First Meeting

“This is maddening.”

“How could that delinquent cause such a major incident even when causing trouble!”

The Britannia Empire was in turmoil due to William Artin sending assassins to Theodore Skyroad and Yuria Arsein.

Even if they tried to claim there was no evidence that William did it, the Britannia Empire was increasingly on the defensive because confession magic had already been used to confirm it, and the Arcan Empire said that if they wanted to determine the truth, Britannia Empire’s magicians could also directly participate.

“If it were just confession magic, we could somehow insist there was no basis. Damn it.”

To make matters worse, evidence remained in the records that William had let the assassins into Minst Academy at that time. Not only had William opened the door himself, but the process of the assassins entering had been confirmed through spirit artists who commanded earth spirits with the power to read the memories of the earth.

Theodore Skyroad was also said to have abilities as a spirit artist, and the earth spirit he had contracted also had the relevant records, which he had submitted.

The footage shown by the earth spirit had been recorded using magic and sent, and when the Arcan Empire said that if they wanted to determine the truth, they could directly confirm it with Theodore, the Britannia Empire couldn’t possibly deny it.

‘Of all places, inside Minst Academy!’

Headmaster Albert was surely grabbing the back of his neck in distress.

Assassins had been sent to foreign exchange students at Minst Academy, and not just any students, but the heir of House Skyroad and the treasured daughter of House Arsein.

Moreover, since it was revealed that there had been a plan to forcibly rape the treasured daughter of House Arsein, the Britannia Empire was utterly disgraced before the Arcan Empire.

An official apology was not enough; they had to compensate House Skyroad and House Arsein for damages, and it was a serious crime that normally would have been enough to strip William of his noble title.

But it was impossible even for the Emperor to cast out someone with the reputation of being the Chosen One.

The Britannia Empire’s diplomatic advantage over the other two empires, the Stran Empire and the Arcan Empire, was because they had produced the Chosen One, the prophesied hero.

“I’ll have to report to His Majesty.”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Britannia Empire, who was in charge of diplomacy with other countries, said gloomily.

This was beyond a level he could handle on his own.

And after the report went directly to the Emperor, the decision-maker, the Emperor also grabbed the back of his neck.

“William Artin! This fellow always gives me a headache!”

It was already a grave offense that he had harassed Yuria Arsein, but now with the added crime of attempted assassination, he was already worried that the Arcan Empire would begin to doubt that William was the Chosen One.

How many benefits had they been reaping in all competitions, including trade with the Stran Empire and the Arcan Empire, on the pretext of having the Chosen One?

‘Theodore Artin, that child seems more likely to be the real Chosen One.’

In the Britannia Empire, many people were already doubting whether William was the real Chosen One, though it wasn’t apparent on the surface because the Imperial Family was suppressing it.

The Emperor himself was doubting it, and he often had the ominous thought that Theodore, who disappeared 11 years ago, might be the real Chosen One.

‘Damn it, if only the Duke and Duchess of Artin had paid even a little attention to their own child!’

What the Duke and Duchess of Artin had done was a great shock within the Britannia Empire.

Even the Emperor, who didn’t show much affection to his children, couldn’t understand it from a common sense perspective.

Everyone realized how insane the Duke and Duchess of Artin had become with the glory of being the parents of the Chosen One, and everyone was keeping their mouths shut about this incident on the surface.

It was probably because the disadvantages of criticizing House Artin, which had the Chosen One, were too great.

“For now, we’ll have to proceed by being magnanimous and offering substantial compensation.”

To clean up the mess William had created, the Emperor of the Britannia Empire would have to personally convey his apologies to the Emperor of the Arcan Empire and the two Dukes. If he promised to prevent recurrence and substantial compensation for damages, he could somewhat appease them.

But since this meant not punishing the perpetrator and covering up the assassination attempt, it would be a weakness for a long time to come.

‘This would have been impossible if he weren’t the Chosen One.’

It was only because William had the reputation of being the Chosen One that this could end this way. If he weren’t, even if he were not just the heir of a ducal house but the Crown Prince, he couldn’t have avoided at least being deposed and exiled.

“Father, may I come in for a moment?”

And a clear woman’s voice was heard from outside.

“Sigh, come in.”

The one who entered with the Emperor’s permission was a beautiful woman with long platinum blonde hair.

Now 21 years old, she was a second-year student at Minst Academy and the Emperor’s daughter, the Imperial Princess of the Britannia Empire.

“Louise, what is it?”

“Yes, Father. Actually, I have something to tell you about Theodore Skyroad.”

“Theodore?”

“Yes. I spoke with Headmaster Albert, and he said that Theodore Skyroad’s appearance is surprisingly similar to William Artin’s. Moreover, they’re the same age, and though the hair color is different, the Duchess of Artin called him Theodore and wept.”

“What?!”

The Emperor stood up in surprise.

The possibility that Theodore Skyroad might be Theodore Artin was like an enormous bombshell.

“I haven’t heard such a report from Headmaster Albert. Why didn’t he submit such a report?”

“Yes. Actually, he said he couldn’t be certain enough to submit a formal report. So he said he was telling me separately. And since the Duke and Duchess of Artin haven’t seen Theodore Artin’s face since he was 2 years old, they couldn’t be certain.”

“…That couple is truly something else.”

The Emperor put his hand to his forehead.

