Private Tutor to the Duke's Daughter: Volume 11

By Riku Nanano and cura

Bad news stuns the southern capital: a church plot has severed contact with the city of water, leaving Allen and Lydia stranded in the middle of enemy territory and a burgeoning civil war. And no aid can reach them while the impregnable Fortress of Seven Towers stands. To help their tutor, Allen’s students will need to overcome the greatest defenses that nature and human ingenuity can create without him—and they’ll need to work fast. Lynne Leinster, for one, doesn’t know if she has it in her. Despite her tough talk, the young noblewoman feels intimidated by her friends’ brilliance. What can she do that they can’t do better? She’ll need to find her answer soon, because this crisis will demand everything that the girls have to give. And all the while, a sinister conspiracy draws nearer to its goal.

• Language: English
• Publisher: J-Novel Club
• Release date: Feb 22, 2024
• ISBN: 9781718386181

Book preview

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Prologue

Excellent work, everyone. Please lend me a moment of your attention.

At those words from me—Mina Walker, second-in-command of the maids in service to the northern Ducal House of Howard—a stir ran through the council hall of the Ducal House of Leinster’s mansion in the royal capital. Despite the early hour, many maids were already hard at work alongside handpicked officers from the Ducal House of Lebufera and other noble families. And all of them raised their heads to look at me.

Exhaustion lay heavily on most of their faces. Roland Walker, one of our own butlers who had petitioned the professor for a transfer from the northern capital, had dark circles under his eyes.

In the midst of them all, I stood up and struck a thick sheaf of bound papers with my right hand. A red stamp on its cover page read top secret.

You have gathered evidence, I said, of the misdeeds of conservative nobles who did not take part in the Algren rebellion but nevertheless maneuvered for power during His Majesty’s absence from the capital. The final check of those documents is now complete. Today, Fireday, is the deadline that the professor set. So while it came down to the wire, you finished on time—and earned a passing grade from me.

Everyone gasped...and then erupted in cheers.

We did it!

Oh, I thought it would never end!

The amount of wealth they were illegally sitting on just got to be too much.

W-We pulled it off. Now I can be a proper maid like you, Susie!

H-Huh? Bea?!

They might have gotten a bit carried away, but I would overlook a little excess on this occasion.

A gorgeous woman with a refined air—the Leinster Maid Corps’s number eight, Cordelia—calmly watched over the celebration. Then she caught my eye.

I clapped my hands and ordered, Prepare for breakfast, then rest in shifts!

Yes, ma’am! the Leinster and Howard maids chorused, then immediately and animatedly streamed out of the hall. Now that I thought about it, they had been buried in paperwork for more than ten days.

Cordelia set down a white porcelain cup decorated with little scarlet birds on a work desk. The black tea, which I’d heard came from the south of the League of Principalities, had a pleasant aroma.

Congratulations, ma’am, she said. Between her radiant blonde hair and lustrous gold and silver eyes, she was so beautiful that I forgot to feel jealous. Add to that the ample bosom beneath her maid uniform, and the unfairness of the gods truly—

No more of that.

Thank you, Ms. Cordelia, I replied. "And please, don’t call me ‘ma’am.’ If you had your due, I would owe you deference. Just ‘Mina’ will do."

Then please, call me simply ‘Cordelia.’ My birth family cast me out. Now I am number eight in the Leinster Maid Corps—no more and no less.

As you wish, Cordelia.

Thank you, Mina.

Cordelia had made every possible effort as a leader of the joint investigation team. She was among the maids assigned to the Howards’ and Leinsters’ latest business venture—known to most as Allen & Co.—and I had heard that she was well-informed. Hopefully, I could use this opportunity to build a rapport with her, I thought as I surveyed the hall.

A young elven accounting officer lay sprawled across his desk, asleep. All of the couches along the walls were likewise occupied—one by Roland, who was sleeping like a log. On the couch next to his, a young blonde maid was speaking excitedly to a staid brunette colleague whose bangs hid her eyes.

Those girls put in a lot of work. I must praise them later. And...Roland earned high marks as well, although I wish he would sleep in his own room.

I witnessed Mr. Roland Walker’s exceptional skill with paperwork, Cordelia remarked, noticing my gaze and smiling. And Beatrice and Susie are charming.

All of our desk-work specialists stayed with our head maid in the northern capital, I said. I ended up asking a lot of those two, even though they only just achieved officer rank—a failure on my part as second-in-command. I must follow up. We’re lucky that Roland left the north to join us. But please, don’t tell him. He’ll give himself airs.

I don’t see the harm in a little frank praise...but all right. Cordelia winked with her lovely silver eye.

Pretty as a picture. Full marks.

Someone draped a white cloth over the eyes of the soundly sleeping Roland. A Leinster maid with pale-aqua hair—Nico, their number seven—stood beside the butler, watching his stomach rise and fall with interest. I grinned wryly and lowered myself into a chair.

