Variable (3)

Gyeotmwa Josyegigot Volt, a key figure drafted for the Machart subjugation operation with Lilith’s assistance.

As the core and main participant of this operation, he was equipped with a magic signal device to receive Lilith’s assembly signal. However, he currently hadn’t even noticed the signal she had sent.

Due to the sudden intrusion of a certain prince, Gyeotmwa had lost even the leisure to glance elsewhere, let alone pay attention to the magic signal device.

“Prince Antonio. Please don’t misunderstand the situation.”

“A misunderstanding… That’s what everyone usually says.”

“Huh?”

“Even when I heard that Miss Agnes was part of your party after that day, I tried not to dwell on it. Since aptitude for swordsmanship and magic isn’t determined by gender, I thought it was natural that my future fiancée, who would become the greatest mage, was part of your so-called Hero’s party.”

“…Who said anything about being your fiancée?”

Agnes muttered under her breath, “We’re not even engaged yet,” but Gyeotmwa had no room to focus on her words.

He was too preoccupied with the ominous premonition he felt from Prince Antonio, who had drawn his sword and was exuding a threatening aura.

“I’ve also heard some rather unsavory rumors about your party. They say almost all the female members are smitten with you, fawning over you.”

“That’s a misunderstanding right from the start, Your Highness.”

“Is it? For a misunderstanding, your track record with women is quite impressive. From the Saintess of the Aurelia Church, who must remain chaste until the Demon King is defeated, to the prideful elf from the Forest of the World Tree, and even Seraphine, the so-called Moon Shadow Princess. If you can manipulate even royalty at will, surely seducing the daughter of a mere viscount is child’s play for you.”

“…You’re jumping to strange conclusions. And for the record, I didn’t seduce any of them.”

“Whether you seduced them or they threw themselves at you, that’s hardly the point. What matters now is that you’ve laid hands on my fiancée. And to the extent of bringing her into this depraved gathering as your partner.”

Gyeotmwa felt so wronged he could scream, but Antonio’s suspicions weren’t entirely unfounded.

After all, noble gatherings where the host remained anonymous-outside of regular imperial events or noble birthday banquets-usually had unsavory purposes.

Even if Agnes had attended alone (which was impossible without an invitation), Prince Antonio had intended to participate and drag her out himself. The mere thought of Agnes attending such an event with a partner was enough to infuriate him.

Bringing a partner to such a disgraceful event usually implied searching for someone to “share” with or “swap” partners-something Antonio could never tolerate.

Even if he conceded that Gyeotmwa might genuinely love Agnes for the rest of his life, as a prince, he had no right to interfere. But he could never forgive the man who would drag her into this den of debauchery.

…Though Gyeotmwa and Agnes had come to this party for a completely different reason-one Antonio couldn’t possibly know. The prince had only attended secretly after hearing his half-brother Machart’s words, and upon spotting Agnes, he had lunged at the Hero without a second thought.

‘This is bad. I’ve never fought Antonio before, so I don’t know his patterns…’

With no time to waste waiting for Lilith’s signal, Gyeotmwa couldn’t afford to linger. But with all eyes on them, slipping away unnoticed was impossible.

The best course was to quickly end this sudden duel with Antonio and escape in the chaos, but Gyeotmwa instinctively knew even that wouldn’t be easy.

Most of Gyeotmwa’s game knowledge came from Lilgirlchang’s walkthroughs and his single playthrough experience. He had grown stronger by following the canonical route-Lilgirlchang’s final playthrough-and relied on remembered experiences for unavoidable battles.

He knew how to handle characters he had frequently faced in-game, which explained his outstanding performance against Ethan, Natalie, and Karaham in the Swordsmanship Department. But this also meant he lacked knowledge about opponents he had never encountered.

In the game “Luminor Academy,” Antonio’s presence was ambiguous. As the youngest prince sidelined in the imperial succession, his role was inevitably minor.

He wasn’t entirely absent-he had appeared during Seraphine’s kidnapping event as a temporary ally-but he was never more than a background royal character.

His mediocre stats made him an unpopular party member, and Gyeotmwa barely remembered using him in battles, leaving him to idle in the backline while other characters fought.

‘He’s probably weak. Probably…’

Fighting an opponent of unknown strength was always nerve-wracking. Worse, this world wasn’t the original “Luminor Academy” but one Lilgirlchang had twisted by altering events.

