Episode 340
Episode 340
"That's what you're going with? Doesn't even look tasty."
"I-It's delicious, though..."
Rowena's voice faltered slightly under Lee Han's harsh critique.
Not all elves strictly adhered to vegetarianism, but some elven families were fanatically fond of vegetables. Knowing this, Lee Han didn't blame Rowena.
"I take back what I said about it looking tasteless. But given our remaining schedule, it'd be better to eat something more substantial."
With that, Lee Han snatched Kltran's plate.
The plate, stacked almost artistically with thick pancakes soaked in honey and syrup, three types of fruit tarts, and a crispy triple-layered meat pie, was wrested away from Kltran, who made a face even more pained than when he'd broken his ankle during the last polo match.
The Princess, however, brightened slightly.
Lee Han placed the plate in front of the Princess and pushed the green plate toward Kltran.
"Kltran. You eat this."
"...Can't I just go get another one? Wardanaz?"
"Sure, go ahead."
Kltran anxiously rose from his seat, praying the pancakes wouldn't run out. Noticing Lee Han had no plate, Rowena spoke up.
"Wouldn't it be better to have at least a little something?"
"I'm fine with this, so you should focus on filling your own plate."
"I'm also..."
"What was that? Your Highness? You're worried? You are worried, aren't you?"
The Princess, mid-bite into her pancake, shot Lee Han a bewildered look, but he pretended not to notice and ignored her.
Rowena stood up as if she understood.
"By the way... Are you really okay with just that plate?"
"I'm fine."
Lee Han wasn't particularly fond of Rowena's fresh green plate, but he wasn't hungry, and more importantly, he was used to rough food.
Even when his friends from the Blue Dragon Tower gagged on hard black bread, Lee Han could swallow it without batting an eye.
"So, Lord Wardanaz really does prefer vegetables."
"That's not— No, just go fill your plate. Break time's almost over."
Lee Han shooed Rowena away as well. Then he turned to the Princess.
"Your followers aren't giving you trouble, are they?"
The Princess choked mid-bite and coughed violently. Lee Han handed her a glass. After sipping some fruit juice, she answered slowly.
"...No."
"Really? I've been thinking about it since school—that seems like harassment to me."
The Princess fell silent for a moment, as if choosing her words carefully.
"They don't... have bad intentions. They're just... a bit too enthusiastic..."
Gainando should see this.
Lee Han marveled at the Princess's restraint in not badmouthing her followers.
If it had been Gainando, he would've immediately exploded with something like, "These bastards won't let me eat when I want to eat, won't let me play when I want to play, force me to study when I don't want to—what kind of followers are these?!"
"Can't you just tell them to tone it down? One word, and they'd understand."
At Lee Han's suggestion, the Princess shook her head.
She explained that, as a member of the imperial family, arbitrarily rebuking the followers who supported her would be irresponsible and would shatter their expectations.
As long as she received their support, she had a duty to live up to the image they envisioned.
After all, someone who remained silent and nodded solemnly always came off as more charismatic than someone who constantly insisted, "I'm not the person you think I am."
Wait, what?
Lee Han was beyond impressed—he was downright shocked.
Who would've thought she'd be thinking like this?
Of course, it wasn't impossible for a member of the imperial family to have such a sense of responsibility, but after hanging around Gainando, the comparison was startling.
Is she maybe five years older than Gainando or something?
"But your number of followers can't be that large yet, right? Wouldn't it be better to start persuading them now? How many do you have?"
Lee Han thought of Bogajun and Judrantas—though putting those two in the same category was a bit awkward—and then considered Gainando's followers.
According to the rumors in the city, those counted as Bogajun's followers consisted of one mid-sized earth elemental mage guild, one fairly well-known adventurer party, three merchant companies, two banks, one polo team, and about five city noble families. Judrantas's followers were said to include one tower established by mages from Baldrogard, one large leatherworking guild, one magic tower specializing in carnivorous plant research, two swordsman guilds, and three knightly families.
If one were to forcibly list Gainando's followers, they might include the owner of a pastry shop or a toy store in Granden City.
Of course, the Princess's followers would naturally outnumber Gainando's, but compared to Bogajun or Judrantas, it seemed feasible to persuade them one by one and gain human support.
"The Palm Tree Knights, the Red Rain Magic Tower, the Imperial Western Union Chamber of Commerce, the Cross Brothers Swordsmen, the Olodo Party..."
"......"
However, the list that flowed from the Princess's lips was completely different from Lee Han's expectations.
The Palm Tree Knights was an honorary knightly order composed of the empire's high nobility. Though their actual combat prowess was weaker than that of true knights, the prestige of their name alone could crush several ordinary knightly orders. The Red Rain Magic Tower was a magic tower established by mages who had graduated from Einrogard.
The Imperial Western Union Chamber of Commerce was a massive capital group formed by merchants and trade guilds from the western region. The Cross Brothers Swordsmen was a prestigious swordsmanship guild that had produced many outstanding swordsmen—so renowned that even some knights went there to learn swordsmanship. The Olodo Party was an adventurer group whose name Lee Han had heard a few times before.
'Was it this much?'
He had thought her name appeared frequently in the imperial newspapers, but he never imagined she already had the support of such heavyweights.
And it didn't even seem like that was the end of the list.
Lee Han finally understood why so many of the freshmen supported the Princess.
'Even I'd be tempted to support her.'
At this point, wasn't she the empire's most promising contender? Even Lee Han felt the urge to back her.
The Princess stopped speaking and looked at Lee Han.
Given that she was the top student of the year, handling countless tasks even during vacations, her expression seemed to expect some astute advice on the current situation.
