The Storm's Freshman (4)
This is what they call a powder keg ready to explode.
Karalin stood silently before the bent podium. At the sight of her, all sixty-five members of the entering class lined up in this hall—including those who had been busy ignoring and mocking her—along with the faculty and distinguished guests watching the scene, shrank back.
The chattering that had filled the air moments ago had completely vanished. After some time had passed, the young lady who broke the silence spoke in a clear, measured tone.
“What are those vacant expressions on your faces? I thought there was no need to explain myself since you all seemed to know so much about me already. But it appears that isn’t the case, so I’ll set the record straight.”
Though I had been dragged here by her hand, I stood just behind her, maintaining a dignified posture. As her servant, I would allow no flaw in my conduct.
“I am the strongest shield protecting the Empire, and at the same time, its sharpest spear tip.”
She gripped both ends of the podium, her burning gaze sweeping over everyone below. All were crushed beneath that pressure.
“And I am the legitimate heir of the only family that drove the Karlank Empire—founded by the Emperor and shaped by Aregor—to the brink of destruction.”
Karalin ground her teeth audibly. If the Bankait family had built the Empire through excellence and the Gremory family had laid its foundation through innovation, then the Vitagarte family had driven that same Empire to the edge of ruin through sheer military might. This was historical fact. The North had done exactly that.
The reason the Vitagartes became the Grand Duchy was precisely because the Empire had acknowledged them as a house that posed such a threat.
When she glanced back at the two behind her, Bankait clutched his head and burst into loud laughter, while Gremory simply crossed his arms with an intrigued expression.
Before everyone—especially those from the Central region—Karalin proudly spoke of the North’s history of plunder, massacre, destruction, and terror. Yet she showed no shame whatsoever and continued without hesitation.
“However, our house, once the Empire’s greatest adversary, voluntarily knelt before the Emperor and placed itself beneath his dignity. Do you all understand what that means?”
She let out a small sigh.
“It means that if the Vitagartes had not endured what they did, this Empire would not exist today.”
The reason Northerners faced discrimination, the history of the immense suffering they had inflicted on the Empire—it all stemmed from a time long ago when the North had been an enemy nation. But as Karalin had said, the Vitagartes had severed that history of enmity and willingly submitted to the Empire.
Had they not done so, the Karlank Empire might look very different from what we know today. Perhaps the Empire and the North would have walked the path of mutual destruction. Or perhaps the Empire’s name would have become the Vitagarte Empire.
But the North had abandoned all those possibilities and placed itself under the Empire’s banner. Therefore, the Vitagartes had earned the right to uphold the Empire’s legitimacy simply by that fact alone.
The Central nobles seemed to have forgotten this completely, but the North’s position had never changed, neither in the past nor now. It was an unchangeable truth, even if it meant we would continue to be discriminated against.
“My name carries the surname of the family that completed this Empire. I am the descendant of that great house.”
Karalin declared,
“I am Karalin von Vitagarte.”
At that moment, she looked at me.
“Yohan, come stand beside me.”
“No. This is your time to speak, my lady.”
“It isn’t. After the top student medal ceremony, you will be giving your own address anyway. In that case, it would be better to do it all at once.”
With that, she grabbed my hand and pulled me firmly toward her. …?! She positioned me right beside her.
“While I’m at it, I’ll introduce him myself. This is Yohan Kim-ga, the top student of the 65th class. He is my one and only, and at the same time, my most excellent servant.”
A murmur rippled through the crowd.
Ah, my lady. I’m grateful you’re introducing me, but standing this close might not be…!
The social world was hell. For a moment, my composure wavered at the thought of the scandals that might arise from this. This was dangerous.
A great being like my lady could never be connected to someone who is merely her servant. But if strange rumors start to spread…
However, once her switch had been flipped, the word “restraint” no longer existed in her vocabulary.
“Yet regardless of the dignity we possess, it is true that because of what our house and people did in the past, Northerners are still called ‘barbarians.’ Well, that is something even I cannot change. We were once enemies, and my ancestors were indeed the storm that descended from the far North.”
Karalin kept a cool expression while firmly holding my hand. She simply looked up at me with her beautiful eyes.
“But all of you, look at my knight—the Lord of Steel, Yohan. He is a proud Northerner. Moreover, he is the top student of this entire class. So I fail to see how someone like him could possibly be the ‘barbarian’ or ‘defective product’ you all speak of.”
Her tone was mocking.
“In my opinion, the real defective products are those of you who entered this great Sigmund Academy with grades lower than Yohan’s. Haha.”
The controversial statement caused the murmuring to grow even louder, but she cut through it all as if she had expected it.
“Yes. None of you want to admit it. But I will state it clearly… At the very least, I acknowledge that I am a defective product.”
“My lady.”
“I once sat in the position of successor, responsible for everything in the North. But I had no choice but to step down. That was entirely due to my own lack of qualification. So the term ‘defective product’ suits me perfectly.”
A bombshell declaration.
