The Fifth among the Five is Always the Trash
The audience in the Sky Island concluded, and the first to rise was the king.
From his throne, the king stood and entered the royal palace with the Duke of Petra and the Duke of Hillstein. Fairina the Duchess and Kilm the Duke followed them out.
Aria and Meiel stepped out through the open doors, accompanied by Knight Commander Haran and Knight Arin. The servants whispered among themselves as they filed back into the palace.
As the major figures departed, the knights arranged in neat rows remained last.
Once even the knights had left, the audience hall stood empty. Duke Imptia slammed his fist against the wall.
Kwaaang──!
“Damn it!!! That rotten woman──!!!”
The hand that struck the wall turned red and throbbed with pain. Even a small whimper of agony escaped his lips, yet the duke’s face remained flushed with fury as he shouted.
“A lowly commoner dares mock me with such words?! And on top of that, she ruined my entire plan!!!”
The plan that could have swallowed the throne in one step had been shattered by Aria’s request to the king.
“Please punish those who lay a hand on me and my siblings. Even if it means punishing anyone at all.”
The king had offered to grant anything, yet Aria had not expected such a wish to be fulfilled so eagerly. The consequence was chaos.
“Punish you directly.”
As he spoke those words, the duke remembered the eyes that had stared straight into his own.
Those two eyes that had looked at him as though the wish existed solely because of him.
The moment the king granted the wish and Aria lifted the corner of her mouth in mockery, the image of her face burned into the duke’s mind.
“Damn it…… If it weren’t for those two, even the knight commander wouldn’t have been a hindrance anymore……!”
There was only one reason Duke Imptia had coveted Aria and Meiel.
To seize the throne of the Phra Kingdom he had dreamed of for so long.
And the greatest obstacle to him toppling the current king was Knight Commander Haran and the knights under his command.
Given their overwhelming strength and the king’s fanatical loyalty, the duke could never have destroyed them alone.
That was why he had tried to recruit both Haran and his knights into his own faction.
Once he possessed two individuals stronger than Haran, the path to the throne would have been wide open.
Thus he could only seethe with rage at the one person who had ruined everything right before his eyes—Aria.
Since the king had endorsed her plan so forcefully, the duke realized he could not afford to touch them carelessly.
With two people stronger than Haran on Aria’s side, the outcome was as clear as day.
“Kuu…… Kruuuuu……”
Anger slowly subsided. Though ambition consumed him, the duke was no fool to be sitting among five nobles.
He had coveted the two women only because they were the key to a shortcut.
Now that the key was lost, he had no choice but to swallow his resentment and return to the original path.
Any display of arrogance here would only make him a moth burned by its own wings.
“I will make you all regret mocking me one day……!”
Of course, he did not simply leave the rage behind.
The duke stuffed his volcanic fury into the box of his heart and swore revenge upon becoming king. After several minutes of suppressing his emotions, he finally exited the audience hall.
“We’d better hurry. We might be late.”
Today was the day he had arranged a meeting with the assassin guild a fortnight ago.
His regular clients had already arrived at the mansion long ago. He could not keep them waiting.
Thus the duke boarded the pre-arranged carriage the moment his emotions settled.
Deng──!
“Take us straight to the mansion.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
As soon as the door closed, the duke’s command sent the coachman on his way.
The luxurious carriage, purchased with a bribe, glided smoothly. The duke leaned against the backrest, savoring the ride, and planned to take a light nap before reaching the mansion.
He needed a little rest before the meeting.
His eyes soon grew heavy and he slipped into sleep.
***
Although the audience had ended, I remained with my head lowered, watching the king rise from his throne.
My heart ached to leave at once, yet we could not afford such recklessness while everyone still stood gathered in the audience hall.
Only after confirming that the king had safely entered the royal palace did I finally stand.
“Huff……”
I lightly tensed and released the muscles in my entire body, easing the stiffness in my posture.
A cool sensation surged through me. I smiled broadly, then glanced at Meiel, who still had not risen.
“My legs hurt……”
“Get up quickly, Meiel. You can just cast a spell, right?”
“Ung……”
Because her body was weaker than mine, I helped support her legs and lifted her arm as she winced in pain.
Duke Imptia’s faint killing intent still lingered toward me. I wanted nothing more than to leave this place.
Following my lead, Meiel cast a recovery spell on herself with a sullen expression. I took her hand and walked toward the door of the audience hall.
“Ah! Professor!”
“Arin! Some people are still here! Keep up your dignity!”
When I approached, Arin, standing by the door, hurried over with her usual bright smile.
Apparently her work was done. She tossed aside her knightly tone and rushed to me.
Haran scolded her as he followed.
