Chapter 286
Chapter 286
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 286
>Chapter Title: The One Thing Not Permitted
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Bellos de Giggas Aderian.
Born of noble blood.
Some people think,
Her life must be an endless string of happiness, free from worry or care.
Whatever she wants, she can have; whatever she desires, she can obtain.
And who could argue otherwise? Rare delicacies that others could only dream of their whole lives, priceless clothes and jewels—these were everyday luxuries for her. Not to mention the universal admiration she commanded simply by existing.
But right now, in this moment.
Bellos gazed at the empty space with eyes clouded by worry.
‘……Principal Schuberts.’
The principal’s hideout was lavish, filled with top-quality furniture fit for the imperial palace. But that very opulence pricked at her heart…… probably because all of it had been prepared for her by Schuberts.
“Your Highness, please don’t worry too much. There won’t be any issues with Principal Schuberts’s safety.”
“……You’re right.”
Bellos nodded at the covert knight’s words.
There was only one scenario she feared.
If the other side had resorted to extreme measures.
But if they had, they wouldn’t have taken Principal Schuberts away in front of everyone.
So, Schuberts would be safe.
But……
“I can’t do anything again this time.”
Bellos gave a bitter smile as she traced the edge of the unoccupied desk with her fingertips. Her slender white fingers brushed over its smooth surface.
The covert knight had no words in response to the sight.
Offering any more comfort would exceed his station. And……
‘……I have nothing to say.’
He also lacked the eloquence to console the Third Imperial Princess’s anguish.
So instead of speaking, the covert knight silently stood guard behind her.
In truth, his own heart ached just as much.
How could he not understand her pain?
Bellos, bearer of noble blood and object of universal admiration—her life had never been smooth, no matter how one described it.
She could do anything she wanted and obtain anything she desired…… except for that one thing she was not permitted.
Just one thing…… people.
Yes, the one thing not permitted to her was people.
- Your Highness, forgive my impertinence, but this lowly girl is unworthy of associating with you. Please, do not seek me out any longer.
Friends who had laughed and chatted with her just the day before would bid her terrified farewell the next.
- Your Highness, please continue your studies diligently even without this humble one. That is my final wish.
Even the devoted teachers who poured their heart into instructing her would overnight become criminals, dragged off to barren exile.
Everyone she grew close to met the same fate.
For one simple reason.
……Because she was of the Aderian Empire’s noble blood.
Because she held the innate right to enter the line of imperial succession at any moment she chose.
“Sir Altex.”
“……Yes, Your Highness.”
The covert knight pushed aside his despair and answered Bellos’s call.
“I’m fine. So don’t make that face.”
“……My apologies.”
Covert Knight Altex hurriedly schooled his expression and bowed his head.
Bellos gave him a faint smile.
“Principal Schuberts is a man of firm principles. He won’t distance himself from me over something like this.”
Altex bit his lip at Bellos’s words, which seemed more to reassure herself than him.
He felt pathetic for being unable to support his liege. But what hurt even more was something else.
……Principal Schuberts won’t abandon her.
Those words weren’t for him—they were Bellos comforting herself.
Were the people who had bridged the vast gap of her imperial status to form a casual bond with her ordinary folk?
No, they weren’t.
Yet even they had eventually left her side.
Family security came before personal ties; they had to protect what was theirs to safeguard.
Of course, he couldn’t imagine Principal Schuberts leaving for the same reasons……
And that very fact made Altex’s heart ache all the more.
The firmer the conviction, the sharper its shards when shattered.
“Let’s go.”
“……I shall escort you.”
Altex moved to attend the departing Third Imperial Princess.
Or tried to.
Until an awkward cough sounded.
“Ahem. Hmm.”
“……!”
Altex swiftly stepped in front of her, hand on his sword hilt. It was a reflex etched into his very being.
He identified the intruder right after……
“……You?”
The face was somewhat familiar.
That’s right…… Aster?
The academy student who had pinned him down with unbelievable divine power not long ago. He’d let his guard down seeing the uniform, but even fully alert, the mage would have been a tough opponent.
So Altex steeled himself to draw, but Aster spoke up just then.
“Uh, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop or anything…… It’s just, the vibe was so awkward I kinda ended up listening in……?”
Third Imperial Princess Bellos tilted her head.
Was that casual speech or polite? But the tone wasn’t the point.
So what was?
What came next from Aster.
“You seem pretty upset about the principal right now…… Wanna team up with me for one little job……?”
A job? What kind of job?
As she tilted her head, Altex stepped forward.
“He’s dangerous. Your Highness, please step back.”
