The Homeroom Teacher, Future Husband of Bellamor's First Princess
"Thank goodness. I was worried a fight might break out at any moment."
"What exactly is that teacher supposed to be?"
"If it's Teacher Walter, he was originally meant to be Ludo's peer."
"With me?"
"Yes. According to the original plan, the homeroom teacher for the Spinsters Class was supposed to undergo training starting early January and be deployed right after the March entrance ceremony. Since Teacher Walter arrived around that time, he's technically your senior by about two months."
I had no desire to call him my senior. As if she had read my thoughts, she smiled gently as usual.
"You may ignore him if you wish. Given the academy's nature, clashes between classes during major events are common, and teachers fighting among themselves is hardly rare either."
"Hearing that puts me at ease. Same with Elena—I’m not very good at holding back."
"Teacher Walter has been ambitious for advancement ever since he set foot here, so he had his sights set quite seriously on the Spinsters Class. With no homeroom teacher assigned until this March, he was apparently hoping he might become the one in charge."
So we were supposed to be peers, and from the same region? That explained the hostility.
'Compared to his family, ours is lower in status, and some nobody like him had his target snatched away right in front of him. Of course he'd be pissed.'
He would definitely come after me with some petty, underhanded harassment. I was already prepared for it—academies were just that kind of place.
"Ah, and please take these as well."
"Weren't these daggers left in the principal's office?"
"After appraisal, it was determined there were no issues. The principal instructed that you should keep them for self-defense, as there will likely be many dangerous situations ahead."
No issues? These bastards attacked me out of nowhere the moment I tried to leave the room!
『『………♪』』
Fortunately, the two daggers remained quiet instead of lunging at me. If anything, they seemed rather pleased to be back in their master's hands.
"I also brought the holster. The principal thought that with your blessing, you might end up possessing multiple swords, so she prepared this specially."
It was a strange contraption with multiple slots along the straps where the sword guards could be secured. Since I was wearing a dress shirt anyway, I put it on right away and slotted the two daggers in. I looked like some kind of American detective.
'Suspenders, huh. I didn't think they'd suit me, but they're surprisingly practical when used like this.'
Being able to store blades at the chest, sides, shoulders, or back was convenient, but I couldn't help wondering what kind of situation the principal had in mind when ordering this. I sincerely hoped I would never need to use all of them.
"Have you looked over the attendance list?"
"No, I'm sorry. I didn't have time yesterday because of the Elena situation…."
"Aah!?"
Having apparently heard the full story from Lady Sekhmet, she blushed like a virgin. To think the day would come when my sexual exploits were laid bare to a close acquaintance… I felt embarrassed too.
"Ah, I-I'm not scolding you or anything? You can look at it whenever you have time. For today, let's just assess the situation, and I'll explain the upcoming orientation."
Orientation. Shortened to OT. The first event welcoming new students before actual classes began. The OTs I knew involved seniors and freshmen bonding, drinking, or performing talent shows.
'But this is an academy. It's bound to be very different from what I'm used to. What kind of event will it be?'
My face lit up slightly with anticipation, while Teacher Nora's expression grew haggard.
"What's wrong?"
"I was worried whether anyone would even show up today…."
"Ah, right. What are we going to do about this?"
Yesterday, not only did no one show up—half the class didn't even appear. Teacher Nora and I chatted about how many students might come today as we approached our destination.
When we finally arrived nearby…
"Huh?"
The corridor was strangely noisy. This was the only path leading to the Spinsters Class, and there shouldn't have been any other classes nearby, so no one should have gathered here. Yet the voices grew clearer the closer we got…
"Is it here?"
"Yeah, right in front."
"What the hell is this iron gate? They're saying our princess is being humiliated here?"
"How could something like this happen… Have the academy bastards gone insane!?"
"We heard about the marriage activities, but calling it the Spinsters Class is going too far…"
"Lady Hwiryung is here too. What the hell do these people think of the Demon Matriarch?"
"Ooh, Saintess Lilith! Why must someone like you suffer such disgrace!?"
Come to think of it, they had said the existence of the Spinsters Class would be publicly announced starting today. Whether the rumor had already spread or not, students were blocking the iron gate installed at the corner of the corridor—the entrance to the Spinsters Class.
"E-Everyone? What are you doing here?"
「「「「Teacher Nora!」」」」
When Teacher Nora, who would now be acting alongside me, asked, the students turned their shining eyes toward us. At first they looked friendly, as if they knew her, but their expressions quickly hardened and they grew heated.
"Teacher! Is the rumor true!?"
"What rumor?"
"That you really named the class where the princess and distinguished guests from various countries are gathered something like that just because of marriage activities!"
"So that's why you're here. Yes, if that's the case, then it's true."
"Whaaat~!?"
"There are distinguished guests from the east and north too— what kind of disgraceful behavior is this!"
"As we announced together, there are reasons for it—"
"Reasons or not, no matter how much pressure came from above, this is unacceptable!"
"As a fellow woman, I can't accept this. Release everyone immediately!"
"Even if you ask for their release… This project is being directly overseen by the principal, so as the dean, there's nothing I can do."
"I don't care about that!"
"If you won't comply with our demands, we won't take a single step from here."
They had heard the circumstances but prioritized emotion over rational judgment, shutting their ears to any explanation. Teacher Nora looked troubled, and I furrowed my brows.
"Hey, you lot. From the looks of it, you only half-listened to why this class was created and came running over. At least hear the full story before judging. You're making Teacher Nora uncomfortable."
