Good rules are dangerous.
Bad rules are dangerous too, of course.
They crush people, silence them, and package someone's convenience as if it were law.
You can tell when you see one.
The problem is good rules.
Words that look good, sound good, and make everyone nod along.
Those words easily become weapons.
`Unwanted conversations may be stopped.`
That sentence protected Liana.
It stopped Eveline.
It gave Seria time to verify things.
And then—
"A fine principle."
The moment Arsene Berhardt spoke those words, something inside me sank with perfect certainty.
The central corridor had not fully dispersed yet.
Prince Kaiden had left, but only appeared to have left.
The circle of people had loosened, and the candidates were reading the three lines on the notice board with different expressions.
Clarisse, the Archives Office assistant, stood beside the board, organizing the records of the public questioning from moments earlier.
And Arsene stepped into the midst of them.
Neither too late nor too early.
At a distance where he would not interrupt anyone.
With an expression that made it difficult for anyone to call him rude.
He was smiling exactly like an aristocrat should.
That was why he was more dangerous.
"Young Duke Berhardt."
Clarisse was the first to acknowledge him.
Arsene politely bowed his head.
"Assistant Archivist. I heard that the principles from earlier have been publicly implemented. If so, may I use those principles as well?"
The murmuring in the corridor died down all at once.
A good question.
Too good a question, which made it bad.
If these principles were real, Arsene had to be able to use them too.
If the principle changed depending on who used it, it was not a principle. It was bias.
And the moment it was called bias, Arsene could paint us as a private faction again.
Clarisse did not answer immediately.
She looked at the three lines on the board.
And she did not look my way.
Good.
She should not look at me.
The Archives Office had to give this answer.
"You may."
Clarisse spoke.
"However, it will be recorded by the same standards."
"That will be sufficient."
Arsene smiled.
He said it would be sufficient.
But I knew.
He did not look like a man who would ever be satisfied with enough.
Eveline spoke quietly beside me.
"I don't like the way that man smiles."
"During an official inquiry, it would be best to refrain from criticizing people's expressions."
"I know. That's why I said it quietly."
Seria whispered.
"Believing that rudeness said quietly will not be recorded is dangerous."
Eveline glared at Seria.
Standing between them, Liana drew in a tiny breath.
Her fingers intertwined.
Arsene's gaze went straight to Liana.
Of course.
He did not seek out the weakest point.
He sought out the most symbolic one.
Liana was a Saint Candidate, and the person who had accepted the Cathedral candidates' refusal of proxy speech.
She was also the face that showed where this principle had begun.
Arsene stopped in the center of the corridor.
"Arsene Berhardt, eldest son of House Berhardt."
Name and affiliation.
Precise.
"My question is for Lady Liana Bell."
Liana's shoulders stiffened just slightly.
Still, she did not step back.
Clarisse confirmed it.
"Lady Liana Bell, are you able to respond?"
Liana looked at the board for a moment.
Three lines.
The first among them.
`No one speaks in another person's place.`
She nodded.
"I am."
Arsene spoke gently.
"Thank you. In the public questioning earlier, I was recorded as someone who spoke in another's place. So, in accordance with Principle One, I will ask you directly. Lady Liana Bell, did I take away your voice?"
Silence.
He struck well.
Very well.
If she said he had taken it away, Liana would openly make an enemy of Arsene.
If she said he had not, the record they had built so far would weaken.
If she hesitated, rumors would spread that a Saint Candidate could not even state her own wishes.
None of those three paths were bad for Arsene.
I kept my mouth shut.
I no longer held a speech restriction card, but whether I had one or not, the result was the same.
I could not speak now.
Liana pressed her lips together.
She did not answer right away.
Clarisse raised her pen.
"You may request a deferral of your response."
Liana nodded.
"I would like a moment to gather my thoughts."
Good.
A deferral.
Not fleeing. Organizing.
Arsene smiled kindly.
"Of course."
He waited.
People who know how to wait are the most troublesome.
If he got angry, we could attack.
If he rushed her, we could record it as pressure.
But by remaining so polite, he created a shield for himself.
Liana took two breaths.
Then she spoke.
"I will not conclude that you took away my voice, Young Duke."
