Dueling with Chastity and a Recommendation Letter on the Line
March 4th
Concordia Academy — Spinsters Class
Even while I sat there completely stunned, the information kept flooding in one direction. The remaining two princesses who had ditched me earlier had their secrets dragged out into the open as well.
22 years old. On the night of her wedding, before the consummation could even begin, Lady Wilhelmina declared she disliked her future husband’s attitude and ripped his balls clean off before escaping. The Stahlrose royal family chased after her in absolute fury. She is currently under confinement at the academy. The Ravenhurst family never publicly denounced her, but the incident has completely soured relations between the two houses.
20 years old. Silvi claims she chased after her brother to avenge his balls… but the truth is she ran away because she hated the political marriage. She has a hobby of torture and sadistic play; because of that particular taste, she couldn’t find a husband, so they brought in an older man. She didn’t like him either, so she ruptured his anus and was confined here.
One of them had chopped off the limbs of a foreign royal during a sibling quarrel.
Another had gone through with the wedding ceremony only to rip off her groom’s balls and flee on the very same night.
The last was a crazy bitch who had pulverized her prospective husband’s asshole.
“That bastard was acting way above his station, so I made sure he’d never act up again. I did nothing wrong.”
“The pig was squealing, so I simply gave it the treatment it deserved. Is there a problem~?”
Neither of them showed the slightest hint of remorse. Depending on their mood, it felt like they were ready to kill one or two more people right then and there.
“Would you like to hear the rest of the cases?”
“No thanks.”
“Then I’ll hand you the attendance register instead. Please check the details there.”
I already knew without looking. The rest would be on the same level. Still, I took the register, flipped it open, and skimmed through.
Rows of beautiful women’s photos greeted me. At first I was happy, but the crimes listed beneath each picture quickly cooled my head.
[Assault] [Assassination] [Miser] [Human Rights Violation] [Pushover] [Murder] [Curse] [Transformation] [Lesbian] [Clean Freak] [Hikikomori]
So these were all the reasons the women here had never managed to get married?
…But what the hell was “Transformation” supposed to mean?
“Is there anything else you’re curious about?”
“Yeah. Why did you bring me here in the first place?”
This question wasn’t just mine. Every woman in the room wanted to know. Miss Nora clapped her hands, praising the excellent question, and drew everyone’s attention.
“As you can see, this class cannot be handled by any ordinary teacher. These ladies are all of noble birth, yet because of that very bloodline they possess combat power at the very top of the academy. On top of that, they’re troublemakers with both wealth and authority. To control them, we determined that an appropriate level of strength was required. That is why Principal Sekhmet moved personally.”
Appropriate strength… I looked down at my palm. She was talking about my blessing, the ability to turn any woman I touched into a sword.
“Do I just act like a normal teacher?”
“No. What Sir Ludo must do is control every woman in this class. At the same time, you must resolve their worries and guide them onto the proper path.”
“Uh, that’s way too vague. What exactly is the ‘proper path’?”
“Would you look at the class name again?”
The class where problematic noblewomen are sent to find husbands and get pregnant.
“…Marriage?”
“Correct. It doesn’t matter who. The ultimate goal for every woman in this class is to give birth to a child and send that child back to their family. There are a few exceptions, but please think of it in those broad terms.”
“The marriage partner can be anyone?”
“You saw the four ladies earlier, yes? Their home countries have already given up on them. As long as someone can control them or resolve their individual circumstances, anyone is acceptable as a husband.”
If she had stopped there, I would have simply thought, So their families have washed their hands of them. But the next sentence was lethal.
“Oh, and of course it’s perfectly fine if Sir Ludo impregnates them himself.”
It was an insane suggestion. The classroom instantly erupted. Even I couldn’t speak. I was just a rural noble, right? No matter how problematic they were, these women were royalty or at least high nobility. And it was fine for someone like me to be with such esteemed ladies?
“This class will only be officially revealed now that Sir Ludo has become the homeroom teacher. Until now, they lived freely in the dormitories provided by the academy. Perhaps because of that, they don’t seem to understand their own situation. Every single woman in this class is someone their home country or family is grinding their teeth over.”
She continued in a grave tone.
“We shall forgive what you have done until now. It is an era of peace, so you may live freely if you wish. However, since you were born women, you must fulfill your duty as women.”
Miss Nora was smiling, but her tone held not a trace of warmth.
…Scary. At first I thought the very existence of this class was just one of Principal Sekhmet’s jokes. But seeing it like this again, it was clearly meant to deliberately trample on these women’s pride.
“I cannot accept this!”
