The Predator's Gambit
"Young Master!! Are you alright!?"
"You're asking a bit late, aren't you?"
With my left arm fractured, I had returned to my quarters immediately after sitting on the rooftop, before the pain could intensify. I had instructed the maid brought by the family to fetch the academy’s resident physician, told them I’d tumbled down the stairs of my dormitory, and after receiving treatment, I was currently resting with a cup of coffee.
"I am so sorry! I naturally assumed you would head to the infirmary, so I was waiting for that student to be treated…!"
"I’m joking. I returned to my quarters alone precisely because I expected that. If I had appeared with a broken arm from a high fall right after dumping that girl into the sturdy, reliable arms of Sir Leng Dust—the knight of loyalty, judgment, and the undefeated—it would have raised questions. Others might not notice, but the one who was saved would certainly be suspicious."
"Ugh. Still, I am your escort, Young Master…"
"Since when did you care about such things? Even if you had jumped out the window alone, it would have ended as 'the youth who jumped.' The moment you moved, you were the one who forced the choice and the action."
"Kuh…!!"
I wasn't particularly blaming him. Seeing Leng, who seemed to take it that way, clutch his face and even drop to his knees, I couldn't help but chuckle.
"So, what I’m saying is that it was you who saved that girl, not me. If it had been just me, I wouldn't have saved her."
"……I am truly sorry."
It wasn't a rebuke, and honestly, there was nothing for Leng to be sorry about, but since I was the one who got hurt, I simply nodded to accept his apology.
"So. Who dropped her?"
"How… did you know?"
"I saw the expression and behavior while she was falling. Usually, if someone is trying to commit suicide, they clench their eyes shut and go limp, determined to land on their head. But she had her eyes wide open, arms outstretched, struggling to grab onto anything. Thanks to that posture, it was easy to catch her."
I set down my finished coffee and moved slightly, only for a jolt like an electric current to run through my shoulder, causing me to wince involuntarily.
"Young Master!? Ugh…… I will go fetch a priest from the cathedral!"
"Forget it. It’s better to go yourself later. ……No, it’s better not to go at all. If I get treated by a priest for no reason, they might start investigating why I went all the way to the cathedral for a simple fall down the stairs. I avoid anything that restricts my movement. Anyway, never mind my injury—who pushed her?"
"Th-that is…"
Leng began to speak bitterly, with an expression that made it difficult to talk.
"They say… they are all nobles."
"The girl who fell seemed to be a noble too, so one noble tried to kill another?"
"It doesn't seem to have been to the extent of… killing her. They said a heated argument broke out, and their emotions simply escalated."
"So they turned themselves in."
"Yes… three female students came and confessed, they say."
I understood why Leng’s expression was so poor. Leng Dust, known as the knight of loyalty, judgment, and the undefeated. He, the hero I had crafted, had become the balancing weight of the academy, regardless of his own intentions. If he saw a noble bullying a commoner, he would go and crush them. If talented individuals challenged him, he would crush them too. If he saw a commoner badmouthing me, he would find them and give them a warning. Since he was a real, active-duty knight despite being a student, both noble and commoner students were suppressed by the name 'Leng.'
'But even that has its limits.'
If suppressing them with greater force isn't something one initiates and sustains intentionally, it eventually explodes due to backlash. This incident was a case where the place most prone to bursting, where Leng’s support was relatively weak, had finally blown up.
"I am sorry. Because I went around doing unnecessary things……"
"It seems your name was mentioned as well."
"……Yes. The student who was being bullied, who fell, is from the Royalist faction. It is said that she countered the bullying nobles a few times by mentioning my name. But the fact that neither I nor you, Young Master, had any connection to that woman was quickly revealed, and this situation…"
"I don't understand. What on earth are the Royalist nobles doing? The tripartite power structure shouldn't be collapsing this easily."
"Tri… pardon?"
"And I don't understand why they mentioned your name. It’s something that would be found out immediately, so why handle it that way?"
Above all, why would the Royalists use Leng’s name? There is Princess Lilit, so this is completely incomprehensible…?
"Hey. Leng."
"Yes."
"Behind that large tree visible out the window, there’s a princess and a knight."
"Huh?"
"Go catch them."
"…Me?"
"Then should I go?"
I gestured with my chin, showing my injured arm to tell him to hurry, and Leng jumped out the window despite wearing an expression that suggested he’d rather die. And so, Leng caught the stalker princess and her knight… wait, were they caught? Why is that knight blushing again?
"I, I didn't use Clairvoyance!?"
"I would prefer you didn't use binoculars either."
"Eh… no, why!? I didn't even interfere! I just watched even when you killed Bierson and the professors…!?"
"Are you expecting a reasonable response to unreasonable behavior?"
"Hiccup! I, I’m sorryyy!!"
