Episode 226
- Creak...!
The carriage, battered and torn from stones and eggs thrown from all directions, comes to a stop at the location prepared by the imperial family.
- Thud!
And moments later, Frey emerges through the roughly opened door. With a cane in hand, he stumbles slightly as he heads toward the guards.
Following behind him were Alice, wearing a complicated expression, and Ariane, whose face had gone pale. As they walked, they suddenly came to a halt together.
"Lord Frey Laon Starlight is entering."
And in the next moment, the voice of an attendant echoed through the grand ballroom prepared by the imperial family.
""..........""
As the voice resonated, a chilling silence descended upon the ballroom.
- Step, step.
Within that silence, Frey quietly moved his feet. His gaze was fixed solely on the seat where his nameplate had been placed.
"Hmm."
Frey, who had made his way to his seat while enduring gazes filled with curiosity, overt hostility, and coldness, soon frowned.
"What is this?"
It was because his seat was located at the very end of the main hall.
As the eldest son of a ducal house, by custom Frey should have claimed a seat at the very front. Even if that weren't the case, it was proper etiquette to leave the very last seat unoccupied.
However, in that seat which would be a clear slight to any participant, Frey's name had undoubtedly been placed.
And with a shabby nameplate that even barons would use, at that.
"......."
Only after discovering this did Frey, realizing the intent behind the situation, cautiously look around.
"Puh, pfft..."
"...Isn't he going to flip everything over? That would be fun."
Most of the nobles were watching his reaction, anticipating what might happen.
Of course, this was an attitude they wouldn't have dared imagine in the past, but among the nobility, Frey was no longer someone they needed to tread carefully around or curry favor with.
Bombarded by the press daily, investigated by the imperial family and the Church, even disregarded by commoners.
Once the Hero's verification and appointment ceremony concluded, he would surely lose both power and wealth in the surprise hearing that would follow.
- Rustle...
And so, when Frey sat at the very last seat with a dejected expression and lowered his head, the nobles quietly turned away, covering their mouths to hide their smiles, while the maids chattered among themselves.
"If Frey becomes a commoner... what will happen?"
"Well... I don't know for sure, but he'll probably be terribly harassed by the noble ladies?"
"Should I take him in and raise him? If he doesn't listen, I could whip him a bit too."
"You're good at joking. You'll get targeted too if you do that."
The voices of young maids who had just recently entered the imperial household chattering away naturally reached Frey's ears as he sat at the very end, but he said nothing.
That's right. Frey was no longer a public enemy, but public prey.
Not his usual conceited expression, not his frivolous expression, not his arrogant expression. An anxious, depressed, frightened appearance that had fallen to rock bottom.
For anyone who knew him, it was enough to evoke a sense of moral violation.
And the title of a fallen duke's young heir that he would soon possess had the power to make many people's mouths water.
Being able to do as one pleased with someone who had been at the highest place, and who had fallen from there, had been considered attractive since ancient times.
And so, despite looking quite pitiful, Frey had no choice but to remain exposed to overt gazes and words for quite some time.
However, there were some exceptions.
"...He doesn't look well."
"Right? Isn't he worse than when we last saw him...?"
Some servants from the Starlight household who were cautiously conversing behind where Alice and Ariane stood blankly.
""..........""
Some young ladies who were watching him with sidelong glances.
"Master, who is that person? You said that's a seat where no one should sit, right?"
"...Sigh. I didn't want to come."
Or a cute young girl who had just arrived at the banquet, holding her master's hand.
.
"Lord Frey~! Hello?"
"Hmm?"
Someone speaks to Frey, who was sitting pitifully at the last seat.
"It's nice to see you here."
".....?"
At those words, Frey turns around and tilts his head in confusion.
It was because noble young ladies with heavy makeup were looking at him from behind, smiling with their eyes.
"Would you like to come to our seats? It seems very uncomfortable here."
"That's right~ Come to our side~"
The young ladies who had been smiling with their eyes tugged at Frey's clothes and made such a suggestion.
"Who are you?"
When Frey asked them this question, cracks appeared in the young ladies' smiles.
"Hehe... You don't seem to remember well?"
However, the one who appeared to be their leader maintained her smile without losing composure and quietly whispered.
"We're in the same class, you know."
"Same class?"
"And we were true Frey faction members, too..."
That's right. They were the representatives in charge of the female members among the self-proclaimed Frey faction at the academy, composed of those from at least marquis households or higher.
"You still don't remember even with this?"
When a girl who used to massage Frey's shoulders every day gently wrapped his shoulder with her hand, he quietly lowered his eyes and spoke.
"I still don't think I know."
"Come on, don't be like that..."
"...I have no interest in loose women."
The young ladies who had been gently massaging his shoulder fell silent at Frey's words.
"...It seems you don't understand what situation you're in right now."
After a moment, the expression of the girl massaging Frey's shoulders changed terrifyingly.
"You're done for soon. You'll probably become an ordinary commoner. Right?"
"........."
Her fingernails dug into Frey's shoulder as he fell silent at those words.
"Do you know how many bribes I've given you until now? No, it's not just me. The money and bribes our families gathered here have given you alone... would be enough to feed the Empire for 5 years?"
