ESML 01

Chapter 1

The village’s little general store.

“Emilia, have you finished tidying up?”

“Cough, yes!”

A brown-haired woman poked her head out from the back of the storeroom.

“I’m almost done!”

“Then finish that up and go home for the day.”

Mrs. Anderson said as she looked through the ledger.

“Really? Is it okay for me to leave?”

Emilia’s face brightened. It was much earlier than her usual quitting time.

“Yes. There aren’t many customers anyway. And…”

Mrs. Anderson continued, looking slightly displeased.

“Isn’t today the day that Cedric’s exam results are supposed to be announced?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Emilia nodded brightly.

Seeing her expression, Mrs. Anderson shook her head as if she couldn’t understand her.

“What on earth do you see in that boy? All he ever does is make you suffer.”

“Well, it’s not exactly easy to pass an exam like that.”

“Even so, shouldn’t he hurry up and pass for your sake, considering how hard you work? How many years have you been supporting him now?”

At those words, Emilia gave an awkward smile.

“Anyway, if he fails again this time, just give him a good kick and break off the engagement. Got it?”

“Hmm… I’ll think about it.”

“Don’t just think about it. Actually do it! He’s such a smart fellow, but whenever it matters, he acts like a bear…”

“Yes, yes. Then I’ll put my thoughts into action and head home for the day.”

Before the lecture could continue, Emilia quickly took off her apron.

“Good grief. Fine, go on. Hurry up and leave.”

Mrs. Anderson waved her hand, urging her to get going.

Jingle—

After leaving the general store, Emilia headed straight for the grocery shop.

But soon, she stopped walking with a worried expression.

Although she had joked around with Mrs. Anderson, she was actually extremely nervous inside.

What if he failed again?

Honestly, she was beginning to feel rather desperate.

Her fiancé, Cedric, had been taking the same exam for several years now: the Fifth-Class Administrative Officer Examination.

Anyone from a family of at least a baronet-equivalent rank could take the exam, and passing it granted the right to work at the Imperial Palace. As a result, the competition was fierce and the exam itself was extremely difficult.

Most applicants hired private tutors to prepare for it.

But Cedric was a fallen nobleman from a family struggling financially, and he was also taking care of his widowed mother.

For that reason, Emilia was entirely responsible for supporting him, both financially and academically.

Of course, she was nothing more than a commoner living in the countryside. But, rather unusually, she had memories from her previous life, which made all of this possible.

Well, the fact that this is a novel might also count as something unusual.

However, as someone living in a small rural village, she had nothing to do with the novel’s main story.

The only thing that mattered right now was whether Cedric had passed.

Still, I should make a little more effort with dinner today.

Emilia resumed walking toward the grocery store, rubbing her stiff shoulders.

“Mother, I’m home.”

“Come in.”

“Is Cedric still not back?”

After entering the house, Emilia looked around.

“If he were here, do you think I’d be sitting like this?”

Mrs. Romans replied irritably without even looking at her.

“You’re right. I’m sorry for asking something unnecessary.”

Emilia smiled gently as she apologized.

It seemed Mrs. Romans had been anxiously waiting ever since Cedric had left.

If so, Cedric should be somewhere at the entrance to the village right now.

He was waiting for the mail carrier, who came to the village once a week.

And the mail he was waiting to receive was his examination results from the Imperial Palace.

“Emilia.”

“Yes?”

“Even if Cedric failed, don’t you dare show any disappointment! Do you understand?”

Mrs. Romans gave her a stern warning with a sharp look in her eyes.

“Of course. I understand.”

Emilia calmly nodded.

In truth, Mrs. Romans was always the one who struggled to maintain her composure, but Emilia decided not to point that out.

A short while later, hurried footsteps approached, and the door flew open.

“Cedric?”

Emilia turned around and called his name.

But Cedric’s expression was strangely blank.

When she lowered her gaze, she saw a crumpled notice clutched in his hand.

No way…

Emilia quickly hid her disappointment.

