Chapter 60 - 5-11
It likely took about a week for the former princess Luchentin Alish—Lucy—to grow accustomed to life at the Euryas Convent for Girls.
While she hadn't mastered everything in a week, she had acquired a sense of the rhythm of daily life. Prayer and labor were everything to the nuns and novices. It was simplicity itself. That monotony repeated like the sound of a heavy hammer, forging the time remaining until death and shaping the girls' faith. There was still a long way to go.
Headmaster Dagsaw stated that the wake-up time was three in the morning. In reality, because there were preparations to be made, they woke up at two-thirty. Fortunately, the bell for the morning office rang as if it were right in her ear, so she managed not to oversleep.
Immediately, she would dress, wash her face, move to the convent's chapel, and take her seat. From three o'clock, the congregational prayer began. This was followed by responsory, hymns, and readings.
The liturgy was offered to the darkness. Candles were not lit in order to save costs. Hand-candles were permitted only during movement. The psalms for the readings had to be entirely memorized. This was because even if one brought a liturgical book, it was too dark to read.
Before breakfast, there was time to finish miscellaneous chores, such as laundry.
The bell for the third hour rang, and then breakfast. After breakfast, work began. There were various tasks, but the primary one was farm work. When the bell for the sixth hour announced noon, they offered prayers again and took lunch. Another prayer was interspersed at the ninth hour. The signal for the end of work was the vespers bell that rang in the evening. Dinner was served after the prayers. Following that was meditation or reading time, and when the bell for compline rang, it was time for bed.
Though she was initially so exhausted she could barely lift her arms, Lucy's body eventually adapted.
Once the sun set and the farm work was finished, she could eat.
She could bathe every other day.
If there was comfort in sight, the body could persevere.
Furthermore, there was a certain sweet fulfillment in labor. The pleasant feeling of fully consuming one's brimming strength. Once outside, all private conversation was forbidden. Only the screams of her muscles and the discomfort of her skin were her conversation partners. The sun shone as if to bake the maidens into the soil. The breeze teased the maidens, touching their sweat-drenched bodies. Outside, there was a sensation of being alive. There was a robust light. There was a tangible response.
On the other hand, upon returning to the convent, that sensation was blown out. The sound of a heavy hammer regularly counted the time toward death. Death, stretched thin and diluted into the air, lay within the sanctuary. No one complained about this. So many young women's bodies, prepared and carrying the warmth and moisture of life in their bellies, were gathered here. As one of them, she would not nurture life. She would head toward death. Gradually, every day, toward old age, toward death.
Why?
What meaning was there?
There was likely no nun who did not ask herself these things. However, perhaps there was also no nun who took those questions seriously.
What the nuns dreamed of was only the image of themselves taking the vows of a sister.
What the maidens of Euryas feared was not aging in vain, nor dying meaninglessly. It was the fact that they were not yet sisters.
To be a nun. That meant nothing other than the fact that if they wished to return, they could return to the secular world.
To be expelled from Euryas without becoming a sister.
There was no greater terror.
The young flesh that rejoiced in outdoor labor belonged, on the other hand, to the silence of the sanctuary. To the girls, the scent of death was utterly lucid and beautiful.
Lucy and the other novices had not completely severed ties with secular vulgarity. The dormitories were particularly noisy after dinner. Meditation after dinner was no different from free time. For some reason, the instructing sisters and the Headmaster turned a blind eye to the fact that the novices were not meditating.
Lucy and Sheri learned how to pilfer candles from the workshop. Candle-making was one of the convent's important tasks.
They would strike flint and steel to create sparks, lodge heat into charcoal, and light a fire. It was nothing special; everyone was doing it. Candles, and paper, circulated within the dormitories like currency.
Thanks to this, there were several rooms that remained bright even after bedtime. The length of a candle was the length of the free time the novices had purchased.
As Lucy grew accustomed to life and found some breathing room, she began to remember the maids, starting with Krisina. That too was one of the scents of the secular world. Faint shadows of regret, feelings of nostalgia, the faces of the maids she had been close with. Those had now become irreplaceable treasures.
