Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: To Meet Like This, What a Coincidence!
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Meeting like this—what a coincidence!
Nicholas and Laura's meeting went off without a hitch.
That said, no shiny new event matching my expectations popped up.
It was just a perfectly ordinary chat that wrapped up on a warm, fuzzy note.
Once the conversation ended, I pulled Nicholas aside and asked how it went. His response?
"It was a delightful talk. Lady Clarins is remarkably considerate."
"Is that so."
Laura does have that side to her.
Whether it's her sharp intuition or her conversational finesse, she has this way of putting you at ease as you talk.
Sometimes it even makes you wonder if she's reading your mind.
But that's not the point right now.
Is Nicholas truly the romance novel's male lead?
That's what matters.
And the result of sticking them together for a test run?
'It's ambiguous.'
Hard to say yes or no.
For starters, Nicholas definitely seemed to come away with a favorable impression of Laura.
Might even be smitten with her looks.
But there wasn't any real affection or obsession in how he treated her.
For a romance novel male lead, something just didn't quite fit.
Is Nicholas out of the running?
I shook my head inwardly.
'No, don't jump to conclusions.'
This was just their first meeting, after all.
Usually, it's not love at first sight—more like sparking interest that draws them closer over time. That's the classic trope, right?
So if I keep throwing them together, something might change.
'Yeah, and with no other male leads in the picture, it's not weird for him to take the lead solo.'
No other candidates besides Nicholas yet, anyway.
If one guy racks up too much goodwill too early in a multi-love-interest setup, it throws the whole plot off.
Best to keep watching the situation.
That's when Nicholas spoke up, just as I was settling on that plan.
"It was a bit peculiar, though."
"Peculiar?"
"Yes. Hard to put into words..."
Nicholas rubbed his chin, pondering his phrasing.
"The conversation's focus felt off-kilter, somehow. Less like cutting straight to the heart of it, more like probing the edges."
Like she wanted to ask something but circled around it instead?
I tilted my head at his assessment.
I'd never felt that way talking to Laura.
'What gives?'
Maybe that's how he phrased her holding back on certain personal details?
But he shook his head at my unspoken question.
"No, it didn't feel like she was hiding anything about herself."
"Then what?"
"Tough to say. First meetings are brief, after all. Still, if I had to guess—"
Nicholas met my eyes as he continued.
"Leonardo, she seemed interested in learning about you."
"About me?"
...This is getting more baffling by the minute.
Why ask Nicholas about me?
I'd answered every question openly.
Nicholas shrugged at my confusion.
"That's beyond my ken. But if I'm right, I can hazard a guess at the answer."
"Which is?"
"Lady Clarins wants to know things you can't—or won't—tell her directly. Something you wouldn't say yourself, or maybe even something you don't realize."
Of course, I could be off the mark.
With that escape clause, Nicholas wrapped up the conversation.
Left alone, I mulled over his words but came up empty.
I let out a short sigh and brushed the worry aside.
'No point dwelling on what I don't know.'
She'll figure it out eventually if they keep meeting.
Nicholas is sharp as a tack, like any good mage.
And with that, the thought slipped from my mind.
"You're Leonardo Dominica, aren't you? What a coincidence, running into you like this! Fellow students in the same class—let's get along, eh? Hahaha!"
"......"
A top contender for this novel's male lead.
The Crown Prince makes his entrance.
The Crown Prince's disguised enrollment at the academy was a done deal.
The Iron-Blooded Duke I knew wouldn't miss intel like that,
and any plot holes were patched by the story being a romance novel.
Sure, even in a novel world with real breathing people, there had to be some reason—but I couldn't care less.
Details on higher-ups are useless even if you dig them up.
For a third son like me, anyway.
'If I were the Duke of Dominica, maybe.'
Not gonna happen.
Rumors swirl that I might inherit the house someday—macabre stuff—
but my eldest brother's brain is fine, and the Iron-Blooded Duke's still kicking strong.
