In Another World with Household Spells Volume 2, page 1
Table of Contents
Cover
The Story Thus Far
Chapter 1: To the Summer Palace
Chapter 2: Summer Break at the Vacation Palace
Chapter 3: We’re Making Salt!
Chapter 4: Sewing Lessons
Chapter 5: The End of Summer Break
Chapter 6: Albert and the Goddess of Music
Chapter 7: The Fall Term Has Begun
Chapter 8: The End of the Fall Term
Chapter 9: Winter Break!
Chapter 10: My Cousin Samuel
Side Story: Nassius’s Older Sister
Color Illustrations
Bonus Story: Young Lady, Be Ambitious!
About J-Novel Club
Copyright
The Story Thus Far
My name is Patience Granger. I awoke one day as the daughter of a poor viscount. I’d previously been an ordinary office worker in Japan, yet for some reason, I’d reincarnated as a noble.
I’d imagined living elegantly as an aristocrat, but that dream was short-lived—the Granger family was impoverished. I’d reincarnated into this world during the freezing cold of the winter, and the fireplaces in our home had been barely lit. Though the Granger family home was an impressive mansion located in Romano, the royal capital of the Kingdom of Lawrence, we were broke because my father had been fired from his job at the royal palace.
It felt to me like the original Patience had died of pneumonia, but she was still around in spirit to help me out with her memories and give me advice, so I’d been able to live in this world without arousing any suspicion.
I also had two adorable younger brothers: Nassius, who was eight, and Henry, who was six. They were truly good boys and absolute angels! Coming to this world had also turned me from an adult into a child; I was now ten years old.
Since coming to this world, I’d also received an evaluation at the church, where I’d learned I was proficient in household magic.
The Kingdom of Lawrence, where we lived, was on the west side of the continent. There was a grand Estenaian church here in the capital city of Romano. My father was perhaps not very religious, since the original Patience only had memories of visiting the church for her mother’s funeral.
Going back to household magic, the downside to it was that it was an area of magic many commoners were proficient in—in other words, not noble or special. Because of that, I hadn’t felt very proud of my abilities at first. Still, it was the only kind of magic I could use, so I’d steeled my resolve to improve the Granger family’s lives using household magic. I mean, we’d been using chamber pots! That was just unbelievably uncivilized! My foremost priority had been to make sure we could use the toilet.
My next priority was cleaning. Though we were nobles, Mary was the only maid on our staff. She’d been doing her best to handle household tasks, but there was a limit to how much she could do on her own.
“Become clean!”
The first time I’d used household magic, I’d turned the old and dingy wallpaper, rug, and curtains in the boys’ room as good as new. It had taken quite a bit of mana to repair so many things, and I’d ended up feeling pretty woozy afterward.
Following that, I’d used my magic to spruce up a hand-me-down uniform for the Royal Academy, then repaired the broken greenhouse in our yard. I was working hard to improve my family’s quality of life. I’d put in so much effort because I’d learned that barely a month into my life in this new world, I would have to enroll into the Royal Academy.
Not only would I be starting school, but I would also have to move into the dorms, even though most nobles who lived in Romano commuted! Why, you ask? Well, that was because our family was so poor that we didn’t own a horse. Being poor was truly a pain, since it meant I had to live in the dorms and be apart from my adorable angels. Boo-hoo!
The day I’d moved into the dorms of the Royal Academy, the entrance had been backed up with carriages. This was because the children of the royal family, who’d only ever commuted to the academy before—it was right next door to the royal palace, after all—had moved into the dorms and been busy moving their own furniture in. Looking back on it now, this was probably the harbinger of all my future struggles.
I was assigned to First Year Class A, where the second prince, Prince Keith, was my classmate. The content covered in the junior division of the Royal Academy was at a similar level as middle school education during my previous life, so the classes weren’t particularly difficult. I’d still had to rely on Patience’s knowledge for reading, writing, and history though.
The Granger family was apparently a household of academics, and Patience had turned out to be quite a brilliant child. During my first week at the Royal Academy, I’d ended up skipping ahead a year. I’d thought that I’d escaped being targeted by Prince Keith as a rival, but he’d ended up passing his exams in several subjects, landing him in some second-year classes alongside me. Having accelerated an entire year had ended up feeling slightly pointless, in terms of avoiding pesky entanglements with royalty.
But wait, there’s more! Not only had my efforts been fruitless, but I’d ended up being chosen by the queen herself to serve as lady’s maid for her daughter, the junior division third-year student Princess Margaret. To be completely honest, it was a total inconvenience! These duties ate into the time that I’d been hoping to spend doing side jobs for extra money, like mending socks and decorating handkerchiefs with lace trim.
Once I’d become Princess Margaret’s lady’s maid, one of my duties was to eat meals with her, but I hadn’t suspected that she was the complete opposite of a morning person! Every morning I had to laboriously wake her up, do her hair, then get her to breakfast at the dining hall at the dorms. All that was actually not too bad—the real problem was lunch in the salon.