There were other things that reminded her of the secular world.
It was the system of "groups" that traditionally existed at the Euryas Convent for Girls.
Squabbles between groups were beginning here and there. One day, it suddenly arrived even at the place of Lucy's group, which was the weakest and smallest.
Lucy and Sheri walked with bouncing steps through the herb garden where the morning dew glowed white, heading toward the barn in friendly company.
Today's work was "crushing." It was the task of breaking up clumps of soil turned over by the plow. In the barn, there was a specialized tool for this, resembling a small pestle with a long handle.
Entering the barn with Sheri, she noticed. In the gloom where the farm tools were kept, there was someone. Four novices were looking at Lucy and the others. She felt an ominous presence. The inside of the barn grew dark. Looking back, Lyudmila was standing at the entrance.
She was the orange-haired novice who had been joking with old woman Archie on Lucy's first day. She was large enough to block the doorway.
—Did these girls come to get tools too?
Thinking this, Lucy gave a slight nod, and a small, black-haired novice approached.
"You're Lucy, right?"
"Yes."
It was Carmilla.
Because she was a conspicuous girl, Lucy knew her name.
Carmilla was a girl with a bad look in her eyes and a slouch. With a mocking mouth and overbearing eyes that always seemed displeased, she silently demanded deference or flattery from others.
Her handling of tools during farm work was truly crude and careless.
It wasn't that Lucy was unfamiliar with this kind of cold, dismissive attitude. There had been girls of this sort in the royal palace. However, none had likely possessed a light in their eyes as dark and beastly as Carmilla's.
"I want you guys to join my group."
Novices were only permitted to speak outdoors during work instructions or meetings. Private conversation was strictly forbidden. Carmilla had an expression that showed she didn't care about such things.
Lucy moved, hiding Sheri behind her. She thought Carmilla might lash out. Setting aside herself, she wanted to avoid Sheri being subjected to violence. If Sheri were injured and other novices found out, Lucy would lose her qualification as a group leader. It would be natural, since she failed to protect her group member.
"I won't treat you badly. We're adding people right now. Besides, you can't stay as a duo forever, right?"
"Depending on the conditions, I will consider it," Lucy replied to Carmilla.
"Conditions? What do you want?"
"Please resign as the group representative. I will newly assume the position. I will have Sheri become the deputy representative. If those are the conditions, I will join."
Carmilla shrugged slightly and suddenly grabbed Lucy's hair.
Pulling the short hair upward, she brought her face close with a malicious smile.
The last time Lucy had been in a scrapping fight was during her early childhood.
Still, she could not afford to lose. She tried to reach for Carmilla's hair. Instantly, the hair she was held by was pulled in another direction, throwing her off balance.
"Heh, you're putting up a fight,"
Carmilla whispered. She could hear the laughter of Carmilla's companions.
"Then it's fine, right, no matter what I do?"
"Stop... please stop," Sheri said.
"I am fine, Sheri," Lucy insisted. "This is nothing."
"It's nothing? In that case—"
"Stop it!"
A high voice that seemed to pierce the ears echoed.
Carmilla let go of the hair and straightened her posture. Lucy also composed herself.
She thought they had been spotted by an instructing sister, called a Kyouyaku.
Lyudmila, who had been blocking the doorway, also entered the barn and straightened her back like a pole. The person who had entered the barn against the backlight was not a Kyouyaku. It was two novices.
Chloe and Rosary.
The representative and deputy representative of Chloe's group. Among the crowd of novices, Chloe possessed a presence that seemed to faintly emit light. Her hair could be called platinum, but perhaps the color was changing as she grew, as it looked leaden. Her eyes were deep blue and shadowed. She had a beauty that somehow made people shudder.
Rosary was a girl with dark brown hair who always followed Chloe. Her bangs were cut in a straight line above her eyebrows. There were rumors that Rosary was quite academically capable.
"Have some shame, Carmilla."
"Hey now, we were—"
"Be silent!"
Once again, Chloe raised a loud voice that seemed to echo throughout the convent.
