Chapter 20:  Sword War (8)

A platinum-colored carriage stood in front of the academy’s main gate.

A woman stepped out and watched the training arena from under the umbrella held by her knight.

“Echina, the Grand Duke’s daughter, is quite skilled. I didn’t expect her to win.”

The Western knight holding the umbrella was the first to speak.

“To think Young Lord Dalton would lose this easily… This will definitely increase the value of the Luton Sword as well.”

Helena glanced at him sharply, then shook her head.

Wearing a form-fitting dress with a uniform jacket draped over her shoulders, she spoke.

“Does it look to you like Echina won purely through skill?”

The Western Grand Duke’s daughter crossed her arms.

Resting her index finger against her smooth jawline, she fixed her gaze on the cadet standing beside Echina.

“Didn’t she…? She clearly won with skill though…”

“No. The two of them are clearly on equal footing. They’re both at formal knight level.”

Helena turned her sharp, lioness-like eyes toward a large tree growing on one side of the training grounds.

She also noticed Echina’s bare hand, without a glove.

“In cases like that, for one side to win so decisively, several factors have to work together at once.”

“Factors…?”

The brown-haired knight scratched the crown of his head.

The Grand Duke’s daughter tucked her radiant golden hair behind her ear and spoke.

“Yes. Someone must’ve identified the essence of the match and explained each part to her in detail.”

“Then that must be Chief Secretary Debier. He’s one of the Empire’s most legendary secretaries, isn’t he?”

At his vague guess, Helena shook her head calmly.

Then, perhaps because of the chilly weather, she pulled her jacket more tightly around her shoulders.

“No. He’s the Grand Duke of Luton’s secretary, not Echina’s possession.”

“Then…”

Only then did the Western knight look toward the figure Helena had clearly pointed out.

A modest suit, eyes as sharp as a fox.

Somehow, even though Echina had won, she seemed oddly moody, and the cadet was soothing her with a sly smile.

“Yes, it seems the North has produced quite a remarkable raw gem.”

Helena looked at his face and smiled with gleaming eyes.

Like a mature lioness who had just found a delectable prey.

“You’ve secured that child’s personal information like I asked before, haven’t you?”

“Of course.”

The escort knight couldn’t understand why his liege would ask for the background of a mere cadet.

He simply handed over the information he’d been instructed to collect in advance.

“Baron Julius’s household, huh… No wonder he’s skilled in duels. He’s probably picked up all kinds of tricks watching his father.”

The Western Grand Duke’s daughter pored over the documents like someone reading an entertaining novel.

Her escort asked cautiously,

“Your Grace… with all due respect, is this commoner cadet really worth paying attention to…?”

“Yes. Enough to pay the price of four or five like you.”

The knight, seemingly disheartened by the firm assessment, pressed his lips together tightly.

“Of course, that’s only if he’s properly nurtured.”

Only then did the Western man let out a sigh of relief.

He straightened the umbrella once more, maintaining his posture as an escort.

“The main residence happens to be nearby. Let’s drop by for a moment.”

“I’ll escort you right away.”

The knight opened the carriage door and held the umbrella above her.

Helena ascended the steps with graceful strides.

Each of her steps accentuated her alluring curves.

“Before I return, I ought to give him a gift.”

Seated on the luxurious seat, she elegantly crossed her legs.

Then, in a leisurely tone, she murmured,

“A ‘sweet gift,’ just enough to get him into trouble.”

The platinum-colored carriage cut through the slick, rain-soaked road with vigor.

Its heading was not toward the west, but to a quiet residential district.

「―――――.」

The situation had settled.

As the match ended, academy students began returning inside to escape the rain.

“Seems I’ve ended up getting help from you again, Roger.”

Echina casually brushed aside her soaked black hair.

She wiped her pure white forehead with a warm towel.

“This time, I have no choice but to admit it.”

I bowed my head in courtesy as I accepted the towel, now heated from her body’s warmth.

“The victory was earned solely through your own skill, Your Grace.”

“No, I can at least recognize that much.”

Echina lowered her gaze to meet mine as I bowed.

Her golden eyes, set in the face now so close to mine, gleamed brilliantly.

“If it weren’t for your advice, I wouldn’t have been able to overpower Dalton.”

Echina glanced briefly at Debier, who stood beside me.

