Justice Realized
After Olivia left, only Duke Ashtar and the combat maids sworn to protect the Ashtar clan remained in the room. The Duke stood with his hands clasped behind his back, tapping his foot restlessly as he muttered to himself.
“I never imagined my own daughter could be that kind of person. Still… there’s something I’m curious about.”
There hadn’t been enough time to press her on certain matters. “There’s no smoke without fire, as they say. The fact that other families came to me with protests means what Olivia did is undeniably true.”
Her siblings had been driven out by her. They had been on the brink of forced withdrawal. It had all happened right at the start of Adelina’s second year.
“Just when did she obtain that kind of power? And that white hair is no ordinary sign. Well, even so.”
The white hair likely meant some kind of magical awakening. Physical changes were common among mages, after all. But that wasn’t the real issue.
The Duke glanced at the black-haired maid standing perfectly straight beside him.
“She looks exactly like you.”
“…You noticed?”
The black-haired maid’s eyes curved in a faint smile. She was Katarina, wife of Duke Ashtar—the very woman who had helped solidify the family’s position when it had begun to waver. In the past she had worn countless identities to deceive the world, even leading an assassination guild from the shadows of the empire. The combat maids currently serving House Ashtar were all elite operatives drawn from that same guild, and Katarina had disguised herself as one to observe Olivia while accompanying the Duke.
“Weren’t you the one who scorned her, claiming she wasn’t your daughter? Dressing up as a maid just to see your own child—what kind of noblewoman does that?”
The Duke mocked his wife. Until recently, Katarina had clung desperately to the Crown Prince while despising their daughter to the point of doubting whether she even carried their blood.
It was only natural. The engagement to the Crown Prince had been nothing more than a political arrangement. There was no reason for the young lady of a family whose history rivaled the imperial house to throw herself at him so pathetically. After their eldest son was confirmed as the next head of the family and their second son entered the military, Katarina had wanted Olivia to inherit the guild. She had at least hoped the girl would resemble her in some small way.
Naturally, she could feel no affection for a daughter who flung herself at a man who felt nothing for her, offering up her liver and gallbladder in the process. When Lily stole the Crown Prince and Olivia even staged a suicide, Katarina had genuinely wondered if the girl was the product of an affair with some other man. If she didn’t take after her, she should at least have taken after the Duke—but she hadn’t.
So something had happened to that child.
“Still, she is the child I carried in my womb.”
That was true. Even though she had given birth to her, Katarina had never treated Olivia kindly.
“What did you think when you saw her?”
“She surpassed even me. Who could have guessed she would be able to deceive her own mother?”
Just how long had she been acting? As a child, Olivia had shown glimpses of brilliance. At some point she had claimed to have fallen in love with the Crown Prince. Come to think of it, the change seemed to have begun after the engagement. So had it all been an act because she didn’t want to marry?
If that was the case, entrusting her with the guild would be far simpler. A Crown Princess secretly running an assassination guild would only become a source of trouble later. Instead, by handing Lily over to the Crown Prince and letting Olivia do as she pleased, the girl had more than fulfilled her duty.
“To hear such words from you—the one once called the Black Reaper. How surprising.”
The Duke responded with genuine interest. In that case, perhaps he really could trust Olivia.
“However, we cannot yet know whether what that child does will truly benefit House Ashtar.”
“True. That remains to be seen.”
Even so, the eyes of the daughter he had faced after so long had been pleasing to behold. Then perhaps he could afford to have some expectations.
After finishing my conversation with the Duke, the student council was waiting for me the moment I stepped out. To be precise, the Crown Prince himself had come. Yuria stood beside him with a smug little smile, as if any of this had anything to do with her. It was ridiculous.
“What business does Your Highness have with me?”
“I hear you met with the Duke as well.”
Yes, I had.
“I did. So what exactly did you call me here for?”
“Then I assume you’ve decided to release the noble students? Just let this matter pass quietly. That way your own dignity will be preserved. I’ll make sure to discipline them properly.”
Good grief. Where did he get such delusions? And what was I supposed to do about it?
I laughed coldly at the Crown Prince.
“I’d rather not.”
“What?”
The Crown Prince looked as if he’d been slapped. He glared at me with icy eyes. He could glare all he wanted; what couldn’t be done simply couldn’t be done.
“Even His Grace the Duke respected my opinion this time.”
“What?”
If he kept staring like that he was going to bore a hole straight through my face. Did he really think I would expel every last noble? Despite how I might look, I’m actually quite merciful. Wasn’t that why I had endured so long in that pathetic hero party?
“Of course, I’m not a demon. I can show leniency depending on the conditions.”
“Conditions? What conditions?”
Hadn’t I already stated them before?
“Licking my shoes, a sincere apology, and repeating a year.”
“Isn’t that a bit excessive?”
“Got a problem with it?”
Then I simply wouldn’t forgive them.
“Is there truly no room for compromise beyond that?”
“None whatsoever.”
“Have you no loyalty to your former fiancé?”
Only bringing up loyalty as a fiancé at a time like this—there really was no saving him.
“It doesn’t hold much meaning anymore. By that logic, Your Highness is supposed to become the son-in-law of House Ashtar. With the solid backing of Ashtar behind you, are you really trembling before a few minor nobles?”
“You—”
Not me. You’re the one who needs to wake up.
“A small empire.”
“What?”
“The empire refers to Adelina as ‘Your Highness’s small empire.’ If you can’t make use of that, then it’s meaningless.”
