If It's Come to This, Off to the Imperial Palace! (3)
“L-Let's... g-go in!!”
As Kidian Necroport took the lead, the Headless Knight followed behind.
Thump-! Thump-!
Seeing Rian Ludwig's mansion right before her eyes like this made her heart pound like crazy.
N-No!! I'm here to protest today!
Kidian shook her head to rein in her emotions. One might ask what exactly she was protesting...
I-I'm!!... W-Why!.. O-Only me... n-no... s-sex!.. a-and... n-no... n-novels either!!
When she'd asked Rian to write a novel overall with her as the model. Zzzt-! Zzzzt-!
Didn't he clearly promise to do it!?
But what came back was “Nun Sister Blackmailed and Trained”, and he even had sex with the nun who was the model in a church!
Grip-!
Kidian clutched the hem of her dress.
T-This is... b-betrayal! Betrayal!... I won't forgive a traitor!!
Arriving at the front gate, Kidian puffed out her chest...
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
And at the same time, the Headless Knight pounded hard on the mansion's front door.
There was a perfectly fine doorbell right next to it, but why knock...?
Because it looked way more dignified, of course!
“R-Rian... L-Ludwig!.. T-The N-Necroport... f-family's... K-K-Kidian... h-has come!.. O-Open... the door!!”
She delivered her well-rehearsed line and waited a moment, but...
“....”
There was no response.
D-Did I... g-go... t-too far?
Quiver-
Kidian's momentum deflated instantly. Sure, she was here to protest, but she still had to maintain some dignity.
“R-Rian... s-sir?.. U-Um... i-it's Kidian... C-Could you... o-open the door...”
Silence─
Once again, no reaction from the mansion.
“....?”
Bang-! Bang-! Bang-!
Thinking maybe they hadn't heard, the Headless Knight knocked even harder, but the result was the same.
Swish-
Black flames flickered left and right above the Headless Knight's neck as it turned toward Kidian.
It meant knocking any harder would break the door.
...W-What? Are they ignoring us?!
No, she could understand being ignored when she wore her hood. That was the point—she didn't want attention.
But right now, she was riding in a carriage emblazoned with a skull and black rose crest, accompanied by the Headless Knight.
Anyone can tell it's the Necroport family, right!?
How could they ignore the Necroport family!?
Crackle-! Snap-!
Kidian's anger unleashed mana, startling birds into flight...
“Ugh... ugh!! S-Split in half and die!”
A 6-star necromancer's death word.
Thud thud thud-!
The flock of sparrows fell like peeled packaging, leaving only clean bones.
“...Rise.”
At Kidian's command, black flames ignited in the skeleton birds' eye sockets as they began to flap their wings.
“S-Search!”
Whoosh-!
The skeleton birds scattered into the Ludwig Mansion.
Security magic?
She'd bypassed it easily even when remotely controlling the birds from afar...
What chance did it have when she was controlling them right up close?
Pop pop-!
And just a moment later.
...Huh?
Kidian blinked in confusion at the incomprehensible situation.
“...R-Rian... s-sir... i-isn't here?”
The skeleton birds had checked the living room, study, kitchen, bedroom—even the bathroom...
But Rian was nowhere.
Not just Rian, either.
Topaz, who was always with him, was gone too.
“N-No way? No way, right?!”
Ding dong-! Ding dong-! Ding dong-!
Denying reality, Kidian mashed the doorbell at 16 presses per second.
Then...
“I'm sorry. Rian Ludwig is currently away. Please leave a message after the beep, and we'll get back to you when he returns.”
“....”
Kidian froze on the spot at the sound of Topaz's recorded voice. She'd spent two hours on makeup just for this 'protest,' changed outfits twelve times.
Rustle-
She'd even written her 'protest' points on a note and practiced in front of the mirror alone.
And after all that preparation...
“H-Hic...!!... R-Really... n-no one's... h-here?!... I-I... p-prepared so h-harddd?!”
Kidian's scream scattered into the air.
****
Clack-! Clack-!
“Hum~!”
Light heels echoed through the imperial corridor.
Bang-!
The door to the Imperial Academy of Sciences flew open roughly.
Imperial Academy of Sciences
A gathering of people who truly loved 'scholarship.'
As such, it was full of brilliant minds with massive egos and zero social skills.
Naturally, they hated even the slightest noise, so if an average noble barged in like this...
They'd hear curses they'd never imagined possible.
A few nobles had actually cried after visiting.
But this time was different. ...Who the hell's slamming the door like an idiot!?
The scholars ready to unleash their irritation froze the moment they saw the blue eyes and hair beyond the door...
