The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 196

Carlos’s decision shocked not only Lucia but also many others, causing a commotion all around.

Voices of concern echoed from the Royal family, Prigia, and everywhere else.

Among them, Lemnos stood out as the loudest.

“I just heard you’re deciding on an engagement through some duel? Are you out of your mind?? You’re not planning to abandon the heir, are you?”

‘….’

“You’ve put in twenty years of effort, and if you turn back now, you’ll regret it.”

“It’s none of your concern.”

That wasn’t entirely wrong.

After losing his wife, Carlos didn’t take another.

Lucia was his only bloodline capable of inheriting the family name.

Though Lucia was a delicate daughter, Carlos believed in the potential she held.

He taught her, believing she could achieve even more than he had, just as he once did.

He trained Lucia as a steadfast, strong swordmaster, like an unyielding rock.

And indeed, Lucia displayed an exponentially greater genius during her youth.

Carlos was confident that she could achieve what he could not.

This was the mastery he aspired to.

Thus, he had high expectations.

It became necessary to manage her even more strictly.

He raised his daughter like a son for this very reason.

Lucia was the heir who needed to prepare for a position too burdensome for a frail woman.

It was the head of the family’s duty to quell the thieves who appeared at any given moment targeting the ore, as well as to deal with the monsters that emerged in the mines.

Additionally, managing the territory flexibly in response to rapidly changing situations was essential.

To endure such burdens, a firm resolve was required.

Lucia had to become the strong head of the Russell family, unshaken.

His naturally kind daughter, Lucia, was raised even stricter for that reason.

There was no way he would casually hand over this precious Lucia to someone he didn’t even know.

However, he thought that she seemed to have relaxed too much since attending the Academy.

Her room, filled with useless trinkets like a doll, associating with troublesome students, and crying uncontrollably while borrowing the family name—all that made him frustrated.

Having broken all his teachings to live like a rock, he ended up saying something in anger.

No matter how he thought about it, he believed he had done well.

He knew that since realizing her identity, Lucia had wanted to grow up like a girl, but she likely had no understanding of what it meant to be a noblewoman.

He hoped she’d come to understand that living as the head of the family, with the ability to choose for herself, was far better than marrying someone against her will.

No, she must understand.

Having given her this much of a shock, she would now realize how good her life was.

Though only three days had passed, it was more than enough time to get her head together.

Carlos recalled the events between him and his father.

During the peak of his pride in being an Expert, after arguing with his father, he eventually recognized his father was right, shedding bitter tears as a result.

Though it had been an incredibly painful realization, he did not think of it as suffering.

It was his father’s love.

Though he was harsh, Lucia would eventually understand if the time came, just as he had.

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From a distance, Carlos Russell gazed at the Academy’s silhouette.

“So I’ve finally arrived.”

He had thought he would come again, but he never imagined it would be this soon.

He intended to maintain the punishment he had given Lucia for at least a few months.

But with Prigia, Lemnos, and others making too much noise with their interference, he had no choice but to come check on the situation.

He needed an excuse to wrap things up and rethink his approach.

Bringing along the honor guard was part of that plan.

While he had sneaked in unofficially last time, this time he needed it to visibly appear as if Russell had arrived.

Upon reaching the Academy’s main gate, the person Carlos was most accustomed to seeing was there to greet him.

“You snuck in last time, but this time you’ve arrived quite splendidly.”

“… It’s been a while, Professor. I hope you’ve been well?”

“If you had just come quietly without causing any of that weirdness, things would have been fine.”

“It was necessary for the heir’s education… I apologize for causing a ruckus.”

It was Gordon Freeman, who had been his professor during his school days.

Though he was now the Principal, he still felt like the professor who had guided him.

“If you’re going to act like this, you might as well have taken a boat. Doesn’t it seem like you’re looking for trouble?”

“I feel quite uneasy on the water, you see. I prefer the land whenever possible. Next week the term will end, so I shall meet my daughter.”

“Let me know. I’ll lend you the reception room, but do try not to break anything…”

“She’s still not a troublemaker, you know.”

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This time, he didn’t storm into the girls’ dormitory but instead waited quietly in the guest reception room located in the Academy annex.

There were no other people around.

Thanks to Principal Morgan, no irrelevant parties were allowed to meander nearby.

Even mundane parent-child conversations could become valuable information if they involved a high noble’s matters.

Therefore, the reception room had strong protective magic cast over it.

The location was also secluded, minimizing the chance of another student wandering by.

—Head of the House, the young master has arrived.

After a moment of waiting, the butler who came with him to the Academy spoke from beyond the door.