A small stir went through the corridor.
The corners of Arsene's lips rose a little.
But Liana was not finished yet.
"But I will say that there were times when your words were put forth before mine."
Arsene's smile paused ever so slightly.
Good.
She would not make a conclusion.
But neither would she erase the facts.
Without deciding that someone held malicious intent, she recorded the structure that had occurred.
That was not a sentence I had taught her.
Liana chose it herself.
Clarisse's pen moved swiftly.
"Lady Liana Bell refuses to conclude malice. However, she acknowledges circumstances in which another's speech preceded her own."
Arsene slowly nodded.
"I see. Then was my question not rude?"
The second trap.
If Liana said it was rude, Arsene could claim that she had branded direct confirmation under the principles as rude.
If she said it was not rude, his manner of questioning gained legitimacy.
This time, Liana replied a little faster.
"The question itself was not rude."
Arsene's smile returned.
"Thank you."
"However."
Liana added.
"The way you framed it to force my answer into only one of two responses made me uncomfortable."
The air in the corridor stirred again.
Good.
Really good.
Liana had separated the question from its design.
The words themselves were permissible.
But the structure would be recorded.
Clarisse wrote.
"Separation of the question itself from the structure of the question. Discomfort explicitly stated."
Arsene looked at Liana for a moment.
His eyes were not smiling.
"An excellent distinction."
That was what he said.
It sounded like praise.
But it was not only praise.
It was the words of someone who had identified his opponent's blade.
A system window appeared.
`[Liana Bell: Successfully Resisted Proxy Speech Pressure]`
`[Shielding Resistance Rate Increased]`
`[Question Structure Recognition: Acquired]`
Good.
We had cleared one hurdle.
Arsene turned his body.
This time, he looked at Eveline.
Eveline's gaze immediately turned fierce.
Ah.
This one would be harder.
Arsene spoke in the same tone.
"My question is for Lady Eveline Rosette."
Eveline started to cross her arms, then stopped.
The hand holding her handkerchief awkwardly dropped through the air.
"Speak."
She got it right from the beginning this time.
Clarisse's pen paused briefly.
She probably wanted to write, `Improvement.`
Arsene said,
"Lady Rosette, a moment ago, you said that my concern could not speak in place of checking on your condition. Then let me ask: should the mere fact that I was concerned for you be recorded as pressure?"
Eveline's brow rose.
"I am angry."
The corridor held its breath.
Eveline continued at once.
"And I will answer."
Good.
That sentence was becoming a habit now.
A good habit.
"Concern itself is not pressure."
Arsene's expression did not waver.
"Then what is?"
"When you use concern as a reason to skip over my answer, that is pressure."
Short.
Precise.
Eveline looked directly at Arsene.
"I speak about my condition. If necessary, my examination records can speak about it. Your concern does not speak first."
A small exclamation spread through the corridor.
Eveline Rosette had drawn a line without drawing her sword.
She had not insulted the other person's feelings.
But neither had she surrendered her own authority.
Clarisse wrote.
"Lady Eveline Rosette: Separation of concern itself from proxy judgment. Explicit statement of her right to speak on her own condition."
Arsene bowed his head.
"I understand."
It would have been nice if he had ended it there.
He did not.
"Then, Lady Rosette. I will respect your request to stop. Can you respect my request to stop as well?"
Eveline was about to answer immediately.
I gritted my teeth internally.
Stop.
Think before you speak.
Fortunately, Eveline paused for a beat.
She looked at the board.
Then bit her lip.
"It depends on the content."
Good.
A little rough, but precise.
Arsene smiled.
"Principle Two says that unwanted conversations may be stopped."
"That is why I said it depends on the content."
Eveline's voice dropped.
"If someone is insulting you, you may stop them. But examining what effect your actions had on someone else does not disappear just because you tell it to stop."
Clarisse wrote very quickly.
This time, Arsene's eyes visibly narrowed.
He had not expected Eveline to go that far.
I was a little surprised too.
Eveline was normally not the type to give the right answer. She was the type to smash the answer and regret it later.
But now, she had drawn a line.
A system window appeared.
