CHAPTER 69………………………..
“……!”
The ones most shocked by Bianca’s words weren’t Piace, but the nobles.
They began edging away from me.
“N-no. I-I’m Piace Ibrante, sister. Ibrante isn’t d-dirty. It’s the most wonderful in the world.”
“I told you it’s not! Are you talking back again?”
Piace flinched for a moment, but soon spoke calmly.
“S-sis, you shouldn’t t-talk to me like that. I-I’m not your s-sister anymore.”
“When were you ever my sister? You were just a toy!”
“I-I’m not a toy. I-I’m Ibrante.”
“You little—!”
Just as Bianca raised her fist, I quietly stepped in behind Piace.
When I looked down at her silently, Bianca’s expression twisted in fear, and she hid behind the Marchioness.
With an awkward smile, the Marchioness of Moulton forced out words.
“She’s just a child who doesn’t know any better. Please don’t take it to heart, Duke Ibrante.”
Meaning: surely you won’t get angry over the words of a foolish child, right?
“Be that as it may, she should at least know how to greet properly. She’s seven years old—don’t tell me she doesn’t even know that much?”
The Marchioness irritably dragged Bianca forward and placed her in front of me.
“Bianca, greet the Duke.”
“No! I want to go home! I don’t want to go to the Academy!”
“No, greet him first.”
“I said no! That hurts! Let me go!”
“Didn’t you hear me? I told you to greet him!”
“No! That lady’s scaryyyyy!”
“Bianca!”
The contrast with Piace, who had stepped forward and greeted me perfectly, was glaring.
As expected, unlike when Piace greeted me, the nobles’ reactions were cold this time.
The Marchioness, aware of the onlookers, flushed red as she apologized.
“My apologies, Duke. She didn’t know what she was saying. Please understand.”
“You seem to always expect others’ understanding.”
“Pardon?”
I ignored her and met the child’s eyes.
“Bianca.”
“……”
“Why am I scary?”
I smiled broadly—see, I smile so well.
At that, Bianca gasped.
And then—
“H-heuk… hic… WAAAH! A witch! She’s a witch!!!”
Bianca collapsed, bursting into loud sobs.
‘Huh? Why am I a witch?’
[Oh my, oh my goodness! Did you hear that child just call our Lian a witch?! Where in the world is there a witch as beautiful as ours!]
[What a disrespectful brat. Why bring up witches—creatures that disappeared 300 years ago? It makes no sense.]
[Wow, I’m f***ing pissed. If anyone’s a witch, it’s her—burning birds alive back then! Am I right, Gnome?]
[(nods)]
The Marchioness’s face turned beet red.
Of course it was humiliating.
Her daughter couldn’t even manage a greeting, throwing a tantrum instead—while Piace, two years younger, behaved with perfect grace and composure.
“Your child cries every time she sees me.”
“M-my apologies.”
“By the way—I heard Fabius failed to secure the plaza construction bid? I was told he was a strong candidate. The disappointment must be great.”
“…It’s fine.”
“Better luck next time. Don’t take it too hard.”
“Thank you.”
“Well then, we’ll be late. Shall we head in together?”
“Please… go ahead.”
“Shall I?”
I offered the nobles a polite nod and turned away at an unhurried pace.
Strangely, I was in a good mood. Perhaps because of the weather.
“Piace, let’s go.”
“Yes!”
The opening ceremony on the first floor of the Academy lasted about two hours.
After it ended, the children went up to their classrooms to meet their homeroom professors.
While waiting for the children to come back down, the parents, with nothing to do, began sneaking glances at me.
They wanted to build connections with me, who had returned to politics after over five years of seclusion.
Yet they were too afraid to approach—only watching from a distance.
Finally, one nobleman, after much hesitation, inched toward me.
“Duke Ibrante, how have you been?”
“Well.”
“If it pleases you, may I treat you to lunch?”
“I have a prior engagement.”
“I-I see. Then perhaps another time…”
Once one person broke the ice, others gained courage and swarmed around me.
“Duke! Are you free for dinner? I’ll come to your estate!”
“Then may I visit tomorrow? Ah, I am Count Alfredo Vine!”
“I am Marquis Mozail Peso! The day after tomorrow works for me!”
Amidst the chaos of nobles clamoring to connect with me, someone suddenly grabbed my hand.
“Duke! I’ve longed to meet you!”
It was a middle-aged man, severely overweight, his body draped in jewels.
“…What do you think you’re doing?”
My frown made him flinch and release me immediately.
The surrounding nobles glared at him in horror.
“Count Honduras, are you insane? How dare you lay hands on the Duke!”
“W-what? I-I was just… overcome with joy…”
“Even so! Apologize to him at once!”
“S-sorry… Duke.”
I said nothing, only staring at Count Honduras. Sweat streamed down his temple.
“I-I was wrong… Please forgive me, just once…”
The air quickly turned icy.
One by one, the other nobles began backing away.
“M-maybe we’ve been detaining the Duke too long. Let’s continue this later?”
“Y-yes, that would be best. We may have been too rude.”
Those who had just been begging for a meeting scattered in an instant.
