Chapter 71

71. Exploration Battle (14)

Given the thoroughly militaristic atmosphere of the Empire, where everyone follows orders without question, the Academy was not much different.

The students are commanded by their instructors, those instructors are commanded by the Academy’s operations division, and the operation division is commanded by the vice-principal and principal.

Thus, none of the students were present in this emergency gathering at the Central Hall today—only one person remained, Karla, and that too as a defendant.

When Karla entered the Central Hall conference room, the room was filled with a solemn atmosphere like that of a courtroom.

On both sides, elevated platforms were set up with about a dozen figures seated on each, and at the center were a few members of the Academy’s top leadership.

‘They sure did gather quickly.’

Karla glanced alternately to the right and left and smirked.

Do they know when the Exploration Battle, the final match of the Exchange Battles, would end and have gathered here? Each of them seems to have been waiting for her to finish her examination and come out, quickly assembling after the news of her arrival spread.

Just stepping on one little bug like Lucas has stirred up this much trouble, hasn’t it? Well, it is indeed an event that causes uproar. The heir of one of the Great Noble families has died, and the alleged murderer is the daughter of a rival Great Noble family. It’s understandable.

‘This might turn out quite disadvantageously today.’

Karla is now the eldest.

Even if she were actually the eldest son, that fact can’t be revealed.

In any case, if it were known that she killed the suitor she was supposed to marry…

And if it were further known that a woman killed a man…

It’s likely she would have been sentenced to death without a trial if she were a commoner.

There’s no way the retainers of the Shaiskeil family present on the right do not know about the marriage negotiations between Lucas and Karla.

Karla looked at the retainers of the Shaiskeil house seated to the right and thought. On the other hand, the retainers of the Cascata house were gathered on the left, and one could hope that they would provide a good defense.

“Karla, Karla della Cascata. Is that you?”

As she took her seat at the defendant’s chair arranged inside the conference room, the principal immediately asked.

In response, Karla slowly nodded.

“Do you know Lucas von Shaiskeil?”

“I do.”

Karla responded calmly.

“During the Exchange Battle of our Academy, Lucas von Shaiskeil was returned in a state indicating death. A trail of magic power from Lightning Magic was found in the wound…”

“I killed him. Lucas von Shaiskeil, that is.”

At Karla’s words, the room fell silent as if doused with cold water.

With a faint smile, she surveyed the room and replied in a relaxed tone.

“Anyway, you didn’t ask already knowing the answer, did you? Lucas von Shaiskeil died from a piercing wound and a trace of Lightning Magic was found in the wound. With that, the answer is clear, yes, it’s correct. I killed him.”

“Why…?”

“Lucas von Shaiskeil tried to violate me. He intended to rape me. Ever since my arm was lost, Lucas had treated me within the school as if we were already married. During the sacred Exploration Battle, he attempted to rape me, and while I was resisting, I accidentally killed him.”

She had already planned this explanation.

This is why it’s important to maintain a good image. Everyone thinks Lucas deserved it.

“But, Karla della Cascata, wasn’t it the case that you… originally lost an arm?”

This was an uncomfortable question to ask a woman.

The principal hesitated to finish the question and awkwardly asked with a cough, but Karla answered as if it didn’t bother her.

“Lucas bore resentment towards me. When my arm was intact, Lucas was no match for me. After I lost my arm, everyone knows how Lucas started treating me carelessly. He approached me and got too close. Furthermore, he tried to slip me an aphrodisiac.”

“That’s absurd! There’s no evidence, is there! This is merely Lady Cascata’s baseless claim!”

The rebuttal from Shaiskeil’s side was justified.

The aphrodisiac Karla mentioned was a considerable issue. Even though women hold a lower status in the Empire, it’s illegal and designated as contraband. If Lucas was found to possess such an item, it would tarnish the honor of the Great Noble family.

“Lord Shaiskeil is a dignified Great Noble, the heir of the Shaiskeil family! There’s no possible reason for him to own such a prohibited substance!”

“Is there?”

Karla grinned and looked towards the Shaiskeil side.

There can’t be, right?

Lucas didn’t have just one or two women. There were even young noble women among them, other nobles with some pride. Would they have restrained themselves from using anything when their pride was broken by Lucas?

“…T, there shouldn’t be…”

The Shaiskeil side awkwardly evaded the question.

They couldn’t confidently dismiss the possibility altogether.

“B, but even so, Lord Shaiskeil’s death leaves us without any rebuttal, and blindly believing Lady Cascata’s claim undermines the trust between the noble houses, does it not!”

“Objection! Lady Cascata merely acted in self-defense! Most of you here know Lord Shaiskeil’s temperament!”

Even without Karla saying anything, Cascata’s side offered fierce defense.

She leaned back on the chair and crossed her arms—how long has it been since she could do that?

She missed this feeling.