"Stop it, Chloe," the tall Lyudmila said in a panicked manner. "The Kyouyaku will hear you, right?"
Chloe didn't give Lyudmila a single glance. She stared straight at Carmilla.
"I know nothing of your upbringing, nor am I interested. However, what you are doing is the act of a lowlife. I wonder what they call this sort of thing?"
"That one's breeding shows," Rosary said in a flat tone.
"Exactly. Instead of occupying the barn forever, would you mind leaving? It would be appreciated if you would leave the Euryas Convent for Girls as well."
"Chloe—"
"I have no intention of speaking with you. I suspect you cannot even hold a proper conversation. You likely do not even know how to speak politely, do you? Regardless of your birth, if you wish to be equals, please learn some manners and try again."
Carmilla's eyes became eerily fixed. Carmilla moved her head and signaled to the novices of Carmilla's group behind her. She left the barn, leading the novices away.
"See ya, Lucy-chan," Lyudmila left behind, being the last to leave the barn.
Chloe placed a hand on her chest and exhaled. "Oh, how scary."
Saying so in a gentle voice, she directed a smile toward Lucy that made her previous ferocity seem like a lie.
"I am truly glad. Are you uninjured? If I hadn't happened to pass by—" Chloe shook her head with a face that seemed to say the mere thought was terrifying. "Sheri, you must have been scared too, right?"
Sheri was timid. "No, um, I... not that much. Because I was with Lucy, I wasn't that scared."
"Oh, really?"
Chloe smiled while narrowing her eyes. It was the look one gives a brave little animal.
Lucy looked down for a brief moment. Sheri had covered for Lucy's pathetic state.
"You should not underestimate Carmilla," Chloe said. "She will take despicable methods beyond our imagination. You have been targeted. Our group will also be viewed as enemies because of the previous incident. To counter this, we need numbers."
"I wonder what you mean."
"I want you to lend us your strength."
—Her phrasing is skillful.
Lucy thought. She didn't say "Join my group."
"Ah, if possible, I wanted to avoid friction with Carmilla. Of course, I do not regret helping you."
She seemed to want to say: feel indebted and join the group. Lucy covered her mouth and laughed. "What a nasty joke. Chloe, please be at ease. I shall act as if I didn't hear that story."
Chloe moved her well-shaped eyebrows.
"Both Sheri and I hold deep respect for you. I would not want to think that you shouted your way in here aiming for our group's membership. In the first place, I have no memory of seeking help; however, to quickly add, I express respect for your sense of justice."
"Was it an unnecessary thing?"
"I do not wish to debase the noble justice you displayed. If you insist that you cannot be at peace without receiving compensation, then, let's see. In the event that Chloe joins your group, I promise to treat her boldly as the third-in-command. As for Rosary, we shall think on it again."
"Is it really okay?" Rosary said. "This might be the last invitation from us."
—That cannot be.
On that point, Lucy was certain. She saw that Chloe didn't care about appearances if it was for the sake of votes.
"Our talk is finished. Excuse me."
Sheri and Lucy each took the tools they would use for work and left the barn.
As a result, it was a fact that they were saved by Chloe. That didn't mean they needed to be indebted.
Taking shelter in some group was not a bad choice. However, that was only if the other side bowed their head. Being absorbed after being helped was the worst of bad moves. If they joined in such a manner, they would undoubtedly be treated as the lowest in the group.
For the same reason, they could not succumb to violence and join a group. The more they fought, the more formidable they became, the heavier the value of Lucy and Sheri's votes should become.
"Lucy," Sheri said in a low voice on the way to the field. "I don't want you to do dangerous things to help me."
"I'm fine, Sheri. I can handle a fight—"
"We're going to help each other, the two of us, right? You behaved admirably. But even if you can't do that, I'll follow you. No matter what. I want you to know that."
Lucy instinctively turned around and looked at Sheri's face as she walked behind.
If they weren't outdoors, she might have hugged her and rubbed cheeks. She was that happy.
Breakfast was eaten in the convent's dining hall.
It was a wide space with a high ceiling. Currently, long tables were lined up, and groups ate side by side, but if the tables were cleared, it became a lecture hall.
