Ian de Logres.
If one had to name the most mysterious figure in the Empire’s social circles, it would undoubtedly be Ian de Logres.
He bore the title of Logres’s illegitimate son, yet nothing beyond that had ever been announced about him.
The Logres grand ducal family revealed the illegitimate son’s name and existence, but that was all they disclosed.
As though they had no intention of showing any more, they never let Ian appear at any public function.
At first, people wondered whether they were reluctant to reveal him because of his birth. But that could not have been it, considering they had publicly introduced their adopted daughter, Dolnesia, without the slightest hesitation.
It was an exceptional course of action, entirely unlike the Logres grand ducal family, who had no interest in politics and adopted children regardless of their origins.
And since they offered no explanation whatsoever, people became curious.
Why?
Why was the Logres family refusing to reveal Ian?
Why did the Logres grand ducal family—who did not involve themselves in politics and did not care about their public image—feel compelled to hide Ian?
Perhaps they simply did not wish to reveal him.
Perhaps illness had left him physically impaired.
Perhaps he was a child abandoned by Logres, and so on.
All manner of speculation began to run rampant among the Empire’s citizens.
Among those countless rumors, the most credible was the theory that Logres hid Ian because he was incompetent.
After all, Dolnesia, whom the Logres family had introduced to the public, had displayed extraordinary talent.
She was a genius who commanded not one, but two unprecedentedly powerful spirits unlike anything anyone had ever seen or heard of.
‘If the Logres grand ducal family values ability over birth, then just how incompetent must Ian be for them to hide him?’
Her existence only lent further weight to the rumors of Ian’s incompetence.
But the grand ducal family remained silent.
No matter how many wild rumors spread, the Logres grand ducal family remained silent.
The Red Duke, the only person said to have seen Ian, had left behind only the cryptic words, "Nothing at all," and made no further statement.
Then, around twenty years after Ian’s existence had been revealed—
The silent Logres family finally spoke.
They suddenly announced that they would send Ian to the academy.
The central figure behind endless speculation.
The moment Ian would step out into the world.
Yet his appearance was vastly different from what people had expected.
A massive man who looked nearly two meters tall.
A hulking physique.
His face was so fierce, as if he were in a terrible mood, that no one dared approach him.
Then, out of nowhere, he vanished, only to reappear near the end of the banquet and dance with Lady Dolnesia in awkward steps while nervously watching everyone around him.
That was Ian as the world first came to know him.
That was the image Ian had left upon the nobles.
A man with an incredibly vicious-looking face.
And the incident involving the cultists’ train attack had likely cemented his current image.
An immature young lord drunk on chivalry.
The article said that Ian had stopped the terrorist attack, but hardly anyone believed it.
Because Dolnesia had been beside him.
They thought Dolnesia might have defeated the cultists, but never that Ian had taken them down alone.
And yet, by whatever dark art he had used, both Lady Isabella and Lady Dolnesia—
Even Lady Iris, beloved by a powerful figure from another country, was showing interest in him.
I could not accept it.
He had claimed Lady Dolnesia’s achievements as his own,
and then he had the nerve to speak insolently to Lady Isabella, the Flower of Eterna, and reject her invitation.
And now Lady Iris too?
He must have used some sort of dark art.
Seeing Lady Iris tremble before him, it was obvious that he had threatened her.
With that fierce face and the backing of a grand ducal family, he must have intimidated her.
When in truth, he was nothing but chaff discarded by that very family.
Innocent Lady Iris must have fallen for his wicked lies.
I had to save Lady Iris.
That was why I blocked his path.
Face-to-face, he looked incredibly fierce.
But I could not back down.
I had to save Lady Iris from that man’s clutches.
"I am asking why you are threatening her."
Come, beast.
I will tear away your mask before everyone.
"Why would I threaten her?"
Just as I expected, he immediately denied my accusation.
And I could plainly see that he was trying to evade this situation.
Of course he was.
He wanted to run.
But could he?
You cannot run.
Should not everyone here learn what you truly are?
I would begin by exposing his true nature here, then save both Lady Isabella and Lady Dolnesia.
"I am not finished speaking yet."
With that, I grabbed his shoulder.
And he stopped walking.
