"Lady Clarisse. I have not come to observe the proceedings, but to check on Lady Rosette's condition as her fiancé."
The voice from beyond the door was gentle.
Too gentle.
A voice meant to put people at ease.
And a voice that slipped a noose around the neck of anyone who let their guard down.
Arsene Berhardt.
Eveline's handkerchief crumpled again.
This time, I did not immediately say anything.
Because she already knew.
She had to smooth it out.
If she exploded, she lost.
That was exactly what Arsene wanted.
Eveline drew in a breath.
Then slowly unfolded the handkerchief.
It did not flatten completely.
The creases remained.
But she did not tear it.
She did not throw it away.
And she did not rush toward the door.
Good.
The creases could stay.
If a person became as smooth as freshly ironed cloth overnight, that would be even more frightening.
Clarisse looked at the handkerchief.
Then she wrote.
"Strong emotional reaction observed. Attempt at self-control reconfirmed."
Eveline gritted her teeth.
"Do you really have to write that down right now?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Repeated reactions to the same stimulus are useful in determining whether change has occurred."
Accurate.
So accurate that it was even more irritating.
Eveline smoothed out the handkerchief further.
She probably did not want to lose to Clarisse.
Was that educational progress too?
Or simply pride?
Probably both.
The voice outside the door spoke again.
"I have no intention of interfering with archive procedures. However, if my fiancée has been summoned for a sudden interview, I believe it is only proper that I at least confirm her condition."
Proper.
It was not a bad word.
But in aristocratic society, propriety was often wielded like a scabbard.
The person speaking decided what to put inside it.
A fiancé's duty.
A family's duty.
An aristocrat's duty.
The duty to protect a Saint Candidate.
Whenever too many duties appeared, someone's choices usually grew fewer.
Without looking at the door, Clarisse said,
"Assistant. Record the response with the door closed."
The assistant standing beside the door immediately raised his pen.
"Ready to record."
Clarisse spoke.
"Prince Arsene Berhardt. The Preliminary Archives Office is currently preparing to verify the voluntariness of Lady Liana Bell's statement. House Berhardt is the party that raised objections to the statement's reliability. You are therefore excluded from attending the proceedings."
Beyond the door, there was silence for a moment.
Arsene did not immediately object.
Even that brief silence was polite.
Terrifyingly polite.
"I raised my objection because Lady Liana Bell may have been subjected to undue pressure."
Clarisse immediately countered.
"As the party who raised that possibility, your presence may impose new pressure upon the interview subject."
Good.
Clarisse was not an enemy.
Nor was she an ally.
She was procedure.
And at this moment, procedure was unfavorable to Arsene.
Arsene said very gently,
"I will remain silent."
"Silence can also be pressure."
Clarisse's response was not a fraction late.
The air beyond the door changed ever so slightly.
Arsene was probably smiling.
I could tell without seeing him.
He smiled even in situations like this.
He had done the same in the original story.
When Liana wavered.
When Eveline ran wild.
When Seria was isolated.
He always wore that perfect smile.
There were two kinds of people who smiled.
Those who smiled to make others feel at ease.
And those who smiled to watch others become uncomfortable.
Arsene was closer to the latter.
Eveline spoke quietly.
"Don't open the door."
Clarisse looked at Eveline.
"Lady Eveline Rosette. I will record the reason for that statement."
Clutching her handkerchief, Eveline pressed her lips together.
A curse had probably risen to her throat.
She swallowed it well.
Then she said,
"Prince Arsene Berhardt is the party who challenged the reliability of Lady Liana Bell's statement. So he should not be allowed into Lady Liana Bell's interview."
Good.
Clarisse wrote.
"Recognition of grounds for excluding an interested party."
Eveline paused briefly, then added,
"And checking on my condition has nothing to do with the current procedure."
Even better.
I thought I heard a very faint laugh from outside the door.
I did not know whether I had truly heard it or merely expected it.
Arsene said,
"Eveline. I'm worried about your condition."
A gentle voice.
An intimate form of address.
A rope called fiancé.
Eveline's grip tightened around the handkerchief.
I spoke very quietly.
"And."
Eveline closed and opened her eyes.
"Yes."
She spoke.
Outside the door fell silent.