A small empire. A small world filled with nobles and commoners. For a Crown Prince who claimed to practice politics for the sake of commoners, what should he do with that world? Cater to the stagnant nobles? Help commoners advance in society? The answer was obvious.
Did a man who couldn’t even understand something so simple truly deserve to become emperor? It wasn’t my job to teach him. He would have to figure it out himself.
“That is also why the Duke left me the authority to deal with them this time. In any case, regardless of all that, I will enforce my conditions without compromise. A sincere apology. Licking my shoes. Repeating a year. I will accept nothing less.”
“Lady Ashtar, these are nobles who form the very foundation of the empire. How can you treat them this way?”
Lily, the new fiancée, simply stood there without grasping the situation. And it was almost comical that only Yuria—who was treated as little more than an aide—kept running her mouth.
“Since the nobles have fallen, talented individuals from commoner backgrounds will simply take their places. Being a commoner doesn’t make someone less capable.”
Even among nobles there were plenty of blockheads. The only reason most of them possessed basic intelligence was because they had received personal tutoring from a young age in privileged environments. But even they couldn’t compare to Ashtar.
“If you’re unhappy about it, try opposing Ashtar.”
“!!”
When I glanced at the student council officers, their faces still burned with resentment. Especially Lailer, who would have to kneel alongside the rest. They must have already heard the news from Berta Fortress by now. It seemed they still hadn’t grasped the severity of the situation.
“If you still cannot understand, Your Highness, may I speak plainly?”
“Go on.”
With the Crown Prince’s permission, let’s see.
“The kingdom’s impregnable fortress, Berta—the very breakwater that protected us—has collapsed. We are now completely exposed to the offensive of the Four Heavenly Kings. The hero is weak, and even Lord Noah, the hero of both the empire and the kingdom, has vanished. In short, the empire itself could fall at any moment. Yet here in Adelina these pathetic fools are still strutting around, relying solely on their noble status.”
In other words—
“I disciplined them with the authority of Ashtar. What exactly is the problem?”
Moreover, this time Duke Ashtar had personally given his approval. I had clearly drawn the line at repeating a year at most.
“Sister! Your language is vulgar!”
At last the pink-haired girl dared to oppose me.
“The vulgar one is you, acting like a queen bee with that half-baked body of yours.”
I still found it astonishing. How had she managed to bewitch nobles with a body that couldn’t even tempt an orc?
“Pardon?”
“Never mind. In any case, I made myself perfectly clear. That will be all.”
My unyielding stance was not something even the Crown Prince could break.
Somehow, word must have leaked from somewhere, because my firm position spread throughout all of Adelina. The eldest daughter of Ashtar would show no mercy to any noble who opposed her house. Above all, it was said that Duke Ashtar himself had given his silent approval. He had most likely suppressed the protests from the other families as well.
At that point, even the noble students of the academy understood.
‘Olivia Lapa Ashtar is not someone who can be discarded.’
As a result, the noble bastards were now putting on a tearful performance before me. The men still seemed unable to accept it, but since they had come to apologize regardless—whether by their family’s will or otherwise—I decided to spare them the shoe-licking.
“I-I’m sorry.”
After receiving the final student’s apology, I chose to forgive them.
“If only you had done this from the beginning, how much simpler it would have been. Mere small-minded nobles who strut about with nothing but a single territory to your names, daring to touch the eldest daughter of Ashtar? It’s not even funny.”
I shrugged and provoked them as much as I pleased. They were probably furious. They would definitely be furious.
But so what? This was how nobles usually behaved. They had always looked down on commoners. So I looked down on them in exactly the same way.
“Let me make this clear once more. I am allowed to be arrogant. You are not. Why? Because by bloodline, your families cannot even dare to look up at House Ashtar.”
It was a command to lower their eyes. I intended to make full use of my position.
Noah was dead. Olivia was dead. The deceased Noah had taken Olivia’s body. Don’t worry. First-generation Olivia. You will become a great sage remembered throughout history.
Since I was already mocking them, I might as well go all the way. Strangely, tearing these people down gave me an odd sense of exhilaration. I finally understood why Cyria and Ella had always looked down on others.
“And you are weaker than me. Even if all of you attacked together, you could not defeat me. That is the difference between us. Therefore, from now on, keep your heads lowered in my presence. Ah, no—that’s simply how it should be. You are first-years, after all?”
If they were first-years, they should act like first-years and show proper respect to their seniors.
The first-year students wore expressions of pure humiliation. Lailer’s face in particular was hilarious.
“Heh.”
“What was Adelina’s school rule again? Status may be equal, but one must treat seniors with respect and observe proper etiquette. So from now on, you had better mind your attitudes.”
If they didn’t like it, they could always advance to third year.
Watching the nobles trudge toward the first-year classroom, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Ah, this is genuinely entertaining.”
That red-haired bastard’s twisted face was too funny. He had actually called me “senior.” It seemed I really was being influenced by Olivia. Why did crushing them feel so satisfying?
And it wasn’t just them. Thanks to the student council interrupting earlier, I hadn’t had time to reflect, but Duke Ashtar had been surprising as well. I never expected that father of mine to react the way he did. From his letters alone I had assumed he was simply an unreasonable man who refused to listen, yet we had actually managed to communicate. Perhaps it was because I had proven my worth. If I had been useless, would he have discarded me without hesitation?
To be honest, the moment I was abandoned by the Crown Prince, the life of a noble young lady had already ended.
In any case, I had safely secured my position. With things as they were, I would need to make a few strategic adjustments.