The Common Point is Yohan (3)
"Come here. I'm about to give you a smack on the head."
"If Senior strikes me, I will accept it with gratitude…."
Yet Hilken seemed perfectly calm about receiving it. No, more than that—this girl. She actually looked pleased, the little pervert….
So I let out a sigh and gave up on the idea.
"…Haa. A misunderstanding. Just how cursed is my fate that I have to explain this to everyone I meet?"
"Oh? If it were truly a misunderstanding, then everyone in the territory already knew there was something between you two."
"…Huh?"
What on earth was this bold girl saying?
"Well, I only entered the castle later, so I don't know the old stories well… but the head maid and the butler who spent their whole lives there both knew."
"Knew what, exactly?!"
"The young lady may seem cold and sharp now, but she was quite the tomboy when she was little."
No. Calling her a tomboy didn't quite fit—she wasn't a crybaby. For a girl who earned that label, she had been remarkably well-behaved. If anything, her personality had been more like a boy's. Extremely outgoing and energetic. This needed correcting.
"Rather than a tomboy, she had a regal side. Honestly, cleaning up after the young lady's accidents while serving her was incredibly difficult."
"Yes. I heard they worried about that even in the royal capital. No matter how much of an heir she was, there was nothing girlish about her at all—it was like raising a son…."
Then her next words were shocking.
"But do you know who solved that worry? It was Senior."
"It was…?"
"Yes. After spending a few years with Senior, they say she became a proper young lady. Whenever Senior's name came up, her cheeks would flush… They even say she went around telling people, 'The person I want to marry someday is someone like Yohan.'"
"Uh, well…."
"So everyone unanimously said the two of you seemed to like each other."
But why was she telling me this now?
'H-how am I supposed to take this…?'
It was extremely awkward, but I tried to analyze the situation as calmly as possible.
"…That must have been a child's common misconception."
"Eeeh—?"
"Girls, especially young ones, tend to blindly favor boys who take good care of them. The young lady always had me looking after her, right? So her feelings after growing up must be different."
"Hmm, I don't think that's it."
Hilken stared at me blankly as she answered.
"Senior, you're handsome, aren't you?"
"Ah, stop saying such embarrassing nonsense. If we go back to the territory, I'll spread the rumor that your type is middle-aged men."
"No, I mean you look dashing and manly…. There would definitely be demand for that in the North. To think you'd brush off a compliment—how picky."
She grinned mischievously. It didn't seem like empty flattery, so it didn't feel entirely unpleasant. But that couldn't be right. Her eyes were simply mistaken. Besides, something as trivial as appearance wasn't what mattered, was it? This wasn't a world where looks could solve everything. If it were, then Roban, Vankite, and Cryan would have all the women in the world at their feet, wouldn't they? Ah, well. Vankite actually did, but that was because he was special.
Everything was already decided.
"Setting that aside, the young lady and I can never be together because of our clear difference in status. Above all, what I feel for her is reverence and respect. It can never become romantic love."
"Oh? How disappointing. Does that mean nothing has happened between you two until now…?"
"That's right."
In the end, that was the core of it. Hilken had seen us in the North, so she seemed to want to paint our relationship in rosy colors…. But the fact was that nothing had happened between us all this time.
Yet Hilken looked extremely dissatisfied with my words and grumbled while staring off into the distance.
"—Tch. 'Can never be together'… You really don't understand anything."
And those words were enough to catch my attention.
What didn't I understand?
"…What do you mean by that?"
"The distinction in status is real, so that part is correct, but there were rumors that His Highness Lexus seemed to have some intention of connecting the two of you. Did you know that, Senior?"
"…?!!?!!!!!"
My eyes widened so much they felt like they might pop out.
What on earth was she saying?
"Lexus—His Highness? He clearly disliked me. Since I only cherished the young lady, I didn't show much loyalty to him either."
"Even so, he highly valued your abilities, didn't he?"
"I can't deny that. The letter I received recently because of the situation in the North was proof of that…."
To paraphrase, it had said something like: 'If I'd known it would turn out like this, I shouldn't have listened to Shagalor and sent you to the academy. It's hard without you. I'm on the verge of giving up. But even if I told you to come back, Karalin obviously wouldn't let you, so just live there however you want. Ah, but it's really tough. Is the North about to explode? Is it really going to explode? Am I going to die? Are we all going to die?'
"It's simple. Think about the young lady's background, Senior."
"Hmm…."
"She's well past sixteen and has been an adult for quite some time. In the North, there's even a culture of marrying off daughters before that. So why do you think she hasn't been married off until now?"
"That's…!"
"If I were a vassal nearby, I would have been tempted. Even though she's been pushed out of the succession, her status is still that of the Grand Duke's one and only precious daughter…."
She stroked her own face as she spoke.
"On top of that, her beauty is outstanding. Even if her figure isn't voluptuous, she's a slender and elegant beauty. Marrying her off to a nearby vassal of suitable age would be the natural thing to do, wouldn't it?"
"Shut up. I already knew plenty of marriage proposals had come and gone. But I had no intention of sending her off!"
Ah. A slip of the tongue.
"—No, if she were to marry, I was prepared to follow her all the way…. I just didn't want to leave the territory."
"Eeeh—. Your words don't match. Just now you were saying you could never be together and feeding me sweet potatoes, but in reality you already knew everything, didn't you? Ehehe—."
She poked my side with her elbow. Really. Even if it was just once, I wanted to hit her.
"That's only natural. Because that's how it actually was. Lady Shagalor was desperate to use the young lady politically and tried to send her to Count Weaver's family, who were her vassals."
"It was quite chaotic. I remember that too."
"But the one who stopped it was His Highness Lexus."
"…I didn't know that. How do you know more than I do?"
