New Student Amid the Storm (2)

The whispers spread like poison through the crowd.

“The Grand Duke’s daughter? Did he just say the Grand Duke’s daughter?”

“Why in the world is a Vitagarte here? I thought they severed all ties with the central territories.”

“You haven’t heard? She’s not even the successor anymore. They say she was driven out.”

“No way. The previous speakers were the crown prince and the emperor’s own instructor, yet only she isn’t a successor? Pfft. What is someone like that doing in a place like this….”

“Why would she come all the way here ‘in person’?”

“Who knows. I have zero interest in the North. I wish that scrawny little thing would stop making a spectacle of herself.”

They kept their voices low. It was the entrance ceremony, after all; no one wanted to be caught openly sneering. Yet every word reached her. My lady’s ears were far too sharp. Anything spoken within reasonable range, she would hear without fail.

…No. She absolutely hears them. In the original game there was even a line describing how her mind cracked like dry earth the moment she caught those insults.

This disaster had been foreseen from the beginning. I had known an event like this would come, and I had warned her about it several days earlier during our private meeting. That was precisely why I had offered her my counsel.

“……Ah.”

Professors and distinguished guests filled the hall to celebrate the grand entrance ceremony, so the mocking stares did not bloom openly. Still, anyone standing on this podium could sense it. The atmosphere was worse than indifference; it was complete apathy. The lady was not welcome here.

Even so, I believed she would overcome it. Hadn’t she said the words herself? That she would strive so Vitagarte would not be insulted. That she would endure, so please cheer for her. My lady was not one to speak empty promises. Therefore I placed my faith in her.

A servant must always respect his master’s convictions and decisions.

But the small fingertips resting on the podium—the very fingertips that had once gripped me when I was freezing to death—were trembling visibly beneath the weight of ridicule and contempt she had never imagined.

…Just as I feared.

The North is despised. Of course it now swears loyalty to the empire, yet the memory of the great invasion and massacre it launched against the central lands during the empire’s founding still hangs over its people like a yoke.

The open insult I once received from Loban. The curses thrown at me simply for being a northerner during our spar. The misunderstanding at the flower shop in the Holy City where I was taken for a robber. Every slight had its root in that old grudge.

They did not suffer those massacres themselves, yet they treat us the way the previous world once treated Jews. To the people of the center, the North is simply that kind of existence.

No matter how proudly we call ourselves the Grand Duchy, no matter how we address our ruler as king within our borders, to them we are nothing more than the king of swine.

If it were up to me I would rebel again and overturn everything, but the North alone cannot stand against the full power of the empire. So the North chose submission. Even then, it tried to preserve some pride; after incorporation, not a single heir had been sent to Ziegmund—until the lady broke that custom.

And she had done so after being stripped of her position as successor, in what amounted to little more than exile.

So, honestly, while my heart wanted to support her resolve, my head understood the truth. The moment she faced this reality, the contempt and disdain she had never known before might crush her. She might realize how far she had fallen and see herself as infinitely small before despair. Wasn’t that exactly how her story had unfolded in the original game?

“……I am Karalin von Vitagarte.”

She managed only to speak her name. After that her voice faltered, growing so small it seemed to crawl back down her throat. The sight stirred pity in me, but I refused to let it crack my composure.

Here, the one who must be her strength is me. I cannot waver.

Rorschach… I ask this of you.

I drew the blade.

I rested my hand carefully on the sword I wore at my side and activated Rorschach’s ability, Labyrinth of Oblivion. The only one who sensed the subtle flow of magic was the archmage Gremory.

“You… what are you doing right now?”

Gremory sent me a puzzled glance, but my purpose was to shake the lady’s senses. Hadn’t Rorschach himself said his power could be used in many ways? If I could transform the jeers and atmosphere around us into at least a heavy silence, it might help her keep her mind intact on this stage.

…This may be breaking the promise I made with her.

I only wanted to ease her pain, even a little. But the moment I muttered those words—

A chill like being pushed toward the edge of a cliff shot through me. I stopped at once. Rorschach ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sounded even more startled than I was.

Damn it, this…

Rorschach continued his explanation.

I rubbed my face with a dry hand.

…So a half-hearted use of you was never going to solve this.

Then there is only one path left.

“Oh? You believe you can overcome this without using me?”

