An Unlikely Pact
After Ernen and Sebastian left, I stood there unable to find the right words, merely glancing around awkwardly.
“…Haa.”
Suddenly, Lana let out a sigh. Then—
“I’m sorry.”
She apologized to me out of nowhere.
“Pardon?”
I couldn’t help but react with confusion. The apology had come so abruptly. To begin with, I couldn’t even understand why Lana was apologizing to me.
Seeing my reaction, Lana continued.
“Because of me, you were insulted, Kyle…”
“Ah.”
Only then did I understand the reason for her apology. However—
“There’s no need for you to apologize, Saintess.”
I shook my head immediately. From the start, this wasn’t something Lana should be apologizing for.
“No. If it weren’t for me…”
Apparently, Lana saw things differently and kept trying to apologize, but—
“No.”
I didn’t allow it. Honestly, Lana hadn’t done anything wrong. The ones who insulted me were Ernen and Sebastian. …Well, strictly speaking, only Ernen had spoken, but Sebastian had clearly sided with him through his gaze and demeanor, so he was an accomplice as well.
Anyway, I had been insulted… well, that much was true. And it was also true that the situation had arisen because of Lana. But Lana bore no fault in it. More than anything, I hadn’t been bothered by Ernen’s words in the slightest. All Ernen had said was that I was beneath her and shouldn’t associate with her. That hardly counted as an insult.
Besides, Lana had defended me against Ernen and even gotten angry on my behalf. She truly had done nothing wrong. In fact—
“If anything, I should be the one apologizing.”
Considering the situation, I was the one who ought to apologize, not Lana. Because of me, her relationships had become tangled. Truthfully, the position of Saintess didn’t require much concern for human relationships. Unlike nobles, whose power came from connections and reputation, the Saintess had no need for such things. In theory, even if she fell out with the crown prince or the head of the Ebenros family, it wouldn’t cause her any real harm.
But I couldn’t just brush this incident aside. I believed Lana did care about her relationships to some degree. I only knew how she had behaved since coming to the Academy, but I knew well that she had always treated everyone kindly. I didn’t know her exact motives, but that behavior itself wasn’t meaningless. Perhaps Lana found joy or fulfillment in treating others that way and forming bonds. Or maybe she did care about how others perceived her.
Ernen and Sebastian had probably had some sort of relationship with her as well. ‘Though it didn’t seem that deep…’ From Lana’s reaction, their connection hadn’t been particularly close. Still, Lana, who had always shown kindness to everyone, had rejected someone for the first time and pushed them away. I didn’t know how she felt about it, but I couldn’t help but worry. That left me uneasy, and I felt guilty toward her.
However—
“No.”
Lana shook her head.
“You have nothing to apologize for, Kyle.”
“……”
Her voice carried a note of firmness. Her unwavering gaze told me she meant every word. It seemed Lana truly believed what she was saying. I felt glad, yet I couldn’t simply nod in agreement, so I hesitated.
“Well, the treatment is finished, so shall we get up now?”
Before I could respond, Lana rose from her seat. In the end, I—
“…Yes. Let’s do that.”
—had no choice but to give up and nod.
After parting ways with Lana and heading back to the dormitory, I thought to myself.
‘I need to prepare.’
I couldn’t afford to sit still. Even though Lana had defended me and driven Ernen and Sebastian away, I doubted things would end peacefully. No—if anything, the fact that she had protected me made me even more certain. Ernen and Sebastian, having been rejected by Lana, wouldn’t take this lying down.
Of course, I had no proof. But—
‘It won’t hurt to prepare in advance.’
Better to put in a little effort now than to regret it later.
***
“……”
“……”
Ernen and Sebastian, who had been ordered to leave by the Saintess Lana Flor, trudged along. They were heading in the same direction, as if they had coordinated it. In truth, their meeting today had been nothing more than coincidence. They had simply run into each other on the way to verify the rumors. And in an instant, they had recognized that their intentions were the same. That was why they had walked together without a word and voiced their opinions in unison.
Their expressions were far from pleasant. That was only natural. Not only had they failed to achieve their goal, but they had also ended up earning the Saintess’s displeasure. Ernen had wanted to win the Saintess’s favor for his own purposes, while Sebastian had simply wanted to capture her heart. Their fundamental motives differed, yet their objective today had been the same: to separate Kyle Berwen from Saintess Lana.
They had failed to accomplish that, and instead, the future had only grown more complicated. How could their expressions be anything but grim? Both Ernen and Sebastian were in foul moods, though the presence of the other kept them from showing it openly.
As they walked aimlessly through the heavy silence—
“…Are you going to leave it at this?”
—Sebastian suddenly spoke. Ernen’s head turned toward him naturally.
“……”
He didn’t say anything, but his gaze asked the question: What do you mean?
Whether he understood or not, Sebastian continued.
“I don’t know what Your Highness’s intentions are. But… it seemed you wanted to separate Kyle Berwen from the Saintess.”
“……”
“I feel the same. So… our interests align, wouldn’t you say?”
Sebastian’s eyes gleamed sharply.
“Let’s get rid of him together. Kyle Berwen.”
Sebastian was openly proposing an alliance to Ernen. It was something the old Sebastian would never have said. Having lived his entire life in noble society, he knew better than anyone that revealing one’s true intentions could become a weakness. Especially if those intentions weren’t exactly honorable. The Sebastian of before—or rather, until recently—would never have voiced such words in front of another.
But the current Sebastian was different. Even knowing this could expose his weakness, he laid bare his thoughts and proposed an alliance. The reason was simple: the present Sebastian was no longer the same person he had been. Having become aware of his feelings for Saintess Lana, Sebastian had changed. He was now willing to reveal his weaknesses if it served his purpose.
However, his immediate goal wasn’t to win Lana’s heart. Of course, that was his ultimate desire, but something more pressing took priority right now. Namely, getting rid of Kyle. Sebastian had always despised Kyle more than anyone. That was why he couldn’t tolerate Kyle’s presence at the Saintess’s side. He wanted to separate Kyle from her as quickly as possible—before the Saintess came to any harm, before she could be influenced by him.
Ernen stared at Sebastian in silence. Honestly, even Ernen found it surprising. That Sebastian Ebenros would show such a side. Given their respective statuses, the two had known each other for some time and were familiar with one another to a degree. Though they hadn’t interacted deeply, Ernen knew well what kind of person Sebastian Ebenros was. A born noble. The heir to the great Ebenros family, he had always presented himself in high society as someone who met—or even exceeded—expectations. Sebastian had never once revealed a flaw or weakness in noble circles. He had always shown only perfection.
Yet now, that man was openly speaking words that could become weaknesses. It wasn’t hard to guess the reason. Ernen immediately understood that Sebastian harbored feelings for the Saintess, Lana. In other words, he was a rival. After all, Ernen also wanted Saintess Lana’s heart for his own purposes. However—
“Very well. Let’s cooperate.”
He accepted Sebastian’s proposal. The reason was simple. Ernen’s own feelings were burning just as fiercely as Sebastian’s. This wasn’t the time to be wary or cautious of him. He could think about competing with Sebastian after dealing with Kyle Berwen first.
Thus, the two men formed an alliance—with the shared goal of removing Kyle Berwen from the Academy.