Chapter 3 (1/2)
Chapter 3: Lillia and Treize
The 10th day of the fourth month of the year 3306
Roxche’s capital was situated in the northeastern part of the continent
The capital city had been created at the founding of the confederation, well away from the border and any coasts from which the enemy could mount a sneak attack
The city,at about 30 kilometers in diameter, was known as the Special Capital District and was not a part of any Roxchean member state The word ‘capital’ in Roxchean referred not to the capital of a member state, but the Capital District
The city infrastructure had been plannedsettles for it, which was itself encircled by a residential district
The city was a sprawling s, covered reen in the parks It was an unusual sight in Roxche, which was coreen plains
The Capital District was Roxche’s largest, most inhabited, and most densely populated city
It was the center of Eastern culture and a subject of admiration for those who lived outside
On the outskirts of the city, in the 9:30 direction, was the 4th Capital Secondary School
Students between the ages of 12 and 18 attended secondary school for the purpose ofon to university As apparent from its name, the 4th Capital Secondary School was the fourth to be built in the Capital District, its student body nu at over a thousand
The cas, each sideat approximately 600 meters
It housed ymnasiums, and a student dormitory in neat or haphazard formations
There was a light westerly wind and a slight cloud cover on that warm day
Two girls in green uniforrounds of the 4th Capital Secondary School
One had long brown hair
The other, black hair tied into pigtails
The brown-haired girl sraph to her friend
The pigtailed girl stared at the photo Three seconds later, she lost consciousness
The brown-haired girl panicked
“Spill it, Treize! Who was this mysterious ‘Hilda’ from the train?!”
It was evening on the same day, in a deserted classroom
“C’mon, Lillia Strauski must’ve told you by now And could you please try to re?”
The brown-haired girl fro the collar of a black-haired boy
Both were in uniforreen blazers and a skirt and pants respectively
The boy was Treize Bain
He had transferred to the school and ht days earlier He was 17 years old, and had a slender but strong build thanks to his regular exercise regiraph
The girl was Lillia Schultz
She was 16 years old and a fourth-year at the school Her hair cascaded down to her waist
‘Lillia Schultz’ was the shortened form of her na ‘Lillianne Aikashi+a Corazòn Whittington Schultz’ It was an unnecessarily long name by any standard
The light of dusk seeped into the empty classroom
The roo, and Lillia and Treize sat by the s—as far from the hallways as possible The curtains were closed to keep therounds
The situation als of a romantic tryst, but reality was not so sweet
“Urgh…fine Can’t exactly interrogate you e’re both on our feet,” Lillia said, slowly letting go “Now siddown!”
“Is that an order, o back to the dor his displeasure clear Lillia glared
“That will depend on the answers you present, Your Highness”
“Please don’t call ged, grabbing a chair off the desk and turning it over to sit
“All right” Lillia took a seat opposite hi her hair flow over the back of the chair She seemed extraordinarily unhappy “I won’t call you that I won’t call you ‘Your Highness’ at school, okay?! And I won’t call you that outside, either! You’re just Treize Always have been, alill be!” she hissed, in Bezelese like the rest of their earlier conversations
Relief flooded Treize’s face as he smiled and placed a hand over his chest
‘Treize Bain’ was a fake nanation of the boy, as one of the few people in the world permitted to add the title ‘of Ikstova’ to his name
Officially, the royal family of Iks was composed of Queen Francesca, her husband Sir Benedict, and their so-called only child, Princess Meriel
Treize was Meriel’s twin (the tould always argue about which one of them was the elder) and a child of Queen Francesca, but his existence was not revealed to the world because of an ancient rule in the royal family The rule, however, had been put in place only to protect the secret of the Ikstova Pass Now that the pass was known to the world, the rule no longer needed to be enforced Perhaps Treize’s existence could be announced to the world someday
At this point, however, he was only officially known to Iks’s royal guard, leading figures in the Roxchean government, and the royal families of Sou Be-Il, hom the Ikstovan royals interacted
Allison Schultz, a longtime friend of Queen Francesca, was also naturally in the know
Allison’s daughter and Treize’s childhood friend Lillia Schultz had recently—and very loudly—joined this privileged group of insiders
“nobody’s gonna believe me if I tell them, ‘oh, the mysterious transfer student is actually a prince frodom’ This is like a bad radio drama!” Lillia cried
“That’s cruel of you,” Treize sighed, puffing up his cheeks
“And then they’ll start thinking I’m some sort of hopeless romantic!”
“Oh Right”
“This is no tiht’s!”
For so her to vent
“So the lady in this photo is Princess Matilda of Bezel? First in line to the throne?”
“Yeah”
“Ugh! If I’d known ahead of ti! She’s completely obsessed with royalty—do you have any idea how hard it was to explain my way out of this?!”
“What did you explain it to her?”
“I used a lifetime supply’s worth of the word ‘coincidence’! I even told her I took a train from the Port Watts area! I’ve never been to Port Watts!”