`[Eveline Rosette: Successfully Responded to Public Pressure]`
`[Resistance to Escalation Provocation Increased]`
`[Logical Response Stabilized After Emotional Declaration]`
Arsene retreated again.
"An excellent answer."
This praise sounded colder.
His next gaze went to Seria.
Seria Blanc.
My disciple with the sharpest tongue.
And the one who could lose the most because of words.
Arsene spoke politely.
"My question is for Lady Seria Blanc."
Seria raised her head.
She did not smile.
"Go ahead."
"Lady Blanc, you interpreted my actions as an attempt to isolate someone under the pretext of protection. But Principle Three says that protection cannot be a reason to erase the wishes of the person concerned. Then conversely, should the wishes of the person who seeks to protect not also be erased?"
Ah.
Good.
So good that I hated it.
He had turned Principle Three around.
The logic that not only the wishes of the protected person, but also those of the person seeking to protect them, should be respected.
It sounded plausible.
And many of the noble candidates were nodding.
Seria lowered her eyes.
Her fingertips moved slightly over the hem of her dress.
In the past, she would have smiled and stabbed back immediately.
With something like, `You find the word protection remarkably convenient.`
Accurate words, but poisonous to the person who heard them.
But Seria did not speak now.
She took a breath first.
"I would like to revise my wording."
The corridor fell silent.
Arsene paused as well.
"If I concluded that your intention to protect was isolation, Young Duke, then that wording was excessive."
Eveline whipped her head toward Seria.
Liana looked surprised as well.
Seria had publicly corrected her own wording.
And right in front of Arsene.
But Seria's eyes did not waver.
"However, it must still be examined whether an intent to protect can actually operate in a way that narrows the choices available to the person concerned."
Good.
It was neither an apology nor a retraction.
She softened the wording while preserving the core.
Arsene quietly asked,
"Then you acknowledge my intent to protect, but wish to examine its effect?"
"Yes."
Seria nodded.
"A person's heart may be good. But if the result narrowed another person's options, it does not disappear simply because the intent was good."
Clarisse's pen moved.
"Lady Seria Blanc partially acknowledges the excessiveness of her wording. Separation of intent to protect from the effect of protection. Raises the need to examine the narrowing of available choices."
A system window appeared.
`[Seria Blanc: Successfully Replaced a Cutting Remark with a Response]`
`[Simultaneously Achieved Wording Revision and Preservation of Core Point]`
`[Trust Restoration Training Progress: 34% -> 38%]`
Thirty-eight percent.
Faster than I expected.
But it was not the time to let down my guard.
Seria could become more dangerous when she was doing well.
The moment she felt justified, her words would become blades again.
Arsene looked at the three of them in turn.
Liana.
Eveline.
Seria.
He did not applaud.
Nor did he express admiration.
He simply smiled very quietly.
"I have listened closely to all three of your answers."
He looked at Clarisse.
"Then, I too would like to request a stop under Principle Two."
Here it came.
The air in the corridor turned cold again.
Clarisse raised her pen.
"State the contents of your request."
Arsene did not move a single step.
"Please stop conversations that conclude I am the party applying pressure, the party isolating someone, or the person who took away another's voice. I have not been given sufficient opportunity to explain my intentions."
Silence.
It sounded plausible.
Very plausible.
Arsene had now taken the position of the person being attacked.
`Do not draw conclusions.`
`Do not speak for my intentions.`
`I will stop an unwanted conversation.`
Every one of those words came from principles we had made.
I looked at Clarisse.
She remained expressionless.
But the tip of her pen stopped for just a moment.
She knew too.
If she answered incorrectly here, the principles would collapse.
Clarisse spoke.
"Your request to stop is accepted."
Arsene's smile deepened.
"Thank you."
"However."
Clarisse continued.
"Expressions concluding that Young Duke Arsene Berhardt is the party applying pressure, isolating someone, or engaging in proxy speech will cease. However, examination of the effect that recorded statements and actions had on the range of choices available to others is not subject to cessation."
Arsene's smile stiffened just a little.
Good.
Precise.
A request to stop is the right to stop insults, not the right to erase an examination.
It did not condemn the other person's feelings.
But it examined the effects of their actions.
