Surprisingly Close, Breathtakingly Distant

Chapter 01: Carriage Journey with the Exiled Marquis’s Daughter, Part 1

Under the clear blue sky of early summer, I was swaying in a carriage, looking at the girl swaying beside me.

…She was pale, wrapped in an aura as white as ashes burned out. 

Staring into space, her well-shaped lips were half-open, and meaningless sounds escaped her throat.

No… that wasn’t it.

I listened carefully.

“That fucking prince, damned bastard, scum.”

Oh, I shouldn’t have listened.

Feeling a bit of regret, I looked at the girl who continued to mutter those curse-like words with her half-open lips.

Her eyes, which usually had enough intensity to intimidate anyone, were vacant. Her well-formed but sometimes arrogant-looking lips were half-open. Her throat, supporting the beautiful line from her forehead to her chin, was producing meaningless sounds… no, curses.

But still, she was beautiful.

Erika Solnzari.

Daughter of one of the kingdom’s most prestigious marquis families, a prodigy in sword and magic.

A genius bestowed with numerous talents from the heavens.

And, just a few days ago, she was sentenced to exile.

Yes, this girl was being exiled from the country.

And by the way, she was also my first love.

What? You didn’t ask?

I blurted it out in the heat of the moment, so please forgive my embarrassment.

＊

The start of it all was simple.

It began when a girl was admitted to the kingdom’s academy, which only noble children could attend. 

The issue was that this girl was a commoner, and she was the Maiden of Light.

For someone like me, the poor son of a viscount, it was just a “Oh, interesting” kind of story. But in the world of high-ranking nobles, things aren’t that simple.

Coincidentally, this year, the academy was filled with perfect marriage prospects: the prince, who would become the next king, the general’s son, and the sons of influential great nobles. 

The academy serves as a place to nurture the future leaders of the kingdom and also acts as a matchmaking venue for noble children.

Normally, the social ranks would automatically sort things out, with high-ranking nobles negotiating and finding a place for themselves. But this time was different.

The Maiden of Light was at the academy.

Being the Maiden of Light gives her an immense power that ignores her commoner background. 

This is because being the Maiden of Light is a sign of being loved by the gods. 

With the Maiden of Light, the kingdom would be blessed with abundant harvests, fewer monster attacks, and respect from other nations. 

The fact that the gods chose her to be the Maiden of Light gives her overwhelming authority.

Given the circumstances, the kingdom practically forced her to enroll in the academy because they wanted her to marry into a noble family.

As a result, the academy year, which was supposed to be a miracle year filled with top-notch prospects for the noble daughters, turned into a hellish year. 

All these great prospects were ignoring them and flocking to the Maiden of Light.

Naturally, the high-ranking noble families were unhappy about this and wanted to do something, but their opponent was the Maiden of Light.

Her status and the law guaranteed her the freedom to reject even the king’s orders. If anyone tried to force her or harm her, it would seriously jeopardize the kingdom.

In the past, countries that forced unwanted marriages or relocations on the Maiden of Light invariably declined, and most of them even perished. 

The fact that the Maiden of Light is chosen and loved by the gods is no joke.

Even the great nobles couldn’t do anything to the Maiden of Light.

So, the noble daughters who usually laughed gracefully with their “Ohoho,” “Ufufu,” or “Hahaha” turned into girls gritting their teeth with frustration, eyes bloodshot and breathing heavily, making their school life far from elegant.

I think it was a very chaotic school life. 

Even as the poor second son of a viscount, I felt overwhelmed. The high-ranking nobles schemed to get close to the Maiden of Light, hoping for marriage, and the lower-ranking nobles got caught up in it.

Outwardly, it remained somewhat calm for the sake of noble dignity, but a clear rift formed between the families that sent their daughters and those that sent their sons to the academy. It was only a matter of time before this would lead to future troubles.

But then Erika Solnzari appeared.

She naturally and quickly became the closest friend of the Maiden of Light, so fast that no one could even attempt to intervene.

Whether this was influenced by her father, the kingdom’s chancellor, is unknown, but Erika used her strong personality and her family’s power to drive away the lesser nobles swarming around the Maiden of Light.

