Man, this kid’s weak. He already looks super dejected.
“Wait a minute, I can’t give up just like that! Please, won’t you at least listen to what I have to say?!”
There was a weird determination in his eyes that told me he wasn’t going to back down. Not to mention, this odd interaction was drawing unwanted attention.
At this point, I just wanted the situation to be over with.
“Fine. Spit it out.”
“Thanks!”
Thus, I agreed to listen to what he had to say…
“Please teach me magic!”
…and regretted my decision terribly.
I wasn’t sure how to respond at first. I never expected he’d come out with something so completely incomprehensible. We’re in a place with top-class facilities, a library stacked to bursting with knowledge-filled tomes, first-rate instructors…and he comes to me? Of all of the options available to him, why the heck has he chosen me?
“I know that the girl sitting by your side, Mia, has been studying magic with you. I also know she’s grown unbelievably quickly in just one month…and in our rank duel yesterday, I understood the reason why. Please, I want you to teach me magic! I…I have to make it to the top ten in the rankings, no matter what!”
So, because I wanted to make Mia a pawn, that triggered the prince of this entire kingdom to come to me, a villain aristocrat, seeking magic lessons? Wild. I still don’t quite understand either.
“I might not look like much, but I’m still royalty. Rumors will start to spread the moment that you start teaching me. That fact alone will increase your fame, so…h-how about it?”
I stared at him, silent.
Jeez, it’s like every last thing I do has unintended consequences. This world really has no love for me, huh? Argh, damn it, so what if it doesn’t?! I can overturn fate as many times as it takes. In this academy, power is everything. He might be a prince, but now that I’ve shown how much more powerful I am in the rankings, there’s no need for me to respect his title anymore.
“Get lost, you worm. Who would ever agree to teach y—”
“I don’t wanna!”
“Get out of my s—”
“Please…”
“Get lo—”
“Augh…”
“…”
Why does he look like he’s about to start crying? You’ve gotta be freakin’ kidding me. I mean, you’re free to ask, but I’m allowed to turn you down, damn it! Shit. I guess we’ll have to go somewhere quieter so I can hear him out, at least…
The situation was about to get a whole lot worse, however, as Mia dropped a bomb on the whole conversation.
“Luke only taught me because I became his pawn, so I think you should just become one of his pawns too, Prince Polpon.”
Mia’s eyes were unclouded, completely sincere. It sounded as if she believed, truly in her heart, that her advice would bring happiness and joy to anyone who followed it.
“P-pawn…?”
The shota prince was, of course, baffled.
Man…I’m so tired… Ugh, my stomach…
2
DETERMINING THAT ABEL AND LILY’S PRESENCE would overcomplicate matters, Luke broke up the party for the time being.
I should talk this over with Alice and Mia, since they’re aware of my situation, and Polpon—since he’s the root of my current problem.
There was one thing that Luke wasn’t happy with, however.
“Why’d we have to meet up in my room?”
“Quite inappropriate, I agree,” complained Alice. “I should be the only one permitted to enter.”
“Shut up, you.”
“Ah…s-sorry…”
“Your room makes me feel calm,” said Mia.
“P-pardon the intrusion.”
The room was spacious enough to accommodate them all, but Luke was incredibly displeased with what was happening. He didn’t make a habit of inviting guests over for no good reason, and while he did consider for the briefest second that their topic of conversation might warrant the privacy of his own dorm room, he felt this was entirely unnecessary.
Was this really the most suitable option…? Ugh. Well, fine, let’s finish this as quickly as possible.
“I remember now,” Prince Polpon said, looking at Mia. “You’re the daughter of the house of Lennox, aren’t you?”
“…So what if I am?”
Prince Polpon, the root of all their woes, sat beside Luke. Mia stared back at him defiantly, her demeanor ice-cold.
“As a member of the royal family, I’m embarrassed it took me so long to recognize you as a royalist,” Polpon explained.
“That isn’t what you came here to discuss, though, is it, Prince Polpon?” Mia reminded him.
Luke sighed faintly to himself, sensing that the conversation was about to head down a troublesome path.
“It’s relevant though,” Polpon insisted, his expression growing more intense. “I mean, I am here to ask a favor of Luke, heir to the house of Gilbert, and they’re one of the top noble-faction families in the land.”
The Kingdom of Milestia was home to three great aristocrat families who each held a large amount of political power. These houses belonged to Marquis Godwin, Marquis Drummond, and Marquis Gilbert.
The houses of Godwin and Gilbert joined forces to create a faction of nobles, while Marquis Drummond was loyal to the crown and formed the opposing royalist faction with other like-minded aristocrats. Twenty years ago, a fierce battle for power erupted between these factions, but the fighting had long since died down.
Claude’s ambition quickly faded after the birth of his son, Luke, after all.
“I suppose you’re right,” Mia admitted coolly. “Maybe that’s also part of the reason I was so aggressive toward Alice at first. Ever since I was a child, I’ve witnessed so much of that sort of fighting. It might be that I have an unconscious hatred for supporters of the nobles. However, I don’t care about any of that now…heh heh.”