Volume 1 Chapter 11 part1The Foolish

In what kind of world are there men whose lives have been destroyed by women?

This otome game world with the crown prince and other boys.

Normally, they were supposed to love the protagonist, who was a saint. They spent time getting to know each other, and had a happy marriage.

It seems that these fools overlooked something important when they rushed through things.

The protagonist, Olivia, was meant to be connected to the crown prince.

It was futile to try and be an imitation of her. No doubt, it might have been better if one went through without imitating her.

I pondered a bit about the lackluster setting of this otome game world.

“Well, I understand the circumstances. So, you’re saying that I should clean up after you, correct?”

I’ll end my attempts to escape from reality here.

I spent a part of my summer vacation at Anjelica’s home──the Redgrave household.

The current head of the family, “Vince Rafua Redgrave,” was a dignified man with grey hair that was swept back. He had a tall and well-maintained body, and had a sharp glint in his eye.

Next to him stood Vince’s son and Anjelica’s older brother, “Gilbert Rafua Redgrave.” He had blonde hair and blue eyes, but closely resembled Vince.

He was in his early twenties.

Both of them glared at me.

I straightened myself and made a request.

“I don’t have any means of contacting the royal palace on my own. I can’t do anything at this rate. I have prepared white gold coins.”

The heap of white gold coins were what I had won from the bet. It was an unthinkable amount resulting from the borrowed money and personal expenses of foolish noble children.

I piled them up and had presented them to Vince.

Basically, I was taking out money and asking for them to protect me.

Was it shameful? If I was able to buy my life with money, then I would do it!

Gilbert was about to say something, but Vince held him back with his hand.

“You’ve gathered up a lot for a baron who has suddenly risen. The handicraft of the royal court indeed costs money. There’s also the fact that you took on the role of being my daughter’s representative at the duel. We’ll look after you. However, it would be troubling if you ask for us to protect this and that. You’re not under guardianship of us, and you’re not a fellow member of our faction. You followed through with my daughter’s short temper, but to say it in other words, that also means you stuck your nose into our affairs.”

I normally shouldn’t have been involved. At least, I wanted to so that, but…

In my mind, I made a triumphant pose.

I used my status as a student to its maximum potential, and got this dire situation to go the way I wanted it to. My life starts from here on!

“Yes. I understand. I want to be sure that my livelihood is spared and that the household doesn’t befall under any liability.”

Vince put his hands together on top of a desk.

“…Your honor has already dropped to the floor. Now you’re going to cast away your position?”

Even though it was nice beating up those five, going as far as to break their hearts was spoken ill of. The duel was far from honorable.

“I’ll relinquish my rank and title as a knight. I still haven’t received it yet, but I don’t have the qualifications to receive it now.”

This matter, a high sum of money and rank, and the title of a knight. I held these and used them to ask for their benevolence.

It was cheap price when considering that I had dueled against the crown prince.

I could also use this to escape from searching for a marriage partner.

Gilbert asked me a question.

“I want to ask one thing. What is your true aim? With that much power you have, it should be possible to overcome your situation and find success in life. It might even be possible for you to ascend up to a viscount household. I’m interested in what you’d toss that away for.”

I had gotten irritated, I wanted to beat up the capture target characters, and taking the opportunity, I wanted to escape from marriage-searching hell.

I had many reasons, but I spoke without saying any of them.

“I couldn’t leave his highness alone after seeing him being deceived by that woman. It’s for the sake of the nation, I suppose. I just thought that someone had to do something.”

Vince made a laugh as if amused.

“If those are your true feelings, then you’re quite admirable. Though, I would be quite troubled if you said that it was to amuse yourself. The royal court and prestigious nobles are in a mad rush thanks to you. The Redgrave family has also officially dissolved the engagement between his Highness and Anjie. He is not suitable for my daughter. Don’t you think so?”

I felt like I was being tested.

I didn’t think he was looking for anything in particular. I was fine as long as my life was spared and I was freed from having to find a marriage partner as a noble.

I beat up those five to distract myself and perhaps to even no longer be a noble, escaping from marriage-searching hell. Aah, I was certainly reaching my desired result.

“I don’t have much to say about the relation between the two of us. I personally just want him to study at the academy from now on. I hope he becomes a fine king.”

“…I see. I may be changing the topic of conversation, but I have one request.”

“What is it?”

