Karen Pounced
Karen Pounced
Chapter 2, "Frosty River," was a scenario with a clear objective and a well-defined set of enemies.
From its very first moment, the scenario was framed as a commission from the Third Princess, and the goal was to collect evidence proving that the Northern Archduke was a member of the Blood Rock Sect.
But this scenario had one distinctive feature.
Even though it was a main scenario, failing it caused no immediate problems.
If you failed to collect proof linking the Northern Archduke to the Blood Rock Sect, you wouldn't be killed on the spot.
When players came face-to-face with the Archduke's overwhelming prowess and sheer presence, the natural reaction was to avoid antagonizing him and to look for ways to slip past unscathed.
Thus, if you tiptoed through Chapter 2's events and prioritized survival above all else, you could fail "safely" without ever standing against the Archduke.
The result was sweet.
You'd finish a main scenario without any trouble, tricking yourself into thinking you'd played it smart.
And the price you'd pay for that illusion was appalling.
A player who kneels to immediate fear isn't clever—he's a fool, and he hasn't truly understood the scenario.
Chapter 2 was an expansion of the world.
It wasn't just the academy backdrop that broadened—the elements the player had to manage expanded in earnest.
By failing to gather evidence, the player lost a great deal.
The Third Princess Asteria's plans—which would have made her a political backer and a steadfast ally—would collapse, and she would overreach and be executed.
Because of that, the First Princess and the Northern Archduke would grow even more powerful, while the Second Prince's merchant coalition, led by the Raymond Firm, would strangle the economy using their control of distribution and resources as a weapon to pressure them.
The Blood Rock Sect, backed by the Archduke, would swallow the organizations of the Thirteen Evils one by one, swelling its influence, and would eventually even stretch its hand into the Order, turning one of the saintess candidates into a bloodflower.
That would become the flashpoint where the conflict between Holy Constantine and the Empire erupted to the surface, leading to outright war.
Around then, the player would realize the truth.
'There is no paradise at the place you reach by running away.'
That was why Chapter 2 was a kind of test for the player.
A test of whether you possessed the ability to read the board and the resolve to push through this story.
◆
Hermann Pierce.
He had been entrusted with hosting the banquet, and he faced Ian Blackangus with a practiced, cordial smile.
'If I want to seize the upper hand in the succession, I must carry out this banquet flawlessly.'
The fact that his father had handed over the hosting duties—duties his father had always overseen personally—surely carried no small significance.
The second was off in the borderlands, and the third could practically be counted as his ally. The fourth... could you even call that one a fourth?
'That leech of a woman is as good as utterly ruined.'
The fourth, who had once shown brilliant talent simply by being observed, had completely crumbled at the academy.
In the end, this banquet was the perfect stage for Hermann Pierce to solidify his claim as the closest to becoming the Northern Archduke's successor.
It was into that situation that the Third Princess's man came calling.
'The Third Princess's man.'
A title that became the center of attention the moment it appeared at any social gathering.
Hermann had already schemed to exploit that title to his own advantage.
Only—he was a little suspicious.
That was simply Hermann Pierce's nature.
Perhaps, just as Hermann himself was cunning, his opponent was also weaving schemes of his own.
Hermann concealed such feelings skillfully and smiled.
"My father has been overwhelmed with urgent duties lately, so I am hosting this banquet in his stead. Thank you for making the long journey."
Meanwhile,
Ian answered Hermann's kindness with a slight bow of his head.
"Thank you."
Naturally, Ian was wary of Hermann.
Hermann's face was smiling, but his presence was anything but small.
'... This is enough to hurt.'
Even through the hand they had clasped for a handshake, Ian could feel a tremendous internal energy.
Even if he wasn't a mid-boss, as the eldest son of House Pierce, he was a formidable master. Unlike Sharon, who was only "promising," Hermann was a warrior approaching completion, already in his early thirties.
But.
'This guy's playing games too.'
Their clasped hands.
Behind the overwhelming force that Hermann flaunted, something subtly alien crept along his palm, slithering in.
The moment he naturally pulled his hand away, Ian purified that energy with his Authority.
As though he hadn't noticed Ian's purification, Hermann smiled politely and guided the party.
"Let me first show you to your quarters. This way, please."
Hermann was a shrewd and cunning man.
The "evil" hiding behind his smile was by no means shallow.
Walking behind him, Ian felt it anew.
'Feels like walking into a tiger's den.'
This scenario was, in many ways, out of its mind.
The chapter's mid-boss, Hermann Pierce.
As for the final boss, the Northern Archduke Richard von Pierce, a few strategies existed that allowed the player to avoid him, but when it came to the mid-boss Hermann Pierce, there were no exceptions.
And his skill was far from weak.
A master likely at the extreme peak of 4-Star.