Altex bristled with caution.
Bellos calmly looked back and forth between Altex blocking her path and Aster beyond him.
Her lips parted soon after.
“Sir Altex, stand down.”
“……Your Highness?”
“He’s connected to Principal Schuberts. He’s trustworthy. And……”
Bellos stepped past Altex and met Aster’s eyes squarely before speaking.
“I’m curious. It sounded like you have a way to save Principal Schuberts. Am I right? Aster? Oh, feel free to speak casually. This is the academy, after all.”
Altex couldn’t hide his shock at her bold move.
“Your Highness, even if he’s linked to Principal Schuberts, his background is unclear! Don’t be swayed by sly words……”
“Sir Altex.”
Bellos halted and fixed her gaze on him.
Her eyes froze Altex in place.
“……I shall obey.”
“I know what you want to say.”
After his humiliating defeat by Aster before, Altex had investigated him thoroughly.
But he’d found no notable details.
Origin: Black-White Slums urchin.
Lucky break: connected with the Blandoga young patriarch to enter the academy.
Rumor had it the Blandogas valued his talent and nurtured him carefully, but nothing explained Aster’s prowess.
So, one of two possibilities.
Either a once-in-a-generation genius like the Blandoga young patriarch…… or a secret weapon meticulously raised by some group capable of disrupting the academy, Blandoga, and imperial intelligence networks.
The former was preferable; the latter was extremely dangerous.
But Bellos thought,
……It’s worth enduring all that.
Better to take the risk and make a desperate struggle than lose those around her helplessly.
It was a vow she’d harbored in her heart for a long time. She’d simply lacked the opportunity.
“So, Aster. Is that right?”
“Close enough.”
“Then I won’t ask about you. Just one thing, though. Saving Principal Schuberts means opposing this empire’s Second Prince. And yet, how……”
Bellos took in Aster with her clear eyes. Then she said,
“You still have a way, right?”
She asked about a “way,” but really, she was gauging his reaction while weighing the gravity of the situation.
But Aster’s response gave nothing away.
“Doesn’t matter if it’s First or Second Prince. What matters is your choice.”
“……?”
“If you step up now, your siblings might target you even harder. You okay with that? That’s what I’m curious about.”
Bellos blinked.
For a moment.
Then her lips parted.
“I’m sick of losing people.”
Aster didn’t know her full story, but the meaning behind her words was clear enough.
“So, you’re in?”
“Yeah.”
“Alright, let’s get to the point.”
Aster cut straight to it without delay.
By the time all talk with Bellos concluded.
Alone in the now-empty hideout, Aster stroked No. 1, who had brought breakfast, his eyes gleaming.
‘……Casting secured.’
Even righteous incitement and fabrication need a kernel of truth.
Now it was time to find that kernel.
* * *
Two weeks after Principal Schuberts’s arrest.
Jenion Academy was plunged into unprecedented chaos.
As the audit progressed, professors were summoned one after another for questioning, and not a few ended up awaiting trial on corruption charges.
Whether they were actually guilty or not, the auditors didn’t care.
Following orders from above, they implicated whoever they could while steadily advancing their plan.
“So…… all Professor needs to do is say one thing. That everything was Principal Schuberts’s orders. How clean is that?”
Sometimes they coaxed politely.
“Professor, you don’t seem to grasp the situation. We’re not doing this for fun. It’s orders from up top. Up top! The big shots you’re connected to can’t touch this guy. Got it? Still not clear?”
Sometimes they resorted to threats.
Some professors resisted the auditors’ schemes due to ties to the principal, but as the investigation dragged on, more and more began to take their hands.
Of course, the payoffs were substantial.
Pardons for corruption, full imperial backing going forward.
A few assistant professors received promises of full professorships; professors were assured comfortable retirements.
Thus, the arrows aimed at toppling Schuberts piled up over time.
When enough had accumulated.
“Your Highness, preparations are complete.”
Second Prince Deoric de Giggas Aderian replied indifferently to his underling’s report.
……Proceed.
After the minion withdrew at his command, the Second Prince leaned back leisurely on the sofa.
For the man who had ruined countless lives, it was an astonishingly relaxed demeanor.
But then, he was used to this sort of thing.
Nothing serious about it.
Just chopping off the limbs of his utterly incompetent little brother, as always.
No, it held even greater meaning.
This was about checking his worthless sibling while grasping Grand Duke Muspellun’s reverse scale.
“The music stopped.”
At his words, the orchestra, which had paused, resumed playing. Gentle notes filled the vast room.
A peaceful afternoon.
Utterly, profoundly peaceful.