The chief secretary gave a silent, calm nod.

“Then, can I finally get that overdue grade today?”

I asked lightly, half in jest.

The Grand Duke’s daughter leisurely folded her hands behind her back and tilted her head slightly.

“Now that you mention it, I did put your midterm evaluation on hold.”

Echina reached into the damp pocket of her dress shirt beneath her jacket.

Due to the tight curves of her body, the paper inside had bent into a curve.

She had already graded it long ago.

The score she had given me was 9 out of 10.

‘Wait a second… where did that last point go?’

Of course, I knew the Grand Duke’s household was always demanding.

Still, this time I was sure I’d get a full score. I felt just a bit disappointed.

“You’ve got a face that’s wondering why it’s not a perfect score.”

Echina handed me the paper, now softened by her body heat and the rainwater.

Then, with the sweet scent of fig wafting from her, she whispered gently.

“If you’re that curious, come and file an appeal. I’ll consider re-evaluating it.”

With that, Echina placed her index finger against her red lips.

Afterward, I took off my soaked and heavy uniform and headed to the academy’s shower room.

“I’d like to appeal right away.”

I spoke as I watched her retreating back in the distance.

In response, the Grand Duke’s daughter of the North lightly waved her hand in acceptance.

“Then come to my office by 1 p.m. tomorrow.”

‘This damn household always makes things so difficult in one way or another. Why the office all of a sudden…?’

I looked down at the warm piece of paper in my hand, reflecting on the ten years I had silently endured.

Then, turning my head, I saw the chief secretary approaching to glance at the score sheet.

“Her Grace asked you to come tomorrow?”

“Yes, that’s right. She said she’d discuss revising my score.”

If she intended to adjust the score anyway, why bother giving me a 9 in the first place?

While I was silently trying to decipher the heart of the young black lioness, Debier made a chilling remark.

“That’s unfortunate. I had scheduled stamina training for tomorrow afternoon.”

“…?”

Stamina training.

It was the brutal monthly regimen Debier conducted without fail.

After finishing it, it was hard to even lift a spoon by dinner.

And the next day, with sore muscles making it impossible to maintain proper posture, I’d often get scolded during formal receptions.

Even though it had happened ten years ago, just the memory made my spine go cold.

“You’re lucky, Roger.”

I stared at the chief secretary’s back.

With his face turned away, he left me with a golden remark.

“Tomorrow’s training is canceled. I, too, am dissatisfied with the score Her Grace gave and plan to go see her.”

Only then did I understand why Echina had given me a slightly disappointing score.

She, who struggled to express her emotions, had shown her gratitude to me in her own way.

It was an elegant gesture, unique to the Grand Duke’s daughter, who so closely resembled Duke Luton in her strict clarity of reward and punishment.

“Thank you, Chief Secretary.”

I bowed my head to Debier’s retreating figure.

Then the house steward of the Grand Duke’s household quietly spoke while watching the rain ease.

“Is Schmidt’s performance improving?”

“Yes, it is. As of today, sales should see a significant increase.”

I answered confidently.

At my response, the chief secretary turned his head slightly to glance at me.

“You seem very confident.”

However, his expression was far from pleased.

He looked at me with a chilling gaze, like someone who had caught a fox sneaking into the grain storage.

“You’re off now to tally the purchase inquiry forms from Gold Morning’s second son and others interested in the Luton Sword, aren’t you?”

‘This fox-like old man… Has he already figured it out…?’

‘Trying to deceive me? You’re not nearly there yet.’

We exchanged glances, each reading these thoughts in the other’s expression.

“May I step out briefly…?”

“You yourself said you’d raise Schmidt’s performance. I never said anything about the means or methods, so I’ve no reason to stop you.”

Fortunately, it seemed he hadn’t figured out that I’d also decided to take a share of Schmidt’s sales profits.

“Then, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll step out for a bit.”

I bowed politely once more before heading toward the academy entrance.

Just then, while I was secretly smiling and counting money in my head—

“Don’t worry about the shared payment you got for the counterweight design.”

Debier spoke in a calm tone as he looked at me.

“You knew about that…?”

“As long as you complete your duties perfectly, I don’t care what else you do.”

Debier had always left alone those who met his strict standards.

Fortunately, it seemed I met them for now.

“But if you neglect your duties out of greed, you’d better be prepared.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Leaving him with those words, I walked alone through the academy entrance.

