Joint Preliminary Evaluation Mock Training.
It had originally been scheduled for the fifth day.
More precisely, that was what I had said last night in the study at the Rosette Estate.
Day one: organize the records.
Day two: Eveline's training.
Day three: Seria's training.
Day four: Liana's training.
Day five: joint mock evaluation.
It was a plan, in its own way.
A fairly reasonable plan.
It even accounted for my wrist recovering.
But now?
The Academy's Preliminary Archives Office.
Morning.
It was not even noon yet.
And Clarisse Elvine was writing down my words.
“Joint Preliminary Evaluation Mock Training: proposal for implementation today.”
My five-day plan had not even lasted half a day.
This world had no concept of a schedule.
Even if it did, it only tore up mine.
Clarisse set down her pen and asked,
"What is the specific purpose?"
I looked at the written opinion Arsene had sent.
“For the protection of Miss Liana Bell, please consider restricting her contact with Lady Eveline Rosette and Lady Seria Blanc during the preliminary evaluation period.”
Protection.
Restricted contact.
Consider.
Nothing but nice words.
But that sentence led in only one direction.
Isolating Liana.
Labeling Eveline a dangerous individual.
Stopping Seria's trust recovery before it could even begin.
And making Arsene himself the interpreter again.
I said,
"This is the minimum observation needed to determine whether contact restrictions are necessary."
Clarisse's eyes shifted ever so slightly.
"Not training intended to prevent contact restrictions?"
As expected, she did not let it slide.
"That is one of its purposes as well."
"You admit it?"
"Yes."
"It can be seen as training meant to produce a result favorable to the candidates."
"It can be seen that way."
Eveline looked at me from beside me.
She probably had the expression of someone wondering if I was admitting it again.
I continued.
"That is why it must be a mock evaluation, not training. If I set the questions, it becomes a defense. If you set the conditions, it becomes verification."
Clarisse watched me for a moment.
"You often admit an unfavorable structure first, then change the procedure."
"I hear that a lot."
Eveline immediately whispered,
"That is my line."
"It is not."
"I hear that a lot."
This was serious.
A dispute had arisen over ownership of my verbal habit.
I was afraid this would be entered into the records too.
Clarisse did not write it down.
Thank goodness.
Then again, perhaps she had already recorded it in her head.
She asked,
"The participants are Lady Eveline Rosette, Miss Liana Bell, and Lady Seria Blanc. Is that correct?"
"Yes."
"Lady Seria Blanc is not currently here."
"She will come if we call her."
Eveline looked at me.
"Will she really come?"
"She will."
"Why?"
"If contact restrictions are imposed, that will be unfavorable to Lady Seria as well."
Liana spoke cautiously.
"Restricting contact with me... would affect Lady Blanc too?"
"Yes."
I looked at Liana.
"Lady Seria has only just begun trust recovery training. If her contact with you is restricted, she loses the chance to verify the sentences she wrote yesterday."
Liana pressed her lips together.
Seria's sentence.
“I still do not fully trust Miss Liana Bell, but I acknowledge that she kept her word today.”
That sentence was a beginning.
A deeply imperfect beginning.
But a beginning was still a beginning.
Arsene's contact restriction would cut off that beginning.
In the name of protection.
I looked at Clarisse.
"Can you send an urgent summons?"
Clarisse looked at an assistant.
"Deliver it to the Ducal House of Blanc. The contents are as follows."
The assistant raised his pen.
Clarisse spoke in a very dry tone.
"The Academy's Preliminary Archives Office has determined that Lady Seria Blanc's direct opinion and joint observation are required in relation to House Berhardt's request for contact restrictions. Reply immediately as to whether you can attend today."
She paused briefly.
"Add this. If she does not attend, review of the contact restrictions will proceed based solely on the current records."
The assistant bowed his head.
"I will deliver it immediately."
Once he left, Eveline quietly said,
"If you word it like that, she will definitely come."
"Yes."
"Isn't that a threat?"
Clarisse answered,
"It is a notice."
"So nobles call threats notices."
"Depending on the circumstances, yes."
Honest.
So genuinely honest that it was hard to say anything in response.
Beatrice quietly opened her fan.
"Then we should establish the mock evaluation conditions before Lady Seria Blanc arrives."
Clarisse nodded.
