Chapter 124: Renewed Determination

Assuming the timing is this winter, what on earth is Pamela-sensei’s cause of death? If hurrying could make it in time, does that mean it isn’t an illness? No, even if it were an illness, it’s possible if Jeremy-sensei was transporting a specific medicine to cure it…

“Lady Sakuraile? Is something wrong?”

“Eh? N-No, it’s nothing. I was just lost in thought for a bit…”

I gave a vague, evasive answer to Pamela-sensei’s question.

If it’s an illness, there’s no problem. I just need to have Estelle secretly heal her. If it’s a cause other than that…

“Pamela-sensei, has anything unusual happened recently?”

Since it has come to this, let’s just ask her straight out for now. If it could serve as a hint to break through the situation…

Estelle and Jeremy-sensei were making faces that said, ‘Why are you asking something like that?’, but I’ll ignore them for now.

At my question, Pamela-sensei’s face clouded over slightly. Is there really something going on?

“…Recently, I’ve been feeling someone’s gaze on me quite often. Also, a few letters with malicious intent…”

“Hey, hey, what’s that about? I haven’t heard anything about this.”

Jeremy-sensei called out worriedly at Pamela-sensei’s words.

“Letters with malicious intent?”

“Yes. Letters filled with verbal abuse telling me to quit being a court musician or to stop scattering shameless noise around have been arriving…”

Pamela-sensei has already come of age and removed her name from the noble registry; she apparently lives alone in a luxury apartment she rented in the Third District after moving out of her family home. It seems these accusatory letters started arriving at that apartment a few weeks ago.

Judging from the specialized content, Pamela-sensei seems to think it’s likely someone who is also a musician.

“They particularly increased after I started playing the electric guitar. The person sending those letters probably just can’t understand rock.”

Eh, wait a minute. She’s being criticized because she started playing rock on the electric guitar? I kind of feel responsible for this…

“No, there were a few letters like this even before I received the electric guitar from you, Lady Sakuraile. As long as one is an artist, jealousy and slander like this happen to a greater or lesser extent.”

Pamela-sensei is someone with outstanding talent even among the young court musicians. After all, she was chosen as the concertmistress for the Autumn Cooling Party. Being the concertmistress… the leader of an all-female orchestra in the Royal Capital means she is at the top among the female court musicians.

She’s what you’d call a celebrity in the industry. Because of that, there is a lot of jealousy and slander. It’s probably someone in the same profession, isn’t it?

I feel like feelings of jealousy and envy are stronger when it’s a fellow musician. Feelings like ‘Why always her’ or ‘It’s so frustrating’ probably spill over.

Well, I think having those feelings can’t be helped. We’re human, after all. But taking it out on the other person is completely barking up the wrong tree. Isn’t that just unjustified resentment?

Suddenly, the thought crossed my mind that Pamela-sensei might be killed by the person holding this unjustified resentment.

A female, up-and-coming court musician. A colleague jealous of her talent… Who’s to say a suspense drama-like development like that couldn’t happen?

“Are you really okay?”

“I’m fine. Recently, I’ve just been throwing away letters without a return address without even looking at them. Though some use fake names to send them.”

Pamela-sensei answered Jeremy-sensei, who was asking worriedly. They go out of their way to use a fake name just to harass her? I want to tell them to direct that effort toward their music.

In Jeremy-sensei’s route in “Starlight Symphony”, the first half features me, Sakuraile, acting as the villainess, and in the second half, the baton is passed to a female teacher at the “Academy”.

This female teacher is the villainess of the Jeremy route (though she isn’t a noble lady), occupying the position of a colleague who has feelings for Jeremy-sensei.

She ends up competing with Estelle, who has entered the Jeremy route, over various things, but it’s not super intense, and they don’t exactly hate each other.

Actually, in the Jeremy route, I don’t meet such a terrible end. The villainess Sakuraile, who has been picking on Estelle, lowering her own popularity and gradually being given up on by Elliott, challenges Estelle to a competition in their exams.

The result is an overwhelming victory for Sakuraile. However, if the player has been completing the events of the Jeremy route, Sakuraile’s cheating is discovered.

And so, Sakuraile is expelled from the “Academy”. Rumors on the wind just say she was sent back to the Ducal House and put into a provincial convent.

Well, she doesn’t die, and though the Ducal House suffers disgrace, it survives, so for me as the villainess, it could be said to be quite an excellent ending.

Since this is an event that doesn’t happen unless we are at the “Academy”, I don’t think it’s relevant this time around, but…

If I were attending the “Academy”, I might have been suspected of cheating when I hadn’t even done it, or something like that…

However, even if it won’t result in my own misfortune, now that the possibility of someone close to me suffering a tragedy has arisen, I can’t just stay silent.

Anyway, the suspicious one right now is the person sending the slanderous letters to Pamela-sensei. Clearly, this person is hostile towards her. Jealousy eventually turning into murderous intent… I think it might be too simple, but even without that, it’s better not to leave these kinds of problems alone. They can escalate rapidly, after all.