This dopamine addict. It seems she has learned that as long as she apologizes properly, I won't take direct action. In this blood-pressure-raising situation where she bowed her head to apologize without a moment's hesitation, I forced a smile and opened my mouth.
"Your Highness."
"Yes!!"
"Have you ever seen a serial killer who absolutely never kills innocent people?"
"Eh?"
"That is the kind of person I am. You seem to have analyzed me because you’re a princess with a decent head on your shoulders, but it is a huge miscalculation to think that you can get away with just apologizing."
"!!"
I stood up from my chair, placed my index finger lightly on the chin of the blue-haired dopamine addict who was flinching and trembling, and smiled as kindly as possible.
"If you keep getting on my nerves, I have sixteen ways to quietly dispose of you. Shall we start experimenting with them one by one starting today? My prediction is that you’ll be crying and dropping out by the time we reach the third operation."
"Hiccup! I, really. I’m sorry. I won't do it again…!"
I truly hope she understands now. And the female knight beside her. You’ve given up completely, so you don't even intend to stop me anymore? The way she was looking away entirely was absurd.
……No, wait. Is that look not giving up on me, but giving up on the princess? Is a royal knight allowed to do that? Hey, hey. Don't give up on your master.
"Hiccup, hiccup."
"Leng."
"Yes."
"I have something to discuss with Her Highness. She seems shocked, so bring some tea."
"Yes."
"Ah, I will help as well."
"?"
No, is she really giving up? As Leng moved to leave the room, the bronze-skinned female knight followed right behind him. Even though the blue-haired princess was calling out like a truly abandoned puppy, "Hiccup! Je, Jena…," she fled as if she couldn't hear. No… it was certain she hadn't fled, but followed Leng.
"Sit down."
"Yes!"
"……Not on the floor, the chair in front of me."
"Yes!"
Even in the game, she was an NPC who committed bizarre acts due to her strength-obsession and dopamine addiction, but in reality, I don't know what happened, as she didn't even hesitate to sit on the floor in front of me, a mere young duke. Seeing this, it was certain she felt fear toward me, but I couldn't understand why she kept hovering around me.
"Your Highness. Is faction management not difficult these days?"
"Yes?"
"I understand. The succession to the throne is already designated for the Crown Prince, and you just want to stay quiet and marry into a foreign royal family. But the indecisive fools who haven't been able to align with the Crown Prince because their choices were late, and the noble factions who hope the Crown Prince’s power will weaken, are trying to create a confrontational structure by somehow assigning meaning to your movements."
"Uh…?"
"In such a situation, even if you take a slight action to resist, it ends up exactly as the noble factions want—a desperate situation. I know it’s a situation you cannot overcome alone."
"Uh…"
"So, I, a noble of the neutral faction, would like to offer some help. What do you think? I ask because I don't think you would want incidents like today’s to keep happening at an academy where we come to learn how to fulfill our duties as nobles……… right?"
What is this. This blank expression. Those vacant eyes that look as if she has no idea what I’m talking about. I feel like my own brain is getting dumber. No, my thinking speed has actually slowed down. There’s even a possibility that if Leng were to ambush me with all his might from behind, he might even be able to cut my sleeve.
"Um……"
"Yes."
"What is an incident like today? By any chance, are you talking about the student who jumped?"
"……"
"Eh… was that caused by faction fighting? But, I haven't really built a Royalist faction or anything?"
"……"
"Th… then why are you making such an annoyed face? Wh, why are you suddenly standing up?"
"……"
"Wh, what!? Why, why are you coming closer!? Di, did I do something wrong!!?"
"……"
"Why are you reaching out your hand? Je, Jena!! Je-na-ah-ah-ah!?!"
What on earth is this blockhead saying right now? I pulled the cheeks of the princess, who was managed by the kingdom’s taxes, to their maximum range. They stretch very well. I wish her brain were this flexible.
"Ah-pah! It hurts!!? Jena! Jena, save me!! Am I dying!?!"
At the princess’s scream… the female knight Jena, who had leisurely opened the door and entered, met my eyes. In her hands were the refreshments she had brought to eat with the tea Leng had fetched.
"……Your Highness."
"Je-Jena!! I, I’m being assassinated! Save meee!!"
"This is also a necessary experience."
"Je-naaa…!?"
I pulled them until the princess’s cheeks turned red.
*****
"Your Highness."
"Hmph!!"
"If Young Duke Carix had intended to harm you, you wouldn't be able to stop him even if you were watching right in front of him. The fact that you even had the leisure to scream is proof that this was a situation I could handle with ease."
"Hmph!!"
"So, stop that and listen to the Young Duke’s words quickly. I do not want to have my cheeks grabbed by the Young Duke. It looked painful just watching."
"Jena, you… did you perhaps submit a resignation?"