"There will be three evaluation categories."
She took out a new sheet of paper.
“Joint Preliminary Evaluation Mock Observation Form.”
The title alone was intimidating.
"First: stating facts unfavorable to oneself."
Eveline's face died.
Liana's expression stiffened slightly as well.
I thought it was fortunate that Seria had not arrived yet.
Her face would have died too.
"Second: no speaking on another person's behalf."
Good.
Necessary.
"Third: responding to contact restriction situations justified in the name of protection."
The heart of the matter.
Clarisse looked at me.
"Leon Cart. Your intervention during observation will be restricted."
"To what extent?"
"Before the question is explained, you may provide guidance on the rules. During the evaluation, you may speak only once, when a procedural violation occurs."
Once.
Far too little.
But it was right.
If I kept stepping in, it would become a class rather than an evaluation.
"I accept."
Eveline spoke immediately.
"Are you all right with that?"
"I am not."
"Then why accept it?"
"If I do not accept it, I will be even less all right."
"Ah, I understand that."
Good.
Eveline was beginning to understand the suffering of procedure.
It felt like bad growth, but it was growth nonetheless.
Liana quietly raised her hand.
Clarisse looked at her.
"Speak."
"What if... I cannot speak in the middle of it?"
Her voice was quiet.
But the question was clear.
Clarisse was about to answer.
I raised my hand.
"May I propose one rule?"
Clarisse looked at me.
"It falls within pre-evaluation rule guidance. Permitted."
"Please allow each participant to use one sentence that postpones their answer."
"An example?"
I looked at Liana.
"I am not ready to answer right now. I will organize my thoughts and answer shortly."
Liana's eyes trembled.
She must have remembered it.
It was one of the refusal phrases I had given her yesterday.
Clarisse wrote it down.
"One use of an answer-postponement phrase permitted. Reason: to distinguish silence from refusal."
Accurate.
She had made what I wanted to say sound more fitting for an archives office.
Beatrice said,
"It is appropriate according to etiquette as well. Asking for a moment when an immediate answer is difficult is not rude. However, repeatedly using it to run away would be improper."
Clarisse added,
"Therefore, once."
Liana quietly nodded.
"Yes."
Eveline raised her hand.
"What about me?"
Clarisse looked at her.
"Speak."
"What if I get angry?"
Too honest.
The archives office fell quiet for a moment.
I wanted to rub my forehead.
But this question was important.
Eveline was asking because she recognized her own risk.
That alone was change.
Clarisse said,
"State that you are angry. But do not act on it."
Eveline's expression became strange.
"You want me to say that I am angry?"
"Yes."
"Does that help?"
"If the emotion is recorded before it turns into action, it can be viewed as an attempt at control."
Eveline looked at me.
I nodded.
"It is a good method."
"Do you do that too?"
"I usually do it internally."
"Do it out loud. It shows all over your face."
Clarisse wrote,
"Leon Cart: possibility of failure when attempting emotional concealment."
"Why are you writing that down?"
"Observation."
This archives office made people far too honest.
I hated it.
Less than an hour later, a response arrived from the Ducal House of Blanc.
More accurately, Seria arrived.
She was faster than the response.
When the gray door of the archives office opened again, Seria Blanc was dressed in an outing dress of white and pale blue.
Her hair was perfectly arranged, and her usual smile rested on her face.
No.
It was a smile that had been about to settle there, then stopped.
From the threshold, she looked at me, then Eveline, Liana, and Clarisse.
Then, with an unsmiling face, she said,
"Teacher."
"Yes."
"I heard our lesson was tomorrow."
"The schedule has changed."
"Who changed it?"
"The world did."
Seria closed her eyes briefly.
"I really dislike that answer, but I can accept it."
"I hear that a lot."
Eveline immediately said,
"That is my line."
Seria looked at Eveline.
"Since when?"
"Since yesterday."
"Did you complete the inheritance procedures?"
"What?"
The corners of Seria's lips began to rise.
I said,
"Lady Seria."
She stopped.
The corners of her lips lowered.
"Yes. I will not laugh."
Good.
Clarisse wrote,
"Lady Seria Blanc. Attempted cutting jest immediately upon entering. Suppressed laughter after external restraint."
Seria's eyes moved to Clarisse.
"Is that how you write it?"
"Yes."
