Episode 335
Episode 335
Lee Han was lost in thought.
Truthfully, Lee Han wasn't aiming to make a name for himself through dancing at the imperial ball, nor did he need to master every single dance.
Since he only needed to dance one song when others took their turns and then return to his seat, learning the basics was more than enough.
Though exceptional dancers were said to know all the subtle regional variations of the imperial waltzes...
'Is that even possible?'
Lee Han inwardly marveled at the thought before slightly chiding himself.
Now that he thought about it, as someone who studied every school of magic, he really had no room to talk.
'The easiest way to learn this would still be...'
Rather than learning alone, it would be much more comfortable to practice with a friend who was just as bad at dancing as he was.
It would be easier to ask for help and practice together.
'And I can make preparations in advance to stop any unnecessary comments.'
"Gainando isn't here?"
"No. My apologies."
Surprisingly, Gainando wasn't at the estate.
"How...? No, never mind. That was a rude question. Well, Gainando could've gone out on his own."
The head butler, hearing Lee Han's words, thought to himself, 'Couldn't he have gone out with another friend?' but didn't voice it aloud.
After all, Gainando had indeed gone out alone.
"It seems he went out to test a newly assembled Wizard Card deck."
"As expected of the Wardanaz family..."
"That's a baseless assumption unrelated to the family. But anyway, understood."
"Do we have a guest?"
"!"
From deeper within the estate, Gainando's mother—whom Lee Han had met before—appeared.
The head butler bowed his head at the radiant glow of the spirit. Gainando's mother recognized Lee Han's face and brightened.
"Gainando's frien... friend... acquaintance... fellow tower... um... You're Lee Han of the Wardanaz family, correct?"
"Yes. And since we're friends, you can speak comfortably."
He could practically hear her thinking, 'Is he really a friend? Are they still friends? If I call them friends and it turns out they're not, it'll be awkward, so I should be careful.'
Gainando's mother still spoke as if she found it hard to believe.
"Understood. What brings you here today?"
"There's a grand social gathering hosted by the city soon, so I came to practice dancing with Gainando."
"......"
Gainando's mother stared at him with renewed astonishment.
Her gaze practically asked, 'Why are you going this far for him?'
'I'll pretend I didn't see that.'
"That's... truly kind of you. Had I known earlier, I would've locked him up to keep him from leaving."
"It's fine. I can wait until he returns."
The head butler cautiously spoke up.
"If you need any assistance with your practice, we'd be happy to prepare whatever you require."
At that suggestion, Gainando's mother frowned.
A proud noble might have taken offense at such an offer.
Coming from another noble family, offering etiquette assistance could easily be misconstrued as looking down on them.
"How presumptuous. There's no way a scion of the Wardanaz family would be incapable of handling such a thing on their own."
"M-my apologies."
"......"
Lee Han felt awkward.
'I was actually going to ask for help.'
"He is the kind of person who can't handle such things on his own, so your assistance would be appreciated."
"!!"
From deeper within the estate, a nobleman Lee Han had seen before appeared.
Clad in a deep blue silk formal robe, he stepped forward with the uniquely elegant movements only a noble could display, holding a cane with a coldly handsome face.
A wicked glint flickered in his eyes.
"Sk...! No, Headmaster!"
"I think you were about to address me casually just now, but I'll let it slide as a sign of familiarity."
The Skeleton Principal lightly tapped the floor with his cane as he spoke.
Lee Han wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but the Skeleton Principal looked utterly exhausted.
'That's strange.'
The Skeleton Principal was one of the most powerful mages Lee Han knew.
A mage of that caliber wouldn't get tired from casting just a few spells.
"Has something happened, by any chance?"
"...What makes you ask that?"
"You seem a bit fatigued."
"It must be your imagination."
The Skeleton Principal scowled fiercely as he glared at Lee Han.
This, of course, made his previous statement completely unconvincing.
'So much for it being my imagination.'
Lee Han began worrying about what mistake he might have made.
"Did the Ghoul King cause more work for you? But that wasn't my fault—the Adventurers' Guild didn't conduct proper investigations—"
"Wait. Ghoul King?"
The Skeleton Principal cut Lee Han off.
His intuition, honed by Divination Magic, was warning him of impending doom.
Nothing good would come from hearing this!
'After being tormented by the Emperor until dawn, surely not...'
The Skeleton Principal had been in a private audience with the Emperor at the Imperial Palace from the break until this very dawn.
Though it was called a "private audience," it was closer to scolding and criticism.
-"Osu... I respect your methods. But some aspects are clearly excessive. I heard another mage who graduated from Einrogard caused trouble again..."
-"Mages are fundamentally insane by nature—it's not that Einrogard is particularly unusual... The higher proportion of incidents from Einrogard is simply because capable mages gather there, and thus accidents increase accordingly..."
-"Enough excuses. I didn't summon you to hear that. This time, a promising student from the Wardanaz family has enrolled, correct?"
-"Yes."
-"Seeing how readily you agree, he must truly be exceptional. Well, it is the Wardanaz family, after all."
-"I will take full responsibility for his education."
-"Don't try to deflect. I've heard that student is receiving instruction far harsher than normal standards. Is it true he's learning magic from every school as a freshman?"
-"...It's not entirely without precedent..."
-"That child was a troll hybrid, wasn't he? Back then, there were many calls for your dismissal. This time, it's the Wardanaz family, so no such complaints arise."
-"That alone shows how blind the bureaucrats are, doesn't it? I mean, which would endure better—a troll hybrid or a pure human?"