"To be honest, I have been thinking about quitting as a royal knight lately."
"What!?"
"If I may say so without misunderstanding, it is entirely Your Highness’s fault."
"Hey!!"
"Sir Jena."
"Young Duke Carix. Wait a moment. I am doing my best to soothe Her Highness’s sulking. So I am……"
"The salary for the Valentia Knights is about this much, and we provide 11 days of vacation per year. Besides that, we provide family event leave as a special leave category, and of course, it is paid."
"Oh… it’s not much different from the Royal Knights. Should I say it’s expected of a ducal house?"
"Jena!?"
"And above all, if you join now, I will use you as my exclusive knight."
"That is truly. Sincerely. Not attractive at all."
"Leng is my exclusive knight."
"Where should I sign? Ah, I will submit my resignation before that."
"Je-naaa!!"
As the princess, who was on the verge of having her promising and capable 3rd-grade knight NTR'd right before her eyes, was truly about to cry, I stopped the conversation—1% joke, 99% truth—and moistened my throat with coffee.
"Your Highness."
"No!! That’s right! I am Your Highness! But grabbing my cheeks like that! Huh!? Streeeetching them to tear them off is truly treason, isn't it!!"
"There isn't even a bruise left, so who are you going to report this to?"
"That’s what’s driving me crazy!! It hurts like hell but it doesn't show!! You monster!! You swindler!!"
The princess shed a single tear, looking truly aggrieved. But in my eyes, even that was a luxury.
"That is what I am saying."
"What are you talking about all of a sudden!?"
"The students who only trusted Your Highness and followed you during your academy life are feeling exactly the same way as Your Highness right now."
"……"
"You were forced to enroll to fulfill the duties of a noble, but it hurts like hell. It’s painful. The noble factions are getting stronger, and the commoners are uniting among themselves to protect their own."
"But the Royalist faction, one of the pillars, has a leader who says, 'I’m not a faction? I didn't create anything like that?' and acts like this… I mean, acts like that. Who is responsible for their suffering?"
"Didn't you just say 'acts like this'? Is this person really crazy? Can't I report to Father that you are planning a revolution?"
"Sir Jena, what do you think?"
"Your Highness is entirely at fault. I will stand in court as a witness to testify to the Young Duke’s innocence."
"……"
Seeing Jena, who had gone over to Leng’s side and stood there like my real escort, the princess looked as if the world had collapsed, her expression dead. It’s a relief that Sir Jena is a reasonable person. I hope things work out well with Leng.
"The name of Leng has been doing the work that Your Highness should have been doing until now. But you know, don't you? Leng is merely a new noble, and a knight and vassal of my house, a neutral noble. If he takes someone’s side any further, the position of 'neutrality' will collapse in an instant."
"……"
"By any chance, do you wish for me to enter politics? I will tell you now, I, the next duke, will not unconditionally take the side of the royal family. And if you are someone who has watched my behavioral patterns at this academy longer than anyone else, you would know. A bloodbath will occur. A bloodbath large enough to dye the largest lake in the kingdom, Lake Lengesia, deep red. Do you truly wish for such a future?"
"Wh, what do you want me to do. I just enrolled because I wanted to see unusually strong people. You know about my magic too, right? The reason I awakened the [Clairvoyance] magic was because that desire was so strong…"
She kept rambling, so I kept glaring at her, and she seemed to accept the fact that she was in the wrong and shrank back. But thinking about it, it’s funny. Even in the game, the Royalist faction was weak and full of losers who couldn't do anything. The commoners were just kids who protected their own bodies and gossiped about nobles behind their backs. The noble faction was the hostile position that muddied the waters of the player and the academy, and also the source of quests. In other words, the princess just watching idly while the noble faction caused various accidents was, in a sense, perfectly in line with the game’s setting.
'But I can't just leave it like this.'
It’s not that I suddenly opened my eyes to justice. I had worried about whether I would suffer any disadvantages even after seeing people fall, and in fact, now that my left arm is wrecked, I even feel like I shouldn't have saved her. However, if there is no playable character to resolve this situation and this idiotic situation accelerates and becomes extreme, I won't have the leisure to track down the ones who killed my brother. Even just looking at Leng beside me, he reaches out his hand without thinking due to his annoying sense of justice and chivalry, and that becomes an invisible influence. The more things like that pile up, the more our range of action shrinks.
"Your Highness, step forward yourself, meet the student who is the head of the noble faction, and have a conversation."
"Me?"
"If you refuse, the next best option is for me to move from behind the scenes. But then, a bloodbath from the academy…"
"A, alright! But! The influence of Lady Cleora, the eldest daughter of the Marquis Beatrix family, is enormous! Even my brother, who is building power in the royal family, doesn't know where to start! Honestly, I don't know what will happen if I ask to meet her…"
"Beatrix? Ah. Was the lady of the Marquis family that monopolizes the eastern iron and copper mines the head of the noble faction?"
