Chapter 30
Chapter 30
“There were all kinds of rumors spreading within the palace. They said that something about Your Highness had changed.”
At those words, I glanced sideways at Elysia.
She seemed to be reading the book in her hands a short distance away from us, but she was clearly pricking up her ears and focusing her attention this way.
We had spoken in whispers, so she probably could not hear us, but it was not something good to let others overhear anyway.
After all, outwardly, the fact that I was a prince was a secret.
Petra must have realized her own mistake as well, because she slightly furrowed the corner of her eyes and bit her lip.
“I apologize. I was careless.”
“Be careful from now on. And from here on, we’re in a senior–junior relationship. Speak comfortably.”
“Then I’ll do that.”
At my words, she changed her tone immediately, as if she had been waiting for it, and dropped her formality without hesitation.
Seeing how naturally she did it, I honestly suspected that even her earlier slip had been intentional.
“The reason I came here is nothing else but to talk to you about the top-ranked current student·····.”
Petra trailed off and examined my expression.
Then she let out a light sigh and continued.
“Judging by your face, it seems you already know.”
“How could I not?”
Petra was in the position of second-ranked current student.
Her looks were beautiful, and her intellect was beyond reproach.
On top of that, she had sharp, decisive judgment.
But if one asked who the person was that stood above such a talent—
‘Darius, that bastard.’
Royals, by default, possessed outstanding specs.
Even that dim-witted-looking August was competing for the top spot at Bayern Academy.
But unlike August, who was easy enough to tease, Darius instinctively made my skin crawl.
To begin with, I did not like his constantly whining attitude.
And if he went on about being a whore’s child or whatever again, I was tempted to sew that mouth of his shut.
“That’s all I wanted to say. Then I’ll see you later at the event.”
As if she had said everything she needed to, Petra turned around without hesitation.
She greeted Elysia with a gentle smile, then disappeared in an instant, just like when she had arrived.
“Hoo.”
It was not even the entrance ceremony yet, and all sorts of thoughts had already made me tired.
As I pressed my fingers against my eyelids, Elysia, who had come closer to me at some point, shook her glossy red hair and spoke.
“What kind of relationship do you have with Lady Petra?”
And who are you to ask?
“Our families know each other.”
That was not exactly wrong.
It was just that I belonged to the imperial family, while she was merely of a count’s lineage.
Besides, the fact that Petra’s fiancé was the Third Prince, Leios, was common knowledge.
Unless I intended to deliberately reveal that I was a prince, there was no need to say more.
Not at this point.
“I see.”
At that, Elysia stamped her foot with a genuinely regretful expression.
The way she looked, as if she were reluctantly letting go of someone she admired, made something flash through my mind.
Petra received admiration from many people for her outstanding looks and excellent grades.
Because of that, I recalled she had been given some kind of nickname······.
“The renown of Diablo Rosso is widespread, after all.
I admire her as well.”
“···Diablo Rosso.”
That was it—that name.
If translated directly, it meant Red Devil, I think? They said it was a name given by those who admired her so deeply that they could not escape her talent and beauty.
Come to think of it, I did not recall seeing anything in the original work about Elysia admiring Petra.
Well, it was not bad news for me.
It was an opportunity to get closer to Elysia by using Petra as bait.
And once I got closer to Elysia, I could use her as bait to get closer to Petra later.
That was truly a mutually beneficial arrangement.
While I chatted idly with her at a pace suited to her, the entrance ceremony began.
Most of the events were carried out by current students, and rare performances one could not easily see drew continuous exclamations of admiration from the new students.
It honestly felt less like an entrance ceremony and more like watching a circus.
Since it was an official event, I had expected it to be boring, but with such dazzling sights, it was not dull at all.
“Wow.”
And beside me was one woman who let out childlike exclamations throughout the entire event.
Perhaps it was her first time seeing performances like these, because she kept lightly clapping her hands without rest.
Even so, she did not lose her elegance—truly befitting the main heroine.
After all the performances prepared by the current students ended, the proper entrance ceremony proceeded.
Once the brief introduction of distinguished guests was over, it was time to announce this year’s top-ranked and second-ranked new students.
“Top-ranked Ostia, second-ranked Elysia. Please come up to the podium.”
At the teacher’s call as the host, Elysia and I carried out our predetermined roles.
We received our awards and congratulations with appropriate composure, then faced the representative of the current students.
Unlike August, who had dyed his hair a sharp blue, Darius’s hair had turned into a dull ash gray.
The gloomy look suited his overall atmosphere so perfectly that an unintentional chuckle escaped me.
He even wore glasses, as if he were playing the role of a handsome, model student, but the vicious nature hidden beneath could not fool my eyes, you bastard.
Soon, Darius’s congratulatory speech for the incoming students began.
Honestly, I did not listen closely to what he was saying.
Perhaps it would be more accurate to say I could not.
Standing before a crowd of over a thousand people, cold sweat seeped into my hands.
I had once led calisthenics in front of three hundred people during my time in the army, but being told to deliver a full speech before such a massive crowd was another matter entirely.
Darius’s address ended, and my turn to give a response approached.
Outwardly, I climbed up with light steps, showing no sign of nervousness at all, but when I met the thousands of eyes fixed on me, my stomach churned.
“······.”
As I exhaled, pretending to clear my throat because my mouth would not open, I spotted Alice sitting far away in her seat.
Having come from Earth, she must have found this kind of event boring, because she was already nodding off repeatedly, drowsy.
To be dozing off even in a situation like this—she really was something else.
Seeing that, I felt the tension in my tightened throat slowly ease.
I would have to thank her later.
* * *
After both the congratulatory address and the response ended, the representatives of the new students and the current students faced each other.