-"Given his lineage, one can't help but expect some degree of exceptionalism... Enough digressions. I only have one thing to say. Teach that boy properly."
-"Understood."
-"Osu. When I say 'properly,' I don't mean just in magic. I mean guiding him so he doesn't become twisted."
The Emperor wasn't entirely without reason.
Mages were fundamentally dangerous beings.
And exceptional mages were even more dangerous, while exceptional mages who also became twisted were extremely dangerous.
Given the caliber of mages Einrogard produced, the Emperor's sternness was understandable.
Still, the Skeleton Principal felt deeply wronged.
Why was it his fault if mages caused trouble after learning magic?
He wanted to argue for hours, but he held back.
Picking a fight with the Emperor, who was already exhausted from managing the Empire's affairs, would only put him at a disadvantage.
Besides, the Skeleton Principal had far too many weaknesses the Emperor could exploit.
-"I will do my best."
-"Since I know you might resort to clever wordplay later, let me clarify what 'guiding properly' entails. For example: if there's a fight with a Rock Drake, make sure he avoids it; if he's already taking ten lectures, discourage him from adding an eleventh; if intruders attack, prevent a freshman from engaging; if the Frost Giant King is summoned, likewise ensure a freshman doesn't handle it..."
-"...I swear, none of those incidents were intentionally orchestrated by me."
-"Is that so?"
-"But Your Majesty wouldn't believe me, would you?"
-"Indeed. Don't resent me too much, Osu... It's only because you've deceived me too many times before."
-......
The Skeleton Principal had no retort—he'd brought this upon himself.
This was the karmic retribution for his habit of committing misdeeds and then dodging responsibility with claims of "I didn't do it."
But the incidents involving Lee Han truly weren't cases where the Skeleton Principal had forcibly pushed him into danger.
Most of the time, the boy had stepped forward on his own!
-"I'll take care to ensure the freshmen don't face excessively harsh trials from now on."
-"That answer is satisfactory... I'll trust you, Osu. Though I can't help suspecting that in three days, you might go back to ruthlessly passing down your teachings as you see fit..."
-"No, Your Majesty. What era do you think this is? Such things wouldn't happen now."
-"You've had enough students flee from you to staff an entire Magic Tower. Well... I'll trust you, then."
Having endured the Emperor's baseless slander—listening to unfounded rumors and insults hurled at an upstanding Archmage—only to return and find the very cause of it all making ominous remarks, the Skeleton Principal couldn't help but feel dread.
"Let me guess. 'King of Ghouls,' was it? Did some undead rise from the catacombs? It's about time for that, I suppose. Bored nobles love slapping grandiose titles on things."
"Ah! How did you know? Though it wasn't a King of Ghouls—it was an Undead Chimera. Senior Diret and I tracked it down together."
"......"
The Skeleton Principal felt a phantom headache in his nonexistent flesh.
He'd only been away for a little over a month. The thought of asking what had happened in his absence was terrifying.
"...Then was it the nobles causing trouble? Those fools don't even know what's dangerous—they'll buy anything and play around with it."
"Ah, you heard about that? But that was a Basilisk."
"...What the hell is wrong with you?!"
Finally, the Skeleton Principal exploded.
"The other brats from the Blue Dragon Tower spend their vacations squeezing money from their families to carouse and waste their lives! Why are you like this?! You're not even a Lich, yet you act like you've got multiple lives to spare!"
"......"
"......"
Not just Lee Han, but everyone else in the mansion—including Gainando—stared in bewilderment.
"My friends are all working during break too—"
"You must have influenced them!"
"That's not... Wait, did I?"
As Lee Han conceded the possibility, the Skeleton Principal grew even more irritated.
Gainando's mother stepped forward to defend Lee Han.
"Duke Gonadaltes. Lee Han of the Wardanaz family is nothing like those lunatics who court danger beyond their abilities for hollow glory. Just recently, when the Red Lotus Forest expedition team suffered an unfortunate teleportation accident, it was thanks to Lee Han that their lives were saved. They were extremely grateful."
"......"
Though he should have been pleased by a student's achievements, the Skeleton Principal only sighed more deeply instead.
What terrified him most was the sinking feeling that there were still more of Lee Han's exploits left to uncover.
After a few more sighs, he resigned himself to reality.
'At least there's an alibi. That's something.'
Even if the Emperor questioned him later, he could claim he hadn't been in Granden City at the time.
Not that he knew how well that would hold up...
"Fine... If he's the type who can't be stopped even when warned, then he was never meant to be contained in the first place. Let him learn to dance. Lady Kraha. Since this boy hasn't taken any social etiquette classes, it would be good if you instructed him."
"You can't be serious?"
Gainando's mother shot the Skeleton Principal a look, as if this were too harsh.
The Skeleton Principal immediately realized her misunderstanding.
"No—Lady Kraha! I didn't forbid him from taking those classes!"
"So you mean he just... didn't take them?"
"That's exactly it!"
"I... see..."
"The reliquary's going to crack...! You explain it to her!"
Gritting his teeth against the headache, the Skeleton Principal turned to Lee Han.
"Huh? Explain what?"
"It was your choice not to take dance classes, wasn't it?!"
"Yes. It was my choice."
"See...!"
The Skeleton Principal cut himself off as he caught the horrified look in Gainando's mother's eyes.
In that moment, he realized there was no way to phrase this without inviting further misunderstanding.
"...Just teach him to dance."