"I heard Prince Arsene say that he is worried about my condition. And I will prioritize the Preliminary Archives Office's procedure at this time."
Good.
Really good.
She did not deny Arsene's concern.
She accepted it.
And then attached procedure to it.
Not but. And.
I never knew teaching could be so delicate that I would have to teach conjunctions just to save someone.
A system window appeared.
[Eveline Rosette: Successfully gave a procedural response to fiancé's private summons]
[Emotional provocation response rate decreases]
[Direct intervention route by fiancé is weakened.]
Good.
Arsene fell silent for a moment.
Then, this time, he called for me.
"Teacher Leon Cart."
I hated it.
I really hated it.
Who knew a voice calling a commoner teacher “Teacher” could sound so ominous?
I did not respond.
If I reacted first to his call through the archive door, I would be stepping onto Arsene's stage.
Clarisse said,
"Prince Arsene Berhardt. Leon Cart is currently a subject of the interview record. If you need to speak, state the reason for your question first."
Excellent.
She was an exceptionally unpleasant person.
Arsene said,
"Lady Rosette is giving answers that are far more restrained than usual, so I am curious whether her educational process has been appropriate."
There it was.
He was stabbing at me.
He wanted to frame Eveline's change as manipulation rather than change.
Clarisse looked at me.
"Will you respond?"
I shook my head.
"Not yet."
"Reason?"
"If I answer now, it will make Lady Eveline's response appear even more strongly influenced by me."
Clarisse's pen stopped.
Eveline looked at me too.
I continued.
"If necessary, I will have the educational process verified through separate documents. But if I answer the question outside that door immediately, I will appear to be adding evidence to Prince Arsene's allegation."
Clarisse wrote.
"Reason for withholding response valid. Prevention of overinterpretation of educational influence."
Arsene's voice continued from beyond the door.
"Teacher, you are avoiding an answer."
Again, I did not answer immediately.
Clarisse said,
"That assessment will not be recorded. It is not phrased as a question."
A quiet blade.
Arsene's sentence was cut off.
With one polite sentence.
The corner of Eveline's mouth almost lifted a little.
I saw it.
Clarisse saw it too.
Clarisse wrote.
"Lady Rosette displays satisfaction at opponent's statement being blocked."
"Don't write that either!"
"It is an observation made during the interview."
"I really hate this!"
"Sentiment confirmed."
Eveline shut her mouth.
Arsene said from outside the door,
"The atmosphere in the archives is quite strict."
Clarisse answered evenly.
"It is."
"Then all the more reason I wish to confirm whether my fiancée is being subjected to undue pressure here."
He did not give up.
Fiancée.
Concern.
Duty.
Pressure.
He selected only good words.
But once those words came through the door, Eveline became Arsene's fiancée again.
Not Lady Rosette, not a candidate, not someone speaking for herself.
His fiancée.
The moment she entered that frame, every statement she made changed.
Clarisse looked at Eveline.
"Lady Eveline Rosette. Will you permit him to check on your condition?"
The question had come.
It was dangerous, but unavoidable.
Clarisse was asking procedurally.
If Eveline unconditionally blocked the condition check itself, Arsene's frame of concern would remain.
Eveline inhaled.
I said nothing.
She had to do this.
Without looking at the door, Eveline looked at Clarisse.
"I will not permit it."
A very faint movement came from outside the door.
Clarisse asked,
"Reason?"
"I am not currently injured, and I am answering normally before my companion and the officer of the Preliminary Archives Office."
Good.
"Continue."
"And Prince Arsene Berhardt is an interested party in this statement-verification procedure. A private check on my condition could be recorded as contact before the interview."
Very good.
Eveline unfolded her handkerchief.
"Therefore, any confirmation of my condition today will be conducted through House Rosette by formal procedure."
Clarisse's pen moved.
"Condition check refused. Grounds: no injury, answering normally, prevention of contact with interested party, formal procedure available as alternative."
Arsene said nothing for a moment.
Inside, I let out a breath.
Eveline had won.
Not a complete victory.
But the sentence had won this moment.
A system window appeared.
[Eveline Rosette: Successfully refused fiancé's private contact]
[Private summons route blocked]
[Arsene Berhardt's emotional provocation success rate decreases.]
