Project Necro is an official initiative by Re:Library.

Yes-Yes Trio—you may have just lost something important, all because you were blinded by greed.
That something is your *market value in the marriage market.*

The magic academy gathers young noblemen and noblewomen from across the Empire who possess the required level of magical power.
In other words, it’s the very front line of the marriage market.
Well, yes—ages fifteen to eighteen are when magical power grows most rapidly, and learning to control it properly here is the academy’s primary purpose. That’s undeniable.
But in this world, that age range also happens to be the perfect age for marriage.
For nobles, marriage is for the sake of the family, but if one finds a better match at the academy than what one’s parents arranged, even they will approve. Students wish to fall in love, to be loved, and to marry the person they’ve chosen. That much has become increasingly clear to me.

I mean, it’s kind of obvious, isn’t it?
Sorry, I’ve never been much for romance or youthful passion. For me, love equals doom flag.

Anyway, putting myself aside, maybe even the Empire itself is aiming for students to find their future spouses here. Promoting marriage between people with magical power helps preserve both the quality and quantity of magic bearers—that’s likely another purpose of the academy. That would also explain why even commoners with strong magic are *forced* to enroll. They’re prime targets—bloodlines that should be brought into the noble fold.
Flora-chan is a perfect example of that. So even if a prince were to fall for her, it wouldn’t necessarily be “impossible because of her status.”

Once I realized all that, I couldn’t help but see the magic academy as one giant matchmaking venue. A grand mixer set up by the state—an Academy-Meet? An Academy-Meet. What a national trap.
Not that the boys and girls themselves care about such political motives.

At any rate, everyone’s already participating in the marriage market—swooning over their type, panicking over love at first sight like a falling meteor, or shrewdly hooking someone who meets all their criteria.
In a sense, they’re often even pickier than their parents about what they want in a spouse. They want someone who looks good, whose family is wealthier and higher in rank than their own. Not that they’ll admit to aiming to marry into riches—man or woman sides—but if it happens, they’ll be thrilled. Youths are creatures full of dreams, hopes, and reckless ambition.

And then, there’s the Yes-Yes Trio.
When they boarded the carriage, the boys were present too. Flaunting such greed in front of them was already bad enough, but acting that desperate must have made everyone suspect their family finances were in trouble. Their odds of being chosen by someone desirable have dropped drastically—possibly to zero.
Not that I know if they ever had a chance to begin with.

Even as I thought, *What a bunch of idiots,* I found myself oddly unable to hate them. I kept mulling over them without realizing it.
Well, live strong, girls. Though honestly, if you get any stronger, that might be a problem.

Still, to think Graham managed to silence such an overbearing trio with a single line—what did he say to Yes-Girl No. 1?

.

After all the guests had left, during Graham’s financial report on the party, Ekaterina brought it up.

“Graham, I must apologize for the trouble my classmates caused earlier. But I was truly impressed by how splendidly you handled Lady Saimar.”
“I am most honored, my lady.”
“May I ask what you told her at that moment?”
“I said this: ‘It seems the Saimar family owes our house a debt. You may, if you wish, consider these dresses as repayment.’”

Yikes.

“I see… No wonder she changed her tone so suddenly. To think you knew even that much—and even her name. Remarkable skill indeed. I could never manage that.”
“I did not, in fact, know either.”

Graham said this lightly.

“My lady, though our house does not lend money as a business, we occasionally receive promissory notes among various payments. However, I do not know which families are indebted to us, nor how many notes we hold. But in truth, most noble houses, to some degree or another, are in debt. I merely said *it seems* the Saimar family owes us, and that was all. As for Lady Saimar’s name, Mina informed me of it based on her demeanor when I served tea. She says she’s familiar with all the young ladies who share your dormitory, my lady.”

…yikes…
So it was a bluff!
That refined, impeccably dignified butler—pulling off such a smooth bluff with a straight face!

“Oh my, hohoho!”

Ekaterina burst into laughter and gave an enthusiastic round of applause.