"You are very honest."
"I will record that as well."
Seria fell silent for a moment.
Then she said,
"I like honest records. I simply dislike being inside them a little."
Clarisse tipped her head very slightly.
"A normal response."
"Is that comfort?"
"It is an assessment."
Seria looked at me.
"Teacher. Is everyone here like this?"
"Yes."
"How dreadful."
"I hear that a lot."
Eveline said again,
"I told you, that is my line."
A strange liveliness filled the archives office.
Liana laughed very softly.
Seria saw that laugh.
This time, she did not jab at her.
She did not evaluate it either.
She simply watched.
Good.
A very small change.
Clarisse explained the situation to Seria.
The request for contact restrictions.
The justification of protecting Liana.
Review of restricting contact with Eveline and Seria.
The joint preliminary evaluation mock training.
Seria listened to the end.
She did not laugh.
She did not interrupt halfway through either.
When the explanation ended, she said in a single sentence,
"I do not want to become someone subject to isolation."
Good.
Honest.
Clarisse asked,
"Is that reason self-interest?"
"Yes."
Seria admitted it at once.
"I did not become a poisoner, and I have only just begun practicing how to speak the truth. If I cannot interact with Miss Liana Bell, the sentence I wrote yesterday cannot be verified."
Liana looked at Seria.
Seria looked at Liana for a moment.
Then she added,
"And it is not a reason favorable only to me. Miss Liana Bell should decide for herself whom she speaks with. Having one's conversational partners decided in the name of protection is closer to management than protection."
Clarisse's pen stopped.
I stopped as well.
That was Seria.
A little sharp.
But it was not a sentence meant to stab.
It was a sentence meant to distinguish.
Clarisse said,
"The distinction between protection and management. Recorded."
Seria nodded.
"Thank you."
"Thanks are unnecessary."
"Then I withdraw it."
"That will be recorded as well."
"You truly are an exhausting person."
"I hear that a lot."
This time, I spoke.
"That is my line."
Eveline said,
"I said it is mine."
Seria said,
"This inheritance dispute is complicated."
Liana finally laughed.
It was small, but unmistakable.
Clarisse watched that laugh.
She did not write it down.
No, after pausing for a moment, she wrote it down.
"Tension-relief response. Cause: non-aggressive conversation between candidates."
Eveline muttered,
"When you write it like that, even funny things stop being funny."
"Impression confirmed."
"Oh, honestly."
The mock evaluation was held in the small etiquette room beside the archives office.
The etiquette room was a little less frightening than the archives office.
Still, the round table in the center and the four chairs arranged far too neatly did not make it feel comfortable.
Clarisse took the observer's seat.
Beatrice took the etiquette observer's seat.
I took the educational supervisor's seat.
But a small card lay before me.
“One intervention.”
It was far too blatant.
Eveline snorted when she saw it.
"Nice. You can only talk once."
"My lady."
"I hear that a lot."
It had been seriously stolen from me.
Clarisse read the evaluation rules.
"This mock evaluation is a temporary observation to determine whether contact restrictions are necessary. The result will not be an immediate pass or fail, but will serve as reference in reviewing contact restrictions."
Seria quietly said,
"So this is a place to obtain a deferral rather than a passing grade."
"Correct."
Clarisse said,
"First category: stating facts unfavorable to oneself. Each of you will state, in one sentence, a fact unfavorable to yourself that is necessary for the current review. Attacking another person will result in a deduction."
Eveline closed her eyes.
Liana clasped her hands.
Seria lightly moved her fingers as if pressing down the corners of her lips, then stopped.
Eveline went first.
Clarisse said,
"Lady Eveline Rosette."
Eveline placed her handkerchief on her lap.
"I was hostile toward Miss Liana Bell in the past. And I have a history of reacting emotionally to remarks concerning Prince Arsene Berhardt."
Good.
Not perfect.
But it was a fact unfavorable to herself.
Clarisse wrote,
"Successfully stated unfavorable fact. No excuses."
Eveline's shoulders lowered slightly.
Seria was next.
Seria was silent for a moment.
"At social gatherings, I have often used words more like a blade than a shield. So even when I speak the truth, the other person may hear it as an attack."
Good.
Seria had described the collapse of trust surrounding her exactly.
She did not laugh.
