Chapter 21

Chapter : 21

I settled on another of my elective courses.

For the remaining slot, I chose Understanding the Thousand-Year History of the Ruin Empire.

It was not the sort of effortless class I could coast through the way I could with Introduction to Giant Beast Hunting, but it interested me. Since I had ended up in this world, I figured I ought to know at least the bare minimum, so I visited the library and read a few books.

Among them was a history of the Empire, and there I came across two interesting names.

Cedric and Heinz.

They were described respectively as the first Sword Master and the first Archmage, and both had been characters who appeared in one of my sister’s earlier works.

As I read through their chronicles, little bursts of laughter kept slipping out of me. That was what made me think that a class related to history might actually be fun.

Just imagining an instructor earnestly lecturing about their stories made the corners of my mouth twitch.

That was why I chose Understanding the Thousand-Year History of the Ruin Empire.

“And why are you here?”

Navier Loveone was sitting in the seat next to mine.

There had been a trend for a while where hulking, muscular characters were supposed to be clever, while neatly dressed characters with glasses were meant to be unexpectedly poor at academics.

But Navier was not one of those.

“Why are you taking this?”

“Tell me about it.”

Navier let out a deep sigh and pulled out her textbook from her bag.

“I narrowed down a few classes that seemed like the sort His Highness the Crown Prince might take and took a chance on them, but every single one turned out to be wrong. Besides this one, there were Theory of Kingship and Imperial Studies, and since I missed both of those too, I truly have no idea what classes he is taking.”

“He probably learned all that sort of thing at home already.”

Pretending to wipe away tears, Navier brushed her finger beneath her eye.

“How tragic. The conclusion, then, is that I now have to take a class where I know absolutely no one.”

In other words, she had no clique here.

What kind of villainess ever walked around alone? There were always two or three young ladies from families of lower standing trailing behind her.

This time, Navier had rolled the dice in hopes of taking a class with the Crown Prince.

Even if it meant the risk of ending up alone, she had deliberately aimed for him and tried to share a class with him.

And, unfortunately for her, the die had landed on one.

“Still, there’s one person I know.”

“You’re all right being seen with me? There are a lot of eyes around.”

This was different from sharing one meal together the other day.

That had only been an occasional event.

All it did was show the people around us that our relationship was not bad. But this felt like the sort of thing that might invite misunderstandings.

Perhaps reading that question on my face, Navier giggled.

“Everyone knows. Among the people who enjoy those sorts of rumors, the ones who don’t know are rarer.”

“Know what?”

“That there is absolutely no chance of Lord Raphael giving his heart to me. It’s well known that before enrollment, Lord Raphael was pursuing Lady Bishot. And there was that incident in the dining hall not long ago as well.”

I forced a cough and an awkward smile.

“Yes, now that you mention it, that’s true.”

“So there’s no need to worry about anything unnecessary. Let’s have a meal together after class.”

---

Navier said,

“I’m rooting for you, Lord Raphael.”

“For what?”

“I’m afraid Lady Bishot might somehow catch His Highness the Crown Prince’s eye. If that’s going to happen, then wouldn’t it be better if Lord Raphael snapped her up first? I’d even like to help make that happen.”

“How?”

Navier smiled with her nostrils flaring.

Good grief. She really did know how to hold a grudge.

“Even though quite a bit of time has passed since the semester began, Lady Bishot still doesn’t have any friends.”

That was my fault. I had driven both Jefrin and Ian out of the Academy.

“She must be lonely by now, right? And I heard she lost the results of the research she’d worked so hard on. She must be struggling, right? If she were pushed just a little further, might she not break?”

“And then I’m supposed to pretend I’m helping her?”

“Does that offend you? But is there any surer method than this?”

Navier met my eyes.

Her face was unreadable.

Judging by the complete lack of hesitation or concern over how I might react, she seemed utterly confident that I would accept her proposal.

And yes, the Raphael from the Original Work would have.

He had joined hands with Navier to torment Bishot mercilessly, all while planning to step in afterward looking noble and heroic. Was he not a complete idiot? There had to be limits to stupidity. Had he really believed that would work?

Had he truly thought Bishot would fail to suspect Raphael’s hand behind the scenes tormenting her?

To state the conclusion first, Navier and Raphael failed.

Instead, the Crown Prince expelled Raphael, and Navier was forced to give up forever on her dream of becoming Crown Princess.

But the reason I rejected Navier’s proposal was not simply because it was idiotic.

“I don’t want to.”

“What?”

“Whether it works or not, I just don’t want to do it.”

Navier’s mouth fell open in shock. The look of vacant surprise that came over her face was not deliberate at all, and it made me want to laugh. Then she said,

“A place in a ducal house? You’re giving that up? Or are you saying you can claim it without my help?”

“What is this all of a sudden? What’s gotten into you?”

Navier’s hands had curled into fists.

Her square-shaped nails must have been digging into her palms, yet she clenched her teeth as though she felt no pain.

She seemed angry. But why? At what?

Then Navier suddenly jolted, as if she had just realized she was far too worked up. She gently opened her fists as though nothing had happened and folded both hands together so that the nail marks in her palms would not show.

“I’m sorry. I thought Lord Raphael wanted the same thing I do.”

“What?”

“Why, to rise in status. To go higher than the place you were born into.”

Forcing a cheerful little smile, Navier continued,

“Realistically, there’s only marriage, isn’t there? One marries a spouse of higher standing. In my case, His Highness the Crown Prince. In Lord Raphael’s case, Lady Bishot.”

Only then did I realize it. The way Navier had been acting overly friendly toward me had not been pure performance.

She had felt a sense of kinship with me.

