaret, but my brothers and I already have plans to visit our relatives over the summer.”

The princess was disappointed, but I was looking forward to my summer with the angels. Samuel was also cute...aside from his insistence that I participate in riding lessons.

“Is Samuel’s family the relatives you’re referring to?” she asked. “If I recall correctly, Northcourt County is near the summer palace.”

I remembered how Samuel had said that Northcourt County was on the coast, then I thought back to a map of the kingdom. Yeah, that’s close to the summer palace. I have a bad feeling about this. I don’t want to answer her.

“Yes, however, my brothers will be with me,” I replied, trying to gently refuse any offer she was trying to make.

Princess Margaret smiled.

“The older one is the same age as Jane, and the younger one is the same age as Marcus, right? Mother wants me to set an example for Jane, but I can’t look after that rambunctious girl. You should bring your brothers with you and visit us.”

I don’t know what to do. I feel like a frog being targeted by a snake. Also, Nassius is a bookworm—I don’t think he would be a good fit to play with Princess Jane. I need to stay strong, not just for myself, but also for my angels’ sakes! Oh, I have a good idea.

“Nassius is a bookworm, so I don’t think he would make a good playmate for an energetic girl like Princess Jane. However, my cousin’s daughter Angela Satisford is not only the same age as the second princess, but she is also enthusiastic about her riding lessons.”

Princess Margaret thought for a moment before she answered.

“I see. In that case, you should visit the summer palace and bring everyone with you—your brothers, Samuel, and Angela. I think Keith will be happy to see Samuel, since they studied together. His only playmates were going to be Jane and Marcus, since Richard won’t be there. I’ll let my mother know you’ll all be visiting.”

It’s not what I was going for, but I guess this will serve as a way to repay my cousin Lucene for the riding lessons.

Though Angela wasn’t actually fond of horse riding, she did like music, so I figured that I could introduce her to Princess Margaret once she was there. If I was remembering correctly, Satisford Viscounty was also near that area.

I accepted, foolishly thinking that I was agreeing to a single visit during the summer break. I’d been serving Princess Margaret as her lady’s maid for some time now, and I’d gotten used to meeting with the queen. This agreement would turn out to cause quite the commotion, but I lacked the foresight to realize it in that moment.

Chapter 18: The End of the Spring Term

It was Monday morning, and Mr. Cuthbert seemed as unmotivated as always during homeroom. Apparently the boys in the riding club, like Russell, were struggling with PE. All Mr. Cuthbert did during homeroom was distribute some handouts. I really wish we could get a new teacher.

“Let’s go see our grades,” Princess Margaret said.

She didn’t have to actually invite me, since everyone was going to look at the grade announcements. Because this was the senior division, students weren’t really concerned with dropping out of Class A—what was more important was figuring out our schedules for the next term, since we had to meet credit requirements to graduate.

As expected, this academy had no care for personal privacy when it came to grades. The information was posted for everyone to see, and I decided to start by checking my grades for Pharmacy I, II, and III. Yay, I passed! That means I can take the novice apothecary’s exam!

“My, Patience, you’ve gotten certificates of completion in pharmacy, government, and law,” Princess Margaret remarked, impressed.

The princess had done quite well herself.

“Congratulations on your certificates of completion in art, language arts, magic theory, and child-rearing, Lady Margaret.”

Many of the girls had gotten certificates of completion in child-rearing. It seemed like the purpose of the class was to allow soon-to-debut ladies an easy way to earn credits.

“I’m planning to get certificates of completion in history, Etiquette III, and magic practicum during the fall term,” the princess declared.

She’ll probably pass Etiquette III easily. I think her control over her magic has gotten better, so she’s close to passing magic practicum.

“You’ve been working very hard, Lady Margaret,” I said, looking at her other grades. She’d done well in both classical literature and history, and her grade in household math was decent.

“I could say the same for you, Patience. It looks like you’ve nearly gotten perfect scores. Look, you passed Diplomacy I. My, you also passed Business I, Economics I, Geography I, and World History I!”

Wow, she’s right. I’ll have to take the second-year class for all of those subjects next term.

“Looks like you passed too, Patience,” Russell said, walking up to us.

I looked back at the bulletin board and saw that Russell and Philips had both passed all the same classes as I had.

“Madamoiselle Patience, I’ve heard that in order to get a certificate of completion in world history, there is a specific exam you must pass. I’d like to take my time learning world history, so I have no plans to take it.”

