Chapter 193
Chapter 193
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 193
Chapter Title: Girls' Gossip
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Cicadas chirped here and there.
Amid the echoing cries,
someone was swiftly swinging a pair of daggers.
The moment her dagger, glinting with a purple hue through her jet-black bobbed hair, thrust forward,
a shield of water materialized in front of it, blocking the strike.
Thud!
The poison coating the dagger exploded, sending water spraying everywhere, but the water shield held firm.
Beyond that shield stood a woman with healthy-toned skin under a cascade of red hair.
The two were none other than Haring Lagren and Karandis Poseus.
"That's enough."
Kairan, one of the Martial Arts Department's associate professors, called for them to stop, and the pair immediately separated.
Catching their breath, the two slowly descended from the arena.
"Good work."
As Haring wiped the sweat from her brow with a towel after stepping down, Karandis approached her.
Karandis's expression toward Haring was unusually curt, uncharacteristic of her.
This change had come after the midterms.
And Haring knew why.
"...Good work."
Haring's reply hung between them, creating an awkward silence.
Haring was already the taciturn type, aside from with Krash.
With Karandis going quiet too, conversation between them had all but dried up.
How long did that silence last?
"Haring, you don't know when Lord Krash will return either, do you?"
In the end, Karandis broke the ice first.
She wasn't fond of the quiet any more than Haring was.
Haring gazed up at the World Tree, feeling the sunlight filtering through the leaves.
"Yeah, he hasn't told me."
Regret filled Haring's eyes.
Catching that glimpse, Karandis looked up at the tree as well.
"...What kind of relationship do you want with Lord Krash, Haring?"
A question Karandis had held back from asking until now.
As she voiced it, Haring turned to look at her.
"Lord Krash isn't here right now anyway. It'd be hard to ask otherwise."
Karandis awkwardly tapped the ground with her foot.
"...What kind of relationship."
Haring mulled over the words, chewing her lip for a moment.
Among those who'd come to Raheln Academy and built the deepest bond with Krash, Haring stood out.
She'd spent endless time by his side, after all.
But separate from that, when asked what relationship she wanted with him,
greed welled up in her heart, threatening to overwhelm her reason.
It was a desire so immense, Haring wondered if she could even voice it.
"I've said it plenty of times—I want to be Lord Krash's wife."
Karandis declared it with unwavering confidence.
Haring envied that boldness of hers, just a little.
"Is that because you're the Ninth Princess of Poseus?"
That's why Haring was curious.
She wanted to stay by Krash's side too, so she wondered how Karandis—sharing the same goal—saw it.
"Of course, that's part of it."
Karandis laid herself bare without hesitation.
Being the Ninth Princess of Poseus was an utterly ambiguous position.
She could live comfortably in the kingdom, no doubt, but Karandis was ambitious.
If her status was like this, she'd flip it upside down to climb higher—that kind of ambition.
So she'd chosen Krash.
She was certain he'd rise to a position the whole world would revere.
"I don't have romantic, sweet love stories like others do."
Like a princess swept off her feet by a prince who comes to her rescue.
Such tales didn't exist for Karandis.
In truth, a princess's position was the safest from danger.
"But I can love and follow someone more than anyone else—someone who can elevate my own value, since I prioritize myself above all."
Karandis brimmed with confidence here.
If asked to live her life for that person, she'd offer herself without a second thought, wholeheartedly.
That's why she always strove to prove her love with her best effort.
"Because someone who loves themselves more than anyone can love others just as deeply."
"...Then if something happened to Krash, wouldn't that love be meaningless?"
Karandis's lips curled into a smirk at those words.
Her face shone with unmatched self-assurance.
"How could the man I love possibly falter?"
She puffed out her chest and lifted her chin.
"Preventing that is a wife's role—my role. Supporting and aiding my beloved so he never falls. That's what I'm most confident in."
As if to say she hadn't survived as Ninth Princess eating mere scraps for nothing, Karandis flashed a radiant smile.
"And I trust my own eyes."
Krash would never crumble.
She was bold enough to believe that firmly.
Of course.
He was the man she'd marked as her husband.
"I don't think my way of loving would be understood by everyone."
She withdrew her smile as she said it.
Then Karandis looked at Haring.
"That's why I'm curious. What kind of love are you giving him, Haring?"
Calculated love, romantic love, love at first sight.
Karandis asked what had drawn Haring to Krash.
Hearing that, Haring hesitated, averting her gaze.
Her ear tips had turned red before she knew it.
Just from thinking about it?
Karandis thought Haring was utterly smitten.
"...I don't know. I just see him, that's all."
Haring pressed a hand firmly to her chest.
Even voicing it made her heart race wildly.
"At first, it was just about repaying a debt. But somehow it turned into this. That's what scares me more."
If she'd known why she liked him, she might have avoided it and escaped.
But now, Haring couldn't even grasp why she loved Krash.
