Things Getting Tangled From the Start Is the Rule
Hmm, did I walk into the wrong room? No—this is definitely the headmaster’s office.
But why is the Academy Headmaster standing off to the side looking like a dog that desperately needs to take a dump?
“Welcome. Kyle of the John Nassen baronial house. This is our first meeting.”
The man seated in the headmaster’s chair was middle-aged.
They say first impressions matter, and this fellow looked thoroughly haggard. Dark circles had climbed all the way down his face, the sort you only get after a solid week of all-nighters. Or after being cheerfully flayed by a superior for about ten days straight.
“I’m the one who runs the Empire’s Ministry of Education.”
“…Eh?”
If he was in charge of the Ministry of Education, there was only one possibility.
“Minister?”
At Kyle’s question the Minister of Education nodded.
Aside from the Emperor, the man had no superior. He was, rather, the superior of countless civil servants under the Ministry. And yet here he was looking utterly worn down. Strange—he shouldn’t even be able to get harassed by a boss.
“Headmaster, could you step out for a moment?”
He had been summoned to the headmaster’s office only for the owner of the room to be told to leave. There was nothing more absurd, yet given the ranks involved the headmaster quietly fled his own quarters.
“…Do you smoke?”
Kyle shook his head at the Minister’s question.
Cigarettes and alcohol were invasive foreign species never found in the John Nassen baronial house. Anything that slipped in was eradicated without a trace. The official house stance held them to be devilish inventions that ruined the body.
“Then excuse me a moment.”
Apparently the concept of secondhand smoke hadn’t been invented yet. Otherwise no one would light up right in someone’s face. The smoke was a little harsh, but nothing he couldn’t endure. Before transmigrating he had colleagues who smoked together, after all. These days his head wanted a cigarette while his body staged a full rejection, so he simply couldn’t put one to his lips.
“I heard you wish to enroll in the Academy, Kyle.”
The Minister, who had been smoking for a while, finally spoke.
“And that you even received a letter of recommendation from the northern Margrave.”
“That’s correct. I’ve already completed every step of the enrollment process.”
“I know. That letter of recommendation is authority bestowed directly by His Majesty the Emperor. Unless His Majesty himself puts the brakes on it, even a minister can’t do a damn thing. Bloody hell.”
Hiss—.
He ground the cigarette out in the ashtray and fixed Kyle with a straight look.
“I got thoroughly flayed by the Minister of Finance today. The man’s a friend of mine, yet he told me to call him senior because he passed the civil-service exam a year earlier. That bastard.”
“I see.”
“Doesn’t something strike you as odd? We’re both ministers, so why did I get chewed out? Why did I just sit there and take it?”
Kyle’s mind began to spin at full speed. If the man had specifically called him in to say such things, the reason had to be connected to him. Yet Kyle himself had zero contact with anything under the Ministry of Education. Which meant it wasn’t exactly him—something about his family.
“…Is it, by any chance, because of my sister…?”
“Leah John Nassen. Exactly. The unprecedented student who half-destroyed the Academy. Listen, Kyle. Do you have any idea how much money went into rebuilding the place after that day?”
“I… I don’t really know. But it must have been an enormous sum.”
“To put it in perspective: every time the Finance Ministry people laid eyes on our Education Ministry staff, they ground their teeth.”
“….”
“The Minister of Finance wanted to body-slam me straight into the floor.”
Kyle swallowed dryly. The relationship between Finance and Education civil servants—who ought to have been part of the same extended family—had gotten that bad.
Sister. Just how much did you smash, exactly?
When Leah had come home she had definitely said it was nothing more than breaking a few things here and there. Nothing worth worrying about. Listening to the Minister now, that clearly had not been the case.
“Not long after that mess, another child of the John Nassen baronial house showed up at the Academy. So he came after me demanding why I hadn’t blocked it. What exactly was I supposed to do?”
That bastard—how was anyone supposed to block a letter of recommendation, the Minister grumbled. He himself had worked himself ragged, yet he’d never imagined things would turn out like this. For the supreme commander of an entire ministry, he looked awfully pitiful.
“I’ll cut straight to it, Kyle. Stay quiet. Do not cause a major incident the way your older sister did. If you do, we may permanently revoke the John Nassen baronial house’s right to enroll in the Academy.”
The instant those words landed it was as if lightning had struck—boom!
If Academy enrollment were permanently revoked, all that remained was hellish training. While everyone else was happily dating, he would be stuck iron-pumping!
“You needn’t worry. My family has already given me firm warnings.”
“I don’t think so.”
The Minister was right. His family had rather told him that if he was provoked he should just go ahead and do the deed.
“You really received that kind of warning?”
“I really did.”
“Really?”
“…Yes. I really did.”
His answer seems late, the Minister muttered. He looked as if he meant to say more, then abandoned it and waved a hand as though it no longer mattered.
“Fine. I’ll try trusting you. I hope you enjoy a pleasant Academy life.”