“What a magnificent performance! I’m truly moved! As expected of my grandfather’s beloved actor—such brilliance that I didn’t even realize I was watching a stage! It was a perfect scene!”

Then Graham stood and bowed—not with his usual flawless butler’s grace, but with a dramatic, elegant flourish worthy of a stage actor.

“To receive such praise for my humble provincial performance—this is the highest honor, my lady.”

Ekaterina smiled brightly.

What Ekaterina told Marina and the others—that she didn’t know Graham’s family background—wasn’t a lie. She really didn’t know what kind of house he was born into. But Graham himself once told her what kind of life he led before serving her grandfather, Sergei.

Graham, it turned out, had been an actor in a traveling theater troupe.

When the troupe came to the Jurnova domain, they had the misfortune of being attacked by a magical beast. The Jurnova knights arrived in time to slay it, but the entire troupe was wiped out. Only Graham survived. Though he lived, he had lost everything, and with it, his will to go on.
That was more than thirty years ago; Graham must have been in his late twenties. He probably had family in that troupe, though he never spoke of it.

While he was receiving treatment for his wounds under the care of the knights, he spent his days hollow, empty of life. It was then that my Grandfather approached him. A servant had suddenly quit, he said, and he was in need of help.

“*You’re an actor, aren’t you? Once you recover, would you stay with me for a while—and play the part of my servant?*”

That was how it began.

He loved to act. He didn’t want to do any other kind of work. But he also couldn’t bring himself to forget what he’d lost and join another troupe. It was as if Grandfather could see straight through him—his words struck perfectly at Graham’s heart.
And so, Graham decided to play the *role* of a servant.

In traveling theater, scripts were practically nonexistent. Actors were expected to improvise, to build performances on the spot.
Through that experience, Graham became skilled at handling unexpected situations and dealing with difficult people. He was so quick-witted and loyal that other nobles often envied Grandfather for having him. And when that happened, later, in private, Grandfather would applaud him with a delighted grin and say:

“*You’re a master actor. Your performance is so perfect, no one even realizes this is your stage.*”

An ordinary person might have said, *You’re better suited to being a servant than an actor—you make a fine attendant.* That would have been true, too.
But Grandfather called him a *master actor.*
The Duke of Jurnova—one whose status was surpassed only by the imperial family—had looked into the heart of a mere traveling performer and spoken to him as an equal. From that moment on, Graham resolved that he would gladly give his life for Duke Sergei.

In the Empire, high-ranking female servants were often of noble birth, but usually only as a form of prestige to strengthen ties before marriage. Male servants, however, were professionals; lineage was irrelevant. Still, for a traveling actor to serve as a duke’s close aide was unheard of.
Whenever people asked about Graham’s background, Grandfather would dodge the question and say that Graham was his guardian spirit, who had always been by his side.
Thus, no one ever questioned Graham’s origins again. From valet, he became an attendant; from attendant, a butler—one of the highest positions a servant could attain.

“Lord Sergei was my one and only audience for all those years.”

Alexei never knew about Graham’s past. It seemed the grandfather had deliberately chosen not to tell his earnest grandson.
But Graham shared the story with Ekaterina himself.

“My lady, you greatly resemble Lord Sergei. Like him, you have a heart that is somehow… free.”

…When you say that, I really do feel guilty for being a fraud.
But it made me realize again how wonderful Grandfather must have been—and I’m honestly happy to be told I resemble someone like that.

Thank you, Graham.
You truly are the great actor my grandfather loved most.

.

Later, the financial director, Sir Kimberley, discreetly told me something. The Jurnova house had apparently purchased most of the debt claims (as in, the rights to collect debts) held against the Yes-Yes Trio’s families.
He made sure that the information reached the girls’ families, too. “You won’t be troubled by them again,” he said.
W-well, it’s not like we forced them into debt or anything. In fact, by consolidating their loans, the interest rate apparently dropped, so it wasn’t even a bad deal for them.
Still… this house really is something else.

Though, honestly, I can’t help but think that those girls probably still haven’t learned their lesson.