The cooking was done by the second-year students.
The story went that the second-year cooking staff could snack on food as much as they liked.
All first-years thought, while their stomachs growled, that they wanted to be entrusted with the cooking duties when they became second-years next year.
The power to appoint the cooking staff rested with the Representative.
Looking at this one matter alone, the Representative election was no game.
Lucy, facing Sheri, was scooping up an unpraiseworthy bean soup with a wooden spoon.
She was stealing glances at Chloe.
Chloe had the group under control. When she began to speak, the novices under her listened in silence. They nodded and urged her to continue. Some looked at Chloe with moist, worshipful eyes. Chloe cast her gaze equally upon everyone's faces and spoke gently.
The entourage were all itching to gain Chloe's interest. Yet, perhaps the order of speaking was decided, as no disorder such as talking all at once was found.
Carmilla's group was completely different. At a glance, they lacked unity. The novices under her seemed to be talking about whatever they pleased with whoever was nearby. There was no unified topic at the table, and Carmilla didn't seem to consider that a particular problem.
However, she could see an atmosphere where everyone, including Lyudmila, was careful not to offend Carmilla's mood.
There was one other conspicuous group. It was called Prima's group.
If one were to describe the impression of the group representative, Prima, in one word, it would be "sparkling."
Prima's table was lively. When Prima spoke something in a low, excited voice, the novices of the group all looked down, holding back laughter. They were suppressing their laughter with shaking shoulders. Those who wanted to speak did so without hesitation.
They looked like they were having fun. Only there was a brightness like the secular world.
—Prima's group uses a consensus system.
Sheri had told her this before. Apparently, they decided everything by discussing it together.
Prima was small, had a jumping energy, and had large eyes for her small face. Her pupils sparkled vividly. Her hair was reddish, with the ends flipping upward.
The deputy representative of Prima's group was called Colette; she had deep-colored blonde hair and was tall, though not as much as Lyudmila. Her build was mature, and she was a quiet novice who radiated maternity.
Colette gazed at Prima as if looking down at her own child.
Chloe's group had six members, Prima's group had six, and Carmilla's group had five. A total of seventeen. Since there were exactly thirty first-year novices, more than half had gathered into groups. What about the other thirteen?
Loners, or pairs. At most, trios.
A motley crowd where one couldn't distinguish if they were merely friends or formal groups.
Lucy and Sheri were one of those motley crowds.
This was the scene the day after Lucy's hair had been grabbed.
The following day, Carmilla's group had increased to eight.
The day after that, Carmilla's group doubled. It became fifteen.
Lucy, who was drinking soup in the dining hall, almost spat out what was in her mouth when Carmilla arrived in the dining hall leading her subordinates and she finished counting the number in her heart. Their actions were too swift. Carmilla had acquired half of the thirty. She had decided the majority with lightning speed.
What had happened?
There was no need to think. She knew Carmilla's weapon. Intimidation.
Just as she had done to Lucy and Sheri, she likely gathered people to surround others, intimidated them, or perhaps used violence to swallow up the loners and pairs.
Carmilla looked at Chloe's table with a thin smile. Chloe, as expected, did not panic and continued eating composedly.
Lucy panicked. Her plan had collapsed easily.
The "conquest of the world" starting with only two people that Lucy had planned was simple. In any case, she would maintain a group of two members with Sheri. No matter what happened, she would hold her ground and continue to protect the group's independence.
The struggle for numbers between groups would eventually reach a peak of intensity, and a phase would surely emerge where two groups were balanced with similar numbers. When that happened, the two votes of Lucy's group would become incredibly precious. Their value would surely skyrocket.
Then, she would just let the two groups compete and join the one that offered the best conditions.
Probably, both Lucy and Sheri could become third or fourth in command. They would join the group that presented good conditions first, and after that, strive to exert their presence within the group. They would aim for the seat of group leader.
That design had crumbled.
The fact that half were taken meant the result of the Representative election was almost decided for Carmilla. The two votes of Lucy's group were meaningless.
