Chapter 43
Chapter 43
Weak to the Strong, Strong to the Weak
After the dormitory competition extraction contest, everyone’s mana was depleted, and after having lunch, the Baroness of Wulem’s mana cultivation training continued.
Once again, they were forced to watch a visual crystal containing something like an awful old public service advertisement.
Idnia writhed in agony, but the other students, while recovering the mana they had spent through extraction magic, were also able to feel moved and develop a sense of patriotism at the same time.
‘No, why is everyone sincerely moved by something like this? Someday I’m definitely going to make a visual crystal myself. I don’t have the talent of a film director or anything, but even an amateur doujin film would be far better than this.’
Idnia made a firm resolution to herself.
However, when lunchtime arrived, she began to feel that the atmosphere around her was strangely shifting.
Then a female student from the Euros dormitory, someone Idnia had no prior contact with, approached and asked her a question.
“Um, Lady Idnia. Is it true that you received a marriage proposal from Prince Ansbach and turned him down?”
“Huh? Where did you hear that?”
When Idnia answered like that, the surrounding girls who had gathered were all astonished.
“Wow, my goodness….”
“Oh dear.”
For ordinary female students, receiving a proposal from a descendant of an Elector House was no trivial matter.
It was the kind of thing that would only appear in fairy tales.
“We heard it being talked about among the Boreas students.”
“Students from the Boreas dormitory?”
Idnia felt puzzled.
Karl proposing to Idnia and being rejected was not something that would be worth bragging about, so why were the Boreas students, who were essentially Karl’s followers, spreading it around?
“A-amazing… We didn’t realize it until now, but thinking about it, this place is crawling with high nobles. It’s truly a noble story.”
The other female students said this as if dreaming.
To them, proposals among nobles and rejecting such proposals seemed like scenes straight out of a romance novel in themselves.
“Until now I was too busy with classes to notice, but thinking about it now, if you do well here, you might meet a spouse from a good family, right?”
“Yeah, that’s true. I didn’t realize it because it was so hard.”
The students were only now becoming aware that they were adolescents. That was how harsh and grueling the academy’s classes were.
“Well, Lady Idnia, your appearance and magic are both outstanding….”
“No, that’s not true. The extraction magic just now worked well because I happen to have some knowledge about willows. And even if my results are somewhat good right now, I’m not sure I’ll be able to maintain this momentum until the end. I did get some good scores thanks to luck, but I don’t think it’s something I can relax about.”
Idnia spoke modestly and looked around.
It seemed that the rumor had already spread to all the students.
‘What is Karl thinking?’
“What?”
Prince Lorenzo Medici Mazdari was supervising the black market where goods were being sold before lunch when he was startled.
“What do you mean Karl proposed to Idnia Katze Betelgeuse, the duke’s daughter? Is that true?”
“Yes. It seems to be true.”
“Hmm. Has that guy Karl lost his mind?”
Lorenzo, too, had been captivated by Idnia’s tremendous magical ability, her lineage, and her potential.
However, marriage among nobles is not something that can be decided based on personal affection.
Idnia’s family was no ordinary house, and yet Karl Ansbach, the prince, had suddenly thrown out a proposal. Lorenzo felt displeasure at this.
“So what did Lady Idnia say?”
“She said she had already broken off an engagement with the Crown Prince, and asked if he understood the reason, then rejected him.”
“Hmm? What was the reason?”
Lorenzo also became curious about that.
The commonly accepted interpretation among nobles was that Idnia broke off her engagement with the Crown Prince because the current position of the Betelgeuse Principality could not afford a marriage on equal footing with the Kalliesta family, and thus she stepped back.
But what about the reason for rejecting Karl’s proposal?
Was the Ansbach Principality, like the Crown Prince, too much for the Duke of Betelgeuse to handle? Or was there another reason?
“…Well, whatever the case, that’s impressive. So she’s a woman who has turned down two suitors from Elector families?
Ah, Rudolf was only an engagement, not a suitor….”
Lorenzo smiled. Thinking that Karl had been rejected by Idnia somehow made him feel better.
“However, since her feelings might change, we should find out what kind of person she likes.”
Lorenzo decided to investigate Idnia as well, considering the possibility that she might change her mind and grow closer to Karl.
After lunch, Baroness Wulem’s basic magic theory class continued.
“In principle, this should be taught in Professor Lakius’s class, but there was an accident, correct?
It can’t be helped, so I will be teaching you instead. Well, the basic courses are originally meant to quickly turn you into magicians, so it cannot be avoided.
The magic I will teach you this time is Protection.”
Baroness Wulem taught the Protection spell.
“Now then, can any student explain the difference between the Protection spell and the Shield spell?
Ah, yes. Miss Isolde Folchen.”
Isolde raised her hand and stood up to present.
“The Shield spell creates a magical barrier by concentrating mana, whereas the Protection magic maintains a direct emission of mana from the body to provide defense.
While the Shield spell is good against physical attacks, the Protection spell is mainly effective against spells that involve precise manipulation on the target, such as mental control spells or transformation magic.
It is also good for blocking spiritual connections with entities such as demons or spirits, which is why it is called Protection.”
