Nightmare (5)
“Wow, he’s still not out of Rutra? That’s impressive, seriously.”
“Of course he’s not leaving. He sold out his own family just to get in here, so if he dropped out over a little verbal abuse, wouldn’t that be a little too pathetic?”
“True. Now that you mention it, there are plenty of places that want his little sisters, aren’t there? Starting with the imperial family, then the Orphega Duchy, the Magic Tower, and wasn’t the Holy Church after them too?”
“If he keeps enduring like that and manages to sell off one sister, he’d strike it rich. He’d make enough money to live like a parasite for the rest of his life, so holding out is probably the better play.”
They were technically whispering among themselves, but the volume they used was loud enough for everyone else to hear. I shut my eyes tight and pretended not to notice the handful of students making a spectacle of it.
...Just endure it. There’s no point in making a scene here.
It was unfair. It was unfair that I was being cursed for something I hadn’t done. And when my reason for entering Rutra Academy had twisted from protecting my sisters into selling them off, I was so dumbfounded I almost laughed.
Those bastards... Marcus Deal of House Deal and Verdell Onstein of House Onstein.
I knew exactly who those two were, and why they were so gleefully spreading that nonsense.
Because at the start of the semester, they’d fallen for Letitia and Seria at first sight, tried to pester them, and ended up getting beaten bloody by me when I’d finally had enough.
Of course, it wasn’t just simple violence. It was the result of a proper duel...
Ever since then, they’d nursed a grudge against me, and from that point on they’d gone around spreading all kinds of absurd rumors about me. Just like now.
...But right now, there’s nothing I can do.
It wasn’t as if I lacked a mouth to explain myself, and it wasn’t as if I didn’t know how to use my fists. If I wanted to, I could go over there and knock those idiots flat for spewing that nonsense with such enthusiasm.
But with public opinion inside Rutra already convinced that I was the bastard who deserved to die, that I was trash, any explanation I offered would fall on deaf ears.
And the same went for forcing them down through another duel.
No—if anything, the bad talk about me would probably spread even further.
And most importantly... I had no intention of making excuses about the rumor with my own mouth.
...Did they really hate me that much? Was I truly... just an obstacle in their lives?
It hurt. I knew I wasn’t some great man, and I knew I wasn’t a brother they could be proud of.
So I could understand being ashamed of me, of this thing called family, and wanting to escape the miserable life we’d lived so far in favor of something brighter and more glamorous.
But even so, I couldn’t understand why they had to spread such ridiculous lies and try to drive me out of Rutra.
I only wanted to protect them. I only wanted to stand close and watch them become people so much greater than I could ever hope to be. Was that really so wrong?
They’d slapped every kind of false accusation on me, turned me into garbage, and all to kick me out of the Academy. Really?
“...Damn it.”
My chest felt tight. But there was no way I could tell anyone else about this.
Especially not to a friend like Cartesia.
Every time I stood in front of Cartesia, I already felt how small and shabby I was. If I imagined receiving her pity on top of that, I felt like I’d puke.
So I kept walking without any destination in mind, drifting aimlessly along, when suddenly someone grabbed my arm.
“Big brother, talk to me for a second.”
It was Letitia.
“...Letitia? Why are you here?”
“Shut up and move first. I don’t think we can have a proper conversation in a place this noisy.”
With that light sigh, Letitia dragged me by the arm to a more secluded spot where there were fewer people around.
Once we were alone, she put both hands on her hips and stared at me with a look that said she was honestly fed up.
“I heard everything. There’s some strange rumor going around about you lately, isn’t there?”
“...What?”
I was stunned. No, before I was stunned, I was actually getting angry—was she seriously treating me like an idiot?
The very person who could be considered the source of the rumor was now saying this to me?
Was Letitia seriously pretending I knew nothing and trying to fool me?
“I think I can guess what you’re thinking, but it wasn’t me. Spreading filthy rumors like that isn’t my style, and I’m too busy to waste time on it anyway. If I were the culprit, I wouldn’t need to be standing here holding you up like this, would I?”
“...Mm.”
That was true enough. The Letitia I knew preferred crushing people head-on rather than plotting something behind their backs, like a proper noble brat.
