Chapter 17:  Sword War (5)

“Be sure to return before the evening roll call.”

“I will bear that in mind.”

I pressed my fist to my left chest and bowed politely.

The Chief Secretary’s carriage left the training grounds without a glance, kicking up clouds of dust.

Within the thick haze, my pitch-black eyes gleamed coldly.

I turned toward the sparring arena where tomorrow’s match would be held.

Since it was lunchtime, the place was deserted as I quietly walked across it and climbed the stairs.

“The Director really spent some money here.”

I stepped lightly over the smooth marble tiles in my shoes.

Now, the victims of the arena collapse that would occur a few years later were as good as saved.

Still, I couldn’t allow myself to feel satisfied over something so trivial.

There was a new variable—Helena Yekaterina, the Grand Duke’s daughter.

I had to stop her ruthless business expansion.

Of course, even if I abandoned the Grand Duke’s house and latched onto her, I could live comfortably for the rest of my life.

But I didn’t want to waste all the knowledge I had learned as Chief Secretary, knowledge I had been commanded to acquire even at the cost of my own life.

‘I’m sick of living under someone else’s heel.’

First, I needed Luton Sword to succeed commercially so I could collect my share.

And tomorrow, I had to help Echina stand out overwhelmingly in the grand event of the sparring match.

There was nothing better than the fame I could leverage from the Grand Duke’s house for my future plans.

‘During the cadet period, it’s still worth staying here.’

Under the blazing midday sun, the arena was already making me frown as heat waves shimmered over the ground.

I moved naturally to the shaded side.

Once in the shade, I felt the cool spring breeze and the faint earthy smell of dust.

Looking under the tree that stood along one side of the arena, I saw a worm that had crawled out and dried up, dead.

“It’s going to rain.”

I scooped up the damp soil and rubbed it between my fingers.

Then I pressed down hard on the marble floor with my shoe.

――――――.

The sharp sound of my sole scraping echoed loudly.

The students who had been chatting idly on a distant bench fell silent at the noise.

They stared at me suspiciously, probably wondering why someone not in uniform had stepped onto the sparring ground.

“Why did an outsider go up on the arena?”

One of them, who seemed to be their representative, came over to me.

He was shorter than me, a blond boy with a strikingly handsome face.

A dove-shaped badge pinned to his uniform jacket marked him as a member of the school newspaper club.

“I once dreamed of becoming a knight, so I came to take a look.”

The son of a noble family, bored until I appeared, observed me with interest.

With his hands clasped behind his back and a playful glint in his eyes, he started guessing at my background.

“These days, even without skill, you can become a knight if you have money. But since you didn’t, you must not be a noble, and you’re not on the list of upstart rich families in my ledger—.”

I already knew who this boy was.

His name was Mansachs, son of the president of the most successful newspaper in the northern empire, Gold Morning.

“If you can still stroll in here so brazenly, you must be some servant of a high-ranking house, right?”

And three years from now, he would rise from head of the newspaper headquarters to become the vice president—a true elite.

It was precisely to meet this ‘future journalist’ that I had observed him from the carriage.

“That’s correct. I’m part of the Luton family.”

“Hm…”

Mansachs rested his smooth chin on his hand, studying me even more intently.

He seemed eager to guess my reasons for coming, but when he couldn’t quite manage it, he clicked his tongue in frustration.

“Saying you came here because your dream was to be a knight—that was a joke, wasn’t it? Echina secretly ordered you to do something, didn’t she?”

“What could the esteemed Grand Duke’s daughter possibly command a mere cadet like me to do?”

Perhaps he thought it was a clever answer, because Mansachs tutted again.

“You’re right, you’re right. Come to think of it, she’s not the type to order anyone around. She solves everything on her own.”

He let out a short laugh as he glanced over my attire.

Then, true to being the son of a newspaper magnate, he smacked his lips at the sight of me—someone affiliated with the Grand Duke’s house.

“Then, since you’re already here, can I ask you something?”

“What do you mean? All information about the Grand Duke’s house is classified.”

At my resolute expression, the slender boy quickly waved his hands.

“No, no—I know! That’s why I’m suggesting we make a trade.”

