Chapter 13: I Volunteered for the Academy. - 3

The Karl Kingdom, known across the continent as the Kingdom of Knights.

A kingdom that worshipped martial prowess alone; though it was a kingdom, if one considered only the caliber of its knights, it stood shoulder to shoulder with the vast Astoria Empire.

There was even a saying that one should never boast about their swordsmanship in the Karl Kingdom.

And whenever the inevitable tavern debate over who was the strongest person on the continent erupted, most of the names brought up hailed from there.

Then there were the Frank Knights, composed of those who had reached the pinnacle in that land where none could claim to be second in martial prowess.

Vienne de Olivier, who held the post of vice commander among those superhumans.

The daughter of that man was Angelica de Olivier, standing before me now.

She awakened to aura four days after first taking up a sword.

Before even a year had passed since she first held one, she defeated the lowest-ranked member of the Frank Knights in a contest limited to swordsmanship.

A monster who made her family’s secret technique her own after seeing it just once.

Being the lowest-ranked member did take some of the shine off it, but the Frank Knights were an insane group of superhumans whose twelve members were all Sword Masters.

The lowest-ranked knight had been given the handicap of being forbidden to use aura or mana, but the very fact that a Sword User had defeated a Sword Master through swordsmanship proved what an absurd monster she was.

Judging by her skill with a blade, no one could complain if she were invited to the academy as an instructor.

With talent like that, there was nothing she herself could gain from the academy.

At most, she could broaden her education or make connections.

The reason someone like her had come to the academy was Charles Karl, first prince of the Karl Kingdom.

You might wonder how anyone could be named Charles, but unbelievably, this guy occupied a male lead position.

His setting was that he had admired legendary heroes and knights ever since childhood.

And Lumea Academy was the continent’s finest educational institution, one through which countless heroes had passed.

Naturally, the moment he reached the eligible age, he intended to enroll in Lumea Academy. As a result, the Karl Kingdom was thrown into an uproar.

They could not exactly send the first prince to a foreign country alone, so the kingdom dispatched people with him. Angelica was one of them.

More importantly, why was Angelica here?

There could only be one protagonist in each route.

Which meant Angelica could not be here.

But Dolnesia was already here, so why was Angelica here too?

Could it be that the others, apart from those two, were here as well?

Wouldn’t that be a total jackpot?

The heroines were being duplicated, for crying out loud.

This was a setting where the world went to hell if there were no heroines.

But put another way, it was a setting where the world would not go to hell as long as there were heroines.

There was not just Dolnesia, but Angelica too.

And there was no guarantee there were not more protagonists.

Then I would not have to put on such a ridiculous one-man show.

I still needed to grow strong enough to survive the future somehow.

But all I had to do was endure four years. Just four years!

Imagining my future of settling down in the North and living the good life, I took a sip of wine.

Then—

Smaaaack—!!!!

A very loud clapping sound rang out from somewhere.

The sound of flesh striking flesh hard.

Near the railing of the terrace below—in other words, behind that area concealed by the pillars.

This was the upper floor and near the entrance to the ballroom, so most sounds would have been drowned out. Yet that sound of flesh hitting flesh came through clearly.

This was—

The unmistakable sound of someone’s cheek getting turned.

There was a fight going on right in front of us.

Seeing Angelica flinch slightly, it appeared I was not the only one who heard it.

If it had been man against man, they would have thrown punches, not done something girlish like slapping each other.

If it had been woman against woman, they would have grabbed each other by the collars and drawn swords.

But a slap?

At this time of night?

This was one hundred percent a man and a woman—more specifically, a couple on the verge of breaking up—fighting.

To think I would get to witness such an incredibly entertaining event with my own two eyes.

It would be a shame to watch it alone.

Where was Dolnesia?

I glanced inside, but she still seemed terribly busy.

There were still many young men and ladies left trying to strike up a conversation with her, so that was unfortunate.

Since Angelica was here, the male leads should be arriving around now too.

Could not be helped.

"My lady, would you care to come with me?"

I would have to bring this one along, at least.

Angelica looked at me as if to say, Why would I?

You are seriously going to miss an event this entertaining?

"My lady, do you know what is most entertaining in the world?"

"…………."

"Watching fires and watching fights. And the most entertaining of all is watching couples fight."

Once I finished speaking, Angelica thought for a moment, apparently seeing the logic of it, then nodded.