That was understandable, since Philips was a history lover who visited historical ruins for fun. Our conversation was soon joined by another person—Percival was headed toward us while being showered in the adoring gazes of female students.

“Your grades are spectacular, Lady Patience. I’m sad I won’t be in the same classes as you, but I’m going to do my best to catch up.”

I could feel the girls staring daggers at me, with the exception of Princess Margaret, who seemed happy to watch us interact. She’d given up on her own love life, so she enjoyed meddling in others’ romantic affairs.

“So, you’re really going to be enrolling in the civil service track, Sir Percival?” I asked. It seemed like a waste of his talents, since he was skilled enough to have won the annual knight club competition.

“Yes, I am. Let’s aim to become diplomats together. By the way, I heard you will be in Northcourt County for the summer. I’m going to be in the neighboring county of Moeran, so we’ll be able to see each other.”

If glares could kill, I would’ve been dead long ago. I could feel all the girls’ piercing gazes stabbing me one after the other.

“Yes, indeed. I’m sure we will run into each other, since we are relatives.” I tried to play up the idea that we were family, and the rage around me seemed to abate. They’re probably realizing that he’s just talking to this pip-squeak because she’s related to him. Thank God.

Percival said goodbye, and he was even handsome while walking away. The girls continued to stare as he left.

“You’re related to Sir Percival?” Russell asked.

I’m surprised to hear him address someone as “Sir.”

“Yes, he is my second cousin,” I responded, keeping it short and simple.

“I was surprised, since he rarely ever goes up to any girls.”

Yeah, girls probably flock to him, even if he isn’t trying.

With Princess Margaret’s permission, I left her side and went to check the junior division students’ grades.

“Samuel’s grades are...good! He passed language arts, magic theory, art, dance, and magic practicum! That leaves classical literature, history, and math, which are all...fine.”

Samuel appeared to be on the low end of the high scores in those subjects, so he would have no trouble staying in Class A. In my relief, I let my guard down, and I ended up running into Prince Keith.

“Did you see my grades, Patience? I passed classical literature and history, so starting in the fall term, I’m going to be a third-year student!”

I’d only come to look at the junior division grades since I was worried about Samuel, so I hadn’t paid any attention to Prince Keith’s grades.

“Congratulations,” I said. I was genuinely glad he’d passed classical literature, since tutoring him had cost me two Saturdays.

I checked the grades of other students in his class, and saw that Ralph hadn’t held back this time, and Hugo had also worked quite hard. It appeared as if the entire class had been motivated to work harder by Prince Keith’s efforts to skip ahead to being a third-year student.

I should have been more careful while looking at the junior division grades, but I’d forgotten that Louise was also in the prince’s class.

“Are you going to become a diplomat, Lady Patience?” Louise asked. “I hope you don’t catch any diseases while in a foreign country.”

Louise wasn’t even trying to hide her dislike of me. She was basically trying to curse me into getting sick. Her display of malice made me question if her evaluation was wrong and she’d actually been bestowed with dark magic instead of light.

“My, that is so kind of you to say. Thank you very much. Fortunately, my constitution is one of my stronger attributes, so there is no need for you to worry.” I replied with the same snark she’d directed at me.

Prince Keith was right there, so Louise decided to back down. Good grief. I brushed off my shoulders and body as if to get rid of the negativity her words had sullied me with.

“What was that?!” Prince Keith huffed. “She was being incredibly rude!”

This is bad. He shouldn’t get so upset in public.

“Oh, I wanted to ask you something. Princess Margaret invited me to visit the summer palace with Samuel and my brothers. Would it be all right with you if we visited?”

Prince Keith was easily distracted by the new subject I brought up.

“Oh, you’re bringing Samuel too? That sounds great! Richard won’t be there this summer, so I only have Marcus to spend time with.”

I was glad to see his mood improve, and Ralph and Hugo also looked relieved. Must be tough, being his schoolmates.

At this point, Princess Margaret came up to me.

“Patience, let’s go look at the art and home ec displays.”

We set out to view the various displays for classes like art, sewing, embroidery, and weaving. Princess Margaret’s painting had earned a blue ribbon.

“It’s a very lovely piece,” I said. I meant it genuinely, without any flattery. It made sense that she was talented—otherwise, she wouldn’t have gotten a certificate of completion.