His retreat had been cut off.
Now all he had to do was remove that mask and reveal his ugly true self….
"Now some nobody with no pedigree is getting on my fucking nerves."
But—
His next move was not the struggle of prey being skinned alive.
"What…?"
"Hey. What family are you from?"
A predator.
His eyes were those of a predator, as if they said, You walked right into this today.
#
These motherfuckers.
The peeping-Tom bastards had already made it impossible for me to live quietly with that last-minute chivalry exam.
But when I kept quiet because I wanted some peace when it was not exam time—
Did they think I was a fucking pushover?
Fuck, what kind of life had this bastard Ian even lived?
"Hey."
"What?"
What the fuck do you mean, what? And he was speaking casually too.
"Are you deaf? I asked what family you belong to."
"……The Owein family."
"‘The Owein family’ ?"
"It is the Owein family…."
The Owein family… Ah, that marquis family renowned for its swordsmanship?
Wow, not even another grand ducal family—just a marquis family?
"I see. Owein… Then is this Owein’s will? Or are you acting on your own?"
"Pardon?"
"Can you not understand plain speech? I am asking whether this rudeness comes from the Owein family, or whether it is your own independent action."
The Owein family. Right.
A marquis family famed for its swordsmanship in the Empire, and one of the Crown Prince’s closest supporters.
This bastard was probably Irien de Owein.
The legitimate son of Marquis Owein, the renowned swordsmanship family, and one of the male leads.
In other words, his backing was the Imperial Family.
So what?
This was different from the article.
The article had the justification of upholding the first Emperor’s will that knights should not be subject to any control.
This was just a guy crazed over a woman charging at me. The claim that I had threatened Iris was nothing but his fabrication.
Falsely accusing an illegitimate son of a grand ducal family?
And—
"I tolerated you blocking my path. I tolerated you making absurd accusations against me, because I did not want us to sour things for no reason. But because I tried to be civil, you have lost all sense of propriety and laid a hand on me? What? And you say you are not done speaking?"
The legitimate son of a marquis family grabbed an illegitimate son of a grand ducal family because he was not finished speaking?
This was some next-level bullshit.
And he still did not seem to have come to his senses.
"I am at this academy as a representative of Logres in place of my brother Cassian."
It seemed this bastard had not heard anything from his father.
But I was here as Cassian’s proxy.
I had come to the academy as Logres’s representative, dispatched by the Empire to keep other nations in check.
So what did that make the bastard who had grabbed my shoulder?
He had not picked a fight with Logres’s illegitimate son. He had picked a fight with Logres’s representative.
The legitimate son of a marquis family had picked a fight with a representative of a ducal family.
No matter how little Logres cared about politics, it was one of the five ducal families. And no matter how famous Owein was as a swordsmanship family, it was still a marquis family.
Even if this bastard had the Imperial Family at his back, whose side did he think that lofty Imperial Family would take?
I did not know what he was relying on to pull this shit, but—
"Yet you grabbed my shoulder. And you did so because you claimed you were not done speaking. Is your absurd insistence so important? Should I take this to mean that you hold Logres in contempt?"
"Th-that is…"
"That is why I am asking you. Does this disrespect you are committing come from your family, or is it your own independent action? I have said it three times already. I would prefer that you stop testing my patience."
If you picked a fight without knowing better, then you deserved to get beaten.
Perhaps he had finally realized something was seriously wrong, because I could practically hear his eyes darting around.
Or maybe it was only because the surroundings had gone quiet amid this complete mess.
But why did he keep his fucking mouth shut?
"Why do you have no answer, Owein? At this point, I might think you see Logres as some lucky ducal family tucked away in the provinces."
The sound of eyes shifting.
In that ominous atmosphere, no one could make a sound.
Then, accompanied by the audible gulp of someone swallowing—
"What is going on?"
Someone intervened.
I wondered who would step forward into this mess, but when I saw the person’s face, I understood.
Blond hair and golden eyes.
A textbook romance-fantasy protagonist’s appearance.
"Your Highness the Second Prince."
It was Kyle de Astoria.
That Owein idiot’s face brightened at the Second Prince’s appearance.
He seemed to think that because his family was close to the Imperial Family, the Second Prince had come to help him.
