Chapter 50
It’s been two days since Seldienne got rejected by the nobles in the square.
After she, the leader of the nobles, turned them all against her, I thought the Academy would be buzzing with chaos.
But surprisingly, nothing of the sort happened.
The first reason was Seldienne’s silence.
No matter how much she ruffled feathers with her unreasonable claims and garnered the nobles’ anger, the Elconja family is indeed a prestigious aristocrat, rivaled only by Bruerd.
If Seldienne were to press on and properly challenge the humiliation she faced in the square, the nobles might not lose in public opinion, but they’d certainly get dragged into a tedious fight.
If both sides started a stand-off without retreating, it was clear that neither would emerge victorious, and only a horrific bloodbath would ensue.
Thinking about Seldienne’s usual pride and arrogance, this crushing blow to her dignity would definitely not be something she’d just let go of.
But for some reason, Seldienne was not blaming anyone and was treating the incident in the square as an unspoken matter.
It was as if she was screaming with her whole body that she would show a different side this time.
And the second reason was that the nobles also chose to ignore Seldienne and let her be.
They had their own reasons; clearly, they realized a bit of caution regarding the significant insult against the Elconja family in the square.
In that moment, swept up in anger and crowd mentality, they collectively insulted the Elconja family, but once they dispersed as individuals and coolly reflected, they began to worry about the aftermath.
After all, the opponent was Seldienne, who up until now was regarded as tougher than any noble.
The entire group of nobles had banded together to keep her in check, but if the Elconja family were to lose their senses and rampage, it was obvious that the noble alliance would also face considerable damage.
If an genuinely angry Seldienne chose to fight the nobles, it would be like a wasp invading a beehive.
Wasps are powerful predators, far beyond compare to honeybees.
Between the two, there is an innate gap that cannot be bridged by mere individual fights.
But even overwhelming strength doesn’t imply invincibility.
Honeybees deploy a strategy where they layer upon an overwhelmingly powerful foe, creating heat with their flaps to ultimately die together in an attempt to eliminate the predator they can’t surpass.
In other words, honeybees also have ways to overcome their nemeses.
The issue is that this requires countless sacrifices beneath the surface.
If the noble alliance were to truly confront the Elconja family, some noble houses might need to resign themselves to extinction.
That’s why they too couldn’t just easily reach out to Seldienne anymore.
This could be called mutual assured destruction.
On either side, to genuinely start a war, both would have to accept substantial losses.
And if such a situation did actually arise, there would be no victor to be found.
Only horrific, gruesome harm would result.
Knowing this unproductive future, both Seldienne and the nobles were showing signs of not wanting to escalate matters any further.
Seldienne wanted to deal with the nobles as she pleased for her emotional release,
but the nobles overstepped momentarily in response to her.
Both sides had a share of culpability in this situation.
Either way, there was justification to step forward, but the consequences were too perilous, leading to a deadlock.
It was truly the calm before the storm.
The tension born from this was enveloping the Academy in heavy silence.
Quickly informed commoners were expressing considerable concern about the fact that a massive conflict was rising between the noble faction, which held a majority in the Academy.
Two days have passed since the incident in the square.
On the surface, it seemed like nothing had happened and life flowed on as normal,
but in truth, all the students at the Academy were filled with anxiety, wondering if some incident would soon erupt.
―
This was the current situation at the Academy, summarized from the eavesdropping of Haidiera on student conversations.
As the person mentioned as the main reason for this conflict, I just hoped to avoid any unnecessary blowback.
Honestly, I wanted to be completely forgotten by them.
I completely could not understand why Seldienne and the nobles were fighting over whether to apologize to me or not now.
Of course, it was natural for the nobles to hold their heads high until the very end, and I had never even hoped for an apology from them in the first place.
However, one surprising point was that even after the incident at the square, Seldienne was still not willing to give up.
She no longer summoned or ordered students as the representative of the noble class.
It was entirely impossible for her to act that way anymore.
At the moment she sided with the commoners, her once solid power crumbled and faded away.
But that didn’t mean she stopped trying to influence me into receiving an apology.
Seldienne Elconja.
She dropped from being the head of the nobles to a mere problem child, now standing in the ambiguous position of having neither commoners nor nobles welcome her—
“Hey you! Wait up! Would you apologize to Erto along with me? I’d like to humbly ask you to bow your head like this!”