So that was why she’d asked whether I truly liked Bishot.

“Ha ha, so in that sense, I actually thought I had the advantage. I can become Crown Princess, but Lord Raphael can’t become Emperor, can he?”

“Ah.”

“I’m sorry for getting worked up. It’s just... I thought we were the same.”

“We’re not.”

“So were you serious? When you said you simply didn’t want to do it? Would it be rude of me to ask why?”

“It wouldn’t be rude. I meant exactly what I said. I just... don’t really want to.”

“Have you given up on Lady Bishot?”

I tilted my chin.

“I don’t think she’s someone worth obsessing over that much.”

Navier raised the corners of her mouth. This was a gesture for show.

“I won’t give up. I’ll definitely become Crown Princess and mistress of the Empire.”

“Good. I’ll root for you.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

I was just about to part ways with her when a thought suddenly struck me.

The odds were low, but if she really did end up with the Crown Prince, wouldn’t that be all right?

In many ways, it made sense.

For one thing, from my perspective, it would remove one of the male lead candidates, and not just any candidate, but an overwhelmingly powerful one.

And what mattered most right now was increasing my own chances of survival.

Then what about Navier? She probably would not dislike being helped toward the thing she wanted most.

As Navier began to rise from her seat, I tapped the desk to call her back. Her eyes shifted, and she tilted her chin slightly.

“What is it?”

“I’ll help you become Crown Princess.”

“What?”

The fact that the Crown Prince had taken an interest in Bishot was certainly influenced by her face, but that was not the whole of it. There had been several plausible incidents involved as well.

“I’ll help you. So later on, if there comes a time when I need your help, use your influence for me.”

---

At my passionate lecture, Navier Loveone wore the most foolishly bewildered expression I had ever seen on her.

Her brows drew together slightly, her head tilted, her nose wrinkled, and her mouth hung open.

If her mother or her nurse had seen her then, they would have fainted. If someone had simply brought her a mirror, she would likely have been startled by the discovery that she herself was capable of making such a stupid expression.

I barely managed to suppress my laughter and waited for Navier’s response.

After swallowing the saliva that had gathered in her mouth, she said,

“By helping me, you mean that?”

“Why? Is it hard to understand? Or did you already forget? Want me to explain it again?”

“No, no, no. I mean, if I summarize what you said, you’re telling me I need to deliberately treat His Highness the Crown Prince coldly.”

“Yes. More or less. More precisely, though, the focus isn’t on the cold treatment itself. The idea is that there’s actually something in your life far more important than romance, and that thing is so important that you’re deeply immersed in it.”

“Why?”

She answered shortly, sounding as though she simply could not accept it.

Usually, she believed that replying in short sentences to someone was discourteous, so she always spoke at length. But this time was different.

With an incredulous look on her face, she challenged me directly.

“Pfft.”

The sight of it amused me so much that I let out a laugh after all, and Navier lowered her head at once, as though realizing she’d made a mistake.

“I really don’t understand. Why do I have to do that? What’s the point of it?”

“Listen. This is the key, I’m telling you. How many young ladies do you think have approached His Highness the Crown Prince by now? There are probably more than you can count on both hands. If you behave in the ordinary way, all you’re doing is adding one more finger to that total.”

“And what does treating him coldly have to do with that?”

I took in a sharp breath.

I’d already told her that wasn’t the main point, and yet she kept fixating on the wrong thing. Shaking my head in frustration, I tapped the desk with my finger and explained again.

“I’m only going to say this one more time, so listen carefully. If you want His Highness the Crown Prince to recognize you as a woman, then your first impression has to be different from the start.”

“But I’ve already met him before.”

“Ah, right. You have. Then this time you need to overwrite that completely. You need to leave yourself stamped into His Highness the Crown Prince’s memory.”

I punched at the air as though smashing through a pane of glass.

Navier giggled, then nodded.

“I think I understand, at least a little. In short, you mean I should pretend not to be interested in him in order to leave a strong impression, right? But why that method in particular? Aren’t there other ways?”

“There probably are a few, but this one is the most effective. What do you like? Or what do you want to get better at?”

“What?”

Navier shot the question back at me.

“I asked what you like. Or what you want to become good at. This matters. You need to show His Highness the Crown Prince that there’s something more important to you than your love life.”

“Ah... um...”

Navier closed her mouth.

She lifted both hands and swept back her thick golden hair, then twisted it around her fingers and bit down lightly on her lower lip. Then she clasped her hands together and rubbed the back of one hand with her fingertips.

What was that? Did something hurt?

“Hey, are you all right? What’s wrong with you?”

“Well...”

Navier smiled weakly, then said,

“I don’t think I have anything like that. As with most people, I like sweet food. In jewelry, I prefer things that are ornate. And whatever it may be, I prefer it to be beautiful. But that isn’t what you meant, is it?”

“Ah. No.”

“In that case, I don’t think there’s anything I like, or anything I especially want to be good at.”

“Oh? Really? Ah... I see. Wait a moment.”

I hadn’t anticipated that answer, and it caught me off guard. More than that, the dejected look on Navier’s face bothered me.

She wasn’t the sort of person who usually let such gloom show so openly, so seeing it there made me feel strangely guilty, as though I’d done something wrong.

“It’s all right. That can happen. Actually, it doesn’t necessarily have to be something like that. All we really need is to make His Highness the Crown Prince see it that way.”

“How?”

“You took a whole bunch of courses this semester, didn’t you? The ones that require real thought.”

“I did choose courses that seemed like the sort His Highness the Crown Prince might take.”

“Good. Then we’ll go with that. You take first place.”

“What?”