chapter_0211

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
211

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
211

“…Lady Partan?”

There were clear signs of
bewilderment on Duke Serran’s face, as if he had encountered
something he was not supposed to.

“Would you care to
answer?”

Joy, who would usually give
the other party some leeway to calm down and respond, did not do so
this time. She urged him to answer with an unusually cold voice.

“…Oh. Well, I happened
to notice Lady Allen at the festival. I was expressing my
admiration.”

Duke Serran’s face, which had
been flushed red due to my provocation just moments ago, changed
after Joy appeared.

His face turned pale as if all
blood had drained from it, like that of a corpse.

I couldn’t understand it.

Is Joy really that
frightening? Although her appearance is somewhat cold, isn’t she
known as the Airhead Lady on the inside?

Why is Duke Serran, who surely
belongs to a similar Duke’s Family and is much older, breaking out in
a cold sweat in front of Joy?

“I see. Thank you, Duke
Serran, for expressing your compliments to my friend.”

“It was nothing.”

“If you have nothing more
to say, could you leave us for now? I have some private matters to
discuss with my friend.”

Although Duke Serran seemed to
have a lot to say, he did not let the words out of his mouth. After
the duke reluctantly left, Joy put down the fan that had been
covering her mouth.

“Lady Allen, you should
just drive people like that away. Don’t stand around watching to see
how long they last.”

‘What did he do?’

“Airhead Lady, what did
that pervert do?”

“Don’t you know?”

Of course, I didn’t know. He
was hardly mentioned in the game.

The Serran Family itself
didn’t have a significant role in the game.

He’s the Duke of Serran,
right?

I tried to recall, but nothing
came to mind.

Normally, I can remember the
names of characters with a significant role in the game—sometimes
even their faces if there’s an illustration.

Despite that, trying to recall
anything about Serran was difficult.

He really must not have had
any importance.

“…Ah. Of course, Lady
Allen, you’re not very familiar with these things.”

Nodding to herself, Joy went
on to explain that this person recently caused a major incident.

“Because of that, he’s in
danger of being expelled from his family and is desperately trying to
clean up his mess.”

It was only upon hearing her
words that I finally remembered.

The Duke of Serran.

That guy who’d always lament
about the hardships he went through because of his idiotic younger
brother!

That was him!

“By the time we graduate
from the Academy, he’ll be out of the picture, so there’s no need
to worry.”

With that, Joy ended the
conversation about the Duke of Serran.

At the Academy, she’d always
seemed somewhat airheaded and cute, but now she was showing qualities
befitting a duke’s daughter.

‘You’re amazing, Joy.’

“Hey, Airhead Lady. Are
you trying to show off right now? Like; Look how great I am?”

“What?! Not really…
though…”

Oh? She really was?!

Was Joy actually thinking; I
look quite impressive right now?!

I take back what I said about
you being amazing, Joy.

Looks like no matter where you
are, you’ll always be the Airhead Lady.

Noticing my waning interest,
Joy cleared her throat.

“Ahem.
Anyway, Lady Allen, you don’t have anything else to do right now,
do you?”

‘No.’

“Right. So?”

“Would you mind coming
with me for a moment? My father has something he wants to discuss
with you.”

Duke Partan? Why would he want
to talk to me? Is it something related to the speech? If it’s
something like that, I’ll definitely end up becoming a sickly
Mesugaki today. Even if I have to knock myself out by hitting my head
with my own hands!

Following Joy, we headed to
the reception room outside the party hall.

In the room were not only Duke
Partan but also Benedict. So, Benedict was with the Duke all this
time after the party started.

When those two are together,
the atmosphere is no joke. It’s like the gang leader and his
lieutenant standing side by side.

If someone told me they were
planning on who to bury next, I might just believe it.

Maybe it’s because this is
the first time we’re meeting after Tavol caused that incident.
Benedict seemed to have a lot to say, mouthing words but not speaking
them out loud.

“Father, I’ve brought Lady
Allen as you requested.”

It was Joy who broke the
silence in the room. Duke Partan smiled wryly at Joy’s tone, which
seemed sharper than usual, perhaps it was just my imagination.

“Thank you, Joy. You may go
now.”

“No, I’ll stay here. Is
that okay?”

“…Alright. Do as you
please.”

What’s going on? Is Joy going
through puberty?! Why is she acting like she hates her dad?!

Though I couldn’t understand
what was happening, I followed Joy’s lead and sat down in a chair.

“Sorry to call you away from
the party, Lady Allen. There’s something I needed to discuss with
you.”

‘It’s fine.’

“It’s alright, Careless
Duke. The party was boring anyway, with only sloppy people around.”

“Well, that’s good. First,
I need to apologise. I’m sorry, Lady Allen. Because of me, you had
to go through unnecessary trouble.”

Why is he apologising to me?

Initially, I tilted my head in
confusion, but as the conversation progressed, my thoughts changed.

I never imagined Duke Partan
pressured me to give a speech just to put me in a difficult position!