Of course, one woman raised an objection. It was Lady Elena again. Wasn’t brawling with her own little sister after revealing her man-crazed nature enough? Did she really want to show off even more disgraceful behavior?
“What exactly do you find unacceptable?”
“Everything! From start to finish! We understand that we were exiled here because we did things that shamed our countries. That much we can accept. It’s our own karma!”
“Then what is the complaint?”
“Even so, naming it the Spinsters Class is clearly mocking our chastity! This will only make us the laughingstock of the other students! Did all three kingdoms—including our own—really approve of this!?”
“Yes. You saw Lady Elena and the three ladies beside her earlier, didn’t you?”
“…Ugh!”
It was about the recommendation letters. The reason those four had locked me in the prison was because they had foreseen this very situation.
“Still… this is too much… Telling us not to return home without a husband… The academy that approved this is too cruel….”
The princess immediately responded with tears. Under normal circumstances I might have wavered, but Miss Nora proved far tougher than she looked.
“Lady Elena. And the four of you over there. I am disappointed in all of you.”
“…Hic?”
“Honestly, as a fellow woman, I do have thoughts about the whole chastity issue. If I were in your position, I would be angry too. However, no matter how angry you are or how much you want to avoid the current situation, locking an innocent person in prison and abandoning them is the worst thing you could do.”
She drove a logical knife straight into those tears.
“B-but—!”
“But? Excuse me, Lady Elena. And all of you who met Sir Ludo this morning. If you truly did not want to be placed in a class like this, if you wanted to prove you were not the sort of people who belonged here, you should have shown it through your actions like proper superiors who set an example for others. You should have demonstrated character so outstanding that your citizens could believe in you and support you despite your shameful pasts. So, what did you do this morning? Did you truly behave in a way that could serve as anyone’s role model?”
“Gah!?”
“Ugh!” “Kgh!”
The dagger was so sharp that the three women beside her also flinched in pain.
“If you had done that, I, Nora B. Crest, would have raised my voice to Principal Sekhmet in the name of the Academic Director and demanded better treatment for you. I would have stood on your side. But since you did not, it is truly unfortunate. If I spoke up now, I would simply look like a pawn drunk on power.”
“Hwaaaang!!”
The moment the logical knife stabbed her, Princess Elena—who had puffed her cheeks like a blowfish—deflated like a balloon with all the air let out. I wasn’t going to pity her, though. No matter what her circumstances were, what she had done to me was entirely self-inflicted.
“Hmm. So this is what they call noblesse oblige. I heard that phrase often while I was at home. Every time, it made me feel ashamed of myself.”
“Sister, let’s stop. We were clearly in the wrong earlier.”
“Yeah. Even I have no excuse this time. Never mind the pig who confessed to me. The teacher over there is a genuine victim, isn’t he?”
The other three didn’t try to defend what they had done that morning either. The resentment Garara had helped press down eased just a little.
“But still….”
Only Lady Elena remained stubbornly persistent.
“What is it now?”
“If that’s the intention, then a female teacher… someone of the same gender….”
“I already told you. Your combat abilities are beyond normal parameters. Principal Sekhmet searched high and low before choosing Sir Ludo, so there is no better talent than him.”
“Ugh….”
It was obvious she was desperately racking her brain for some way to dissolve the Spinsters Class. Miss Nora and I quietly waited for her. I was genuinely curious what answer the clingy princess would come up with.
“Aha!”
Then, like a character from an old comic, a bright yellow lightbulb seemed to pop above her head as she loudly declared, “I have a wonderful idea!” It was so childishly innocent that it was actually a little cute.
“You usually seem far more perceptive. It’s truly a shame that today you keep showing us only this side of you.”
“Even I would rebel if I were suddenly forced into something like a ‘Confirmed Bachelor Class,’ you know.”
“…Thank you for understanding.”
So she was the type who spoke whatever came to mind and acted according to her mood. Still, she didn’t seem like someone who harbored pure malice. It was hard to imagine someone like her tearing apart people’s limbs together with her little sister.
“Ugh, why are you all looking at me like that? I really did come up with a good idea this time!!”
Because of her usual image, no one seemed to expect much. Even Lady Selena standing right beside her had an expression that practically screamed, My sister is about to do something stupid again.
“Hmph, fine! More importantly, Academic Director Nora! You said that man over there can control us, correct!?”
“Yes. More precisely, it is Principal Sekhmet’s judgment.”
Knowing full well she was being treated like an idiot, Lady Elena still raised one hand high and declared boldly.
“Then it’s simple!”
She lowered her hand and pointed her index finger straight at me. It was a formal challenge.
