Once Those Wings Fly, You Can’t Ever Stop Them [Part 1]
Around the time the Stuart family was deepening their warm and fuzzy familial love, a little commotion occurred at the academy.
“Emma-sama passed out?!”
Not unexpectedly, only one person could cause a commotion like this.
“Uh, several students saw the merchant’s son carrying Emma-sama in his arms.”
“Why was she carried by Joshua Rothschild? George-sama and William-kun should also be nearby, right?”
“Yeah, but I heard those two had ghastly pale faces and needed to be propped up by His Highness and Arthur-sama.”
“? Just what on earth has happened?”
Joshua carrying Emma to the academy’s back gate was seen by some people, and rumors about that were quickly spread by those who witnessed it.
“Emma-sama couldn’t stop trembling and seemed so much in pain. Those who saw her said she looked very pitiful.”
“Hey, someone also said that His Highness and Arthur-sama were absent from the afternoon classes.”
“That said, I take the same Practical Skill for Hunters class with George-sama and have been acquainted with him. You should know that he is the type of person who can hardly be fazed by anything.”
“William-kun‘s also the same. He has such a calm personality and intelligence that’s very unthinkable to possess at his age… He cares so much about Emma-sama‘s health to the point of being naggy. Yet he looked so fretful when he followed behind Joshua… It’s like a completely different person.”
William’s nagging was just “Nee-sama, you eat too much” for the most part, but in the eyes of the other students, that was how he showed concern for his older sister’s health.
“Emma-sama has a weak constitution in the first place. I heard she fell ill at the banquet hosted by the Royal Family a little while ago.”
“That time, she seemed to be carried by His Highness to a separate room… and lost consciousness just like that.”
“! …Could it be… No, but…”
“Oi, what is it?! Spit it out!”
“N-No, I was just speculating…”
“You’re making me even more curious, alright?!”
“But…”
“This is just between us. What did you notice?”
“…It’s a speculation, okay? It’s only my speculation, got that?”
One of the students who had been noisily gossiping among themselves made up his mind and said his speculation out loud.
“Don’t you guys think Emma-sama… doesn’t have much time left to live?”
“?!”
“She has always acted strong at the academy, but will she really collapse that often just because she has a weak body? For her to quiver greatly with a pallid complexion, looking so much in pain…”
“H-Hey, what are you saying?!”
“It’s speculation! It’s nothing more than speculation. But, the more I think about it, the more it fits as an explanation for what has happened so far.”
Even though he said, “It was just speculation…” the slightly imaginative student began to stretch the wings of his imagination even further.
“Although Emma-sama was born with a weak body, she has managed to live on thanks to the best medical treatment House Stuart has provided with its financial resources. However, she was gravely injured during the local barrier hazard about a year and half ago, even leaving a painful scar on her face. There’s no way the injuries of that time leave no after-effects on that pitifully delicate body of hers.”
Although he started talking while emphasizing that it was nothing more than his own speculation, he began ending his sentences with full certainty midway through his speech before he knew it.
“She left the venue hall in the middle of the welcoming party. I also heard that on the first day of the academy, she was already so lifeless even before the arrival of lunch break and had to be supported by her brothers from both sides. Then there was that banquet. She didn’t seem to feel well when I met her at the academy for the whole week before the banquet.”
“…Now that you mention it, at that time… I certainly also saw her worn-out appearance during break time.”
One week before the banquet hosted by the Royal Family.
Emma received spartan education from her grandmother Hilda, also famously known as the “Manner Demon”, every day as a punishment for staying overnight in the slums without permission.
However, very few people knew about this fact.
“Emma-sama‘s body has started deteriorating. Looks like she’s already… at her limit…”
Overwhelmed with sadness, the student choked on his words towards the end, with intermediate sobs.
“In the midst of all that, that insect incident with Robert-sama happened… The psychological shock took a toll on her already declining physical condition, tormenting Emma-sama even more…”
“S-Stop it! T-That kind of thing! Why must it be Emma-sama that has to suffer such a cruel fate?!”
“She’s too kind… She always prioritizes the people around her before herself. When she told His Majesty that she wanted the slums as her territory, everyone was deeply touched by her compassionate heart. Everyone even believed that she was the holy maiden.”
Emma did that because there was a precious ingredient for the paint in the slums’ underground, though.
“Come to think of it, she invited the people suffering from that incurable disease to her family mansion and nursed them… didn’t she…”
Emma had been talked about as the fake holy maiden these days, but the students started to wonder why she was called a fake.
