episode_0057

– Thud!

“Guh!”

He collapsed, hitting the ground with a loud thud, struggling to breathe as he gasped for air.

I didn’t add insult to injury in his current state.

There’s nothing more unjust than being caught off guard by a surprise attack.

I waited patiently for him to recover, standing still.

“Ugh, huff, huff… You son of a b-!!”

In no time, he sprang up and rushed towards me, throwing punches.

His movements seemed enhanced by magic, moving swiftly despite enduring pain.

…I easily dodged his punch.

To me, already at least a 3rd-tier practitioner, his punch, not even reaching the 2nd tier, seemed slow-motion.

I let him continue attacking, simply evading without countering.

I needed to show him the gap in our strength.

As his attacks failed to land, he backed away and then lunged at me.

“Don’t just dodge like a coward! Are you afraid?!”

“Sure. I’ll come at you.”

It was the perfect moment.

I reinforced my body with a similar amount of magic as him.

Swiftly, I moved towards him, delivering a powerful punch to his abdomen before he could react.

In his eyes, it must have seemed like I teleported.

“Crack!”

He doubled over, clutching his stomach, repeatedly retching in agony.

“No way…!”

The disbelief of his inability to react was evident in his expression, transitioning into confusion.

“Insignificant as you are, why…? Oh, I see… I let my guard down. It can’t be anything else!”

“In this world, many things happen that defy reason.”

“Shut up! Your incessant babbling won’t save you!”

He drew a dagger from his sleeve.

A short sword, finely crafted with a sharp design.

“Are you going to take it all the way?”

“Shut your mouth! -Huh?”

– Clang.

His dagger fell to the ground.

I had kicked his wrist, causing him to lose grip in an instant.

Before he could comprehend what had happened in the blink of an eye,

I swept my foot across his abdomen.

“Thud!”

Darius, weakened by the shock to his whole body, sank to his knees.

I then grabbed his collar, pulling him up, and mercilessly began striking his face between the wall and my fist.

Thud.

“Ugh!”

One blow. Blood streamed from his nose.

Crack.

Two blows. A front tooth flew out.

Thwack.

“Ugh….”

Three blows.

His eyes lost focus from unbearable pain and dizziness.

Releasing his collar, I squatted down and said,

“Do you still feel like a weakling with no skills?”

“Weak…ling….”

“……”

Even with blurred vision, he dared to speak ill of someone stronger than himself.

Usually, at this point, most would try to apologize to get out of the situation. He was tougher than expected.

…If only he used this determination for something other than displaying inferiority. It would benefit those around him.

I turned away from him. Hedy was probably waiting, and there was nothing more to gain by continuing.

If he comes back, I’ll defeat him the same way.

That’s what I thought.

“Don’t think this is over… I’ll ruin everyone around you, you insignificant fool. Hehe… You brought this upon yourself. I’ll show you what happens when you mess with upper-class nobles…”

His words made my blood boil for a moment.

In the midst of my peaceful academy life, he seemed like a dangerous element.

Left unchecked, he would likely linger around me endlessly, as he claimed.

Of course, Lloyd, Bobby, Louis, and Hedy were at least of baronial status, so I wasn’t too worried.

However, Darius’s suspicions could lead him to investigate further, potentially uncovering my identity as a noble from the Brace Kingdom. Naturally, rumors might spread.

“Sigh….”

“Kick, kick. Are you scared, commoner?”

How full of inferiority must one be to become like that?

How engulfed in villainy must one be to turn so malicious?

…I tried to finish him off after squeezing him a few times, but it seems I can’t leave him alone.

With my thoughts collected, I slowly surveyed the backyard.

No one seemed interested in the current situation here.

I approached him again. Then, with an emotionally fluctuating yet now calm tone, I asked,

“…Did you say Darius of the Treven family?”

***

Left alone, Hedi stood up from the bench, waiting for Cyan.

She knew Cyan’s skills well, but she was still anxious.

Darius Treven.

He’s a ruthless man. Despite rejecting his advances every time, he persistently pursued her and even threatened to use force if things didn’t go his way.

Of course, she always managed to fend him off.

Even after that, he continued to indirectly torment Hedi from time to time.