By the time he names an heir, big bro will be primed to take over.
This inertia is crushing.
No matter how hard an empty-handed nobody like me charges at it, not even a budge.
That's one reason I'm gunning for a court noble position.
Once you're court nobility, you're effectively out of the family running, no pointless power plays with big bro.
I have zero interest in a succession fight I don't want and can't win.
Anyway, long story short.
For all those reasons, I had no plans to seek out the Crown Prince.
The Iron-Blooded Duke told me to keep an eye on him, but did I really need to?
Yet they say ominous hunches are spot-on.
Just as I'd vaguely foreseen, when I didn't go to him, he came to me.
In my elective liberal arts administration class, no less.
I stared at the Crown Prince greeting me so brazenly and thought.
'Disguised enrollment, my foot. No intention of hiding who he is?'
This wasn't even subtle advertising "I'm the Crown Prince!"
Everyone around was staring, giving us space, and here he was name-dropping me loud and proud.
He hadn't even altered his looks much.
Last I'd seen him was at his investiture—
and the guy in front of me looked exactly like that prince all grown up. Impossible to miss.
Golden hair that gleamed with a halo in the light, eyes blue as the sea.
Some perceptual magic softened his face a touch, but focus and you could make out the royal features.
And his clumsy disguise didn't stop at appearances.
'"Fellow students in the same class"—what's that supposed to mean?'
Academy life means dropping ranks and titles?
Sure, some academy stories have that "all equal within these walls" schtick, but not here.
And that greeting—like "Hey, we're at the academy, so who cares if you're from the Duke of Dominica house~"
Only someone as out-of-touch as the Crown Prince could pull that off.
At this point, playing along would be the real chore.
I pondered how to handle it, then returned the greeting for now.
"The pleasure's mine. But your name...?"
"Ah, how rude of me! Forgot to introduce myself. Maximilian Campanella here! Third son of the Campanella viscountcy!"
Wait, fake enrollment and he uses his real name?
The empire's future was starting to worry me for real.
And that wasn't all.
'The guy sitting diagonally across... his guard? Looks familiar from the imperial knights when he was a kid.'
Unlike the other students keeping their distance, an imperial knight was planted right next to the Crown Prince as backup.
Dressed down like the other noble kids for "disguise"—
but standing out like a hero from a reversal tale. No hiding that.
The crowd had caught the vibe too, whispering furiously among themselves.
Suppressing a sigh, I took the hand the Crown Prince offered.
He shook it vigorously, then boomed in the cheeriest voice imaginable.
"Man, the students here are shy! If you wanna say hi, come on over!"
The administration class flinched and backed away as the spotlight swung their way.
But I couldn't let them commit lèse-majesté by ignoring him, so I pointed at the nearest one.
"You there."
"Y-Yes?!"
The student jumped, trembling like a leaf at my pick.
I ignored his pleading eyes begging for mercy and dragged him forward.
"This classmate here wants to greet you. Come on, say hi."
"Y-Yes... G-Greeting... Right, hi... Uh..."
Dazed, he shuffled over and managed a greeting with the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince laughed heartily, clearly pleased.
"Haha, not everyone's a wallflower after all! What's your name?"
"R-Robin, Your Highness..."
"Highness? I'm just the third son of the Campanella viscountcy!"
"S-Sorry! Third Young Master Campanella!"
"What's with the weird title? Just call me Maximilian! We're all classmates here!"
"Eek..."
A gruesome scene of power-driven bullying too horrific to watch!
But this carnage wouldn't stop until everyone suffered, so I called the next victim.
"Next. You."
"Eeeeeek?!"
The students despaired, realizing no one could escape my finger.
They stared at me like I'd heralded their doom, but tough luck.
'Stare all you want—what can you do?'
If he says jump, we jump.
I'm just speeding this massacre along.
And so, the administration classroom echoed with the relay of death-by-introduction for a good while.