The girl who said that leaned her head toward Frey with a cold expression.
"So, how are you going to take responsibility?"
"Ugh..."
"You're going to be a commoner soon. All your money taken away too. How are you going to handle the fury of the noble families who invested in you?"
Despite her fingernails continuing to dig into his shoulder, Frey quietly kept his head lowered without looking back.
"Pfft... This is funny. The great Frey is groveling before me."
Satisfied by that sight, the girl quietly whispered near Frey's ear.
"Shall we make you our slave?"
"......."
"With our power... we could hide someone like you. That much is easy as eating cold porridge."
The girl, seeing Frey gazing at the floor with a pale expression, curled her lips and continued whispering.
"In exchange, we want to pay back all the humiliation we suffered from you... exactly as it was."
"........."
"If you don't like that, you could be sold to a brothel. Or get kidnapped. There were quite a few people sharpening their blades for you."
Hearing those words, Frey muttered in a low voice.
"Stop."
"Hm?"
Then, the girl tilted her head for a moment before smiling.
"You should stop."
"Pfft."
From among the young ladies surrounding Frey, who was now crouching low, with their arms draped over his shoulders and eyes filled with greed, their leader said.
"That's funny."
"Ugh..."
She whispered while twisting her hand this way and that.
"Since when could you give us orders?"
Frey, who closed his eyes at those words.
"I definitely warned you."
He said in a timid voice.
"My, how scary... What should I do? I'm so scared my legs are trembling..."
The sight of a fallen villainous young master, refusing to acknowledge his situation and continuing to speak in a commanding tone.
And the way his voice was trembling was an immensely amusing sight for them, who had built up so much resentment toward him.
"Why? Try screaming for help?"
But since it would be problematic if Frey maintained that attitude forever, they slowly began to surround him with cold expressions.
"Who knows... maybe a hero will appear to save..."
"Excuse me."
"Hm?"
Before they could completely surround Frey, someone appeared beside them.
"Could you move aside?"
"What? Who are you?"
A quite young-looking girl, wearing a robe that completely covered her face.
"I wasn't planning to come originally, but I insisted on coming so there's no seat for me. I'll be intruding."
Saying that, she squeezed between the young ladies and sat down next to Frey.
"What is this... this clueless little brat..."
The leader of the young ladies, watching her, opened her mouth with a cold expression.
"Brat, don't get in the way and get lost over..."
"...I'm asking you."
"Argh?"
Seeing the person who appeared behind her, her mouth fell open.
"I can't have my disciple standing."
"Ah, ugh. Y-yes, of course...?"
The Lord of the Empire's Magic Tower was standing with a languid expression.
"".........!""
At the news that the disciple of the Empire's Magic Tower Lord, who had only been the subject of rumors, had revealed themselves, the nobles' gazes concentrated on the last seat.
"What are you looking at?"
However, at that single word from the Tower Lord, the gazes turned away again.
"Th-then we will... take our leave..."
In that situation, the young ladies who chose to retreat for now.
"...We'll come back later. Be prepared."
After whispering that coldly near Frey's ear, they quickly walked out to the corridor.
""..........""
And then came a brief silence.
"Excuse me."
The girl who broke that silence asked Frey, who was still keeping his head lowered beside her.
"Are you alright?"
"........"
"Excuse me~?"
When Frey didn't answer, she leaned to the side to look at his face as he kept his head down.
"Hmm..."
She looked at Frey's face for quite a while.
"...Don't mind me, brat."
But Frey, who hadn't even been looking at her, spoke in a cold voice.
"........"
And then, after watching Frey raise his head and begin watching the verification ceremony that was already nearing its end, she said.
"Why did you just let them do that to you?"
"......."
"Hm?"
She pressed him with questions.
"...Don't you know who I am?"
"I do. I just heard from Master."
"Then why do you keep talking to me?"
"I'm curious."
"Haah."
Thanks to her, Frey frowned slightly, let out a short sigh, then glared behind him and muttered.
"There was no need to accommodate fools who can't understand even when told to stop."
"...?"
"But..."
Frey, looking at the brat who tilted her head at those words, soon furrowed his brows and asked.
"...Who are you?"
On the girl's left hand, a ring was shimmering.
.
Meanwhile, at that moment.
"Ah, ugh, aaaaaah...!"
From beyond the corridor door, Serena and Klana were holding the young lady who had been pressing her fingernails into Frey's shoulder moments ago, one on each side.
"S-sorry... I'm sor... aaagh...!"
With cold expressions, they pressed down on both her shoulders as they spoke.
"Did you remember the people who scattered earlier?"
"I remembered all of them. Their houses and names too."
"Is today's announcement ready too?"
"Yes, perfectly."
They were conversing with calm expressions.
"But... who is that brat?"
"They said she's the Magic Tower Lord's disciple?"
"I see. She wasn't supposed to come originally... She suddenly came so there was no seat, I suppose? If that's the case, that's a relief..."
Klana, who had asked Serena with a slightly tense expression, murmured in a relieved voice at her answer.
"...Wait, the Magic Tower Lord's disciple?"
But soon, she frowned deeply and began staring at the robed girl beyond the door.
"In the previous cycle, Irina was the only disciple of the Magic Tower Lord?"