“Of course it is,” the princess replied. “I worked very hard on it. Let’s move on. I believe embroidery pieces are over there.”

Princess Margaret’s embroidery piece was made with very neat needlework, and it had also received a blue ribbon.

“It looks like you’ll be able to pass Embroidery II in the fall, Lady Margaret.”

My piece was the needle painting, which had received a blue ribbon as well. There were people gathered around it.

“This is incredible, Patience,” Princess Margaret raved.

I’m glad. It was a lot of work. I hope I can finish the piece I’m making of the Satisford Viscounty coast during summer break.

Next were the calligraphy pieces, and mine had received a blue ribbon again.

“I don’t want to look at the sewing exhibit,” Princess Margaret lamented.

She’d successfully finished her gown, but the final piece had strayed quite a bit from her original design, which was likely what she wasn’t happy about.

“Though the design was simple, I thought your gown was beautiful.” That was truly how I felt. I preferred simple designs to overly decorated ones, and I wasn’t a big fan of frills.

“Your gown really is lovely, Patience. I’d love for you to make me one like that sometime.”

My polka dot gown stood out among the sea of solid colors. If I had been a bit taller, the final gown would’ve looked even better.

For weaving, all four of us newbies had gotten blue ribbons on our pieces.

“We passed!” Hannah exclaimed with shock. I was just as surprised.

“You all have more than enough skill to pass,” Ms. Derby remarked with a smile. “Starting in the fall term, you should all be taking Weaving II. You’ll also need to take Dyeing II if you want to weave patterned textiles.”

Yay, I’m excited! I looked over at the Weaving II pieces, and they were all patterned. It seemed difficult, but I was looking forward to it.

After we went around the various art exhibits, Princess Margaret said she wanted to visit the music club, so we parted ways. I went to the teachers’ offices, where I’d been summoned by Ms. Makias.

“Took you long enough,” she grumbled. “I was starting to think you didn’t want to be paid for those potions and herbs.”

Her tone was as gruff as ever as she pulled out a brown envelope from her desk and handed it to me.

“This is all of it. There’s a statement inside. Hurry up and sign it, otherwise Old Man Maverick won’t let you leave with the money.”

I looked at the statement and was surprised—I’d ended up earning thirty-four rhoms.

“Is it really all right for me to have this much?” I asked.

Ms. Makias let out a witchy cackle.

“If you don’t want it, I’ll take it.”

I quickly signed the slip and got my money. I was going to split it with my brothers, so we would each be getting eleven rhoms. Buying a souvenir would be nice, but getting my hands on a magic stone is also enticing.

“So, you going to take the novice apothecary’s exam?”

Oh, I’d forgotten about that. Money is one of my weaknesses.

“Yes, I’d like to take the exam!”

Ms. Makias let out a wry chuckle in response to my enthusiasm, and she handed me a slip of paper.

“The exam is only held twice a year, which won’t really be an issue for you, since I’m sure you’ll have no problem passing it.”

It appeared that there was one before summer break, and one before winter break. Is it too late to try and take the exam?

“Can I still sign up for the summer exam?” I asked.

Ms. Makias cackled again.

“Yeah, but there’s a fee to take the exam. It’s one rhom.” She held out her hand, and I gave her a silver one-rhom coin out of the money she’d just given me. “Don’t you get an allowance? Anyway, the exam starts tomorrow at ten. There’s a written portion and a practical portion, so you’d better study up.”

Mary’s coming to escort me home tomorrow.

“What time will the exam end? My family will be sending a ride for me.”

It took a moment for Ms. Makias to understand what the problem was.

“Oh, you live in the dorms. You get an hour for the written portion, then you can do the practical portion quickly, so it shouldn’t take long.”

In that case, I can probably let her know to come around noon. I’ll find Samuel and have him pass the message along.

The music club had a wrap-up meeting to close out the end of the spring term. Because of the proposal, I was a bit nervous about seeing President Albert, and I was relieved that he was treating me no differently than usual. That actually earned him some points. I guess you can say that his only true love is music.

“We’re going to play ensemble pieces during the Harvest Festival again,” President Albert announced. “Make sure to practice the instruments you’re not as familiar with over the summer. Also, don’t forget to prepare new pieces. All right, have a good summer, everyone.”

Oh, I guess I’ll have to practice the lute.

