Chapter 48 – If You Mess with Little Ellie, You’re Absolutely Fucked

Piercing platinum eyes swept across the training grounds.

Finally, Fabiana’s gaze settled on Shibria’s foot.

With a slight scoff, she took a step forward. Immediately, Shibria hastily removed her foot from Yurasia’s back.

“Your name is Shibria Eustetia, correct?”

“…Yes, it is.”

“Are you the one behind this?”

Shibria couldn’t bring herself to answer.

In that moment, I walked forward.

Ignoring the stares from Fabiana, Shibria, Silina, and everyone else present, I moved past them and helped Yurasia and Stella to their feet.

“Are you hurt?”

“I-I’m… fine,” Yurasia stammered.

“Stella, what about you?”

“I… I’m okay too… sniff… I’m alright…”

Stella wiped her nose and gingerly touched her bruised knees, using Heal to treat both herself and Yurasia.

“My lady, I’m really fine, so please calm—”

“Stay still.”

After thoroughly checking their conditions, I finally managed to suppress my anger.

I closed my eyes and gathered my mana.

Judging from the reactions around me, only Fabiana and Yurasia seemed to have realized what I was about to do.

The other students hadn’t even sensed the mana.

“Haah…”

I released my remaining anger with a sigh and turned to Fabiana.

“Are you a third-year?”

“I am.”

“Then, let me ask you. Does this kind of abhorrent culture exist in the Signia class?”

A collective gasp echoed around us.

Meanwhile, Fabiana burst out laughing.

“Kahaha! Abhorrent culture… indeed. No, this kind of garbage doesn’t exist anymore. It’s long gone. My brother, Jerolt de Hermann, eradicated it.”

“So it almost resurfaced here, then. Not just regular hazing, but outright unreasonable abuse.”

“It seems so. The first prince, Jerolt de Hermann, personally eliminated this kind of despicable culture, yet it nearly reappeared.”

Fabiana’s sharp gaze drilled into Shibria. Then she shifted her glare to the pale platinum-haired boy standing behind her, and to the group with him.

“I’ll ask once more. Am I seeing things? Has my mind become so addled that I’m mistaken? Have my senses failed me at this young age?”

Silence reigned.

“It’s not as if I’m some senile old woman behind the times. So what exactly is this?”

With a sneer, Fabiana singled out one of the silent second-years.

A young man with a faint shade of royal platinum hair.

“My dear cousin, what was your name again?”

“…Baldwin de Hermann.”

“Ah, yes. Baldwin. Then answer me. What exactly is transpiring here?”

After a moment’s hesitation, Baldwin finally replied.

“We heard the current freshman class was exceptionally talented, so we were… issuing a warning, to prevent any potential incidents.”

“A warning? If what I just witnessed is indeed a warning, then yes, I must be gravely mistaken.”

Fabiana reached out, seizing Baldwin’s wrist. She lifted his hand to her eyes, letting out a soft, mocking laugh.

“If that’s the case, Baldwin, as your senior, may I make a request? Since I’m so mistaken, would you do me the honor of plucking out my defective eyes?”

“N-no, that’s not—”

“I’m so worried that my faulty vision might lead me to make a grave error. So I beg you, please gouge out my eyes and hang them on the academy gates. Announce it to the world: you pulled out the defective eyes of Signia’s top student and student council president.”

“P-please… Forgive me…”

“What exactly are you apologizing for?”

“It… it wasn’t a warning… We were hazing them.”

Fabiana erupted into laughter.

“Ha! So I really am mistaken! Not just mistaken, but blind! Because from where I was standing, that didn’t look like hazing at all! Baldwin! Pluck out my eyes! I don’t want to see this distorted world anymore!”

With that, Fabiana raised her arm.

She pulled Baldwin’s hand toward her eye, as if to drive her point home.

At that moment, Baldwin gathered his mana, attempting to wrench free from her grip.

But Fabiana wouldn’t have it.

She tightened her hold with her own mana.

The result:

Crunch!

“Arghhh!”

Baldwin’s wrist went limp, his hand dangling uselessly, shattered beyond recognition. Blood began to seep from his mangled flesh.

Clutching his ruined hand, Baldwin stammered.

“It… it was abuse. I’m sorry. It was unreasonable hazing. I’m deeply, deeply sorry…”

In response, Fabiana raised her voice, amplifying her tone dramatically.

“Oh my! Abuse at Karela Academy, in the Signia class no less! How could such a thing happen? And under my watch as Fabiana de Hermann, student council president? This is clearly my fault. I must be punished. Don’t you think so, Shibria? Surely you agree?”

“N-no, of course not…! It’s not like that at all…!”

Pale and trembling, Shibria shook her head, stepping back. Fabiana stepped forward, grasping Shibria’s hands in her own.

“Then who’s to blame? Is it Headmaster Sedil Mershdoff’s fault for allowing the academy to fall into such disrepair? In that case, I’ll have to act as First Princess Fabiana de Hermann, not just student council president. Why are you shaking your head? Is it not the headmaster’s fault? Then, who is responsible? Is it the professors overseeing the second-years? I can’t be certain, so I suppose I’ll go in the princess’s name to strip them of flesh and bone. No, even that won’t be enough. This isn’t just Karela Academy’s disgrace; it’s an embarrassment to the entire empire. I’ll have to go after their families too, from the elderly to the children, and have them all executed.”