But Arsene was not someone who would retreat easily.
The voice outside the door lowered slightly.
"Then record this. Lady Eveline Rosette has refused her fiancé's legitimate request to check on her condition."
As expected.
He turned refusal into a charge.
Eveline's handkerchief started to crumple again.
This time, Clarisse spoke first.
"I will record it. However, I will record the complete statement."
Arsene asked quietly,
"What do you mean by the complete statement?"
Clarisse spoke to the assistant.
"Record this. Prince Arsene Berhardt requested to check on Lady Eveline Rosette's condition on the grounds of being her fiancé. Lady Eveline Rosette refused the request on the grounds that she has no injury, is answering normally, must avoid contact with an interested party, and has access to an alternative formal procedure."
Good.
Really good.
Not a cut-off sentence, but the entire sentence.
What Arsene wanted was the word refused.
What Clarisse left behind was why she refused.
Records were blades.
But what mattered was who held the hilt.
Arsene quietly said,
"I understand."
So even “I understand” could sound so very unlike understanding.
At that moment, another set of footsteps sounded from the end of the corridor.
The neat sound of shoes.
Neither slow nor fast.
And a very familiar voice.
"It is not considered proper etiquette to hold an extended private conversation in front of the archives."
Beatrice Morgan.
I was sincerely glad to see her.
It had been a while since I had been happy to see someone frightening.
Outside the door, Arsene politely said,
"Teacher Beatrice. You have arrived."
"Yes. I came as a neutral observer at Lady Liana Bell's request."
At Liana's request.
Good.
Those words mattered.
Not who had called her, but whether Liana had requested her.
Clarisse said to the assistant,
"Open the door. However, only Teacher Beatrice Morgan and Lady Liana Bell may enter."
The door opened.
There were three people in the corridor.
Arsene Berhardt.
Beatrice Morgan.
And Liana Bell.
Liana wore a neat white coat from the cathedral division.
Her face was slightly pale.
But she was standing.
She had not run away alone.
Nor had she hidden behind someone.
She stood some distance from Arsene.
That distance mattered.
As always, Arsene was immaculate.
A navy uniform.
Silver ornaments.
A gentle smile.
Only his eyes were not smiling.
He looked at Eveline.
"Eveline. You really do seem fine."
Eveline's handkerchief moved.
Only a little this time.
"Yes. I am fine. And any confirmation of my condition will be conducted through formal procedure."
The same sentence.
Repetition.
Good.
Repetition made records stronger.
Arsene smiled.
"That isn't like you."
The words were short.
But deep.
That isn't like you.
Those words pulled Eveline back into the past.
The Eveline who charged in with a sword.
The Eveline who shouted.
The Eveline who saw Liana as an enemy.
The Eveline who wavered at a word from Arsene.
“That isn't like you” was a denial of change.
Eveline's eyes shook.
I did not open my mouth.
And then.
Eveline said,
"You're right."
A short sentence.
Arsene's smile paused ever so slightly.
Eveline continued.
"Because the me of today is different from the me of yesterday."
Silence.
I held my breath.
This was not a sentence I had taught her.
It was hers.
A little rough.
A little proud.
But true.
Clarisse's pen moved quickly.
"Turns opponent's ‘not like you’ statement into recognition of change."
Eveline's ears turned red.
"Can't you write it down in a cooler way?"
"Records do not exist to be cool."
"I really hate this."
"Sentiment confirmed."
The atmosphere nearly eased a little.
Arsene did not miss that opening.
He looked at Liana.
"Lady Liana. You do not have to push yourself if this is difficult."
Gentle.
Kind.
And dangerous.
Liana's shoulders stiffened just slightly.
In the original story, she would have lowered her head here.
And said,
“I'm fine.”
Those words did not mean she was fine.
They meant she would say no more.
I saw a system window appear.
[Remnant of original-story event detected]
[The Saint Candidate's Silence]
[Conditions: Arsene Berhardt's protective remark / Liana Bell's delayed self-expression]
[Danger level: 42%]
Damn it.
Events could trigger even outside the door.
The academy truly never let anyone rest.
Liana opened her lips.
Then closed them.
Eveline started to move.
I spoke quietly.
"Wait."
Eveline stopped.
Liana had to do this.