“If that man cannot even control me, let alone the rest of us, then his appointment is canceled! If there is no teacher who can control us, the Spinsters Class will be shut down! Then we can quietly return to living in the dormitories the academy provides, just like before, right!?”
“Eh?”
It must have been completely unexpected, because admiring “Oh~!” sounds rose from all around. Even Miss Nora, who had stabbed Lady Elena with cold logic earlier, looked taken aback. She had used her head surprisingly well.
“N-no, even if that happens, your home countries would never sit still—”
“Even if they don’t, it will still serve as an official objection to Principal Sekhmet’s tyranny! I, Elena de Belamour, have no desire to be mocked as a spinster or for my relationships with men by someone whose face I don’t even know! Therefore, I demand a duel! A duel!”
She pulled a white glove from somewhere inside her academy uniform and threw it into the air. The glove floated for a moment before falling without reaching me, but her intention was crystal clear.
“Sir Ludo. What will you do? You really don’t have to accept something like this…”
“It’s fine. I accept.”
“Pardon? Still, going to prison on your first day and now a duel… Principal Sekhmet would probably enjoy it, but my heart feels rather…”
Just as Miss Nora said, it really had been one hell of a day. If I could, I would have liked some time to organize my thoughts.
“Teacher. Think about it. If I back down here, it’s obvious they’ll use it as an excuse to ignore everything I say from now on. Since the reason you brought me here was to control these people, stepping back now would be the wrong decision.”
“Aaaaaah…”
She must have been able to see the future I described all too clearly, because she gave up on trying to stop me. The moment the previously confident teacher shrank back, Lady Elena straightened her spine.
“You understand well. For a rural noble, you seem quite sharp. May I hear your name once more?”
“I am Ludo von Eisenwald.”
“Then, Sir Ludo! After hearing Academic Director Nora’s sharp words, I too have thought about many things. We caused you trouble this morning, and now I am even threatening you with an unavoidable duel. Even I can see how pathetic that looks.”
At those words, Miss Nora and I exchanged a long glance. We were surprised because she was openly admitting that her actions were wrong.
But then what?
We stayed quiet and listened, curious to see what she would say next.
“I know the life of a rural noble well. The world is peaceful these days and there are no achievements to be made, so everyone lives feeling stifled. Yet right after such a life, you were suddenly appointed on Principal Sekhmet’s personal recommendation. I can easily imagine how happy you must have been. To lose all that and be sent back because of defeat here… For the sake of such a pitiful Sir Ludo, I shall add one condition.”
“Ho. What condition?”
“It’s nothing much. Right now you have been saddled with the dishonor of the title ‘spinster,’ and your own country is threatening you to make babies. It seems they have no intention of forgiving you unless you latch onto a new man. Therefore, if you defeat me, I will obediently remain in the class, apologize for what I have done, and even take you as my boyfriend~.”
“……….”
Um. Ummmm?? Wait a second. What did she just say?
“Sir Ludo, the way you look so shocked really shows your rural origins. Do you not understand how heavy the meaning of Principal Sekhmet’s recommendation is? A woman confined in a place like this is currently saying she will trample on the academy chancellor’s recommendation letter—and even the recommendations of all three royal families—right to their faces. Do you understand?”
Indeed, considering the chancellor’s prestige and position, it was like spitting in the face of a king or someone even higher. On top of that, insulting all three royal families at once meant her own chastity was a cheap price to pay.
“Sister. He is a man you met for the first time today. Are you serious?”
“Selena, what do you think of Sir Ludo?”
“Think? I still know nothing about him.”
“You’re not interested right now, correct? Then even if I lose! No, rather, if you simply look away, the cursed sisterly fate of fighting over the same man will not activate, right!?”
“That… might be true.”
“Then it’s settled. Rather than living the next three years with the label ‘spinster’ attached to me, charging in like this suits my personality much better~.”
She jumped from her spot and reached the teacher’s platform in an instant. Holding a rapier that had appeared from who-knows-where, she declared once more.
“Elena de Belamour. I hereby formally challenge you to a duel, staking my chastity and your recommendation letter!”
Of course, there was no reason to refuse. Even if I lost I would have an excuse, and if I won I would gain plenty of benefits. Above all, the fact that she was doing this while feeling guilty about the prison incident meant I could finally, legitimately, take off this damn mask.
“Very well. Since you’ve come at me like this, I won’t bother with courtesy either. Come at me, you tiny-cunted princess. If I win, I’ll make you kneel and apologize for treating a person like some rural hick.”
“Oh my, so that’s your true nature? Ufufu. Very well. If you can win, I’ll apologize as much as you like~!”
My first day of appointment at Concordia Academy. I ended up brawling with a student, staking her chastity and my recommendation letter.