Climbing the stairs, I looked out the window at the chief secretary below.

‘As expected, that old man’s sharp as ever…’

He’d been serving as chief secretary for over 40 years and had seen all sorts of things.

He probably also knew about the margin profits from lobbying and money laundering.

And judging by how he was letting it slide even now, Debier must have been pocketing his own share of those margins.

He knew well that such profits were a driving force for loyalty, and that’s why he was backing me for now.

“……”

After climbing the stairs, I made my way to the academy’s journalism club room.

It was already crowded with dozens of knight cadets rushing in to purchase the Luton Sword.

“Excuse me, just passing through…!!”

I squeezed past them and managed to get inside.

The club members, all aspiring newspaper employees, were diligently sorting the purchase request forms.

Among them, I met eyes with Mansachs, who was scribbling away with a pen and wearing glasses.

“Well, well—if it isn’t the secretary of the Grand Duke’s household…!!”

The second son of one of the top three newspapers sprang to his feet as soon as he saw me.

He excitedly waved a thick bundle of forms at me and shouted,

“You know what this is? It’s the result of your achievement!!”

Mansachs pushed up his glasses and handed me the heavy stack of papers.

With practiced fingers, I flipped through and counted all 52 sheets.

“The Luton Sword and Wand. 200,000 gold apiece. That’s nearly 10 million gold in revenue!!”

In just a brief moment, I’d earned enough to buy a carriage.

Roughly 30% of that—around 3.3 million gold—was mine.

“If it’s already this good with just the early buzz, imagine how things’ll look a month from now!”

Mansachs poked my side jealously with his elbow.

Then, he gestured for me to follow him into his private office.

“Come with me to my desk for a moment.”

Once I stepped inside, I saw dozens of birdcages hanging from the ceiling.

“Apologies for the noise. This is where all the intel in the area gathers, after all.”

The young heir of one of the three major newspapers dropped heavily into a thick leather chair.

His desk was messy, reflecting his usual playful nature.

“Thanks to you, I’ll finally be able to report some solid results to my father.”

“We’re just helping each other out, aren’t we?”

With my hands behind my back, I replied leisurely while gazing out the window.

The blond boy waved his hand as if telling me not to be so modest.

“No need to act stiff. Aren’t we business partners now?”

Pointing back and forth between himself and me, the noble-born lad spoke with a tone of friendly camaraderie.

He had realized that I held high-level intel and was now treating me as his equal.

“We’re the same age anyway. Let’s drop the formal speech. Wouldn’t that be more comfortable for you?”

“How could I dare? I’m not even a noble.”

I gave a sheepish smile and lightly dodged the offer. Mansachs let out a chuckle.

“It’s fine. It’s me who’s uncomfortable keeping it formal—”

The reason he was treating me so generously was simple.

The moment the article about Dalton’s humiliating defeat hit the papers…

He would be seen as having gone against the Western Grand Duke’s household by releasing an exclusive report.

‘Now that it’s come to this, he must be planning to build as friendly a relationship with the Northern Grand Duke’s household as possible.’

In this world, walking the tightrope was everything.

Even a prestigious family like Mansachs’s could fall in an instant if they ended up on the wrong side of public sentiment.

“Well… I suppose that’s fair.”

In just a few days since regressing, I had reached the point of speaking casually with the son of a baronial family.

But this was only the beginning.

I didn’t plan to stop with the baron’s son…

I intended to stand on equal ground with the Grand Duke’s household as well.

Looking out the window of the North’s most prestigious academy, I suddenly spotted something.

A messenger pigeon was flying into the chief secretary’s carriage, which was waiting at the main gate.

‘That’s… the pigeon from our main house, isn’t it…?’

Since our fallen household owned only a single messenger pigeon, I recognized it instantly.

What could have suddenly happened for Father to send a message?

As if answering my question, Debier soon redirected the pigeon here.

The bird landed neatly on the office window, carrying a sealed note.

“Is that from your secretary?”

“No, it’s from my family’s home.”

With a puzzled expression, I unwrapped the note.

I tried to recall what had happened around this time with my father as I read the contents.

“…!!”

At that moment—

My dull eyes, until now lifeless, flared wide open.

“Someone visited our home…?”

Because an unexpected guest had shown up at my house.

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