It was merely a student confronting someone else.
Before classes, during break, at lunchtime, and after school,
she invested every moment wandering the Academy,
“Can you please spare a moment to listen to me? We must do this!”
Every single person she could see,
“I beg you! Please lend your strength for Erto!”
She was sincerely trying to persuade them within arm’s reach.
“…Excuse me, Lady Elconja.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m busy.”
“Sorry, but I’m not interested in what you have to say.”
The passing students no longer paid her words any mind.
Now that Seldienne spoke to the commoners, there wasn’t a single student she hadn’t approached at least once.
For those who were completely unwilling to change their attitude, her protests merely sounded like noise.
While Seldienne had become the object of thorough rejection, she seemed resolute to not stop until at least someone joined her side.
She couldn’t have failed to realize how meaningless this struggle was.
The looks in the eyes of students as they passed her were filled with annoyance.
But Seldienne, for some reason, continued to bow her head and admit her faults in front of everyone.
I couldn’t tell whether it was for me or for herself…
but it was clear that she was determined to convey an apology to me no matter what.
“I’ll take all the blame and kneel before him to apologize! Please…! Let me at least show that I’m willing to do this together with you…! For the sake of Erto, I beg you…!”
―
――
“Tsk, she’s acting ridiculous again today.”
At lunchtime.
Watching Seldienne stage her protests against the passing students from the rooftop, my senior, Perjena, clicked her tongue.
“Don’t worry about it, senior. It’s not our concern anymore.”
As I didn’t actually need to confirm it with my meal partner, I couldn’t help but hear Seldienne’s shouting reach my ears.
“It’s already two days since she turned on the nobles… if no one stops her, it might incite further chaos, you know.”
The senior glanced back at me with bemusement.
Although I had firmly drawn the line after labeling Seldienne as an enemy, my thoughtful senior, Perjena, seemed to worry for her well-being.
“Are you just going to let it be?”
Even though she usually despised the nobles, having trained with me and exchanged various ideas over the past month, it made sense she’d be concerned.
“Well, it’s just a matter of time. She’ll realize that it’s not effective anymore and tire herself out. If she really wants to apologize, she could just do it alone.”
“That may be true, but… the more she makes a scene, the worse the looks from both peasants and nobles are getting… before something happens, wouldn’t you think to suggest wrapping things up first?”
“Hmm…”
My senior’s concerns were indeed valid.
Despite my desire to avoid caring about Seldienne, if a larger incident arose at the Academy due to a problem caused by me, it would be a situation I couldn’t just leave unattended.
If a small effort from my side could eliminate that possibility, I could approach it as a fire prevention measure.
Should I suggest wrapping it up with a private conversation with Seldienne instead?
As I pondered this while frowning, my senior let out a deep sigh and shrugged her shoulders.
“Well, I’m not going to force you; you figure it out. To be honest, that girl struck first, so you could consider this her karma coming back. Still, I have a bad feeling about this.”
I forced a smile and nodded my head toward her.
“Alright, senior. If she’s still doing this tomorrow, I’ll step in. It’s an issue that can be quietly settled with us two.”
“Okay.”
Deciding to give it just one more day, I finished my meal with my senior.
I’ll try to ignore her as much as possible, and if it still shows no signs of ending, I’ll step in personally.
That was my compromise based on my senior’s advice.
It’s not like anything would happen just by watching for another day.
That was my thought.
*
That night—
In the deep hours as the city’s lights gradually turned off,
in a covert cave in the towering mountain behind the Academy.
People clad in thick robes gathered in the place that Kerg Durakal had made his hideout.
There were around ten of them.
They covered themselves entirely in black robes to maneuver in the dark and avoid prying eyes, yet upon arriving at the hideout, they uncovered their hoods, revealing their faces.
They were youthful boys and girls with neat appearances showing signs of their refined upbringing.
These kids were offspring of noble families that dominated the upper echelons of the Academy rankings.
Within the lavish hideout furnished with luxurious decor, illuminated by the soft light of chandeliers, this noble group was gazing at the man sitting before them.
“So… you’re just going to sit and do nothing?”
The blond man, Kerg Durakal, sitting in an extravagant chair with his legs crossed, propped his chin on his fist and shot sharp glances at the boys and girls across from him.