“You know, it’s a little annoying. Makes it seem like you’re lumping me in with those other bitches.”
“You’re awfully shameless for someone who was saying those exact things with the others not long ago.”
“That was just me going along with those other girls’ tune. Besides, I honestly don’t care whether you drop out of Rutra or not. I’m confident I can climb as high as I want with my own abilities alone.”
“...Oh, really.”
It was a pretty rude thing to say to her one and only brother, but I knew exactly what kind of person Letitia was, so I didn’t say anything. If anything, watching her attitude helped me relax a little.
At least it made it seem like she definitely wasn’t the one who started this rumor.
“So then, for someone so busy working hard to rise to the top, why did you come all the way here to see me personally?”
“Because I was worried about you.”
“...What?”
Honestly, the words that came out of Letitia’s mouth were a little absurd.
“Usually, I’d rather not interfere with what those girls do, but this time it feels like they’ve gone too far. However much it may be, we did live under the same roof as family, so I’m not such a heartless bitch that I’d sit still after hearing my brother was in danger.”
Hearing that, I blinked without meaning to.
“...In danger? Me? Why?”
“What? Don’t tell me you didn’t hear a thing? Well, I only just heard it myself, so I guess it wouldn’t be strange if you didn’t know.”
Letitia clicked her tongue lightly and went on.
“You have ears, so I’m sure you know what I mean. These days, there are idiots who’re taking the rumors about you very seriously. Especially scum like those two morons from a moment ago.”
“...I know. I know it very well.”
“And it looks like Rutra couldn’t just sit and ignore it either. From what I heard, the board of directors actually held a meeting about the rumors surrounding you.”
“They actually gathered to hold a meeting over me?”
At first, it sounded so ridiculous it was hard not to laugh. But the more I thought about it, the less impossible it seemed.
They’re probably worried about my sisters, not me.
More precisely, I figured they didn’t give a damn what happened to me, but they were afraid some harm might come to my sisters by association.
After all, beyond their talent, those girls were cadets receiving direct support from the imperial family.
If some strange rumor were to start circulating around them, there was no way the imperial family would just sit there and watch.
Because no investor in the world would stand by and watch the value of something they’d invested in go down the drain.
“So the result of that meeting was that they decided to have you duel Eli.”
“A duel? Eli and me?”
My eyes flew wide at Letitia’s words. Who was dueling whom?
“Hah. I don’t know the details, but I can guess what the higher-ups are thinking. Since there’s all this garbage floating around saying you were admitted through fraud or whatever, they probably think you can prove your skill in front of everyone. And they’ll use the chance to quietly show off that bitch Eli’s talent too.”
At the sudden news that I’d have to duel Eli, I let out a hollow laugh.
That’s awfully blatant.
If this duel had been held between Eli and me six months ago, there was no question I would have won.
Eli had swung a sword steadily since she was young, trying to follow in my footsteps, but beating someone who’d spent years grinding through the mercenary world was impossible.
But now that Eli had awakened her own talent and received instruction from many people inside Rutra, I knew I couldn’t confidently promise victory over her anymore.
I was confident against most opponents, even cadets nearing graduation who had knight-class combat ability, but... I wasn’t sure I could beat the current Eli.
And if I considered the fact that she was my little sister, that made it even more so.
No matter how much Eli might be trying to kick me out of the Academy, I didn’t have the confidence to raise a sword against her.
...Damn it.
I could tell. Whoever came up with this had designed the board so I could only lose.
A carefully staged play, built so that nothing unexpected would happen and I’d quietly walk off the Rutra stage exactly as someone wanted.
“Believe it or not, I personally want you to win this duel. Because even if you’re just an eyesore in my way, I still don’t want to see you getting publicly beaten by someone else.”
“...So? What are you trying to say?”
“I’ve got something I want to give you. If things stay like this, it’s obvious you’ll lose, so I prepared a trump card just for you.”
Smiling, Letitia was just about to hand me some unknown object wrapped in bandages when—
Smack!
Out of nowhere, a woman appeared and slapped the back of my hand just as I was about to accept the thing Letitia was offering.
“Don’t take it, Sian. What Letitia’s giving you is a trap.”
It was Cartesia.