Carlos decided to treat Lucia as his “daughter” and dragged her off to the Academy’s Broadcasting Room.
Not knowing the location, I asked another faculty member for directions, but the staff member was startled by Russell’s sudden appearance and kindly guided me to the broadcasting room, even helping with the setup.
Watching her father prepare for the broadcast, Lucia was overwhelmed with anxiety but felt powerless, knowing there was nothing she could do about it.
Once all the preparations were complete, Carlos’s voice echoed throughout the entire Academy.
[Dear proud Academy students, I am Carlos Russell. The reason I am here today is simple: to find a fiancé for my daughter, Lucia.]
Carlos spoke in a flat tone, showing no change in expression whatsoever.
It was hard to believe that he had only recently been contemplating when to pass his position to Lucia, with such a cold face now.
Finding a fiancé for Lucia.
In other words, he was looking for a groom to inherit the Russell name.
For students of lower ranks than Russell, this was a golden opportunity for a life turnaround, while for those from higher ranking families, it was a chance to acquire the formidable power of Russell.
Any student in the Academy would understand how golden this opportunity was.
[This is no joke. There is only one condition: you must be the ‘strongest student’ in this Academy.
Only those who fight, win, and prove their strength by any means necessary will be promised marriage to my daughter after graduation.]
The condition was even simpler.
It wasn’t about background or wealth; they were simply looking at one thing.
It was ‘strength.’
As long as you are strong, anyone could qualify.
Even a rude, ignorant bumpkin who just got admitted from the countryside could end up being given a chance to have my daughter, whom I raised painstakingly for 20 years—a truly ridiculous condition.
“What… does that even mean…?”
Lucia found herself in a situation she’d never imagined and couldn’t comprehend it at all.
A fiancé? For her?
Suddenly faced with something she’d always thought was a different world—just swinging a sword—she trembled in an unfamiliar fear.
“What do you mean? I’m looking for someone who will spend their life with my ‘daughter.’ Isn’t that natural?
Aren’t I treating her like a daughter as you wanted? You’re already of age, so it’s about time to start looking seriously.”
Finding a fiancé for a daughter before she turns a certain age is common in noble society.
By the time you enter the Academy, you are already considered an adult, with some students having already entered into marriage.
“Isn’t it the duty of a parent to introduce a trustworthy partner to their daughter?”
There were many students who had missed their chance and were now looking for a good match at the Academy.
The Academy, where young men and women are together during their prime, served that purpose as well.
Typically, families would arrange engagements even before birth, and it was common to start socializing around the age of 14, so Lucia could already be considered late in that regard.
At that age, Lucia was busy wielding her sword, so it was only natural.
“It is essential to welcome a partner from a good family to aid ours. If you are born as a daughter of a noble family, you must bear that responsibility.
It’s a different duty from that of a ‘son’ who must grow strong and carry the family name. You wouldn’t want to live as a ‘woman’ without understanding that responsibility, would you?”
Carlos’s cold words pierced through Lucia’s heart.
“If you really don’t want to bear the burden of a Russell, that’s fine. But you can’t just give up; at least make sure to have a child soon.
If you can give birth to an heir within three years, I can still teach them how to wield a sword.”
Giving birth in three years—such a specific figure made Lucia’s face twist in horror.
This was something she had never thought about, and absolutely didn’t want to do.
She had no intention of forcing herself to have a child.
Then suddenly, another thought struck her.
If proving herself as the strongest was the condition, wouldn’t that disqualify anyone else as soon as she claims that title for herself?
Having recently reached the expert level, Lucia had become so strong that it was hard to find a worthy opponent among the students, so it wouldn’t be difficult.
However, Carlos noticed the flicker of rebellion in Lucia’s eyes.
“From your expression, it seems you’re thinking of something else.
Even if you, the merchandise, prove to be the strongest in the Academy, that won’t end things. It will only go to the second place. Don’t entertain foolish thoughts.”
Carlos immediately blocked any possible escape route.
“Well, I don’t know who it will be, but do bring back a reliable man who can be entrusted with the Russell name.