Cordelia was kind enough to pull up her own seat beside mine. That reminds me, Mina, she said. How is the north?

In the capital, our head maid, Mrs. Shelley Walker, is arranging supplies for more than ten thousand soldiers, I replied. Our head butler, Mr. Graham Walker, has been granted full authority to act on behalf of Duke Walter Howard and gone to negotiate peace with the Yustinian Empire. I hear that the talks are in their final stages.

Both of their reputations precede them. The Mastermind is the kingdom’s finest logistician, and the Abyss is feared throughout the continent.

A small plate came to rest on the desk in front of me, bearing cookies. I took it with a slight bow and said, Those two are in a class of their own. Still, part of me wonders what Mr. Allen, the Brain of the Lady of the Sword, and Miss Felicia Fosse would have done had they been in command of this operation.

That list of names would have been twice as thick, I’m sure. Miss Fosse’s determination knows no bounds when she works with Mr. Allen, and rumor doesn’t do his talents justice.

I recalled the feats that I’d seen Duke Howard’s younger daughter, Lady Tina—or Her Highness, as she had a right to be styled—and Miss Ellie, the heir to the Walker name, perform at headquarters in the northern capital. And above all...

Farther north, at Rostlay, Lady Stella showed herself so sublime and noble that she seemed positively saintly, I mused. I feel nothing but gratitude to Mr. Allen for helping her to reach such heights. Love makes a girl strong!

Given my position, I feel duty bound to support Lady Lydia, Cordelia replied. But Miss Fosse is just so lovable.

It’s a tricky question, isn’t it?

Yes, indeed.

We both giggled, and I had a feeling that we would be good friends.

Has there been any news from the southern front? I asked, nibbling on a cookie. I’ve spent the past few days rushing here, there, and everywhere in the city, waiting on the professor and Lord Rodde, the Archmage.

Cordelia nodded slightly and shifted her chair so that it pressed right up against mine. At such close quarters, she looked like a princess.

We haven’t lost our advantage on the southern front, she said. The capital of Atlas, however, may prove difficult to take by storm. The Fortress of Seven Towers guards the approach to it, and an able commander has entrenched himself there with a garrison of elite troops. But we have a more pressing concern.

I assume you mean the state of affairs in our enemies’ center of power—the League of Principalities’ capital, the city of water, I ventured, recalling a report I’d heard in the northern capital concerning differences of opinion in the heart of the league.

Lean closer, Cordelia murmured. I bent my ear toward her, and she continued in a whisper that was at once soft and clear. No doubt you’ve already heard, but Lady Lydia and Mr. Allen are in that very city as we speak. They’re to act as a point of contact in peace negotiations.

So the professor told me, I whispered back.

Despite the pair’s glorious achievements during the insurrection led by the eastern Ducal House of Algren, the old-guard aristocrats who rallied behind Crown Prince John had driven them from the kingdom. That said, everyone above a certain standing knew where they had gone.

I have colleagues permanently stationed in the city of water, Cordelia continued. Since last night, however...we’ve been unable to contact them.

I gave a start.

Cordelia quickly pressed a hand to my lips. Mina.

Calming myself, I gave her an apologetic look and returned my voice to a whisper. I presume that maids stationed in the center of a potential enemy nation must be of officer rank?

Yes. Saki and Cindy are jointly number six in our corps, and they’ve been assigned to guard the pair.

That’s worrisome, then. What does the Ducal House of Leinster propose to do about it?

A cheer rose in one corner of the hall. It seemed that the other maids had brought breakfast.

I’m not certain, Cordelia whispered. When I made my report to our head maid, she said quite cheerfully, ‘No cause for alarm—with Mr. Allen at her side, Lady Lydia is unbeatable!’

I see. If Ms. Anna says so, then it must be true. That name took me back and roused memories of my homeland.

I hesitated, then pulled away from Cordelia and said in my normal voice, Lady Lydia Leinster’s fame as the Lady of the Sword reached us in the north. But where on earth did Mr. Allen spring from? Oh, please don’t misunderstand me. I waved my hands, and my own flaxen hair flitted across my vision. He—Mr. Allen—not only saved our Lady Tina’s heart but thawed Lady Stella’s obstinacy. He helped dear little Miss Walker as well. I would never doubt someone to whom we owe so much. I swear it by my name, Mina, which my late mother gave me.

Cordelia smoothed my hair with her hand. I have the utmost respect for him as well. That said, some of the other girls and I once put the same question to our head maid.

My eyes widened. And what did Ms. Anna say?

I had to know.

The head maid replied that ‘Mr. Allen is soon to become a living legend. One day he is certain to influence the whole world for the better.’

A good influence on the world, then?

