12
Chapter 12
"Isabel de Poitiers. You don't know Her Highness the Princess very well."
"Excuse me? What do you mean by..."
Isabel de Poitiers looked utterly bewildered. Having been the Princess's friend since childhood, she likely found the claim that she didn't know her to be absolute nonsense. Yet, she truly didn't understand the Princess.
"Isabel de Poitiers, you and I are alike. We don't care about the process as long as the result is favorable. But Her Highness is different. She is a warrior, not a thief. Even if she gets what she wants, she will never be satisfied if it was obtained through methods that clash with her values."
"..."
It wasn't that Isabel didn't know this. It was simply that the weight of the name Charles differed from the weight of the name Leonia von Arcadia. The Princess was attending Arcadia Academy to bolster her influence, which was lacking compared to the Crown Prince's. It was to prove her talent and attract other gifted individuals.
In such a situation, what would happen if the Princess lost to a fallen noble? She would be ridiculed, and people would say her talent was nothing special. Naturally, talented people and political power would distance themselves from a Princess with no influence or skill.
Therefore, Isabel could not simply stand by and watch the Princess lose. She would eliminate anyone blocking the Princess's path by any means necessary—whether through persuasion or coercion.
"Are you saying, then, that you intend to defeat Her Highness regardless?"
Isabel glared at Charles. Isabel de Poitiers was a versatile person who excelled in all areas, meaning that while she didn't quite reach A-rank, she possessed formidable skills in both swordsmanship and magic. She had both the power and the background to eliminate Charles right here. Thus, Charles immediately denied her words.
"I never said that."
"Then what on earth..."
"Two hundred ducats is a significant sum."
Isabel looked puzzled by the abrupt change in topic.
"To be honest, I want it. For a fallen noble like me, two hundred ducats is a fortune. But what happens if Her Highness finds out later that I took the money? Both you and I would simply fall out of her favor."
"Isn't that why I'm suggesting it, because there are no other alternatives?"
"There is an alternative."
Two hundred ducats. Charles wanted that money so badly he could practically taste it. However, there are things in this world more important than money.
"Two hundred ducats is an amount that's easy to track. How do you plan to hide the fact that your family's assets have diminished?"
"..."
"But what if we consider an intangible reward?"
"An intangible reward?"
"I will withdraw after reaching the finals. If I simply throw the fight, Her Highness's pride will be wounded, but if I forfeit, she will be understanding to some extent. In exchange."
"In exchange?"
"Become my backer. That is something that can never be traced."
Isabel could hardly believe her ears.
"What did you just..."
"Is the term 'backer' not used here? Then let me rephrase. Please be my backer."
It wasn't that she didn't understand the word itself. The problem was that she had no idea what kind of support he was asking for. However, as Charles elaborated, Isabel began to understand.
"House Rochefort is a fallen noble family. Because of that, people treat me as if I were a commoner. But if you stay close to me, people will see Rochefort not as a [commoner] but as [Isabel's friend]. Those who treat me with contempt will disappear. You save your money, and I gain a reliable friend; isn't it a win-win?"
Isabel thought it over. Being a backer for such a person... it was a proposal she was more than grateful for, far beyond what she had expected. After all, Charles possessed genuine talent. Being his backer would surely bring great benefits to her in the future.
"But will you be alright with that?"
"With what?"
"Are you really satisfied with just that instead of two hundred ducats?"
At those words, Charles gave a confident smile.
"Don't worry."
For Charles, establishing a reliable backer was far more beneficial than two hundred ducats. Because...
"I'll make sure to put you to good use."
What Charles desired wasn't a flashy ascent, but rather building his strength internally without drawing attention. Much like Sima Yi, who possessed great power but remained in the periphery, quietly growing his influence instead of rushing into the center.
"Ms. Isabel, let's get along from now on. Since we share similar values, I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities for us to cooperate."
"Haha!"
At that, Isabel de Poitiers burst into laughter. It seemed she liked his proposal. She extended her hand.
"I think we could be very good friends."
I thought so too. As fellow realists.
-----
In that day's mock battle exam, Charles faced three opponents. One was an extra character with reasonably high leadership, and the other was Isabel de Poitiers.
Isabel de Poitiers' military capabilities were slightly below those of Yuria Russell. In terms of purely military skill, she was around the upper end of B-rank. She fell just a bit short of Yuria, who was A-rank.
Consequently, the battle against her ended without much difficulty. She used a standard composition and aggressively deployed her detachment to try and cut off my supply lines, but I hid my soldiers among the trees and picked off her detachment piece by piece.
In the end, she failed to cut Charles's supply lines and lost the battle after losing her entire detachment.