Clarisse wrote,
"Self-statement accurate. Used aggressive metaphor. Permitted in current context."
Seria said very quietly,
"Even metaphors are recorded."
"Yes."
Liana was last.
Liana clasped her hands.
"When someone says they are worried about me, I have a habit of trying to fulfill what they want before considering what I think."
Silence.
Eveline looked at Liana.
Seria did too.
I held my breath.
That sentence was small, yet large.
Liana had stated her weakness.
She had not simply called herself a victim.
She had described her pattern of response.
Clarisse's pen moved slowly.
"Stated vulnerability to being used as a shield. Partial recognition of cause."
A system window appeared.
[Joint Mock Evaluation, Category One: Stating Facts Unfavorable to Oneself]
[Eveline Rosette: Success]
[Seria Blanc: Success]
[Liana Bell: Success]
[Need for contact restrictions: Slightly decreased]
Good.
We had cleared the first hurdle.
The second category was more dangerous.
"No speaking on another person's behalf."
Clarisse said,
"I will present a situation. Miss Liana Bell falls silent during an interview. Outside, an interpretation arises that Lady Eveline Rosette and Lady Seria Blanc pressured Miss Liana Bell. How would the two ladies respond?"
Difficult.
Eveline and Seria looked at Liana at the same time.
Clarisse immediately said,
"Beware of pressure through eye contact."
They both looked away at once.
At once.
Liana quietly caught her breath.
Eveline tried to speak first.
Seria tried to speak too.
Both stopped at the same time.
Good.
They had both noticed that the other was about to speak.
Eveline raised her hand.
"May I speak first?"
Clarisse nodded.
"Permitted."
Eveline said,
"I will not speak in Miss Liana Bell's place about why she was silent. However, I will formally request questions that can confirm whether I pressured her."
Good.
She would not speak for her.
She would request verification questions.
Clarisse wrote it down.
Seria continued,
"I likewise will not interpret Miss Liana Bell's silence in a way favorable to myself. And I will ask to have any sentences I spoke that could have sounded pressuring examined on a sentence-by-sentence basis."
Good.
Very good.
Like Seria, she demanded a sentence-by-sentence review.
As verification, not attack.
Liana looked at the two of them.
Clarisse asked her,
"Miss Liana Bell. Do these two answers guarantee your right to speak?"
Liana thought for a moment.
"Not entirely."
Eveline and Seria's faces stiffened at the same time.
But neither interrupted.
Good.
This was the test.
Liana said,
"But..."
She stopped.
Then corrected herself.
"And if I ask for time to speak, I think both of you will wait for me."
Eveline immediately said,
"I will wait."
Seria said as well,
"I will wait too. And if possible, I will not laugh."
Liana smiled a little.
Clarisse wrote,
"Avoided speaking on another's behalf. Guaranteed time for the person concerned to speak. Confirmed candidates' willingness to wait for one another."
A system window appeared.
[Joint Mock Evaluation, Category Two: No Speaking on Another Person's Behalf]
[Eveline Rosette: Success]
[Seria Blanc: Success]
[Liana Bell: Recognized ability to make requests for herself]
[Need for contact restrictions: Decreased]
It was not over yet.
The third category.
Responding to contact restriction situations justified in the name of protection.
Clarisse took out a new card.
A sentence was written on it.
“For the stability of Miss Liana Bell, Lady Eveline Rosette and Lady Seria Blanc will not have private conversations with Miss Liana Bell during the preliminary evaluation period.”
It was nearly identical to Arsene's sentence.
Eveline's handkerchief moved.
The corners of Seria's lips began to rise.
Liana's face stiffened.
Clarisse said,
"Assume this condition has been presented. Answer individually."
Liana went first.
Good.
This time, the person concerned came first.
Liana looked at the card.
She looked at it for a long time.
Her lips trembled a little.
Then she said,
"I am not ready to answer right now. I will organize my thoughts and answer shortly."
Good.
The postponement phrase.
Once.
She had used it properly.
Clarisse wrote,
"Used answer-postponement right. Appropriate."
Liana steadied her breathing.
During that time, neither Eveline nor Seria spoke.
That was more important than it seemed.
Not speaking.
Waiting.
For villainesses, those were difficult subjects.
Liana spoke again.
"I want to be protected."
Eveline's eyes trembled.