Since President Albert wrapped things up quite quickly, I prepared a letter for Samuel to pass on to my house.

“I’m going to be taking the novice apothecary’s exam tomorrow, so I need to be picked up later, around noon. That’s what this letter says. Can you have it delivered to my butler?”

“Sure,” Samuel replied, taking the letter from me. “By the way, Princess Margaret said something about us visiting the summer palace?”

I guess Princess Margaret is getting everyone else on board to give me no other choice. She doesn’t have to do this. I was already planning to go, just once.

“Yes, well, when I told her that I would be spending the summer in Northcourt County, she invited us to visit her at the summer palace. That reminds me, could you also have these letters delivered to Aunt Lilianna and Lady Lucene? Lady Angela has been invited as well.”

I pulled out two more letters, which I had written last night. Unlike the quickly scribbled letter to Wyatt I’d prepared today, these were written with a lot more detail.

“Sure, I don’t mind, but...am I really coming along to the summer palace?”

“Yes, you are. Even Prince Keith said he is excited that you will be coming,” I reassured him.

Samuel’s face turned bright red.

“I see... I’m really going to the summer palace.”

He probably hadn’t realized that nobles were allowed to visit the summer palace, since it was a place of relaxation where the royal family took a break from their official duties.

I do hope we can keep the visiting to a minimum. I want to spend as much time as I can with my angels.

After the music club gathering, Princess Margaret left with Zofie. I still had another club wrap-up to go to.

“You’re late, Patience!” President Caesar said. “Meet Mikhail Dungarde.”

Mikhail was a third-year student in the junior division with curly red hair. We had been classmates last year when I’d skipped ahead to the second year of the junior division, but we’d never spoken before.

“I heard that the bicycle was your idea, Lady Patience,” he said. “Are you thinking of making any other machines?”

He seemed to be as much of a gearhead as I’d heard he was.

“Yes, I’m actually thinking of making a machine that sews pieces of fabric together. However, I’m having trouble sketching out the diagrams.”

I showed Mikhail my in-progress sketches of a sewing machine, and we began brainstorming together.

“I see... So you step on this pedal, which is connected to an axle that moves the needle up and down. It sews fabric together by wrapping the top thread around the bottom thread.”

Wow, I can’t believe he understood the intention behind it just by looking at these vague diagrams! Mikhail proceeded to fervently inspect the diagram of the bobbin case.

“Did you come up with another new idea, Patience?” President Caesar asked, intrigued by what we were working on. The other members joined in, and we all began discussing the sewing machine together.

“If this works, it’ll become so much easier to manufacture clothes!”

Yeah, that’s right. Everything is hand-sewn right now, so clothing is all really expensive. The fabric is all woven by hand too... I don’t remember anything about how a power loom works, though, so I can’t be of much help there.

“Oh, that reminds me, I’m sure we’ll all be visiting our family’s territories or traveling for the summer, but if you do want to use the clubroom, you can visit Powell at the Burns Trading Company store, and he’ll lend you a key. I’ll also be back by the end of July, and I’ll probably spend the rest of my summer here. If you ever want to work on any experiments, you should come by.”

I was surprised by how deep President Caesar’s love for alchemy was. There’s Albert, Caesar, and President Marcus of the glee club. Senior Division Year 2 is full of really big personalities.

“Even if I can only get a little bit done, I want to try doing some more research on Magius’s cape,” Caesar said.

Oh, that’s probably a part of the reason he wants to be here during the summer. That’s a project that’s definitely going to take some work.

“I’ll also keep thinking about the embroidery floss,” I said. “I believe that for the magic circle to activate, the thread must be able to conduct mana.”

After that, we continued discussing Magius’s cape for some time, but we kept hitting a roadblock when it came to the thread. We would either have to find something that could conduct mana or make a new kind of thread ourselves.

Once I was back in my dorm room, I reviewed my herbology and pharmacy textbooks, along with the notes I’d taken while doing my own research.

“I’ve done enough. If I fail the exam, it won’t be for a lack of effort.”

I’d done what I could, so I decided to just take the test with a calm mind. Of course, Ms. Makias was a twisted character, so I still had some concerns that the exam would include some bizarre questions.

It was the next day, and there were several third-years from the senior division also taking the exam. I was worried about the test being difficult, but the written portion covered herbs from the textbook and making potions. I did well enough to feel confident that I would pass.

