Chapter 43
Strength and Weakness
After lunch, when everyone was exhausted from the dormitory extraction competition, Baroness Vülem’s mana training session continued.
This time, they were forced to watch a crystal illusion with a dreadful public service advertisement-like message.
Idnia struggled in pain, but the other students, while recovering their mana spent from the extraction magic, felt inspired and patriotic.
‘Why is everyone genuinely moved by this?
I’ll definitely make my own crystal illusion someday.
I’m not a movie director or anything, but even making an amateur indie film, it’ll be way better than this.’
Idnia promised herself.
However, as lunchtime ended, she felt the atmosphere around her shift in a strange direction.
Then, a girl from Euros dorm, someone Idnia had never interacted with before, asked her a question.
“Um, Idnia-sama, is it true that Prince Ansbach proposed to you and you turned him down?”
“Huh? Where did you hear that?”
Idnia replied, and the surrounding girls were all amazed.
“Wow, really?”
“Gosh. How could that be?”
For regular girls, being proposed to by a descendant of a high noble house wasn’t a common thing.
It was something right out of a fairy tale.
“We heard the rumors from the Boreas students.”
“Boreas students?”
Idnia felt confused.
Wasn’t Karl’s proposal something he’d want to keep quiet about? Why were his subordinates from Boreas talking about it?
“Impressive.
I hadn’t realized until now, but this is a place filled with high nobility. This is truly a noble story.”
The other girls spoke dreamily, as if the proposal and its rejection were scenes from a romance novel in their eyes.
“We’ve been so focused on the classes that we didn’t realize, but now that we think about it, if we do well here, we might meet a good noble spouse?”
“Yeah, I didn’t realize it before.”
The students finally recognized that they were in their adolescence.
It meant the academy’s lessons were harsh and difficult.
“Well, Idnia-sama, you’re outstanding in both looks and magic…”
“No, that’s not it. The extraction magic I performed earlier is just because I have a bit of knowledge about the willow tree and know how to extract a lot from it.
And even though I’m getting decent results now, I’m not sure if I can keep this momentum up.
I was lucky to receive some points, but I don’t think I should relax just yet.”
Idnia humbly replied and looked around.
The rumor had already spread to every student.
‘What is Karl thinking?’
“What?!”
Lorenzo Medici, the Prince of Mazdari, was supervising an underground market before lunch when he was taken aback.
“Idnia Betelgeuse rejected a proposal from Karl? Is that true?”
“Yes, it seems to be true.”
“Hm. Is Karl out of his mind?”
Lorenzo, too, had been mesmerized by Idnia’s extraordinary magical abilities and potential, but marriage among nobles wasn’t just about personal feelings.
Idnia’s family was no ordinary one, and yet Karl, the Prince of Ansbach, had so boldly proposed to her. Lorenzo couldn’t help but feel irritated.
“So, what did Idnia say?”
“Idnia-sama said that she broke off her engagement with the Crown Prince and asked Karl if he understood why.”
“Hm? What was the reason?”
Lorenzo was now curious.
The common interpretation among nobles was that Idnia broke off her engagement with the Crown Prince because, with the current situation of the Betelgeuse Duchy, a marriage with the Kalliestra family wasn’t feasible.
But why did she turn down Karl’s proposal? Was it because, like the Crown Prince, the Ansbach family was also too much for her to handle? Or was there another reason?
“Ha… Either way, it’s impressive. She’s going to end up rejecting proposals from two great noble families, isn’t she?
Although, in Rudolf’s case, it was just an engagement, not an actual proposal…”
Lorenzo smiled. The thought of Karl being rejected by Idnia amused him.
“But I might have to find out more about who she actually likes.”
Lorenzo thought about the possibility of Idnia warming up to Karl and decided to investigate her further.
After lunch, Baroness Vülem’s basic magic class resumed.
“Normally, you’d learn this from Professor Rakias, but there was an incident, right?
I guess I’ll have to teach it to you. Well, the basic lessons are meant to make you magicians quickly, so there’s no choice.
The magic I’ll teach you today is Protection.”
Baroness Vülem taught the Protection spell.
“Now, can anyone explain the difference between Protection and Shield spells?”
“Yes, Isolde Polzen?”
Isolde raised her hand and stood to answer.
“Shield spells concentrate mana to create a shield of mana, while Protection magic maintains a continuous release of mana directly from the body to protect the user.