I stepped in front of him to protect Arin from his usual scolding. The audience had already ended, and no one remained to witness us.
“It’s fine, Knight Commander. There’s no one left to see us, and the audience is over. You can relax and speak freely.”
“R-really?”
“Haha! What a pity, Dad. The professor is on my side… Aaa?!”
Haran scratched his head awkwardly and stepped back.
I ruffled Arin’s hair, then turned to Haran.
“If you’re not busy, would you like to accompany me all the way? Meiel seems to be in some pain, so we’ll be walking slowly.”
“Hahaha, then I shall keep you company for a while.”
Haran seemed flexible enough. He laughed and agreed, stepping down from his usual authoritative position.
Since the audience was over, the relationship between professor and parent was the same as before. I walked out of the hall with Meiel and Arin, beginning to chat about Arin.
How she acted at the academy, how well she followed training, whether she got along with her friends, and so on.
Exactly the kind of conversation between teacher and parent.
Arin played the role of the ideal representative character at the academy, so I answered honestly. Haran smiled with visible relief.
He added that it was fortunate she caused no trouble, and his affectionate gaze toward his daughter made Arin’s cheeks flush behind him.
But the light conversation did not last long.
Haran’s smile stiffened slightly as he asked me.
“That wish you mentioned to His Majesty the king today… It must have been because of those clinging nobles.”
“That’s correct.”
Precisely, it was only a favor for the single Duke Imptia who had been staring at me with disgust the entire time.
Still, Haran frowned slightly.
“The nobles’ greed is truly intolerable. I feel it every day.”
“Indeed.”
Given his title and strength, Haran should not have been swayed by such petty concerns.
I nodded in agreement.
“If there’s anything I can do to help, please speak freely. I will do my utmost within my ability.”
The unexpected words made my eyes widen.
Perhaps because his heart was gentle, or because I was the teacher Arin trusted—either way, the look in his eyes did not seem like it came from someone who had spoken lightly.
In other words, he was offering full cooperation as Knight Commander.
I was deeply grateful, yet I shook my head lightly in reply.
“Thank you for your concern, but it’s unnecessary. I’ve already taken care of it.”
“You’ve already taken care of it…?”
I had issued the command through Meiel after receiving the king’s approval in the hall. By now, the preparations should have been complete.
Haran tilted his head in confusion.
I smiled faintly and turned my gaze away.
“You’ll see tomorrow.”
The massive mansion across the way would be gone.
***
“Haa… What a tiring day.”
After stepping out of the carriage at the mansion, Duke Imptia muttered.
Today’s emotional strain had been too great. He had slept deeply in the carriage yet still felt exhausted.
He could not stand idle before the door, however. The duke rubbed his throbbing neck and entered the mansion.
“He should be in the reception room. I’d better head there now.”
Since I had come to fetch him, my appearance was irrelevant. I naturally headed toward the private quarters.
The five regular clients were likely already waiting. I planned to complete their target assassination quickly and then rest comfortably.
It made more sense to finish the discussion first and bathe than to bathe afterward and talk dirty.
With that thought in mind, the duke strolled down the quiet corridor toward the reception room at the end of the first floor.
Somehow there were no maids, making the corridor unnaturally silent. The duke paid it no mind.
In his current exhausted state, silence was preferable to noise.
If no one were on the first floor, they would simply be in another room.
The duke rubbed his stiff neck and stopped before the reception room door.
Without hesitation, he opened the door and stepped inside.
“You’re finally here. I was about to run out of patience.”
“Getting tired? Let’s finish quickly and go.”
“Shall we? Ah, Impt… What was the title again? Here, I’ve already dealt with the humans who looked like your friends.”
The woman holding a sword was covered in blood from head to toe. The woman with the staff stood beside her in clean clothes.
The woman who had been smiling brightly at me extended the sword.
“Hyaack?!”
At the same moment I caught the blade, Duke Imptia flung it away.
The weapon was not a sword—it was the familiar head of the assassin guild member I had lost moments ago.
Ku-dang──!
The instant I recognized the head, I hurled it and fell with a loud crash.
When I hit the floor, tears welled up. I also sniffed like a pig, but I could not wipe them away.
The woman who had been sitting in the chair first drew her sword.
“As expected, humans are weak.”
She called herself “human race” and spun the sword in her hand.
Duke Imptia’s entire body burned with fear. He desperately tried to retreat, but his urine-soaked pants made him slower than the woman.
Slowly, her shoe heels clicking, the woman advanced and raised her sword.
“P-p-please spare me───.”
“You should have left our master alone.”
His barely squeezed-out words were cut off by the blade and he collapsed to the floor.