My gamble from the previous night had paid off, because just as I’d expected, we had to make antidotes for the practical portion. It was the most annoying to make of the potions we’d covered in class, so I’d had a feeling that Ms. Makias would have us make it for the exam. I’d reviewed my notes on antidotes the previous night, so I was able to make some without any trouble.

“I’m done!” I said, bringing my antidotes up to Ms. Makias’s podium.

“Oh, it’s you. You pass, Patience. Here’s your novice apothecary license. With this license, you can make minor healing potions, greater healing potions, and antidotes. You’re technically also permitted to develop your own potions, but I suggest you wait until getting an expert apothecary license before doing that.”

Ms. Makias wrote my name onto a license, which was made of slightly thick paper, and handed it to me.

“Thank you very much.”

Ms. Makias sometimes seemed like a terrifying witch, but she’d gotten me a side job, and I’d also only passed the novice apothecary’s exam because she’d made the pharmacy and herbology final exams so difficult. If I’d only had the textbook to go off of, then I would have failed.

“Are you interested in attending Romano University? You could become a great expert apothecary. Also, you really should redo your proficiency evaluation at the church. Your mana is pretty weird.”

Yeah, I agree. My household magic is really strange...but it costs a gold coin to get a proficiency evaluation done. Being a cheapskate is another one of my faults. I don’t think I was this stingy in my previous life.

While I waited for Mary to arrive, I organized all the things I was bringing home with me. I was going to bring all my clothes home, and I had some textbooks to bring back as well. I was going to give my textbooks for all three years of law and government to Nassius, since he was probably going to enroll in the civil service track. I’d also passed business, economics, and geography, so I was taking those textbooks home as well. I was going to have to fill out a new course registration form for the fall term.

Mary arrived, and I was going to hand her my luggage, but something seemed off.

“My lady, I have letters addressed to you, sent by Countess Northcourt and Viscountess Satisford.”

Oh, Samuel must’ve passed on my letters to Aunt Lilianna and Lady Lucene.

For some reason, Mary’s eyes were glazed over.

“Um, my lady, the messengers said something about visiting the summer palace... What was that about?”

I’d forgotten that we’d only discussed this at the dorms, so Mary hadn’t heard about it yet.

“Oh, yes, Princess Margaret invited me as well as my brothers, Samuel, and Angela to visit the summer palace.”

Mary blanched.

“We must sew several outfits for Sir Henry and Sir Nassius.”

We’d already been planning to make them some new clothes, since we were going to spend summer with the Northcourts, but Mary was now panicking that their clothing would have to be good enough for the summer palace.

“Well, we’ll only be visiting once or twice,” I tried to reassure her.

We boarded the carriage, Mary still pale, and I read through the letters. I wanted to make sure to read them on the way, since I knew I would have to help prepare all my angels’ clothes once I got back.

“Aunt Lilianna and Lady Lucene both want me to visit them. I wonder if Samuel didn’t explain things properly.”

I’d already been thinking it would be good to see Lucene in person, since she wanted Angela to become close with Princess Jane. Aunt Lilianna had no such ambitions with Samuel, so I figured she didn’t require a proper explanation. I told Mary as much, and she scolded me.

“That is ridiculous, my lady! The reason you were invited to the summer palace last year is because you are the princess’s lady’s maid. It is not a place nobles are normally invited to. That is likely why Countess Northcourt is so surprised.”

Yeeesh. I guess I’m going to have to go around visiting my relatives, all because of Princess Margaret.

This summer, I would be with my angels in Northcourt County, and I was getting the chance to take my brothers to the beach. I continued riding in the carriage, excited for what was to come.

At that moment, I had no idea that this summer would end up being a major turning point in my life.

END

Afterword

Thank you for reading the fourth volume of In Another World with Household Spells.

It’s now been a year and a half since regular office worker Kaoru Aoyama reincarnated as Patience Granger, the daughter of an impoverished noble family. The Grangers now have a lot more food than when she first reincarnated into this world, but Patience continues to work hard, trying to improve things for the sake of her adorable little brothers.

Fortunately, the Grangers are able to get through winter without starving, and Patience is excited for the spring. We can feel a bit relieved now that the squabble with Princess Margaret’s friends and the kerfuffle involving Prince Keith and the knight club have both calmed down.

The focus of this volume was Patience having fun at school after her acceleration into the senior division, merrily enjoying her studies and time in the alchemy club.

