Chapter 24
Chapter 24
The school is too small.
“Pardon?”
Marie was startled by the cold tone.
While she had been briefly talking with Prince Lorenzo of Mazdari, a young man with black hair had appeared beside her.
“Oh my. Can’t you see we’re having a private conversation? Maintain your decorum, Prince Karl of Oxbach.”
“I can’t bear to see an innocent country girl being toyed with by a Mazdari scoundrel. Ah, I am Karl Gustav Oxbach. You are Marie of Astraea?”
“Yes… I-I’m honored to meet you.”
“There’s no need for formalities between classmates at the academy. Call me Karl.
But let me give you a piece of advice. You seem like a naive country girl, so it would be wise to be cautious with Lorenzo. Mazdari men are known to seduce women with sweet words but, once bored, abandon them mercilessly.
If the Trinity Order hadn’t enforced monogamy, marriage would hardly exist in Mazdari. That’s how it goes.”
“Oh my. Are you openly spreading such prejudiced gossip? Right now?”
Prince Lorenzo of Mazdari shook his head.
“And for the record, the saying that there’s no marriage without monogamy isn’t about Mazdari, but Milan. As you know, Mazdari is…”
“They were once invaded by heathens, right?”
“……”
At that moment, Prince Lorenzo’s expression hardened.
The warmth vanished from his smiling face, leaving a frightening impression.
Even if Prince Lorenzo hid his claws and his sword, Karl’s words had seriously wounded his pride.
Would he get angry?
But that was exactly Karl’s intention—to provoke Lorenzo, to expose his true nature. If Lorenzo fell for it, all his restraint until now would be wasted.
Lorenzo straightened his face, smiled again, and avoided Prince Karl Oxbach’s gaze.
“Not angry?”
“Well, Mazdari men are merchants. Unlike northerners, they wouldn’t risk their lives for honor or meaningless things.
But I’m not approaching this from that angle. Are you saying Mazdari people can’t even build camaraderie with fellow classmates?”
“If it’s just camaraderie, of course there’s no problem. But that’s not your real intention, is it? That’s why I’m warning you. Saint. Southern men, whether from Milan or Mazdari, aren’t very trustworthy, so be careful.”
“Really…”
“I get angry when my homeland or people are insulted without reason. I don’t fake calmness like some and then hold grudges. That alone shows I’m a straightforward person, don’t you think?”
“Um… wait. So you deliberately provoked him?”
Marie realized from Karl’s words that he had intentionally riled Lorenzo.
“Do you think I’m an idiot, Saint? Of course I provoked him.”
“Pardon?”
“If not, why would I openly speak the rumors about how southern men behave?”
Karl looked at Lorenzo and said,
“He thinks he hides a sword behind a smiling face, but by grinning foolishly, it’s obvious how big that hidden sword really is.”
“In that case, apologize.”
“Huh?”
“You said you deliberately insulted Prince Lorenzo of Mazdari and his people. You must apologize.”
“No, it’s just that this guy is insincere…”
“Don’t you have any secrets yourself? Surely you’re hiding your true strength too?”
“What?”
Karl was taken aback. No one had ever spoken to him so boldly.
“Hiding secrets doesn’t justify rudeness toward someone. He has no obligation to be sincere with you. But conversely, everyone has a duty to show respect, at least to brothers of the Trinity Order.”
Marie, raised in the church from childhood, forgot the difference in status and lectured Prince Karl Oxbach. She could not endure staying silent.
“Um… I’m… sorry. I was rude. Whatever you’re hiding doesn’t give me the right to be rude to you.”
Surprisingly, Prince Karl Oxbach, raised as a warrior since childhood, realized his mistake and apologized to Lorenzo after hearing Marie’s lecture.
Until Marie pointed it out, he hadn’t recognized that intentionally insulting and provoking Lorenzo was wrong.
“I accept your apology. Thank you, Karl, and Marie.”
“Huh? Ah… I-I…”
Marie was taken aback seeing Lorenzo sincerely thankful. She, a mere commoner, had boldly spoken directly to high nobles, even those from the Imperial Elector family. They had listened to her words despite the risk.
“Remarkable, Marie of Astraea.”
Crown Prince Rudolf had been watching from a short distance. Despite suffering from mana burnout, he used his free time to recover energy and study the textbooks, completing the reading assignments from Baroness Buelem.