"Wait a moment," Sheri said. "The numbers don't add up."
Six from Chloe's group, six from Prima's group, and fifteen from Carmilla's group.
Adding the two from Lucy's group. A total of twenty-nine.
Indeed, one was missing.
The long tables used by first-years, second-years, and third-years were strictly divided.
Lucy carefully re-examined the long table used by first-years. Then, she saw her. A chestnut-haired girl was at the end, tearing bread by herself.
"Yufie, right,"
Sheri said. Sheri was far more knowledgeable about the novices than Lucy.
That night, with Sheri's help, Lucy organized the names of the first-year novices and their group affiliations on paper for the first time. Carmilla's fifteen were only fifteen, not a majority. If Chloe's group and Prima's group merged, the situation should change.
Sheri was well-informed.
Lucy heard for the first time the story that Chloe was likely the daughter of a noble.
"There seems to be a rumor that it's somewhere in the East."
—The East, huh.
Even though she had been a princess, she didn't know all the noble daughters in the country.
More than that, Lucy reflexively remembered the face of a youth named Yugis Necrat.
The days spent in the detached palace as a princess now felt like a distant past. The inside of the convent was a separate world isolated from society. However, she could remember Yugis vividly. He had disappeared from the capital with his life or death unknown. Because of that, she might not have sorted out her feelings yet.
"Sheri, why are you so knowledgeable?"
"Maybe because I have good ears," Sheri smiled. "I just listen in on the conversations at other tables in the dining hall. It's bad manners, though."
The group system was not a competition of manners.
Lucy was impressed and decided that from tomorrow, she would also keep her ears open.
At breakfast the next day, Lucy noticed the situation had worsened.
Carmilla's group had broken through the majority. They had increased by one to sixteen.
She thought the loner Yufie had fallen, but Yufie was as usual eating bread while looking at the wall alone.
"It's Prima's group. Look, Lucy," Sheri said in a low voice. "Neeshka has moved from Prima's group to Carmilla's group."
Indeed, Prima's usually lively table had fallen silent. The novices under her were sending resentful glances toward Carmilla's table. There were five people; indeed, Neeshka's face was not to be found.
"To think a traitor would appear so quickly."
"Carmilla's momentum doesn't seem to be stopping."
Lucy looked at Chloe's group's table. While hiding her gaze with her leaden hair, Chloe was directing a sinister look not at Carmilla, but at Prima.
Prima was, as expected, lacking energy. She seemed unable to make progress with her meal, making Colette, who was next to her, anxious.
What about Carmilla?
Since she had her back to Lucy, her expression wasn't clear. Carmilla had Neeshka sitting next to her and was talking to her frequently. Neeshka's treatment seemed to be good.
The dining hall was filled with an unpleasant tension.
A few days later, during plow work in the field, the sky suddenly darkened and it began to rain. Hearing the voice of a novice called Kyouyaku Pias calling for the cessation of work, Lucy and Sheri hurried back to the convent. Their laundry had been left out to dry.
When they arrived, all the laundry had been taken in.
Only Lucy and Sheri's habits were different.
Their two white garments had been torn to shreds and cast away into the mud.
Together with Sheri, she picked up the tattered clothes.
"Someone from Carmilla's group must have done this."
"Yes. I think so too."
Lucy knew that for this kind of meanness, nobility or low birth didn't matter much. However, there was no meaning for Chloe or Prima to do this now. If anyone did it, it would be Carmilla and her group, who wanted to launch an offensive move while riding their momentum. They likely wanted to absorb Lucy's group through harassment and corner Chloe and Prima.
Having no choice, she visited the hut where old woman Archie lived.
"Hmph. How pathetic. You were probably done in by Carmilla anyway."
While speaking spitefully, the old woman lent them new habits.
"It's not for free. From tomorrow, go to the back of the dormitories."
Emptying the latrines.
That was apparently the punishment imposed on novices who ruined their habits.
"You'll do all three buildings. There's one other girl besides you two receiving the punishment of emptying. Ask that girl how to do it."
"Who is it?"
