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『A lot has happened ever since you were born, but I feel like this is the first time I’ve ever gotten this much free time.』
「Fufufu, is that so.」

The next day after our enrollment was decided… I say decided, but it’s not like we already passed the entrance exam, nor are we exempt from it.
To begin with, I don’t actually know if there’s an entrance exam.
I have no clue what needs to be done for enrollment, but one word from Mother would probably resolve most problems.

And if there is an entrance exam, if it’s a merit-based school, I’m sure we’d have a chance at passing.
I hope it’s something like… You pass if you defeat the proctor, or something to that effect.

That aside, ever since Ciel was born up until we exited Estoque and entered Central, we just kept getting dragged into trouble and sometimes dived into one ourselves. We were constantly busy.
It feels like it’s been so long since I was granted a body for a day.
That time was undoubtedly happy and peaceful, but while it’s not quite the same, I’m having a relaxing time right now.

「Maybe it’s a sign that you’ve gotten comfortable with this mansion?」
『Maybe so. I do think it’s because the people here take care not to enter my alert range when we’re in our room like this.』
「Yes, yes. Ain, I’m always really grateful to you. After all, I am able to relax because of you. That’s why I’m really happy that you have times like this now; it makes me happy, you know?」
『I’m glad to hear that.』

Ciel had a calm and gentle tone, but from how she repeated her words, it seems like she’s quite spirited on the inside.
Actually, rather than being spirited, it’s more like she’s getting more and more emotional… I suppose?
It’s difficult to put into words, but there’s no doubt that Ciel is happy about it.

I find that to be so cute of her—just adorable.
So much that I can’t help but want to touch her. But unfortunately, I can’t touch Ciel.
Up until now, Ciel’s voice had cheered and supported me many times, but answering her with words alone is no longer enough for me.
Ever since that day, I’ve been having this thought more and more.

As I was contemplating on my own, Ciel seemed to have remembered something.

「By the way, Ain, can I ask you something?」
『What is it?』
「About yesterday’s letter, you still have it inside our magic pouch, right?」
『That’s right. There’s nothing to be done about it, and we probably won’t ever use it, so it’s likely going to stay there unused.』
「Right, we aren’t going to use it. In that case, I want to just burn it to ash. Will that be bad?」

Burning a letter sent by royalty is unthinkable… Well, not for us.
That’s only how ordinary people would think and does not apply to us, so it should be fine to give Ciel the go-ahead.
To be completely honest, I’m not fond of that letter either.

If that letter had been addressed to Ciel instead of me, I’m sure that I would have ripped it to shreds by now.
And while I’m not Mother, I probably wouldn’t be against going to war.
But in this situation, I feel happy seeing Ciel being angry for me and, at most, feel somewhat upset that it’s causing her to feel upset, I suppose.

That’s why, personally, I’m leaning towards just burning it.
However, I’m scared to make such a big decision by ourselves, so it would be best to ask someone well-educated about this.

『I think you should ask Mia regarding that. I’m sure she’s more knowledgeable about these sorts of matters.』
「Well, that’s true.」

With a nod, Ciel turned her gaze to Mia.
And then, “What do you think?” she curtly asked. Ciel doesn’t elaborate much as usual, but Mia appears to have powered up as a maidservant as she replied, “Let’s see…” in a display of understanding.

「If its existence still continues to bother you, then it will be alright to do as you wish.
However, if you do decide to keep it, I believe you could have Ausente’s favour on your side. According to Mistress Fiiyanamia’s policy, you are to be of equal standing to the royalty of other countries. But in practice, you are actually of higher status.
For that reason, even if the letter is lost, they will not be able to ignore you if you assert that you have received a letter of terrible taste from them.
Even so, there is a possibility they would feign ignorance about it, so keeping it as evidence would counter that.」
「Even if we don’t plan to get involved with them?」
「Yes. At worst, you can leverage the letter to have the country of Ausente protect you.」

Mia said it nonchalantly, but what she meant by having Ausente protect us was probably for us to shove possible troublesome stuff at them.
I would never allow Ciel to be hurt. I intend to avoid using our status as Mother’s daughter as much as possible—since doing so could greatly limit our freedom—, so it’s possible that we’d attract trouble.

I don’t know how much we can hide our strength, and there might be situations when we can’t keep it hidden.
And there might be a necessity for us to divulge the fact that we’re A-rank.
If that happens, there’s a high chance that it would invite trouble due to our apparent age being mismatched with our competency.

Besides, with Ciel’s looks, there might be people who’d try to court her.
And if it’s a noble, I suppose we could use the letter to exert pressure against them while keeping our status hidden.

And, while it might not be any surprise, we got a near-direct continuation to the last chapter’s topic! That letter really is living rent-free in Ciel’s head (and their pouch too), lol.

It’s funny how Ciel really didn’t bother to explain, and yet Mia understood the assignment. Also, yeah, Ain would definitely have a more unhinged reaction compared to Ciel if their positions were reversed. Using the letter as a “I have connections with the royalty” threat *regardless of the fact that the local royalty don’t even know that they’re there* is definitely a power move if I’ve ever seen one, lol. The letter really has the potential to do a lot of heavy lifting, lol.

Now then, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please feel free to comment. Stay healthy, stay safe, and have a nice day~!