“Yes, correct. Excellent. As expected of Miss Isolde Folchen, a descendant of a noble lineage. I will grant you points.”
“…….”
The other students had gradually begun to realize that Baroness Wulem was showing particular favoritism toward Isolde.
Perhaps due to a shared sense of identity as the daughter of the chief consort, Baroness Wulem consistently assigned presentations to Isolde Folchen and generously awarded her points when she spoke.
But to reward her with points for answering questions that were difficult unless one had prepared in advance, while previously treating those who had studied ahead like fools, seemed contradictory.
With the already tense competition for points, someone raised a hand in protest at her apparent bias toward Isolde.
“Excuse me, I have a question. I also raised my hand first.
I raised my hand before her, so why did you choose only Miss Isolde Folchen?”
“Who is the student raising the objection?”
“I am Fiona from the Notos dormitory.”
A noble girl with bright golden hair wore a dissatisfied expression.
Not only her, but all the students of the Notos dormitory were exerting pressure with similarly displeased looks.
“Ah, I understand. I did not notice you because you were not in my line of sight. I will be more considerate next time.”
Baroness Wulem stepped back slightly in the face of the pressure, as if the Notos dormitory students might act collectively.
‘That’s somewhat pitiful. If Professor Deneuve had been here, she would have penalized them for disrupting the class… Baroness Wulem is the type who is weak to the strong and strong to the weak.’
Idnia did not have a favorable impression of Baroness Wulem from her experience in the game, but given her tendency to be weak toward high-class nobles and students, she had no choice but to act cautiously in an academy filled with such individuals.
Compared to other professors, the so-called Five Prisoners of the Empire who were all reckless madmen without concern for the consequences, she was actually the most pitiable professor.
At that moment, Lorenzo, the dormitory leader of Notos, stepped in.
“Fiona. Apologize to Baroness Wulem. Even if you raised your hand first, there is no obligation for Baroness Wulem to turn her gaze and select strictly by order of raised hands. Conducting the class is Baroness Wulem’s authority, and it was unnecessary for you to point that out during class. Wouldn’t it have been better to raise the issue quietly after class?”
Lorenzo soothed Fiona with reasonable words. Fiona immediately apologized to Baroness Wulem.
“I’m sorry, Baroness Wulem. I have committed a discourtesy. Please forgive me.”
It felt like a transparent performance.
Nevertheless, Baroness Wulem had no choice but to accept the apology.
“Very well. Now then, everyone, let us proceed with the class. You must master Protection in preparation for the next class. Professor Sadia’s class will be held soon, and if you do not properly learn Protection, you will be in trouble.”
Even after this incident, Baroness Wulem composed herself and continued teaching magic.
While assistants handled the practical aspects of teaching magic well, Baroness Wulem’s basic magic theory class focused on building a solid foundation from theory.
Teaching in this way would result in slower practical acquisition compared to assistant-led instruction, but it would deepen understanding of magic itself.
Fortunately, in the case of Protection magic, the casting difficulty was very low, so even under Baroness Wulem’s method, all students were able to cast the Protection spell.
Even Marie, who was the least skilled in this area, was able to use the Protection spell.
It seemed that Protection was simple to begin with, but also that Baroness Wulem’s determination to teach it thoroughly before Professor Sadia’s class was strong.
Immediately after Baroness Wulem’s class, Professor Sadia’s class followed.
“Welcome, comrades of the revolution! I am Sadia. You’ve already seen me, but this is your first time properly seeing me in class, isn’t it? I almost had my neck stretched waiting. Now, come, let us achieve the romance revolution together!”
The succubus queen Sadia’s eyes still shone with passion as she pursued her revolutionary goals.
“By the way, I heard that in the previous class… you spoke up regarding class management with Baroness Wulem? Who was it? Do you intend to do the same in my class?”
“…….”
It seemed Baroness Wulem had reported them. But to immediately try to identify the culprit like that?
The students were all intimidated.
Even the Notos dormitory students, who had earlier seemed ready to show collective pressure, remembered how Sadia had used a wide-area energy drain that silenced everyone completely.
‘Students are weak to the strong and strong to the weak as well. Ah, is that the true nature of humans? The Duanice Academy is truly a cold and unforgiving place.’
Idnia once again realized the harshness of the world as she looked at the students who had fallen silent.
“Who was it? Raise your hand.”
“It was me.”
Fiona raised her hand once again.
“What’s your name?”
“My name is Fiona.”
“You seem a bit spirited. I’ll take some of that out of you.”
Energy Drain.
Sadia immediately drained energy from Fiona, causing her to collapse in her seat.
“Guh?!”
Fiona of the Notos dormitory lost her strength and slumped onto the desk.
‘That’s too much! Damn it. I raised my hand first, and she keeps favoring Isolde, so I only spoke up…’
‘Energy drain on a student? That’s a spell that could kill with the slightest mistake in control.’
‘Should we protest together again this time?’
‘No, absolutely not! That’s a mad succubus. She’s a demon. She’ll drain all of us dry! Group action only works against someone we can actually pressure.’
Although the students felt that the punishment was unreasonable, they quietly watched Fiona suffer.
As expected, being weak to the strong and strong to the weak was the law of nature for everyone.