I had heard it was a staged performance meant to create an image of a friendly relationship between seniors and juniors.
How bad must things usually be for them to go this far.
First, Petra extended her hand to Elysia and me.
On Elysia’s side, she whispered something with a smiling face, but when it came to me, she merely clasped my hand with a slightly subtle expression.
I did not say anything either.
There was still little I had revealed and much I had yet to show.
My relationship with her was something time would resolve.
Darius was the same.
He seemed to exchange a few warm words with Elysia, then, as if he had become a different person, approached me with a stiffened face.
Contempt filled his eyes.
With his lips tightly pressed together, he extended his hand to me with clear displeasure.
Squeeze.
‘This bastard.’
When I grabbed Darius’s hand, I felt a force as if he had deliberately put his strength into it—power enough to easily crush a rock.
He gave a faint smile.
A smile slightly different from the one he had shown Elysia.
Crack.
The sound of bones twisting and breaking rang out clearly.
It probably did not reach below the podium, but Petra and Elysia nearby must have heard it, as they stared at us with widened eyes.
But with so many eyes upon us, they could not show anything and only watched.
“······.”
We let go of each other as well.
The smile that had been on Darius’s lips just moments ago had vanished without a trace, so this time I gave him a light smile instead.
That was how the awkward moment ended.
When I came down from the podium and had just taken my seat, Elysia cautiously asked me with a troubled expression.
“You······.”
She was probably asking about what had just happened.
In response, I waved my perfectly fine hand.
“I’m fine, but I don’t think the other side can say the same.”
Really, you should choose who you show off your strength to.
If he doesn’t get treatment quickly, he won’t even be able to hold a spoon properly for a while.
After the entrance ceremony fully concluded, the students headed to their assigned classrooms for orientation.
After remaining briefly to make my presence known to the academy head and the main teachers, I moved at an unhurried pace and soon arrived in front of a classroom with a familiar name.
1-A.
Just like in the original work, it was the class I would belong to from now on.
Naturally, it was packed with the protagonist and many supporting characters with significant roles, and now I had to work on drawing them into my faction.
“…….”
The moment I opened the door and entered, the previously noisy interior fell into silence.
Some lowered their voices and whispered while glancing at me from the corner of their eyes, while others pretended not to care yet sent subtle looks my way.
‘Seeing it like this, it feels different.’
Characters I had only ever seen in illustrations were now moving vividly before my eyes.
One of the protagonist’s heroine candidates, a ducal lady who came from a distant duchy carrying many stories of her own.
The child of a high-ranking imperial noble.
A subordinate of the demon race who would become the mastermind behind the academy’s first episode.
The guy who would later stab the protagonist in the back.
And even an assassin hidden behind the scenes.
For reference, that was Alice.
It was a lineup as colorful as their various hair colors.
And at the center of it all, boldly drawing everyone’s attention, was none other than myself.
It felt awkward to say it myself, but with refined looks, excellent grades, and the title of top-ranked new student following behind me, it was something no one could dare to ignore.
Feeling a sense of fulfillment at the current situation where everyone was conscious of me, I slowly walked among them.
Perhaps because it was an elite academy, most students occupied the front seats.
Still, there were always separate seats favored by irregulars like us.
“You did well on the speech.”
As I headed toward the farthest corner seat, Alice, one of those irregulars, greeted me with a yawn.
Her hair color, which once proved she was a native Korean, had become a light blond before I knew it.
Well, black hair and black eyes were a rare combination.
She must have dyed it to avoid standing out.
“Listened to what? I was so out of it that it’s a miracle I didn’t collapse.”
“I stayed up all night taking care of some cleanup.”
She leaned into the sunlight pouring through the window and slumped over her desk with a drowsy face.
The “cleanup” she mentioned was probably about the assassin guild.
She had killed all of the upper leadership and destroyed their headquarters, so I thought it was over, but it seemed she had been a little worried.
Well, it wasn’t like she hadn’t handled it rather recklessly.
“So what was the result?”
“I finished it without leaving even a single strand of hair. No need to worry about that side anymore.”
“I see.”
If Alice was confident enough to boast like that, then the guild was probably nothing to worry about anymore.
As I sat in the back row chatting with her, the stares and attention I had felt when entering the classroom gradually faded.
The students paired up with their friends again and started chatting, and Alice drifted off into dreamland.
Just as I was starting to look for an easygoing target to break the ice with others, the same silence as when I had entered the classroom spread among them.
“Look over there.”
“Is that Elysia, the second-ranked?”
Supporting characters whose names I did not even know stirred the atmosphere with their formulaic dialogue.
It was quite different from when I had entered, when they looked at me as if I were a rare animal.
Women gazed at her with admiration, while men stared fervently, looking as though they wanted to whisper love confessions at any moment.
But Elysia was beautiful enough to make such reactions understandable.
Glossy red hair flowing with sheen—she swept it back without paying any attention to others’ gazes and entered the classroom with a proud expression.
“…….”
Our eyes met as she scanned the classroom, just like I had at first.
I thought she might ignore me, but instead, Elysia slightly lowered her head in greeting and then sat down in an empty seat around the middle.
“…She’s a bit different from the image.”
In the opening of the original work, she took a so-called tsundere position, picking fights over every little thing because she disliked the protagonist.
True to cliché, her attitude changed once she realized he possessed extraordinary power.
‘I thought things might turn out differently since that so-called protagonist is laid out like this.’
“Ueh?”
As if she had sensed me talking about her, Alice slowly lifted her head with sleep-filled eyes.
She truly was a girl with many different charms.
At first, lively.
When fighting, cold-blooded.
And now—
“No, go back to sleep.”
She just looked like a dazed high school girl.