The senior division is credit based, so she’s become a lot busier. Not only is Patience enrolled in both the home ec and civil service tracks, but she’s also taking alchemy and pharmacy classes. I’m a little worried that she’s biting off more than she can chew.

She’s enrolled in the home ec track because she’s Princess Margaret’s lady’s maid, but she’s too skilled, and she ends up testing out of too many classes, which is a problem for her.

In the civil service course, she works hard studying with her male classmates, and she’s made great friends in Philips and Russell.

Then there’s the mage track, which is where most of her problems are, especially when it comes to the herbology teacher. Even someone as talented as Patience struggles with her.

Despite her struggles, she’s also been able to make some money through the alchemy club, where she invented various products like hot water bottles and needle threaders.

During the previous year’s Festival of Verdure, the alchemy club’s exhibit had been quite deserted. This year, it was a huge success—they got to make ice cream, and have people test riding bicycles!

HIROKAZU’s adorable illustration of Patience and Percival dancing together at the Festival of Verdure ball is so lovely.

Percival and Albert are now suddenly getting closer to Patience. There’s also Philips, who might be a little too nice to her. Perhaps love will be in the air soon.

This summer, she’ll be in Northcourt County with her brothers. I’m sure she’ll have lots of fun swimming in the ocean with them!

I hope you continue to enjoy this story about Patience and her brothers.

Rika

Bonus Story

Princess Margaret’s Struggles in the Home Ec Track

My name is Margaret. I am the first princess of the Kingdom of Lawrence, and I’m a first-year in the senior division of the Royal Academy.

I’d recently learned that my schoolmates—Catherine, Hariette, and Lilina—had been disdainful toward my lady’s maid, Patience, so I’d cut them off. This event had made me reflect on my lack of judgment. It had been my fault for having selected those girls to be my friends based on their status, looks, and the fact that they were studying music, which was a passion of mine.

As it turned out, the girls weren’t particularly fond of music. Ever since we were in the junior division, I’d felt that they hadn’t been very enthusiastic toward our activities in music club. My suspicions had been confirmed once we entered the senior division, as the girls had become preoccupied with their excitement toward making their social debuts and had completely stopped composing. Patience had even given them her wonderful pieces to play, and they had been neither embarrassed by their incompetency nor grateful for her generosity.

My former friends didn’t have even a fragment of the musical talent that Patience had, and they also lacked her smarts and her kindness. It had taken Patience telling me she wanted to step down from being my lady’s maid for me to finally cut ties with those girls.

“It seems you finally caught on,” my mother had said to me after that.

If she’d felt that those girls weren’t fit to be my schoolmates, she could have told me much sooner. I’d expressed that to her, only to get scolded.

“I won’t always be by your side to protect you,” she’d told me. “You must learn to discern who is worthy of your trust.”

She wasn’t wrong. As the first princess of this kingdom, it was possible that I would be married off to a foreign royal as a political measure. If that were to happen, I wouldn’t be able to rely on my mother.

My mother had an incredible eye for people. I was deeply grateful that she’d selected Patience to be my lady’s maid. That being said...Patience’s exceptional skills were actually a problem!

When Patience had skipped ahead from the junior division and joined the senior division, making us classmates, I’d been excited that we would get to take classes together. Unfortunately, that joy had only lasted for a moment.

“I was told that household math would only be calculating a household budget...” I lamented.

Patience had already gotten a certificate of completion in math, so she couldn’t understand my pain. Regardless, she flipped through the textbook for household math—the course for girls in the home ec track who weren’t good at math—and put the information into a simple diagram, which she explained to me.

“I wonder why the teacher makes things so complicated in class,” I grumbled after listening to Patience.

She shrugged her shoulders.

“Reading the textbook before class may help you comprehend the lecture more easily.”

She wants me to spend even more time learning about this awful subject?! Well, I don’t want to be forsaken by my intelligent lady’s maid, so I’ll do my best.

Though I wasn’t good at math, my practical courses like sewing and cooking were perhaps even more of a problem for me. The sewing curriculum had gotten more difficult, and we now had to sew our own gowns to wear to the Festival of Verdure and the Harvest Festival.

Due to a little squabble with my former friends, Patience had skipped the very first sewing class. By the time she did come to class, there had only been dark fabrics—unsuitable for a spring ball—left to choose from. Despite her lack of options, Patience had managed to use white fabric to create a dotted pattern, which she was now sewing into a lovely gown.

