Pairing Up the Problem Children
There were ten students attending her new class. With such a small number, Altair quickly memorized all their names. Of course, Ditrua's full name was the exception. She had tried to memorize it several times, but she always got stuck at Ditrua Ailekalzas.
“Then, starting today, we'll be pairing up for lessons.”
Altair already had combinations in mind.
“Rilke, Ditrua. You two, step forward.”
At those words, the eight other students' eyes widened, while bitter smiles crept across the lips of the two in question. It had only been a few days since the entrance ceremony, yet the pair already seemed like polar opposites. And now they were being tied together!
The students whispered among themselves. Why on earth had she specifically paired those two?
Contrary to all their wild guesses, Altair honestly hadn’t given it much thought. The reason she had paired them was simply because she believed their skills were the most evenly matched.
‘They were neck-and-neck during the class placement test, after all.’
She had simply thought they would make good sparring partners for each other. There was no deeper intention behind it. Of course, she was aware that their relationship was far from ordinary.
‘Kids grow through fighting, don’t they?’
It would be unfair to call her insensitive for thinking that way. The two didn’t openly show hostility toward each other. After all, the difference in their social status was enormous. Ditrua held the somewhat awkward position of third princess, but she was still undeniably a princess of this kingdom. On the other hand, while Rilke possessed exceptional swordsmanship, she had no notable background. Not to mention, her skills weren’t clearly superior to Ditrua’s.
Rilke also had no intention of openly challenging her. But.
‘That rude little brat.’
‘That bitch who only eats well thanks to her bloodline.’
It felt like the slightest push would cause them to explode. Unfortunately, Altair failed to notice that tension.
“Clemang, Henrikson. That’s everyone, right?”
She simply continued pairing them up indifferently.
“Then next…”
That was when over a dozen people suddenly appeared. They clearly fell into two distinct groups. Five wore luxurious clothing, while the rest were armed in full plate armor. Altair easily recognized them as nobles and the knights who served them.
Ditrua, who had been standing farthest from them, craned her neck to see if she recognized any faces.
‘That man…’
Most were unfamiliar, but she knew the man at the very front. After a brief moment of thought, Ditrua narrowed her eyes.
‘Baron Nantisie.’
She had only seen him a few times, but her impression of him was terrible. He was a typical lowborn noble—the kind that contributed to her stress.
‘What nonsense has he come to spout this time?’
Anyone who barged into a class with a group of knights could only be here to cause trouble. Come to think of it, she remembered he had a daughter the same age as her. A foolish girl who took after her father. Could this be related to that?
“Ahem, so you’re Altair?”
“Yes. And you are…?”
“I am Baron Nantisie!”
The intruders introduced themselves one after another, starting with him. The point was, they were all nobles.
“So? We’re in the middle of class right now?”
When Altair frowned, four of the nobles shrank back. But Baron Nantisie only raised his voice even louder.
“Class? What does that have to do with me! I’m here to protest!”
“If you have a complaint, you can wait until after class…”
“My daughter failed the test and can’t attend this class! How is that acceptable?!”
At those words, Ditrua let out a mocking laugh.
‘So that’s what this is about? I was wondering what nonsense he’d come up with.’
It seemed Baron Nantisie didn’t even know that Ditrua herself was taking this class. If he had known, he would never have dared to pull something like this.
‘Or does he know and is simply ignoring me?’
No, that fool didn’t have the guts for that. She had been surprised to see him boldly shouting at Altair, but after thinking about it for a moment, the answer was obvious.
‘He must have picked up some kind of drug.’
It was an easy and obvious guess. The Baron Nantisie she knew was not the kind of person who could completely overcome that kind of pressure.
But then she heard a strange sound. When Ditrua turned her head, she realized the source was Rilke.
“Grrrrrr!”
Rilke was growling while staring at Nantisie. She looked exactly like a dog. If left alone, she might actually leap forward and bite him.
‘That would be pretty entertaining too.’
But for now, Ditrua wanted to see how Altair would handle this.
“Hold it.”
“…What… do you mean?”
When Rilke looked at her with an expression of utter disbelief, Ditrua gave a light smile.
“The teacher will take care of everything. And are you going to speak politely or not? Make up your mind already.”
At that, Rilke bared her small fangs.
“Fine.”
She stopped growling and pricked up her ears to listen to what they were saying.
“…By the way, what exactly is this aura?”
“As Professor Marius said. To think someone so impure is teaching students! The reputation of this academy is finished!”
“How devastated Delphiana would be if she saw this sight!”
So that was it. It seemed Marius was behind this incident. The man harboring a grudge must have orchestrated today’s events. The corner of Altair’s mouth twitched strangely.
“Anyway, this is my final warning. Since we are in the middle of class, if you have any complaints, wait until the lesson is over.”
“Wait?! Who do you think you are to make us wait!”
When one of the nobles behind him shouted, the rest all nodded in agreement.
“I’m kicking you out.”
As Altair stepped forward, the nobles hurriedly retreated. Instead, the knights standing beside them moved to block her path.
“So this is what you became knights for.”
Even at her sarcasm, the knights’ expressions didn’t change. They felt no shame.
‘They don’t even deserve to be called knights.’
They were nothing more than dogs of the nobility. Creatures who mindlessly swore loyalty to their masters in exchange for a paycheck. They were incomparable to the knights she had seen at Rosenburg.