If Eveline spoke for her, she would become a shield again.
A shield pointed in the opposite direction this time.
Liana brought her hands together.
The sleeves of her white coat trembled slightly.
Then she spoke.
"I will not push myself."
Good.
Arsene's smile remained in place.
Liana added one more sentence.
"And for this interview, I will speak in my own words."
I saw the danger level drop.
[Liana Bell: Successful self-expression]
[The Saint Candidate's Silence danger level: 42% -> 27%]
It remained.
But it had fallen.
Arsene gently said,
"I see. I was only worried about you."
Liana's eyes wavered.
Concern.
Concern again.
It was a good word.
That was why it was more dangerous.
Liana looked at Beatrice.
Beatrice said nothing.
Instead, she dipped her head ever so slightly.
It meant that Liana could speak.
No, that she had to speak.
Liana looked at Arsene again.
"I heard that you are concerned for me."
Good.
She accepted it.
"And I do not want you to attend my interview, Prince Arsene."
Silence.
This time, even Arsene could not smile right away.
Liana's voice trembled.
But her sentence did not collapse.
"If you are there, I start by wondering whether my words agree with yours."
Beatrice's eyes shifted slightly.
Clarisse's pen stopped.
I stopped too.
Liana continued.
"That is why I request only Teacher Beatrice's attendance."
Good.
Very good.
A system window appeared.
[Liana Bell: Expressed her right to choose an observer]
[Resistance rate against being made into a shield increases]
[The Saint Candidate's Silence danger level: 27% -> 9%]
Still 9%.
But it was nearly stopped.
Arsene looked at Liana.
His gaze was still gentle.
"Was I a burden to you?"
It was not a question.
It was a trap.
If she said yes, it became an attack on Arsene.
If she said no, the grounds for refusing his attendance would weaken.
Liana's hands trembled.
Clarisse immediately spoke.
"Revise the question."
Arsene looked at Clarisse.
"Revise it?"
"Your current question shifts the burden of expression onto the interview subject. ‘Was I a burden to you?’ is structured so that answering yes blames the other party, while answering no weakens the grounds for refusing attendance."
Wow.
I was sincerely impressed.
Clarisse Elvine.
She really was frightening.
And at this moment, she was frightening in an extremely useful way.
Arsene's smile deepened slightly.
"Then how should I ask it?"
"You should not ask it. The party concerned has already expressed her position on attendance."
Clarisse looked at Liana.
"Lady Liana Bell. Was that statement just now your own intention?"
Liana did not answer immediately.
She took a short breath.
"Yes. It is my own intention."
"Recording it."
Clarisse's pen moved.
"Lady Liana Bell does not want Prince Arsene Berhardt to attend. Grounds: possibility that she will consider the prince's intentions before her own words. Requests Teacher Beatrice Morgan as sole observer."
Arsene was silent.
For the first time, that silence was not polite.
Only for a moment, but it cracked.
Eveline saw it.
I saw it too.
Clarisse had probably recorded it.
Arsene soon smiled again.
"I understand. I will respect Lady Liana's wishes."
A good sentence.
But a little late.
Clarisse said to the assistant,
"Prince Arsene Berhardt's request to attend is finally denied due to the party's refusal."
"Recorded," the assistant replied.
Arsene stepped back.
"Then I will wait outside."
Clarisse said,
"Waiting in front of the Preliminary Archives Office door is not permitted."
Arsene stopped.
"Where should I wait, then?"
"The external waiting room. It is separated from the interview room by at least one corridor."
Thorough.
Really thorough.
Arsene smiled and bowed his head.
"I understand."
As he turned to leave, he looked at Eveline one last time.
"Eveline. We will talk later."
Later.
Again, he was pulling her toward private time.
Eveline did not respond.
She was silent for a moment.
Then she said,
"Any necessary discussion will be handled through formal procedure."
Arsene's eyes cooled ever so slightly.
Good.
A system window appeared.
[Arsene Berhardt: Failed attempt at private contact with fiancée]
[Liana Bell interview-attendance route blocked]
[The Saint Candidate's Silence event: Failed]
[Eveline Rosette: Maintains resistance to fiancé's emotional provocation]
Arsene was escorted to the external waiting room.
