The Surprise Kiss and Ties Forged in Steel
“Lucian. It’s a rule to not dig too deeply into anything connected to the royal family.”
“I know that.”
“Just in case the King’s influence really does come into play, please don’t do anything reckless. You could end up not only making trouble for yourself but also putting Viscount Deodore in a tight spot.”
“I know that too. If King and my father, Marquis Hanniel, have already wrapped up their discussion, there’s no point in probing further.”
“Then…”
“But if it’s not the royal side, and this is still just formal talk, then we have to draw the line. I can’t let that lunatic take an inch. Seeing him swagger like that makes my blood boil and I might actually die of anger.”
With an exaggerated gesture, I finished speaking. Rie’s lips curved into a soft smile.
I had seen noble young ladies smile plenty of times, scattered across the academy. But I had never once seen a face as beautiful as Rie’s when she smiled like this.
How stunning she was. I actually wanted to slap anyone who dared to interrupt that smile.
I swear that the moment that pretty laugh reached Forbes, it would vanish completely.
I had figured out the situation and now needed a reason to keep the engagement topic from coming up again.
If nothing else, I would invent one and shove it right in front of their faces.
Even if my swordsmanship was mediocre and my magic was worse than most, I had been preparing something that could cover all of it.
Exactly for moments like this — hiding myself sometimes, revealing myself at others, whenever I needed to use them freely.
“If you’re offering help, of course I welcome it. But this is my duty. I’ll handle it myself.”
“If that’s impossible?”
“Then I’ll ask for help, of course. Until then, I’ll work hard on my own. The Clessent family has ties to both the royal court and our Hanniel family. It’s already a place where things might get a little awkward. But involving you and the Deodore family on top of that is too much. I hope you can understand my wishes.”
At Rie’s words, I nodded without hesitation.
The Hanniel family wasn’t some provincial noble house. They were one of the top five families in the entire kingdom.
And Rie was the daughter of that noble house. If the engagement wasn’t happening, she had every right to give a proper reason for refusal.
Forbes knew this, so he was probably doing everything he could to look good in front of her.
Some people only grow up when they meet someone they like.
Others try their best to meet expectations, even if they’re a little late.
But I swear Forbes was nothing like that. Why else would they call him a “lunatic”?
There had to be a mountain of reasons.
I swear that if the class gap between nobles and commoners had been even worse than it is now, Forbes would have been a scumbag who crawled through countless commoner women, stirred up every kind of social chaos, and still ate, slept, and lived like a king.
Thinking this way, I noticed Rie’s hand suddenly pull away.
Just as I wondered what was going on, I felt footsteps and turned. Two other seniors were walking toward us, their faces serious.
“We found you here? The third-year seniors want to chat for a bit. You good, Rie?”
“Huh? Oh, you’re that friend, right? The freshman who got roasted by Professor Egmus. What was your name again? Lucian?”
“Yes, that’s right. Thank you for remembering, seniors.”
“If I interrupted your conversation, I’m sorry. If you’re all done, could we take Rie with us?”
At the seniors’ words, I instinctively glanced at Rie.
As the first-year representative, she had to deal with seniors a lot more than the other first-years.
She looked worried that I might make her neglect her duties because of me.
“I’ll finish this conversation and leave right away, seniors.”
“Can you do that? There are a few new rules this semester that we need to tell you about too.”
“Just gather everyone and explain it all at once.”
“When did the era come to just gather people? We can just tell you directly.”
With those words, the seniors turned and walked back toward the center of the grand hall.
Rie watched their retreating backs for a moment, then glanced at me and spoke in a hesitant voice.
“Um… so…”
“Go ahead. They’re not just saying ‘hey’ — they want to talk about your representative duties.”
“…You’re not going to think I abandoned you and ran off like that, right?”
“I know you’re going to work. Why would I think that? Go quickly before I have to wait longer for them. You’ll only look more awkward if they make you wait.”
I wasn’t going to a date or anything — I was going to work. I can’t be that pathetic.
Rie nodded like she finally understood and said she really would go.
If we didn’t meet today, I would greet her tomorrow and take my leave.
“Ah.”
Then she suddenly turned around and walked back toward me.
I stared at her curiously as she approached, still looking around cautiously.
Smack.
Rie suddenly leaned in and kissed my cheek while glancing around.
As I let out a stunned “Ugh…”, she quickly pretended nothing had happened and turned back toward the seniors.
Of course, she hadn’t taken more than a few steps before letting out a scream loud enough to shake the hall: “Hwaaaaaang!!” as she tried to play it cool.
“…”
I casually touched my cheek.
The warmth and pleasant tingle from Rie’s lips still lingered there.
Even though she was the one who confessed first, the heartbeat in my chest felt even stronger.
Maybe being a genius really did make one exceptional even in the little things.
Since I didn’t want to hide in a corner like a loser, I headed back to the center of the grand hall.
There, after chatting briefly with some other seniors, I spotted Locke in the distance looking visibly uncomfortable.
I quickly wrapped up the conversation and walked over to him.
“Locke.”
“O-Oh, Lucian.”