“Do you have any idea who it might be?”

Estelle asked an extremely valid question.

“Honestly, there are a few people who come to mind. But, since I don’t have any proof…”

“There’s more than one? Are you really okay? If anything happens, you have to tell me, alright?”

“I’m fine. Being talked about behind my back is nothing.”

Pamela-sensei answered with a wry smile to Jeremy-sensei, who was looking at her with concern.

Eh? Wait, isn’t Jeremy-sensei completely head over heels for Pamela-sensei here?

Ah, but if he weren’t in love to that extent, his personality wouldn’t have changed so drastically when she passed away. It must have been an incredible shock to him… It seems he recovered, but her death must have been carved deep into his heart like a wedge forever.

That’s why that Jeremy-sensei was so truly kind to others, and why he encouraged Estelle so she wouldn’t have any regrets.

…Knowing I’ll never get to see that Jeremy-sensei again is still sad after all… Farewell, my oshi…

Or rather, I cannot let him become that Jeremy-sensei. I must prevent Pamela-sensei’s death at all costs.

“Could you tell me who those suspicious people are? I can’t forgive anyone who would do such a thing to you, Pamela-sensei.”

I said that to Pamela-sensei as if driven by righteous indignation (though I actually am angry), but she shook her head.

“I’m happy for your concern, but I cannot disparage others without proof. If I did that, I would be no different from them.”

Guh… When she puts it like that, I can’t argue back.

Still, I can’t just leave this alone. It can’t be helped, I’ll have to borrow the hands of the Nanane Clan to gather information. They should be able to slip into the court musicians’ workplace. I’ll discuss it with Ritsu when I get back.

Pamela-sensei and Jeremy-sensei walked off together toward the other guests.

“I wonder if Pamela-sensei will be alright…”

“In any age, a talent that stands out from the rest is bound to be shunned… Is this what they call ‘the nail that sticks out gets hammered down’?”

“I’m hearing that for the first time… What does it mean?”

“Ah, um, it means that those who have talent or skill and distinguish themselves will be shunned or criticized by others.”

“I see…”

Even with just her existing talent that makes others envious, she had taken an electric guitar in her hands and opened up a new musical frontier called rock. Of course jealousy would come flying her way…

<<The little master believes something bad is going to happen to that female teacher, doesn’t she?>>

As I was worrying, a telepathic message flew in from Kohaku-san, who was curled up next to me.

<<Yeah. If only I could at least know immediately if something happens.>>

Judging from Jeremy-sensei’s line “If I had just hurried a little more,” I think it was a matter of seconds. If it’s an incident, knowing about it as early as possible might lead to avoiding it, right?

<<Then I shall attach my subordinates to that female teacher. I will set it up so that word reaches me immediately if anything happens.>>

<<Subordinates? Eh, Kohaku-san, you have subordinates?>>

<<I am a Divine Beast, am I not? All four-legged beasts obey my command. Not magic beasts, though.>>

Amazing. Kohaku-san has that kind of power. He can give orders to dogs and cats? If so, we might be able to watch over Pamela-sensei secretly.

<<Can I ask you to do that?>>

<<Understood.>>

Wow, how reliable. You really can count on a Divine Beast-sama.

<<Be that as it may, I am hungry. I request the roast beef over there.>>

“…Roger.”

His gluttony remains the same as always, though.

I left my chair, piled a mountain of roast beef from the buffet table onto a plate, and brought it in front of Kohaku-san.

“Mmph… It doesn’t quite measure up to the food from the little master’s shop, but it has a wild flavor to it that isn’t bad…!”

It seems he liked it. The previous Viscount Canon was apparently a zoologist, so I wonder if he’s knowledgeable about which parts of this kind of meat are delicious too?

While I was thinking about such things, cheerful music began playing from somewhere.

When I looked, Pamela-sensei and Jeremy-sensei were playing instruments on a small stage set up in the party venue.

Jeremy-sensei could play an instrument, huh. Wait, aren’t nobles in this world supposed to be able to play at least one instrument?

Jeremy-sensei had a giant double bass—no, maybe it’s better to call it an upright bass? And Pamela-sensei, of course, had her blue electric guitar.

The song playing is… umm, if I recall, Bill Haley & His Comets’ “Rock Around the Clock”.

My dad in my previous life used to listen to old Western music a lot, so I know it too. Pamela-sensei managed to play this entirely by ear too…

This song, said to have pioneered the era of rock, is perfect for Pamela-sensei, who is trying to be the pioneer of a new kind of music in this world.

With the light and bouncy rhythm, the bodies of the people in the venue were swaying from side to side. The two of them performed with wonderfully synchronized breathing, showing just how well they understood each other.

Yeah. I absolutely must save Pamela-sensei no matter what.

Tapping to the rhythm of the rock music, I renewed my determination.