Ch.96Damon’s Choice (2)

Damon was on his way to the location he was investigating.

In front of the building, he saw an unexpected figure.

It was Irina.

She smiled warmly as if she had been waiting for him to arrive.

“Ah, Young Master Ruide. It’s been a while.”

“Hello.”

Ruide rarely used formal speech.

She was his sister’s friend, and though generations had changed, she had been an Imperial Princess.

“May I pat your head?”

Irina’s eyes curved into gentle crescents.

Ruide smiled politely as he replied.

“No.”

“…”

Irina rose from her seat and half-opened her eyes.

“Are you here to see Damon?”

“Yes.”

“You too?”

“I followed along, Your Imperial Highness.”

“Imperial Princess? That’s ancient history. I’m a Kairos now.”

As he engaged in casual conversation with Irina, a thought suddenly occurred to him.

‘She always looks suspicious.’

It was a thought he’d had for a long time.

In this world, there were a few people whose thoughts were completely unreadable. Irene ranked first, and Irina came second.

However, Irina was easier to understand than Irene. She moved strictly according to her interests.

In the original story, she initially helped Justin but suddenly backstabbed him. Her line at that time was probably…

-‘Hmm, you ask why I betrayed you? Well, you know, anything one-sided is boring. I’m the guardian of balance!’

That’s what it was.

Personally, she was someone he didn’t want to get involved with.

Above all, Amelia didn’t like her very much.

“What about my sister?”

“Our captain? The captain is probably busy searching for talented individuals. But I’m disappointed. Is that all you have to say to me?”

Ruide pondered seriously.

Then he looked up at Irina with a serious face.

Irina’s cheeks flushed red with inexplicable tension.

“Yes.”

“…”

But she was immediately disappointed.

To Ruide, Irina was just that—nothing more. She wasn’t someone he trusted from the beginning.

“You said you came to see Damon, right?”

“Yes.”

“Despite appearances, I was an Imperial Princess… I have quite a few connections in the imperial court… Don’t you think I might know something? Damon is, you know, my own brother.”

“Ah.”

Ruide’s eyes widened.

Of course, it was natural since she was an Imperial Princess, but they seemed so mismatched that he had forgotten.

‘Are they not close?’

Such a question floated in his mind, but he set it aside for now. As she said, what mattered now was Damon.

“Do you know? How the incident is unfolding?”

“Hmm.”

Irina pretended to contemplate, even though she had led the question herself.

‘Should I just move on?’

Ruide had a feeling it might be faster to ask the person directly.

“Did Damon… do what Damon usually does?”

“You mean, did he bully commoners as usual?”

“Yes, yes. But commoners are people too, so this time they got angry and taught Damon a lesson.”

“So the commoner did attack him, right?”

“No, no. Actually, I was at the scene. The commoners just confronted him. I think they thought that if several people confronted him, even an Imperial Prince would feel intimidated. Damon misunderstood that… and everyone ended up nearly dead? Hehe, interesting, isn’t it?”

The situation clearly formed in his mind.

“But you know what.”

Irina leaned down and whispered in Ruide’s ear.

Ruide recoiled in disgust and stepped back ten paces. Something about that sensation felt wrong.

“…If you react like that, it makes me look like a bad person.”

“What were you going to say?”

Hersy asked.

“Well… it’s no fun saying it like this. But I guess I have no choice.”

Irina spoke with a disappointed expression.

“I was waiting for you all. I knew you’d come. You’re Damon’s only friends, right?”

“You’d better not go. More precisely… it’s better not to get involved.”

“Why?”

It was a genuine question.

Irina answered as if she had been waiting for it.

“His Majesty received a report about this incident and issued an imperial decree. Send Damon Kairos to the imperial palace.”

“…!”

‘His Majesty?’

It was an unexpected statement.

Ruide was taken aback.

“Why on earth…?”

“Because Damon keeps causing trouble. He’s being ordered to return to the imperial palace and handle official duties. My brother, though I hate to admit it, is extremely capable and contributes greatly to the empire.”

He had to acknowledge that.

He knew well that Damon, despite his arrogance, was intelligent.

‘So they’re just using this opportunity to make him quit and come work? That makes sense. Damon doesn’t really have a reason to be at the Academy.’

But.

Ruide felt uneasy.

He couldn’t pinpoint why, but he felt like he was missing something very important.

‘Let’s ask Damon first.’

Since Damon was the one who owed him, Damon’s wishes were important.

As he was about to pass by Irina and enter the building.

“So, would you mind turning back?”

That’s what Irina said.

She wasn’t exactly blocking his path, but she was uncomfortably close to him.

Normally, people would step aside when someone passes by. Especially for a small child like him.

However, Irina didn’t move. She just stood there.

For some reason—she was preventing him from reaching Damon.

‘So this was the cause of my déjà vu.’

Thinking about it, it was strange from the beginning. There was no reason for Irina to be here just to tell him this.

If it was an imperial decree, nothing would change, and he would naturally find out anyway.

If it were someone else, he might think they were faithfully following the Emperor’s orders.

But Irina was someone who prioritized her own interests above all. It was unnatural.

One hypothesis formed.

‘I might be the only person who could prevent Damon’s expulsion right now.’

Which means—this situation was telling him just one thing.

‘…Irina wants Damon to be expelled?’

But Ruide couldn’t help but ask.