He couldn’t afford to assume Antonio was as weak as in the game. The thought of fighting him filled Gyeotmwa with reluctance.

“Prince Antonio, I have no desire to cross swords with you. Everything you’re thinking is a misunderstanding, and I can explain it all later.”

“…Later? When is ‘later’?”

“Perhaps after tonight…”

“By then, it’ll be too late. My fiancée will already have been defiled by your filthy hands.”

“…….”

“I’m not the type to demand purity from my future wife, but I won’t stand by and let her suffer regrets I could have prevented. Especially not when I have the power to stop it.”

“Sigh…”

“…Tch.”

Gyeotmwa let out a deep sigh, while behind him, Agnes clicked her tongue softly as she glared at Antonio.

Unbeknownst to the prince, his actions-meant to protect Agnes-were actively lowering her opinion of him in real-time.

If anything happened to Lilith because of this, or if things spiraled beyond repair… Antonio’s chances of winning Agnes’s heart in this lifetime would effectively be zero.

Meanwhile, the pink-haired priestess, Celista, was the only one in the banquet hall who had noticed Lilith’s assembly signal.

The original plan was for her to cast a Blessing of Concealment or for Agnes to use Stealth Magic to slip away once the signal came.

But with all eyes on them, Agnes couldn’t use Stealth Magic, and even Celista’s concealment blessing would be ineffective in such a crowded space.

As Celista fidgeted helplessly, her gaze landed on Gyeotmwa, who finally drew his sword after much deliberation.

-Swoosh.

“Good. Men should settle things with steel.”

“That’s a rather sexist remark, Your Highness.”

Already at rock bottom in Agnes’s estimation, the prince’s comment dug his grave even deeper.

‘I’m not sure how this will go, but I need to subdue him without killing him. Knocking him out would be ideal…’

If he accidentally killed a prince, it wouldn’t just derail the story-it would place endless restrictions on his activities as the Hero. If Antonio had been under demonic influence like Machart, there might have been justification, but the prince before him was merely a fool blinded by love.

However, holding back too much risked injury, and if he lost, both he and Agnes would be trapped here.

That would leave Lilith to face Machart alone, disappearing tonight only to be found months later as an unidentified corpse.

…As someone who had built a friendship with her, Gyeotmwa couldn’t allow that.

‘Knock him out, draw all attention to the prince, then use Stealth Magic or the Blessing of Concealment to escape. If the first exchange shows he’s too tough to handle non-lethally, I’ll have to choose Lilgirlchang’s side.’

If only one could be saved, that was the right choice.

With that thought, Gyeotmwa’s sword lunged at Prince Antonio-just as the prince swung his own blade to parry.

-Thud!

-Wham!

-Crash!

“Gyaaahhh!!”

…A sound that should never have come from clashing swords erupted from Prince Antonio’s side.

-Thwack!!

“Guh, ugh…”

“Huh…?”

A beat too late, Gyeotmwa halted his sword mid-air and turned his gaze toward the fallen prince and the mysterious assailant.

Meanwhile, the woman who had abruptly interrupted the duel and kicked the royal in the ribs shouted furiously:

“Antoniooooo!!!”

By all rights, laying hands on royalty and disrupting an imperial duel was a grave crime-yet no one dared reprimand her.

Because the woman who had kicked the prince was also of royal blood.

In fact, of higher standing than Antonio himself.

“Seraphine…”

“Antoniooooo!!! What in the world are you doing?! Drawing your sword at a noble gathering-have you lost your mind?!”

“Ugh, S-Sister…?”

“You suddenly said you had plans tonight and stormed out of the palace!!! I really thought you were the sane one among us, Antonioaaa!!!”

Her uncharacteristically loud voice drew every noble’s attention. Gyeotmwa quickly realized her intent-she was gathering all eyes on herself.

He didn’t know how Seraphine had found them, but she was creating the perfect distraction. Seizing the fleeting opportunity, he prepared to slip away with Celista and Ethan under the Blessing of Concealment-

‘…Wait, where’s Ethan?’

‘Prince Ethan left the banquet hall earlier during the commotion…’

Of those remaining in the hall, only Celista had noticed Lilith’s signal.

Ethan, the first to spot it, had already left long ago.