Conspiracy
“……”
—When we arrived for school.
As Letitia and I entered Class F and took our seats, we were clearly the focus of everyone’s attention.
“D-Did their aura change? Baron Odrant and Lady Letitia…”
“Do you think so too? They seem even more dignified than before…”
“I-I wonder if something happened to the two of them…?”
The classmates whispered amongst themselves. Right now, only Matthias, Ester, Shanoa, and the two of us were present. The rest hadn’t arrived yet.
Heh-heh-heh… What pleasure.
There’s no way you rabble would know that I grew one stage further as a man than I was yesterday.
…By the way, that person hadn’t arrived yet.
She should be here soon, though—
Rattle
“Gooood morning, Al-kun! ☆ It’s a nice day again, huh? ♪”
—She arrived.
My personal natural enemy, Laki Azalea. The moment she entered the classroom, she walked straight toward me, ignoring the other students.
“Did you sleep well last night? You must have tossed and turned, filled with frustration! ♡ So today, you should come with me and—” Laki said, with the same smug smile as yesterday.
Ugh, ignore her, ignore her. I didn’t want anything more to do with her. She was a total pain.
…Although, even if I ignored her, Letitia wouldn’t.
“Would you kindly not approach him?”
—Letitia smoothly stood in front of me, blocking Laki’s approach.
“…I hear some wild cat was shamelessly fawning over my husband yesterday. The filthy stench she left in the room was quite unbearable.”
“Heh-heh-heh, that’s called a proper marking, dear! ♪ A little female who just mated can’t possibly understand how to lure a male, can she? ★”
Crack-sizzle. Intense sparks flew between the two of them. The tension was immense. A full-blown catfight had just started…
T-Terrifying…
The ferocity was so overwhelming that Matthias and the others were visibly recoiling.
“…How to lure a male, you say,” Letitia murmured, crossing her arms and letting out a small, confident, Hmph of a laugh.
“Do I still appear such an innocent to your eyes? If so, then you are blind.”
“—!”
Laki’s eyes darted between me and Letitia. Then, she seemed to understand.
“Hmph… Guess I tried to pull a fast one and got beaten to the punch instead! ☆ You’ve got some fire, girl! ♪”
“I will thank you for providing the timely opportunity. However, thanks aside, I shall ensure your reprisal is carried out precisely.”
—The atmosphere was so volatile; it felt like a fistfight could break out at any second.
What should I do? Should I stop them…? I don’t care about Laki, but I don’t want to see Letitia get hurt.
But stepping between two women sparking like this is genuinely scary…
Just as I was thinking this—
“Um… what’s going on here?”
Just then, Leonil entered the classroom, followed by Rowen and Carla. As they appeared, the strained atmosphere in the class eased slightly.
“…It seems we have been interrupted,” Letitia said.
“Looks like it! ☆ Let’s continue this another time! ♪” Laki replied.
They instantly separated and went to their respective seats. Leonil still looked confused as he took the seat in front of me.
“…Baron Odrant, can I ask what that was about?” he asked.
“No, don’t ask. It’s a pain,” I replied.
“I-I see… But if you ever have any trouble, you can always tell me! I’m your Knight, after all!”
There he goes again. Is this guy really serious about being my ‘Knight’? Even though he’s the protagonist?
“A ‘Knight,’ huh… Leo, don’t you want to be the King yourself?”
“No,” he said, flatly.
“I’m not cut out to be the King. Besides, I have a different goal now.”
“A different goal?”
“Yeah. To become stronger than you.”
—My heart gave a sharp, strong thump at that one line.
“I’m going to be stronger than you one day. I’m going to surpass you. So to do that, I think I need to train under you.”
“…And what will you do after you surpass me?”
“Huh? W-Well, I haven’t really thought that far ahead… But I just feel like I can’t stay as I am.”
“…”
—Is it just my imagination? Am I overthinking this?
That the world is trying to make Leonil defeat me—
With Letitia and I becoming a loving couple, the world is traveling on a completely different path from the fantasy novel’s story. You could say the world has become a mess.
Is this broken world trying to revert to its proper form? Is it trying to restore the protagonist to his proper role? Is the world—trying to destroy me?
…Nah. Couldn’t be.
If that were the case, Leonil wouldn’t have declared, “I’m going to be your Knight.”
Haaah, how ridiculous.
“So, if you could train with me occasionally, that would be great. I’ll get strong and I promise I’ll be useful to you.” Leonil’s eyes sparkled.
…Yeah, I’m definitely overthinking it.
“I don’t mind…”
“!! Thank you! You really are the ideal liege lord!” Leonil looked genuinely happy.
There was no way he was lying.
Well, it was true that having Leonil as an ally would be reassuring.
I decided to observe him for now and see how things developed.
Despite the morning’s various flare-ups, the class finally settled down.
—At the same time, the last remaining student who hadn’t arrived yet walked into the classroom.
Ivan Scottish.
“…Everyone, listen to me,” he announced the moment he entered, looking over his classmates.
Then,
“In choosing a King, I have a proposal for all of you.”
▲ ▲ ▲
Ivan Scottish Side
—Two days after the three-on-one duel.
Unable to suppress my frustration, I was practicing my swordsmanship in the training field after school.