To Rorschach, who waited with clear interest, I answered shortly and firmly.

There is nothing to ask. The only choice is to charge straight through.

In that brief moment, Lady Karalin finished her speech.

“I believe that is enough for my introduction. That concludes it….”

Compared to the other two who had spoken before her, it was pitifully short—almost nonexistent. The line from the academy entrance event in the original game flashed through my mind. The words she had just spoken were exactly the same as the ones she had said back then.

But now that those words, once nothing but text, had become part of my living reality, their weight felt entirely different. The lady’s complexion as she turned around was as dark as a moonless night.

“Pfft, that girl really is strange.”

“Well, she was already kicked out, so of course she’s weird. Isn’t she just a defective product?”

“Did she really not realize she would become the main spectacle?”

Leaving the sneers behind, the lady simply stared at the ground as she returned to her original spot.

Step. Step.

“I’m sorry, Yohan.”

She passed by my side without even daring to look at my face.

“You were right. I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shouldn’t have gone up. It feels like I’ve ruined everything.”

She seemed to think she no longer had the right to meet my eyes after failing to keep the promise she had made. “This is my first time. I wanted to do well… I even asked you to believe in me…”

She stopped behind me, hiding her tears so I would not see them fall.

So I spoke.

“My lady.”

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…!”

“Karalin.”

I seized her wrist.

“Your Steel Knight is watching.”

It was pure instinct. I refused to let it end like this. Even if I could not use Rorschach, it was all right. Because she had me. I had not expected things to turn out this way, but this was exactly why I had stepped onto the podium.

“It is not over yet.”

“…Yohan, no. Ugh…?!”

“We cannot be broken here.”

“……….”

“Do you remember? The night before we left for the academy, when you asked me for black tea.”

I kept my voice as calm as possible to soothe her heart.

“I told you that here, there would be no external pressure and no predetermined fate.”

“…I remember.”

She did remember the words I had spoken so haphazardly.

“Then you already know. These foolish bastards can gossip all they want, but not one of them can cut off your breath.”

“I… I…”

“None of those words can actually change you.”

“I am… a defeated exile…”

“…Yes, to them you are. But not to me.”

I whispered to her in a low voice.

“At the very least, I know how exceptional you are, and I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠believe in you.”

I poured out every ounce of the anger in my chest.

“If you could trade my support for the support of every idiot jeering at you, would you do it?”

“…No. I would never trade it.”

She answered in a small voice, yet the tone made it clear her sorrow had turned into rage she could barely contain.

“Then the answer is clear, my lady.”

I spoke firmly.

“From now on, stand up there not for those fools, but for me.”

“……….”

“At least I am here cheering for you. I am the only one who knows you are someone who will not kneel anywhere.”

She lowered her head. But I did not stop.

“That night, when I said those words, you showed me the true image of the ‘Grand Duke’s Daughter’ I had seen and admired so deeply as a child.”

“Yohan…”

“So please, not for those fools but for me—show me that figure once more. Whether then or now, in my heart you are the one and only tiger of the North.”

At the words tiger of the North, Lady Karalin slowly raised her head. The sorrow that had filled her eyes only moments ago seemed to burn away. In its place, a fierce light kindled.

It blazed.

“Yes. I had you… I had you all along.”

She swallowed hard.

“I should have told you from the very beginning.”

“Lord of Steel.”

“…Yes.”

At last Lady Karalin revealed a smile slowly blooming with indignation at the corners of her lips. It was the same smile she had always given me—the one that said even if the world hurt her, even if it made her sad, as long as she had me everything would be all right.

She gently pulled her wrist from my grasp, then tightly laced her beautiful fingers through mine.

“Ah—my lady?!”

“Come with me. It seems I truly cannot do this without you.”

Her strength—?!

With both shoulders squared, she walked back toward the podium with open dignity. I was helplessly dragged along by the overwhelming power she exerted in earnest. The monstrous strength of the Vitagarte bloodline surpassed all imagination.

BANG—!

She slammed her hand down on the podium with that power.

“No. I have changed my mind. It seems you all heard incorrectly, so I must introduce myself once more.”

The iron podium groaned and bent beneath the force. That overwhelming presence instantly seized every scattered gaze in the hall.

Yes. This is it.

Though the situation was bewildering, joy surged inside my chest. She had reclaimed the figure I had believed she would show.