Damage Control
Damage Control
Life was a series of regrets. Each point was not differentiable.
Also, there was no inverse function.
**
By the time she arrived at the imperial palace, she had noticed several artworks in the corridors were broken.
Things the Second Prince had smashed in a fit of rage.
She had known he had a fierce temper, but to think he had become this volatile over the past few years.
Kleis was guided into the audience chamber by a palace attendant. The carpet, which should have been laid straight, was subtly crooked, as if hit by an earthquake.
Before it, the Emperor and the Second Prince were glaring at each other.
"They've been like that since yesterday."
The lady-in-waiting sighed and withdrew. Kleis had to be prepared for anything.
Kleis, who had somehow managed to collect her crumbling mental state, stepped forward.
"Who might this be? Isn't it the Duke who broke her promise to me?"
A voice tinged with bitterness echoed loudly against the ceiling of the audience chamber. At the unpleasant tone, Kleis's brows furrowed together.
Clion Philiut, the Second Prince.
He was the mad dog designated to become the next emperor of the Philiut Empire, despite being the second son because his older brother's mother was a concubine.
Though he was a mad dog, his backing was solid. Had it not been, he would have been expelled long ago.
Judging by his nasty personality and rampant womanizing, there seemed to be no one who supported him. However, in the politics of the imperial court, there were always plenty of sycophants fawning over such a man.
Clion walked up until he was right in front of Kleis and stopped. He held a ceremonial sword in one hand.
'So that's what he used to smash the luxuries.'
Clion, who had been swaggering in front of her, opened his mouth in a sharp tone.
"Duke Haspelt, did you not promise to transfer the golden-eyed girl to me? Then why are you making moves to break your promise?"
"I don't know what you mean."
"How dare you try to weasel out of this─!!"
Thwack!
The ceremonial sword was stabbed through the carpet into the floor. Another piece of imperial property paid for by the people's taxes was destroyed.
"Clion, what is this insolence in front of Duke Haspelt!"
"Father. If you were me, wouldn't you find this situation unfair? I had my servants watch everything. The fact is, Duke Haspelt is walking around with the slave wench she was supposed to hand over to me, still wearing her collar!"
"You ungrateful wretch! She hasn't been transferred to you yet! What does it matter to you if the Duke leashes or un-leashes her own slave until then!"
"I'm dying of frustration! Have you not heard, Father, what Haspelt has done?"
"This brat is getting more and more disrespectful! I never taught you to act like this─!!"
The Emperor's roar made Clion flinch for a moment, but he soon straightened his head and protested.
"That slave wench applied to the academy entrance exam!"
"Hmm, is that true?"
But it failed to elicit any meaningful reaction from the Emperor. It meant he didn't care whether a slave applied to the academy or not.
When Kleis had spoken with the Emperor before, he had shown the same reaction.
If he were taking a commoner's daughter, that would be one thing, but to bring a lowborn into the imperial palace just because she was 'rare'— the Emperor had explicitly said he disliked that point.
So she could speak frankly on this matter.
"That is correct."
At Kleis's reply, Clion raised his head high and began pacing the audience chamber.
"Duke Haspelt admits it. I thought you'd deny it to the end. Yes, I would like to ask the intent behind attempting to enroll a slave whose shelf life is nearly up into the academy. There must be a valid reason, right?"
"No, I was not the one who did that."
"If you didn't, then who on earth did? Did a ghost appear, pay the application fee for a slave who can't even own property, and then leave?"
Kleis had known that the Crown Prince had been spying on her and her slave for three months. She could even sense the presence of disguised magic beasts infiltrating military camps; this was nothing.
Given that the Prince was watching her slave closely, she thought it was obvious he would know Aether had applied to the academy. So she decided to use that against him.
Kleis went on the counterattack.
"I collared her because I found that insolent. To prevent her from doing anything foolish."
"......."
That explanation made sense. If she said she restrained the slave to prevent further schemes, the Prince had no ground to stand on.
A brief silence fell between their exchanges. It was Kleis who broke the heavy, sinking air again, to add a further statement.