The match went to a judge's decision after timing out, resulting in a victory for Charles with a score of 6.5 to 3.5. It was an even wider margin than the one against Yuria Russell.
After cleanly brushing aside the extra character in the next round, he advanced to the finals.
The opponent who made it to the finals was Princess Leonia. Which was only natural.
Princess Leonia felt her hands trembling. A fight against a newly emerged powerhouse. How exhilarating!
She hoped that this hidden dragon, who had kept his talent concealed until now, would be a strong opponent worthy of her. She hoped for a fight where they could stand as equals.
But just as the mock battle began...
"I forfeit."
Those were the words Charles spoke to Dian.
In that moment, the Princess nearly lost her balance and stumbled.
How much had she looked forward to this fight? She had even devised a special strategy specifically to take him down.
And yet, before she could even use it, he simply forfeited?
At that moment, one person came to her mind.
"Isabel! Isabel de Poitiers!"
The Princess rushed to Isabel and immediately grabbed her by the collar, convinced that Isabel had manipulated things behind the scenes to force the forfeit.
However, Isabel replied:
"It is true that I negotiated with Charles. But the decision to forfeit was his own will, not a result of our agreement."
After glaring at Isabel for a while, the Princess marched over to Charles with heavy steps. Once she was close, she demanded:
"Why did you forfeit?"
"If I had thrown the match on purpose, you would have despised me."
"I would have."
"I simply thought that forfeiting openly would be less likely to earn your hatred."
The Princess thought for a moment, sighed, and asked:
"Was fighting with everything you had not an option?"
Such an option had never existed. The Princess had her imperial background, her own martial power, and the vassals who followed her. She could afford to let her talent shine freely.
But Charles Jean Rochefort could not. He had no money, no martial power, and no background. Therefore, Charles had to stay low and build his strength in secret. That was the fundamental difference between the Princess and Charles.
"Your Highness, not everyone is born into the imperial family."
Though he only said that, the brilliant Princess read his entire mindset from those few words. She nodded as if she understood.
"Someday."
"Pardon?"
"Someday, would you be willing to fight me with everything you've got? In a quiet place, without spectators or distractions."
At those words, I smiled.
"Whenever you call for me."
I felt that settling things with the Princess would have to wait.
-----
The mock battle officially came to an end. The Princess, Isabel de Poitiers, and I took first, second, and third place, respectively.
I felt sorry for Yuria Russell, who had simply been unlucky with the brackets. Had she not faced me so early, she certainly had the skill to place in the top tier. After all, wasn't her commanding ability superior to Isabel's? Her leadership stats were higher, too.
Professor Dian de Valboa handed a gold medal to the Princess. After accepting the medal, the Princess spoke in a low voice.
"Dian de Valboa."
The Princess was a student and Dian was a professor. Despite this, the Princess spoke informally to her. This was because Dian had once been the Princess's vassal.
"You betrayed me to join the Crown Prince."
Professor Dian quietly bowed her head.
"Do you have any intention of returning? I believe that those with your talent should serve under a competent monarch."
"I have already sworn my loyalty to His Highness, Crown Prince Leonhardt."
"The Crown Prince is more incompetent than I. Surely you are not unaware of that?"
"However, he possesses a far more powerful influence than Your Highness."
It was true. While Leonia excelled in talent, in terms of sheer influence, Crown Prince Leonhardt was currently the closest to achieving global hegemony.
"Hmm, I look forward to the day we fight on the same side."
In other words, she intended to crush the Crown Prince and reclaim Dian, but Dian merely kept her head bowed.
Dian greeted the Princess and pinned the medal to her chest. Though they were professor and cadet, they were also a Duke and a Count, making their relationship quite complex.
After honoring the Princess, Dian approached me with a silver medal.
"Charles Jean Rochefort."
I answered.
"Congratulations on being the runner-up. You have successfully proven your talent."
Why go that far? I just won because I was capable of winning.
"If this were an Age of Peace, you would have lived a destitute life as an ordinary fallen noble. This society was far too rigid for one to overcome their birth. But an Age of Chaos is different. Chaos is a hell that is equal to all, so those with the talent to navigate it naturally obtain everything."
She was right. An Age of Peace and an Age of Chaos are entirely different worlds. In peace, those born into great families rise; in chaos, those born with great talent rise.
"I hope your talent shines brightly in the coming Age of Chaos."
With the highest praise from Professor Dian de Valboa, the silver medal was pinned to my chest—a testament to my position as the runner-up of the mock battle.
Finally, Dian pinned a medal on Isabel, who took third place, and the mock battle officially concluded.