༺ Cleaning Up The Mess ༻
Life was a string of regrets. The points weren’t differentiable.
And the inverse function didn’t exist.
**
As she made her way into the palace, she noticed the broken pieces of art in the hallway.
They were the impulsive work of the Second Prince.
She had already known about his temper but to think that it had worsened to this extent over the years.
Klais entered the throne room with the help of one of the palace servants. The carpet that was usually straight was scrunched slightly like it went through an earthquake.
And at the front, the Emperor and Second Prince were glaring at one another.
“They’ve been like that since yesterday.”
The female servant retreated with a sigh. Klais would need to brace herself.
Klais somehow pulled the pieces of her shambling mind together and moved her feet forward.
“Who might this be? Is it not the Fourth Grand Duchess who broke her promise to me?”
The sneering voice traveled the ceiling of the throne room and reverberated. Klais’ brows came together in a frown at the unpleasant tone.
The Second Prince, Klion Philiut.
The miscreant who was named as the next Emperor of the Philiut Empire despite being the second son due to the mother of his older brother being a mistress.
He had solid power despite his reputation. If it weren’t for that, he would have been driven out already.
Given his repulsive personality and womanizing ways, it would seem that no one would want to support him. However, palace politics showed that there were people willing to suck up to such a person.
Klion approached Klais and stopped right in front of her. He had a ceremonial sword in one hand.
That’s what you’ve been using to break all the valuables.
Klion, who had been swaying in front of her, spoke with a sharp tone.
“Duchess Hasfeldt, did you not agree to hand over the Golden-Eyed girl to me? What is this attempt you are making to break the agreement?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“You dare deny it─!!”
Stab!
The ceremonial sword dug into the carpet. Another palace object made with taxpayers’ money was damaged.
“Philion, what kind of behavior is this in front of the Duchess!”
“Father, wouldn’t you also consider this situation unjust? I’ve found out through a servant that the Duchess recollared the slave wench that she promised me!”
“You insolent child, the exchange has yet to take place! What business is it of yours what she does with her own slave in the meantime!”
“How frustrating! Father, did you not hear what Hasfeldt has done?”
“You are becoming more insolent by the day! Never have I raised you to be like this─!!”
Klion flinched a little at the Emperor’s fury, but he soon lifted his head stubbornly and protested.
“That slave wench applied for the Academy admission!”
“Hm, is that so?”
But that didn’t draw much of a reaction from the Emperor. It meant that he couldn’t care less whether the slave applied for the Academy or not.
When Klais had been in conversation with the Emperor early on, he had reacted similarly.
It was one thing to take the daughter of a commoner, but to bring in a low life to the palace merely because she was ‘rare’? The Emperor had personally expressed his disdain regarding that.
As such, she should be able to speak on this honestly.
“That is correct, Your Majesty.”
At Klais’ response, Klion started to pace the throne room with his chin held high.
“There, the Duchess has admitted it. I had expected her to deny it to the end. So, I’d like to know your intentions behind the attempt to enroll your slave into the Academy this close to the deadline. Surely you have a suitable reason?”
“I do not as it wasn’t my doing.”
“If it wasn’t you, then who could it possibly be? Did some ghost appear and offer the application fee to a slave bitch who’s not allowed her own possession?”
Klais had known that the Crown Prince was spying on her and her slave these last three months. Considering how she could even detect the presence of a camouflaged beast infiltrating the camps, this much was easy for her.
With the Prince keeping a close eye on her slave, it’d be natural for him to know about Aether applying for the Academy. So she decided to use that to her advantage.
Klais began her retaliation.
“That was why I put her on a leash, so that she won’t be able to do anything foolish.”
“…….”
What she said made sense. The Prince couldn’t really say anything about her confining the slave to prevent further attempts at misconduct.
There was a short pause between conversations. Then Klais broke through the heavy atmosphere first to add to her statement.
“Your Majesty, do you recall the inspection that you had commanded of the northern front?”
“Mm, I do.”
