Tailing
The man had neat brown hair and orange eyes. He wore horn-rimmed glasses and appeared to be around the same age as me, yet he didn’t look like an academy student at all.
Who the hell is this guy?
No matter how much I combed through my memories, nothing came up. In the end, I decided to ask him directly.
“Why are you following me?”
“……”
“It’d be smart to answer honestly. The Saintess is right here with me. You don’t want to end up dragged in front of the inquisitors, do you?”
In Earth’s various media and in this world too, inquisitors were regarded as grim reapers incarnate. The proof was how the man’s face turned deathly pale the moment he heard my threat.
“I-I’m…”
“Don’t even think about lying. The second I see anything suspicious, I’ll hand you over to the inquisitors without hesitation. You know what happens then, right? You’ll receive horrific torture until you spit out every last piece of information—unable to live or die.”
“Hiiik! P-please, anything but that! I’ll tell you everything, the truth, I swear!”
“Wise choice. The inquisitors are busy people, after all. They spend every day of the year judging the demons of the Dark Cult—”
Thwack!
While I was fabricating every threat I could think of to pressure the man, a heavy fist slammed into the back of my head.
“Ow!”
I let out a scream at the unexpected pain, rubbing the back of my head furiously as I spun around. There stood the Saintess, huffing with anger.
“Why did you hit me?”
“Are you seriously asking that? You’re distorting the Church’s image! Inquisitors do not engage in cruelty!”
“Then when they interrogate demons from the Dark Cult, do they just scold them with words?”
“Of course! They make them repent by preaching the mercy of Lady Lephentia!”
“Um… that can’t be right.”
It was an absurd claim. Humans were stubborn even about the smallest opinions—how could a mere speech change someone’s entire ideology? Was she forcing it?
As I stared at the Saintess with skeptical eyes, my gaze suddenly shifted behind her. A holy knight stood there. The man who had been radiating zero presence until now was desperately signaling me with his eyes.
“Ah…”
Only then did I understand. The Saintess genuinely believed the inquisitors used gentle methods. No one in the Light Church had ever told her about the darker side of their work.
Well, I can understand why.
They probably didn’t want to shatter the pure heart of such a kind and beautiful Saintess.
I let out a small sigh.
“The Saintess is correct. The inquisitors are a very devout and gentle organization. I was wrong.”
“You admit it surprisingly easily. Excellent. I’ll forgive your earlier slip of the tongue.”
“Thank you for your mercy. Then I’ll continue the interrogation.”
After roughly handling the Saintess, I turned my attention back to the mysterious tail.
“There was a small disturbance. So, why were you following me?”
“……”
“What? Why are you suddenly silent? Is it because of what I said to the Saintess? You know that was bullshit. Speak. Do you want to die?”
The momentum that had made him look ready to spill everything had vanished. When I poured fresh threats on the man now exercising his right to remain silent, he finally read the room and opened his mouth carefully.
“T-to tell the truth… Miss Isis ordered me to do it.”
“…Isis? And you call her ‘Miss’?”
“Yes. You may not know this, young master, but… I am Endison, the servant of Sir Paris, who once served as Miss Isis’s guard knight.”
“Paris…?”
Paris was a veteran knight who had been in charge of the mansion’s security until recently. I never imagined Isis would use a knight to tail me.
I almost got into serious trouble.
If time had passed without me noticing anything, I might have made an irreversible mistake. I owed the Saintess my thanks.
The question now is how to respond…
Acting like a spoiled brat was one thing, but to prevent this from happening again, I needed to flip the situation completely.
Having made up my mind, I twisted my face violently and slapped Endison across the cheek.
Smack!
“Ugh!”
“You son of a bitch! You tail me just because Isis told you to? You wanna die? Even if you do this, Isis is a woman. She can’t inherit the family. When I become the head of the house later, you think I’ll just let you be? Huh? You think Paris will be fine? You crazy bastard!”
Profanities flew freely. I dragged up even the parts he hadn’t mentioned, rampaging wildly and pouring out every inferiority complex I could muster. My fists and feet never stopped, beating his entire body as I turned the atmosphere vicious. Right now, I was the very picture of a good-for-nothing bastard.
“A-ah! Y-young master, please stop!”
The Saintess, who had been watching from the side, was so shocked by the savage behavior—something she had never seen when I spoke to her—that she even began to stutter.
I stopped the beating as if coming back to my senses and looked at her.
“…I’m sorry, Saintess. I showed you something ugly.”
“N-no. I’m the one who should apologize for interrupting so rudely.”
“It’s fine. Even I would be bothered if a commotion like this broke out. Now that I’ve calmed down, you should go on your way, Saintess.”
This was exclusion wearing the mask of consideration. At the clear warning not to interfere anymore, the Saintess glanced worriedly at Endison before slowly nodding.
“…Understood. See you later.”
“Yes. Let’s meet again when the opportunity arises.”
Once the Saintess had left, I immediately reverted to my previous state and kicked Endison in the shin.
“Hey, get up. You know where Isis is, right? Lead the way.”
“Y-yes, sir. Please follow me.”
Endison wiped his ruined face with his sleeve and walked ahead.
Ten minutes later, Iris and the holy knight returned to the spot where Luan had been.
Iris pouted, her lips pushed out in a sullen expression.
“I need to go to the academy too…”
She was currently on an important mission and had been dispatched to the academy branch. Naturally, the only place she should return to was the academy, yet she had been overwhelmed by Luan’s intensity and ended up heading toward the sanctuary instead. Although she had turned back midway, the thought of running into him again made it impossible for her to go near the academy. The Saintess’s dignity was in tatters.