She just did.
She wanted to be by his side.
That was all.
Watching the girl lost in love, Karandis soon let out a short chuckle.
"That's beautiful."
And she said it honestly.
A girl in love was the most beautiful thing.
Seeing her like this, Karandis realized something.
Her own love might seem lackluster compared to Haring's.
It was pragmatic, after all.
But she didn't think striving to be loved made her bad.
This was part of her love, and she could declare it proudly.
She just quietly felt, deep down,
that even as a woman, she'd fall irreparably for someone harboring such feelings.
'Is it love?'
Even as she spoke it herself, Karandis sometimes wondered quietly.
"Well, looks like we're both in quite the pickle, Haring."
With things as they were, Karandis decided to have a proper talk with her.
As Haring eyed her quizzically, Karandis's gaze sharpened.
"Lord Krash has plenty of rivals besides us."
"...Rivals?"
Haring tilted her head.
She only had eyes for Krash, so she lacked such intel.
"Yes, rivals. For starters, there's that monstrously ruthless one."
"Someone like that exists?"
Haring looked mildly surprised.
Karandis let out a long sigh, then beckoned Haring to lean in close.
As Haring brought her ear near, Karandis took a breath and whispered,
"None other than Saintess Astria Stigma Freeman herself."
"...The Saintess?"
Surprise flickered in Haring's eyes.
It was the last person she'd expected.
And at the same time, memories of Krash and Astria's closeness surfaced for Haring.
Come to think of it, they had been quite intimate.
"But the Saintess is..."
"Right, she's someone far removed from romance, as God's beloved."
Karandis agreed with Haring's point.
But she saw even that as a major issue.
"People burn hottest for forbidden love, though."
"...Is that true?"
"It's the staple of every storyteller's tales. Their loves always tread forbidden ground. Especially hero-and-saintess stories, where she devotes body and soul to God—they're the gold standard."
Haring recalled Astria by Krash's side.
And now, it dawned on her too.
Astria's eyes had indeed been fixed solely on Krash, just as Karandis said.
"Plus that violently alluring figure—it's not something our age should possess."
Karandis clenched her fists in frustration.
"Even Krash, indifferent to women, couldn't resist crashing into that."
Haring realized, watching her, just how much attention Karandis had paid to Krash.
Her determination was impressive.
"And that's not all. There's also the personal maid of Lady Aslan Ignor, who pops into Lord Krash's room daily."
"A maid?"
"Alicia, Lord Krash's personal maid, is close with this one. For some reason, he can't be harsh with her."
Unlike with me, always so stern.
Karandis grumbled about the unfairness, cupping her cheek.
Haring, meanwhile, realized how little she'd observed around Krash.
To think even someone else's maid had feelings for him.
As Haring's face hardened, Karandis sighed deeply.
"There are all sorts scattered around. Like Senior Darling Danphelion, a fellow kingdom native and alchemy master; or Dorma Racklord, disciple of Hajusa and Beltua Racklord—we have to watch her too. And lately, even the top special class student, Bioren Sedni, seems suspiciously close."
"That many?"
"Tons. Way too many. Good men attract women inevitably, but Lord Krash takes it to extremes."
"Well, Krash is kind."
Karandis turned to Haring.
To others, Krash didn't seem 'kind' at all.
But to a girl in love, even a bad boy's actions looked pure.
So she let it slide.
She wanted to be his wife too, after all.
"Above all, there's one massive problem."
Karandis sighed, as if helpless against this one.
"Bianca Hardenharts."
"Krash's fiancée."
"Exactly. Someone we've never even seen."
Shadows crossed Karandis's face.
"One thing's certain: Lord Krash holds her dear. Deeply so."
"..."
Haring fell silent.
She knew it too.
Just recalling it stabbed at her chest.
"Overcome every other hill, and this one's still insurmountable—pointless otherwise."
Karandis swept back her hair, thinking of that thorniest barrier.
She regretted not proposing engagement first.
As she swallowed bitterly, Haring murmured blankly,
"...Wives don't have to be just one."
Karandis doubted her ears at the follow-up.
Turning in disbelief that Haring would say such a thing, she saw Haring flinch, hand flying to her mouth.
She hadn't expected it from herself either.
Maybe from hearing about engagements from her father months ago.
She might have gotten caught up in it.
As Haring flushed crimson in panic, Karandis blinked, then chuckled softly.
"You're right, though."
Even her own father had many wives.
Was there reason an even greater man like Krash couldn't?
"Once you're in as a wife, it's a fight for principal status."
Karandis reignited her resolve.
Haring, who'd said it, remained frozen, speechless.
"Just wish no more rivals piled on."
That was when it happened.
Boom!
A sudden explosion rocked a building outside the Martial Arts Hall.
The startled pair turned toward it, quickly realizing.
The blast came from the School of Divinity.
Something had gone down there.