Ch.6969. Hero

The unprecedented attack on Demeia Academy sent shockwaves throughout the Empire’s society.

Demeia Academy, one of the continent’s finest academies and a pride of the Infractus Empire, had been an impregnable fortress that had never experienced an external attack since its establishment. This was possible because, as a gathering place for the Empire’s promising talents and noble children, special attention was paid to security due to the threat of terrorism.

It was said that Demeia Academy was the second safest place after the Imperial Palace, with hundreds or even thousands of protective and barrier spells cast over the academy grounds. Dozens of giant mechanized soldiers were known to operate continuously in autonomous mode. Despite consuming substantial funds just to keep them operational, imperial taxes were generously spent in the name of protecting the academy’s students.

However, this Demeia Academy was attacked by those identified as the New Resistance. Previously, the academy had been attacked by counterrevolutionaries named the Old Resistance, but that intrusion was limited to an uninhabited island where tests were being conducted, not the academy’s main territory.

Nevertheless, even though the intrusion was on an uninhabited island with security incomparably weaker than the main academy, the fact remained that they had suffered an attack. The incident was considered a disgrace in the Empire, to the extent that the First Imperial Princess Seraphina personally led an operation to eliminate the Resistance. For the Infractus Empire, which prided itself as the continent’s premier nation, it was an undeniable humiliation.

This time, however, they allowed an intrusion during one of the Empire’s major events—the Lion King’s Birthday celebration. As the incident occurred during a major imperial event attended by numerous external dignitaries, its severity was on an entirely different scale from before.

This event was particularly concerning because guests from other countries had been invited, creating a situation that could potentially develop into a diplomatic issue. Had the attack not been suppressed with minimal damage, not only would the Infractus Empire’s prestige and honor have fallen, but they would also have faced concerns about compensation to other nations.

Of course, even so, the fact that an attack had occurred couldn’t be erased, which created questions of accountability, but that was a matter for later.

The Empire absolutely did not want to highlight the problems of this incident. While Demeia Academy was officially an independent institution, a closer look revealed that it was essentially an imperial agency with deep imperial connections.

It was well-known that the Duramentum Marquis family, which had served as academy directors for generations, was a staunch imperial faction. Why else would the first academy director, the Marquis of Duramentum, have been granted a middle name to be passed down to future generations at the academy’s founding? For this reason, those in the know considered Demeia Academy essentially the face of the imperial household.

This attack was tantamount to smearing that face. The indiscriminate destructive operations and terrorist activities that occurred while hosting foreign dignitaries became a measure of how complacent they had become.

Of course, they had paid more attention to security than usual and had made preparations. While they had the arrogant belief that no one could invade this place, they had maintained more than minimal defenses, as the saying goes, “even a rotten croaker is still a fish.” They had more than doubled the number of autonomous giant mechanized soldiers and tripled the number of guards on patrol compared to normal.

Yet despite these stringent security measures, they still allowed the New Resistance to attack. And it wasn’t just a few giant mechanized soldiers that invaded—an absurd number exceeding 100 units attacked Demeia Academy. This was an intolerable disgrace for the imperial household and the worst possible incident that gave the noble faction justification.

In fact, the noble faction saw this incident as an excellent opportunity to increase their influence. The noble faction’s power had once been greatly reduced due to the iron-fisted rule of the previous emperor, who had eliminated all elements of rebellion. They had only managed to regain power by taking advantage of the weakened imperial faction following an overly ambitious continental conquest, and maintained their current position through the current emperor’s continental appeasement policy and noble-friendly approach.

The current emperor was no fool and did not hesitate to check the noble faction whenever their power grew beyond a certain point. As a result, the noble faction had been unable to assert themselves in the face of strong imperial authority and could only increase their influence within the boundaries set by the emperor. In this situation, the academy attack was as welcome as rain during a drought for nobles who wanted to somehow elevate the status of their faction.

Sadly, there were casualties from the attack, but those in power, as is often the case, thought more about what benefits the incident could bring them rather than about the victims. They made every effort to expand the noble faction’s influence, and it seemed likely to yield meaningful results.

Even the emperor of the great empire couldn’t bury an attack that had already occurred. With foreign delegations present at Demeia Academy, there were limits to silencing the matter.

However, the imperial faction certainly possessed a card that could cover this up. When faced with an incident that cannot possibly be concealed, there are only a few options. Among them, the most natural way to move past it with minimal noise is to trigger another incident. Of course, exposing corruption related to the noble faction during an already chaotic period would not be good for the Empire’s position. Despite being divided into imperial and noble factions engaged in power struggles, they were all members of the great Infractus Empire in the broader context.

Therefore, the best approach was to deliver shocking news that would divert attention from this incident. In this respect, the attack provided an excellent source.

An academy student who eliminated anti-government elements threatening the Empire’s security.

A man who disregarded his own life to protect fellow academy students and ordinary citizens who came to enjoy the celebration.

Once called the scoundrel of a count’s family, but a hero who was the first to sacrifice himself in a crisis.

Gilbert Lion Hart.

He was the propaganda that the imperial faction could present.

Most nobles initially scoffed at the announcement from the imperial faction. Although rumors had been spreading in social circles that the Hart Count’s wayward eldest son had recently come to his senses, many dismissed these as false rumors due to the image he had built over the years.

It was said that he had recently been appointed as a 6th-grade knight for his great contributions to the Resistance elimination operation, but no one truly believed these accounts of his exploits. The Empire’s citizens felt the same way. Especially in the Lituania territory where the Hart Count’s family resided, very few people believed the announcement.

The reason? All of Gilbert’s past actions provided excellent evidence and justification for their disbelief.

However, all evaluations were reversed with the release of magical recording footage from the imperial household. The content recorded by the magical projectors installed throughout Demeia Academy for security purposes revealed how incorrectly the noble son Gilbert Lion Hart had been evaluated until now.

The heroic image of him protecting academy students and citizens who couldn’t evacuate by blocking all bombardments with a magical barrier, and the overwhelming sight of him as a mechanized knight destroying 23 enemy units while piloting just a single unit.

The public’s reaction to these two scenes could only be passionate. The man they had unhesitatingly called a scoundrel exuded the heroic qualities seen only in history books.

The imperial faction packaged this with remarkable propaganda skills, elevating him as the Empire’s new hero and doing everything possible to divert attention from the academy attack. As they hoped, this greatly appealed to ordinary citizens and neutral nobles, allowing the academy attack—which could have become a dagger aimed at the imperial household—to be quietly buried. The noble faction lamented missing a golden opportunity, but there was little they could do in a situation where the tide had already turned.

Thus, the attack on Demeia Academy by the New Resistance ended with the birth of a hero, decorating a page in the history books.

***

“Anna. Does my hair look strange right now? I keep feeling like it’s sticking up.”

“My lady, that’s the thirtieth time you’ve said that. You’re as beautiful as always, so please don’t worry.”

Dorothy Flamma Hart, the youngest daughter of the Hart Count’s family, had been complaining about her hairstyle to her personal maid Anna since early morning. Her hair, which was usually neatly arranged, was particularly irritating her today. She kept smoothing it down, but it still felt disheveled to her.

Maybe it’s just my imagination…

Her loyal maid Anna continued to reassure her without showing any annoyance despite the repeated questions. In truth, Dorothy knew that her hairstyle looked no different than usual.

The reason she was so anxious and finding fault with her hair was simple:

Gilbert Lion Hart.

It was because of her eldest brother.

Dorothy lowered her hand that had been smoothing down her hair and recalled that day.