Fabiana’s words weren’t just empty threats.

As First Princess, she could easily carry out such an order.

Of course, the headmaster might be spared, but the two professors and their families could certainly face execution.

Shibria’s face went completely pale. Her trembling legs gave out, and she collapsed to the ground.

Fabiana knelt before her.

“Will eradicating this abhorrent culture from Karela Academy require measures this drastic?”

“N-no… It’s all my fault… I’m so sorry… I’m sorry…”

“Shibria Eustetia, are you saying this is entirely your doing?”

“Yes. It’s all my fault… so please, forgive me…”

“Hm.” Fabiana hummed softly, then stood up, looking over at Yurasia and Stella.

Then she glanced back at Shibria.

“It seems the people you should be apologizing to aren’t me.”

Shibria flinched.

After a brief pause, she gritted her teeth and pushed herself up.

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Yurasia Espilot. Stella Verheigen. Will you accept your senior’s apology?”

“…Yes.”

“Yes, sniff… Yes…”

Fabiana chuckled, spreading her arms as if to conclude the situation.

“A heartwarming resolution. Now then—”

“Just a moment.”

But I had no intention of letting it end like this.

“Hm? Eliaernes, do you have more to say?”

“Yes.”

Shibria shot me a sharp look.

I returned her glare with a smirk.

“Standing over there, Shibria Eustetia… that senior made remarks that tarnish the academy’s authority.”

“Oh? Remarks that tarnish Karela’s authority, you say. Is that true, Shibria?”

“What… nonsense… No, I never said anything like that.”

“So she claims. Eliaernes, you’re not lying to me, are you?”

Fabiana’s sly smile suggested she already knew what I was about to say.

How could a 19-year-old be so cunning? The empire was truly something else.

I composed myself and spoke slowly, enunciating each word.

“First, she called the academy’s rules ‘crap laws.’ The rules of Karela Academy are also the laws of the empire. She belittled those rules, calling them ‘crap laws.’”

“What are you talking about…”

“Am I wrong?”

“…That’s not what I meant.”

“Oh, so you did say it, then. That’s one thing. Is there more?”

With a nod, I cleared my throat.

Now was the time to be bold, confident, and shameless.

“Second, she said she couldn’t understand how I passed the special exam. She also stated that Eustetia’s influence couldn’t reach inside the academy. Anyone might interpret that as implying that ‘Eustetia’s power could enable illicit admissions here at Karela.’”

I took the actual statement and amplified it, emphasizing Eustetia’s name and authority.

Wouldn’t such a comment make people wonder if Eustetia’s power really could make illicit entry possible?

“Such a statement casts doubt on the legitimacy of the academy. But it goes beyond that. Karela Academy is the finest institution in the world and a source of pride for the empire. Questioning and undermining the academy is tantamount to questioning and undermining the legitimacy, authority, and honor of the Hermann Empire itself.”

Then I continued, elevating Karela Academy’s and the empire’s authority as much as possible, weaving in interpretations of Shibria’s words.

Here, confidence was crucial.

And the ability to speak about the outrageous as if it were entirely reasonable was key.

By now, everyone around was beginning to think:

“Wait… could that be true?”

“Seems like it…”

“It actually sounds right.”

“It all checks out.”

Looking around, I saw the same expressions on both the first-years and the second-years.

Meanwhile, Shibria looked completely baffled, as if she couldn’t believe what I was saying.

She seemed to be thinking of ways to refute it, but I wasn’t going to give her the time.

I took a breath and fixed my gaze on Shibria.

“You’re not going to deny making these statements, are you? Everyone here heard them.”

I shot a grin at her, then looked over at Fabiana.

“What does First Princess Fabiana de Hermann think? As a direct descendant of Eustetia, heir to the warriors who fought to protect the empire from demons, I, Eliaernes Eustetia, believe that Senior Shibria’s words and actions degrade the honor and authority of the mighty Hermann Empire.”

For my final move, I posed the question not as a student of Karela, but addressing her as a princess.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Shibria’s face go pale. Her legs, which had been barely holding her up, gave way, and she sank to the floor.

Beside her, Baldwin, clutching his broken hand, and the other second-years who had followed them wore equally stricken expressions, trembling visibly.

Behind me, Yurasia looked confused, unable to make sense of my words, while Stella had stopped crying and stared wide-eyed.

And Fabiana…

“Pff… Pwahaha! Hahaha! Ahahaha!”

Burst into laughter like she’d gone mad.

“Ahh… Huff… Very well. I shall answer you as the First Princess of the Hermann Empire.”

After a full minute of laughter, Fabiana finally spoke.

“I agree with you, Eliaernes Eustetia. So—”

With a dark smile, Fabiana declared,

“According to the laws of the empire, three generations must be wiped out.”

Behind her, I couldn’t help but grin.

You dared to mess with me?

You’re really fucked now.