“With such a wonderful gown, you might get a certificate of completion,” I remarked.

During the spring term, I had Patience by my side, so she could stop me before I made a mistake.

“No, not there!” she cried out so many times.

While I was taking sewing four times a week just to get my gown ready in time for the ball, Patience was not only skilled at sewing but also fast, so she only had to take sewing once a week.

“I’ve used tailor’s chalk to number the pieces, so please baste them in that order, Lady Margaret,” she instructed me.

The first step was sewing darts! I sewed, carefully following Patience’s numbering so I avoided any huge mistakes.

I looked over to Lilina, and saw that she was perhaps going to struggle to finish her gown on time. Catherine and Hariette had both made mistakes, but they had the proactiveness to get Ms. Cameron and ask her for help. In contrast, Lilina wasn’t so communicative about her issues. I didn’t regret cutting off all three girls, but Lilina was starting to make me worry if she’d be able to graduate.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have the capacity to reach out to her. I was working very hard alongside Elizabeth, a fashionable student, to finish my gown for the Festival of Verdure, so I didn’t have time to be dealing with my former schoolmates.

Cooking was another class that had been giving me as much trouble as sewing. During the first class, I’d teamed up with Patience, so our boiled eggs had been successful. However, she’d ended up getting a certificate of completion, so from the second lesson on, I’d been having a tumultuous time.

“Lady Abigail is one of the more skilled students in that class,” Patience had advised me.

And so, I’d been teaming up with Abigail in cooking class. During the second class, our assignment had been boiling a potato, but we hadn’t been very successful, and the inside of our potato had still been hard and grainy, which had made Ms. Spencer laugh.

“I’m so sorry, Lady Margaret,” Abigail had apologized.

“It’s not your fault,” I’d reassured her.

We’d ended up cheering each other up. When I’d complained to Patience about it, she’d cautioned me about my mistakes.

“If you take notes on Ms. Spencer’s instructions and follow them exactly, you won’t fail. I think you forgot to use a metal skewer to see if the potato had finished boiling.”

I’d been shocked that she knew that.

“Are you clairvoyant, Patience?”

She’d seemed a little exasperated by my question.

My only consolation was that I wasn’t doing any worse than the other students. Perhaps students from lower-status families would have fared a bit better in cooking, but in my case, I’d never even set foot in the palace kitchen before, let alone cooked.

“Are sewing and cooking truly necessary skills?” I asked my mother, frustrated by how difficult the classes had become.

Once again, I ended up getting scolded.

“You may find them unnecessary in this moment, but you must understand that this luxurious life of a royal which you lead isn’t guaranteed. Can you say for certain that you’ll never need sewing or cooking skills, no matter who you marry? Also, would you not find it embarrassing to be wholly ignorant of how such tasks are done?”

My mother’s words were quite harsh, so I held in the sigh I felt coming on.

This matter was made worse by the fact that Patience could sew and cook perfectly. It was cunning of my mother to have appointed her to serve me—with such a skilled lady’s maid, if I didn’t work harder, people would think of me as an incompetent master.

The most atrocious experience I would have in cooking ended up being the class where we made a fish poêlé.

“Eeek! I cannot touch that!” I shrieked.

It was also Abigail’s first time seeing raw fish, and she took a step away from it.

“First, coat both sides of the fillet with salt and pepper. Then, sprinkle both sides with flour, tapping the fillet to get any excess flour off!”

I caaan’t do that, Ms. Spencer! “Both sides” means we have to touch it!

“You wouldn’t mind if only one side was seasoned, would you, Lady Margaret?”

Abigail mustered up the courage to season the fish, and from a distance, coated the top of the fillet with salt and pepper.

“You’re incredible! As long as the top is seasoned, I think we’ll be fine.”

Some groups were struggling to even season their fillets, so we had gotten further than most of the class. Next was coating the fillet in flour, which was going to be a bit more difficult. If we attempted to sprinkle the flour from a distance, it would get everywhere.

“I’ll do it! After all, you already took it upon yourself to season the fish, Abigail. It’s my turn to make an effort!”

I got closer to the metal tray the fish was on, and I dumped the container of flour onto it.

“You did it, Lady Margaret! You’re amazing!”

Abigail’s compliment was nice. Perhaps I could indeed cook, but that was yet to be determined because now we had to sauté the fillet.