Mansachs reached into his back pocket and pulled out five gold coins.

At the time, five gold coins amounted to fifty thousand Gold—a sum worth a tailored formal suit.

“With this much, you could get yourself a suit worthy of the Grand Duke’s house, right?”

“……”

When I didn’t say a word, he seemed to think I was stunned by the huge sum and went on talking unhurriedly.

“Even something simple is fine. For example, whether Echina is exchanging letters with some man—something like that.”

Information about the Grand Duke’s daughter—an academy celebrity—was worth quite a bit.

He knew it well, which was why he was determined to bribe me somehow.

“Don’t feel pressured. No matter what you answer, the gold is already yours.”

Mansachs shrugged, putting on a show of casual generosity.

He was so adept at this that it felt as if he were used to dealing with brokers—even though we were meeting for the first time.

And there was nothing more amusing than making someone like him look like a fool.

“Ah, is that so? Well then, I’ll gladly just accept it. I’m only a cadet, so I don’t know anything at all—.”

I made a show of slipping the coins neatly into the pocket of my shirt jacket.

Then, leaving the newspaper scion behind, I strolled down the steps of the arena without a backward glance.

“Uh…? Hey, where are you going?!”

His lips parted in disbelief as he watched me take the money and walk away.

It was as if he had never encountered such a situation in his entire life.

“If you’re going to give something, shouldn’t you also expect to get something in return?”

“You told me just to take it. I was merely following the noble young master’s wishes…?”

He hurried down the steps after me and called out.

“You’re unbelievably cold—just what I’d expect from someone with ties to the Grand Duke’s house…! Still, if you took something, you should at least give something in return, shouldn’t you?”

Mansachs tried hard to maintain the leisurely attitude of an aristocrat.

But I knew perfectly well why he was so desperate to press gold into my hand and beg for information.

It was probably because of his father—the president of Gold Morning—who was as cold and calculating as Duke Luton himself.

The more a parent expected from their child, the more anxious that child became.

“If you think you can buy the Grand Duke’s house’s information with a mere five gold coins, you’d best give up now.”

“If it’s about the amount, I can pay you far more.”

He bit the bait with a composed reply.

At that, I turned my head slightly and spoke with a sly, foxlike smile.

“I don’t need money. Instead, let’s do this.”

I took in the sharp, earthy smell beneath the shade of the trees.

Then, as I looked up at the gradually darkening sky, I made my counterproposal.

“You won’t be trading with a cadet of the Grand Duke’s house. You’ll be trading with me as an individual.”

“As an individual…?”

When he echoed my words, I pulled out the five coins tucked inside my jacket.

I tossed one back to him and continued.

“I’ll provide you with various useful pieces of information to help you become the president of Gold Morning.”

“……!”

It must have been something he hadn’t even imagined. The playful gleam in Mansachs’s eyes vanished completely.

He stared at me with a gaze muddied by the grime of society.

“What are you saying? President… Are you some dog of the Imperial newspaper…?”

Was it because a stranger had so precisely pierced through his ambitions?

The blond boy now glared at me with a wary look.

But I didn’t so much as flinch under his sharp scrutiny.

“Of course not. Do you think the Grand Duke’s house would have taken me in without conducting that level of background check?”

Back in my Chief Secretary days, I had dealt with countless reporters who tried to interview us to undermine the Luton family.

I’d punished every last one of them, including those who tried to sneak into the mansion itself.

No matter how much of a future giant Mansachs would become, for now he was still just a fledgling.

“It’s simply that I value myself as an individual a bit more than I value any house.”

With the same unfeeling eyes I’d worn during my secretary days, I met the boy’s gaze.

Perhaps because I reminded him of his father, he swallowed hard.

“I have no intention of truly devoting myself to the Imperial family or the Luton family.”

“…Then what do you want?”

At Mansachs’s question, I gestured toward the other club members.

The ones who loved nothing more than gossip within the academy.

If they learned even a single piece of information, every student on campus would know within a few hours.

“It would be helpful if you could write a few ‘articles’ in the student newspaper.”

I held the remaining gold coins in my hand, watching him leisurely.

