༺ I Don’t Know That Person (3) ༻
Before possession, I heard this saying. They said the mouth was a door that brought disaster, and the tongue… what was it again? A knife that slit throats? It was something along those lines. Not that it mattered; it wasn’t something I could look up, anyway.
But looking at the current situation, it felt more like a piercing needle than a throat-slitting knife. It was a pity that it was not my tongue but someone else’s that had turned into a needle.
“Prince Rutis is said to have been born to become a knight. He trained alongside royal knights from a young age—”
Was it a compliment to call someone born from royalty a knight? It sounded more like an insult, didn’t it?
More than that, my ear hurt. I couldn’t understand why I had to hear about Rutis’s past. Did I do something wrong to deserve this punishment? I mean, I wasn’t completely innocent, but I haven’t committed a serious crime that warranted this kind of torture.
I’m sorry, I apologize. I don’t know what I did wrong, but I must have done something. Please forgive me. Daring to summon the knights for such a trivial matter was probably a sin.
As I suppressed the urge to bang my head against something to make her stop, I turned my gaze to Sir Villar, who was calmly sipping his tea.
‘He’s detached.’
He didn’t even try to stop his daughter from going on a rampage and looked peaceful alone. But upon closer inspection, I noticed a subtle emptiness in his expression.
Sir Villar, who turned his head toward me, gently shook his head as if he had noticed my stare. His eyes seemed to say, ‘It’s easier if you give up. Accept what you brought upon yourself.’
‘I’m doomed.’
Well, I was indeed the one who brought up the topic of Rutis, but who could have known it would lead to this?
Perosa’s story that began with “When I was in Radus—” showed no signs of stopping. What kind of place was Radus, anyway? What could it be that drove a perfectly normal female knight to madness?
“They say that most knights were no match for him when he was only twelve years of age. He was a very gifted man, and he also made the most of his efforts.”
“I see…”
Her father next to her had risen through the ranks of the Royal Knights just five years after joining. Wasn’t that incredible?
Of course, I didn’t say that out loud. If I said it out loud, a 12-year-old Villar would be summoned and compared to Rutis, something that might break the heart of someone who used to be an ordinary apprentice knight.
So I decided to continue to be polite, which only made Perosa more animated.
‘Stop it.’
I couldn’t care less about Rutis. The only news I wanted to hear about that guy was the news of his return to his country.
I thought it was strange how Sir Villar suddenly turned a blind eye to her. I guess experience had taught him that it was better to ignore her than to engage.
However, it felt awkward to ignore her even though I was the only listener. It would have been easier if we were on friendlier terms or if we had at least had a few conversations, but it was difficult to show a harsh attitude since this was our first meeting.
‘She’s the same age as Erich.’
Thinking of her as my younger sister made it even harder to be mean. It was tough to survive in this harsh world for someone with a tender heart like mine. If only I had half of the Crown Prince’s temperament…
“It seems like Dame Perosa has shone at a young age since the person you admire is exceptional as well.”
After some consideration, I decided to continue being polite.
After all, she was Sir Villar’s daughter, and I would have to get along with him until graduation. He seemed to be strangely attached to his daughter, so there should be no harm in leaving a positive impression on Perosa.
“That’s right. Thanks to my father and Prince Rutis, I am who I am today.”
She nodded vigorously. Well, at least she acknowledged her father’s role. She seemed to at least have a sense of filial duty.
When I turned my gaze back to Sir Villar, his expression was full of admiration. It seemed that a single word from his daughter could make him forget everything else. It must be a father’s destiny.
“I nurtured my dream of becoming a knight by watching my father and admiring Prince Rutis’s fairness, courage, wisdom, and patience.”
‘What?’
Who the fuck was that? Seriously, where did this ‘Rutis’ live?
‘I don’t know someone like that.’
The subject was clearly Rutis, but the adjectives that followed didn’t match anything related to that brat.
Maybe she had been talking about a different “Rutis” all along? Was there another prince named Rutis?
Maybe the Rutis at the Academy was a fake. Yeah, a real prince wouldn’t bother coming to the Academy. They wouldn’t go crazy for love and make a fuss.
‘He’s a fake.’
He had to be fake. There was no way such a guy could be a real prince.
‘Fairness?’
“Well, I solved two of them, so you guys should eat two each.”
“No one told us to eat them, why are you—”
Come to think of it, he was indeed fair. Back when the club members forced themselves to eat Louise’s cookies even though they didn’t like them, Rutis showed an unusual sense of fairness.
‘Courage?’
“If it’s us, then we can easily conquer most dungeons.”