“You disgrace the name of knight.”
When she touched the hilt of her sword, the knights drew theirs.
“Are you truly prepared to shed blood?”
The knight standing at the front spoke. Altair glared at him with her golden eyes. Both the knights and Baron Nantisie, who was under the influence of the drug, flinched at that gaze.
“You do realize that the blood being shed will be yours, right?”
At those words, a wrinkle formed between the lead knight’s brows. His name was Dmitri. His family had served the Nantisie household for generations. Dmitri was the most talented knight to emerge from that lineage. Thanks to that, he had risen to the position of knight commander at a relatively young age. That was also why Baron Nantisie had brought only one knight, unlike the other nobles. He had absolute faith in Dmitri’s abilities.
“You’re overly confident in your own skills.”
“No need for more words.”
The moment Altair spoke, the surroundings grew dark. Darkness completely filled Dmitri’s vision. No, this wasn’t pure, complete darkness. It was more like an extremely deep indigo. And within it, tiny sparkling lights. Those lights were like…
‘Starlight?’
If so, the best way to describe this sight was a night sky. The image that had just flashed through his mind began to completely engulf his vision. Dmitri couldn’t even think of resisting at first and only swung his sword belatedly.
“Uaaaaagh!”
It was completely wild. His sword, consumed by fear, held no direction. It was nothing more than a desperate struggle to survive. He swung his blade recklessly toward the countless stars. But there was no way he could cut down every star in that sky.
“Graaaagh!”
Countless stars rushed toward him faster than he could perceive. Soon, a blinding light tore through his body. Strangely, he felt no intense pain. But he couldn’t rejoice either. His senses had clearly gone wrong. In the midst of his confusion, the terrible darkness lifted. The short dream that had unfolded in broad daylight was over.
Dmitri confirmed that he was still alive. His armor was in tatters, but there were no signs of any piercing wounds. He was certain he had been attacked countless times by her sword—how?
Only later did he realize what had happened to him. His opponent had never drawn her sword. What he thought were countless stabs were not from a blade, but from her fists.
“This actually works.”
Heh heh.
Altair let out a soft laugh. She looked at her own fist with satisfaction. She had named it Yacheon-gwon—the Night Sky Fist. A martial art that applied the principles of the Yacheongeom to unarmed strikes.
‘Is calling it a martial art too much? It’s basically just punching.’
She had done it half-jokingly, but the results were far more impressive than expected.
‘If Master had seen this, would she have scolded me?’
She might have been reprimanded for messing around unnecessarily. Just imagining that made her giggle. After her brief moment of happy daydreaming ended, she belatedly looked at the enemies before her.
His reputation hadn’t been for nothing. Even after taking her Night Sky Punch, Dmitri was still standing on his own two legs.
“You dare insult us! This is a challenge to a duel….”
Dmitri spat out his fury. The reason his pronunciation was slurred was obvious. Starlight shines everywhere without discrimination, and his mouth was no exception.
“Duel my ass. Insult?”
Altair looked at him with clear irritation.
“You bastards who interrupt class are talking about insults and duels? You don’t even deserve to be called knights. You’re worse than the dirt under Caleb’s toenails.”
Altair’s icy gaze pierced them.
“You don’t even have the honor to be insulted. The academy prohibits outsiders from entering.”
She kicked Dmitri. He flew off into the distance.
“Whoa…”
Clemang watched the scene with admiration. Was that the realm of humans?
“How dare you do this to my knight and think you’ll get away with it!”
Even though his trusted knight had been sent flying, the baron still had confidence. He was a noble. But this Altair person was at best an academy instructor, wasn’t she? She couldn’t possibly hold a title. No matter how great her skills were, the difference in status was something that could never be overcome.
He strode up to Altair and slapped her cheek. As if to prove his point, Altair didn’t even try to hit him back.
‘This is the difference between you and me.’
The baron smiled. However, Altair was thinking something else.
‘He’s a civilian, so I can’t hit him with full strength.’
Unlike the fallen ones, if she hit this guy in front of her even once, he would die. He was a bastard who deserved a beating, but she couldn’t kill him over something like this.
‘Then what should I do?’
Ah, why overcomplicate it? An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth.
“You hit me first?”
She swung her palm.
“Kuaaaaaagh!”
The baron collapsed, spitting blood along with several teeth.
‘What a drama queen. I hit him lighter than a clap.’
The other nobles stared at the scene in disbelief. To slap a baron—who wasn’t even a knight—so hard! Realizing they might end up the same way, they trembled in fear.
Fortunately, Altair’s attention was still fixed on Nantisie. She walked toward him.
“Teacher, please don’t knock him out.”
At that moment, Altair turned her head toward the voice. It was Ditrua.
“Why?”
“Leave him to me now. This is my specialty.”
Ditrua approached the baron and looked down at him.
“Do you know who I am, Nantisie?”
His eyelids were already swollen and bloody, making it hard to even open his eyes, but he could clearly tell who she was.
“Di… Princess Ditrua? Why is Her Highness…”
“It seems your daughter didn’t tell you that I’m taking this class? Or does that mean someone like me doesn’t matter to you?”
“Uh… uh…”
Baron Nantisie’s face turned deathly pale. To cause such a scene in a class attended by a princess!
“Maril…”
He resentfully called out his daughter’s name before fainting. Whether from physical shock or mental shock, no one could tell.