Deciding to go find Senior Elsi was an utterly impulsive decision.
As I opened my eyes with a throbbing headache, I found myself rolling on the wooden floor. It seemed I had fallen off the sofa while sleeping the night before.
Yawning, I staggered to my feet.
Fortunately, I hadn’t forgotten to fill my water bottle the night before. My eyes, gulping down cold water, casually glanced toward the bed.
There lay Lupin, unconscious in a faint-like sleep.
From the looks of it, he would be out for quite some time. Still, it was a relief that he hadn’t woken up to vomit.
Strangely enough, I felt clear-headed.
All of Lupin’s poignant stories from the night before came rushing back to me.
As the memories resurfaced, the taste of water fell flat.
As I poured more water down my throat, my grip on the water bottle loosened. The effects of the alcohol still hung around me like steam, leaking out with my breath.
It was a painful tale from the past.
If Lupin hadn’t been utterly drunk, he wouldn’t have shared it all with me. Typically, people from noble families like his would hide one or two scandals behind their polished exterior.
Their mindset was closer to that of abacuses made from flesh and blood than of humans.
Even though Senior Elsi had gotten quite close to me, she had never revealed such a past.
Out of curiosity, I wondered what Senior Elsi’s true feelings were when I had brusquely rejected her the day before.
Was she genuinely seeking revenge on me?
Or perhaps, she just wanted to ask for help.
Wanting to escape.
Not wanting to live out the fate dictated by her family again; she wanted assistance.
Was the request I had rejected that day not a plea but a scream?
My mind began to heat up, and my thoughts tangled. The hangover returned, accompanied by a headache.
For a while, I remained silent, spending the early morning in contemplation.
After a long time of deliberation, a sliver of hesitation still lingered within me.
My name was “Ian Fercurus.” Not “Ian Rainelle.”
I had no ties to the Rainelle family whatsoever. It was rare for a lesser noble in the Empire to cross paths with a prestigious family like the Rainelles.
In other words, it meant I was an obvious outsider to the Rainelle family.
Every action required justification.
Without a proper rationale, any deed would struggle to earn official recognition. Given that this involved obstructing a marriage from the Rainelle clan, the responsibility would be immense.
Ultimately unable to arrive at an answer, I poured myself another glass of cold water.
At that moment, my eyes caught sight of a letter, which was purely coincidental.
It was the fourth letter I had received. I always carried it with me, but for some reason, it had been carefully placed on the table where I had drunk the night before.
Thinking I must have made a mistake while drunk, my hand snatched the letter again.
The message hastily scribbled on the back caught my eye.
“Discard what you need to discard.”
It was a short and simple phrase. Yet, I found myself staring at that one line as if entranced.
Was Senior Elsi something I should discard?
No, she was not.
Senior Elsi was my precious companion. Hadn’t we crossed countless battle lines together? Those rising emotions became a source of motivation.
I gathered my sword and axe and left the room.
As I walked and walked, I soon found myself in front of the dormitory for high-ranking nobles where Senior Elsi was staying. Current students who hadn’t yet left the Academy were gathered in small groups.
They stared at me with wide eyes at my sudden appearance.
Surely they wondered why a celebrity from the Academy had come here in the early morning.
Especially looking disheveled, still not fully sober.
Late shame washed over me, yet I knew that regrets come too late sometimes.
I sighed heavily, trying to calm my heart.
Regardless, the actions I was about to take would surely come with considerable embarrassment.
Fortunately, it seemed I hadn’t arrived too late.
Some people were emerging from the dormitory’s main entrance.
From the looks of them, they were certainly knights from powerful noble families. And among those sturdy men, a notably petite woman stood out.
It was a girl who appeared dejected, with her head hung low.
Senior Elsi was dressed as always in her hooded hat and Academy uniform.
It was as if yesterday’s ornate appearance was all a lie.
So it was a relief.
Without that hooded hat, I might not have been able to see Senior Elsi, hidden behind the barrier of human traffic.
My body delayed, blocking the path of the knights.
“……Stop.”
At my utterance, the knights came to a halt.
Senior Elsi, who had been sulking with her head down, jerked her head up in surprise at the sound of my voice.
Even after checking my face, she blinked several times, still seemingly astonished.
Her demeanor was one of utter confusion, evident to anyone looking.