I waited until no one was around, then opened my hand.
A neatly folded note.
Count Honduras had slipped it to me secretly.
Unfolding it revealed a short message:
『This time, I will succeed without fail. Please watch over me.』
‘……?’
[Huh? What’s he planning to succeed at? Lian, did you order him to do something?]
[If you had, we would’ve noticed. But this is the first time we’ve seen that man.]
[Then what’s with the note? That pig wouldn’t write something like that without a reason.]
[Oh—wait! Maybe it wasn’t Lian, but Adrian who told him something?]
[Ah… that seems likely. Lian, should I follow him?]
I gave a short nod and folded the note again.
‘Sylph will bring back something useful.’
I was slipping the note into my clutch when—
Luspel, who had been hanging back, approached.
“What was that?”
“…What was what?”
“Didn’t you just read a note?”
“It’s nothing for you to worry about. Shouldn’t Professor Luspel be in class right now?”
“I’m not a homeroom teacher, so it’s fine.”
“You live an easy life as a professor.”
“That’s not true. Just the plaza construction project alone has me swamped. My experiments are piling up.”
I smirked and gestured toward the stairs.
We climbed together, continuing our conversation.
“Will you start with testing the sprinkler design?”
“I sketched out the shape you drew for me, but the application of the magic formula is tricky. Could you take a look?”
“After lunch, we’ll start.”
“Why do you always bring up food around me? Do I look pitiful?”
“What’s pitiful about a master-level magician? People live on food. Eat well, and you work well.”
“Hearing that from someone who looks like he barely eats one meal a day is… fresh.”
I chuckled, and Luspel joined in.
It felt comfortable—almost like old times.
“Oh, by the way, my master said he’ll stop by the lab later.”
“Why? If he has business, he should call me to the dean’s office.”
“I told him that, but he said one doesn’t summon the Academy’s largest donor.”
“Ah, I see.”
Just then, voices drifted down from the upper stairs—professors talking.
“Wow, Professor Luspel has it good. His lover even built him that fancy lounge.”
“What do you mean?”
“You didn’t know? He and Duke Ibrante are in that kind of relationship. Haven’t you heard?”
I froze mid-step.
Grabbing Luspel’s arm, I raised a finger to my lips.
“Shh.”
“It’s nonsense. You don’t need to hear it.”
“I’ll decide that. Quiet.”
Unaware we were listening, the professors continued gossiping loudly.
“N-no way… Out of all people, why Professor Luspel? He doesn’t match the Duke at all!”
“The Duke doesn’t care about looks. He’s so beautiful himself, he’s numb to other attractive people.”
“Then why keep it secret? He’s supposedly recruiting fiancées right now.”
“If it were you, would you admit to being with Professor Luspel?”
“Well… I guess not…”
“Right? He’s scrawny, eyes like a dead fish, face pale as a ghost.”
“And such a gloomy aura, too.”
“The Duke must be embarrassed. That’s why he hides it.”
Luspel may have fallen on hard times, but he’s not that bad.
Crack.
I clenched my teeth hard. I could feel Luspel’s gaze on my cheek.
The men went on.
“You know he’s tried to kill himself multiple times?”
“I heard rumors. They said depression.”
“Not depression—it’s the Demon King’s curse. Professor Adolf swore he saw it.”
“Adolf? The senior swordsmanship professor? How would he know?”
“He was in the expedition. Before the Demon King was banished underground, he cursed Professor Luspel—Adolf saw it with his own eyes.”
“For real? I just got chills.”
“That’s why I never go near him. Don’t want the curse rubbing off.”
“I’d wondered why everyone avoided him. So that’s the reason.”
“Exactly. You should keep your distance too.”
“But the Duke is already involved with him. Shouldn’t we warn him?”
“Nah, once he finds a fiancée, he’ll dump Luspel on his own. Don’t bother.”
I ran my tongue along my cheek and gave a dry laugh.
‘So these bastards were bullying my friend behind his back?’
And here I went building them a lounge, for them?
What infuriated me more was that Luspel didn’t react at all.
‘This guy, who once would’ve rained meteors on their heads for less—why is he so quiet? When did you ever hold back your anger?’
Luspel stood expressionless, like a statue—devoid of humiliation, rage, or shame.
I dropped his arm roughly and stormed up the stairs.
Only then did he snap out of it and follow quickly.
“Duke, wait! What are you planning to do?”
“You really feel nothing hearing that?”
“…They weren’t saying it to my face.”
“As if people ever gossip directly to the person. Don’t tell me you didn’t know.”
“I knew. I just left it alone. It’s easier being alone. And honestly… they’re not entirely wrong.”
“You’re not a wreck. You’re not ugly at all.”
“I wasn’t talking about that. I meant—the Demon King’s curse.”
“…What?”
“My friend died. Someone who shouldn’t have died so easily. I think… it was because of a curse meant for me.”
“……”
“Where are you going, Duke?”
I shook him off and climbed one more flight.
There they were: two men.
A tall, dull-looking young man, and a middle-aged one with thin lips, sharp eyes, and a sly air.
So it was you two bastards who made my friend think such idiotic things?!