“W-well… it’s not that we’re strong-arming the situation; it’s just that she’s rambling on her own… we lack any justification to intervene here…! If we mess up, it might backfire on us…”
The leading male student among the robed nobles raised both hands, speaking with respect.
But Kerg Durakal sighed, glancing at the ceiling with exasperation.
“Hah, you idiots. Don’t you have any brain to think with?”
“I-I’m really sorry! Lord Durakal!”
“Are you seriously telling me that you can’t carry out such a simple task as isolating that Elconja girl, one of the culprits behind making me hide like this? And you can’t even handle it while she’s showing a moment of weakness? And you still call yourselves an alliance of upper house families?”
“W-well… considering who the opponent is… it’s true that even we can’t act without a solid reason…”
“Hah—is this what I have to deal with? Should I just kill the lot of you?”
With Kerg’s muttered words, the noble students turned pale, their bodies trembling beneath their robes.
His dark eyes scanned their faces one by one, exuding a chilling aura.
“J-just give us a little more time…!”
The boy at the front mumbled pitifully, but Kerg leaned in, curling his lips into a sneer.
“Listen up, you knuckleheads.”
“Y-yes!”
He rested his elbows on his knees, wearing a sinister grin as he advised the nobles.
“You’re students of the Academy, right? So you should use the rules inside it to your advantage. There’s a perfectly legal and traditional method that leads to a result you’ll have to accept.”
“…!”
As the nobles processed his intentions, Kerg’s smile grew more sinister.
“If you lay out conditions she can agree to, regardless of what happens to her, it will ultimately be regarded as an internal affair of the Academy. There’s no chance of outside powers intervening. Got it?”
“Yes! As you command!”
The noble students simultaneously knelt and pledged their support.
“Heh heh heh…”
Under the soft light of the chandelier, dark laughter resonated.
*
“Erto! Trouble has arisen!”
“Erto! Did you hear?!”
The next day, the news I heard upon arriving at the Academy was that the noble alliance had challenged Seldienne to a duel.
“Yeah, I heard… what the heck is going on?”
While dueling itself was a traditional means of resolving disputes among students at the Academy, this time it was different.
It wasn’t just one person challenging Seldienne to a duel.
The opponents were twelve noble students ranked within the top twenty of the Academy.
They proposed to fight against Seldienne, just her, all at once.
While there was no regulation stating duels had to be one-on-one, this was obviously absurd.
After all, twelve against one.
No matter how strong Seldienne was, even being ranked third in the Academy just a while ago, it was unreasonable for her to face the top twelve students simultaneously.
This wasn’t a duel; it was a legal execution.
As long as both sides agreed, it was a clean, malicious group lynching with no aftermath left behind.
It was clear that the head figures of the noble alliance had taken advantage of the internal regulations of the Academy to exact revenge on Seldienne.
In response to my question, Haidiera clenched her fist, answering with resolve.
“I have already investigated, but they are maintaining their silence. Surely…”
“The chairman must’ve had a hand in this.”
Rusika was also biting her lip, her expression clearly displeased.
I had already figured out from the time they pressured me to withdraw that the upper echelon of this Academy was in collusion with the chairman and Kerg Durakal, but I hadn’t anticipated it getting this far.
However, one variable still remained.
As with when Rusika went berserk, it is customary for the duel to proceed only if the other party accepts it.
If Seldienne were to refuse this attack, it might pass without a single incident.
As I asked, half-expecting the worst, Haidiera slowly shook her head.
“Lady Elconja… accepted the duel. She said she would take no responsibility for the outcome.”
“What? Why?”
When I asked while knitting my brows, Rusika pulled my arm and spoke.
“The nobles… said they would apologize to you if they lost.”
“What does that even mean…!”
“So that Elconja girl accepted despite the unfavorable conditions… She wants to apologize to you properly!”
“Hah…”
I pressed my forehead with my hand and squeezed my eyes shut.
What the hell.
If I had known such a ridiculous situation would arise, I should’ve acted on my senior Perjena’s advice and stopped Seldienne yesterday.
Before the nobles could impose absurd conditions on Seldienne for a legal beating, I should’ve put an end to this nonsensical discussion.
Why couldn’t I have made a decision sooner?