"Eh… didn't you know? It’s extremely famous?"
"I am not a person with so little work that I live while paying attention to every single brat… excuse me. Every single alley leader."
"Alley leader? No! In the first place, you were the one who told me to hold a summit with that impossibly powerful alley leader right now!?"
I remember all the information about large families, but I don't really care about their successors. It’s not like the hands of kids are mixed in among the ones who killed my brother, and it’s a waste of time to pay attention to them.
"Then that’s even better."
"What’s better?"
"It means they are acting up just by trusting the family name. Then, I just need to let them know that the family is actually empty, with nothing to rely on."
"A family that monopolizes eastern iron mines is empty…?"
"Didn't you know? My family monopolizes the western granary. Since they are human, they have to eat to live, so are they going to chew on iron?"
"Huh…?"
I asked Leng for a pen and paper, and right there, I wrote a short letter and continued my explanation.
"Anyway, the fact that Your Highness came to my quarters today will have started to spread as a rumor in the academy."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. Since Leng brought Your Highness and Sir Jena, who were outside, to the front door, many people saw it. Therefore, the fact that Your Highness came here today becomes a negotiation to calm the situation… even if it’s not royal support, it becomes a negotiation to borrow power from me, a neutral noble."
"So?"
"This letter contains the content regarding my knight Leng saving the Royalist noble lady who was about to fall to her death today, a protest against this, and the specific content that Your Highness is mediating this. Now, I’ve finished writing it, so read it."
"……? Th, this is okay, right?"
"If it’s not okay, then unless they are really going to chew on iron, they have to accept it. If they don't like it, they can starve."
Actually, they would die before they got hungry.
"……"
Lilit felt goosebumps. The content he wrote was something that, if handled incorrectly, could truly lead to an all-out war between the Marquis Beatrix family, the head of the noble faction, and the ducal house, a neutral noble.
"Leng."
"Yes."
"How confident are you in taking them on?"
"…It’s embarrassing for me to say it myself, but I previously defeated Sir Jena. Unless there is an escort better than Sir Jena beside the Marquis family’s successor, I am confident I will never lose."
"I can also guarantee it. My previous defeat was also a problem of my arrogant behavior of simply yielding the initiative, but even if we fought again now, I cannot guarantee my victory. Sir Dust is strong."
"Yes. That’s what they say. Your Highness. You can take Leng."
"Huh? You want me to really have a go with the Marquis family?"
Lilit was flustered. The content written down was clearly a neutral noble conveying a protest against the actions of the noble faction, and from a political perspective, these were remarks that had no problems at all. The problem was that she had to hold this in her own hands as a princess and deliver it by attaching her closest knight. In other words, it meant that even though she was neutral, she would join hands with the royal family only for this incident. And in this situation, it was an expression of strong will that if they didn't admit all responsibility and bow their heads, they would truly have a go with the Marquis family.
"I know."
"Yes?"
"That I am ignored here and there as a 'talentless' person who surpasses the 'dull' as the second son of a ducal house."
"Th, that’s because you hide it…"
"And that my brother has never shown outstanding prominence in social circles and the academy. In public places."
"……"
"Moreover, my father, who is a duke, is merely a 5th-grade knight, so even though we monopolize the granary in the western region, many noble families laugh at us, saying we aren't neutral but simply unable to join a faction. I know all of that."
And it didn't matter. Even if my father wasn't strong, the captain of the knights who was loyal to the family was a 3rd-grade knight. And senior vassals like the Count Berzen I killed earlier were also capable people, like a 4th-grade mage. Because we possessed enough military power that we would never lose easily even if a territorial war broke out. However, from my father, the face of the family, to his children, everything looked like nothing to others. And in reality, while cleaning house this time, the family’s practical total combined military power had truly decreased a lot. So, being laughed at here and there? I understand. Until I finish my brother’s revenge, even if I am treated like that, I, the one hiding it, should understand.
"But looking down on even Your Highness, a person of the royal family, has crossed the line. You mentioned a revolution earlier, didn't you?"
"Eh? Th, that was a joke? We, aren't we close enough to talk about that much~ like that…?"
"Let’s do it. A revolution."
"Eh…?"
Instead, without using my own hands. Who is the noble who truly stands above, not just in status, but in whose hands the stronger power lies. Who is the true predator. To the hot-blooded kids who don't know where the line is and keep crossing it, I just need to provide the education their parents didn't give them.
"I will lend you my cards, Your Highness. I will make you the king of the academy within one week."
"……"
Above all. If I don't receive the proper price for making me recall my brother’s death. Because I feel like I might end up causing that alley leader to fall just the same, without even realizing it.