Chapter 60
“…What?”
What was that supposed to mean?
That Her Highness the Princess wouldn’t be of help?
Since joining the Academy, Princess Rael had shown nothing but kindness and support to the commoners.
Even if nobles from other nations joined the new Academy—surely she wouldn’t turn her back on them.
“Her Highness would never—”
“Oh, well, if you want to see Her Highness lose her head, then by all means, keep counting on her.”
“…!”
“W-Wait a moment, Lord Fran?”
At Fran Ziger’s words, Vel was too stunned to respond, and even Moldi looked alarmed as he tried to intervene.
“Now now, Lord Moldi. What’s the matter with you?”
But Garter Trevor, standing behind Fran, looked at Moldi strangely as he spoke.
“Those c— ahem, those kids might not understand. But you do, don’t you? The position Her Highness is really in?”
They still addressed her with honorifics, but there was not a shred of respect in their tone.
“Think about it. Once the new Academy is built, and Her Highness is seen leading those cadets—what message will that send?”
You insane bastards. These commoner cadets practically worship her! Watch your damn mouths!
Moldi burned inside watching Fran speak with such arrogant confidence. He barely managed to twist his lips into a smile, not daring to voice his thoughts.
He was still only the unofficial heir of House Piet. Meanwhile, the one standing before him was the heir of House Ziger.
“Well…”
As Moldi tried to speak, Garter interrupted again.
“Foreign nobles and royalty will assume, ‘Ah, even in the previous Academy, the Princess led everyone. She must be the real leader or administrator of this one too.’ Of course, that’s not the case.”
“Well, she is royalty. It’s understandable that others would mistake her for someone suited to such a role. But how do you think His Majesty would feel about that misunderstanding?”
How?
He probably wouldn’t care.
Sure, he used to be sensitive about that sort of thing—but not anymore.
That was my honest thought as I watched from afar.
To be frank, if I hadn’t entrusted the Academy to Marquis Pell, I probably would have given the position to Rael. But doing so now would be seen as undermining Pell, so I had to find her another role.
“I imagine His Majesty would be… rather displeased.”
Displeased?
Damn right he would.
Because of arrogant little nobles like you.
Even if I hadn’t paid them much attention lately, the cadets of the Academy were still mine.
And now these pompous brats wanted to use them?
If Rael weren’t present, I would’ve flipped this entire event on its head.
But I didn’t—for one reason only.
Because Rael was here.
Because I was curious to see how she’d handle this situation.
That curiosity just barely outweighed my displeasure, so I kept watching.
“So, to put it simply, Her Highness the Princess is a rotten rope to cling to.”
“That’s… an outrageous thing to say!”
One of the cadets who’d remained silent up until now suddenly burst out at Fran’s words.
But Fran, expecting such a response, pressed on without hesitation.
“Hm. I get that this is hard for you to understand. After all, Her Highness personally showed you kindness, didn’t she? Of course you’d feel that way. But let’s ask again—what exactly did she do for you?”
“Well—!”
As the cadet tried to respond, Garter cut in again.
“The answer is nothing. Did she provide you with potions? Equipment? Anything of value? No. Absolutely nothing. But we can. We’re willing to give you everything you need.”
“It’s not just about the Academy either. Vel—your father runs a merchant guild, doesn’t he?”
“…Yes. That’s correct.”
“As you know, our house runs a trading company as well. A massive one. We also have close ties to many lords and administrators. We could help you even outside the Academy. But Her Highness the Princess… well, between us—let me be blunt. She could lose her head at any moment. She has no backing. No power. Nothing.”
“Enough!”
“…Hmm?”
Vel, the commoner cadet, cut him off with a shout. Fran’s expression twisted in annoyance.
“Now listen. I may be offering you support, but that doesn’t mean you can ignore basic courtesy.”
“…That doesn’t matter. No matter what you’re offering—we won’t follow you.”
“…What?”
Fran frowned, clearly not expecting a refusal.