The sound of his footsteps faded down the corridor.
Only then did I quietly exhale.
We won.
No, more precisely, we blocked it.
Today, we kept doing nothing but blocking things.
But blocking them was a victory too.
If no one died, it was generally a victory.
Socially as well.
Liana stood before the door.
She was still pale.
But something about her had changed.
She had spoken her own words.
And those words had been recorded.
Clarisse said,
"Lady Liana Bell. Enter the inner interview room with Teacher Beatrice Morgan. Leon Cart and Lady Eveline Rosette will wait in the main archives."
Liana looked our way.
Eveline spoke first.
"Say what you need to say."
Liana's eyes widened slightly.
Eveline awkwardly added,
"Not my words. Yours."
Rough.
Short.
But accurate.
Liana smiled very faintly.
"Yes. I will speak my own words."
She entered the inner interview room with Beatrice.
The door closed.
The moment it did, the air in the archives grew heavy again.
We could not hear the interview inside.
Nor should we.
That made it all the more unsettling.
Eveline did not sit in her chair.
She stood.
She unfolded her handkerchief, folded it, then unfolded it again.
I said,
"Sit down."
"No."
"This is the archives."
"Then will standing be recorded too?"
Clarisse answered.
"Yes."
Eveline sat down at once.
The effect was fast.
I wanted to borrow an archives office and install it in the Rosette Estate.
But then I would probably die first.
As Clarisse organized the documents, she said,
"Leon Cart."
"Yes."
"Just now, you did not speak in place of Lady Liana Bell."
"Yes."
"Why not?"
"Because she needed to speak for herself."
"Did you not feel an impulse to intervene as the person responsible for her education?"
"I did."
"You admit it?"
"Yes."
"Why did you restrain yourself?"
I thought for a moment.
I looked at the inner door.
Liana was inside.
Uneasy, but speaking.
"If I spoke in Lady Liana's place under the pretext of protecting her, the structure would be the same as what Prince Arsene does."
Clarisse's pen stopped.
"Interesting."
"Please be less interested."
"I cannot accept that request."
I hated it.
Clarisse wrote.
"Recognition of structural similarity between protection and speaking on another's behalf."
Beside me, Eveline quietly said,
"How does it feel to be written into the ledger too?"
"The worst."
"I hear that a lot."
Serious.
Very serious.
Eveline had stolen my verbal habit and now used it at precisely the right time.
Was this an educational achievement too?
I hoped not.
The wait was long.
In reality, it probably was not that long.
But time passed differently while waiting in the archives.
The ledgers on the walls seemed to be watching people.
Records by house.
Candidate lists.
Files of reasons for disqualification.
I tried not to look at the files of reasons for disqualification.
I felt as though my name would be there if I did.
Commoner teacher.
Excessive intervention.
Poor wrist condition.
Inappropriate jokes.
Stated that an herbal cloth could be used to strangle someone in the archives.
Ah.
It really did seem like it would be written down.
At last, the inner door opened.
Beatrice came out first.
Her expression was as composed as usual.
Liana was behind her.
She looked somewhat tired, but she had not fallen apart.
Clarisse came out last.
She held a fresh record sheet in her hand.
"I will share a summary of the interview."
Eveline stiffened.
I straightened my posture too.
Clarisse read.
"Lady Liana Bell stated that the statement was written of her own volition."
Good.
"She stated that there had been no direct coercion from House Rosette."
Good.
"However, she traveled in a House Rosette carriage and wrote the statement after receiving a copy of House Rosette's records, so the possibility of environmental influence remains."
As expected.
That was Clarisse.
Liana did not lower her head.
She seemed capable of accepting that much now.
Clarisse continued reading.
"Lady Liana Bell stated that she felt anxiety during the tea party at the Ducal House of Blanc."
Arsene would like that sentence.
But it was not over yet.
"She did not limit the cause of that anxiety to a single person. However, she stated that she feels most anxious in situations where the words of others and interpretations between houses are placed before her own wishes."
I quietly exhaled.
Good.
Liana had not attacked anyone.
She had described the situation.
And her own feelings.
Clarisse's voice lowered slightly.
"Additional statement. Lady Liana Bell stated that she cannot judge whether Prince Arsene Berhardt's intentions are benevolent, but that when his words are interpreted before her own wishes, she feels that she loses her own voice."