"Your Imperial Majesty, do you recall the inspection of the northern front you ordered previously?"
"Of course, of course I do."
"Immediately after returning from that inspection, I went straight to the stable where my assistant was staying. There, I learned for the first time that she had applied to the academy."
This was the truth.
But whether something was a fact, and whether others believed it, were two separate matters.
"Duke Haspelt, if you're going to lie, make it plausible. If you didn't pay the application fee, then which wench did?"
"Well, I do not know that much myself."
Crash─!!
"Are you toying with me─!!"
The Crown Prince's outburst showed no sign of stopping. Seeing him display the temper that had half-wrecked the audience chamber without hesitation even in front of the Duke, the future of the Empire was clear as day.
Although the secret supporter who had backed Aether was Meri, Kleis didn't want to sell out her friend. Besides, even if she confessed the truth, the chances of Prince Clion accepting it were slim.
"Yes. There is no way I can prove I didn't do it. But conversely, there is also no way to prove I did."
"Are you playing word games with me?"
"It's not a word game. This is simply as far as I can go."
It was obvious that any further words would only lead to parallel lines.
Although Kleis had lacked eloquence before, she had recently read books on rhetoric and how nobles should conduct themselves in an absolute monarchy, and had picked up the bare minimum of social maneuvering.
In this situation, Kleis had only one option.
"Speaking of which, I heard that Your Highness passed the academy entrance exam this time."
It was to change the subject.
"Indeed. I entered with honors, ranking within the top twenty."
"Congratulations."
Today was the day the Tillet Academy entrance exam results were announced. So the Prince's acceptance was only confirmed today.
If he passed within the top twenty, he was likely to be placed in the Special Class. In her mind, Kleis recalled the acceptance letter Meri had shown her for Aether.
'Her entrance ranking was definitely....'
She had secured second place—the runner-up among hundreds of entrants.
Prince Clion had obviously not neglected his studies entirely, but compared to Aether, his written exam scores were significantly behind.
There were even rumors that imperial bloodlines received bonus points on the academy entrance exam, so if such corrupt practices were excluded, the gap between the two students would likely widen further.
Still, it was obvious both would be placed in the Special Class.
'What a headache.'
Something very unpleasant would certainly happen when they met.
"Whatever. Then I'll take everything into account, so bring the slave here at once. I'll buy her today even if I have to lower the price."
"Your Highness, I am sorry, but I no longer have the authority to do that."
There was something Kleis had forgotten to mention.
At that moment, the only people who knew of Aether's acceptance were the admissions office staff, Professor Herlein, the applicant herself, and Kleis. In that situation, Kleis had not told anyone in the imperial household that Aether had applied and passed.
Even Kleis, who was physically closest to Aether, had only just learned of her acceptance. So could that information have possibly spread all the way to the imperial court?
It had not. The academy had no reason to pass a successful applicant's personal information to the court, and the court had no particular need to know such trivial details. The only one demanding it was Prince Clion.
"Surely you aren't saying that slave wench passed alongside me?"
"Precisely, Your Highness."
"What...."
The Prince was completely speechless. It contrasted with the Emperor behind him, who let out an 'Oh?' and remained composed.
The academy was an institution independent of the imperial court, producing combat mages to save the Empire and humanity. Professors who had already graduated might be one thing, but students studying there were not bound by any external power. In a way, it was like sacred, inviolable ground.
In other words, as long as she was registered as a student, she could resist the mad Prince's violence to some extent. If it was Aether, she might even push back against him.
"If that's the case, I must examine the fault more closely. Let me ask you this. Who should be held responsible for that golden-eyed slave applying to the academy and passing?"
If asked who among them was responsible, it was unclear.
It was Aether who showed the intention to enter the academy, and it was Meri who supported her application without her knowing. But the failure to manage the slave she had bought and owned was Kleis's own fault.
"That was my oversight."
"You don't need to apologize now. I can just have her expelled anyway."
"What...?"
"A race that can't use magic must have just gotten lucky and passed. Whether she drops out after the first semester, or gets turned down by the academic affairs office due to lack of money, the outcome will be the same."
A dark cloud came over Kleis's face.