Chapter 59

[Month Day, Clear]

It’s been three days since I fell into this world. I’m still avoiding Catherine. Today, I finally cracked the code on my age. The other maids, apart from Catherine, know nothing about me. Strange, isn’t it?

Given my age and today’s date, I’m about to enroll in the Apatem Academy, the main stage for the Royal Flower. I already know what’s going on, but… am I really going to fit in?

I’m already in the loop. The Royal Flower—a name that was probably created for this world. And Lilian is likely someone who has read every bit of it. Thinking this, I can somewhat understand her past actions. Strange actions that stemmed from knowing the future. The way she avoided me, or sometimes protected Yulia despite political issues—it all makes a bit more sense now.

Letting out a small sigh, I read more from the notebook but suddenly felt the urge to close it. Perhaps it was guilt for reading someone else’s diary, but the important bits weren’t even written down properly. Most of it was probably just stored in her head.

Even thinking that way, when I eventually flipped to the next page, I was taken aback. Unlike before, this time there was a decent amount of content about the ‘future.’ It seemed she had started to realize she was safe.

Considering that this diary was written in Korean, it looked like she’d put in some effort to secure her secrets… But not predicting that I was a reincarnator, and a Korean to boot, was her big mistake. After chewing on the diary’s contents for a bit, I let out a small sigh and closed the notebook.

Honestly, I don’t really care about much else. But the last page’s content was still swirling in my mind.

[Month Day, Rain]

Life at Apatem Academy has been somewhat enjoyable. From our conversations, I don’t think Catherine is the type to gaslight me, and Yulia is still pretty and kind. A true harem protagonist, really. It’s annoying that despite being beauties, they’re treated so differently. ……

… Yulia has already unlocked her magical power, huh? Will that make it easier to face the Demon King? Not sure. If we can’t deal with the Demon King that showed up at the end of the game, this world is finished, but the protagonist Jeron and Yulia are living their lives totally disconnected. Jeron needs to awaken for them to take down the Demon King together, so why isn’t he awakening?

Jeron von Selvius, and awakening. And then there’s that keyword, the Demon King, swirling around in my head. Suddenly feeling a strange sensation, I placed my hand over my heart and slowly moved the magical power flowing inside me. Unlike a few days ago, it began to move at my will, and in an instant, it started to lightly surge from my fist.

While it was still unstable, it felt similar to that process people often talk about. Should I call it ‘Qi’? I mean, it’s surprising this is even possible considering I just became aware of it. Could it be that I have talent? While experimenting with my magical power, I suddenly got curious if I could channel it into a sword. Pulling out the dagger I had tucked into my thigh garter, I slowly began to infuse magical power into it.

It was definitely tougher than moving magical power through my body, but I could feel it gradually flowing through the dagger. Could it be that this process of awakening magical power is what Lilian referred to in her diary as ‘awakening’? No idea.

Letting out a small sigh. Honestly, if I hadn’t known Yulia was a reincarnator, I wouldn’t have believed any of this. But since I’m sure she is, I have no choice but to trust her diary.

Who in their right mind would believe that a Demon King from a fairytale could be resurrected? Even the historians on demonology, barely holding on in their field, wouldn’t believe it. But if the Demon King really is coming back… then I guess I’ll have to lend a hand as well. After all, I love this world too.

#

“Is this really certain?”

“Yes. The information came from a member of the Student Council, so it’s reliable.”

“I never imagined the Student Council President would be such a crazy woman.”

In a dim room, the individuals surrounding the round table reacted in their own ways. With animal masks on their faces, they stared at each other as if assessing one another, hinting at some scheme. Or perhaps “plotting” would be a more accurate term.

Animal Party. The name sounds ridiculously childish, but the members here are people who could be called the powers of their respective nations. Even nobles from the Empire were included in this group. Most notably, the leaders from both the radicals and the aristocrats have quite a loud voice in the Empire.

This secret organization operates in the shadows, so secretly that its members hardly know each other’s faces. In fact, the only person who knows everyone in this group is Karim Elpeltain, the ‘Lion Mask.’ The head of the aristocratic faction, who can nearly single-handedly counter the House of Marquis of Portus, is notorious for challenging the Emperor and the Marquis’ policies one by one.

Naturally, nobility likes him, but the commoners loathe him immensely. Especially since the Duke Elpeltain acts as the face of the aristocratic faction. Meanwhile, the citizens of the Duke’s territory seem completely indifferent.

The funny thing is, it’s only natural since the Duke Elpeltain is part of the aristocratic faction, not the radicals. It might seem weird that he isn’t part of the radicals, but the real asset of the Elpeltain family is its human resources. They educate commoners sufficiently and have them work in the Duke’s house. The late Duke Elpeltain’s legacy is still faithfully carried out to this day. It was thanks to this legacy that the territory, once just a barren wasteland, grew to match the House of Portus.

“Lion, what do you plan to do?”

“…To be honest, it’s none of my business.”

“Lion?”

“But if the Student Council President planned this, then she should also bear the backlash.”

At those words from the Lion, the members’ faces lit up. It was as if he had committed to joining the scheme. The insurrection at the ball failed because he wasn’t there, but this time it’ll definitely succeed since the Lion Mask is on board.

The Lion Mask is a symbolic figure in the Animal Party. Under his leadership, he had left some scars on the otherwise flawless Student Council a few times. Furthermore, he’s rumored to be powerful enough not to even be outdone by the royal knights.

Of course, they have no idea who the Lion is, so it’s anyone’s guess. But for someone of that stature, most people can take a guess about who he might be.

Karim Elpeltain knows him too, but he doesn’t particularly mind it. After all, it’s a petty faction struggle within the Academy. He has his own destiny of seizing this vast Empire and bumping heads with the Emperor at every turn.

There’s no way he would be swayed by just a princess or a count.

“By the way, what are your thoughts?”

“That’s something I’ll have to think about slowly. But I do have a rough idea.”

“A rough idea, you say?”

At the horse mask’s question, Karim nodded. He was the son of a count from the Endain Principality or something. After sizing up where he stood, Karim scanned the attentive faces around him and opened his mouth slowly.

“First off… we catch them off guard.”

“Catching them off guard. That’s definitely the first thing to resolve.”

“Yeah. And the second is to minimize variables. We can’t eliminate them. We’re not gods, just mere beasts.”

Karim muttered in self-deprecation while tapping his fingers on the table.

“Finally, there’s this maid.”

And with that, Karim presented a file containing information about a certain individual. It was labeled ‘Catherine’ and contained all sorts of details about her.

SDVIMVFoanVzY1YwSVhjamMzUkt1ZEY2c3gyeFMxNEpPenNlWDZ2b3ZlckdSR1oxSWlBa24yQ01tTExzYTZkdw

“She’s a guard and maid sent from the House of Portus. Don’t mess with her. She seems to be closely tied to the Princess, so let’s exclude her from this incident.”

“Is this maid really that dangerous?”

“…Yes, she is.”

Once, when he visited the House of Portus, Karim had seen that maid in action. She easily subdued the strongest dispatched from the royal knight order, showcasing movements even surpassing those of her superior maid who taught her.

The way she wielded her twin swords like a flurry and defeated the royal knights was so impressive that she didn’t break a sweat.

The sight of her overcoming the knights’ coordinated attacks made Karim feel like he was witnessing a miraculous event. The fact that she happened to be at Apatem Academy is nothing short of a catastrophe.

If anyone in this era is a superhuman, it must refer to her. Karim thought that as he slowly lowered the file. The file, with Catherine’s expressionless face sketched on it, landed right on the desk.