"Some girl named... the one with chestnut hair. I heard her clothes were torn. A pathetic story, really."
"I wanted to talk with you two thoroughly."
As soon as there were no people around the cesspool, the chestnut-haired Yufie spoke immediately.
Emptying was done with a bucket and a long-handled ladle. As for what to do with the excrement, it was apparently spread in the fields as fertilizer.
"I want you to let me into your group."
"Oh, how delightful. We were intending to invite you."
Since both were wearing hand-towels wrapped to cover from the nose down, their voices were muffled.
Sheri, who was working silently, was the same.
"I will ask one thing. Why our group?"
"The research examination."
"My... what is that?"
"The research examination. You don't know? Which convent are you from? Ah, well, whatever. There's a rule that you shouldn't ask about that. Listen, the research examination is—"
It was a presentation of the learning achievements of the novices. All those who served the Tenshu had to have research they pursued throughout their lives. Through education, medicine, social reform, or something else, they would engage with God and the world under God.
It seemed to be an event to present that research.
"The research period will start soon. There are many rainy days, so the fields become idle. Presentations are by group; novices not in a group must present individually. Because they hate that, everyone panicked and joined something like Carmilla's group, probably."
"And also, Lucy. The research examination is..." Sheri also stopped her work.
The presentations were judged by the Headmaster and the Kyouyaku, and rankings were assigned. The quality of the research was measured. It meant the unity of the group and the group's current strength would be revealed.
"How about it?" Yufie's brown eyes were sparkling.
"It sounds interesting."
Lucy looked back at Sheri. Sheri nodded back.
"That's the spirit. I want to present my research. Chloe's group has the genius Rosary, right? So even if I joined, they wouldn't let me handle the research. I'm not wanted. Prima's group is the same; Colette is as academically capable as Rosary. Even if I joined, there'd be no part for me."
"What about Carmilla's group?"
"...Amalfi is there," Yufie hesitated. "She might be more scholarly than Rosary."
Amalfi was a gloomy-feeling girl with unruly, bushy black hair.
"Is that so? I didn't know."
"Actually, I didn't want her to join Carmilla's group. I'm in the same room as Amalfi. We hit it off and became close, but she said that if she's with Carmilla, she can research as she likes."
"You must have been invited too."
"No way, not Carmilla's place. Both Carmilla and Lyudmila are from Delacoon Convent, you know? The people from Delacoon are terrible. They're heavy drinkers, and they sleep with other women. Those people have absolutely no interest in scholarship."
Lucy looked back at Sheri. Sheri nodded twice.
"I understand perfectly. Please come to our group and be in charge of the research examination. Sheri and I will do our utmost to assist Yufie."
"Nice to meet you, Yufie."
"Thank you, Sheri, Lucy." Yufie beamed under her hand-towel. "I'll go to your room tonight, is that okay?"
"Of course. We can have lunch and dinner together."
"There are things we can't talk about in the dining hall."
Yufie said so with a knowing look.
"The ones who tore our clothes were indeed the people from Carmilla's group."
After dinner, Yufie arrived indignantly.
She said the novices of Carmilla's group had pinched their noses ostentatiously.
Lucy also, in the dining hall, had heard whispering voices saying, "Doesn't it smell like something?" and had looked back to see the girls of Carmilla's group.
"My..." Sheri felt sorry for her.
"It's okay, Sheri. It won't stay like this forever," Lucy said, feeling regret from the bottom of her heart. "I intend to make them suffer one day."
"I hope I can be of help in that," Yufie had brought a bundle of papers. "Actually, I've already made the draft for the research examination. Will you read it?"
Lucy began to read. The parts she finished reading, she handed over to Sheri.
"I think this is a wonderful piece of work," Sheri looked up first.
"I agree. 'Wonderful' isn't enough," Lucy said. "If this is completed, our group might be able to make a leap forward."
Carmilla's group: sixteen. Chloe's group: six. Prima's group: five. Lucy's group: three.
Among the three group leaders other than herself, the only one Lucy was wary of was Chloe.
The thought that she might be able to counterattack on this occasion floated into Lucy's mind.