Ch.3434. A Crazy Balance Game

Rumors are always like that.

As they grow, they get embellished with all sorts of decorations until even things that never happened seem like they did.

Even if everything is a lie, the ripples it creates make the falsehood appear as truth.

In extreme cases, you could eat chocolate but end up being labeled as someone who ate excrement.

When I think about it that way, this situation isn’t really that strange.

It’s true that I offered to escort Celia to the women’s dormitory, and it’s also true that I didn’t enter the dormitory and turned back.

How that got distorted into me trying to enter the women’s dormitory but being stopped by Celia… I don’t know what process it went through, but it’s not completely incomprehensible.

Yes, I understand.

I understand, but…

“Hmm. For someone accused of trying to enter the women’s dormitory, you look quite normal.”

“Headmaster, I’m really being wronged here.”

A one-on-one meeting with the Academy Headmaster seems a bit much.

How far are they going to blow this out of proportion?

The incident started just earlier, after Lilith informed me about the rumors.

Feeling like things were escalating, I hurriedly went with Celia to the Academy Plaza.

It was a place I hadn’t visited often because Celia dislikes crowded places, but as always, quite a few people were gathered there.

From first-years to fourth-years. You could say most extroverted students with free time gathered here.

And as soon as we arrived, I felt it.

That among the many people present, some were turning their gazes toward us while pretending not to.

“…Ludion.”

I wasn’t the only one who noticed those many gazes; Celia slightly frowned.

The meaning of those gazes was clear.

“Are they the ones from the rumors?”

“Hey, watch what you say. One of them is the Imperial Princess.”

“With rumors spreading like this, does being careful even matter?”

“Well, that’s true. Anyway.”

Whatever it was, it definitely wasn’t a positive feeling.

Celia also seemed to read the atmosphere and apologized to me in a slightly dejected voice.

“I’m sorry for causing you trouble.”

“Don’t worry about it. Honestly, it’s my fault for causing this in the first place.”

“Why don’t we reveal the truth now? I really don’t mind even if word reaches the Imperial Palace…”

“There you go again.”

“But I really mean it…”

Enough. At this point, revealing the truth probably wouldn’t make the rumors die down anyway.

As Lilith had said, the rumors seemed to be spreading among the first-years.

After all, everyone who had been looking at us earlier were all first-years.

Of course, if left alone, they would probably spread throughout the entire Academy soon…

“Let’s go back.”

“Is it okay to do nothing?”

“In times like these, doing something only complicates matters.”

Unless we take extreme measures like beating someone up to drastically change the direction of the rumors, any response would only add fuel to the fire.

Therefore, explaining things now would just be troublesome without providing a solution.

I had to find another way. With that thought, I decided to leave, but then my messenger rang.

It was a message from Professor Reina.

[Reina: Can you come back to my private lab?]

[Reina: This time without Celia. Just you.]

We had just finished talking and left, but she wanted me to come back. I wondered if something had happened.

With that thought, I returned and encountered him.

The Headmaster of the Academy and Reina Trier’s childhood friend.

Dane Valhark.

The man who dyed his beautiful blue hair orange like Reina’s at her insistence.

The man who lived his entire life being pushed around by Reina, ultimately marrying her and continuing to be pushed around until the end.

Yet a man whose abilities and character were so excellent that he never tarnished his position as Academy Headmaster.

That man was sitting there, waiting for me.

“Well, I’ll go get some fresh air, so you two have a good chat!”

And Professor Reina, who had called me, ran away.

And so the current situation… was a one-on-one meeting with the Headmaster.

“So you’re that Ludion.”

“Yes. I’m Ludion, a first-year in the advanced class and the Student Council Secretary.”

“Hmm. For someone accused of trying to enter the women’s dormitory, you look quite normal.”

“Headmaster, I’m really being wronged here.”

I tried to list my credentials to show I wouldn’t do bad things, but it didn’t seem to work.

Or rather, such justification wasn’t necessary in the first place.

“Ah, don’t worry. I’ve already figured out the truth of the incident. I was just teasing you a bit.”