At my words, Hilken stretched and replied.
"Well, an old friend of mine works in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, so I secretly picked up the information. So it's not strange that you didn't know. His Highness Lexus made sure no word got out."
"Then keep going. I'm listening."
To think something like that had happened. If I were to be honest with myself, her story had already captured my interest completely. Even though we were busy right now, hearing this much should be fine.
"Anyway, His Highness Lexus may have favored Senior even more than the young lady…. Even if he was crazy about Lady Shagalor, that one thought never changed. But then out of nowhere, Count Weaver's son came crawling over begging for the young lady, so of course he saw him as less than an insect."
"Insane…."
"So he kept comparing them. What did that Weaver brat have that was better than Senior? But there was nothing like that. So he thoroughly criticized him, and that's why the young lady couldn't get married."
She laughed as if teasing me.
"It's all because Senior's efforts paid off that the young lady couldn't go anywhere. Shouldn't you brag about this to everyone? After all, it's no different from His Majesty the King saying, 'The only man I've ever considered worthy of giving my daughter to has been Yohan. If you want to take her, bring someone greater than him—or at least someone comparable.'"
"But if he cherished his daughter so much, why would he drive us into a deadly situation? And banish us to the academy? The more I think about it, the more insane he seems."
"That's the 'If I can't have it, no one can' mentality, isn't it?"
"What a disappointing story about human nature…."
At those words, I let out a hollow admiration I hadn't felt in years.
"But the reason he didn't give the young lady to Senior is exactly what Senior mentioned. Coincidentally, Senior's status is that of a lowly knight."
"You're hitting a sore spot. I didn't want to be born this way either."
My background. I didn't even know where I had been born as an orphan. When I first woke up, I was trapped in an unknown place. I just lived in a daze, getting swept along, until I was picked up in the North…. So even becoming a low-ranking knight as I was now felt like something to be grateful for.
"But if we put it differently, there are plenty of ways for Senior to be with the young lady, aren't there?"
Yet she seemed to have some kind of method. Hilken smirked, and my pupils trembled in confusion.
"Shall I tell you? Given the stance you've maintained all this time, you probably don't need to know."
She was clearly teasing me right now, wasn't she? For now, I was in a position where I needed her, so I'd let it slide….
"…We have to finish the conversation, so let's hear it."
…I would not forget this grudge.
"Kihihi, it's simple. Senior just needs to achieve greater merits than anyone else, receive a large territory, and become an incredibly noble person."
And at that answer, I could only feel pure doubt.
'Is that even possible?'
In the old version of my previous world, Joseon, passing the civil service exam made you a noble. But even that was something only those who already had something could inherit. Yet in this mid-to-late medieval fantasy world, there wasn't even such a system…. Until now, I had simply lived thinking that social class was determined at birth. But to think there was someone here who thought this way. It was simply astonishing.
"Why wouldn't it be possible? Was the first emperor born an emperor?"
But honestly speaking….
'She's right. There's no reason it wouldn't be possible…?'
Thanks to her, I felt like I might indulge in a vain fantasy.
"Is it really possible?"
"Of course."
…Maybe. From now on, it might be good to achieve great merits and receive a large territory somewhere. Well, we'll only know once this incident is over, though.
And at that moment, I saw the students forming squads and disappearing into the forest one after another. Clearly, the dismissal order had been given.
"…It seems all the students are leaving, Senior. The professors will probably notice soon that the hunting ground keepers are gone."
"The senior professor seems to be a Cyren, so he'll probably push forward. It's fine. We've already half-succeeded just by confirming that Vankite came to this arena."
"…Now no one can leave Karlandel."
"Even if they try to leave, they won't be able to. Yagnus will have cast the Wide-Range Sealing Formation."
It was a type of divine magic. Cryan could probably use a degraded version. No, it seemed like he could use the original. What Yagnus could cast was on a different level. Not only did it trap magical power inside like a normal range-sealing formation, but it also created an unbreakable barrier-like function. A bizarre ability.
No one would have noticed, but Karlandel had now become like a giant birdcage.
This was what they called domain deployment. So even if they tried to flee outside in panic at the horrific situation that was about to unfold, they would only be trapped by an invisible wall and grow more terrified. Therefore, to save the students, it would have been best not to let them in here in the first place…. But my goal was different.
I had come here for Vankite's destruction. Only that.
No matter how much they shouted from outside that Vankite was suspicious, without evidence, no one in the central government would listen to me. So the only method I could take was 'Then die.' To bring Vankite all the way to this arena, I had essentially used the lives of countless students as collateral. But I didn't feel any particular guilt about that fact. After all, it would only turn out exactly the same as the original history. If I was going to be criticized for knowing and not changing history, then the world was truly a harsh place.
However, even so, the one thing I could do for my peers here was…. While acknowledging the flow, to save with my own hands even the friends who had died in the original history. If I did just that, wouldn't that be enough to say I had done my part?
The reason I had said I would save everyone as much as possible was precisely because of that.
"Senior. I think we can open the gift I've been keeping secret all this time now."
"…I believe you won't disappoint me. I'll look forward to seeing what it is."
"It will be more than enough. Those bastards left one of the hunting ground keepers alive with those knothole eyes of theirs…. They need to pay the price properly, don't they? That damn crown prince's spawn. I'll definitely kill him."
Along with Hilken's determined words, we slipped back into the forest.
***
"Senior Professor Cyren, the… training ground…."
After sending all the students away, the instructor who came to report to Senior Professor Cyren looked devastated. His expression was one of shock, as if he had seen something he shouldn't have.
"The training ground… is covered with animal corpses!"
"…What? What did the hunting ground keepers say?"
"…W-well…."
What on earth had happened?