“There are over dozens of testimonies from students saying Lord Shaiskeil used to frequently harass her! Should we need to produce a petition to believe this? There’s even testimony about her shedding tears due to being harassed in the student cafeteria!”

‘They must have conducted thorough investigations in just a few days… but did they really need to dig up such details?’

Yes, that incident did happen.

But remembering that she cried—or whatever—makes her feel a bit embarrassed now.

“Didn’t you all see during the team battles? Lady Cascata narrowly lost to Lord Shaiskeil! Dazzled by lust, he approached her carelessly, which provided her the chance to take him down!”

“T, talking about lust! How disrespectful the Cascata house is to our noble family!”

This was more fortunate than Karla expected.

The perception she feared—‘a woman who killed her intended’—didn’t seem to be present here.

She had indeed anticipated such a view.

Cascata must understand that it would be a significant blow for their eldest daughter to be known as a murderer. They were likely aware that things must not progress in that direction. Hence, they defended her with such intensity.

In any case, Karla had managed to get over one hurdle.

She did expect the discussion to turn into a clash of pride between noble houses, but it seemed to have escalated faster than anticipated, which was fortunate.

“Moreover, t, the incident with Lady Ser Vitore… isn’t that also due to Lady Cascata?”

“That’s not true. I didn’t do it. Kiera suffered injuries after losing a fair duel with Ivan Kontadino.”

Let’s assume that for now.

Karla answered while thinking so.

“If Ivan Kontadino hadn’t been there, I would have inevitably been defiled by Lucas. Fortunately, Ivan was there, so I didn’t suffer a terrible fate.”

“T, then…”

“What? That’s not important, is it? During the Exploration Battle, Ivan and I teamed up fairly, and as a result, Kiera lost to Ivan and was injured. Lucas tried to inject me with an aphrodisiac but failed, and therefore he was killed by me. That’s all.”

“Evidence… z, there’s no evidence…”

“Because it failed, there’s no evidence. But consider this: how could I possibly kill Lucas with no arms? Lucas would have had to not guard against me at all, wouldn’t he? He must have thought I was completely powerless, right? And he must have gotten extremely close to me, right? Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to kill him with a single strike, would I? If there had been distance between us, you would know from watching the team battles that I, a one-armed person, lost to Lucas. If Lucas had guarded against me even a little, would I have been able to kill him?”

In short, the crux of the matter now is the aphrodisiac.

If there was an aphrodisiac, then Karla was acting in self-defense.

By using the Empire’s prohibited substances to attempt raping Karla, Lucas’s behavior allowed for Karla’s self-defense to be justified.

A low murmur echoed through Shaiskeil’s side.

The statement wasn’t altogether wrong—during the past fight, even with one arm missing, Karla had been defeated by Lucas, and whether she had any strengths or weaknesses, the notion that Lucas was stronger than Karla had likely been ingrained in their minds.

‘It seems no one takes Ivan seriously because he’s a commoner.’

Ivan is strong.

Terrifyingly strong.

Not just Lucas, but genuinely…

The fact that no one paid Ivan any mind made Karla slightly irritated.

At that moment, Karla glanced at the principal.

Behind the principal, there was a screen hiding someone’s figure, and though Karla tried to see who it was, their identity remained hidden.

The principal was having a conversation with someone behind the screen.

Though it was impossible to hear what they were saying, Karla instinctively strained her ears, just in case.

However, she couldn’t hear anything, and after a long exchange, the principal hacked a couple of times and loudly declared:

“It is a difficult matter for this academy to judge, as it involves disputes between two Great Noble houses. Though it isn’t a pleasant matter to have occurred during the Exchange Battle, given its nature as an incident rather than an accident, I shall consult the Royal Family for a decision.”

‘Good.’

Karla was confident she would be found innocent.

Though it wasn’t entirely unexpected, she didn’t anticipate the matter being referred to the Royal Family so easily. When the case reaches the Royal Family, it would inevitably involve her uncle, and when it does, it would be greatly in her favor.

“T, that…”

Sighs of regret came from the Shaiskeil side.

“Indeed fair words!”

Cheers erupted from Cascata’s side.

The expected reactions unfolded.

*

“It’s too much, isn’t it? Even if it goes to the Royal Palace, there is the court mage…”

“It’s fine. What can we do now?”

Contred von Shaiskeil.

The head of the Shaiskeil family turned away, showing no particular change in expression after waiting for the inquiry to conclude. He had no lingering attachment to his dead son—after all, he had little expectation from him in the first place.

Now, he needed to focus on controlling the damage.

To that end, someone quietly approached him.

“Master.”

“You…?”

“Yes, Master.”

The man who approached Contred slightly raised his face, giving a respectful bow. With a gaze devoid of pupils and irises, pale white like glass beads, he smiled while looking at Contred.

“Is there something urgent from Aufstich?”

“I would like to have a word. Could you spare some time?”

“…Very well.”

Contred nodded slightly.