Twisted from the Start
Things getting twisted from the very start was the golden rule.
"...Mother?"
"You're here, my youngest?"
"Yes. I just arrived, but... what on earth is going on?"
"Can't you tell by looking? Your brother and sister are fighting."
Anyone listening might have thought it was just siblings tussling lightly with each other.
In reality, the entire vast training grounds was being smashed to pieces.
At this rate, one of them is probably going to die.
They were fighting so ferociously that his body trembled with dread.
People said siblings always grew up fighting, but those two were different.
As far as Kyle was concerned, no siblings got along better than they did.
"Why are they suddenly doing this?"
"The time has come to decide the next baron. You're still far from ready, so you're out of the running—but those two have already reached a level more than sufficient to challenge for it."
In other words, they were settling who was fit to be the next baron through sheer strength.
This wasn't some back-alley scrap to decide a new neighborhood boss. Solving it with raw physical force like this would make other noble houses faint on the spot.
BOOM!!
Another tremendous explosion roared out, and at last the match was decided.
Unlike Kyle's older brother Lia, who still stood in place, his older sister Lea lay sprawled out in a perfect shape.
"I lost, Brother. You're the next head of John Nassen."
Had Lea ever coveted the baronial seat of John Nassen? No.
Had Lia gone around declaring that the position was his by right of eldest son? Not that either.
Neither of them cared about the title in the slightest. Growing stronger was all that mattered.
Even so, they clashed like this because, as Imperial nobles, they needed to lock down the line of succession in advance—to prevent any potential chaos before it could start.
Even John Nassen reacted sensitively when it came to succession...
If that was true of them, how much more so for other noble houses that fretted over succession twice as hard?
And if it was the Litorio Grand Duchy—counted among the greatest houses after the Imperial Family itself—then all the more!
Lea had gone and shaken that house's succession to its foundations.
Of all the people she injured, one just had to be a young master of Litorio.
At this point, even Fate itself would have to mutter, Okay, this is a bit much.
"...I'm sorry, My Lady."
Kyle's head dipped once more.
Whatever else, an apology came first.
Privately he was the older brother of Grand Duchess Elga; publicly he was the Grand Duchy's provisional heir.
No matter what the woman in front of him was thinking, this was the proper course.
"There's no need to apologize. I told you, didn't I? I want to express my gratitude to you—or more precisely, to John Nassen. Do you understand what that means?"
Kyle was no fool. His brain was not made of muscle either.
He could roughly guess what Elga meant by those words, what intention she was hiding, and what answer she hoped to hear from him.
"...Because the young master of the Grand Duchy met with that misfortune, an opportunity has now come your way as well."
"Exactly. You may already know this, but my father—the Grand Duke of Litorio—is a thorough meritocrat. A scion of the Grand Duchy ran his mouth carelessly, got himself thoroughly wrecked for it, and then completely lost his nerve and shrank into himself afterward. Father must be thoroughly displeased."
"..."
"Thanks to that, the chance I could never seize has finally arrived. If I can raise my evaluation before my second brother recovers, I'll be the one who wins."
This was a Grand Duchy whose authority ranked second only to the Emperor's.
Becoming its head was something no amount of gold could buy.
So Elga's desire to offer thanks had not been empty words.
Of course it would not be easy.
Compared to Elga, who had only just obtained her chance, her brother had already used that same chance to prove himself.
He might need time to recover from the sudden accident, but he could also rise again just as quickly.
If so, Elga would be shoved aside again before she could even fully exploit the opening.
And even if she did prove herself, becoming head of the Grand Duchy was another matter entirely.
As far as Kyle knew, a woman becoming head of a house was still something people shied away from.
They would accept it if there was no other choice—but if another option existed, the attitude was more like, Does it really have to be a woman?
The description of Grand Duchess Elga said she quietly covets the Grand Duke's seat.
She needed people. She needed a solid ally who would support her.
Coming to the Imperial Academy was partly to prove herself—but also to secure that "person" while she was here.
"Hmm. I've gone and spilled my entire family's story without meaning to."
"Don't worry. I'm very good at forgetting."
"You'd better be. And one more thing. Before you forget—may I ask just one question?"
"Of course. Go ahead."
"My brother, who has already fully proven his worth, and me, who has yet to do so. A brother who has shown a gap, and me, who has not yet shown one. Between the two of us, who do you think will take the Grand Duke's seat?"