That would be the best for you who doesn’t want to bear it.”
After leaving those words, Carlos’s body was enveloped in a flash of light and vanished.
Where Carlos had stood, shards of a broken teleportation scroll were consumed by flames and turned to ashes.
“…Don’t joke around.”
It was about her fate, and yet there was nothing she could do.
As Carlos left, Lucia glared at the spot he vanished, tears streaming down her face.
His cold words, which seemed to regard her not as a person but merely a tool to carry on the family name, hurt more than ever.
—
Suddenly, the broadcast caused chaos throughout the Academy.
For some students, it was an opportunity that could change their lives.
With the skill tests now over, the male students, with plenty of time on their hands, began dueling everywhere, competing for Lucia’s fiancé position.
“Student Council President, show those guys what’s what!!”
“Haha! That’s the power of the kingdom!”
Among them were student council members and outstanding students with backgrounds like princes of the Five Kingdoms.
The fact that anyone could participate as long as they proved their strength meant one didn’t need to be in the expert rank.
If one could brawl a bit and secure the only daughter of Russell, it was an easy score.
Interestingly, among the new students, no one was bold enough to step forward.
This was also true for Lemnos among the Five Pillars.
“Edgar, aren’t you interested?”
“Would you do it?”
Watching the seniors duel from the lounge, Edgar Lemnos wore a disinterested expression.
He liked dueling but did not like the situation unfolding before him.
While others might not know, those in the Five Pillars knew well how much Russell cherished Lucia.
But to make such a declaration out of the blue… there had clearly been some clash between them.
Getting embroiled in a family squabble would likely not end well, and that didn’t need to be experienced to know.
And to make matters worse, it was ‘Lucia’ who was involved, so what did it mean to determine the strongest?
“There’s no way that guy will just sit back and watch… He’s not ready to take them on yet, so he won’t concern himself for now. He at least has to surpass Russell.”
No need to name who that “guy” was; everyone in the lounge already knew.
“Ah, that’s true. But hasn’t he not shown up at all today?”
“It’s strange he hasn’t shown up yet, but that doesn’t change anything. Once he shows up, things will be settled instantly.”
“Don’t be mistaken, Atlas… Atlas isn’t at the Academy right now.”
“What? How could he not be here on a day when he can go out? Are you sure you’re not mistaken?”
“There are various ways. If you want to go out, you can, right?”
“Yes, but if I do, someone will find out.”
“Which is why I know.”
Atlas really didn’t show up until sundown.
In the meantime, the strongest student who would become Lucia’s fiancé was narrowing down.
———————–
For the students eagerly awaiting the end-of-term vacation, the duels for the position of Russell’s fiancé began to be managed as an engagement contest at the snack bar.
Many derivative products emerged as well.
Products predicting who would eventually become the fiancé, guessing the winners of the sporadic duels, and ranking predictions were rolled out as the shop started selling everything possible considering various scenarios.
Traditionally, the snack bar set up a gambling setup every time duels took place, but this time, it had expanded so much that they even created a ranking board to post in the shop.
In reality, no one cared who Lucia’s fiancé would be; they just hoped for the dueling to last as long as possible so they could profit off it.
However, contrary to their wishes, the situation stabilized surprisingly quickly.
With just one semester left until graduation, the student council president quickly subdued other students and proudly rose to first place.
——————–
That evening, Lucia went to seek out Atlas.
She wasn’t going to plead for help.
She just wanted to see his face, feeling overwhelmed.
She wished to be able to hug him just once.
And she wanted to ask him why he had not shown up all day.
All the things that reminded her of the memories with Atlas had burned away, leaving her feeling so empty in her room.
But she could find no trace of Atlas anywhere.
She arrived at the mansion that had been built quickly with the dwarves he had recently brought in, but felt immobilized.
The lights were on in the mansion.
Had they been on from the start?
If so, why hadn’t he made an appearance?
She became fearful of knocking on the door.
She felt that if Atlas rejected her, she wouldn’t be able to stand up again.
But she wanted to see Atlas.
With those two conflicting thoughts, she found herself unable to move an inch from the door.
