Chapter 87: I Wish Everyone Would Just Get Lost (1)
Chapter 87: I Wish Everyone Would Just Get Lost (1)
Patrick ♥ Isabella.
This rumor broke the hearts of countless young men who harbored secret feelings for Isabella, but there was one person whose reaction went beyond mere heartbreak and crossed into pure fury.
“Honestly, you can’t just leave men to their own devices. Once their backs are warm and their bellies are full, they forget to be grateful for their main lady and start letting their eyes wander.”
This was none other than the daughter of Count Parmas, Marianne, often called the Flower of the East.
She ground her teeth audibly before turning to her personal maid, Emily.
“Don’t you think so too?”
“Could I… perhaps not think that?”
“Are you even my personal maid? If your master’s man is cheating, shouldn’t you be just as angry and help me come up with a plan?”
Me? You mean me?
Emily let out a deep sigh.
“My Lady, the thing is…”
Emily thought to herself: To untangle this mess, you first need to realize that the young master of the Schneider family was never your man to begin with…
“Just wait until I catch him. I’ll just… snap him in half…”
As her personal maid, Emily realized that logic wouldn’t work on Marianne while she was blinded by jealousy and rage. Thus, Emily tried to resolve the situation with the most diplomatic words possible.
“Well… what can you do? He was that kind of man from the start.”
“So you agree he’s in the wrong, right?”
“Yes. I am always on your side, My Lady.”
As long as I’m getting paid.
“Right, right. I knew I could count on you, Emily.”
As Marianne’s anger seemed to subside slightly, Emily spoke up again.
“In that case, My Lady.”
“Yes?”
“Since he’s that kind of man anyway, you’re far too good for him. Why don’t you just ignore him and move on?”
“What?”
“Think about it. Why should someone as beautiful, wise, and high-born as you date a piece of trash who cheats?”
They had never even dated in the first place.
Emily wasn’t unaware of this. However, if they "broke up" now, the whole affair could end quietly as if nothing had ever happened. Wouldn't that be for the best?
But Emily’s hopes were quickly dashed.
“No, I mean, breaking up is a bit much…”
Ah… forget it.
Watching Marianne twirl a lock of hair around her finger while pointedly looking away, Emily realized one thing: her lady would never let go of the young master of House Schneider.
“Well, a man is young; his eyes might wander for a moment. I can find it in my heart to be understanding. Don’t you think?”
“……”
No, I don’t.
“Maybe I’m just overthinking it. They say Princess Isabella is the one chasing Patrick fervently, and Patrick is just busy running away. So… strictly speaking, it’s not cheating. Right?”
“Oh, my head…”
“Hm? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I was just thinking how wonderful it would be if you were my younger sister.”
“Hohoho, you want a cute sister like me?”
“……”
If you were my sister, I would have broken your legs into thirty-six pieces by now…
Alas, the insurmountable wall of social status.
*
Marianne was a woman of action.
The very next day, she headed straight for the Knight Department. Although she had known Patrick was at the Academy, her pride had kept her from visiting him first.
Romance is only fun when the man is the one doing the chasing.
It was a game of push-and-pull she was playing entirely by herself, given that a relationship didn't even exist, yet her mind was filled with sweet delusions.
Oh? So you’re playing hard to get?
You’re holding out longer than I thought.
Should I send a letter first? No. If I send one first, I lose.
Stop, please stop… Emily felt like she was going to cry.
Regardless, Marianne decided she would "let him win" this round of push-and-pull and went to find him.
“Excuse me. May I ask you something?”
Upon entering the Knight Department, she stopped a passing student.
“Yes. Please, go ahead, Lady.”
“Where are the first-year students of the Knight Department?”
“The first-years should be in the first-floor lecture hall for their liberal arts class.”
“Thank you.”
Marianne gave a soft smile.
Her mind might have been a mess, but to the outside world, she was the renowned beauty of the East. When she smiled, the student’s gaze turned hazy and dazed.
“Um, if you’d like, I could escort you there myself.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Marianne readily accepted his favor. Since she was on her way to see Patrick, she briefly considered declining, but…
No, this is actually better.
A person who is popular with the opposite sex is inherently more attractive. The sense of achievement and superiority one feels when making someone everyone else desires into their lover—that would surely work.
Besides, if she played her cards right, she might even make Patrick jealous. Jealousy was, after all, an essential seasoning in romance.
You, become my prop.
“Shall we go then, Sir Knight?”
“Yes. I will lead the way, Lady.”
And so, Marianne headed toward the first-year lecture hall, accompanied by her nameless, pitiful prop.
*
“The loyalty of a knight is like a green pine tree that does not change color even in the dead of winter. Loyalty that wavers because circumstances are difficult is not true loyalty. To illustrate this lesson, there is an anecdote from the past of the Alfrein Kingdom…”
Watching the professor on the podium passionately explain the nature of knightly loyalty through historical events, Patrick thought:
God, this is boring. And useless.
Unlike the relatively free-form practical classes, these liberal arts lectures were a form of torture that Patrick’s twisted personality found hard to endure.
