The Weight of Knowledge

Ella’s petrified state did not last long.

The ringing of the class bell, like a lifeline, pulled her from the ocean of happiness that had threatened to drown her.

Stepping into the classroom was the History of Magic instructor, an old professor named Carlyle.

He was a scholar of profound knowledge and rigorous discipline, renowned throughout the entire royal capital’s academic circles.

In the game’s original story, he held a significant appreciation for Ella, a commoner by birth yet diligently studious. However, her dreadful theoretical foundation often gave him headaches.

The lecture began.

I could feel Ella, seated beside me, growing restless.

One moment, her gaze darted towards the eloquent old professor at the podium; the next, it surreptitiously drifted to the “Ancestral Travelogue” she had carefully placed at the corner of her desk, her eyes imbued with an almost reverent devotion.

To her, that book seemed to be more than just a simple reference text.

It had become a token, a kind of…

…a weighty symbol of Lady Lilliana’s acknowledgment and expectation.

Finally, as he reached the abstruse chapter on “The Evolution of Magic in the Ancient Elven Dynasties,” Professor Carlyle habitually posed a question to Ella, eager to gauge the results of her preliminary studies.

Predictably, Ella stood up, stammering and sputtering. Her small face flushed crimson as she could only manage a few fragmented phrases from the textbook.

“Haha…”

A wave of suppressed snickers rippled through the classroom, emanating from the noble students.

Just as Ella’s embarrassment threatened to bring her to tears, I expressionlessly extended a finger and gently tapped the cover of the travelogue on her desk.

My movement was subtle, yet it resonated like a command.

Ella jolted, as if a sudden surge of understanding had coursed through her.

She abruptly lowered her head, glancing at the book. Instantly, a hypothesis she had read during her late-night studies flashed through her mind: one concerning “the shift in elven magical conduction from natural resonance to runic contracts.”

“…I, I believe,”

She gathered her courage, speaking in a tone that was uncertain yet tinged with a fresh perspective.

“The evolution of ancient elven magic was not merely a decline, but rather because… the World Tree’s magical vitality diminished, forcing them to abandon the high-energy resonance system. Instead, they developed a more stable and universally applicable runic system! This was a… proactive technological innovation, not a passive degradation of their bloodline!”

Her statement diverged entirely from the textbook’s scope, possessing a raw, yet logically coherent, sense of deliberation.

The snickering in the classroom ceased abruptly.

Even Professor Carlyle at the podium was stunned into silence.

He adjusted his monocle, and for the first time, a sharp gleam ignited in his usually drowsy eyes.

“…Technological innovation? An interesting perspective, Miss Smith,” he pressed, using her full name for formality.

“What is the basis for this argument?”

“It’s… it’s mentioned in this ‘Orlando’s Ancestral Travelogue’!”

Ella seemed to find her anchor, quickly lifting the book.

“The book states that the author once discovered a collection of transitional elven tablets in the frozen ruins of the far north. Their runic structures exhibited characteristics of both resonance and contract!”

Professor Carlyle’s breathing immediately grew shallow and rapid.

“‘Orlando’s Ancestral Travelogue’?! Isn’t that… isn’t that the legendary, long-lost sole copy from the Eckhart ducal family?! You… how do you possess this book?!”

His voice rose with excitement. In an instant, every eye in the entire S-class snapped to Ella…

…and the book clutched in her hands.

Startled by the spectacle, Ella instinctively hugged the book tighter, then glanced at me, her eyes pleading for help.

I looked at neither her nor anyone else.

Instead, I answered for her, my tone utterly indifferent, as if discussing a trivial matter.

“I lent her that book.”

My voice was not loud, yet it was like a colossal stone dropped into a deep pool, unleashing tumultuous waves across the small expanse of the S-class.

Lent… lent it to her?

A national treasure, a sole family copy detailing lost history, casually lent to a commoner?

Everyone stared at me as if I were insane.

And for the first time, an unconcealable fissure of “shock” appeared on Prince Alexis’s typically suave and gentle face.

He understood the book’s immense value better than anyone. The Royal Library had repeatedly requested access from the Duke of Eckhart, only to be refused each time under the pretense of it being “lost.”

Yet now, this very book rested on Ella’s desk.

This was no longer a simple gesture of goodwill.

This was tantamount to… personally presenting a priceless treasure, capable of altering one’s destiny, directly into her hands!

After class, no one dared to mock Ella again.

The gazes directed at her had grown undeniably complex.

A few nobles even began tentatively approaching her, striking up conversations and subtly probing for information about the book, and… about me.

Ella, dizzy from this sudden rise to prominence, could only clutch the weighty talisman, utterly bewildered.

As for me, the instigator of all this commotion, I proceeded to do something else during lunch break that left everyone utterly dumbfounded.

My maid, Anna, appeared punctually at the classroom door, delivering my lunch, and also…

…another package, equally thick and wrapped in identical black velvet cloth.

I called out to Ella, who was about to rush to the library, clutching her book for intense study.

“Miss Smith.”

“Yes! Lady Lilliana!”

Ella immediately halted, her face flushed with the blush of being entrusted with a significant task and a surge of excitement.

She seemed to believe I had yet another piece of “study guidance” to bestow upon her.

However, I simply extended the new package towards her.

“This, please deliver to Beatrix Eisen for me.”

“Eh?”

Half the flush on Ella’s face instantly receded, replaced by profound confusion.

“D-deliver… to Miss Eisen?”

“Mm.” I nodded, speaking in the dispassionate tone of a librarian handling an archived book.

“Tell her it’s a manuscript I happened upon, containing speculative completions for ancient, incomplete sword techniques. I observe her sword practice is always quite noisy; perhaps this could help her quiet down. It would only be a waste if it remained with me.”

Having said that, I unceremoniously tucked the package into Ella’s arms, which were already burdened by the massive tome she held.

Then, I turned and began to enjoy my lunch, as if I had merely asked her to perform a trifling errand.

Ella, however, remained rooted to the spot, utterly alone.

In her embrace, she now held two substantial weights of knowledge, enough to send tremors through the entire academy.

One was for herself.

The other… was for the silver-haired female knight who always regarded her with cold eyes.

‘Lady Lilliana… what exactly… is she thinking?’

For the first time, a corner of Ella’s heart, which had just been overflowing with happiness, was quietly claimed by a strange, bittersweet emotion.