Around the time Christina and the others had just left for Rio’s mansion, Duke Gustav Huguenot had summoned a girl to the guest house.
“Sorry to call you here so suddenly, Elise.”
The girl’s name was Elise Brandt, and she was the daughter of a count family in Beltrum. She was born as a high-ranking noble, but she normally had nothing to do with Duke Huguenot.
“Not at all...”
Duke Huguenot and Elise were the only two people in the room. Was he going to ask her to be his mistress? Or was there another reason? At any rate, Elise had no idea why she was summoned, so she could only shake her head stiffly.
“There’s no need to be so nervous, I just want to ask you something in private. I’d like you to promise not to speak a word of this to anyone else. Can you do that?” Duke Huguenot said, explaining the reason he had called her here.
“I understand.”
In noble society, ranks were absolute. If someone of higher standing made a request like this, there was no way of refusing. Elise nodded timidly.
“Good. Then I’ll get straight to the point. Around five years ago, when you were in your sixth year at the Academy, an outdoor drill was held. Do you recall that?”
“Yes...”
Duke Huguenot cut to the chase. When Elise nodded, a look of guilt flashed across her face—and Duke Huguenot didn’t miss it. He narrowed his eyes slightly.
“Do you remember the incident that occurred during the drill?”
“There was a monster attack on the students.”
“No, not that one,” Duke Huguenot dismissed immediately.
Elise paused awkwardly. “Princess Flora nearly fell off a cliff,” she eventually said.
“At the time, you were one of the witnesses to Princess Flora’s incident.”
“Yes...”
“In a wounded state, Stewart—my fool of a son—bumped into Princess Flora and caused her to nearly fall off the cliff. But before that, another student had pushed him into her. Ultimately, that student had to take blame for the incident. Isn’t that right?”
Duke Huguenot listed the facts without any emotion. It was clear Elise was getting more nervous with every passing moment.
“I did not see which student it was who pushed Stewart,” she said, voice cracking.
“Is it just me, or does it sound like you’re not telling the truth?”
“That’s not true...”
Her eyes were clearly darting about the place.
Duke Huguenot sighed in a troubled manner, then stared at her with a look of resolve. “I think you actually saw who it was that pushed my son. Am I wrong?”
Elise hesitated. “Why are you asking this now?” she asked warily.
“I decided I want to know the truth,” Duke Huguenot answered immediately.
Elise’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Like I said at the start, this is just between you and me. Even if you give me a different testimony to what you gave in the past, you will not be blamed for anything. So will you please tell me the truth as you remember it?”
And as Duke Huguenot hoped...
“It was indeed your son, Stewart, who bumped into Princess Flora. There’s also no doubt that this was why she nearly fell off the cliff.” Elise slowly began recalling her memories of the incident.
“Are you saying there’s an inconsistency elsewhere?”
“It was a different person who initially pushed Stewart. Stewart insisted it was the black-haired commoner who shoved him, but it was actually a different male student who did it...”
Duke Huguenot pinched the bridge of his nose with a frown. “Who... No, please tell me everything you remember.”
“Everyone was in a panic because of the monster attack. Stewart was wounded in the process and grabbed another male student to ask for his help... But that student thrust him aside because he was in his way and ended up throwing him into Princess Flora.”
“So the commoner student shouldn’t have been blamed for the incident, you say?”
“Yes... All he did was save Princess Flora, falling off the cliff in her stead.”
“So how did he end up shouldering the blame?”
“Because Stewart claimed the commoner was the one who shoved him...”
The hand Duke Huguenot was covering his eyes with was shaking. But no matter how much he hid his eyes, it was clear at a glance that his mouth was twisted in an enraged frown.
“Th-The student who pushed Stewart agreed with Stewart’s claim. Stewart was really menacing at that moment, so I couldn’t speak up...”
Elise explained herself in a panic, either out of guilt for revealing the truth so late, or out of fear of Duke Huguenot’s fury.
“No, you’re not at fault here. I’m sorry my son has caused so much trouble.”
Duke Huguenot took a deep breath to calm down, then removed his hand from his eyes.
“Once again, I must remind you not to tell anyone else what you told me today. As soon as you step out of this room, forget everything,” he emphasized.
“Y-Yes sir.”
“Good. You may leave now.”
“Please excuse me...”
Elise bowed nervously, then got up out of her chair and hurried out of the room. Once the door closed, Duke Huguenot was alone once again.
Silence stretched for a long moment.
“Grr...!”
Duke Huguenot swung his right hand down and slammed the table in anger. A dull thud echoed through the room. For someone normally so calm, it was a show of extreme emotion coming from him.
“That moron...!”
A fatal trap had been sleeping somewhere he had never expected. Just how many times was he going to drag the family name through mud? Duke Huguenot gritted his teeth.
The orphan named Rio, who had vanished from Beltrum after being falsely accused of a crime and the mysterious Honorary Knight named Haruto Amakawa, who was climbing in power in Galarc. Just yesterday he would have never connected the two, yet today he was facing the possibility of them being the same person.
While it isn’t confirmed yet, it’s extremely likely...
During the battle with the golem, the man named Haruto Amakawa had been referred to as Rio. Celia, who for some reason was close to Haruto, once taught the class Rio was in. The way Christina was oddly reserved when it came to Haruto, and how she was once classmates with Rio during her time at the Royal Academy...