Can we really do it? We can’t even touch the fish...

Just then, Abigail came up with a wonderful idea.

“If we use extra butter, I believe it would be fine to place the fillet along with the extra flour into the frying pan.”

“What an inspired idea!” I exclaimed.

If we couldn’t touch it, all we had to do was avoid doing so. There was quite a bit of excess flour in the tray, so we placed extra butter into the frying pan before dumping in the contents of the metal tray.

“We’ve completed our fish poêlé!” Abigail cheered.

“If only this could get us certificates of completion...”

The other groups were still struggling to season their fillets, and Ms. Spencer had her hands full trying to help everyone.

“There’s no way I’m touching something so disgusting!” Catherine whined from somewhere in the classroom. Ms. Spencer scolded her for that outburst.

The other girls somehow managed to get their fillets into their frying pans, and the class finally moved on.

“Do you think we can move forward, Lady Margaret?” Abigail asked. “I think we need to cook the other side as well.”

“Does that mean we have to flip it? How would we do that? I think I remember Ms. Spencer saying something...”

Following Patience’s advice, I’d taken notes on Ms. Spencer’s instructions. How diligent am I?

“It looks like we flip it using something called a spatula...”

Abigail had more kitchen experience than I did, so she was familiar with various utensils.

“This is a spatula, Lady Margaret,” she said, pulling the tool out of a drawer.

“We use this thing to flip the fish over?” I asked.

Abigail looked just as nervous as I felt.

“I think that may be impossible. Just like the ham, we’ll have to settle for a fillet with a burnt underside.” With that decided, we smiled that we’d found a solution, only to quickly realize there was a problem. “Although, the ham was safe to eat even if it had only been cooked on one side. It would be a problem if the top of the fish is still raw.”

“You’re right! In that case, we’ll just keep it in the pan until the top cooks through!”

At this point, we’d already failed in making fish poêlé, but we continued to watch our fillet and waited for it to turn brown—which wasn’t the color of the fish poêlé served in the salon.

“It’s smoking, Lady Margaret.”

“What? But the top still looks raw... I’d rather have burnt fish than raw fish.”

Abigail seemed to share that sentiment, so we kept it cooking.

“I think it may be done now.”

We tried to transfer the cooked fillet onto a plate, but it had burnt onto the pan, and it wasn’t coming out.

“What should we do, Ms Spencer?!” girls around the class cried, looking to be in the same situation as us.

“These are all inedible... I didn’t even have time to make soup today. Everyone, please head to the salon and have lunch.”

I felt quite disappointed, and I was hungry, which didn’t make things any better.

When I got to the salon, Patience was eating with Keith and his friends.

“What are you doing here, Lady Margaret?” Patience asked, surprised.

I quickly explained what had happened while Keith called over a waiter for me, then I ordered whatever could be made the quickest. I just hope it’s not the fish poêlé...

As I ate my steak, Keith told me about how he wanted Patience to tutor him in classical literature.

Patience’s love for her younger brothers is quite strong. She would hate having her weekend taken up. I actually think Patience’s love for her brothers is more of a problem than my passion for music. Won’t her obsession with her brothers affect her chances at getting married? It could also lead to her brothers becoming dependent on her, which wouldn’t be good. If they think that it’s normal for girls to be like Patience—smart, kind, and talented at everything including music, sewing and cooking—then they’re going to stay single for their entire lives. Well, Patience does have a flaw in that she’s not fond of riding... It’s strange that she can swim even though she’s not very athletic.

“Please teach him classical literature, Patience. I’m making an effort in sewing and cooking, and I shouldn’t be the only one trying to improve in difficult subjects.”

Patience shot me a look that said, What does that have to do with me teaching Keith classical literature?

If you don’t put some distance between yourself and your brothers, you’re going to end up a spinster, Patience! I mentally retorted.

Once it was decided that she would tutor him, Keith was quite obviously in high spirits. Does he have feelings for Patience?

Royals weren’t allowed to freely engage in romance, but I had no intention of stopping young Keith from having a crush on someone. I felt that he should at least be able to have an innocent first love, since I wasn’t even allowed to experience something so trivial. Being a princess was quite different than being a prince.

With that said, the more pressing issue was whether I would actually finish my gown in time for the Festival of Verdure. After all, my grades in the home ec track were more likely to be a problem than Keith’s love life.