“It’s about my daughter. It seems that this matter took a large toll on her. As a parent, I can’t watch her be worn out and lacking of spirit. I wanted to have her rest in the moderate countryside, but with the circumstances of our household, that will be difficult to arrange since we’re a little busy.”

Perhaps it was about settling affairs with those under their guardianship or people from the same faction as them. As a duke household, they wouldn’t remain silent about Anjelica’s followers betraying her.

Day after day, the parents and siblings of students have been coming to apologize, and things have been very busy.

It was a very big problem when children and clansmen sent as followers betray the head daughter.

There were many people who came to apologize to Anjelica, and it seemed that she wanted to rest somewhere out of reach.

“Your household meets the requirements for something we’re looking for. Let her come with you when you depart to home. Several caretakers will be with her.”

“Um, uh…s, sure!”

He was entrusting his daughter to a man. What did it mean? I was thinking about it, but doing anything to the daughter of a duke household was unreasonable, so just having it in mind gave me the creeps. So I decided to treat it as if she was just going on a trip, and that I was in charge.

“Thank you. Now then, you may step back.”

“Excuse me.”

Once I left the room, I felt relieved. With this, my life at the academy will end, but I was feeling the best.

If I had any regrets, it would be that I couldn’t learn about tea with my mentor anymore. He got angry at me for being distasteful during the duel, bit he offered me delicious tea to drink.

“I wonder if that’s really my only regret.”

Daniel and Raymond were also on my mind. I wonder how Rukul from the third year was doing? I was also regretful that I couldn’t try out all of the popular desserts in the school cafeteria.

…It kind of seemed like I was enjoying myself at the academy before I realized it.

◇

Leon left the office.

Gilbert looked at Vince.

“Father, what do you think?”

Vince laughed.

“It’s as you said. If he was a well-behaved child who only thought for himself, then he would have stayed silent while watching at that time. There aren’t many children like him, don’t you think?”

The two looked at the pile of white gold Leon had prepared.

“…He has prepared a hefty sum of money, hasn’t he.”

“He cast away his status and honor to criticize his Highness. He was quite resolved. Furthermore, he was able to earn the humor of the foster sibling. Normally, what he did would be the thing to be criticized. All things considered, the academy has many problems now like it did in the past. There are too many children who are oblivious to the ways of the world.”

The academy holds a somewhat special environment.

Since it was a place to educate the next generation of nobles, everyone was supposed to be treated equally on the surface. Such things were impossible, though.

This special environment was out of the public eye. With people fixated on the value of their clique, there were times where incidents occurred.

It was a miniature garden where ignorant people gathered. That was where the problem rose.

The current matter that happened was an issue that turned out to become a large fuss. Then, the students who returned to their households during summer vacation would come to know reality there.

Indeed, Anjelica’s followers would likely come to know the meaning of picking a fight with a duke household.

“Well, I do think there were plenty of other ways to do it, though.”

“Is that so? Wasn’t he just enjoying himself? I think Anjie was short-sighted to have proposed a duel, but he stepped up in a situation where everyone was her enemy and she couldn’t be saved…isn’t that a touching tale? He was like how a knight should be. Only on the outside, though.”

Gilbert asked what Vince’s real intentions were.

“What are you going to do?”

Vince grinned.

“He can be a benefactor of my daughter. He can cover for her. That’s what. It would be better off for you too if you had a reliable household, like a knight one. Don’t you think the Redgrave family will be peaceful after taking him in? After all, this matter has made it clear that there are several unreliable households out there.”

The two looked outside a window.

An airship spanning over seven hundred meters was floating. They felt that it was something they have never seen made before, but the two felt an impression that it was a lost item discovered in a dungeon.

The Holfault Kingdom valued adventurers.

Leon’s achievements were something men yearned for.

“There’s a large price to pay for the power to beat up the boys of prestigious families so easily. However, how far are you willing to take him in? Are you going to prepare staff from our household for your daughter, who’s reaching adulthood?

Vince placed his hand on his chin.

“That would be nice, but a somewhat poor move. If the sharp-eared and quick-witted lot get a hold of this, they would turn restless with desire. However, the first thing to do is to clean up this mess. I’ll go to the royal court. I entrust the territory to you.”

Vince got up, and earnestly set out for the handicraft of the royal court.

◇

I was on an airship that imitated Luxon’s exterior.

Its name was “Partner.”