Hey! Sir! Is it really okay to
treat your daughter’s friend like this?!

What flaw did you find in this
small, cute girl to pull such a stunt?!

Is it this?

Could it be that you didn’t
like the nickname, Careless Duke?!

“Surely, Careless Duke, you
didn’t act so petty just because you didn’t like the nickname I
gave you? I can’t believe a person leading the Duke’s Family
would be so narrow-minded.”

“Of course not! Lady Allen,
you saved Joy’s life; you’re a benefactor to us! Do you think I’d
do something so petty because of a nickname?! In fact, I quite liked
being called Careless Duke from the start, so there was no reason to
hold a grudge!”

After fervently explaining
himself, the Duke finally revealed his reasons for orchestrating this
event.

So, to summarise, he wanted to
evaluate if I was someone trustworthy enough because Joy seemed to
follow me around too much?

Listening to the Duke mention
how unforeseen events kept increasing the scale of the situation made
me recall why he was often treated as a comedic character in the
community.

Duke Partan is undoubtedly a
capable person backed by power, but things always seem to go awry
whenever he takes the initiative in something.

Hearing his story, I couldn’t
help but chuckle, remembering the numerous memes circulating about
him in the past, making it impossible to stay mad.

Anyhow, the issue was
resolved, and I received an apology, along with a promise of
compensation, so there was no reason to stay angry.

But if the Duke was the
mastermind behind this, does that mean the First Prince had nothing
to do with it?

I was a hundred percent sure
he was the villain behind the scenes!

How could it be that he had no
involvement when he was the one who benefited the most in the end?!

“We can discuss the
compensation details later. If not, our conversation might last until
the party ends.”

With that, the Duke sent us
back.

On the way back to the party
hall, Joy apologised to me.

She mentioned that the Duke
had called her right before the party started.

There, she was bound by the
Duke’s magic and couldn’t move an inch.

By the time she managed to
escape and return to the party hall, Tavol was already raising his
voice.

No wonder Joy was upset with
the Duke. Anyone, no matter how kind, would be angry over such a
matter.

“I’m truly sorry, Lady
Allen.”

Her apology carried so much
meaning. Apologising for her father’s actions. Apologising for not
being able to help sooner.

There were probably many other
reasons I couldn’t even guess.

Her words were filled with
sincerity, but I did not welcome her apology.

That’s because Joy had
nothing to apologise for.

‘Why are you apologising?’

“Airhead Lady, why are you
making that silly crying noise instead of speaking?”

“…What?”

‘I should be the one
thanking you right now.’

“Why are you acting so timid
after helping me? Are you trying to evolve from an airhead to a timid
airhead?”

“You’re not even calling
me ‘Lady’ anymore?!”

Seriously, you must be such an
airhead that I can’t even call you a lady anymore.

Joy’s reaction was so amusing
that, both inside and out, I couldn’t stop laughing. Joy eventually
started smiling too.

Her smile was still somewhat
grim, but it was better than her feeling down.

After cheering Joy up, we
returned to the party hall together, where the atmosphere was in full
swing.

The grand and beautiful sound
of the orchestra. The nobles showcasing their dance moves in the
centre. People gathered in groups around them, bursting into
laughter.

While I was marvelling at the
scene that looked straight out of a movie, I heard Joy sigh next to
me.

“I’m sorry, Lady Allen.
It seems I have some matters to attend to.”

With those words, Joy began to
head towards a group of young ladies exchanging sharp glances.

Is this something a Duke’s
Lady has to do? Well, Joy is indeed the leader of several noble
ladies. She probably needs to handle it.

I wanted to help Joy, but if I
intervened, it would only complicate things.

So, I quietly headed to a
corner of the party hall.

Isn’t it better for Joy’s
peace of mind if I stay out of sight?

Maybe it’s because I went
through so much in a short time, but I feel hungry. I’m craving
something sweet.

I think there were some
delicious desserts in the party hall. Maybe I’ll just tuck myself in
a corner and enjoy them.

With that thought in mind, I
headed towards the food area and encountered Frey and her younger
sister.

Frey, once again filling her
plate to the brim as if there’s a hole in her stomach, and her sister
scolding her was quite a fresh sight.

Aren’t these two supposed to
be at odds right now?

“Sister! Are you
listening?… Oh, Lady Allen.”

“Hello, Lucy.”

Frey’s younger sister, who had
been raising her voice, hastily shut her mouth when she saw me, while
Frey just greeted me holding the tongs.

Is she really planning to
finish all the food in the party hall by herself?

I knew Frey had a good
appetite, but I didn’t expect it to be this much.

This girl should have been
born in the modern era. If she had done mukbang (eating broadcasts),
she would have become famous for sure.

“Hey! Lady Allen!”

As I stared at Frey in
amazement, her younger sister approached me.

“Thank you! Thank you for
turning my sister into a decent person!”

And then she abruptly bowed
her head.

It wasn’t just a light
greeting; it was a deeply respectful bow, as if she were thanking a
benefactor.

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