In fact, from the moment Reina casually called me, there couldn’t have been any misunderstanding.

The Headmaster… Dane began explaining the situation as if it were nothing.

The report was indeed about someone lurking in front of the women’s dormitory, and the actual investigation confirmed that, but because the rumors had spread in such a provocative way, they couldn’t just let it go.

Honestly, it’s still just spreading among first-years, and if we were to argue about it, it’s not really a big deal… but who is the person involved in this rumor?

Celia Rubetia. Given that she’s the Imperial Princess, whether this rumor is true or false doesn’t matter.

The problem is that such a rumor exists and she’s involved in it.

But if we were to reveal the truth, in this case, the story would be relayed to the Imperial Palace, which is problematic.

“…So, your choice has become quite important.”

Dane looked at me with a serious attitude and presented two options.

Well, ultimately, they were the same options as before.

Either I take all the blame, or I involve Celia to reveal the truth.

Of course, while the options are the same, the results are slightly different.

If I take all the blame here, the Headmaster will make this exaggerated rumor the truth.

That’s necessary to cleanly resolve the story related to the Imperial Princess.

In other words… if I become the crazy pervert who tried to enter the women’s dormitory, Celia becomes the noble Imperial Princess who stopped me.

Of course, I would receive punishment accordingly, even if I didn’t actually do anything wrong.

In exchange, the Imperial Palace would be informed that such an incident occurred, and it would be concluded.

It’s inefficient. Except for the merit of being able to resolve the incident quickly and cleanly, it’s an option that makes no sense in every aspect.

But if I dislike that and involve Celia to make the truth known… involvement with the Imperial Palace is certain.

‘Tsk, that’s also a bit problematic.’

Honestly, I want to avoid getting involved with the Imperial Palace.

It’s not because they’re corrupt or anything like that. The Rubetia Empire is known as a beacon of hope for monarchies.

However…

‘Everyone there is too fond of Celia…’

The Imperial Palace is full of Celia’s followers.

From doting fathers to doting siblings. Even the attendants are completely smitten with Celia.

Of course, Celia is cute, but their affection is almost scary.

And… if this incident is relayed to such people?

It’s obvious they’ll perceive it as a commoner having a secret rendezvous with the Imperial Princess at night, and if that happens, I don’t know what they’ll do to me.

“Let’s just say the rumors are true.”

Rather than being harassed by them, I’d rather just be labeled as a crazy pervert.

That was the choice I made, but for some reason, Dane showed even more bewilderment.

“What, are you really okay with that?”

From the beginning, I thought he would react this way, but his response confirmed it.

He never intended to pin the blame on me from the start.

Of course, if he did so, it would be convenient for him to resolve the matter cleanly, but it was a bit hard for a mere student to accept.

He probably didn’t think I would choose such an absurd option.

From the beginning, he probably arranged this meeting as a warning to me. Something like, ‘I’ll let it slide this time, but be careful not to let this happen again.’

But I made this choice… so it’s natural for him to be surprised.

“No… you don’t have to go that far.”

He even said such things, genuinely wanting me to change my mind.

But my resolve was firm.

“No. If I can bear it alone, please let me do so.”

Living as a crazy pervert vs. Living while being harassed by Celia’s devoted fans in the Imperial Palace

In this insane balance game, it was clear which side to choose.

Perhaps recognizing my determination, Dane nodded with a very pleased smile.

“…You need this kind of guts to be worthy of the Imperial Princess. Alright, I’ll do as you wish.”

Just as the handling of this incident was about to be decided,

suddenly, the door of the research lab burst open.

BANG!

“No!”

Startled, I turned around to see Celia, who had been continuously mentioned, standing there.

For some reason, her face was flushed red, but her expression was so ambiguous that I couldn’t tell if she was angry or what.

She looked at me for a moment, then spoke very firmly.

“I can’t allow that. Absolutely not.”

As soon as I heard her voice, which was different from usual—subdued yet with a hint of joy—I realized.

That she had heard our entire conversation.

I couldn’t tell what she was thinking with her face still bright red… but I was certain that things weren’t going in the direction I wanted.