This was my oversight.
“When is the duel?”
“Now that Lady Elconja has accepted, it will commence immediately! Shall we go, Lord Erto?”
In response to Haidiera’s question, I nodded immediately.
“Of course, I can’t stand by while this nonsense is happening as a result of me. I need to step in and persuade Seldienne to surrender right away.”
“Alright, let’s hurry!”
Rusika grabbed my hand and Haidiera’s, pulling us along.
We ran through the hallway, along with other students, towards the stage where the duel was to take place.
*
And there, a tragedy was already unfolding.
The twelve noble students, all possessing top-tier abilities.
Each one alone would not have been a match for Seldienne, but together they launched merciless overwhelming attacks, cornering her without respite.
“Ugh…!”
As magical attacks rained down from all directions, Seldienne’s automatic defenses faltered, ceaseless wounds were carved into her body.
Blood splattered across the grass.
Her golden roll hair was stained red everywhere, and her once neatly tailored academy uniform lay tattered, exposing her bare skin.
“Elconja!”
I shouted toward the girl near death in the center of the stage, forcing my way through the crowd gathered in the audience.
Amidst the storm of magic shining in every color, I caught a glimpse of her crimson eyes glaring at me.
Bang!
“Ahhh!”
With a moment’s distraction, even more magic embedded into her body.
Her condition had already become a complete disaster.
There was no time to waste.
I took a deep breath and shouted so everyone on the stage could hear me.
“Stop dabbing around and just surrender—!”
The gazes of the students in the audience turned towards me in unison, and the nobles fighting on the stage halted their attacks momentarily to focus on me.
I kept my gaze solely on Seldienne and shouted again.
“What the hell are you doing!? Stop this at once!”
“Er… Erto.”
Seldienne, drenched in blood, gasped out my name.
I saw a flicker of conflict in her crimson eyes.
Yet, in the next instant, she readied her rapier once more with determination.
“Just watch! I will definitely win and apologize to you along with all the nobles!”
And then she no longer looked my way, charging at the nobles before her.
They scoffed at her valiant efforts and unleashed another round of attacks, flooding the grass with her blood again.
“That idiot…!”
I bit my teeth and could only watch the dreadful scene unfold.
Of course, they wouldn’t kill her,
nor would those wounds be permanent, as the Academy’s hospital would heal them through magic,
and even such a brutal execution would fade into mere history after a while,
but even so—
I simply couldn’t accept it.
Why.
Seldienne, why are you going to these lengths just to apologize to me? Why?
“Aaaah!”
Her scream filled with agony echoed through the air.
Her head gradually drooped, and I could no longer bear to see her getting hurt.
Clenching my fists, I could only express my anger at that incomprehensible choice.
Thus, the time stained with shades of red finally came to an end.
The duel concluded with Seldienne Elconja’s tragic yet expected defeat.
The loss was due to excessive bleeding leading to her unconsciousness.
Even until the very end, she did not concede defeat with her own lips.
Ultimately, Seldienne was merely beaten by the noble alliance and got nothing in return.
Truly,
it was incomprehensible.
*
That night.
Inside the infirmary of the Academy, Seldienne Elconja opened her eyes to find herself staring blankly at the ceiling.
‘Ah, I’ve lost.’
Intense feelings of helplessness and pain filled every part of her body.
In the end, she hadn’t achieved anything.
She truly wanted to sincerely apologize to Erto.
No one stood by her side, and instead, she had turned all the nobles against her.
Was she truly beyond redemption?
Such a result could only spawn such feelings of self-loathing.
Perhaps the way she had acted so wretchedly all this time was returning to her as karma.
Then where did it all go wrong?
Was it from the moment she liked the boy named Erto?
Or perhaps, further back?
It could be that from the moment she was born, her life was destined to twist like this.
She had been born with everything, but in the end, did not obtain what mattered most.
All she wanted was to convey her feelings to him.
Now, her state was so pitiful that it was beyond laughable.
With her own hands, she had ruined everything, and even her attempts to gather it all back had failed, crashing her even deeper into despair.
‘Failure, yet another failure. This is your life.’
To atone for the wound she had inflicted on Erto that day in the square, she felt they needed tons of heartfelt sentiments.
She believed she alone would be woefully inadequate to comfort him.