Then she forced a smile and reached toward his shoulder.

“Cedric, it’s okay. Even if you didn’t pass this time, you can always try again next year…”

But before her hand could touch his shoulder, Cedric suddenly lifted his head.

“It’s done…”

“Huh?”

“I said it’s done! Cedric Romans has become a Fifth-Class official of the Imperial Palace!”

Mrs. Romans, who had been standing anxiously nearby, widened her eyes in disbelief.

“Really? Is that really true?”

“If you don’t believe me, check this!”

With an excited voice, he held out the notice in his hand.

Mrs. Romans quickly took the paper and scanned it.

“Oh, my goodness!”

Overcome with emotion, she pulled Cedric into a hug.

“My son! My son! I knew you could do it! What a wonderful boy! What a wonderful boy! Now I can die without any regrets!”

“What are you talking about? From now on, all you have to do is live comfortably!”

Cedric shouted with a flushed face.

“Exactly! Someone as talented as me was bound to get selected eventually! I was just unlucky all those other times!”

“Of course! Of course!”

While Mrs. Romans eagerly agreed with everything Cedric said, Emilia quietly picked up the notice that had fallen to the floor.

Cedric’s name was there, along with the words confirming that he had passed.

He really did it…

Emilia’s legs suddenly gave out, and she sank to the floor.

It somehow didn’t feel real.

At the same time, the hardships of the past several years flashed through her mind like a panorama.

From morning until sunset, she worked at the store to earn money, and she spent every remaining moment supporting Cedric.

Not only did she prepare dinner for Mrs. Romans and Cedric every evening,

she also studied books on administration and law, even creating practice questions for him.

She had somehow managed to make use of the knowledge she had gained from passing the civil service examination in her previous life.

It would be a lie to say that she hadn’t grown exhausted from that life.

“Hey, why are you crying?”

Cedric scolded her gruffly when he noticed her shoulders trembling slightly.

“Yeah. It’s a happy day, so why are you crying? Honestly, you’re being ridiculous.”

“I’m just happy.”

Embarrassed, Emilia quickly wiped away her tears.

Then she gave a bright smile to the two people who would soon become her family.

Completely unaware of what Cedric would say after returning from the capital following his appointment ceremony.

One month later.

Worry clouded Emilia’s face as she stared at the calendar with a circle drawn around a particular date.

“Why isn’t he back yet?”

The day Cedric was supposed to return had already passed by quite a while.

Even if the schedule had taken longer than expected because of the appointment ceremony and other official matters, this was far too late.

Did something happen to him?

The problem was that he hadn’t sent her any news at all.

Emilia didn’t even know where Cedric was staying, so unless he contacted her first, there was no way for her to know what was happening.

After staring at the calendar for a long while, Emilia abruptly stood up.

I can’t just sit here. I should ask Mrs. Romans.

Knock, knock.

Emilia stood in front of the house and waited for Mrs. Romans to answer.

But there was no response even after quite some time.

Is she not home?

She glanced toward the window and noticed bright light spilling through it.

She thought she could even hear voices inside.

Just as she was about to knock again, the door suddenly flew open.

“…Cedric?”

Emilia spoke his name in a stunned voice.

The person standing before her was the very person she had been waiting for all this time.

“Uh… yeah?”

“You’re back! You should have told me right away. Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting?”

Seeing that Cedric had returned home without telling her, Emilia couldn’t help feeling hurt.

Even so, she looked him over carefully to make sure he hadn’t been injured anywhere.

At least he doesn’t seem to be hurt.

If anything, his face looked positively radiant, perhaps because he had been enjoying the finer things in the capital.

Emilia decided to take comfort in the fact that nothing seemed to have happened to him.

But Cedric was acting strangely.

After awkwardly shifting his eyes around for a moment, he subtly pulled his arm away from her grasp.

Why is he acting like this?

Then, a woman slowly poked her head out from behind Cedric.

Emilia’s gaze naturally shifted toward her.

“…Who is she?”