His face was still plastered with suspicion, yet he said that. It was absurd, but the only reply available was “Understood.”
“Hoo.”
Sighs escaped on their own. Once, twice, without pause.
He had known Leah had caused a major incident. He had also half-expected to become a person of interest. But receiving a direct caution from the Minister himself pushed worry to the front. This was going to be an extremely rough Academy life.
…But where did all these people go?
He had assumed they would be waiting somewhere nearby. No matter how thoroughly he scanned the surroundings, neither Ian nor Tisha was in sight. Had the two of them somehow hit it off in that brief interval and abandoned him? If that were truly the case it would be far too disappointing. They had come together—wasn’t there some camaraderie left?
As his thoughts wandered, concentration naturally slipped. And that carelessness was more than enough to trigger a secondary accident.
Thud!—
“Ugh.”
“Ah.”
Crash!—
Unlike Kyle, whose body merely swayed, the other party landed hard on their rear. Eyes that clearly said What the hell is this sudden bolt from the blue? locked onto him.
“Ah! I’m sorry. Are you all right?”
“…You should walk carefully. Especially in a place with this much traffic.”
He had been walking carefully. He hadn’t run. His body was simply extraordinarily solid.
As he took the fallen female student’s hand and helped her up, an urgent voice rang out.
“My lady! My lady, are you all right!?”
Lady? My lady? I didn’t mishear that, right?
“I’m fine, Leto. I’m fine, so don’t make a fuss over nothing.”
Leto—she had clearly called the male student approaching from behind Leto. Come to think of it, this female student had flaming red hair. Even the eyes looking at Kyle called vivid flames to mind.
Crazy. No way—Grand Duchess Elga and Leto? Why are these two showing up here?
If Ian and Tisha were Male Lead 1 and Female Lead 1 respectively, these two were Male Lead 2 and Female Lead 2 who followed after them.
First, the western Grand Duchess, Elga Bless de Litorio. The precious youngest daughter of the Litorio Grand Ducal house, said to hold both wealth and renown. Unlike the villainess-young-lady image that sprang to mind at the words “Grand Duchess,” he remembered her as one of the protagonists who had shown a reasonably decent side.
And the man beside her was Leto Summit. Son of a vassal under the Litorio Grand Duchy, he served as the Grand Duchess’s escort and secretary. Ability and looks were ordinary, but his loyalty to the lady was the genuine article.
These two were the second (true) couple who appeared in the main text’s introduction blurb.
They only showed up near the end of the free chapters so it was a little hazy… but there’s still one word that lets you predict the future of Grand Duchess Elga and Leto.
That magic word that appears at least once in every romance. The iron law that makes readers spit blood if the pair never get together despite being in that relationship.
Childhood friends. That was it. Grand Duchess Elga and Leto were childhood friends!
To think I’d run into these two here.
The flower of high society, the rose of Litorio, and every other epithet attached to Grand Duchess Elga. Yet Kyle had no time to appreciate her beauty. He had to convey a sincere, wholehearted apology.
“I’m truly sorry, Lady Elga.”
The John Nassen baronial house was a noble family, but the Litorio Grand Duchy was on an entirely different plane. Even the northern Margrave yielded a step before them. If he got on this woman’s bad side, Academy life would rapidly become hell. So Kyle hurriedly bowed his head and begged forgiveness once more.
“….”
Thanks to that, he completely failed to notice the glint of interest that flickered through the Grand Duchess’s eyes.
“You. Who are you, and from where?”
Shit! Why are you asking that? Planning to get revenge? Why are you curious!
“…I am Kyle, second son of the John Nassen baronial house, my lady.”
“The John Nassen baronial house?”
“Yes.”
A soft “hmm” of consideration faintly reached Kyle’s ears. It sounded to him exactly like How should I mess with this careless brat from that insolent baronial house, so he had to squeeze his eyes shut.
“Raise your head, Kyle.”
But contrary to his fears, Elga’s voice was quite calm. A faint trace of laughter even seemed to ride within it.
“You’re Leah John Nassen’s younger brother, aren’t you?”
“Yes. That’s right. But how do you know my sister’s name…?”
“Of course I know. She’s a celebrity at the Academy, isn’t she? When your sister was running amok here, the aftermath even injured my older brother.”
…This is a nightmare. Yes—this has to be a genuine nightmare.
Why did it have to be a child of the Litorio Grand Duchy of all people? Why did he have to collide with Grand Duchess Elga of all people? He seriously considered whether he should drop to his knees right then and offer a formal, ground-scraping apology.
“I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry, Lady Elga. Regarding my sister’s matter, allow me to apologize once more—”
“No? Why are you apologizing? There’s no need for that.”
“…Pardon?”
“I’d rather like to offer my thanks, Kyle John Nassen.”
A sweet feminine scent suddenly rushed right up close. The woman who was like a blazing flame, or like a red rose, smiled as she whispered into Kyle’s ear in an extremely soft voice.
“Thanks to that, I seized my opportunity.”