“Aren’t you being too emotional? Think about it carefully. Do you really think you can compete with the heirs of the continent’s greatest families without our help? Of course not. You’ll just get pushed out. Do you really want to waste the opportunity you’ve fought so hard for? The other cadets—My God. You all think the same? Loyalty to a powerless Princess is worth more than your futures?”
“…Say what you will. We’re leaving.”
“I can’t allow that.”
“Lord Garter. We are cadets of the Academy His Majesty built. If you say we cannot leave—are you threatening to harm us?”
As Vel spoke, her hand was already at her sword.
All cadets were armed in preparation for a sparring match. Now, like a trained knight order, they were ready to draw their blades the moment Vel did.
Garter observed the scene and let out a quiet chuckle.
“Of course not. We are loyal subjects of His Majesty. We’d never harm cadets of the Academy.”
He spoke smoothly—before suddenly shifting his tone.
“But your families? That’s a different story.”
“…What?”
“Tsk. It would’ve been so simple if you’d just accepted our support. But now that things have gone this way, there’s no choice. Hmm… Lord Moldi.”
“Y-Yes?”
Moldi responded uneasily, sensing the sudden shift in atmosphere.
“When you first invited these cadets… you said you were rejected, didn’t you?”
“Yes…”
“So what did you do?”
“Well, I…”
“Let’s be honest now.”
Moldi wasn’t a complete fool. He knew pretending to be close with the cadets or spouting some lie wouldn’t work.
“…I pressured the merchants dealing with Vel’s father’s trading company into cutting ties. And I had knights keep the cadets under surveillance.”
“Oh, how merciful you are,” Garter Trevor said mockingly. “To have your invitation rejected and your noble pride wounded, and still handle it so graciously. But I’m not quite so generous. Now that my first offer has been refused, I suppose a little blood is in order.”
“It doesn’t take much coin to dig up information on Academy cadets. Once I’ve found out who their families are, one by one…”
“Once you’ve found them…”
“…!”
“What will you do then?”
A calm but sharp voice cut through the air, silencing Garter mid-sentence.
And then—
With a flourish, a robe was cast aside.
The Princess revealed herself.
———————————————————————————
There were no cries of “Who are you?!” or “How did you get here?!”
There was no need.
Not only Moldi and the other commoner cadets, but even Fran and Garter recognized the Princess’s face.
The cadets had known from the beginning that Princess Rael was with them.
And the nobles understood that how she came here wasn’t the point—what mattered was that she was here.
“…I see. How much did you hear?” Garter asked with a strained expression, clearly dismayed by her sudden appearance.
“From the very beginning. Everything.”
“I didn’t know Her Highness was a mage. That robe…?”
“Just answer the question. If you find the cadets’ families—what exactly do you plan to do?”
“Not good,” Garter muttered, eyes narrowing. “A robe that completely conceals one’s presence, and not even magical aura? That’s no ordinary artifact, especially if it bypassed the defenses of the Piet estate… Wait. That crest—damn it. A purple dragon.”
“Answer me.”
“Surely… His Majesty gave it to you? Why? Is this supposed to be a final mercy? Or… are your relations with the Emperor not as broken as we thought? That can’t be. Weren’t all the nobles who supported Your Highness… and your mother’s family… slaughtered on His Majesty’s orders? So then why—”
“Answer me!”
At her sharp command, Garter finally ceased his theorizing and gave a reply.
“Ah. Apologies. I do tend to get curious. To answer Your Highness’s question—we planned to secure their persons. Politely, of course. But if they continued to defy us… well, we might treat those ‘secured’ persons less politely.”
His words were polite—but utterly devoid of respect.
Watching all of this unfold, the Emperor, still hidden from view, felt his displeasure rising steadily. But Princess Rael, unaware of her father’s silent fury, pressed on.
“They are citizens of the Empire. What right do you have to detain them?”
“That right comes from noble blood,” Garter replied calmly. “And from power.”
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