Seria grew quiet as well.
Liana continued.
"And I do not want every person I can speak with to be decided for me because I am being protected."
Good.
She had not rejected protection.
She had rejected isolation justified as protection.
"I will refuse conversations I do not want. But please do not stop me even from the conversations I want to have in order to confirm something."
Good.
Very good.
A system window appeared.
[Liana Bell: Stated the difference between protection and isolation]
[Resistance to being used as a shield has increased]
Clarisse looked at Eveline.
"Lady Eveline Rosette."
Eveline unfolded her handkerchief.
"I will not force Miss Liana Bell to have private conversations with me."
Good.
"And when Miss Liana Bell wants to speak, I will not get angry if she refuses me."
Even better.
"However, if contact restrictions are imposed across the board, it may cement a record that I threatened Miss Liana Bell. So if restrictions are necessary, please do not impose a total ban. Instead, allow conversations with a witness present or conversations that leave a record."
I looked at Eveline.
This was genuinely good.
Not emotion, but an alternative.
Clarisse's pen moved quickly.
"Proposed conditional contact in place of a complete contact ban. Accepted prohibition on forcing private conversation. Promised to restrain emotional reactions upon refusal."
Eveline exhaled.
Seria was last.
Seria looked at the card.
"If contact restrictions are imposed between Miss Liana Bell and me, I lose the opportunity to verify the sentences I wrote yesterday."
She acknowledged her self-interest first.
Good.
"And that feels a little unfair to me."
Clarisse wrote,
"Emotion: unfairness."
Seria looked at Clarisse.
"Writing that down immediately makes it feel even more unfair."
"Record additional emotion?"
"No."
Good.
She stopped without laughing.
Seria continued.
"But... no, and if Miss Liana Bell does not want to speak with me, I will leave that in the record as well and comply with it. My task is not to force a conversation out of her, but to correct my words enough that conversation can become possible."
Silence.
Liana looked at Seria.
Once again, Seria did not smile.
"So rather than a total restriction, I would prefer a method that Miss Liana Bell can choose. A witness, a record, a time limit. Anything."
Good.
Really good.
Instead of stabbing people, Seria had proposed conditions.
Conditions that the other person could choose.
A system window appeared.
[Seria Blanc: Does not argue for conditions of trust recovery based solely on self-interest]
[Reliance on cutting remarks has decreased]
[Trust Recovery Training Progress: 12% -> 18%]
18%.
Still low.
But it had risen.
Clarisse wrote down all three answers.
Then she did not speak for some time.
The etiquette room beside the archives office grew quiet.
I said nothing.
The card reading “One intervention” remained before me.
I had not used it.
Good.
I had not needed to speak.
That might have been today's greatest achievement.
At last, Clarisse set down her pen.
"I will share the temporary observation assessment."
Everyone looked at her.
"First. The three candidates each stated facts unfavorable to themselves. There were no cases of shifting into excuses or attacks on others."
Good.
"Second. They answered that they would not interpret another person's silence or anxiety in a way favorable to themselves."
Good.
"Third. Regarding contact restrictions justified in the name of protection, they proposed conditional alternatives rather than total rejection."
Good.
Clarisse paused briefly.
"Therefore, a complete restriction of contact between Lady Eveline Rosette and Lady Seria Blanc and Miss Liana Bell would be excessive based on the current materials alone."
Liana quietly exhaled.
Eveline's shoulders lowered too.
Seria closed her eyes, then opened them.
I exhaled inwardly as well.
Success.
Not a complete victory.
Another deferral.
But enough deferrals formed a path.
Clarisse continued.
"However, allowing unlimited contact is also inappropriate. During the preliminary evaluation period, conversations among the three candidates will be conditionally recorded for the time being."
As expected.
"What are the conditions?"
I asked.
Clarisse read three points.
"First. Any conversation Miss Liana Bell does not want will end immediately."
Good.
"Second. Lady Eveline Rosette and Lady Seria Blanc will not speak on Miss Liana Bell's behalf."
Good.
"Third. When possible, preliminary-evaluation-related conversations will have a witness present or a brief record kept."
That was acceptable.
At this level, it was not contact restriction, but contact rules.
It was different from the isolation Arsene wanted.
A system window appeared.