While Shield is good for physical attacks, Protection is better for countering spells like mind control or transformation magic, which involve precise manipulation of the target.”
“Correct. Excellent, Isolde Polzen. As expected from someone of noble blood. I’ll award you some points.”
“….”
Other students could tell that Baroness Vülem favored Isolde, perhaps because of their shared noble status. She made Isolde the main speaker and showered her with points every time she spoke.
But while she’d scold students for prior learning, she’d ask questions impossible to answer without prior knowledge and then reward the answers with points.
With the point competition already tense, someone raised their hand.
“I have a question.
I clearly raised my hand first. Why did you choose Isolde Polzen?”
“Who is protesting?”
“I’m Fiona from Notos dorm.”
The golden-haired noble girl looked displeased.
She wasn’t alone; all the students from Notos dorm were pressuring the instructor with dissatisfied expressions.
“Ah, I see. I didn’t notice. I’ll make sure to pay attention next time.”
Baroness Vülem took a step back, sensing the pressure from Notos dorm students.
‘That’s a bit pitiful. If it were Professor Deneuve, she’d have penalized them for disrupting the class…
Baroness Vülem is the type to be weak with the strong and strong with the weak.’
Idnia, based on her impression of Baroness Vülem from the game, didn’t have a favorable opinion of her.
But Baroness Vülem, weak with noble children in the academy, was one of the most pitiful instructors compared to the madmen of the five major prisoners.
At that moment, Lorenzo, the dorm head of Notos, stepped forward.
“Fiona, apologize to Baroness Vülem.
Even if you raised your hand first, Baroness Vülem wasn’t required to choose the first hand she saw.
It’s the instructor’s discretion how to run the class. You didn’t need to point that out during the lesson.
You should have waited until after the class to discuss it quietly.”
Lorenzo spoke reasonably to calm Fiona down.
Fiona immediately apologized to Baroness Vülem.
“I’m sorry, Baroness Vülem.
I made a mistake. Please forgive me.”
It felt like a transparent act.
But Baroness Vülem had no choice but to accept the apology.
“I understand.
Now, let’s continue with the lesson.
You all need to master Protection before the next class with Professor Sadia, or you’ll be in trouble.”
Baroness Vülem, despite the incident, composed herself and continued teaching.
Teaching magic was the assistants’ job, but Baroness Vülem’s basic magic class was foundational, focusing on theory.
Though it took longer to learn than under the assistants, it deepened the students’ understanding of magic.
Thankfully, Protection magic had a low difficulty level, and by Baroness Vülem’s method, all students were able to learn it.
Even Mari, who struggled in other areas, was able to use the Protection spell.
Baroness Vülem’s determination to teach Protection before Professor Sadia’s class was evident.
After Baroness Vülem’s class, Professor Sadia’s class began.
“Welcome! Revolutionaries! I am Sadia.
It’s not the first time you’ve seen me, but it’s the first time in class, right?
You must have been waiting eagerly. Let’s make a revolution in love together!”
The Succubus Queen, Sadia, was still shining with passion for her revolutionary mission.
“So, earlier today, you spoke up about Baroness Vülem’s class? Who was it? Do you think you can do that in my class?”
“…”
It seemed Baroness Vülem had mentioned it.
But Sadia wasn’t shy about confronting it head-on.
Students remembered how Sadia had used her energy drain magic to silence everyone from Notos dorm when they pressured Baroness Vülem.
‘The students are weak with the strong and strong with the weak.
Ah, is this the true nature of humans?
Dunais Academy is indeed a cold, harsh world.’
Idnia realized the harshness of the world again as she watched the students grow quiet.
“Who was it? Raise your hand.”
“It’s me.”
Fiona raised her hand again.
“Name?”
“It’s Fiona.”
“Looks like you’re a bit too eager. Let’s cool that down.”
-Energy Drain!
Sadia immediately drained energy from Fiona, causing her to collapse onto the desk.
“Gah?!”
Fiona from Notos dorm collapsed, losing her strength.
‘This is too much.
I raised my hand first, but I just pointed out the favoritism toward Isolde. This is insane!’
‘Energy drain on a student? If she misses control, it could kill her.’
‘Should I try protesting again?’
‘No, absolutely not! She’s a crazy Succubus. She’ll drain us all.’
The students, realizing the absurdity of the punishment, silently watched as Fiona was punished.
Once again, the weak are crushed under the strong, as it is in the nature of the world.