“As soon as I returned from the inspection, I immediately went to the shed where my assistant stays to see her. It was there that I first learned of her application to the Academy.”
This was the truth.
However, the truth being the truth and someone believing it were two different things.
“You aren’t very good at lying, Duchess. If it wasn’t you who paid the application fee, then who’s the wench that did?”
“Well, I cannot say for sure.”
Baaaaam─!!
“Are you mocking me─!!”
The Crown Prince’s rampage showed no signs of stopping. The fact that he had no reserve about showing his destructive temper even in front of a Grand Duchess was indicative of what the Empire’s future would be like.
Though it had been Meriga who had secretly supported Aether, Klais didn’t wish to sell out her friend. Besides, the chances of Prince Klion accepting what she confessed were low anyway.
“Indeed there is no way to prove my innocence. But that also means that the opposite cannot be proven, either.”
“Are you playing word games with me?”
“It’s no word game. But this is all I can tell you.”
It was apparent that even if they continued, the conversation would keep running parallel.
Klais had never been good at speaking, but she had learned some basics from reading books on the art of conversation and how nobles should conduct themselves in despotic monarchies.
There was only one thing for Klais to do in this situation.
“Come to think of it, I’ve heard that you were accepted into the Academy this year, Your Highness.”
And that was to change the topic.
“That’s right. I passed as one of the top twenty marks.”
“Congratulations.”
The announcement of admission test results for Tilette Academy was none other than today. Which meant that news of the Prince’s acceptance had also been confirmed.
If he made it in the top twenty, then there was a good chance that he’d be assigned to the special class. Klais remembered Aether’s letter of acceptance that Meriga had shown her.
Her rank had been….
Second place, second out of hundreds of enrolled students.
Not to say that Prince Klion hadn’t studied, but compared to Aether, his writing test marks were rather inferior.
And since it was known that Imperial bloods received additional marks for the exam amongst other things, there was the possibility that the gap between the two students would be even wider without those means.
Still, it was evident that both of them would be in the special class.
How troublesome.
Nothing good would come of the two people meeting.
“No matter. I’ll take everything into consideration so bring that slave immediately. The exchange must happen today even if it’s for a lower price.”
“My apologies, Your Highness, but I no longer have that authority.”
Klais had forgotten to mention one thing.
The only people who knew of Aether’s acceptance at this point were the admissions employee, Professor Heerlein, the acceptee herself and Klais. And she had yet to reveal the news of Aether’s acceptance to any of the Imperial family.
Even Klais who had been in her closest proximity had only just learned of her acceptance. So could that news have spread to the Imperial court?
No, it couldn’t have. There was no reason for the Academy to deliver the personal info of an acceptee to the court, nor did they need to know such trivial details. The only one who required it at this moment was Prince Klion.
“You don’t mean to say that the slave bitch got accepted alongside me?”
“That’s exactly it, Your Highness.”
“What…….”
The Prince was rendered speechless. It was the opposite of the Emperor behind him who calmly let out an impressed, “Oho”.
The Academy was an institution independent of the Imperial court that produced combat mages who were to save the Empire and its people. Unlike a professor who had already graduated, a student who was learning at the school wasn’t restricted by any external powers. In a way, it was a land of sacrosanctity.
Hence, there was some measure of defense against the tyrannical Prince as an Academy student. In fact, if it was Aether, she might push back against him.
“Then since it has come to this, I should find who is exactly at fault. Let me ask one thing. Who am I to hold responsible for the Golden-eyed applying to the Academy and passing?”
If asked which of the three was most responsible, it was hard to say.
Aether had been the one interested in enrolling into the Academy, and Meriga had supported her behind her back. Yet it was Klais herself who had failed to handle the slave that she had purchased.
“It was an oversight on my part.”
“There’s no need for apologies at this point. Once she’s expelled, that’s it.”
“I’m sorry…?”
“She’s a race that can’t use magic so it was surely out of luck. Whether she drops out after the first semester or gets rejected for not having the money, the result will be the same.”
Hearing this, a dark cloud came over Klais’ face.
