The Empire's Academy Awaits
The table, sofa, and carpet in the reception room were still damp with spilled water, yet I wiped them clean with a towel anyway.
Even if the moisture would take forever to dry, I wanted to move my hands just to clear my thoughts.
After Adelaide left, the maids who peeked in from behind began waiting quietly.
Though their desperate pleas to let them help had tugged at my heart, I couldn’t issue an order to dismiss them here.
“The rest of the cleaning, leave it to me.”
“……! Y-yes, my lord.”
I straightened the maid who had been bent over, then glanced at the window of the reception room.
I expanded my senses and felt her: Adelaide Teyran, walking with unsteady, powerless steps toward my carriage and servants.
“……Adelaide.”
I frowned slightly and walked to the window, looking down at the retreating figure.
How could anyone carry such a pitiful back view?
A vague sense of guilt flickered inside me for having spoken so harshly earlier than necessary, but it was a problem I could not undo now.
I set aside my small debt to Adelaide for the time being and decided to forget about it.
She would soon return to my duchy, and if we met again…… that reunion would most likely happen at the academy.
“An academy……”
I let out a small sigh and narrowed my brows. The story Adelaide had told me was short but intense, pulling me into deep thought.
Even ignoring the fact that I had poured out exaggerated emotions only to realize it was nothing worth that much, the imperial decree was clear.
The emperor’s words had been unmistakably harsh. Refusing them would be even more difficult.
In this vast empire there were far too many noble families, and their children—whether in the current generation or many generations from now—were countless.
Even beyond that, the children of royal families and nobles from other countries, along with all other powerful forces, would also be gathered here.
If the emperor could collect them all under the banner of education and knowledge, it would not be a bad thing for a ruler, would it?
The educational institution founded by the very first emperor of this country three hundred years ago still stands as the greatest academy on the continent.
And according to the empire’s law, all children under twenty-five from noble families were required to enroll at the academy……
“……Was I exactly twenty-three then?”
I muttered under my breath, calculating my age. I had been possessed at around eighteen, so it should match.
The sudden turmoil in my mind oddly unsettled my mood.
I never expected someone to make such a move, but the emperor was clearly gripping the justification while I could only face it head-on.
Although our family’s opposition to the imperial family had been famous since my predecessor, Douglas Havertz, we had still been subjects of the empire.
Any family that wanted to live within the empire had to follow its principles.
Unless I wanted to cut off the territory and declare independence……
“Independence……”
The sudden thought sent a fierce impulse racing down my spine. Should I really go independent?
Then at least Lotte, who kept pushing for close-kin marriage using the empire’s laws, would have some chance to calm down.
The area of Havertz Dukedom was the largest in the country. Even if it caused some chaos, self-sufficiency was not impossible……
“……Hah.”
I closed my eyes tightly and shook off the useless, meaningless thoughts. They were pointless, worthless, and had no solution. Even if I consulted Himmel, he would surely reject them with his usual stubbornness.
Well, I hadn’t been serious about the independence idea either. It was just an impulse now, but this matter wasn’t simple.
“I sent Adelaide all the way to my estate…… not a formal imperial messenger, but simply the daughter of a noble duke.”
The purpose had been to send a message, so there was nothing wrong with it, but the situation still felt suspicious.
Would that old fox really have sent her just for the sake of “an engagement relationship”?
Probably not. It was more likely he wanted to subtly hint at some kind of agreement between the Teyran Duke and the imperial family.
“They’re planning to join forces? With Douglas Havertz dead and me newly ascended, they intend to crush me early……?”
He was, after all, the second-highest noble in the entire Altmain Empire—second only to me.
The Sword Saint, Siegfried Teyran.
We may not have been close, but I had crossed swords with him several times. It was only natural that such an encounter made me uneasy.
“It would have been easier to face the emperor’s own soldiers.”
To be honest, he wasn’t an easy opponent. In some ways, perhaps even harder than the emperor.
Armies could be wiped out with large-scale magic, but facing the continent’s strongest knight was something I wanted to avoid.
At the very least, he was no ordinary mage like Douglas Havertz, and in one-on-one combat he might even surpass him.
From the start, being able to oppose Douglas, a top-tier 8th-circle archmage, had already been a miracle of sorts. I had no desire to take on anything more dangerous.
“Tch……”
By now Adelaide’s Teyran carriage had vanished into the distance, and I couldn’t even see her retreating figure.
It meant I had been lost in thought for quite a while. I supposed that was fortunate.
Deciding was actually not difficult.
What else could I do? The situation had turned like this.
“I have to go. To the academy.”
Refusing the imperial order would be hard. The justification was on his side, and the advantage of a united force was also on his side.
Of course, the latter advantage would be temporary. At least for now. Since I didn’t fully understand Siegfried Teyran’s true intent.
My mind, which had been filled with nothing but frustration, was finally starting to clear. I had sorted out my thoughts; now it was time to plan for the future.
“Manager.”
I called out to Himmel, who had been standing silently with the maids for several minutes.
The white-haired old man immediately stepped forward and bowed his head.
“Yes, Your Grace. Please speak.”
“……Write one letter.”
I gave him a moment to process, then stated what I needed. Himmel immediately signaled the maid. Stationery and a quill would arrive soon, and there was plenty of content to write.
Since the emperor had summoned me to the academy, he clearly meant to endure the risk himself.
After all, the position of the Imperial Academy was much closer to the imperial palace than Havertz Dukedom.
They said the emperor was fond of boasting that I was a weapon capable of waging war with a single 8th-circle archmage……
It wasn’t exactly a pleasant expression, but the one who dared to say it wasn’t foolish. The emperor.
What if I turned the academy grounds into a sea of fire?
“It would be better to keep him close and watch him from nearby…… this way.”
That was good. I understood his purpose well, and I would follow the order, but I couldn’t drop my guard either.
After all, what had brought me to this world? None other than a game.
And among the regions in that game, the Imperial Academy was the most significant background.
In a way, I knew the academy’s setting better than the Havertz family, so if I deliberately used it, there was nothing I couldn’t do.
The emperor’s surveillance and the Sword Saint’s gaze would create an uncomfortable learning environment, but I would also have several things to harvest from that plan.
“Then I’ll be stealing the protagonists’ dramatic moments?”
The thought crossed my mind for a moment but vanished quickly. Whatever. The ninth chapter, the Blood Witch, had already been blocked by me.
It wouldn’t matter if I used a few of the non-essential events for them.
I dipped the quill Emma had brought into the ink and began writing the letter on the spot.
“……Ugh.”
I honestly couldn’t be sure this method would work, but it was worth a try. It was worth a try.
At the very least, it would be entertaining for the ruler of the Imperial Academy…… because the political scheming of “humans” within the empire was never pleasant.
“To the long-time guardian of the Altmain Empire. To the greatest being on the continent. And above all, to the headmaster of the Imperial Academy whom we respect the most.”
“A certain individual who will soon become one of your many students requests the following.”
I wrote the letter slowly, my expression cold and lips twisted in a sneer.
“I wonder whether you’ll be able to hold your head high even before the dragon clan.”
Come on, give it a try.
You imperial bastard.