While grumbling, she suddenly recalled the way Luan had beaten Endison.
He seemed like a completely different person.
It was so extreme that she wondered if it was really the same man who had spoken to her politely and occasionally made silly jokes. Perhaps the reason she couldn’t bring herself to head to the academy was because she was afraid of that version of Luan.
Which one was the real Luan?
After pondering for a while, Iris decided to ask Dale, her guard holy knight.
“Dale. May I ask you one question?”
“Of course, Saintess.”
“…What do you think of Duke Luan Priulri? Was the version of him I saw a false one?”
Dale felt troubled as he met the soft pink eyes gazing up at him earnestly. Personally, no matter how he looked at it, Luan was a classic petty man who changed his behavior depending on who he was dealing with. But the Saintess seemed to view him in a rather positive light. If he spoke badly of the boy now, he would end up arguing with a lady far younger than himself.
“Is there really a need to label one of them as fake?”
“What do you mean?”
“It means both versions are real. In the underground waterway, didn’t he say he… liked your chest, Saintess? Naturally his attitude would differ.”
“Ah, that’s right!”
She had overcomplicated her thoughts and missed the simple truth. Luan had been kind because of her breasts.
There’s still hope for his rehabilitation.
If he weren’t evil to the core with no room for compromise, but could show kindness to obtain what he desired, then presenting the right carrot would be enough to correct his behavior. The only problem was that the carrot in question was her own chest…
It’s fine.
If rehabilitating Luan could save the lives of many people in the future, she could offer her chest as many times as necessary. However, she couldn’t simply approach him and present the condition. For now, she would observe.
I won’t let things go off track!
When we arrived at the academy, Endison took out the temporary pass he had received from Isis and presented it before guiding me to the student council room.
Isis is in the student council room today as well.
With her workaholic nature, she always lived buried in work.
Soon, Endison’s steps came to a stop.
“This is it.”
“Move.”
“Yes, sir.”
The moment Endison hurriedly stepped aside, I kicked the student council room door with all my strength.
Bang!
The door flew open violently, slamming into the wall with a deafening noise. Inside, Isis and Regina—who had been writing documents and chatting—turned their gazes toward me at the sudden intruder.
Two pairs of silver eyes met in midair.
“L-Luan?”
Even when Isis called my name, I said nothing. I simply walked silently until I stood right in front of her. Her eyes were trembling faintly with agitation. She already knew why I had come. I could feel her glancing at Endison over my shoulder.
I placed both hands on the table and leaned forward.
“Why did you put a tail on me?”
“Luan, that’s…”
“I don’t need excuses. Tell me the reason. It’s better if you don’t even think about deceiving me. Because I don’t know what I might do.”
“……”
My curiosity was genuine. No matter that she was my sister, I couldn’t understand why Isis would go so far as to tail someone as insignificant as me—an extra. If there was an important reason behind it, I needed to identify it without fail.
Of course, Isis answered with silence.
“Why can’t you speak? Tell me the reason. There has to be one for why you tailed me!”
“…I’m sorry.”
“You know you’re sorry? Then why did you do it? You’re a smart person. Didn’t you know I would hate it? No—you must have known. You did it anyway. Because a bug like me would never notice, right? If the Saintess hadn’t been there, I never would have known. That’s what you thought too, isn’t it?”
I deliberately used self-deprecating words. As planned, Isis panicked and rushed to deny it.
“N-no, Luan. I’ve never thought that way. A bug? Don’t say such things about yourself.”
“Then tell me the reason! What was the reason for tailing me? Just tell me that and I’ll leave. Okay?”
“……I can’t tell you that.”
“Fuck. Seriously. Do you want to watch me go insane? Why can’t you just understand what I’m—”
Thud!
Before I could finish, a hand pressed down on my shoulder, forcing me to shut my mouth. When I turned my head, I saw Regina smiling sweetly. However, her eyes were ice-cold.
“Young master? Your words seem far too harsh. How about calming down a little?”
The grip on my shoulder tightened as if she would crush it if I didn’t comply. But I couldn’t back down here. I had to hear Isis promise with her own mouth that she would never tail me again.
“Your Highness the Princess. This is a matter between me and my sister.”
So stay out of it. The intent was conveyed instantly. The smile vanished from Regina’s face as if it had been washed away. Her hand slid off my shoulder. She took a step back, crossed her arms, and spoke.
“Is that so? This is the student council room. Kicking the door open without permission and causing a disturbance is very much my business as well. If my brother were here, I wonder what he would say…”
It was both an assertion that she had every right to intervene and a warning against daring to disregard imperial authority.
Since neither side yielded, the confrontation continued naturally and the atmosphere grew frigid. The one who suffered most in the middle was Isis.
“Both of you, please calm down! Your Highness the Princess, thank you for thinking of me. But there’s no need. I can handle this myself. Luan, you calm your excitement too. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you the reason I had you followed. However, I promise I will never do something like this again. So can’t you be satisfied with that? Please. I’m begging you.”
Finally, Isis had broken her stubbornness. I barely managed to swallow the sigh of relief that nearly escaped me.
“I’ll let it go for now. But if I catch you tailing me again, expect something unimaginable.”
“Luan…”
“Then let’s not see each other again in the future.”
Leaving behind that final warning, I turned and left the student council room without looking back.
The objective had been achieved.
Now I need to prepare countermeasures.
It wasn’t just about Isis. Since I had no idea when or by whom I might be followed, I needed to start preparing right away.
Thus, the chaotic first weekend came to an end.