"I heard quite an amusing rumor, dear brother."
The day after Arthur had been placed under house arrest, he received a visitor in his room. It was his older brother, who was about to graduate from Soul Academy, and who was also the Second Prince, currently in a struggle for the throne against the First Prince.
Cecil Soladin.
"I heard that you challenged the Lady of the Allen family to a duel, but when you realized you were going to lose, you resorted to underhanded tactics. What a rude and audacious rumor. I caught those spreading it and gave them a good scolding."
Cecil hadn’t come out of concern for Arthur.
He didn’t even think it was a baseless rumor.
The only reason he came to Arthur with this story was to humiliate him.
He was saying, I know what you did.
Aren't you ashamed of tarnishing the royal family’s name?
But his goal wasn’t achieved.
Despite the blatant insult, Arthur’s expression didn’t change.
“I’m sorry, brother. I made a mistake.”
"Oh? So the rumor is true?"
“Yes, it is.”
“This is surprising. You, who usually make no mistakes, have erred like this. Was there some kind of problem?”
“No, I just became impatient.”
Conversations like this were commonplace in the royal court.
It hadn’t always been this way, but ever since Arthur began to stand out, the situation had changed.
Both the First Prince and the Second Prince had started to keep a close watch on Arthur.
And whenever Arthur made any misstep, they would visit him to press him down as much as possible.
“Is that so?”
At first, Arthur had been bewildered by his brothers’ changed attitudes, but not anymore.
Now that he understood what kind of people they were, Arthur knew how to remain unaffected by whatever they said.
“What I heard is different.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, I heard that you became angry because the Lady Allen called you ‘Pathetic Prince.’”
Pathetic Prince.
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The nickname Lucy had given Arthur.
A derogatory term that, unlike most things, had shaken Arthur’s composure.
“‘Pathetic Prince.’ That brat believes she can spread thorns everywhere just because she has the Allen family’s backing.”
Despite hearing those words from Cecil’s mouth, Arthur’s emotions remained unexpectedly calm.
Sure, he was angry and annoyed, but it was nothing compared to when Lucy Allen had called him that.
So Arthur could respond to Cecil as usual.
“Arthur, if you wish, I could say a few words to Lucy Allen for calling you ‘Pathetic Prince.’”
“No, it’s fine.”
When Arthur shook his head, Cecil showed a rare moment of surprise.
“After all, Lady Allen is also the one who saved my life.”
There was nothing more after that.
After some meaningless conversation, Cecil left.
Since that day, Arthur kept thinking.
Why was it that he couldn’t bear the sting when Lucy Allen called him ‘Pathetic Prince,’ but felt almost nothing when Cecil said it?
Surely, Cecil’s words were more malicious and blatant.
And today, after his house arrest ended, Arthur had decided to resolve this question by meeting Lucy Allen. But before he could, a group of noblewomen blocked his path.
"Good day, Third Prince."
These were the girls who always followed Joy around.
The name of the one standing in front was...
“Yes, Everie.”
When Arthur called her name, Everie’s eyes widened, but she quickly composed herself with a soft smile.
“What is it?”
“It’s about Lady Allen.”
What she had to say wasn’t of much value.
She couldn’t forgive Lucy Allen for the insulting things she had said to Arthur.
Even if she had won the duel, it didn’t erase the wrongs she had committed, so they wanted to help Arthur punish her.
It was all utterly pointless.
These people were just pretending to sympathize with him, trying to use him for their own ends.
They simply didn’t like Lucy Allen and wanted to harass her, dragging him into it as well.
He wanted to tell them to leave, but since they were noble ladies of considerable standing, he restrained himself.
It was truly a shame.
If it were Lucy Allen, she wouldn’t care about the circumstances and would probably insult them on the spot.
“I appreciate the thought, but I’ll have to decline.”
“Pardon? But, Your Highness, we could surely be of help—”
“I understand. But shouldn’t a duel be settled by oneself? I’d rather not accept help from others.”
With the prince declining so politely, they had no choice but to retreat, albeit reluctantly.
As the flustered noblewomen were about to leave, their plans having fallen apart, Arthur stopped them and added,
“And one more thing. Lady Allen may be an important person to Joy, but she also saved my life. I’d appreciate it if you refrained from spreading too many harsh rumors about her. If she ends up needing my help due to malicious gossip, I’ll have no choice but to assist her.”
Hearing this, the group of noblewomen hastily agreed and left as if fleeing.
Watching them go, Arthur let out a dry laugh and rubbed his neck.
With so many enemies, I worry that someone else might bring her down before I get the chance.
“This is ridiculous. Both of them are siding with that disgrace from the Allen family.”
“What on earth does that brat have?”
“She must be using some sort of underhanded means. Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense.”
“That’s right. It didn’t make any sense for that arrogant, incompetent, and worthless girl to suddenly come in first in the entrance exam.”
“There’s definitely something. There has to be something.”
“If we could just uncover it, we could wipe that smug look off her face.”
Freyr’s blade was becoming sharper by the day, perhaps because sparring with me was helping him hone his skills.
Is he truly the most gifted swordsman in the history of the Kent family?