"Your Highness."
"!"
"Stay strong."
"......"
The Princess glared at Lee Han.
His words had changed from before.
"...You told me to try persuading them."
"Hmm. On second thought, sometimes dignity might be better than persuasion. There's a saying that silence is more precious than gold. Just look at Gainando."
When he shamelessly used Gainando as an example, the Princess couldn't refute him.
Lee Han remained tense until the end of the event, but no further attacks occurred.
Seeing the Skeleton Principal exchanging greetings with the city nobles with a gloomy expression, Lee Han let out a sigh of relief.
'Somehow, I survived.'
"Ah, Lord Wardanaz. There's one thing I'd like to ask before we leave."
At Rowena's words, Lee Han looked puzzled.
"Is this a proposal to take on an adventurer request together?"
During the vacation, some students from the White Tiger Tower, having heard rumors, would often approach Lee Han with proposals like, "I found this request—if we succeed, we'll all be sitting on a pile of gold coins."
But in Lee Han's eyes, most of them were just fanciful requests. So improbable that no one had even touched them, leaving the request papers faded with age.
"Ah, my apologies. I haven't heard any new requests about slaying something like the King of Ghouls."
"...Rowena, first of all, I'm not someone who only hunts down things like the King of Ghouls."
"How humble of you."
Rowena laughed as if she'd let it slide. Lee Han thought to himself that all the White Tiger Tower guys were truly infuriating.
"So, what did you want to ask?"
Rowena pulled out a thin booklet from her pocket. On its cover was written:
To His Honorable Highness Adenart, may this riddle alleviate Your Highness's boredom.
"How utterly disrespectful, isn't it?!"
"Uh... huh?"
Lee Han couldn't keep up with Rowena's indignation, so his reaction was a beat late.
Rowena explained belatedly.
Among the Princess's followers, there were those like Rowena who actively believed in and supported her, but there were also those who constantly compared, tested, and gauged her.
Of course, these individuals were influential figures in the empire who lacked nothing—people who held considerable power. Without that level of status, they wouldn't have dared to walk such a tightrope.
The riddle they had received this time was sent by one of the empire's dukes. Though framed as a gift, from the recipient's perspective, failing to solve it could damage their reputation, so caution was unavoidable.
"That's definitely rude..."
"The Duke has sent riddles like this before! Once should have been enough, but he keeps doing it...! No matter how much he offers gold coins as a reward, if he keeps this up—"
"Gold coins?"
"Huh?"
"Didn't you just say gold coins?"
"Yes, I did. Why?"
Naturally, given that the recipient was royalty, the sender didn't just send riddles and leave it at that.
If the riddle was solved, it was a matter of noble honor to send both an apology for the test and a lavish congratulatory gift.
Upon hearing this explanation, Lee Han felt an overwhelming surge of jealousy toward Adenart.
'How enviable!'
Lee Han could solve such riddles diligently too—why didn't other high nobles send them to him?
Truthfully, Lee Han knew the reason well. It was acceptable to send such things to a royal like Adenart, one of the empire's heirs, but if high nobles sent them to each other, it would just be asking for trouble.
"Wait. What about Gainando...? No, never mind. I almost asked something pointless. Anyway, so you're all puzzling over this riddle together?"
"Yes."
"Did you all work on the last one together too?"
"Yes."
"By any chance, did the Princess keep all the gold coins for herself?"
"No. She shared them with us."
"......"
Lee Han seriously wondered if he should have befriended the Princess instead of Gainando.
Of course, he was quite satisfied with things as they were, but hearing about the followers' perks made him feel a twinge of regret...
"Aren't you the mage from the Wardanaz family?"
Lee Han, lost in thought, looked up. The owner of the familiar voice was, surprisingly, Duke Icaldoren.
"What a delightful coincidence. It's been quite some time since we last met. To think we'd run into each other like this."
Of course, that was a lie.
Duke Icaldoren had appeared in this area today specifically to make contact with valuable students from the magic school.
And a boy from the Wardanaz family was undoubtedly the most valuable card he could play.
'He's with Princess Adenart... Is he supporting her? I heard he was close to Prince Gainando...'
In that brief moment, Duke Icaldoren cycled through countless thoughts and considerations.
"It's a pleasure to see you again, Your Grace."
"Would you care to have a brief conversation, if you don't mind?"
Rowena made no effort to hide her displeasure. Lee Han jabbed her back with his finger, signaling her to control her expression.
-What's wrong with you?
-That Duke is the one who sent the rude riddle!
-Really? Well, last time he also sent that oversized basilisk egg...
-Huh?
-Never mind.
Whether the Duke kept testing the Princess or not didn't matter to Lee Han.
In fact, if the Duke was the one who sent the riddle, he needed to get closer. That way, he might even get some hints.
Just then, a sinister energy seeped out from the alley—an unmistakably hostile and dangerous aura.
Duke Icaldoren's guards startled and rushed forward.
"Step back, my lord!"
"It's fine. I'll handle this."
Lee Han sighed and raised his staff.
His absurd confidence left the guards frozen, unsure whether to be shocked, intervene, or scold him, causing their reactions to lag.
"What in the... Lord Wardanaz, we know you're a mage of Einrogard, but this is no joking matter—"
"I said I'd handle it."
Lee Han glanced down the alley.
Then he shook his head. The Skeleton Principal's pranks were getting out of hand.
If he was going to pull something like this, he should've done it inside the banquet hall—now outsiders were getting dragged into it.
"...Wait."
Lee Han sensed something odd.
The energy emanating from the alley was growing stronger, and no matter how he looked at it, this didn't seem like a prank anymore.