Chapter 78
Chapter 78
We faced each other awkwardly on the terrace, and after the banquet ended, we gathered again in my room.
It wasn’t a place where we could talk freely right away, given how many eyes were around.
On top of that, Sheffield and Leipzig were both families with well-known names even within the Empire.
If rumors spread that the young ladies of those houses had held a long, secret discussion with me, it would cause all sorts of inconveniences.
As we sat down, Petra naturally prepared some tea.
As I drank it, the fresh raspberry scent washed away the greasy taste of the party food.
While I savored the aroma lingering in my mouth, I noticed Leysias watching us with an uneasy expression, unable to sit still.
“Judging by that look, you heard everything.”
“…I knew the two of you were engaged. But…….”
“You thought it was just a political arrangement?”
“…Yes. Honestly, I didn’t expect you to be this close.”
She frankly confessed her feelings.
As she said, the reason the Leipzig family had taken my hand was obvious.
Like others, a political marriage wasn’t a beautiful relationship.
There was no elaborate backstory, no sweet romance.
There were only thoroughly calculated interests and interactions intertwined.
And if those ever diverged, a political alliance was something that could be switched at any time.
Leysias said she had been aware of it, but hadn’t given it much weight.
However, now that she had heard our conversation, things were different.
Leysias was my partner.
Since we were in the same boat, I figured we needed to talk things through to some extent.
“…….”
When I summarized the matter and explained it to her, she made an ambiguous expression.
With a faint sense of apprehension, I asked her.
“Don’t tell me you had feelings for me?”
“…If I said I’d never thought about it, that would be a lie. But the problem isn’t me, it’s someone else…….”
“Someone else……?”
The one who voiced doubt at Leysias’s words was Petra.
She turned her gaze with a dense curiosity.
Regardless of the standing of their families, in terms of the current situation there was a clear difference in advantage.
Because of that, she didn’t stop and continued to press.
“Is it perhaps a young lady from Britain? That girl named Maria was clearly of noble birth too. Other than her, there’s Yuria, and someone called Alice…….”
At those names, Leysias’s body flinched.
Whatever she read from that reaction, Petra’s eyes narrowed.
“So it’s not just one?”
Faced with that gaze demanding the truth, Leysias closed her eyes for a moment, but soon couldn’t withstand the pressure.
She let out a sigh and then vented her complaint at me.
“This is your problem. You need to clearly draw the line with your relationships with women, or it’ll come back to bite you later…….”
“There isn’t really a line to draw…….”
“Do you truly think so? Setting Yuria aside, do you really believe Miss Elysia Yain or Miss Alice have no feelings for you at all?”
There was a hint of reproach mixed into her gaze.
She seemed to think of me as a philanderer, but from my perspective it was nothing but unfair.
The reason Alice followed me so blindly was loneliness.
Having come from another world, she needed something to lean on, and I provided that.
But when everything came to an end, even if I stayed behind, Alice was someone destined to return to her original world.
I hadn’t read the epilogue, but at the very least the story concluded in that direction.
Since the broad framework of this world followed the original work, Alice would likely do the same.
And Elysia was…….
‘This one, I can’t deny.’
What happened in Britain came to mind.
It was an undeniable fact that I had been drawn to her.
As I remained silent, unable to say anything, Petra let out a small sigh and looked at me.
“I never thought I could monopolize you alone. Given your status.”
Her words were true.
Among nobles, taking two or three concubines was commonplace.
Even Carius or Darius, aside from the woman slated to become their empress, had shared ties with countless others.
‘This is all because of that damn bloodline.’
Gilgamesh von Ribera.
Starting with my father, he had been quite the womanizer.
He had managed things thoroughly enough that no idle gossip spread, but he likely never imagined that a village girl he spent a single night with would end up pregnant with Leios.
That was what created the current me and led to this result.
“Let’s stop this conversation here.”
Before my head started hurting any more, I waved my hand and changed the subject.
In a novel, whether someone was the main heroine, a sub heroine, or whether it was a harem might be important elements, but to me they were a lower priority.
‘The current relationships are in the best state.’
It wasn’t that I intended to exploit their feelings.
It was just that romance or love wasn’t important right now.
Of course, that didn’t mean it was unnecessary.
For Leios to reach a happy ending, it wasn’t a path he could walk alone.
But the priorities were different.
With the main story now unfolding in earnest, I couldn’t afford to muddy the waters with pointless romantic squabbles.
Don’t lose sight of the original intention.
In that vague atmosphere, I engraved into myself the memories of nearly being poisoned to death and nearly falling to my death right after teleporting.
If something were to happen to me now, it wouldn’t end as just my own story.
They would also suffer major repercussions, and in Alice’s case especially, she wouldn’t be able to properly fulfill her role in this world.
“What’s important right now is something else.”
I explained the clash with the anti-imperial faction that had occurred during the day.
Leysias, who had been present at the scene, listened in silence, but for Petra, who was hearing this for the first time, her face went pale and her mouth fell open.
The leader of the anti-imperial faction could be this country’s king, or possibly his younger brother.
That meant the scale of influence they could wield was entirely different.
In other words, right before our eyes were the fangs of a wolf that could tear into our throats at any moment.
“This is a serious problem.”
At Petra’s suddenly serious expression, I secretly let out a sigh.
For my fiancée, the fact that I had been close with other women was bound to be a sensitive topic.
I didn’t want to trouble her with unnecessary worries.
“From what I’ve discreetly investigated, they’re planning to make their move during the Academic Festival.”
“…Then it’ll be either the beginning or the end.”
“Right. I think it’s more likely the latter.”
Since the Academic Festival was a major continental event, many figures attended the opening ceremony.