Why?

For what purpose?

Why on earth would Irina want Damon to be expelled?

What interest or pleasure could she find in that?

**

Irina didn’t stop him completely. Ruide set aside his questions for now and faced Damon.

Damon, whom he hadn’t seen in a while, was still the same.

“A wench, a commoner, and even Ruide has come.”

“Why don’t you call me by name!”

“I didn’t call the commoner next to you by name either.”

“At least I’m an acquaintance!”

Hersy sighed.

Damon sat in a chair with his arms crossed and eyes closed.

“Now, Ruide, I think I understand how you feel.”

“…?”

“I’m sleepy.”

Damon opened his eyes.

“But no matter how long I keep my eyes closed, I can’t fall asleep. It’s very uncomfortable and dirty feeling. I can feel my thinking deteriorating because my mind isn’t clear. No wonder you sometimes acted strangely.”

‘…But I sleep well.’

Ruide was confident he could fall into a deep sleep within 30 seconds if asked to do so right here.

As always, Damon read Ruide’s thoughts and smirked.

“No human sleeps 20 hours a day. You probably spend most of that time just with your eyes closed, for a few hours of actual sleep.”

That wasn’t true.

It was pure, high-quality sleep that he wouldn’t give up even a minute of those 20 hours.

Anyway, enough joking around.

“Damon.”

“Speak.”

“Do you want to be expelled?”

“No royal would like such a tone.”

“Should I help you?”

“Stop it. Didn’t you know? The Emperor is behind this.”

“That’s not important. I care about what you want.”

When Ruide spoke so nonchalantly, Damon’s eyes widened.

Then he covered his eyes with his hand and laughed heartily.

‘…Why is he laughing?’

Ruide looked at Hersy with an uncomfortable expression and mouthed, ‘Is there something on my face?’ Hersy shook her head.

After laughing for a while, Damon’s laughter stopped. With traces of amusement still in his voice, he said:

“The Emperor seems to regard you like his own brother, but that’s all futile.”

“That’s why I can help. He listens to me.”

Damon snickered.

“You don’t know the Emperor. He may appear as a good brother in front of you, but he’s the ruler of this vast land. He can become friends with even his mortal enemies if there’s justification, and even someone like you, whom he treats like a brother, could become his enemy as easily as flipping his palm. Well, as long as you don’t commit treason, the Emperor’s stance toward you won’t change. But are you willing to take unnecessary risks?”

‘…Is it that serious?’

Honestly, Ruide didn’t think it was a very serious matter.

He thought he could easily persuade the Emperor by offering something in return for preventing Damon’s expulsion.

Anyway, Ruide’s position remained unchanged.

“Tell me what you think first.”

“Well, I don’t really care.”

Damon stared intently at Ruide as he spoke.

“What I can do here, I can do outside as well. That’s the extent of the Academy’s value to me. However, I don’t like it.”

Damon sneered.

“Leaving not by my own will, but by someone else’s.”

“Then it’s decided.”

Ruide turned his back.

“I’ll prevent your expulsion. By any means necessary.”

“Ruide.”

As he was about to open the door and leave, he heard Damon’s low voice. He turned his head. Damon spoke with a more serious expression than ever before.

“Thank you.”

“…”

‘Ugh, that’s embarrassing.’

It wasn’t something he wanted to hear often from a man.

Seeing Ruide’s disgusted expression, Damon grinned and said:

“It’s too early to talk about repayment, but if things go well, I’ll give you a gift. Probably quite valuable information.”

**

‘I wonder what information it could be? I’m curious.’

Ruide pondered as he walked.

Damon’s final words had sounded quite significant.

‘…I’ll find out soon enough.’

Ruide was walking toward the imperial palace with a light step.

He was also excited about eating something delicious there after a long time.

“Ruide. What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to see His Majesty.”

“…So you’re planning to overturn the imperial decree.”

Ruide spoke as if he were going on a casual outing rather than seeking an audience with the Emperor of the empire.

At times like this, Hersy truly felt that Ruide was the youngest of the Windsor Duchy, a family no one dared to challenge.

‘I should leave these two behind, right?’

Ruide stopped at the Academy’s main gate.

“I’ll resolve this quickly and come back. See you all later.”

“Yes.”

Hersy immediately understood that this was far beyond her authority.

“Um…”

But Ella seemed to have something to say.

“Do you have something to say?”

“Well.”

Ella hesitated tremendously.

She wasn’t sure if she should say such a thing.

But if she didn’t speak up now, she felt a big problem might arise.

“What, what should I do in the meantime…!”

Ella covered her mouth.

Her voice came out louder than she expected.

‘I don’t know whether to call this impressive or clueless in this situation.’

Ruide was dumbfounded.

“I’m, I’m sorry.”

“…I’m researching something.”

“Research?”

Ella looked at him like a puppy.

“Yes.”

‘Since she’s a genius, I should give her something that takes a long time.’

If he gave her something mediocre, she’d complete it in less than an hour.

After thinking briefly, Ruide said:

“Research on immortality?”

“…!”

Hersy was astonished.

‘Isn’t that too grandiose…?’

In fact, Ruide also thought he had misspoken.

‘That’s too much for someone who’s just trying to work hard…’

But.

“Yes! I’ll have it completed by the time you return!”

Ella shouted that and dashed off. Her retreating figure looked very excited.