“Just go about your business freely. Your father said he wouldn’t say anything.”
“I already told you — it’s not because of my father. I just find it uncomfortable to be surrounded by so many people. Besides, most of them are nobles. I just want to talk about swordsmanship, but the constant ‘which family this’ and ‘who said that’ is enough to make me suffocate.”
At Locke’s words, I couldn’t help laughing.
Locke’s father might be a famous noble now, but he was still a noble, right?
To them, these small personal stories were sharp spears and sometimes the sturdiest shields. It couldn’t be helped.
And Locke himself was clearly talented — far above average.
One day he would definitely earn glory.
If he followed in his father’s footsteps and became a titled noble himself, he would naturally fit in with noble society.
Sometimes, in this world, it was more powerful to wield your tongue than your sword.
There would be times when my power wasn’t enough and I needed the strength of the people I knew.
I didn’t want to watch Locke suffer because he hadn’t realized that yet.
So as his friend, I decided the best thing I could do was to introduce him to the right connections.
“Come with me. You need connections too.”
“Eh? Lu-Lucian? Where are we going? Hey, just a second — at least don’t let go of my tail….”
“Shut up. This is for your own good. No more complaints — just follow.”
Up ahead, I spotted a third-year senior — Mikaela — talking with some first-year classmates.
Mikaela was also a swordsman, and among the upperclassmen he stood out for his personality as well.
I walked straight over to him.
“Mikaela senior?”
“Huh? Oh, Lucian. What’s up?”
“I have a martial arts friend I want you to meet. He says he respects seniors like you who passed the knight exam without any trouble, even though you look a bit shy. You’re so built that people think you’re just a tank!”
“Really? What kind of friend is it… wait a minute. Could it be… Viscount Bückenmeyer…?”
Locke was the spitting image of his father — no wonder his genes had come from somewhere.
Mikaela’s eyes lit up the moment he saw him.
I elbowed Locke’s side hard and signaled him to greet the senior right away.
Whether male or female, how important were the connections built from the academy?
Why would this guy make his life so difficult just to protect his pride?
“A-Ah, good day, senior Mikaela. I’m Locke Bückenmeyer.”
“Is that so? I heard the vice commander’s son entered the academy, but given the old man’s personality, I figured he’d hate being introduced, so I hadn’t looked for him yet.”
“You know my father?”
“Of course. I was the one who administered his knight exam. And even if it weren’t for that, he was vice commander of the Iron Cross Knight Order, one of the kingdom’s three premier knight orders. How could I not know him?”
With that, Mikaela extended his hand and Locke shook it with a firm grip.
Both of them were martial artists. Both had fathers who had served as knights.
They were both working hard to become the kingdom’s finest knights.
One came from a prestigious knight family, the other from common stock.
But they weren’t the type to let such a difference get in the way. Once they became friends, there would be no problems.
Even if a friend does well, it sometimes stings a little — but that’s only because they’re not real friends, right?
If Locke grew even stronger and later became a titled noble, I would benefit too.
Becoming a titled noble as a commoner was proof that he had done something truly great or possessed exceptional talent.
That guy was my friend! I could shout that proudly. It was a huge advantage.
After handing Locke over to Mikaela, I went to get a drink because my throat was dry.
Then I felt a tap on my shoulder from behind.
I turned around. “Who the—?!”
It was that lunatic again.
“Forbes senior.”
“Where did Rie go?”
Did he think Rie was his property or something? Why was he asking about her whereabouts?
There was a tiny part of me that wished he would stop harassing other people’s women, but it was still too early for that.
The Clessent family was already a headache, and the royal family behind them was a mountain I couldn’t touch even with my friends.
I needed to be careful with timing.
“If it’s Rie, she’s probably with the other seniors. As the representative, she must have duties.”
“…You. You’re from the Deodore family, aren’t you?”
“That’s correct.”
“I know you’re amazing. I even heard the kingdom’s most brilliant scholar is going to be born from your family. Fine, I’ll accept that. But Rie is different. She’s going to be the most beautiful and strongest sword in the kingdom. So don’t get in her way. If a guy like you is around, she’ll be too distracted trying to look after you and miss the most important moments.”
“…”
“Everyone else says you’re a genius. You’ve got one hell of a head. You understand what I’m saying, right?”
“…Thank you for the advice.”
Thank you for what? I’m the problem here, and you’re fine. Is this complete two-faced bullshit?
Do you seriously think you can stand in her way?
In his own mind, he was giving advice, but to me it was nothing but a threat.
Since I had already planted the seed, it was time to sow the misunderstanding.
“Yeah, this is a declaration of war. I threw the first punch, so now it’s self-defense.”
After the meet-and-greet ended that day, I returned to my room and opened the drawer.
I took out several sheets of paper and began writing letters to be sent to different people.
I couldn’t possibly beat the entire Clessent family alone. I needed the help of others.
Of course, Forbes — that lunatic — was going to get beaten by my own hand no matter what.
I had wondered if learning swordsmanship from Rie would even help.
But it seemed like a far better kind of motivation from an entirely different direction.