Cordelia gave me a dazzling smile. We only half believed her, but Saki and Cindy always said that to them, he was ‘a star to light the darkness.’

A star? I repeated slowly.

Egged on by Susie and Nico, a blushing Beatrice placed a blanket over Roland. Her simple innocence deserved high marks.

My beautiful conversation partner lowered her gaze. I can’t deny that discrimination against the beastfolk, immigrants from many nations, and all others without family names is a reality of life in our kingdom. Only later did I realize that to such people, Mr. Allen is hope itself. Though an orphan raised by the wolf clan, he graduated from the Royal Academy and university and now walks at Lady Lydia’s side. There’s more to our head maid’s answer. An earnest sincerity entered Cordelia’s gold and silver eyes as she recited, ‘Lady Lydia spends every single moment at Mr. Allen’s side beaming with joy. To one such as myself, that fact carries more weight than anything else—anything at all. That alone is reason enough to trust and defend him.’

I nodded repeatedly and emphatically, knowing just what she meant. Lady Tina had been derided as a cursed child, and the abuse had wounded her. Miss Walker had lost both of her parents and yet kept her darkness bottled up inside. Lady Stella had suffered under the crushing weight of the Howard dukedom she was to inherit. And one man had restored heartfelt smiles to the faces of my dear, dear young ladies. What more did I need to know?

Yes, you’re exactly right, Cordelia, I said, reaching out and seizing my new friend’s hand. I can’t thank you enough.

Please think nothing of it, Mina.

While we basked in a warm glow, a maid with short silver hair entered through the open doors and called, Ma’am.

Hélène, I said. Is something the matter?

The girl who served as our number eight looked tense as she gravely replied, The professor and the Leinsters’ head maid wish to see you. It sounds urgent.

No wonder she’s nervous.

Cordelia, I said.

I’ll see to things here, Mina. We should visit a café in the city next time we have a free moment.

Thank goodness she’s so quick on the uptake.

Yes, it would be my pleasure, I replied, nodding. I hope you’ll give me a tour of the royal capital as well.

✽

Hello, Mina. Good morning. I hate to be brusque, but have you completed the job I gave you? a gentleman in sorcerer’s garb—the professor—asked without rising from his seat as I entered the parlor. A black box lay beside him, and a petite, chestnut-haired maid stood in attendance with a black cat on her shoulder.

Here is the dossier on the old guard’s misdeeds, I replied, placing the thick bundle of bound papers on the table. Thank you for summoning Roland to the royal capital.

Oh, Roly volunteered, the professor said dryly, raising his teacup. "And I could hardly send him to the southern capital."

Splendid work, miss! Allow me to pour you tea, the chestnut-haired head maid chirped, darting behind me and drawing out a chair before I even realized she’d moved.

"Ms. Anna, would you please stop treating me like a lady?"

The head maid giggled. Certainly not!

Give it up, Mina, the professor advised. "You can’t deny that you are now a fine young lady of the Walker family."

Reluctantly, I took the seat in front of me. The black-cat familiar, Anko, dropped onto another empty chair and curled up.

The gentleman clasped his hands on the table and said, It seems that a disturbance shook the city of water last night. Combat may have broken out in places.

Cordelia just told me, I responded. But wasn’t the league leaning toward peace under the leadership of Doge Pisani, Deputy Nitti, and four southern marchesi?

The doge apparently offered to visit the southern capital in person. I presume the league’s hawks mobilized troops before he could follow through. Still, this is a bit too sudden.

A porcelain teacup came to rest in front of me without a sound. The aroma of Lalannoyan tea leaves recalled old times.

It’s true that we’ve lost contact, the beaming head maid chimed in. Please, have a sip.

She must have brewed this for me.

Hesitantly, I replied, Th-Thank you...Anna.

Oh, miss! To my surprise, she hugged my head and began stroking my hair—just like she used to when I lived in the Yustinian imperial capital. You used to be as little as a doll, and now you’ve grown into a fine young lady. Your poor Anna is overcome with emotion. If only Lady Mia were alive, how delighted she would be.

L-Let go of me! I protested. Demerit! Don’t think I won’t mark you down!

Not for the world.

I groaned. Among the Yustinian Empire’s assassins, Anna had been known as the Angel of Death. And since she’d had more than a passing acquaintance with my mother—

The professor brought his hands together. Allen and Lydia are in the city of water, and not even a hero of old could best the two of them when they’re united. He left a pause before adding, Nevertheless, I find Liam’s latest news from the southern capital rather unsettling.

By your leave, I said, accepting the proffered letter and pushing Anna aside so that I could quickly scan it.

Interference on a massive scale now blocks magical communications throughout the city of water and the surrounding area. I believe church sorcerers to be responsible.

They’ve isolated not only the city but the entire region? Who could maintain such a large spell?

When I