Considering how drastically the difficulty of raising one's rank spiked starting from the mid-4-Star range, he was already a fearsome powerhouse whose strength alone would make his name in the North.
'They say you can survive in a tiger's den if you keep your wits about you.'
But this was a den where three or four tigers and one monster prowled together.
Fortunately, they were not friendly toward one another.
Now was the moment to walk a tightrope.
On top of that, maintaining the interest of the surrounding nobles would be essential.
Only then would they not dare to recklessly try to devour him.
"I shall see you again once you've changed."
With those words, Hermann departed.
Ian and his companions exchanged glances, then each headed to their own rooms to prepare.
The room was larger and more luxurious than he'd expected.
But the fact that Hermann himself had shown him to this room left Ian slightly uneasy.
"Should I purify it once, just in case?"
Flash.
The wide-area cleansing spell settled over the room, but nothing showed signs of being purified.
Ian changed into the banquet attire the Third Princess had prepared for him and stepped outside.
"The women's side will take some time."
Sticking together unnecessarily would only invite more suspicion.
Ian slowly made his way toward the banquet hall.
A hallway that was both rugged and luxurious.
Since the main building where House Pierce's retainers resided was separate from the guest wing, he figured he should also think of a way to get a look around the main building.
Thus he arrived near the banquet hall.
Through the windows drifted the brilliant lights and music of the banquet.
Just as he was about to open the door and enter—
— Swish.
Someone pulled Ian from behind.
Without giving him a moment to react.
— Clunk.
The sound of the door closing echoed.
It must have been a storage room tucked between the corridors. The dazzling light of the banquet couldn't reach this place.
It was dark.
His sense of smell responded before his sight.
The musty scent of dust long accumulated.
And a faint sweet-bitter fragrance, like ink mixed with blueberries.
The scent of someone he knew.
Ian spoke.
"You startled me, Miss Karen. What is this about?"
The storage room was dark and quiet, and because of that, the sound of breathing and heartbeats was louder than anything else.
His own.
"You seem tense."
It was too dark to see clearly, but Ian had the distinct impression that Karen had raised one corner of her mouth in a slight smirk.
"Anyone would be tense if you suddenly grabbed them and dragged them in here."
"Hnh."
A light breath, as if stifling a laugh.
Ian's eyes soon adjusted to the darkness.
A few threads of light slipped through the gaps in the wood, faintly illuminating the interior.
Karen, her short black hair perfectly matched by her black dress, was quietly smirking at him.
Ian had thought Karen didn't think especially highly of him.
From the moment he'd requested the authority to command her from the princess, Karen had shown a hint of discontent.
At the same time, he also knew that Karen was a professional.
She wasn't someone who would pull a stunt like this just to mock him.
Ian asked her directly.
"So why did you arrange this little surprise?"
"You don't seem angry."
"Right now, we're on the same team."
Karen studied him with serious eyes.
Then she spoke.
"There was one hole in our plan. I was worried whether you actually know how to dance."
... Come to think of it, his entire experience with noble banquets like this was limited to scenes he'd glimpsed in movies. There was no way Ian could perform the kind of social dancing the occasion required.
"... How did you know?"
"A woman has her intuition."
Were you a woman too...? The question barely made it back down Ian's throat.
In this place, he had no one to back him up, and Karen was an assassin from the Black Cat Troupe, the finest order of killers.
'Need to be careful.'
It definitely wasn't fear. Really.
Anyway.
Without answering his question, Karen took his hand.
Outwardly long and beautiful, but rough to the touch.
As a tutor, she was utterly unhesitating.
"Extend your left foot forward, then move your right foot to the side."
The faint music from the banquet hall drifted all the way here.
In time with it, Karen moved Ian's body.
"And now do the same movement in reverse."
"Like this?"
"Good. Keep going: one, two. One, two."
Karen was skilled.
The storage room was cramped, but they never once bumped into anything.
Had she once been a noble lady herself?
Or had she learned this for missions like espionage?
"In the end, dancing is no different from a one-on-one fight. If your partner's momentum is strong, you take a step back. If the opposite is true, you close in as if to devour them. Ultimately, it's a contest over who will gain the upper hand in the relationship."
As they moved their bodies in that way, their movements naturally began to click into harmony.
Why? Ian pondered briefly and then realized.
'Come to think of it, that Pongpongi guy was once the son of a renowned house too.'
Surely he must have learned to dance at some point.
That meant his body was regaining its memories.
At some moment,
Karen's opening became visible to him.
'She said it's a fight over how you pull the other person in.'
Ian drew her toward him.
"Ah..."
With a small breath, Karen was pulled into his arms.
Their eyes met.
Ian saw his own reflection in Karen's startled, round eyes.
"How's this?"