Robots with hands were managing the airship on floating pillars in the air. It was in ruins when I obtained Luxon, but it collected broken machines, repaired it, and kept it in check.

It also worked as a defensive, legless guardian with its spherical armor.

The wind felt nice as I went to the deck.

Luxon, a spherical body, floated next to me.

[You’re not going to go where those two are?]

The two he were referring to were Olivia and the heartbroken Anjelica. both of whom had followed me for the summer vacation.

The other people on-board where servants who were taking care of Anjelica.

“What are you talking about? You’re going to trouble me if you expect me to say something wise to them.”

[Nobody expects anything from you.]

“Do you hate me or something?”

[I don’t hate you, but I don’t like you either.]

…If it were not the fact that this thing was capable, I would have grabbed it’s sphere-like body and tossed it into the sky.

“…*sigh* Actually, I don’t know what to say to them. The engagement has officially been broken. To make matters worse, the discussions have failed, didn’t they?”

Anjelica talked with the prince, but in the end, things did not go well.

In accordance with the duel, the prince’s relationship as a lover with Marie has ceased.

They say that love dies away when there are obstacles, but the prince continued to love her even when their relationship had ended, and prays for her happiness.

He also said some strange things about protecting his chastity.

It seems he was concerned about having a pure body. Well, I didn’t really care about such things. Some schmuck’s chastity was inconsequential to me. Wait a minute, that actually wasn’t good.

Despite how he was, he was the crown prince. There would be trouble if there weren’t a heir to the throne for the country, and in the game, Julian was the only prince who appeared…this was a dangerous problem about the a new successor!

“I don’t want to get involved since even if I said something, it wouldn’t solve anything.”

[You’re such a hopeless case that it’s actually unprecedented.]

◇

They were on-board a ship.

Olivia and Anjelica sat down on a bed in a place that seemed to be a guest room.

Olivia worried about Anjelica, who was thin from fatigue and anxiety.

After the duel, her talk with Julian did not go well.

It was summer vacation, so Olivia accompanied Anjelica.

Now she was listening to Anjelica’s story.

“It’s a funny story. Not a single one of my feelings could reach him. It seems I was quite the fool to lose to a woman so behind compared to me. I was utterly defeated by that girl.”

Julian rejected Anjelica.

Even after separating them, he said that he wouldn’t stop his love for Marie.

“You’re not in the wrong, Anjelica.”

“I suppose. I was just overwhelmed by a woman who snatched away my fiance. Go ahead and laugh. I suppose you could say that I won the battle, but lost the war.”

She was able to win the duel thanks to Leon, but still Anjelica lost to Marie in terms of the result.

“In the end, there was no point in it. I got you and Leon involved in my selfishness.”

Olivia cast her eyes downward.

“That’s not true. I was only there to voice support…but in the end, it was Leon who was out there doing his best. There was something Leon said. He intended to drop out from the beginning.”

Anjelica shed tears.

“I went to where his Highness was without saying any thanks. I should have properly thanked him at that time. I really am a terrible woman. I didn’t think he was that resolved…”

Olivia tenderly rubbed the crying Anjelica’s back.

◇

──I heard the conversation of the two from outside their room.

[How heart-wrenching. I don’t know if I even have a heart, but do you not have any thoughts after hearing them?]

Luxon’s words struck my chest.

“…I feel bad for giving them the wrong idea.”

I indeed went into the duel with the resolve to drop out of the academy, but the real reason was to get away from finding a marriage partner.

I wished that they didn’t think so deeply about it.

I also wondered whether it was good time to go on a rampage back then, but it was a stray thought…I didn’t ponder that hard about it.

[What do you plan on doing now?]

“Drop out and look after my father. I’ll also be independent and live peacefully on that island I found.”

[…Will it go smoothly?]

“Well, I’ll try. I picked a fight with the crown prince. I would need to apologize with a lot of money for them to brush it off. I don’t think I would be killed. Huh? I won’t be killed, right? So why do I feel uneasy? Perhaps I should flee sooner?”

[No, there’s no point.]

This was the world of an otome game.

Now that all the noisy moments have ended, I felt a little lonely.

Well, my plans have changed quite a bit, but it should be fine as long as I kept doing my best.

I’ve worked hard.

That was why I’ve made it up to here. I’ll leave the rest to Olivia, Anjelica, and those five guys.

TLN:

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