The moment I spoke up, their target naturally shifted to me, the homeroom teacher. Every single one of them had faces puffed up like pufferfish, begging to be slapped.
"Who the hell are you? Are you the rumored homeroom teacher?"
"I've been the talk of the town lately, so what kind of rumors have you heard?"
"Ha, you dueled with Lady Elena without even knowing your place?"
"Even if she's from another country, she's still just a viscount's daughter at best…!"
From the looks of it, there were quite a few followers of the Bellamor royal family. Since the arena story had even come up in the faculty office, the rumor must have already spread widely among the students. No wonder they had found this secluded place so easily—were they the main group?
"That was a legitimate duel. Elena also agreed to the class's establishment, so it's not something you can comment on."
"Elena!?"
"How dare you! Know your place!"
Damn it, I had spoken without thinking. I had planned to maintain proper titles outside, but after last night's events, I couldn't bring myself to use honorifics.
"I'm the teacher and Elena is the student. She's the one who should be using honorifics with me—I have no intention of bowing to her."
"You…!"
When I snapped back, one woman's eyes swelled red with rage. She seemed to be from a fairly prominent family as well. Moreover, the way she followed Elena so devotedly meant she must know her personally. Wondering if this would turn into another duel, I looked down indifferently when two beautiful women suddenly rushed out from beyond the iron gate.
"Ludo!"
"Teacher Ludo."
Sure enough, it was Elena and Selena, the protagonists of this mess. Especially Elena—upon seeing me surrounded by her followers, her face turned deathly pale. Given that they were from Bellamor, it seemed several of them recognized me.
"Lady Elena! You're safe!"
"Just wait a little! We'll break down this damned iron gate right now and rescue you all!"
"What on earth are you all saying… Aah, Ludo. They didn't do anything strange to you, did they!?"
I raised both hands in surrender, signaling with my body that I was fine. Seeing my gesture, Elena's hair stood on end as if gunpowder had been ignited.
"What kind of rudeness is this toward my husband! I'm truly speechless!"
…Why had the title changed to that again? While I stood there bewildered, Selena opened the iron gate, and our resident sow immediately bared her tusks.
"Lady Elena—"
"Move it, you useless things! How dare you gather here with such thoughts toward the man who will become my husband!"
"What did you say!?"
The woman's puffed-up face exploded. For a moment she froze, unable to process what she had just heard. Ignoring her, Elena ran straight to me and threw herself into my arms like a tragic heroine.
"Ludo! You're not hurt, are you? I was so worried they might have laid hands on you!"
"Uh… That's not it…"
"Puhuhu~♪"
I was flustered. Teacher Nora let out a short snort. Yeah, if I weren't the one involved, even I would have laughed out loud at this situation.
"L-Lady Selena. What do you mean by that? Lady Elena's husband!?"
"Do you know that my sister was defeated in the arena yesterday?"
"I do!"
"Someone happened to witness the fight and spread the rumor, so they came after hearing about it!"
"Then you understand. After her defeat, my sister was deeply moved by that duel. In accordance with the purpose of enrolling in this academy, she immediately begged to become Ludo's wife on the spot. Ludo accepted, and the two of them became lovers."
After Selena's blunt explanation, a brief silence fell.
「「「What~!?」」」
They recoiled as if they had smelled lemon, putting distance between themselves and me. It was because they couldn't accept the reality that the man they had been picking a fight with was the future husband of the woman they revered.
"B-Begged to become his wife…"
"The other party is just a viscount's son! Even if they came for marriage activities, there's still the matter of family status, isn't there!?"
"That doesn't matter. Our family has always prioritized talent above all else. The fact that we sisters—especially my sister—bowed our heads carries great significance. Our royal brother, the king, will surely be pleased, so this is not something you all can interfere with."
Even the claim that Elena had begged to become his wife. There was a slight discrepancy from the truth.
'She bowed her head in the bedroom, not the arena…'
'Shh. Be quiet. Leave that matter to your younger sister.'
Selena made a shushing gesture with her palm, looking annoyed, and had the group of followers step back.
"By the way, quite a few of you here seem to have close ties with our family. If the day comes when we hold the ceremony, you'll likely show your faces, so clashing with Teacher Ludo here would be troublesome for everyone, wouldn't it?"
"That's a bit…"
"Uuu~!?"
At this point, they all started making sobbing sounds. Only those unrelated to Bellamor remained silent.
"I understand how you feel. If it's now, Teacher Ludo probably won't hold it against you. So, what will you do?"
It was her way of asking whether they would keep pushing their self-satisfaction disguised as advice. Naturally, there was no need to ask further.
"Excuse us!"
"Congratulations on your marriage~!"
"P-Please visit our club later!"
They all fled. Among them, the one who still managed to promote their club even in this situation seemed to have quite the backbone—I found myself looking at them with new eyes.
"Didn't you say your political position was weak?"
"Yes. After causing a major incident, we're essentially under house arrest, so of course."
"For people in that situation, your influence seems pretty strong."
"Conversely, it means that once we get pregnant, we can return with our heads held high. That's what got to them."
"Since there are no barren women in the Bellamor family, as long as Ludo isn't shooting blanks, they'll definitely be able to return~!"
"Aha."
Well, once their confinement ended and they returned, they would still be princesses of a kingdom. It seemed the Bellamor sisters hadn't changed much despite what happened yesterday. Especially Selena—I had thought she would act awkward around me, but she didn't at all.
"Now then, Teacher Ludo. Let's head inside."
Instead, she kindly guided us in.