Thus, she struggled to gather enough feelings to restore the trust that had been shattered that day.
But she had utterly failed at that.
Now, all she had left was the absence of Miu and Jury, her faithful companions, friends, foes, her beloved.
A complete loner. That was the most accurate assessment of Seldienne Elconja at this moment.
‘Perhaps… you were aware this would be your fate.’
Seldienne moved her aching arm and covered her eyes.
“Hah—”
A single stream of liquid flowed down beneath that heavy shadow.
‘What a foolishly dumb girl.’
Now, properly apologizing to Erto had become entirely impossible.
This failure surely had to be her own karma.
But,
there was still one last thing she had to do.
The final heartfelt admission from Seldienne Elconja, which she had resolved to make from the beginning.
She was fully aware that it wouldn’t matter,
that she could feel the loss of Erto’s gaze upon her and the reality that he would never call her name kindly again,
but still, she wanted to convey something to him.
May that voice reach him at least.
With that prayer in her heart, Seldienne awaited the coming light of morning.
*
A new day had dawned.
The morning at the Academy flowed by as normally as ever, as if nothing had happened.
Despite such a significant incident the day prior, it concluded as a mere disturbance within the Academy.
It had been a duel thoroughly agreed upon, and wasn’t extreme enough to force the outside houses to interfere.
Blaming someone for losing the duel one accepted was contrary to noble honor, so no one could even do that.
It was simply one of the many incidents that occurred at the Academy.
That bloody duel of yesterday would merely be remembered as just that.
But what would happen next was an unforeseen event that would stretch far beyond the students’ expectations.
Before the students performing morning training on the platform, a female student approached.
Clip-clop—clip-clop—
A girl wrapped in bandages, struggling to take each step.
Unlike usual, her golden hair flowing down to her waist, unkempt, where it was unable to be styled properly.
Seldienne Elconja.
She appeared before all the students despite not being in a condition to be discharged.
Surrounding students began to whisper amongst themselves, gazing at her with various expressions.
But, Seldienne could no longer hear their voices.
Such things were now of little importance.
What mattered was what she would convey to him today.
And before that, the final matter she had to resolve as the great aristocrat Elconja in this Academy.
She entered the podium just as she had in the square, activating her magical powers to manifest a high stage.
Clip-clop—clip-clop—
Once on top of it, Seldienne cleared her throat, then loudly declared.
“Everyone, pay attention!”
Even without saying it, all the students were already concentrating on her.
Were they to file a lawsuit against the noble alliance that had inflicted injuries upon her?
Such thoughts were the most prevalent among the students’ minds.
However, what came from Seldienne’s lips was an entirely different matter.
“I, Seldienne Elconja, have committed an unforgivable sin against Erto!”
Ah.
Not this again, the Erto talk.
Is she asking again for him to forgive her?
In an instant, students’ faces clouded with annoyance and disdain.
Seldienne turned to scan their expressions, a faint smile forming on her face.
“Thus, I attempted to apologize on behalf of all the nobles, but even that fell through.”
She spotted the dark-haired boy way off in the distance watching her, along with the female students by his side.
Good, they’re there.
They’re looking at me.
Feeling relieved, Seldienne began her heartfelt declaration toward the crowd.
“I will reveal the reason I wished to apologize to Erto right here.”
The students perked up their ears, focusing intently on her words.
And,
“The reason is that I have long harbored feelings for Erto.”
Gasp—
A collective gasp echoed through the podium as the students swallowed air simultaneously.
They stared wide-eyed at Seldienne’s shocking confession, but Seldienne continued her words with an indifferent face.
“While I cherished my feelings for Erto, I tormented him. I had been enveloped in a terribly misguided form of love.”
A self-derisive smile rose on her face.
“And at last, when it was said to drive him away from the Academy, I betrayed him to preserve my position as a representative of the nobles.”
The podium fell silent, as if mouse could be heard.
No one interrupted her voice.
“I kept thinking. What kind of punishment must I face to share in the pain he endured?”
She pulled out a piece of paper from her jacket pocket.
It was a form that every student in the square had seen before.
“Since I was the one trying to expel him from this place, I should bear a punishment of the same kind.”
A self-withdrawal application.
This was Seldienne Elconja’s conclusion.