That kind of idiot was a male lead…?
But contrary to his expectations, Kyle did not look at Irien.
"It has been a while, Sir Ian."
"It has not even been five days, so I do not believe it has been that long, Your Highness."
"Ha ha, is that so? Still, here we are merely academy students. There is no need to stand on ceremony with me."
"How could I possibly do that?"
Irien’s expression rapidly stiffened at the exchange between the prince and me.
He had apparently not known that the Second Prince and I were acquainted.
"Ian de Logres knows the Second Prince?"
"They even seem rather close…"
The people around us began murmuring at the sight.
"But Sir Ian, why are you standing here instead of taking your seat?"
"Someone told me not to sit down."
"Oh?"
Irien’s complexion worsened further.
Wipe that look off your face, asshole.
"Then he suddenly grabbed my shoulder. He said he was not finished speaking, so I was standing here to hear his answer."
"I see."
Kyle nodded at my words, glanced once at Irien, and said—
"Irien."
"Y-yes, Your Highness."
The gentle smile vanished from his face.
As though he had summoned that version of himself from his days as a delinquent.
He was angry.
"How lightly must you regard the Imperial Family to think that, with us behind you, you can use it as an excuse to disrespect Logres?"
"Th-that is…"
"We need a sword, not a beast that barks without the sense to distinguish right from wrong."
The Second Prince clicked his tongue.
"It seems I shall have to speak closely with my brother regarding the Owein family later."
"Y-Your Highness… What do you mean by that?"
"We have no need for a blind horse that does not know where the carriage it pulls is headed. All the more so for a mad dog that puts its master in an awkward position. Would you not agree?"
Then, after turning his gaze toward me, the Second Prince returned to his seat.
I slung an arm around the shoulders of the malfunctioning Irien, who could only stammer, and continued.
"We are not finished yet, though?"
Why did he think this was over?
It was none of my business that his family had been abandoned by the Imperial Family.
We still had our own grievances to settle.
Did we not?
#
And so, the little commotion came to an end.
Anyway, while time had passed because of that idiot’s stupid stunt, people had entered and taken all the seats. I had no choice but to sit in the last remaining seat, beside Iris.
What had changed was the way people looked at me, I guess?
I had no idea what kind of life Ian had lived before I possessed him.
After all, Ian’s memories did not contain any scenes of him talking with nobles.
Maybe it also had something to do with the nature of a ducal family that had shut itself away in the North and completely withdrawn from politics.
But even so.
How little trouble had they caused for a marquis family to treat a ducal family like complete fucking trash?
There was also the unexpected help from the Second Prince, who had barged in out of nowhere.
Through our conversation, I had made it known that, Imperial Family aside, I was at least acquainted with the Second Prince.
I had not expected him to go as far as openly defending Logres and suggesting he would sever ties with the Owein family.
Either way, I should be able to live quietly for a while now.
Though there were still a few bastards who would not stop staring. That was not my problem.
Considering two of those gazes were particularly intense, they were probably those guys.
They seemed incredibly jealous that I was sitting beside Iris.
Then fucking defend her, at least.
How did it make sense to not defend her and just leave?
I needed to somehow pair Iris up with those guys, but I had no idea how to go about it.
Ah, fuck. Nine a.m. classes were the worst.
Maybe because it was nine in the morning, I yawned without realizing it.
But there was a reason I was taking this damned nine a.m. class.
It was not because I was overflowing with academic enthusiasm like the other nobles.
It was because I wanted to make use of Insight Eye’s ability to acquire skills as soon as possible.
‘The Basics and Understanding of Swordsmanship’ was one of the first classes taken by every male and female lead pursuing the swordsman route or intending to learn swordsmanship.
I could gain skills by observing them through Insight Eye.
Clatter!
"For today’s first lesson, we will be sparring."
What was more, the first lesson was sparring.
When the male leads sparred while using their skills, I would copy them immediately with Insight Eye.
Was that not killing two birds with one stone?
It was definitely supposed to be.
"Ian de Logres."
At that emotionless voice, I dropped the pen in my hand.
The person who had chosen me as their sparring partner was—
"I choose Ian as my sparring partner."
Angelica.
Fuck.
Comments (0)
Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register