Although Hedi couldn’t do much as a fallen noble, being from a viscount family.

Would he just stand by quietly even after being defeated by the uncertain status of Cyan?

At least the Darius Hedi saw wasn’t like that.

‘As expected… It’s better to go and stop them.’

Until now, Hedi had thought Cyan was a commoner, hiding his status and family name.

Of course, Hedi didn’t care. How could she distance someone who had saved her life by calling them a commoner?

To Hedi, Cyan was already a comrade and a friend.

A precious friend who shattered her prejudices by showing that such men exist.

But Darius…

…Cyan had to prevent him from being beaten.

Hedi moved towards Cyan and the direction they had gone to in the backyard.

Not much time had passed. If she ran quickly now, she could arrive before things got out of hand.

Eventually, Hedi arrived nearby.

Beyond, she could see inside the backyard.

‘Darius is lying there. Has the situation already ended?’

Darius’s face was covered in blood, leaning against the wall.

She wasn’t sure what words had sparked the argument with Cyan, but surely Cyan responded because he was the first to resort to violence.

But she needed to intervene before the situation escalated further.

Just as she was about to approach Cyan,

“What, what is it! How dare you have that, you lowly scum?!”

Startled by Darius suddenly shouting loudly, Hedi was taken aback.

Curious why he was so flustered, Hedi secretly watched the backyard again.

And there,

‘Huh?’

Cyan was showing something to Darius.

It was a nameplate.

A golden nameplate engraved with the symbol of the family.

“You said your name is Darius Treven? I wanted to let this slide quietly, but… I can’t.”

“How, how do you have that?!”

“It’s simple. Because I am a prince of the Brace Kingdom.”

The moment Hedi heard Cyan’s words, her eyes widened.

‘A prince…?’

A prince of the Brace Kingdom.

A being of unmatched status, possessing immense wealth and power.

‘Why? Why on earth…’

If Cyan is a prince, why did he hide it until now?

Hedi was confused. She continued to eavesdrop on their conversation while hiding behind the wall.

“Lies! The prince of the Brace Kingdom wasn’t as skinny as you! And he didn’t skip out on the Academy either!”

“So, does this badge look fake to you?”

“…!”

A badge made entirely of pure gold with the knight’s emblem engraved on it.

It was undoubtedly the badge of the Brace family.

“Is this really… the Brace family’s badge…?”

“I don’t usually prefer this method, but since it came out like that first, I’ll do the same. Darius Treven. You have threatened me and those around me. Therefore, I will punish you on charges of royal treason. A letter notifying your demotion will be sent directly to the head of the Treven family today…”

“W-wait! That can’t be right! There must have been some mistake! Oh, no… It’s a misunderstanding! There seems to have been a misunderstanding!”

“Shut up. Hmm?”

So shocked that Heady forgot to erase his presence.

Cyan was gradually approaching Heady.

Heady hurriedly ran towards the wall, hiding his body.

Until his confused mind settled down and his thoughts were organized, he couldn’t meet him.

So, he used magic to leave that place even before organizing his thoughts.

Cyan looked behind the wall where Heady had been just now, but Heady was already gone.

***

After clearly stating that leaking information would result in harsher punishment.

Leaving Darius hanging in despair, I headed back to the place where Heady and I had lunch earlier.

Heady was still sitting on the bench in the distance.

Two sandwiches left in the lunchbox were also visible. Did she not eat them first out of worry?

Heady looked at me as I arrived.

I naturally sat next to her and said, “I’m here.”

“…Yeah.”

She nodded briefly and fell silent.

…What’s going on?

Heady’s behavior was strange.

It seemed like she was intentionally avoiding my gaze.

She turned her head away from me awkwardly, looking in the opposite direction.

Perplexed, I asked her again, “Aren’t you going to ask what happened?”

“What happened?”

“I resolved it well. He won’t bother us anymore. I told him I was Eris’s disciple.”

“That’s a relief.”

“….”

Her words were short and cold.

…There’s definitely something going on.

A moment of unease passed through my mind.

As I became anxious and tried to speak to her, who remained silent.

“By any chance…”

Suddenly, she sharply looked at me first and then said, “I heard.”

“What?”

“I heard.”

“….”

Silence lingered between her and me.