...What kind of question is that? And you want me to answer it? Me??
He was not some vassal of the Litorio Grand Duchy. He was just one ordinary noble student.
Kyle was so flabbergasted he could not even speak.
Another house's succession issues were not something you joked about, even lightly.
It violated etiquette, and a single slip of the tongue could ruin a relationship for good.
Even if the parties involved asked you such a question, the important thing was to dodge it gracefully.
Something like "I really don't know" or "It's hard for me to say."
An answer that vague would be enough for the other party to understand.
"If it's too hard to answer, that's fine."
Elga clearly recognized that as well.
Surely he wouldn't be crazy enough to actually answer such a sensitive question here...
"You will take the Grand Duke's seat, My Lady."
"...?"
For a moment Elga wondered if she had misheard.
Not a single person in her family—not the nanny or the maids who had raised her since childhood—
not even Leto, who would stand by her until the day he died—had ever given her that answer.
Lady Elga, you. Elga, you will become the Grand Duke.
No one had ever told her it would be so.
Of course they hadn't. That was only proper. Who would dare answer so carelessly?
A single sentence like that could strangle the speaker and harm their entire family.
So whenever they answered that they did not know, Elga had simply smiled and let it pass—
while never quite managing to erase the quiet disappointment inside her.
But why...
Why was this man saying, so boldly and without hesitation, that the Grand Duke's seat belonged to her?
"What did you just... say?"
"I said the next Grand Duke of the Litorio Grand Duchy will be you, My Lady."
Even Elga found herself glancing around without thinking.
There was no chance of it, yet she still worried whether one of her second brother's people might be nearby.
"...What are you trying to do?"
"I don't understand what you mean."
"That answer just now—what intention was behind it?"
"No intention. I simply answered the question. That's all."
"Are you insane? Giving such a monumental answer as if it were nothing..."
The words her nanny, her maids, and Leto had never quite managed to say—
a man she had met only yesterday was saying them now, and it wounded her pride more than she could stand.
Even the people who had stood by her side her entire life had never dared answer so freely.
How could you speak with such resolute certainty?
"Are you thinking something like that? That you want something from me..."
"You asked for my thoughts, My Lady, and I gave them. That is all."
"..."
She had to say something. She absolutely had to.
But in the end Elga could not manage a single word.
She could only sit there blankly, staring at Kyle as he looked back at her.
"...The reason."
The single word she finally forced out was only that.
A flame rose in Elga's crimson eyes.
The reason. The reason you say I will take the Grand Duke's seat.
I want to hear it. Why on earth did you say that? On what grounds?
Even the people on my side never gave me the answer I wanted.
So how can you—who know nothing about me—be so unshakably certain?
"Because you are better suited to that seat, My Lady."
At Kyle's answer, Elga let out a long, involuntary breath. "Ah."
"..."
"..."
After sitting in a daze for some time, Elga rose from her seat as if possessed.
Then, without a word of farewell, she spun around and hurriedly left the third floor of the library.
Kyle remained seated and gazed out the window.
Below, he could see Elga's retreating figure as she rushed out of the library.
The effect was definite.
Even family members did not lightly discuss the matter of the next heir.
To declare "you" so openly in that context was the act of a madman.
Kyle had deliberately performed that mad act as a calculated eccentricity.
The Elga who had just fled was probably thinking the same thing.
She had probably concluded that it was best not to associate with a lunatic like this.
Kyle considered this the best possible method.
Not in some sealed private room with only the two of them, but in an open public place—
he had gone and committed the insanity of discussing the next Duke of Litorio.
From Elga's perspective, she now had no choice but to keep Kyle at a distance.
If anyone had overheard that conversation, her position would become extremely awkward.
The Academy had not even started yet, and already she would look as if she were maneuvering for succession.
The vigilance of her second brother's remaining subordinates would skyrocket.
I really don't want to get too deeply involved, My Lady.
Stick your nose into a house already in chaos over succession, and you could end up truly screwed.
So he had deliberately shown her the image of someone who simply blurted things out without thinking—
as a way of saying that taking an interest in him would bring her nothing good.
Still, this woman should at least have put the books away before leaving.
Had she completely ignored the librarian's warning that anyone who failed to return books to their places would not be forgiven?
Kyle sighed, gathered every book left on the table, and stood up.
For reference, the weight of those books was enough that even a knight-candidate would struggle to lift them all.