The lower and middle-ranking nobles, who were hoping to approach the Maiden of Light relying on her free will, were effectively blocked by Erika Solnzari.

At this point, the high-ranking nobles were impressed, thinking, “As expected of the chancellor’s daughter.”

The Solnzari family, having no male heirs, sold favors to other high-ranking noble families this way. 

The high-ranking nobles thought their annoying rivals were now gone and planned to use Erika to introduce them to the Maiden of Light for marriage proposals.

However, no such invitations came from the Solnzari family to any noble house. 

Although the Solnzari family hosted parties, the Maiden of Light never appeared at them. Nor were there any reports of Erika introducing the Maiden of Light to the sons of any noble families at the academy.

Just as the high-ranking nobles started to wonder why there was no progress, a shocking rumor spread.

The chancellor supposedly didn’t know that his daughter was the Maiden of Light’s close friend.

Many found this hard to believe, but considering the circumstances, it made sense.

Regardless of the truth, upon hearing this, the high-ranking nobles hurried into action.

Until now, they had been cautious, fearing they might suffer losses if they made a wrong move. They had only been trying to keep other families in check without taking any proactive steps. But now, there was no need for restraint.

The rivals were still numerous and strong.

Then a major miscalculation occurred. 

The Maiden of Light didn’t respond at all to their advances. 

The sons of noble families, who thought she was just a commoner and would be swayed by the promise of a slightly luxurious life, quickly dropped out.

When they tried to get closer by inviting her to entertainments or parties, she always had some excuse to refuse. 

Specifically, she used Erika Solnzari as the reason for her refusals.

The noble families, and probably the prince who was most serious about courting the Maiden of Light, were puzzled. 

They began to suspect that the chancellor knew everything and had some kind of plan.

They couldn’t believe that every invitation could be conveniently refused with Erika Solnzari as the excuse without some behind-the-scenes strategy.

But this misunderstanding was soon cleared up.

The truth was, the Maiden of Light was genuinely close to Erika Solnzari.

To her, Erika was her only true friend in an academy full of nobles.

While this might have been a beautiful sight under normal circumstances, unfortunately, she was the Maiden of Light, and this situation couldn’t just be seen as a heartwarming scene.

If Erika Solnzari had acted as a bridge between the noblemen and the Maiden of Light, things might have been different. However, Erika had no intention of doing so. 

Additionally, she showed no interest in finding a marriage proposal for herself.

They were at a complete dead end. 

Approaching the Maiden of Light directly didn’t work, Erika refused to play matchmaker, and using Erika’s marriage prospects as a way to get close to the Maiden was also difficult. 

On top of that, the chancellor seemed to have no intention of using his daughter for any schemes.

As a result, the academy outwardly appeared peaceful, but behind the scenes, it became a hotbed of plots to separate Erika Solnzari and the Maiden of Light.

For three years, these efforts yielded no results. 

If Erika had been just the daughter of a lower-ranking noble, she would have been eliminated long ago.

If she were not the chancellor’s daughter, she would have been removed. 

If she had ordinary abilities, she would have been pushed aside.

Unfortunately for them, Erika was the daughter of a marquis, the chancellor’s daughter, and an unparalleled talent in both sword and magic. 

Combined with the Maiden of Light’s free will, no minor scheme could separate them.

Therefore, with only one year left until graduation, they decided to employ more drastic measures.

Erika Solnzari was framed.

The high-ranking nobles, even the royal family, conspired to remove her. 

Initially, the plan was simply to get her to leave the academy for about a year. 

That was the original intention.

But somewhere along the way, the plan went awry.

No, someone deliberately exploited the plan. 

By the time they realized that their scheme was being manipulated on a large scale, it was too late. The situation had grown so big that resolving it required efforts of a similar magnitude. 

Otherwise, Erika Solnzari would have been sentenced to death.

She was accused by the church of plotting to assassinate the Maiden of Light, resulting in her exile from the country.

This is why Erika Solnzari was exiled.

Hm? You’re wondering why a mere poor viscount’s second son like me knows so much?

The journey has just begun, so let me explain.