Author: Himezaki Shiu	Original Source: Syosetu
Translator: PunishedLyly	English Source: Re:Library

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As the exams continued, information about the girl in question was gradually assembled.
Her name appears to be Ailneige. Apparently, she came to the capital while working as a hunter and registered for the entrance exam through the Hunter Guild.
Registrations done via the Hunter Guild are by no means rare, and there are even cases where the Hunter Guild finances an examinee’s enrollment.

In fact, there is even one individual being sponsored by the Hunter Guild in this year’s exam, and it seems that Ailneige’s registration was submitted alongside theirs.
For the examinee funded by the Hunter Guild, the royal family was already informed beforehand, so there’s no issue on that end.
What’s curious is the fact that this Ailneige girl was not financed by the Hunter Guild at all.

Assuming she’s of my age and already has E-rank hunter qualifications, she should be talented enough for the Hunter Guild to sponsor her education.
Since that’s not the case, it could mean either her abilities are unique or that she is backed by someone else, making it unnecessary for the Hunter Guild to support her.

Then, there are her scores. After requesting her tests to be graded, it appears she performed quite well.
While she was unable to correctly answer questions that required education exclusive to individuals like myself, Runya, or the nation’s prospective leaders, her performance suggests she has received education equivalent to that of high noble families.
Particularly in the etiquette test—where the gap between nobles and commoners becomes apparent—she actually scored decently.

Considering all of this, it’s easy to imagine that she is a lady from a prestigious family who simply did not disclose her family name.
Furthermore, from the slight differences in her etiquette, one can presume she is not an Ausente aristocrat.
She must be the daughter of a foreign marquis—or greater—enrolling in secrecy. That summarizes our findings, but something still feels off to me.

Assuming that she is the daughter of a foreign marquis, then Ausente cannot treat her lightly—especially since, if we consider her route, she must have come from Central.
As she enrolled incognito, excessive contact with her must be avoided. At the same time, she will likely tolerate some degree of impoliteness.
Still, I can’t shake a certain possibility from my mind.

Could she have intentionally lowered her scores to hide her identity? While it might be nothing but a hunch—a mere delusion at this point—I can’t feel at ease until I have a direct conversation with her.

With that in mind, I informed my attendant that I would attend the final exam.

◇◇◇

Since I made my decision at the very last moment, I arrived at the examination venue slightly late.
Normally, tardiness would result in disqualification, but the academy showed understanding of my circumstances, so my delay will not affect my score.
However, the dance test will not offer any special accommodations for me, so I still need to demonstrate my competency.

When I arrived at the dance hall, the examinees had already been divided into pairs, leaving only one girl standing all alone.
Believing her to be Miss Ailneige, I spoke to her: 「Thank you for waiting. You must be Miss Ailneige, correct?」
As I addressed her, I confirmed her appearance. She truly did have blue eyes and white hair.

She was lovely and petite, with clear, well-maintained skin that seemed to have seen more care than even that of regular nobles—or honestly, even mine.
From her appearance alone, I wouldn’t be surprised if she turned out to be royalty.

「Yes, I am Ailneige. I would have never expected Princess Leshimiiya to be my partner.」
「Oh, so you figured me out?」
「Yes, of course. I would be ignorant indeed to fail to recognize the treasure of Ausente, Princess Leshimiiya.」

As someone not from this country, I assumed she wouldn’t know of me, but that wasn’t the case, and she even flattered me.
However, her response sounded stiff, as though she was reciting words she had merely heard before. It was clear that this was merely an act of formality.
From this, I inferred that she isn’t the type to curry favor with me due to my status as royalty.

On the contrary, the way she responded to me, even with the knowledge that I am a princess of this nation, only fuels my suspicion that she might be an aristocrat of high standing.

If this is true, I am now even more curious about why her scores are the way they are.
While I want to gather as much information as possible, I must not forget that we are currently in the middle of an exam.
As I urged Miss Ailneige to head to the center of the hall, she informed me that she could only dance the female portions.
Those who are proficient at dancing often know both male and female parts, but there are also many who only know how to dance their own part, even among the royal family.

Fortunately, I can dance the male part—or rather, the only reason I was allowed to intervene in this exam was because I can perform both parts—so I reached out my hand to escort Miss Ailneige.

「The circumstances surrounding this were caused by my—no, the royal family’s circumstances, so I’ll take the lead.」
「I understand. I leave myself in your care, Princess Leshimiiya.」

Her small and supple hand took mine without hesitation.
The sensation of her glove bothered me slightly, but perhaps due to her short stature, it felt as though I had just gained a younger sister.

As I led her to the hall, the other examinees stepped back, creating an empty space around us.
Stares focused on me, but the gazes of those around were not only directed at me but also at Miss Ailneige.
Considering her beauty, this was only natural. She gives off an ephemeral impression, making her seem hard to approach, as though she might break from even the gentlest touch.

However, Miss Ailneige did not seem self-aware of this. She momentarily stared at me before nodding to herself.
I suppose she assumed that the others had encircled us because of my status as a princess.
The thought of this nearly caused my lips to curl into a troubled smile, but I reminded myself to focus. After all, this is an exam, and I still need to put my best foot forward for the dance.

Shortly after, the music began, signaling the start of the dance.
Her dancing was passable—neither particularly good nor bad.
While she wasn’t exceptional, she was skilled enough to be presentable among high nobles.

If it were the masked girl, she would have danced exceedingly well, so the possibility of Miss Ailneige being the masked girl is now lower in my mind.

As the dance continued, I subtly inserted probing questions, but her responses were frustratingly vague.
When I intentionally introduced contradictions into my statements, she simply chuckled and said: 「Aren’t you speaking as though I’m a noble?」

Her sheer audacity to say that, despite her high scores and ability to dance so well, caught me baffled and wide-eyed; however, I believe I managed to quickly fix my expression.
While she might have intended to come here incognito, does she genuinely believe she’s keeping it a secret?

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And that ends this half… of this half! Yay~!

First off, the end part was personally my favorite part. The princess absolutely sees through Ain’s BS, hilarious. While we do know that the princess eventually figured out Ailneige is at least someone best to ignore, it’s funny how quickly she saw through our girls. And honestly, I like how it contrasts with Ain’s thought process. Really fun to imagine Ain coming up with what she considers “tehee, I’m just an cute airhead” moves, meanwhile the princess is like “Nah, why you lyin’? What you up to?” It’s just funny. To be fair, Ain is also an airhead sometimes, only in a different way.

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