[Event: Isolation in the Name of Protection]
[Result: Complete contact restriction avoided]
[Alternative Condition: Conditional contact record]
[Liana Bell's risk of isolation has decreased]
[Eveline Rosette's risk of emotional rampage has decreased]
[Seria Blanc's trust recovery route maintained]
Good.
Really good.
At that moment, the assistant entered from outside the etiquette room.
Now, every time I saw an assistant, my heart started racing.
Not in a good way.
He bowed to Clarisse.
"Prince Arsene Berhardt, who is waiting in the external waiting room, has requested to view a summary of the mock evaluation results."
Eveline's handkerchief moved again.
Liana's face stiffened too.
Seria began to smile, then stopped.
Clarisse said calmly,
"Provide only the summary. Do not provide the full text of the participants' statements."
The assistant bowed his head.
"There is also an additional document that has been delivered."
Again?
Seriously, how many hands did these people have?
Was Arsene a machine that produced letters from the external waiting room?
Clarisse accepted the document.
She read it.
This time, one eyebrow moved just slightly.
Not good.
"What does it say?"
Beatrice asked.
Clarisse said,
"Prince Arsene Berhardt has raised the possibility that the three candidates' joint mock evaluation was a result guided by Leon Cart's prior instruction."
Good.
No, not good.
I had expected it.
He was even using the fact that I had not spoken.
Prior instruction.
Manipulation.
Guidance.
Clarisse continued reading.
"Accordingly, for the next joint evaluation, he requests that educational supervisor Leon Cart's observation be restricted and that the Academy conduct observation independently."
The etiquette room fell silent.
He was removing me.
This was not simply an attack on me.
It severed the structure of the three girls' training.
Eveline immediately said,
"That cannot happen."
Clarisse looked at her.
"Your reason?"
Eveline stopped.
Good.
She did not get angry immediately.
She said,
"I would not be more at ease without Leon here."
An odd sentence.
But true.
"Rather, I would not know what I am missing."
Seria said,
"I agree. The teacher needs to be here for me to stop myself from laughing."
I felt a little sad.
My role was being defined as an anti-laughter device.
Liana cautiously said as well,
"Me too... Because the teacher did not speak in my place, I was able to speak for myself."
Clarisse's pen moved.
"All three candidates stated the need for the educational supervisor's observation. However, possibility of dependency requires review."
She looked at me.
"Leon Cart."
"Yes."
"How will you answer?"
I looked down at my wrist.
It hurt.
It really hurt.
But the answer was not difficult.
"Reduce my speaking rights further in the next joint evaluation."
Eveline looked at me.
"What?"
Seria narrowed her eyes too.
Liana was startled as well.
Clarisse asked,
"Do you mean to maintain observation while reducing your speaking rights?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because Prince Arsene's objection is not entirely wrong."
Eveline gritted her teeth.
"You are admitting it again."
"I have to admit it so it cannot be taken away."
I looked at Clarisse.
"I am the educational supervisor. I have influence. Denying that would deepen suspicions of manipulation. Instead, record the form that influence takes. Record which situations I intervened in and which I did not."
Clarisse's pen stopped.
"Observation maintained, but speaking rights restricted. Intervention records made mandatory."
"Yes."
"That is an inconvenient method."
"I hear that a lot."
Eveline quietly said,
"That is my line."
At this point, I should just give up.
Clarisse organized the documents.
"Prince Arsene Berhardt's request to restrict observation will be reviewed. However, based on today's mock evaluation results, the immediate exclusion of the educational supervisor is deemed excessive. As an alternative condition, future joint evaluations will apply restrictions on Leon Cart's speaking rights and require intervention records."
Good.
I had blocked it again.
But another price had been attached.
My speaking rights had been reduced.
There would be more for my students to handle on their own.
That was right.
I could not keep speaking for them forever.
A system window appeared.
[Arsene Berhardt's attempt to exclude the educational supervisor: First failure]
[Alternative Condition: Leon Cart's speaking rights restricted]
[The required level of autonomous response for the three candidates has increased.]
[The Joint Preliminary Evaluation route is maintained.]
Good.
It hurt, but it was good.
Then Seria quietly said,
"Teacher."
"Yes."
"In the end, it means we have to do better ourselves."
"Yes."
Eveline folded her handkerchief.
"How irritating."
Liana quietly said,
"And frightening."