Apparently, even she could not resist witnessing a couple’s fight firsthand.

#

A terrace where a cold, quiet breeze blew in stark contrast to the boisterous ballroom.

There, I—

"Your Highness. You really are a fucking bastard."

I spat those words at the bastard staring blankly at me as he rubbed the cheek I had struck, now reddened.

Does it hurt? So you can feel pain too?

But you are saying it hurts after just one slap?

I hurt far more than that.

My life before regression.

It had been truly humiliating.

That bastard, who lavished the love and attention I wanted upon someone else.

And me, who obeyed that bastard and hoped even the slightest bit of his attention would turn toward me.

I did not know why I had wagged my tail at that bastard back then.

You lived like a debauched scoundrel.

And foolishly, I loved someone like you.

Because the you I had seen as a child had been my hero.

Because I had fallen for that little boy who seized my wrist and led me out of the forest, battered and covered in wounds.

But you never gave me even a handful of the love or attention I craved.

Still, I hoped.

I hoped that even a little of his attention and affection might come to me.

But what came back to me was—

Poison.

I died after drinking poison.

Coughing up blood, calling one person’s name.

I died in agony where no one was there.

I did not know who had killed me, but though there was no physical evidence, suspicion remained.

Your Highness Kyle de Astoria.

Was loving you such a grave sin?

Grave enough that I deserved to drink poison that someone may have given me—

And die so lonely in a place where no one was there?

When my breath was about to stop on that cold ground as I vomited blood, I opened my eyes and had regressed into the past.

I returned to the past with poison still swallowed.

To the banquet hosted by the imperial family before I enrolled at the academy.

I, who had collapsed after swallowing poison, stood before the ballroom entrance, staring only at the door.

The first thing I did after returning to the past was—

Meet my fiancé.

That hateful man I had torn apart in my mind countless times as I died, and whom I had missed.

I met the man and asked him:

If I had poison, would he have made me drink it?

And his answer was—

‘You ask what I would do if you had poison? Why ask something so obvious, Lady? If that were the case, I would have fed it to you myself.’

Hearing those words, my burning mind became cold instead.

And before I knew it, my hand was against his cheek.

My first act of defiance.

And the first slap I had ever thrown.

"Yes. I should have done this from the beginning."

His face turned sharply to the side.

And his cheek was dyed red by my hand.

"We have already come too far to be held together by old affection."

Was it the pain?

Or had he simply never expected me to do this?

His face was turned toward me, but his eyes had lost their way.

"I will break off our engagement as you wish, Your Highness Kyle de Astoria, Second Prince of the Empire."

So that he could not use being lost as an excuse.

I clearly spoke his full name and thrust the letter of annulment before him.

Yes. As you wish, I will remove this collar you put around my neck.

Just as before—

As I declared that and was about to throw his collar to the ground, I caught sight of something and had no choice but to shut my mouth.

Because I saw something protruding from either side of a pillar: muscular arms wrapped in a tuxedo.

It looked as though he had hidden there to conceal himself, but there was not the slightest trace of sincere effort in it.

At that point, was he not practically advertising that he wanted me to look at him?

"Who are you?"

Those huge muscular arms did not react to my words and remained still.

He seemed not to realize I was calling him.

Did he really think he would not be discovered?

"Yes, I am talking about you. The lump of muscle hiding behind the pillar and deluding himself that he has hidden well."

Only then did the lump of muscle flinch.

I no longer cared what the prince was doing in front of me or what expression he wore.

My attention was wholly on the lump of muscle who believed he had hidden so well.

Then one person peeked his head out from behind the pillar.

And apparently that lump of muscle was not the only one listening to this conversation.

A woman emerged from behind another pillar as well.

The woman was Angelica de Olivier of the knightly Karl Kingdom.

As for the man, I was not sure. He did seem familiar somehow...

"How long have you been standing there?"

In response to my question, the man who had poked out his face answered:

"Oh, do not mind us. Please carry on."

Then he tucked his head back behind the pillar.

What the hell was this guy doing?

#

The terrace.

There, two people so beautiful that simply calling them a handsome man and a beautiful woman did not suffice stood beneath the shining moonlight as though on a stage.

Yet the atmosphere was so maddeningly cold and quiet that it was hard to believe this was a place occupied by such a stunning pair.

