Fake Breakup (1)

The plan to kill Prince Machart proceeded secretly yet carefully.

In truth, Machart himself wasn’t a very threatening individual. He was fundamentally timid, lacked seriousness, and was so engrossed in his debauched lifestyle that he wasn’t particularly strong.

Comparing the time it took for him to demonize with other characters, one could especially confirm his weakness.

In the original storyline, Karaham, who also borrowed the power of the Demon Tribe like Prince Machart, completed his demonization in less than a year. In contrast, that fucking moron Prince Machart took a total of five years to demonize.

That’s why he was often treated as a meme in the community. Things like, ‘The time it takes to produce one Machart is the same as producing five Karahams,’ and ‘Even five Macharts combined aren’t as good as one Karaham.’

Indeed, in terms of difficulty, Prince Machart, the boss of Part 4, was much easier than Harold, the boss of Part 2, or Margrave August, the boss of Part 3.

Furthermore, he was currently in a state where he couldn’t even complete that demonization, remaining human while borrowing the Demon Tribe’s power. So, Prince Machart, who wasn’t even a demon, wouldn’t be particularly threatening if one deliberately formed a party and confronted him.

Yet, there was only one reason why he couldn’t be killed before he demonized: simply because he was a member of the Imperial family.

Although he wielded the power of the Demon Tribe, he wasn’t a demon until he demonized. Killing him while he was still human would constitute the Crime of Assassinating a Royal.

Therefore, there were two main preparatory tasks we needed to undertake to kill Prince Machart.

One was to induce Prince Machart’s carelessness and somehow create an environment where we could fight him. The other was to produce evidence or means to prove that he had colluded with the Demon Tribe even after his death.

…And the strategy devised for the first of these, ‘inducing carelessness,’ was the final exam sparring match between Agnes and me.

‘Currently, Prince Machart must consider Agnes and me close friends, so I need to somehow make him believe that’s no longer the case.’

There was only one reason why Prince Machart couldn’t easily touch me within the Academy. It was because Agnes or Ethan constantly stayed by my side throughout my time at the Academy, keeping Prince Machart, who clung to me, in check.

Typically, Agnes would stick with me during morning major classes, and Ethan would accompany me on my way home in the afternoon.

Since Prince Machart was inherently pathetic, he was cautious when his life was on the line. He wouldn’t attack me unless it was a situation where he was guaranteed to win, like last time.

However, he probably hadn’t given up his lingering attachment to me, so he would try to create an opening to get his hands on me. Even within the game, there were quite a few descriptions of Prince Machart’s strong obsession.

Ethan, being my Master and even sharing the same dormitory, was someone he knew he couldn’t do anything about, but Agnes was different.

The goal was to create a situation that clearly showed she and I had grown distant, and somehow make Prince Machart drop his guard, leading him to attack me again just like before.

To begin that first stage, a week before the final evaluation match, Agnes and I had a casual conversation in front of the Academy Central Hall.

It was the beginning of a strategy to induce Prince Machart’s carelessness, pretending to move from the Magic Department Building to the Swordsmanship Department Building as usual.

“Shall we begin, Agnes-yang?”

“Are you sure? I don’t think we necessarily need to go this far.”

“If we don’t do this now, my life might be threatened by Prince Machart throughout the second semester and next year as well. As Agnes-yang said, we might not need to go this far, but even if I regret it later, I want to do everything I can before I regret it.”

“…Alright, then.”

With that conversation, Agnes and I, sitting side-by-side on a bench near the Academy Central Hall fountain, began to speak in slightly louder voices than usual.

So that people around us could hear our conversation and pay attention as much as possible.

“You’ve truly worked hard this semester, Agnes-yang.”

“…You too, Lilith.”

“Agnes is also the top student this semester, isn’t she? I truly can’t keep up with her.”

“…That’s not true, you did well too.”

Although we had practiced a few times beforehand, even considering that, the conversation felt quite natural.

Even though Agnes wasn’t a professional actress and her voice tone was a bit awkward, it wasn’t to the extent that anyone listening would find it strange.

In the first place, Agnes barely opened her mouth to speak, let alone converse, unless it was in front of me or Seraphine. So, there probably wouldn’t be anyone who would notice anything strange by comparing it to Agnes’s usual way of speaking.

Feeling reassured that things could proceed according to plan, I calmly continued the conversation. I spoke in an intentionally loud voice so that the students who were gradually gathering around could clearly overhear Agnes’s and my conversation.

“Now, all that’s left is the final evaluation sparring match, isn’t it? Have you decided on your opponent, Agnes-yang?”