Shuffle shuffle-!!
“....”
Suddenly, they were brimming with social grace and understanding.
After all, the visitor was one of the empire's five great ducal families.
The heir to the Asbestos Ducal House, Rebeccaite Lu Asbestos.
“Y-You've arrived! Lady Rebeccaite!”
The academy director rushed over, bowing deeply and rubbing his hands together.
The nickname people gave Rebeccaite was Blue-Haired Mad Dog.
Or...
“Heaven's Tyrant”
“Yes! Ta-da~! I'm back! Your shiny head looks as dazzling as ever, even after so long. I just love seeing it. Oh ho ho ho!”
Whoosh-!
Rebeccaite snapped open her fan and ran it over the director's bald head with a laugh.
“H-Haha... Th-Thank you for the excessive praise... But what brings you here so suddenly...”
“Oh my, is the Imperial Academy of Sciences off-limits to me?”
Snap-!
The fan closed with a sharp sound, making the director flinch.
“N-No way!! We just didn't have time to prepare a proper welcome for you...”
“Ah, don't worry about that. What kind of hospitality could I expect from a place like this anyway?”
Tap-! Rebeccaite flicked the fan's tip under the director's chin as she passed.
“Just tell me if you've done what I ordered properly?”
Drip─
Cold sweat ran down the director's back.
That was the problem, alright.
Of course they'd sent letters to Nakadashi.
Multiple times, in fact. But no reply.
A first in the academy's history.
Usually, such things didn't happen...
And if they did, they could just summon the person using imperial authority.
But...
──Nakadashi said to leave it alone, right?
This time, neither the imperial family nor great houses like the Necroports could protect Nakadashi—they were the ones shielding him.
They'd even held an emergency meeting to figure out why there was no reply.
And after a long debate, their conclusion was...
To summon the head of the publishing house monopolizing Nakadashi: Rian Ludwig.
The academy didn't really think Rian had done anything wrong.
But someone had to take the heat for Rebeccaite's anger, right?
“...Hmm~? You're taking your time to answer? Director, at this rate, you'll turn into an old grandma before I know it?”
“S-Sorry! We sent the letters exactly as ordered...!”
“...Sent them?”
“N-No reply... has come yet...”
“So, does that mean Nakadashi ignored the Imperial Academy of Sciences' letters?”
Whoosh-!
Rebeccaite narrowed her eyes, covering her mouth with her fan as she spoke.
Thump-! Thump-! Thump-!
The director felt his heart shrivel.
...H-How should I respond?!
There were rumors she'd mellowed out lately, but...
Her opponent was Heaven's Tyrant.
A walking mega-bomb that could explode anywhere, anytime.
He had no idea if he should affirm or deny.
“As if! From our academy's meeting!! We suspect Rian Ludwig intercepted the letters in the middle!! It looks like he's controlling activities to monopolize profits!! Accordingly, we've dispatched a direct messenger to summon Rian Ludwig within 14 days for explanation and accountability!!”
“Aha~! So Nakadashi knows nothing, and it's all Rian Ludwig's doing~?”
“Y-Yes! As expected of Lady Rebeccaite! Such quick understanding...”
“How~ inter~esting~?”
Clack-!
Rebeccaite stepped closer to the director, her smile unwavering.
“From my info, Rian Ludwig is the youngest son of the Ludwig Count family under the Glacia Grand Duchy, and he's even independent from his family now, right?”
Clack-!
She took another step forward, continuing.
“And you're saying that guy dared ignore the Imperial Academy's letters~? How strange~ Of course, it couldn't be...”
Snap-!
Her fan closed and touched the director's lips.
“You didn't perhaps fail to send the letters properly, did you, Director~? Or maybe you sent them without proper formality, so Nakadashi wouldn't bother responding~?”
“N-No... w-way...!”
“Oh nooo~! Surely you're not trying to pin it on some powerless count's third son out of fear of me~?”
“....”
The director's legs shook.
He never imagined an heir from a ducal house like Rebeccaite would know details about a mere count's third son.
Swish-
“Oh ho ho! Just kidding~!! Why so tense?”
As the fan left his lips and the director exhaled in relief─
“More importantly, 14 days, was it?”
“Guh...!!... H-Hic!... Y-Yes!”
“Well, I trust you'll handle it properly...”
Slooowly─
“Make sure to treat him with ample courtesy. Got it~?”
“Y-Yes, sir! Of course! Lady Rebeccaite!!”
“Great. Now, I have a date with my darling~! Bye-bye~! Oh ho ho!”
Clack-! Clack-!
With those words, Rebeccaite swept out of the Imperial Academy of Sciences like the wind.