I thought Kaiden had gone far away, but he was smiling beside a pillar.
No, he really had not left.
He spoke quietly.
"Good. The principles have become a little sturdier."
Only then did several candidates realize that the prince was still there and freeze.
Kaiden waved a hand as if it were nothing.
Clarisse added a new line beneath the notice board.
`4. A request to stop may halt insults and conclusions. However, it cannot erase examination of the effects of recorded actions.`
The fourth line.
The rules had increased.
On the spot.
Publicly.
Because Arsene had tried to turn them against us.
Bad people use good rules too.
And they must be refined until they can withstand being used by bad people.
If they cannot, they are not good rules.
They are merely words that favor our side.
Eveline spoke quietly.
"It feels awful, but it sounds right, which makes it feel even worse."
Seria answered.
"That is quite an accurate assessment."
"Was that praise?"
"Praise fit for the record."
Liana was reading the new fourth line.
Her expression was complicated.
Seeing Arsene use the principles themselves had probably made her uncomfortable.
But she did not turn away.
Arsene looked at the board.
"Fair enough."
It sounded like praise, but it was not this time either.
He was preparing to draw his next blade with that word, fair.
"Then these principles should apply not only to me, but to the other parties involved in this incident as well."
Clarisse's eyes shifted ever so slightly.
"Other parties?"
Before answering, Arsene took a folded card from his chest.
It did not bear the seal of House Berhardt.
It bore the infirmary's white seal.
My heart sank slightly.
Arsene spoke.
"Eloise Berhardt has regained consciousness."
The corridor erupted into murmurs.
Eloise Berhardt.
The victim of the poisoned tea incident.
Arsene's younger sister.
And the center of the victim route in the original story, where Seria was destined to destroy her with cutting remarks.
She had woken up.
Arsene handed the card to Clarisse.
"She requests to make her first statement. On the condition that the Preliminary Candidate Dialogue Principles posted just now are applied."
Clarisse checked the seal.
Her expression did not change.
But every expression in the corridor did.
The color drained from Seria's face.
To her, Eloise was not merely a victim.
She was at the center of the incident that had driven her toward ruin in the original story, and at the same time, the person Seria was most likely to wrong.
One wrong sentence, and everything would slide back onto that route.
Eveline looked at Seria.
Liana looked at Seria too.
Seria lowered her gaze.
"Do I..."
Her voice became very quiet.
"Do I have to be present?"
Arsene looked at Seria.
"Eloise requested you personally."
Seria's fingertips stiffened.
I wanted to intervene then.
I truly did.
I wanted to say that this was dangerous.
That Seria was not ready.
That putting Seria directly into Eloise's first statement was dangerous.
But Principle One was posted on the board.
No one speaks in another person's place.
Seria had not asked for help.
So I could not speak.
This principle protected us.
At the same time, it bound us.
Seria drew in a breath very slowly.
Then she spoke.
"I would like to defer my answer."
Good.
Very good.
She had not run away.
But neither had she agreed at once.
Clarisse wrote.
"Lady Seria Blanc defers her response to the request that she attend Eloise Berhardt's first statement."
Arsene smiled.
"Of course. They are the principles we learned today, after all."
Those words fell coldly upon the corridor floor.
A system window appeared.
`[New Event: The Awakened Victim]`
`[Eloise Berhardt Requests Her First Statement]`
`[Applicable Condition: Preliminary Candidate Dialogue Principles]`
`[Requested Attendee: Seria Blanc]`
`[Caution]`
`[Good rules are now in everyone's hands.]`
I looked at the board.
It now had four lines.
And none of those four lines favored us exclusively.
Bad people use good rules too.
More precisely, if they are good rules, bad people must be able to use them too.
Even so, they must not take away anyone's voice, erase anyone's wounds, or conceal anyone's malice.
We now had to do that difficult thing.
Seria had not answered yet.
Eloise had awakened.
Arsene was smiling.
Kaiden was watching as though he found it entertaining.
And I realized something.
The classroom we had made today was not dangerous because it lacked a nameplate.
It was dangerous because it had no door.
Anyone could enter.
Arsene too.
Eloise too.
And the ruin whose name we did not yet know.
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