Chapter 70: Morning of the Entrance Ceremony
Today is the entrance ceremony for the Royal School.
Due to nervousness, I had trouble sleeping last night, and I woke up early this morning.
Nervousness is unavoidable, but when something like that happens on an exam day, it's hard not to feel gloomy.
I managed to prepare while feeling nervous and headed to the entrance a bit early.
There, Richard-sama and Catherine-sama were waiting. Are they going somewhere?
"Good morning, Richard-sama, Catherine-sama."
"Good morning, Leon-kun. It's finally the first day at the Royal School. Do your best."
"Understood."
"Don't push yourself too hard. I know there will be moments when you feel unwell, but you can rely on the Duke's family."
"Yes, thank you."
They said this and saw me off in the carriage. Did they come to see us off?
They are really nice people...
After waiting for a while, Lucian entered as the carriage door closed.
The carriage started moving.
"Good morning, Lucian. It's finally the entrance ceremony."
"Yeah, I'm excited!"
Lucian seems really excited and doesn't seem to have any nerves at all. I'm so nervous.
Well, Lucian is the eldest son of the Duke's family, so he won't have to do anything too conspicuous. I can only see a future where I'm harassed...
I have to live strong...
"It's nice that we can attend together, but our classrooms will be different, and we might not have many chances to meet, right?"
"That might be true, but Father mentioned there would be joint classes, so I think we'll have opportunities to see each other."
Is that so... It's nice, but I feel like not seeing each other might be more peaceful. But I have to show the competence of a commoner, so I'll do my best.
Wait, though. If I only need to demonstrate my competence, wouldn't it be enough to excel in my studies and graduate in a year? I don't really need to meet the nobles.
Come to think of it, joint classes might not be necessary.
While discussing this with Lucian in the carriage, we arrived at the venue soon. It seems that today's entrance ceremony is not divided between nobles and commoners; we were guided to a building that looked like the gymnasium where I took the exam.
Within the Royal School, it's generally not allowed to have attendants or guards, so Lucian and I walked alone. It feels fresh since I'm usually accompanied by someone. But is it safe? Well, the school is surrounded by high walls except for the gate, and there are many knights at the gate. I doubt anyone suspicious could enter.
Also, there might be hidden guards, right? For example, guards disguised as staff or really strong janitors. That's just my imagination, though.
After walking for a while and entering the building with Lucian, it was completely different from before. It looked like a party venue.
There were carpets on the floor, round tables set up, and each table had five chairs.
Are we going to have a meal? It's nothing like the entrance ceremony I imagined.
"New students, please come this way. We will guide you to your seats."
A staff member said this at the reception, so Lucian and I walked there.
"May I have your acceptance certificates?"
The acceptance certificate is probably that paper that says we passed. It was mentioned in the entrance ceremony guide.
Lucian and I handed over our acceptance certificates.
"Thank you. Lucian Townsend-sama and Leon-sama, correct? Here are brooches that serve as student identification. Please wear them while inside the Royal School."
The brooches they gave us had blue gemstones in leaf-like shapes. Are these gemstones? I need to be careful not to lose them.
"Now, staff members will guide you to your seats."
A staff member took Lucian to his seat, and another staff member came to guide me to my seat.
Lucian's seat is the one closest to the stage in the back. It's probably arranged by social status.
As a commoner, my seat is naturally at the farthest end in the back. I think this is the best seat since it doesn't stand out.
However, at the Royal School, it's just a facade that social status doesn't matter, so there's no difference between the chairs and tables for nobles and commoners.
They can't make high-ranking nobles sit on shabby chairs, so the chair I'm sitting on has become a good one. Well, I'm always surrounded by furniture of this level at the Duke's family.
Looking around, the kids sitting in the back seem a bit awkward or happy. So even if you're a noble, if you're a lower-ranking one, you can't afford to be too extravagant.
By the way, I heard there are hardly any commoners, but are there any other than me? There should be a few children of wealthy merchants, but you can't judge by appearance. My current attire is equivalent to that of a lower-ranking noble. If I wear even better clothes, they might say I'm lower in status, and if I wear clothes that lower my rank, they might say, "Commoners are like this, poor and unpleasant."
So the children of wealthy merchants probably wear clothes of a similar level to mine. In that case, I really can't tell them apart.
While observing people, a boy came to sit next to me. He has brown hair, golden eyes, and a handsome face, but he seems very nervous and pale. Is he okay?
He's probably a commoner, judging by his demeanor.
"Um... Are you okay?"
When I spoke to him like that, the child visibly jumped and looked my way, his face turning even paler.
"Uh, um, I'm sorry..."
Huh? Why is he apologizing? Does he think I'm a noble?
"I'm a commoner..."
When I said that, he visibly relaxed, as if some tension had left his body.
"Good... I am too."
"Well then, shall us commoners get along? Is it okay if I speak informally?"
"Yeah, I'd really appreciate getting along. I was so nervous I thought I might faint."
"I could tell just by looking. You look like you're about to collapse. I'm Leon, by the way. And you?"
"I'm Ronnie, nice to meet you."
Ronnie finally showed a small smile. I wonder if he's from a wealthy merchant family? He doesn't give off that vibe, but among commoners, his clothing is on the better side, although it's still quite out of place in this school filled with nobles.
"Ronnie, are you from a merchant family?"
"Nah, I used to live on the outskirts of the capital with my mom, but she got sick and passed away. Then I lived in an orphanage with my little sister."
"Oh, I see. Why did you come to the Royal Academy?"
"Well, there was this really dedicated teacher at the orphanage who taught us in their spare time. I loved learning during those moments, and they told me I was smart, so they said I should try taking the entrance exam for the Royal Academy. But I had no idea it was full of nobles until after I passed..."
Orphanage-raised, of all things... He must be quite intelligent to pass, but it's going to be tough for him here.
"I wanted to say that I couldn't attend a school like this, but they made such a fuss at the orphanage and celebrated that I couldn't refuse... Even this outfit was bought with money collected by church people and others who wanted to help. Once they did all that for me, I had no choice but to enroll. But there are hardly any commoners here, just nobles, and I'm afraid they might kill me for disrespect or something. I'm scared..."
So, that's his backstory... No wonder he's so anxious. If he grew up on the outskirts of the capital, he might have known about the fear of nobles, but he probably never actually met any.
"It's too late to be scared now, so let's help each other as commoners!"
"Yeah... I've already made up my mind to come this far. I'll study hard, graduate, become a bureaucrat, and make enough money to feed my little sister and all the kids at the orphanage. They're probably all starving."
"Don't they provide enough food at the orphanage?"
"Well, I only know that one, but they said they get very little government funding for the number of children, so it's tough."
I see... I had heard about government-run orphanages, so I thought the conditions were good, but maybe not. Well, if you see how regular commoners live, it's not surprising that orphanages end up overcrowded. Everyone would want to go there. It's probably just enough to get by.
Even though I'm only ten years old, I want to earn money to feed my little sister and the kids at the orphanage... That's such a heartbreaking story.
Just hearing his story made me want to help Ronnie in any way I could. I'm pretty soft-hearted, aren't I?
"Ronnie, we're already friends. Let's help each other out. If you ever feel in danger, I'll be there to help!"
"Really? Thank you, Leon."
As we talked, the venue gradually darkened, and only the stage in the back remained illuminated. It looks like the entrance ceremony is about to begin.