Ugh, these talent freaks!
The shield absorbing Freyr’s blows was starting to make some unpleasant noises.
Even though I was using it efficiently, it was still just a standard-issue shield.
It couldn’t hold out much longer against Freyr’s treasured sword.
If I keep defending, the shield will probably break before Freyr tires.
Maybe it’s time to end this.
“You pathetic swordsman♡ Is this all you’ve got?♡ Your sword is so light, it’s about to fly away♡”
The enhanced taunt effect of the Mesugaki skill instantly threw Freyr off balance.
His expression, usually focused solely on his sword, twisted as he looked at me.
He definitely fell for the taunt.
But he didn’t charge at me immediately.
From his past experience, he knew that rushing in recklessly would only lead to a trap.
But what can I do? That’s exactly what I was aiming for.
In a prolonged duel like this, even the slightest lapse in concentration can be fatal.
Freyr, who had forcibly halted his attack to regain his composure, was now slow to react.
He realized too late and moved his sword, but by then, it was over.
Pushed by my shield, Freyr stumbled and fell. As he tried to get up, he saw my mace hovering over him and gave up, lying flat on the ground.
“Shall we take a break?”
“What’s this, pathetic swordsman? You’re already exhausted? What a weakling. If you beg for a break, I might let you rest.”
“...I’ll rest.”
He mumbled, lying there as if he didn’t even have the strength to stand, so I put down my shield as well.
A few days had passed since Joy’s collapse.
Nothing much had happened during that time.
At most, my reputation had taken another nosedive.
Rumors had spread that I bullied Joy, and it didn’t help that I had thrown insults at her followers.
As a result, I’ve gone from being someone you shouldn’t approach to being treated like a landmine ready to explode at the slightest touch.
I only heard about it because when I asked Vissy to join me in the dungeon, she freaked out and told me everything.
But I haven’t really noticed any difference.
People avoiding me is nothing new.
Since no one was approaching me to begin with, it doesn’t really matter if my reputation has taken another hit.
I’ve decided to just enjoy it now.
Walking through crowds and thinking, “Is this what Moses felt like?” is pretty amusing.
What I’m more concerned about is something else entirely.
Last time in the infirmary, when I met Faybie, the Mesugaki skill made me speak informally to her, didn’t it?
But when I met her again, it had me speaking politely?
“Good day, Lousy Saint.”
I don’t get it.
If the Mesugaki skill had reverted, I should be using formal speech with Joy too, but I’m still speaking informally to her.
It’s not like I’m calling Carl anything different either. He’s still “Lousy Knight.”
But with Faybie, it’s different.
If I could figure out why this is happening, it might help me control the Mesugaki skill a bit better.
“Lucy Allen.”
As I leaned against my discarded shield to catch my breath, I heard a voice.
“Arthur. Long time no see.”
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Pathetic Prince?”
“Yes, it’s been a week.”
So today’s the day his house arrest ends.
Arthur’s expression was calm.
Before the duel, just seeing my face would make him scowl.
I guess saving him reduced a lot of his hostility.
But why does the Mesugaki skill make me speak politely to Arthur too?
If it’s going to be disrespectful, it should be disrespectful to everyone equally.
Why does it pick and choose?
Does it think Joy is an easy target?
...Well, she is, isn’t she? Yeah.
“I’ve come to meet you today to publicly acknowledge my defeat and offer you forgiveness. Would it be alright to ask when you’d be available?”
“It’s fine.”
“Why would I need the Pathetic Prince’s forgiveness?”
It’s not like it would change my reputation.
If anything, people might start rumors that I’m bullying Arthur again, so I don’t want to do anything in public.
Honestly, just knowing that Arthur’s opinion of me has changed is enough.
“But wasn’t that part of our bet?”
“Seriously, it’s fine. You don’t need to do that!”
“I’d rather not. I don’t think there’s anything to forgive.”
Since I kept declining, Arthur, perhaps realizing that forcing an apology would be inappropriate, nodded in agreement.
“Understood. Then I’d like to offer you something in return. As thanks for saving my life.”
A reward, huh?
There’s not much I could get from Arthur.
At best, it would be information or connections, neither of which is useful to me right now.
I already know everything I need to, and I wouldn’t be able to gain any connections even if I wanted to.
Oh. I just thought of something good.
“Dungeon.”
“Dungeon?”
“Dungeon?”
Joy can’t enter the dungeon, and Vissy is terrified of going in with me, which has been a problem.
But now I have someone who can join my party.
I was about to ask him to join me in the dungeon, but I hesitated, thinking it might sound strange if I brought it up first.
Hmm.
If asking is the problem, then I’ll just have him ask me instead.
“Please ask me to join you in the dungeon!”
“Pathetic Prince, would you please ask me to join you in the dungeon?”
“...What? Ask you?”
“Yes!”
“That’s right. Please ask me politely.”
Arthur, his eyes trembling, hesitated for a moment but eventually spoke.
“Lucy Allen, would you please grant me the honor of entering the dungeon with you?”
“I’ll allow it!”
“I’ll allow it, Pathetic Prince.”
For some reason, Arthur’s lips were trembling as he listened to my words.