Chapter 86: Being Royalty for the First Time (3)
Chapter 86: Being Royalty for the First Time (3)
The next day.
“The sword is dropping. Focus, focus.”
“Ugh… hnnngh….”
Today, Matthew was once again caught by Patrick and subjected to hellish training.
He was holding a sword in a horse stance, with heavy weights dangling from the blade. Meanwhile, Patrick was lounging lazily beside him, critiquing his form.
“Focus on your center. It feels heavy because you’re only using your arm strength. Try to hold it while minding your body’s overall balance. See? It’s not heavy at all.”
“Ugh…!”
Matthew strained with all his might to put Patrick’s words into practice.
He poured strength into his lower body, focused on the core muscles rising from his legs, and desperately maintained the weight.
Watching Matthew train while drenched in sweat, the other freshmen whispered among themselves.
“Tsk, tsk. It’s getting pitiful at this point.”
“Tell me about it.”
“I don’t know why he bothers with such meaningless training.”
To the other freshmen, the training Patrick forced on Matthew looked like nothing more than simple bullying.
Shouldn’t a knight be swinging a sword to increase their proficiency or immersing themselves in Aura Blessing to expand their mana capacity?
Strength training?
In their common sense, that was a primitive method used only by common soldiers who were incapable of Aura Blessing.
“Leave them be. He’s the one choosing to do it.”
“True. Besides, even the professors aren’t interfering.”
While the freshmen gossiped, one person walked straight toward Patrick and Matthew.
Usually, no one approached the two while they were training, but this person walked up with unhesitating strides.
“Patrick Schneider.”
“Huh? …What brings you here, Princess?”
As Patrick sat up from his reclined position, Isabella spoke.
“Senior.”
“…What about it?”
“Inside the academy, you must call me ‘Senior,’ not ‘Princess.’”
“Ah, is that so? I didn’t know.”
“…….”
“So, what is it, Senior?”
At Patrick’s question, Isabella replied, “I want to duel again.”
“A duel?”
“Yes. Because—”
“No thanks.”
Patrick cut her off as if there was nothing more to hear.
He lay back down on his side, propping his head up with his arm, and said, “If you’ve said your piece, you can go. Hey, watch your posture! The sword is dropping. If it drops any further, your life is dropping with it.”
“Aaaagh…!”
Feeling a sense of crisis—thinking, He might actually do it—Matthew used every ounce of strength to lift the sword back up.
His entire body was trembling violently, but he did not give up.
Watching him, Isabella momentarily admired his incredible grit.
However, the problem right now wasn't Matthew; it was Patrick.
“Patrick Schneider.”
“What?”
“Fight me.”
“No.”
“…Please.”
“No.”
“What if I order you in the name of royalty?”
“Didn’t you say you’re a ‘Senior’ and not a ‘Princess’ inside the academy?”
“…….”
For a moment, Isabella regretted ever telling him that.
Seeing Patrick refuse to even look at her while they spoke, Isabella began to agonize over how she could possibly persuade this junior.
“I am asking you earnestly. Please, duel with me.”
“I told you, I don’t want to.”
“I beg of you. Grant me, your lacking senior, some guidance.”
“Go ask a professor. Why are you asking a junior for that?”
“Don’t be like that…”
Isabella pleaded repeatedly, and Patrick bluntly refused as if she were a nuisance.
The other freshmen watching this scene were beyond shocked.
“What… what is happening right now?”
“Is this a dream?”
“If it’s a dream, it’s a nightmare. My god, Princess Isabella is actually…”
To the freshmen, Isabella was an object of admiration and longing.
She possessed cold charisma and stunning beauty.
She had the skills to take the top rank among the third years and the status of a royal princess.
Even within the academy, where the kingdom’s elite gathered, she was a being that shone brighter than anyone else.
There wasn't a single freshman who hadn't imagined a sweet romance with her in their fantasies. And yet, that very woman…
“I’m begging you. Just once is fine.”
“Ugh, I said no. You think I don’t know that ‘just once’ becomes twice, and then three times?”
“Please, just…”
“I’m not doing it. I said I’m not. Go away.”
She was desperately entreating Patrick.
To make matters worse, Patrick was rejecting her as if she were a bothersome fly.
“That lucky son of a… he doesn’t know how good he has it.”
“Wow, that’s just too much. Seriously.”
“Why is the Princess doing that for a guy like him…?”
The other freshmen glared at Patrick with eyes full of jealousy and envy.
If they were in Patrick’s shoes, they would have granted the Princess whatever she wanted.
But what was this?
That blunt, even rude attitude…
“Scumbag.”
“I hope you choke on your food.”
“I hope a bird shits on you while you’re walking.”
“I hope you can’t get it up on your wedding night.”
That day, Patrick made enemies of almost the entire freshman class.
*
“Tsk, she’s like a leech…”
Patrick grumbled, clicking his tongue.
The reason for his grumbling was Isabella, who had been following him around relentlessly lately, requesting a rematch.
She was so persistent and tenacious that "leech" was the only fitting word.
“Tsk, if I’d known this would happen, I should have just thrashed her on the first day.”
If he had beaten her so badly that she never wanted to think about a rematch again, she wouldn't be clinging to him like this.
But what could he do?