On the smooth surface of the coins, I could see Mansachs’s reflection and check his expression.

“Are you asking me to write fabricated articles?”

He looked at me with a scornful gaze.

At first, I’d spoken in a casual tone just to tease him, but now that the situation had grown serious, the atmosphere shifted.

“Fabricated? I’m merely asking you to report accurate information.”

I gave the formal smile I used to wear when meeting politicians in secret.

“Just… presented a little more ‘loudly’ than usual.”

When he heard that, Mansachs let out a long breath.

True to being the clever second son of a newspaper president, his understanding was sharp.

“You want certain articles exaggerated. Reminds me of the meetings my father used to have with the Grand Dukes.”

‘Of course it does. It’s exactly what I used to do.’

Mimicking his father, he folded his arms across his chest.

Then, trying to adopt a mature air, he asked again.

“Fine. Let’s say I’m willing to consider your proposal. Then what can you offer me in return?”

“Today, I’ll give you an exclusive scoop worthy of the front page of the academy paper.”

I clasped my hands behind my back, standing at ease before this young noble.

But he unconsciously unfolded his arms again as I went on.

“Next, I’ll give you information fit for the front page of Gold Morning itself.”

A scoop that would shock even the third-largest newspaper in the empire.

Even though he was still a twenty-year-old fledgling, Mansachs must have sensed this was no ordinary conversation, because a faint wrinkle formed between his brows.

“All right, I like your ambition. But I’m the son of a leading press family, and you’re just an unknown cadet.”

He pointed back and forth between us.

“With that much difference in status, it’s only proper that the side at a disadvantage shows their hand first.”

“Then I’ll give you a sample piece of information.”

I turned my head and pointed at the sparring ground we’d come down from.

“Tomorrow, the Grand Duke’s daughter will duel with the Count Giovanni family.”

As I mentioned, Echina was one of the most popular figures at the academy.

Every detail of her schedule was valuable prey for reporters.

“That sort of class schedule is something I learned long ago. It’s the kind of thing even the youngest club member keeps in their notebook.”

To Mansachs, the head of the newspaper club, it was utterly ordinary information.

He let out a snort and shook his head with a look that said, ‘I knew it.’

“Besides, not every duel of Echina’s has value. High-ranking houses always go easy on each other in sparring.”

He wasn’t wrong.

For the sake of everyone’s dignity, there was an unspoken rule to exchange only light blows during these matches.

But.

He had no choice but to stop shaking his head a moment later.

“What if tomorrow is different?”

Because I said something entirely unexpected.

“What if it turns into a match where she crushes her opponent overwhelmingly?”

“What…?”

The heir of a giant newspaper furrowed his brow at my words.

He rested his fist against his chin, thinking it over carefully before speaking again.

“The opponent is a renowned swordsman family from Nord. In the past, they always took the lead in every war. If such a house were to be utterly defeated by the Grand Duke’s second daughter…”

He quickly ran through the potential impact of the article in his mind.

Then he pictured his father at the newspaper hearing the news.

“You would be securing a scoop even your father, Terry Mansachs, would be satisfied with.”

I leaned in and whispered to his ear like a sly courtier, just as he sank into that vision.

Mansachs pressed his twitching lips firmly shut.

“All right—let’s say things turn out exactly as you claim. But that still depends on Echina winning, doesn’t it?”

Having felt the potential reward, he now had to weigh the risk.

The sharpness returned to his blue eyes.

“On the other hand, if Count Giovanni’s side wins, you have to consider the fallout. If an article gets published declaring the Grand Duke’s only female knight lost, the Luton family will come after me.”

So he’d thought this far.

I’d expected him to get blinded by the bait and peck at it immediately.

As expected of a future vice president—his mind worked admirably well.

“If that happens, the story won’t just be buried—it will get me blacklisted by the Luton family.”

To reward him for his caution, I offered one more piece of information.

Looking at him with absolute conviction.

“The Grand Duke’s daughter will win without fail.”

A frigid wind from the north swept across to the west.

Within the swirl of scattering leaves, my dull black eyes glinted coldly.

“Because I will make sure of it.”

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