What is knightly loyalty?
How could someone talk so incessantly about such a simple topic?
Loyalty? It wasn't that complicated. If you didn't stab someone in the back and stayed with them until you died, that was loyalty. Seeing the professor try to fill the lecture time by overcomplicating it with fancy words made Patrick realize that being a professor wasn't an easy job either.
In fact, most of the other students besides Patrick looked like they were dying of boredom. Being people who were fundamentally used to physical activity, liberal arts classes were like poison to them.
Ding-dong, ding-dong.
When the bell rang, the expressions of the first-years transformed as if they had been rescued from hell.
“Well, that’s all for today. Also, I will give extra credit to any student who writes a report on Knight Ricardo.”
Patrick could guarantee that absolutely no one would write it.
As soon as the lecture ended, Patrick was the first to spring out of his seat. He moved quickly, as if trying to escape something, and headed for the exit…
“Where are you going?”
“Aaaagh!”
The moment he stepped out of the lecture hall, he was caught by Isabella, who had been lying in ambush.
“Princess, don’t you have classes?”
“Third-years have a lot of independent study time.”
“Ah, is that so? How nice for you. Well then, I’ll be going—”
As Patrick tried to sneak away, Isabella grabbed him firmly, determined not to let go.
“Do it with me today.”
“Do what?!”
“A duel.”
“I keep asking, why do I have to do that? I already did it once.”
“The last one didn't count. Do it again.”
“Why should I?!”
This bickering between Patrick and Isabella had become a familiar sight. The first-years still viewed Patrick as a guy who didn't know how lucky he was, but the situation had improved slightly after it became known that all Isabella wanted was a duel.
That spoiled brat.
If I had the chance to duel Princess Isabella, I’d do it even if I got cut by a real sword.
Should I actually ask her to duel me?
While the first-years watched in envy, Patrick struggled to peel Isabella off his arm.
Ugh, I can’t even knock her out because she’s a princess.
If he had known she would be such a leech, he never would have gotten involved with her in the first place. As Patrick was wallowing in regret, a voice called out to him.
“It’s been a long time, Young Master Schneider.”
“Huh?”
Patrick turned his head to see a female student wearing clothes different from the Knight Department uniform. The moment he saw her in her practical, checkered dress, he remembered.
She’s… oh right, she said she was a student here.
“Lady Parmas.”
“Fufu. Here, you can just call me Senior Marianne.”
She spoke with a smile, a second-year Knight Department student trailing beside her.
“Congratulations on entering the Academy. It was worth asking my father for the favor.”
“A favor? Did you recommend me for admission, My Lady?”
“That’s right.”
“……”
“You don’t have to thank me. It was nothing.”
“Thank you, my foot…”
“Pardon?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Patrick let out a deep sigh. To be honest, he had never wanted to enter the Academy. However, now that he was here, there were a few perks.
Free room and board?
Easy access to places to drink?
And crucially, becoming friends with Matthew, the son of the Elvador Merchant Group leader, was a significant plus for Patrick.
But was he grateful to Marianne?
Absolutely not.
He had been swept up in trouble and caused two major incidents as soon as he arrived. Moreover, the liberal arts class he just finished was so boring he’d wanted to jump up and shake the professor by the collar.
And most importantly, the leech currently attached to his left arm.
I’m going crazy. Seriously.
There were pros and cons. So, if he had to say, it was basically a net zero, and he could just let it be.
Well, whatever…
“I see. Then I’ll see you around, Senior Marianne.”
“Ah, before that…”
Marianne approached Patrick. She glanced at Isabella, pointedly ignored her, and then latched onto Patrick’s other arm—clinging even tighter than Isabella.
Then, with a smile, she said, “It happens to be lunchtime. Why don’t we go grab a bite together?”
At that moment, a small sigh escaped the lips of the second-year student who had escorted Marianne there.
I thought she came to see family…
The second-year student looked utterly dejected.
Patrick, with an expression full of genuine reluctance, spoke up.
“…Doesn’t the Administration Department have its own cafeteria?”
“I’m curious about the menu at the Knight Department’s cafeteria.”
“It’s just a bunch of meat and it tastes terrible.”
“Oh my, then shall we go to the Administration Department’s cafeteria? They’re serving pumpkin pie for dessert today, and it’s quite good.”
“No.”
Isabella cut in from the other side. She frowned as she looked at Marianne.
“Patrick has to duel me. There’s no time to go to the Administration Department.”
“Oh, Princess. Within the Academy, even a princess doesn’t have the authority to give orders to a fellow student, does she?”
“That’s…”
“There’s no reason for the Princess to restrict where we eat, is there?”
“…Regardless, he can’t. He’s going to duel me.”
“No. He’s going to have a meal with me.”
“Duel!”
“Meal!”
Watching the two women bickering on either side of him, Patrick thought to himself:
One was the Princess of the Kingdom.
The other was the daughter of the most powerful noble in the East.
Unfortunately, neither were people he could just beat up to solve the problem.
I wish everyone would just get lost.