Before becoming a lady’s maid, I’d been eating at the school cafeteria, which was the dining hall located in the school building one floor below the salon. My classmates, the students of Class A, were all high-ranking nobles, so most of them ate lunch at the salon, a fancier venue that required an extra fee to eat there. However, I was the daughter of the Granger family, who didn’t have the money to fritter away on such luxury.
Princess Margaret had either forgotten to or chosen to not tell me this, but I had to eat with her, Prince Richard, and Prince Keith in the salon. We were to sit at the same table and watch over Prince Keith to make sure he finished his vegetables. Prince Keith wasn’t a troublemaker necessarily, but he’d often tick off his elder brother, Prince Richard, so Princess Margaret and I would have to redirect his attention to smooth things out. It was exhausting.
Another notable fact about the princess was that she had an incredible love for music, so I’d ended up having to join the music club she was a part of. It was so exclusive that it required an existing member’s recommendation to join. This music club was where I’d gotten myself into yet another little bit of trouble.
At the music club, I’d performed a piece composed by a famous composer from my previous life, which had made Albert, the vice president of the club, take notice of me. Now, every time I’d run into Princess Margaret or Vice President Albert, they would ask me if I’d composed a new song yet.
Despite everything that had happened, I’d managed to survive until the end of the spring term.
“I’m going to spend summer break growing lots of vegetables in the garden! I must also work hard at my side jobs! Oh, and I definitely want to play with my little angels as well!”
My grades were excellent! The Royal Academy only allowed students to skip a grade once a year, so I couldn’t jump ahead to become a third-year student, but I’d received certificates of completion in math, magic practicum, home economics, music, and magic theory.
I’d been so excited about what I might get up to with my brothers during summer break, only to end up being “invited” to the royal family’s summer palace by the queen. I’d seriously wanted to turn down the offer, but I had to do as my father said and accept. He’d been excited about it and mentioned what an honor it was.
After that was decided, Mary and I had become incredibly busy, working hard to refurbish hand-me-down garments from my relatives and ensure they fit me well. By the time that we’d finished preparing for my trip, I’d been so exhausted that all I could feel was sadness about the fact that time meant to be spent with my brothers had been stolen by the need for tailoring.
Chapter 1: To the Summer Palace
It was morning, and our ride had arrived from the royal palace.
“Be well, Nassius, Henry,” I said, bidding farewell to my brothers as I waved to them from the carriage. I didn’t dare stick my body out of the window, since Mary would scold me, but that meant the angels were quickly out of my view. The lump I felt in my chest made me understand the true meaning of the phrase “having a heavy heart.”
“We will be meeting up with the other carriages at the southern gate,” Charlotte, the court lady, explained. Though we had a member of the royal staff aboard our carriage, it wasn’t as suffocating as having to ride with Queen Victoria or Princess Margaret.
Charlotte had all of her hair neatly tied up without a single strand out of place, and she was properly dressed in her court lady’s uniform made of black silk. I’d met Charlotte several times before during my visits to the royal palace with Princess Margaret whenever the queen summoned me, so her presence didn’t make me
“I’ve never left the royal capital before,” I remarked. Patience’s memories all took place in the royal capital. In fact, she hadn’t left the Granger estate until she’d visited the church for her mother’s funeral. She’d been quite the sheltered girl.
Charlotte smiled, as that wasn’t entirely unusual for a noble from Romano.
“That must mean you’ve never seen the ocean before, Lady Patience. You must be excited that the summer palace is so close to the beach.”
That’s right! I am excited! After all, being by the ocean means that there’s probably delicious seafood! If I’m going to be separated from my brothers, I’m at least going to have some fun! Otherwise, I won’t survive this trip! Maybe I’ll find some pretty shells along the beach to bring home as souvenirs for my brothers.
Just as that thought crossed my mind, we made it out of the nobles’ quarter.
“Look, Mary. There are lots of shops!”
The street was lined with countless shops, but none had opened yet, since it was still early in the morning. Some shops had signs indicating they sold clothes and accessories.
“My lady, Romano is home to a plethora of shops. Now please, sit down properly.”
All I’d done was bring my face closer to the window, yet Mary had scolded me. Since we were going to be at the summer palace with Queen Victoria, Mary was even stricter than usual when it came to monitoring my behavior. It’s not fair. She’d gotten way more laid-back after becoming my co-conspirator in working side jobs.
We were now uptown, which was filled with grand buildings that reminded me of Parisian apartments I’d seen during my previous life. The carriage continued to travel along the main streets that connected the Granger home to the southern gate of the royal palace, and the residences grew smaller as the city gradually grew more dense. There weren’t many people out on the streets in the nobles’ quarter or uptown, but downtown was busy with all sorts of people walking about. To one side was a man carrying a large sword on his back. To the other side, I saw a merchant unloading wares from a carriage. Downtown Romano was full of life.
“Oh, there are some stalls open!” There was an open-air market with stalls that appeared to open early in the morning for those headed to work.