Regardless, I continued speaking.
“Let go of Senior Elsi.”
It was a straightforward and clean demand.
Even those ignorant of the situation surrounding the Rainelle family could grasp its meaning.
I could already hear whispers beginning to circulate.
The students in front of the dormitory had formed a circle around me and the knights, casting glances at me with eyes gleaming with interest.
They seemed to expect what kind of trouble I would cause next.
It made me feel miserable to be in a position where I had to meet those expectations.
One of the knights escorting Elsi snickered. He looked at me with a scornful expression, as if he didn’t quite recognize my identity yet.
With a tone laced with annoyance, he began to speak.
“What’s wrong with this drunkard…?”
“Well, that…”
But before he could finish, a knight who appeared to be his subordinate whispered something in his ear, causing his attitude to shift dramatically.
He cleared his throat and subtly averted his gaze from me.
No matter how much of a knight from the Rainelle family he was, he couldn’t ignore my reputation.
The Dark Cult was the enemy of humanity, and I was the hero who had saved hundreds of orphans and an imperial princess.
Despite this, the knight held his head high awkwardly.
“Y-you’re Prince Fercurus? I’m rather surprised by your abrupt words. May I ask what you meant by that?”
“It means exactly what I said.”
Letting out a faint sigh, I replied in a firm tone.
“Let’s leave Senior Elsi as she is. We have somewhere to go.”
“……I see, a promise then?”
The knight’s eyes flickered toward Senior Elsi, indicating he was requesting further explanation.
However, ever since my entrance, Senior Elsi only wore a confused expression.
Her blue sapphire-like eyes gazed at me, seemingly impaled by thoughts. So, I decided to say the words I should have uttered long ago.
“We’re going somewhere together, just the two of us. In doing so, we thought we’d change clothes a bit.”
It was a reminder of the previous day’s events.
There was no way Senior Elsi wouldn’t understand.
A glimmer of moisture began to well up in her clear green eyes. Senior Elsi rubbed her eyes and looked at me again multiple times.
Yet still, I remained myself.
That fact would never change.
I took a step forward.
“So, I’d appreciate it if you could go back… Senior Elsi, I will take her.”
The knights exchanged blank looks with one another.
Their only offense was failing to dredge up Senior Elsi’s troubled memories and having been instructed by their head to bring her back at all costs.
They could hardly anticipate that a rising star of the Academy would block their path.
One knight, with a perplexed expression, stepped into my way.
With a thud, a hand like a pot lid landed heavily on my shoulder.
“Prince Fercurus, it seems there’s been a misunderstanding. We are currently on a mission for the important matters of the Rainelle family, so…?”
But the man could hardly finish his sentence.
With a tap, his hand that was resting on my shoulder slipped away.
The knight, who thought he had me firmly in place, stood there, dumbfounded.
It seemed as if space itself was warped, as only an afterimage was caught in his grasp.
He wouldn’t be able to understand.
That was the skill I had demonstrated. My steps continued toward Senior Elsi.
Ultimately, one knight could no longer restrain himself and spread his arms to block my path.
“Prince Fercurus! No matter how close you are, it’s still rude for an outsider to interfere in a family event…!”
Suddenly, a heavily armored figure of a knight soared into the sky above.
It was a result of me striking his shins with all my might.
Having reach the expert level recently, my strength could not compare with that of ordinary knights. He fell to the ground, having spun halfway around in the air, completely unaware of what had transpired.
“Ugh, what…?!”
It was merely a single kick to the leg.
To a seasoned knight, it would barely register as even an injury. Yet, he sat on the ground, staring blankly.
It was because I had acted too recklessly.
As he had said, I was nothing but an outsider to the Rainelle family. I had no rights to meddle in matters as serious as those involving the Rainelle family.
The remaining knights seemed to view my actions as an insult.
A furious shout erupted.
“Prince Fercurus! If you keep this up, we…!”
“Stop talking and come at me.”
The knight who had been shouting actually hesitated in response to my bold demeanor.
The calmness in my gaze was chilling.
“Or, you could just leave Senior Elsi behind.”
“Outrageous! There should be limits to insults…!”
In the end, the knight who could no longer contain himself kicked off the ground and charged forward.
With three knights remaining now, it would only take a few seconds to take care of them.