But its true highlight was the closing ceremony on the final day.
The presentations by the continent’s top academies and the awards ceremony for outstanding students.
It was an event personally conducted by the kings of each nation, which meant dignitaries from every country gathered together.
If a problem were to occur at that venue, it would spread into an international issue.
Especially since it was close to the Empire, a relatively large number of imperial figures would be in attendance.
If the anti-imperial faction were to make a move, could there be a better opportunity than that?
“Regardless of whether things succeed or fail. All they need is a small impact to announce their existence. That isn’t particularly difficult.”
Those in high positions were sensitive about their own safety.
If even the slightest element threatening it were discovered, they would send arrows of blame flying toward the Kingdom of Demedrio.
That burden would be borne by the royalist faction loyal to the Empire.
The anti-imperial faction would reap the practical benefits from behind the scenes.
“What do you intend to do?”
Petra’s question carried several layers of meaning.
The target with the least risk and the greatest effect was me.
Compared to the other imperial princes, I had practically no escort, and I wasn’t particularly well known either.
Of course, at the level of the kingdom they did keep an eye on me, but it was clearly far weaker than the attention paid to the other princes.
In such a situation, if something were to happen to me, it would spark a huge uproar, like fire spreading through oil.
“First, I’ll have to talk to them.”
I was waiting for Isaac, who said he would come soon.
If they were going to make their move during the Academic Festival, then it wouldn’t be far off.
“…I see. Someone like the Sword Marshal General wouldn’t be spouting empty words, but still…….”
The two of them told me to be sufficiently cautious and worried about me nonetheless.
“…Haha.”
The Academic Festival opening ceremony.
Just as I expected, each country had sent figures of modest, comparable rank.
However, since the Kingdom of Demedrio was the host of the Academic Festival, I thought that someone of a certain weight would show their face.
At most, I had expected a chancellor or perhaps a single duke, but unfortunately my prediction was far off.
“It’s Sword Marshal General Isaac.”
“To think he’d show his face from the very first day.”
Murmurs never ceased in the place where representatives from each country’s academies had gathered.
The Kingdom of Demedrio was relatively small, but his renown alone was famous.
Enough that even the Empire acknowledged him.
“…….”
Isaac’s sharp gaze pierced through the surroundings.
It soon began to converge on a single point.
A rugged face with bold features reminiscent of Arthur.
His burly, muscular body was covered not in solid armor but in a splendid uniform.
The medals hanging all over it adorned the scene, boasting of the achievements Isaac had accumulated over the years.
‘To think he’d move this openly.’
Everyone focused their attention on Isaac’s presence.
Perhaps because of that, the opening ceremony proceeded without incident.
“…Then.”
After the opening ceremony ended, I rose to my feet.
The Academic Festival lasted a total of one week.
The four-person-seat tournament I was participating in began on the third day, and before that there were presentations of research achievements and discussion sessions in each field.
Since I had free time until the third day, I was about to wander around to see if there was anything worthwhile, when an unexpected person approached me.
“You’re Ostia of Bayern, right? The one who unusually got to participate in the Academic Festival as a first-year this time.”
“…Yes. I was fortunate to get a good opportunity.”
Gareth, the student council president of Madrid Academy, greeted me with a gentle smile.
Why was he suddenly greeting me? When I looked at him with a puzzled gaze, he gave an awkward smile and asked if he could whisper something to me for a moment.
Since there was no reason to refuse, I leaned my ear closer.
Gareth whispered in a low voice.
-That person would like to see you for a moment.
‘…This bastard.’
At those words, I narrowed my eyes.
He hadn’t specified who “that person” was, but it was obvious who he meant.
Sword Marshal General Isaac.
He had summoned me.
What surprised me more than that, though, was something else.
I never expected even the student council president of Madrid Academy to be part of the anti-imperial faction.
‘No wonder his gaze felt so intense.’
Right after I arrived at Madrid Academy, he had been sending me strange looks nonstop.
I had even subtly hidden myself, wondering if he was into that sort of thing, but to think this man too was part of the anti-imperial faction.
I nodded silently.
Gareth slowly guided me, and soon we arrived at a quiet, deserted classroom in a corner of the academy.
“It’s been a while.”
Isaac greeted me while standing on the podium.
In response, I tilted my head askew and replied.
“It’s only been a day.”
“Time is relative. Your value and mine are different.”
“If you called me here to lecture me, I’ll pass.”
“You!”
At my words, Gareth, standing behind me, burst out with fierce anger.
To the people of the Kingdom of Demedrio, Isaac was a hero.
On top of that, he was a leader of the same anti-imperial faction, so Gareth must have idolized him immensely.
However.
“This is an adults’ conversation. The errand boy should step aside.”
My presence, having reached Sword Master, poured out mercilessly.
In situations like this, seizing the initiative was important.
“…….”
Gareth staggered back with a face that turned pale in an instant, and eventually collapsed to the floor.
He couldn’t even dare to look up at me, on the verge of losing consciousness.
“That’s a bit excessive.”
Isaac lightly waved his hand and dispelled it.
I hadn’t gone all out either, but seeing him so easily unravel my momentum made my chest ache slightly.
The gap in power was absolute.
But fights weren’t decided by fistfights alone.
“So, what did you call me here for?”
I thoroughly played the role of the superior.
I was the one allowing the conversation.
So go on, say what you wanted to say.
At that attitude, Isaac’s face twitched, but he soon put on a calm expression and opened his mouth.
“I want to buy you.”
“My price is quite high.”
Was he talking about wanting information, whether as an imperial spy or an informant, or asking me to act as an intermediary? But what followed was completely unexpected.
“I’ll make you emperor. Would that be enough?”