Title: I Hope to Be the Tyrant’s Secret Sponsor – Episode 40
“W-What…?”
Someone sent by Clemence Jacqueline?
“S-Submit a lawsuit?!”
He didn’t know when Jacqueline’s daughter had inherited the title of count, but if she filed charges as a countess, the impact would be significant.
If even the slightest hint of Duke Penelope’s involvement in the investigation came to light…!
Of course, the Imperial Family would side with the duke, since he was an in-law. But knowing the duke’s nature, who never left behind even minor threats, there was no way he would let the one who caused this mess off the hook.
He had to settle this somehow.
As if reading his frantic thoughts, the messenger opened his mouth.
“If you want to settle quietly, you must pay 500,000 gold.”
Stand against Duke Penelope? Or pay 500,000 gold?
To Count Bentley, there was no choice.
Standing against the duke was simply not an option.
There was something scarier than being ostracized from noble society.
Recalling the duke, who showed no mercy to traitors, Count Bentley swallowed hard once more.
The next day.
Louis Bentley faced the biggest crisis of his life.
“I’ll be waiting at the plaza tomorrow! You’re stripping down to your underwear, got it?”
Rather than suffer that humiliation, he had decided to be a coward.
“As long as I avoid Ren and Melin… I’ll be fine.”
Unlike usual, Louis carefully watched his surroundings as he headed to the lecture hall.
Then someone called out to him.
“Hey, Louis Bentley. Aren’t you going to keep your bet?”
It was Collep.
The annoying guy who had been a thorn in his side lately.
“What bet? And what do you have to do with it?”
“Tch, shameless. I knew you’d do this.”
“Hmph! Worry about your own business.”
As Louis snorted and turned around, someone grabbed his shoulder.
“You bastard… Quit bothering me!”
Assuming it was Collep again, Louis turned to kick him in the shin—only to freeze when he saw who it was.
“Louis Bentley.”
R-Ren!
The last person he wanted to run into right now.
After hearing the recent rumors that Ren had successfully infused his sword with aura and become a Swordmaster, Louis had been going out of his way to avoid him.
“A promise is a promise.”
Ren looked Louis up and down.
“Were you thinking of running away?”
A chill ran down Louis’s spine.
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about! What promise?”
“Ah.”
A small smile appeared on Ren’s lips.
His previously emotionless face lit up instantly—but to Louis, it looked like a flower blooming with poison.
“So this is what you were planning all along.”
Disgust flashed in Ren’s gaze as he looked at Louis.
Louis gulped without realizing it.
Melin, who had been watching, stormed over, yelling.
“Louis! You made a promise to me!”
Her amethyst eyes burned like a volcano. She reached toward his collar.
“Unforgivable!”
“Aaaah…!”
Melin grabbed him by the neck and began dragging him away.
Louis, who was larger and heavier than most boys his age—nearly twice Melin’s weight—was dragged away helplessly. Even the surrounding students were stunned.
“Is Louis pretending to be weak?”
Some of them even wondered that.
But the person most shocked was Louis Bentley himself.
“What kind of girl is this strong…?!”
[Mel, are you okay?]
In truth, a spirit was secretly helping her from behind, but no one had noticed.
When they reached the plaza, a crowd had already gathered, having somehow caught wind of the drama.
“Wheee~!”
“That’s gutsy, I respect it~!”
They jeered and whistled at Louis.
“Let’s see that sexy body!”
“Damn it!”
The moment Melin let go, Louis tried to run, but Renox caught him right away.
Renox coolly watched him, then pulled out a small utility knife from his coat.
Louis tried to laugh it off—what are you gonna do with that little thing?—but the aura glowing on the blade made him scream.
“S-Save me!”
But the knife only came closer to his body.
Mistakenly thinking Ren was going to stab him, Louis curled up in terror.
“I always knew he was a psycho underneath that stoic face…!”
But there was no pain.
In fact, his whole body felt… refreshed?
Refreshed?
“Huh?”
Seeing Louis’s confusion, Ren spoke calmly.
“Now it’s time to dance.”
“Aaaaah!”
Louis suddenly realized he was completely naked, and screamed, running off in a frenzy.
Thud!
He slammed into the statue in the center of the plaza and passed out cold.
“Ew! What is that?!”
“That’s horrifying.”
Seeing Louis lying foaming at the mouth, arms and legs splayed out, the students shook their heads in disgust.
Melin burst out laughing and nudged Louis’s body with her foot.
“Did you really think you could insult my sister and get away with it?”
A wicked grin, not unlike Clemence’s, crept across her face.
Not long after, Louis Bentley, now infamously nicknamed “The Naked Guy of the Academy,” submitted an indefinite leave of absence.
A few days later.
I returned from the academy to the Bentley estate and slipped into a brief period of peace.
“Confirmed: 500,000 gold deposited from the Bentley family,” Julia reported.
“Being a count sure comes with lots of income streams.”
Humming cheerfully, my good mood suddenly faded as a certain face came to mind.
Lisa, who noticed, asked,
“Is something wrong?”
“…Maybe I should’ve stayed at the academy a little longer.”
I had been avoiding the burdensome professors, but talking with Melin had changed my thoughts a little.
“Is this about the young lady?”
Agathe, always quick to notice things between me and Melin, asked.
“Yeah.”
“You’ll see her during the break anyway, won’t you?”
“True, but I still feel… uneasy.”
Every time I recalled our last conversation, I felt like I had left a child alone by a stream.
It reminded me of my previous life—leaving my little sister in the hospital room while I worked to pay her medical bills.
Even then, I always had a heavy heart. Now, I felt just a bit of that same weight.
Agathe tilted her head, not quite understanding.
With a sigh, I opened a letter that had just arrived—from Aquila.
Your problem-solving this time was brilliant, senpai.
So Aquila had been one of the students in the classroom!
But who?
My curiosity deepened.
“I should’ve asked what their good news was back then.”
It might’ve been a clue.
I had been so caught up with succession matters that I’d forgotten to reply to both Melin and Aquila.
I think I’ll be able to pass the early graduation exam this time.
Early graduation?!
Aquila seemed like a real model student.
“Hmm, I like this one more and more.”
If Aquila was a girl, she’d be a perfect friend for Melin.
If a guy—
“He’d be a perfect match for Melin.”
After all, friendship between boys and girls is a myth.
“Hmm… Who is Aquila, anyway…?”
The moment I said that, Mion, who had been lying on the office couch, sprang up and hurried out.
What’s his deal?
“Don’t you think Mion’s been acting strange lately?”
“I haven’t noticed.”
“Feels like he’s avoiding me.”
“I thought Mion never liked you all that much to begin with.”
“…Agathe, you know sometimes the truth can be violence?”
“How can truth be violent?”
Ignoring her, I thought back to Mion’s recent behavior.
Since we returned from the academy, he’d been slinking around like someone with a guilty conscience.
“Is he throwing a tantrum because we’re separated from Melin again?”
Honestly, I’d been so busy lately that I hadn’t paid much attention to Mion’s well-being.
With a decisive nod, I picked up a toy dandelion stick and stood up.
“Time to bring out the ol’ butler skills again.”