Could you believe that such a frigid atmosphere had been created by those two beautiful people?

A woman in a splendid dress, with platinum-blond hair and eyes red as blood, her expression extremely cold in contrast to her dazzling appearance.

One of the five dukes who supported the Empire: the Eterna Ducal family, which guarded the center.

Their only daughter, known in high society as the Flower of Eterna—Isabella von Eterna.

That was right: the protagonist assigned the role of regressor and villainess in a romance fantasy.

And the handsome blond, golden-eyed man standing before her, rubbing the cheek she had struck red, was Kyle de Astoria, the second prince of the Astoria Empire.

This guy occupied a male lead position.

He was called the Empire’s debauched scoundrel, and Isabella’s fiancé.

The event I had thought would simply be incredibly entertaining turned out to be a heroine handing the male lead a letter of annulment.

Angelica and I had been holding our breath as we watched this event when—

"Yes, I am talking about you. The lump of muscle hiding behind the pillar and deluding himself that he has hidden well."

We got caught.

I cautiously poked my head out.

Isabella looked at me with contempt, shadows cast over her face.

Beside me, Angelica wore an exasperated expression, as if asking whether I really thought we would not be discovered.

"Oh, do not mind us. Please carry on."

Unable to withstand both of their gazes, I tucked my head back behind the pillar.

"Come out."

It did not work.

I hesitantly stepped out before them.

This was troublesome, though.

Isabella had slapped Kyle.

Originally, Isabella had two possible choices here.

First, merely endure his verbal abuse.

Second, slap him, as she had just done.

This was the so-called frustrating arc. If she slapped him, her relationship score with Kyle would collapse.

It could somehow be restored, but it became incredibly difficult.

Then they would genuinely be on track for a broken engagement, which made progressing through the story much harder.

There were events where Kyle de Astoria was the main character, but for a while Kyle de Astoria could not be an ally.

More precisely, Kyle would avoid Isabella.

"Isabella... How dare you lay a hand on me?"

Like that.

See? Even with us beside them, the moment he regained his senses, he started spewing vicious words without a care.

At the same time, he raised his hand to slap her as well.

To think he would try to slap a woman simply because she slapped him.

Should I call him a champion of gender equality?

He truly could not be more of a girlish little bastard.

This bastard was a disgrace to the imperial family.

Well, it was not as though he lacked his own circumstances, but whether he intended it or not, Isabella had been poisoned because of him. And the reason it had come to this was a childish excuse.

I did not like him.

But what could I do?

He was still a prince, after all.

Even if he was a scoundrel, a prince was still a prince.

A member of the imperial family, descended from the bloodline of the ruler of that lofty Empire.

Even if he slapped a duke’s daughter, no one could say anything.

Not me, and not Angelica either.

And Isabella, who had slapped him, knew that fact better than anyone.

Rather, she should count herself fortunate if it ended with only one slap.

But then—

[The Oath of Chivalry has activated.]

[The Stars of Knights are watching you.]

Oh, fuck.

These insane voyeuristic bastards apparently did not take kindly to watching a woman get hit.

You sickeningly sweet bastards.

That bastard is a prince, you lunatics.

Do you want your livestream cut off?

As if saying it was none of their concern, the glowing notification window shone before me, and a vein bulged on my forehead.

Fuck.

This was fucking awful.

Either I took some penalty I knew nothing about—

Or I performed knightly conduct for those voyeurs and got the Logres family wiped out alongside Dolnesia.

Of course, it was not as though there was absolutely no way around it.

But that was only possible because she was a heroine.

And was I not a fierce barbarian with bulging biceps?

The prince’s palm was about to touch Isabella’s cheek.

Faced with that fucking binary choice, those two branching paths, I—

"Excuse me for a moment, Your Highness."

Boldly chose knightly conduct.

What was life, really?

You either lived or died.

Even Don Quixote probably would not have done something this insane.

Before his hand could reach Isabella’s cheek, I caught his wrist.

Angelica and Isabella both fell silent.

And the second prince stared at me as though I had lost my mind.

"My name is Ian—Ian de Logres. Your Highness, I wish to challenge you to an honorable duel."

I removed my glove and threw it at him to issue the challenge.

Thwack!

.........

The sound of the glove hitting the prince’s face was rather loud.

Oh, fuck.

I was fucked.

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