“This is a confession of a wicked woman wishing to reclaim the pain she inflicted on him.”
In her crimson eyes, there was no sign of lingering attachment whatsoever.
With an expression of sheer refreshment, she proclaimed to all the students.
“I, Elconja, will today resign from the Academy. This is my apology and my heartfelt admission to Erto.”
――
The students gathered on the podium were left dumbfounded, taking in her final moment.
“I had a wonderful time staying here until now. I wish you all well.”
With that brief farewell, Seldienne raised her skirt and bowed her head, then walked down from the podium that crumbled away into dust.
Clip-clop—clip-clop—
No one dared speak to her retreating figure.
At this point, Seldienne Elconja had become a complete loner.
Students merely regained their composure and began lively discussions with those around them about the current situation.
Thus, Seldienne Elconja had dropped out.
It made for quite the thrilling gossip.
Yet, none showed any concern for her plight.
So, Seldienne Elconja walked along the path, fading from sight.
*
Clip-clop—clip-clop—
As the girl walked with great effort, passing through the empty square after exiting the Academy’s main building…
“Ah.”
The crimson eyes cast downwards lifted to discover something appearing ahead.
There stood a boy who had dashed to catch up with her.
“Heh heh, it’s great to see you again so soon.”
Seldienne chuckled slightly, waving her hand at Erto.
Erto said nothing; he merely stared back at her.
His yellow eyes were filled with numerous emotions.
Among those, Seldienne knew well that anger and hatred were included.
Once more, she laughed at herself and began to infer why he had followed her.
“As I said, I have loved you. I loved you, even now, yet I can’t declare it clearly anymore. Everything is such a mess now. Hoo hoo.”
Yet Erto remained silent.
“Isn’t there another girl like me who would torment the one she loves and let him go? I’m truly beyond help, hah!”
Still, he didn’t say anything.
“It’s my proper ending as such a bad girl. I realized that I don’t deserve to have precious things during this opportunity. So I have no complaints.”
Erto continued to say nothing.
“Have you come to mock this pitiful sight? Or perhaps to spit at me? Or was it simply that you wanted to stare at me a little longer?”
Seldienne continued to hurt herself with her own words as if in penance.
The presence of the person she needed to atone for was right in front of her.
She felt that she wanted to empty herself of everything before leaving.
“I’m sorry for not being able to persuade the nobles. But I’d appreciate it if you acknowledge that I did try my best.”
Erto’s eyes remained fixed on her face.
As if he were asking her if there was any more to say.
“Hah… I’m running out of words.”
Seldienne hung her head low, slowly moving her numbed legs to pass by Erto.
“I’m truly sorry. Please don’t ever forgive me.”
After finally letting out the heartfelt words she had wanted to convey for so long, she vanished from the sight of the one she loved.
‘Now’
‘I’m truly’
‘alone.’
A thought floated up as she drifted through her fading consciousness—
“Seldienne!”
Hearing the call from behind,
“Huh…?”
Her weary crimson eyes widened.
Slowly she turned around,
“What is it… your… name…?”
The boy approaching her who had been chasing after her placed both hands on her shoulders.
In his eyes were sorrow, reminiscence, and pity as he bore a difficult smile, speaking to her.
“I’m sorry.”
“Why…?”
The girl, with a dazed expression, questioned his sudden behavior.
The boy set aside the long story and simply uttered the heartfelt truth for this moment.
“I want to forgive you. Will you forgive me too?”
“Ah…”
With a sigh, the girl’s head dropped again.
Then, slowly, it rose again.
With her eyes filled with overflowing joy.
“Ah, really… you really will forgive me…? Erto…?”
The boy nodded without a moment’s hesitation.
The girl trembled and clutched at his permission once more.
“Can I still love you… from now on? Is that really okay…?”
He nodded again.
That was enough.
Even knowing that she wouldn’t receive anything in return,
even realizing that this love may never come true, just—
the fact that he calls her name was enough for her boundless happiness.
“Erto… Just once more… call my name…”
Enduring the surging emotions, she spoke with a trembling voice.
“Yeah, Seldienne.”
“Ah… Ahhh!”
As he called her name once more,
with a radiant smile, she burst into tears of joy.
For this one moment, she was no longer the noble Elconja,
but simply the girl Seldienne who was still holding onto her first love.