“Those cater to adventurers,” Charlotte explained. “After accepting jobs at the adventurer’s guild, they stop by these stalls to grab a bite to eat before heading out of town.”
An adventurer’s guild?! Now that’s something you expect to hear of in a fantastical otherworld! I wonder if they have any part-time cleaning jobs. I could totally clean things up easily since I’m skilled in household magic. Mary’s pretty strict about me acting like a noble lady, though. She won’t even let me go shopping on my own, so there’s no way she’d allow me to have a job like that.
“You know so much, Lady Charlotte,” I said admiringly. Patience didn’t know much about the world, and all I knew about this world was what I’d learned at the academy.
“Well, I have passed the court lady exam,” Charlotte remarked.
I didn’t know that you have to pass an exam to become a court lady. I should look into that.
In this world, it seemed that job options for women were limited—especially for noblewomen, who would usually get married instead of joining the workforce. The Granger family had no money for a dowry, but a dowry wasn’t necessary for me to get married. For example, there were wealthy commoners who married noblewomen for their aristocratic status, and widowers who wanted a woman’s help raising their children. But neither Patience nor I wanted to marry under those circumstances!
“Um, I’m thinking of enrolling in the civil service track. Will that provide any sort of advantage for those exams?” I should use this opportunity to ask questions! I’m riding with an actual court lady, after all! My questions could have perhaps been answered by my father, but his lack of life skills made him seem unreliable.
“Oh, my! You’re choosing the civil service track? I enrolled in the home economics track and took the law and government courses separately. Students graduating from the civil service track usually take the entry-level bureaucrat’s exam to work as a government official, but I’m not sure if the same applies for women. Though, I’m sure you’ll be able to pass the court lady’s exam.”
It seemed that female government officials didn’t exist. I was disappointed to find that out, so Charlotte began to cheer me up.
“However, there is a woman who has become a knight. She’s often seen working as a guard to the women of the royal family. There may not be any women working as government officials right now, but please do not give up on the possibility of such a future.”
Our conversation had made time fly, and before I knew it, we had arrived at the southern gate. The carriage coming from the royal palace hadn’t arrived yet, but there were several knights already lined up at the gate.
“Oh, Lady Eugenia is here. She is the lady knight I was referring to!” Charlotte was always so composed, but I could see why she’d gotten excited. Lady Eugenia was a captivating person. She shone among the other knights like the star actors in the all-female theater troupes I knew during my previous life.
Ever since I’d come to this world, almost all of the women I’d met had long hair. However, Lady Eugenia had shoulder-length hair. The morning sun gave her metallic chestplate a heavenly glow.
“She seems absolutely lovely,” I replied.
“Doesn’t she? She’s also incredibly strong. She even won tournaments while a student in the knight club.”
It should have been obvious that Lady Eugenia had enrolled in the knight track, given that she was currently a knight, but I was still surprised. As someone who couldn’t even capture an obedient horse that was standing still, I could never imagine becoming a knight.
“Since Lady Eugenia is here, I’m sure Her Majesty and the others will be arriving soon,” Charlotte explained. She then instructed us to disembark from the carriage, and we awaited the royal family’s arrival.
“The southern gate is quite large,” I commented. It was not only tall, but also incredibly thick.
In this world, war broke out over the smallest of things. Fortunately, the Kingdom of Lawrence had only been involved in minor scuffles near the border over the last decade or so. These sturdy gates were perhaps here in the case of any emergencies.
Mary silently tugged at my sleeve and gave me a look that said, Please stop staring at everything.
The dress she’d tugged at was a light green, summery garment that we’d just finished preparing yesterday. I’d used household magic to make some white lace, with which I’d decorated the collar, sleeves, and hem. Unlike with handkerchiefs, adding lace trim to a dress took a long time and had been exhausting. I’d been especially worried about being able to finish the trim on the hem, which was particularly long because this dress was to be worn with a petticoat.
My hair was accessorized with a ribbon that Mary had made out of some matching fabric and braided into my hair. Mary had been firing on all engines this morning to get me dolled up—in other words, I’d been woken up at the crack of dawn. Standing all serious like this was boring and made me sleepy. We’ve been waiting for a while. How much longer are they going to be?
“It seems they were running slightly behind, but I see them now,” Charlotte finally announced.
A convoy of carriages escorted by knights arrived. There were so many carriages appearing that I began to wonder if my presence was really necessary at the summer palace. The frontmost carriage stopped, so I curtsied and waited with my head bowed down.
“You’ve made it, Patience,” Queen Victoria greeted. “Well then, let us head out.”
Finally, we’re leaving! I thought I was free, but Princess Margaret began to plead with the queen.
“I want to ride with Patience,” the princess insisted.
What? I want to ride with Charlotte and Mary. I can relax more with them.
“I guess it can’t be helped,” the queen replied. “If you’d like to ride with your lady’s maid, go ahead.”
Princess Margaret gracefully exited her carriage and said, “Let’s ride together, Patience.”
There was no way I could refuse when the queen had already given her permission.