The archives fell silent.
That was a significant sentence.
It did not directly paint Arsene as malicious.
But it left behind the fact that his methods buried Liana's words.
This was dangerous.
And necessary.
Clarisse read the final sentence.
"Lady Liana Bell restated that Lady Eveline Rosette did not directly threaten her during the tea party at the Ducal House of Blanc. She also restated that Lady Seria Blanc did not silence her statement."
Good.
A system window appeared.
[Liana Bell interview: Voluntariness requirements partially fulfilled]
[Statement reliability increases]
[Resistance rate against being made into a shield increases]
[The influence of House Berhardt's unilateral records decreases.]
It was not a complete resolution.
Only “partially fulfilled.”
But for now, that was enough.
Eveline looked at Liana.
She had the face of someone who did not know what to say.
After a long while, she said,
"You did well."
Short.
Blunt.
But sincere.
Liana blinked in surprise.
"Thank you."
"You don't have to thank me."
Eveline immediately turned her head away.
Her ears were slightly red.
Clarisse saw it and started to write.
Eveline shouted,
"Don't write that!"
"It is a positive expression between candidates."
"Why do you have to phrase it like that?"
"Because it is accurate."
Liana laughed very softly.
Good.
She laughed.
This time, it was laughter born from released tension.
Then the assistant entered again.
I was starting to dislike the assistant.
Every time he appeared, he brought trouble with him.
"Lady Clarisse. Prince Arsene Berhardt in the external waiting room requests to submit an opinion on the interview summary."
As expected.
Arsene did not stop.
Clarisse said,
"Receive it in writing. We will not accept an immediate oral opinion."
"He has already written and submitted a brief statement."
Fast.
Really fast.
Not good.
The assistant held out a navy envelope.
There was no wax seal.
It was an opinion written on the spot in the waiting room.
Clarisse read it.
This time, her expression barely changed.
But I could tell.
The contents were not good.
Clarisse said,
"Prince Arsene Berhardt's opinion. If Lady Liana Bell feels that her words are pushed behind others' interpretations, this may be psychological pressure caused by repeated conflicts between House Rosette and the Ducal House of Blanc. Therefore, for Lady Liana Bell's protection, he requests consideration of restricting her contact with Lady Eveline Rosette and Lady Seria Blanc during the preliminary evaluation period."
The archives became colder than the garden.
There it was.
His purpose had revealed itself.
Under the pretext of protecting Liana, he wanted to separate Eveline and Seria from her.
Then who would interpret Liana's words again?
Arsene.
Eveline's handkerchief crumpled again.
Liana's face went pale.
Clarisse placed the document down.
"Request for contact restrictions."
She looked at us.
"This request is subject to review."
A system window appeared.
[New branch triggered]
[Event: Isolation in the Name of Protection]
[Risk: Liana Bell's isolation / Eveline Rosette's emotional rampage / Seria Blanc's failure to restore trust]
[Time remaining until restriction review: 1 day]
I closed my eyes.
Arsene had failed to stop Liana from speaking.
So this time, he intended to stop whom Liana could speak with.
He really was persistent.
Eveline spoke quietly.
"Leon."
"Yes."
"How do we stop this?"
I looked down at my wrist.
It hurt.
It really hurt.
But there was an answer.
"To avoid contact restrictions, we need to show that contact is not dangerous."
"How?"
Clarisse looked at me.
I looked at her too.
Then I said,
"We move up the joint preliminary evaluation mock training."
Eveline's face stiffened.
Liana stiffened too.
Beatrice closed her eyes.
Clarisse raised her pen.
"To when?"
I answered.
"Today."
A system window appeared.
[Joint preliminary evaluation mock training is unlocked early.]
[Scheduled participants: Eveline Rosette / Liana Bell / Seria Blanc]
[Observer: Clarisse Elvine]
[Warning: Arsene Berhardt is preparing to intervene again under the pretext of being a protector.]
I sighed inwardly.
The five-day plan had been smashed apart in a single day.
As expected, this world knew nothing of schedules.
And I was starting to understand something too.
The academy entrance examination was not five days away.
The entrance examination began the moment a sentence meant to divide people apart appeared.
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