“……!”

“…….”

The moment the words left my mouth, I suddenly felt a strange presence and the sensation of gazes concentrating around us.

In particular, there were many gazes from Magic Department students who were wearing large staffs or cloaks that enhanced mana sensitivity. This was natural, as the Magic Department’s major classes had just ended.

The Magic Department students were intently focused, as this conversation could reveal Agnes’s opponent for the evaluation match. Of course, most of them were probably praying inwardly, ‘Please, just not me.’

Agnes, like me, seemed to have noticed the attention and gazes directed at us from around, but she continued to speak the lines we had practiced, without panicking.

“Yes, I’ve decided.”

“Could you perhaps tell just me, quietly?”

“Why? Don’t you consider the possibility that I might have chosen you as my opponent?”

“That possibility might not be entirely absent, but I still don’t think Agnes-yang would have chosen me.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Well, I’m Agnes-yang’s friend. If you wanted to spar, I could always oblige, so there’s no reason for you to specifically choose me as your opponent on an important day like the evaluation exam, is there?”

“…Yes, that’s right. Actually, it’s not you, Lilith.”

“…….”

“Th-Then why me…?”

The moment Agnes said she wouldn’t choose me as her opponent, I heard reactions of people shifting their bodies around us once more.

For some reason, it sounded like the voice of Isolbe, who had been beaten by Agnes in last year’s evaluation match, but I didn’t have the luxury to track her down and confirm.

Furthermore, as if anticipating that Agnes’s and my conversation would be lengthy, the Magic Department students, who had loosely surrounded us, began to eavesdrop on our conversation using their various methods.

Seeing them use ‘Wind’s Tale’ using wind magic, ‘Mana Communication’ using arcane magic, and various other eavesdropping spells, it was certainly typical of the Academy’s Magic Department.

If they had done this during Agnes’s and my conversations normally, I would have disrupted the surrounding mana to block the eavesdropping. However, Agnes and I, on the contrary, suppressed even the mana naturally leaking from our bodies, continuing our conversation without interfering with their eavesdropping.

Because the conversation Agnes and I were having now wasn’t a secret discussion to be hidden from someone, but rather a rumor that needed to spread to as many people as possible.

“It’s not Lilith, I’m going with Karan.”

“Kyaa… Mph, mph?!”

“…….”

“…….”

For some reason, it sounded like Karan’s scream was cut short, but I didn’t dare to confirm. I merely thought to myself that even she, the third-ranked student in the Magic Department, was eavesdropping on this conversation.

Given that the sound was suddenly muffled, it seemed other students had quickly covered her mouth. If a commotion arose unnecessarily, there was a chance their own eavesdropping magic would be exposed.

“Are you referring to Karan Iris Stormweaver-yang, the third-ranked student in the Magic Department?”

“Yes. She’s the next highest after Lilith.”

“Come to think of it, last year you faced Isolbe-yang, who was the second-ranked student, didn’t you? In many ways, it’s truly a choice befitting Agnes-yang.”

“What about you? Who’s your opponent for the evaluation match?”

“Well, I haven’t decided yet. But I do have someone in mind.”

“……!”

“…….”

“……?”

At the thought of being able to find out my opponent for the evaluation match, in addition to Agnes’s, the intensity of the mana flowing through the eavesdropping spells grew stronger once more.

Even if I wasn’t the overwhelming top student like Agnes, I, as the second-ranked student, was still an opponent they wouldn’t want to face in the evaluation match.

Moreover, among those who saw my evaluation sparring match with Luke last year, some might even consider me more troublesome than Agnes. The fact that I fight with daggers means they’d have to consider not just ranged attacks but also close-quarters combat, which would be quite a challenging opponent at a student level.

So, it was natural that they were waiting for the next answer to come from my mouth, but I didn’t give them the answer they wanted.

From the moment I started this conversation, there was only one thing I wanted.

It was to make the Magic Department students eavesdrop on this very conversation, by deliberately not blocking their eavesdropping magic, right after all the Magic Department’s major classes ended, in front of the Academy Central Hall, where the most people gathered.

“Oh, by the way, Agnes-yang.”

“Yes.”

“You know that Curved magic circle Agnes-yang submitted as her final assignment this semester?”

“…Yes.”

“Actually, I’m only telling you now, but do you know that from my perspective, it was really terrible?”

“…?!”

“…!!!”

“…….”

Simply letting slip that our relationship had soured wouldn’t add credibility to the rumor.

To convincingly act as if Agnes’s and my relationship had soured, we had to clearly demonstrate the cause of that rift from the very beginning.