“Then let him in.”

—But… one of his companions is with him.

“… If it’s someone Lucia brought, let them both in.”

—Creeeak

As the door opened, Lucia entered with a male student.

Carlos raised an eyebrow at the sight of her walking in with a boy.

Not only was it unpleasant that a boy had entered with her, but there was also something else he truly disliked.

He was quite short.

Carlos had to look down significantly; he must have been… around 150 cm? Perhaps even shorter.

Just who was this person she brought?

He was utterly curious.

She must have been told not to associate with troublesome students, but if she hadn’t come to her senses, he wouldn’t leave her be.

“Who’s this next to you? We’re discussing something important; was it really necessary to bring him?”

“This is the strongest student at the Academy, just as you wished.”

“What the…?”

Carlos doubted his eyes at Lucia’s words.

The strongest student whom River brought… was incredibly short.

It became clear that his unease stemmed from the fact that Lucia was tightly holding his hand.

Her body, which had previously trembled before Carlos, calmed slightly once she held the male student’s hand.

“… If you’d just apologized, I was ready to let that day’s incident slide… But I guess it actually pleased you?”

Carlos had to admit he was wrong.

Lucia had so intensely disliked this situation that he had never considered this outcome.

He had not imagined she would like a betrothed partner that didn’t stem from his own will.

He found it unpleasant to sense that she had developed a stronger ‘feminine’ side than he realized.

As soon as Carlos finished his sentence, Lucia suddenly hugged the male student.

Carlos’s eyebrow twitched again at the sight.

With a defiant look, Lucia boldly spoke to Carlos.

“Yes, um… I’m going to marry this person…!!”

“What… what did you say??”

In that moment, Carlos’s world collapsed.

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The boy who came with her was Atlas Nemea.

He was a name Carlos had heard once or twice before.

It was certainly said that he had defeated Lemnos’s heir, right?

No one would doubt that he was the strongest among the new students at the Academy, so he was undeniably strong.

“I cannot allow this.”

“… Why not? Atlas meets all the conditions father mentioned. Surely the sword of the five pillars would not be one to break his promises to all students?”

It was quite a strange sight.

Lucia, who had always withered in front of Carlos, was now aggressively shooting back with her words.

Even though she had walked into the reception room all timid, it felt as if she had transformed into someone else entirely.

Had she grown in the brief period he hadn’t seen her?

He pushed aside any thoughts of being pleased for his child’s growth and looked back at the source of his current problems, Atlas.

With blonde hair and diminutive stature… he was the kind of boy Lucia would love, like a doll.

“Is this student truly the strongest among the Academy? And he defeated Lemnos’s heir? It’s hard to believe.”

His small stature could indicate a weakness.

Being short meant a shorter reach and perhaps lower muscle mass, implying less strength.

Is he proficient in magic?

If Atlas was indeed the strongest, Carlos had no choice but to accept him as Lucia’s fiancé, but that was a bridge too far given the significant flaws he possessed when it came to being Lucia’s partner.

“That boy is too short. He does not suit the Russell family.”

“..!!!!!”

At Carlos’s words, Lucia looked shocked.

He was simply stating the truth, so why was she responding like that? Carlos sighed in frustration.

“To join our family, the basic condition is a height of over 180 cm.”

At that moment, Carlos’s vision turned white.

‘What is this?’

The white faded to black, and he felt a shock to his head as the blue sky came into view.

‘Did I… faint?’

———————————

“Huff… huff…”

Something was planned, but it had slipped away.

As soon as he mentioned height, his head went completely blank, and the next thing he knew, he had punched Carlos in the face.

The most significant trait of Russell’s rock sword was that it harmonized with the meridian and body aura, as though his feet were glued to the ground. Thus, he had struck Carlos, whose legs were effectively rooted to the ground.

Carlos would think it was impossible, but it was indeed possible for me.

Russell’s rock sword and Titan’s mountain sword had the same underlying swordsmanship.

My body had become identical to Carlos’s, thus interfering with him and disrupting that unification.

Well, even if I understood it, it didn’t mean I knew how to deal with the situation.

That was a level only visible when one reached extremes.

The plan I originally had in mind was not this.

However, I could not recall it now.

In any case, one of my goals had been achieved – to topple Carlos, the symbol of invincibility for Lucia, thereby showing her that it could be done.

“Ugh..!!”

Carlos, who had been knocked down, sprang back up.

His heavily furrowed brows softened into a better posture after taking a punch.

Oh, I don’t care anymore.

I was already ready to hit him. What a twist of fate.

But didn’t he just call me short?