The actions of the Duke and Duchess of Artin were giving him more and more of a headache the more he thought about them, and he could bet his position as Emperor that if he developed baldness, 99% of it would be because of that couple and William.

“Sigh, Louise. If you go to Minst Academy, observe Theodore Skyroad carefully.”

“Yes, Father.”

Louise nodded with a determined expression.

If he really was Theodore Artin, they would have to do whatever it took to make him return to the Britannia Empire.

‘This is the worst.’

The Emperor had an ominous feeling.

If he was really Theodore Artin and the Chosen One, all the vested interests that the Britannia Empire had been enjoying diplomatically would be nullified.

No, they would face tremendous criticism not only externally but also internally for having put forth a fake Chosen One, and they would have to make many concessions and take a humble stance toward the Arcan Empire.

Moreover, there would be demands to strip the word “Ar,” which was sacred, from House Artin, which had given birth to the Chosen One but effectively abandoned him to die of starvation, not caring about him at all, causing him to go to the Arcan Empire. There would also be demands to strip them of their ducal title.

Going further, there might even be calls for their exile, but it would be fortunate if it ended with that.

‘Public opinion criticizing the Imperial Family is dangerous.’

This was what the Emperor was most concerned about.

And to prevent this, he needed to carefully observe Theodore Skyroad, and if he turned out to be the real one, he would have to coax him by any means necessary.

---

‘They must be racking their brains.’

Theodore could roughly guess what the situation was like in the Britannia Empire without seeing it with his own eyes.

His story must have caused confusion, and although they couldn’t be certain whether he was the real Theodore, they would surely be preparing to win him over if it was confirmed that he was Theodore Artin.

‘I’ll watch and see when they figure out my identity.’

Though Theodore was born in the Britannia Empire, he had no affection for this country.

After all, he had no good memories of it; there was only hatred, and there was no way for good memories to be formed.

“Haa… haa…”

And the rough breathing of a young woman could be heard. This was Yuria’s gasping, as if she could barely breathe.

After repeatedly performing the movements Theodore had taught her, squeezing her stamina to the limit, she finally collapsed when her body could no longer move.

He had taken appropriate measures with healing magic to prevent damage to muscles and such, so all that remained was to wait for her stamina to recover naturally.

But her appearance, sitting on the ground and breathing heavily, showed how much she had pushed herself to the limit.

‘Her passion is truly commendable.’

Before, he might have indirectly criticized her, saying she had much effort but no talent. But now he had no such thoughts. Rather, in her hardworking appearance, he was seeing a reflection of his past self.

When he was adopted into House Skyroad, he had gained an environment where he could learn freely, and he had worked to learn everything.

Even before meeting the Duke of Skyroad, he had learned to handle power to some extent through some kind of route, but it was incomparable to the environment where he could learn freely with the support of House Skyroad.

Swordsmanship, magic, spirit arts—he had tried to learn all fields to the point of being called greedy, and he was so enthusiastic that he would even get excited at the mere fact that he could learn something.

Now Yuria, though different in direction from him, was working hard with a firm goal.

“Lady Yuria, you look very tired?”

“Haa… I-I’m fine. This much is no problem!”

Yuria was trying not to show weakness, though she couldn’t hide her tired appearance. However, drenched in sweat, her hair could be seen sticking to her neck and shoulders due to the sweat.

Moreover, her T-shirt had absorbed a lot of sweat, and even though it was automatically cleaned by magic, it seemed it would take quite a while to remove the sweat.

Her breathing had not calmed down, and the sight of her full and elastic breasts, too large to be covered by one of her hands, rising and falling, was almost sensuous.

He had known since a year ago that Yuria didn’t like her breasts, finding them too heavy and excessively large.

Whoosh—

At that moment, the wind blew, and Yuria’s body scent flew in Theodore’s direction.

‘Again.’

Yuria’s body scent felt so sweet.

A single change in perception had such a significant impact.

“Lady Yuria.”

“Yes, Young Lord Theodore.”

Yuria, whose breathing had now somewhat calmed, was seen trying to get up from her sitting position. But her legs still seemed to have difficulty gaining strength, as her slender legs were trembling pitifully.

Despite being trained to such a state, she was listening to his words without a single complaint.

She was genuinely happy at the fact that she could learn something.

However, unfortunately for her, what he had to say now was not about teaching.

“It seems we have visitors.”

“Visitors?”

Yuria showed a slightly concentrating look at Theodore’s words.

She was spreading her senses widely to try to figure out who was coming.

As someone whose level as a swordswoman was far below his, she would need to concentrate like this to detect approaching presences.

“Ah, you’re right.”

Yuria had also detected the presence.

“They seem to be entering through the academy gate, so it will take more than 5 minutes to reach here.”

“Should I change my clothes then?”

At her question about whether she should go to the bathroom to lightly wipe off her sweat, wash her face, and change into appropriate clothes, Theodore shook his head.

“No, that won’t be necessary. Lady Yuria, you don’t need to worry about anything else. Your current appearance is the special appearance that changed my thinking.”

“W-what?”

At Theodore’s words, Yuria’s face turned red with embarrassment. Then she looked at her attire and carefully asked:

“By any chance, Young Lord Theodore… is my current appearance exactly to your taste?”

“Hmm, I wonder? I don’t dislike it, it seems.”

At Theodore’s words, Yuria, with her face flushed, grumbled:

“Really, your words are making me unnecessarily self-conscious.”