“To be honest, someone like me never wanted to come to a place like this academy. There is nothing for me to learn here, and I see no benefit in associating with any of you.”
“……….”
“However.”
Karalin gripped my hand even tighter. It felt like my hand might break.
“My servant told me not to collapse. He asked me to show the North’s way. To remain strong like my father and never lose that dignity.”
She planted her feet firmly and declared with power in her voice,
“I agree that we must not lose that dignity! Therefore, I make this declaration. As a ‘defective product,’ I will do my utmost to complete these two years. So all of you who are likewise defective products—try to keep up if you can.”
She flashed a bright smile that filled her entire face.
“Though my stride will be incomparably wider than yours.”
Those words sent a shiver through me.
“Yohan, you finish it.”
The way she stepped down from the podium was the complete opposite of her earlier slumped posture. After she had gone this far, how could I possibly remain silent?
Others might look at us strangely, and I hadn’t expected her to have such a dramatic awakening based on her trust in me. Yet Karalin had gone far beyond the promise she had made to me.
To outsiders, her behavior might seem arrogant and rude. But as she had explained, her backing was the one and only Grand Duchy in the Karlank Empire—the Vitagarte family, the last to be incorporated into the Empire. She wielded that incomparable status to its fullest.
And she had done so while greatly praising and boasting about me, her servant who had taken the top spot.
In that case, what reason did I have to feel intimidated? My place was with the Vitagartes. I was the servant of the one who would become the Grand Duke’s successor. That was who I was.
I spoke into the trumpet-shaped microphone embedded in the podium.
“I have nothing more to add. If any of you wish to question what my lady has just said, come find me first.”
His voice was so quiet it made flesh tremble.
“Those from the Central region may not know this, but… in the North, there are only two choices beneath my master’s feet: kneel, or freeze to death.”
His voice was so brutal it froze the bones.
What each person thought upon hearing those words would differ. Some might call us wretched bastards. Others might say we were crazy porcupines. But what of it? The ways of the North, surrounded by solitude and cold, were exactly like this.
The one who would reclaim the position of successor and the one who served her had not the slightest intention of bending their will.
I had been a little worried, but the matter of being called to the podium had been resolved smoothly. It was all thanks to how hard my lady had worked.
After the entrance ceremony, the rumors circulating among the 65th class were entirely about our side. Were they good or bad? Naturally, they were bad.
Just as I expected…
Who first uttered the words “defective product” was unclear, but Karalin’s bombshell declaration seemed to have struck a nerve with far more people than anticipated. Anyone connected to the North—whether by blood or by having studied under Northerners before enrollment—was now routinely avoided.
After all, a rumor without legs travels a thousand miles no matter where you are.
The silver lining was that the very people who had become targets of avoidance due to their Northern connections didn’t seem particularly upset about it. If anything, they were exhilarated.
“Bullshit. The idiots who always looked at Northerners like we were strange barbarians are now calling us rude?”
“The Grand Duke’s daughter spoke well. I’ve been watching her since we were in the North. I still don’t understand why she stepped down from being the successor.”
“Same with Sir Yohan. I can’t believe the top student came from the North. We can do it too.”
Since they were going to be ostracized anyway, having a spiritual pillar had been a boon.
Deng— Deng— Deng—
The bell signaling the end of class rang out.
As a result, except for the classes I shared with Karalin, I was able to walk alone at any time. In the arched corridor filled with sunlight, the moment I stepped forward, everyone parted to create a straight path, avoiding me.
“Is that the guy? The one who flipped the entrance ceremony upside down.”
“Yeah. The top student who finished off Lord Loban. I heard that guy couldn’t even enroll because of him…”
“W-wow, he’s huge… He looks incredibly scary.”
“They say he’s dating that Grand Duke’s daughter, right?”
“Hehe…”
This was what they called an involuntary loner. But from the beginning, I had never had the slightest intention of trying to enjoy school life properly.
“Hey. You.”
“Y-yes…? Me…?”
“You seem to be misunderstanding. My relationship with the young lady is strictly that of master and servant. There is nothing else.”
“Hiiik…!”
“If you understand, then step aside. I have to go to my next class.”
“I-I’m sorryyy!!”
Therefore, I had no regrets.
Of course, I will correct any misconceptions—whether by threat or by force…
I didn’t care much about anyone other than my lady. On the contrary, being able to move alone broadened my range of action, which put my mind at ease.
Such was my daily life. Perhaps a boring daily life.
But even in such a routine, encounters were bound to happen.
The moment I reached the end of the corridor and turned the corner—
Thud—
“I-I finally found you!!!!”
“Hm?”
A girl with a familiar face crashed into my waist. That fluffy hair. Those subtly sharp eyes looking up at me. It was Eclipse.
“Yohan, I finally met you. Um, you there!”
“Sorry.”
“W-where are you goinggg!!”
But I simply ran without looking back. That little brat looked like she was about to beat me up at any second. Before she could demonstrate the swordsmanship she had learned to counter me, the best option was to flee.