Even while sick, he was studying, something theoretically plausible but practically absurd. Mana burnout brought persistent nerve pain, making it unbearable. Yet Rudolf continued.
Seeing Lorenzo escort Marie to the courtyard, he followed out of concern. There, he saw Marie scold Karl and reconcile him with Lorenzo.
“She has incredible mana… and such a bold personality even as a commoner… remarkable.”
Crown Prince Rudolf felt someone’s gaze and was startled.
Isolde, with a frustrated expression, approached him.
“You truly have no prejudice against commoners, brother? Admiring the pure heart of a country girl just arrived in the city.”
“Eh? Honestly, isn’t it amazing? Even I was afraid of Prince Karl. But Marie spoke freely to him despite being a commoner. That’s impressive.”
Rudolf’s admiration cracked Isolde’s aristocratic façade.
“No, it must be because she’s an ignorant fool!”
Isolde, wanting to push Marie as the saint candidate instead of Idnia, felt upset seeing Rudolf praise another girl and shouted.
“Who’s there?”
Karl, Lorenzo, and Marie were discovered. They had no choice but to be seen once Isolde shouted.
“Crown Prince, you have bad habits too? Curious about others’ affairs?”
“I wasn’t spying, it’s just that student-accessible spaces in the academy are very limited.”
“Indeed.”
Lorenzo strongly agreed with Rudolf. Normally, he would have handled this privately with Marie, but the lack of open spaces made interference inevitable.
“And if you mean spying, it wasn’t me…”
At that moment, Rudolf surged forward and leapt into the bush where Isolde was hiding.
“What?”
Even with mana burnout, Rudolf moved incredibly fast and found the hidden person.
“…huh?”
Lorenzo and Karl followed and were shocked to find a huge dead wolf.
“What…?”
“That size could kill a cow. Wolves near the dormitory? Are they insane? This school…”
Seeing the wolf corpse, both Lorenzo and Karl were startled.
Though they were trained in martial arts and magic, ordinary students who could barely use magic would face deadly danger.
“No, it wasn’t just a wolf. Someone was definitely here…”
Rudolf examined the wolf’s state after checking the surroundings.
“An incredible fighter. Killed almost instantly, without giving it a chance to feel pain.”
“Hmm…”
“No surprise if killed by a sword, but… its neck is broken. How did they do this?”
Marie was puzzled.
“Ah… perhaps a teacher or staff member? Students wouldn’t leave it dangerous.”
“I’d like to believe that… but what if it’s a student?”
“Someone our age with that skill? Honestly, I don’t want to believe that.”
Even Prince Lorenzo, who was hiding his strength, felt chills imagining it.
“Huh. Not just a skilled person, this is an extraordinary monster. Could we get a reward if we report this?”
Prince Karl Oxbach raised a question. Silence fell over the group.
“Let’s report it to the faculty. If they handled it, it’s over. If a student did, we’ll know from the reaction.”
“Then who should report it? If allowed, I’d like to recommend Marie, the saint candidate. She has 2 store points and 2 penalty points, right?”
Rudolf, Lorenzo, and Karl, as dorm heads, already had 2 store points each. Rudolf had extra points from being second at entrance exams. Marie led in penalty points.
“Whether there’s a store or not, Marie should report it.”
“Eh? Ah, understood.”
“Phew. Thank goodness.”
Idnia felt tears coming.
“Worried she’d mess things up, but Marie handled everything. Thank goodness.”
Unlike the original story, Idnia had feared Marie would fail, but Marie had responded wisely, gaining favor from Northern Duke Karl and leaving a good impression on Lorenzo, Karl, and even Crown Prince Rudolf.
‘What’s even better is she spoke from her own heart, not because she knew the game’s events. Marie truly has an upright character. I’m relieved. The protagonist I liked has the same qualities even without my interference.’
Idnia silently wished for Marie’s success.
But then…
‘Releasing my domination skill even briefly feels refreshing. But student-accessible spaces are too limited. I need to expand the area of influence in the school…’
Idnia realized suppressing her domination skill wasn’t without cost.
‘In the game, the academy gradually opened more spaces. So things should improve. But current dorm private rooms are…’
At that moment, moving armors stationed throughout the school began making sounds.
[Ah! Hello, academy students. I am Magram, the tenured professor of this academy.]
One of the empire’s five prisoners, Professor Magram, addressed all students.