Now that I think about it, he was also brave. He showed courage beyond his status when he said he would personally conquer any dungeons that appeared.
‘…Wisdom.’
“Chess is not about winning. It’s about making the opponent angry so he can’t win.”
“Just shut up and make your move.”
He did know how to win, so him having wisdom seemed to fit. He even made Lather lose his temper.
“Why aren’t you checkmating me when you can do it?!”
“Wait. I just need to create one more knight.”
He had patience too. Just before winning the pastry club’s chess competition, Rutis intentionally delayed the game to create five knights.
‘Damn it.’
Why did everything seem to fit perfectly?
I got goosebumps. Surprisingly, Rutis was indeed a person of fairness, courage, wisdom, and patience. He strangely had those qualities, so it wasn’t an incorrect statement.
Could Rutis actually be a prince worthy of admiration? Did he come to the Academy because of the power of the original novel only to end up ruined?
Of course, it was a pointless assumption. It didn’t matter if he was originally fine or came to the Academy and became ruined. It didn’t change the fact that I was caught up in this mess because of him.
‘I’m not in my right mind, either.’
I almost deceived myself and tried to glorify that brat. Fortunately, I managed to avoid that pitfall.
As I continued to show a suitable attitude, Perosa’s enthusiasm flared up rapidly. When the listener’s reaction is good, the speaker tends to get more enthusiastic as well.
“I’m sorry. It seems like I’ve been talking too much about myself.”
At least Perosa realized that she had become overly excited and belatedly lowered her head. Even from her own perspective, she must have felt that she had gone overboard.
I understood. Well, I didn’t really understand, but I was trying to. Talking about someone you admired was an exciting thing, after all.
Moreover, I was the one who initially brought up the topic of Rutis. Damn it, I shouldn’t have brought him up.
“It’s okay. I found Prince Rutis’s new aspects quite interesting as well.”
= In other words, don’t repeat the same thing; it’s not new anymore.
Perosa lowered her head further as if she understood. She didn’t seem like a bad person.
I caught a glimpse of Sir Villar’s stinging gaze on Perosa when I glanced sideways. It seems that he was berating her since it was still best to maintain some distance when dealing with someone you’d just met, no matter how casual our meeting was.
But if he was going to do that, then why didn’t he do it earlier? What was the point of doing it now when everything was over?
“I felt sorry for Sir Villar because he was left alone here, but I’m relieved to know that Dame Perosa is now here with him.”
Perosa cautiously raised her head at my words, seemingly examining Sir Villar’s reaction.
How many fathers would criticize their daughters after hearing such words? Well, at least Sir Villar wasn’t one of them. He let out a small sigh and diverted his sharp gaze.
“I never expected to meet her at the Academy, though.”
Instead, he didn’t forget to throw in a pointed remark.
That’s right. Who could have imagined a father-daughter reunion at the Academy?
“Still, thanks to the Executive Manager, I now have the opportunity to be with my daughter.”
“Haha, thank you for saying that.”
After that, the tea party proceeded quietly.
Sir Villar was originally a man of few words, and Perosa had already burned brightly. Thanks to that, the tea party ended calmly.
‘It looks like everything is fine.’
I let out a sigh of relief while drinking the remaining tea after the father and daughter pair left.
Although he hadn’t wished for it, Sir Villar’s expression quickly brightened after seeing his daughter. Fortunately, the possibility of his mental breakdown and escape had disappeared.
Perosa’s sudden arrival at the Academy… didn’t seem to be Armein’s scheme. If even her fanatical devotion were to be used for some ulterior motive, then they would have no choice but to humbly accept their fate.
‘I don’t think there’s anything to worry about.’
Actually, I briefly suspected that Perosa’s arrival might have had something to do with the original story.
A young knight, a noble background, and a tendency to follow and serve a prince—it all screamed a ‘villainess’ concept.
Suddenly, I wondered if Perosa would go up to Louise and slap her, screaming, ‘You thieving cat who bewitched His Highness!’
“His Highness Rutis is someone who always shines. As a knight, it’s only natural that I would revere him and want to learn from him.”
But the more we talked, the more I realized that she wasn’t a villainess.
I haven’t read many romance fantasy novels, but I’ve never seen an antagonist heroine so devoted to admiration and respect. Was it love for Rutis? At the very least, there were no visible traces of it.
‘I was worried for nothing.’
I had avoided the dreadful love triangle.
That was a relief. I almost collapsed from high blood pressure even before the start of the school year.
…But she wouldn’t realize her feelings for him belatedly, right? It wouldn’t matter if she did, but I hope it happens after graduation.
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