“Damn it, damn it…!”
There was no one else around. I relentlessly swung my one-handed sword at a straw practice dummy.
“I’m the heir to the Scottish Dukedom, aren’t I?! How could I lose to a lowly Baron like that…!”
—I can’t accept it. I can’t accept it, I can’t accept it.
I’ve received an elite education befitting my status my entire life. My manners, my studies, my magic. And, naturally, my swordsmanship. All of it must be perfect. It is expected to be perfect. That is how I’ve lived until today. I must be a noble superior to all others in every way.
And yet—
“Hah… Hah…!”
I didn’t stand a chance. That wasn’t a duel; it was a one-sided trampling.
And most of all, the look in Baron Odrant’s eyes then—
He looked down on us as if we were insects. When he looked at me like that, I truly felt it.
I can’t win.
It wasn’t just him, either. That commoner, Leonil, was unnaturally skilled with a sword, too. I was completely irrelevant.
If things continued this way, I’d be inferior not just to a mere Baron but to a commoner, too. This is unacceptable. Who do they think I am…?
I am—I am—!
“…My, you are certainly zealous in your practice,” a voice suddenly said behind me.
“—?! W-Who is it!?”
“As expected of the son of the renowned Scottish Dukedom. You are truly stoic.”
A mysterious figure approached, clapping softly. It was a man, judging by his voice and build. He was likely a Royal Academy student. However, he wore a clown mask and a black top hat, so his face was completely hidden. Judging by his voice, build, and height, he was definitely not one of the Class F students.
The man, dressed in a manner I could only assume was a deliberate joke, peered at me through the slits in his mask.
“However, you seem to be troubled.”
“…”
“Shall Yours Truly try to guess your trouble? In a word… you are growing anxious about Baron Alban Odrant seizing the King seat, are you not?”
—I swung my sword, placing the blade against the masked man’s neck. I was ready to slice off that ridiculous head at any moment.
“…I am not anxious. Take that back.”
“…………My apologies, that was indeed a lapse. I shall retract it.” The masked man used his fingers to pluck the blade from his neck and began to walk around me with an easy pace.
“However, that Baron and his wife are quite a problem, are they not? They do not know their place. The King seat in the class is meant for one with proper authority.”
“…Who are you? What do you want from me?”
“Who Yours Truly is is irrelevant. I simply wish for you—for Ivan Scottish-sama—to become the King of Class F.”
“Me…?”
“Yes. And this is the general consensus of many nobles.”
“…? What do you mean?”
“Heh-heh-heh, Yours Truly is offering to lend you our assistance, Ivan-sama.”
“…”
“Oh dear? You look as though you do not trust me.”
“Naturally. How can I trust someone who won’t give their name or show their face? I feel not a shred of sincerity from you.”
“Sincerity, you say.” He let out a small sigh.
“Then, allow me to speak plainly without reservation. Many nobles, including Yours Truly, do not wish for Baron Odrant and Madam Letitia to seize power in Class F.”
“Those two…?”
“Yes… If possible, we wish for them to leave the Academy entirely. Especially—Letitia Barrow.” He spoke her maiden name with powerful emphasis.
“…It would be quite problematic, you see. Many gentlemen believe that the daughter of the Barrow family, who was once disgraced, should not be allowed to regain power through this new opportunity.”
—Ah, so that’s it.
This means he is—
“…You want me to take a side in this power struggle?”
“I did not say that. But do your interests not align with ours?”
“…”
“By the way… Class A and Class B are already close to deciding on their King, you know.”
“?! What did you say!?”
“Heh-heh-heh. Though a few students will likely be expelled at the same time.”
—This is bad.
If someone else becomes King before me—
“If someone else becomes the King first… you will be unable to prove that Ivan-sama is the ‘Most Excellent,’ won’t you?” the masked man said, as if reading my mind.
” ‘It is expected that you be the Most Excellent’—I am quite familiar with the strict motto of the Scottish Dukedom, you see.”
“You…!”
“You must hurry to become the King of Class F, or you will bring shame upon your family name. However, with Yours Truly, I can help you now.”
…I considered it. I knew it. This was the devil’s whisper. I knew it, and yet—
…
…………
………………
“…What must I do?”
“Magnificent! Ivan-sama is a man of reason! Truly the caliber of a King!” The masked man spun and danced, embodying his delight.
But he quickly stopped dancing.
“…Actually, just yesterday, I managed to contact a group of thugs who bear a grudge against those two. When I spoke to them, they gladly promised their cooperation.”
“A group of thugs…? Wait, what are you planning—”
“Yours Truly needs you to bring the two of them here tomorrow, Ivan-sama. Without arousing suspicion, of course.” He pulled a small piece of paper from his pocket. It was a small map.
“This is…”
“If you bring them to the entrance, the two will likely separate. Yours Truly will have a large group of the thugs waiting at the deepest point. If you can lure Baron Odrant there… he will never wear a crown.”
With only that much said, the masked man prepared to leave.
“—Wait.”
“Hmm? Yes?”
“You… at least tell me what I should call you.”
“…My name, you ask.” He stopped and turned back, tipping his top hat.
“Then—you may refer to Yours Truly as the Impaling Baron, Scuyer.”
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