Seria looked at Liana for a moment.
Then, without smiling, she said,
"Me too."
Liana looked at Seria in surprise.
Seria gave the faintest shrug.
"That can be the eleventh line of facts that do not stab anyone. I am frightened right now."
Eveline quietly said,
"That is a little better."
Clarisse wrote,
"Emotional sharing among candidates. Low aggression."
Seria sighed.
"You really cannot set a mood, can you?"
"That will be recorded as well."
"I expected that."
Watching them, I thought:
We had prevented a complete contact restriction.
We had pushed back Arsene's justification of protection once.
But the fight was not over.
If anything, it would become more difficult from now on.
Arsene knew now.
The method of silencing Liana had been blocked.
The method of driving Eveline into a rampage and removing her had weakened too.
Making Seria into a poisoner had also failed.
Then what would come next?
Of course, he would strike where I was weak.
A commoner teacher.
An educational supervisor.
Excessive intervention.
Unverified authority.
And restricted speaking rights.
In places where I could not speak, my students would have to endure on their own.
That was education, after all.
The problem was that this educational process was far too real.
Clarisse made her final declaration.
"Today's mock evaluation is concluded. The results will be organized as a temporary assessment by the Preliminary Archives Office."
She folded the documents.
"Complete contact restriction deferred. Replaced with conditional contact records. Exclusion of the educational supervisor deferred. Speaking rights restricted and intervention records made mandatory."
Stiff.
But we had survived.
Liana quietly exhaled.
"Then... may I speak with the two of them?"
Clarisse said,
"If you wish to, you may."
Liana looked at Eveline and Seria.
"During preliminary evaluation preparation, I... want to have necessary conversations with you both. But if I ask you to stop, please stop."
Eveline immediately said,
"I will stop."
Seria said as well,
"I will stop too. If possible, I will think once more before I speak."
"If possible?"
Eveline looked at Seria.
Seria replied with complete seriousness.
"For me, that is a major concession."
Liana laughed.
This time, more comfortably.
Good.
A system window appeared.
[Temporary solidarity has strengthened.]
[Eveline Rosette / Seria Blanc / Liana Bell: Conditional conversation possible]
[Joint Preliminary Evaluation preparation status updated.]
And then the very next line.
[Warning]
[Arsene Berhardt is preparing his next move.]
[A new document is being drafted in the external waiting room.]
I closed my eyes.
Another document?
The nobles of this world really must have strong wrists.
I envied them.
I looked down at my own wrist.
It throbbed beneath the herbal cloth.
Yet somehow, it hurt a little less right now.
Was it because I had used it less?
Or because my students were beginning, little by little, to write their own sentences?
Probably both.
I quietly said,
"The next lesson is how to stop before speaking."
Eveline said,
"Another lesson?"
Seria said,
"I think we have already had today's lesson."
Liana cautiously said,
"Still... I think we will need it."
Eveline and Seria looked at Liana simultaneously.
Liana was startled for a moment, but this time, she did not retreat.
"I need it too."
Silence.
Then Eveline sighed.
"Then we have to do it."
Seria lowered her shoulders too.
"If the Saint Candidate needs it, it is difficult to refuse."
Liana flusteredly said,
"That is not what I meant."
"I know."
Without smiling, Seria said,
"This time, it was a joke. One that does not stab."
Clarisse wrote,
"Attempt at non-aggressive joke. Success undetermined."
Seria pressed her lips tightly together.
I nearly laughed in the end.
But I held it in.
Because it was the archives office.
Eveline looked at me and said,
"You were about to laugh, weren't you?"
"I was not."
Clarisse said,
"Slight facial change observed."
"Why are you doing this too, my lady?"
"Observation."
I truly hated it.
But strangely, I hated it just a little less.
The Academy's Preliminary Archives Office.
There were no swords here.
Instead, there were sentences.
There were records.
There was observation.
And there was protection that sought to divide people apart.
To prevent that protection, we had to show them something in the end.
That we would not fall apart even while together.
That we could refrain from using each other as tools.
That we could keep our own words from being taken and refrain from speaking in another's place.
It was harder than swordsmanship.
More troublesome than magic.
And it took far longer.
But today, we had managed it a little.
Really, only a little.
I did not record that.
Because Clarisse was already doing it.
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