She was royalty, after all; he couldn't exactly turn her into a sacrificial lamb for the Infinite Hell Chain Fist.
Actually… should I just go for it?
As Patrick agonized over the thought, April poured him some tea and spoke.
“If she is being too bothersome, shall I handle her?”
“You’re more reckless than I thought.”
“……?”
Even Patrick felt some resistance to the idea of beating up royalty.
However, in April’s case, she wouldn't hesitate for a second to strike down royalty or even imperial family members if it were for Patrick’s sake.
“I’ll tell you now: don’t do that. If beating her up would have solved it, I would’ve done it already.”
“Understood.”
“Tsk, she’ll give up eventually if I leave her alone. More importantly, if you have time, run an errand for me.”
“Please tell me, Young Master.”
“Go to Red and check if the silk from the territory is finished. Even if it’s just a sample, tell him to bring whatever is completed.”
“Yes, I understand.”
It’s not an easy task. But somehow, I feel like Mother would have pulled it off.
The Grade Evaluation Exam was coming up soon.
Matthew mentioned he would be returning home briefly after the exam, and Patrick planned to follow him.
He intended to meet Matthew’s father there and discuss business in earnest.
No matter how good a product you make, it’s all for nothing if you have no way to sell it.
The marketability of the silk was beyond doubt.
As long as the product was made correctly, it would be more than competitive.
However, Patrick knew.
In the stages of business, making a good product was merely taking the first baby steps.
What was the point of making a great product?
If the world didn't recognize its value, no one would pay for it.
Especially in the case of a new product that didn't exist in the current market, it wasn't an exaggeration to say that marketing—letting people know its value—accounted for more than half the battle.
And after marketing, he needed a distribution network to sell the product as widely and at as high a price as possible.
I suffered like a dog in my past life because I didn't know that.
In his previous life, Patrick had succeeded in bringing a new medicinal herb called Red Ginseng from a distant eastern land.
However, he failed to sell it properly and ended up suffering a massive loss.
This was despite the fact that it was a superior herb, recognized even by the physicians of the Manyak Sect, who were famous for their medical arts in the Martial World.
Back then, Patrick realized something.
The idea that one could make money simply by selling a good item at a high price was incredibly naive.
Leave the rice cakes to the rice cake shop.
Business must be left to merchants.
The Elvador Merchant Group would be an impeccable partner.
“Hehehe. Hahaha… Keke… Once this is settled, I’ll be sitting on a pile of money—no, I’ll be sleeping on a bed of cash. Khahahaha!”
“So this is where you were.”
“Gah! You scared me!”
Patrick, who was in the middle of a happy daydream, jumped in surprise.
Isabella, who had approached him unnoticed, looked at Patrick and said, “Duel with me.”
“Ugh, I told you I don’t want to.”
“If you don’t, I’m going to stick to you until you say yes.”
“Senior, are you a leech or something? I said no.”
“Just do it once.”
“No. I won’t.”
“Please, you did it once before.”
“That was then, this is now. I don’t want to.”
“Don’t be like that. Just once.”
“You really don’t listen!”
Patrick jumped up and started running away, and Isabella chased after him, begging him to do it.
This scene was witnessed by numerous people in the academy, leading to a massive misunderstanding.
“Hey, did you hear the rumor?”
“What rumor?”
“I heard Princess Isabella from the third-year Knight Department is passionately chasing after a freshman.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I heard it too. They say she follows him around constantly, saying, ‘Do it, do it.’”
“Do it? Do what?”
“Well… what do you think?”
Naturally, their minds jumped to a certain act that often occurs when young men and women fall for each other. They thought of it, but…
“No way, surely not.”
“It’s Princess Isabella we’re talking about.”
“She’s famous throughout the kingdom as the ‘Sword-Crazy Princess,’ right?”
“Right, right.”
They tried their best to erase the possibility from their minds.
No matter what, they didn't want to believe that Princess Isabella, the flower of the kingdom, had fallen for some nameless local noble and crossed that line. But then…
“Stop right there, Patrick!”
“You think I’ll stop just because you told me to?”
“Please, just stop! I’m telling you, let’s just do it once!”
“You think I don’t know that ‘once’ becomes twice and then three times?!”
“Then just do it!”
“I said no!”
Patrick running away, and Princess Isabella chasing him while pleading to "do it."
The academy students watched the scene with their jaws dropped.
No matter how they looked at it, this scene was…
“No way… could it be…?”
“I mean, no… but… wait… but…”
“How can this be? The Princess… that Princess Isabella…”
“The world is ending. Dammit.”
They became certain of the rumors.
Having witnessed the scene with their own eyes, how could they deny it any longer?
Thus, the rumor snowballed and spread throughout the academy.
Princess Isabella is passionately courting the freshman transfer student, Patrick Schneider.
The two are already in a deep relationship.
They say they’re even prepared to elope if the kingdom doesn't recognize them.
That is the nature of rumors.
They spread quickly, and in the process, they grow and change shape at will.
Usually into something more scandalous.
The rumor eventually escalated to the point where people claimed Patrick and Isabella had a secret child together, and finally, it reached someone’s ears.
Crackle!
“That bastard… I was keeping my distance because we were in the middle of a push-and-pull, and he couldn't wait and cheated on me?”