Monday morning, in Class A.
The room had become a stage for judgment.
"I'm disappointed in you, Clyde."
At the center stood, naturally, Clyde von Helmuth.
Confronting him head-on were three Class A students.
Nesty von Langheim, Reinel von Ahrens, and Annette von Markly… The first two had been defeated by Albert and Nina respectively in the previous contest. The remaining female student had long held a vendetta against Sara… and like the others, she had lost to Class B in the contest.
Furthermore, all three shared one additional trait: after the contest, they had joined the faction that refused to acknowledge Class B's victory—just like Clyde.
In other words, Clyde was now being attacked by those who had once been his allies.
"To think that behind that facade of noble words, you would stoop to something this filthy!"
"Exactly! Oh, and here I thought you were a class leader worth respecting!"
"I'm disgusted, Clyde! I never imagined you were that kind of person!"
The cause, needless to say, was the evidence Katia had compiled over the weekend: his history of unjust words and deeds, as well as proof that he had been trying to fabricate claims of Class B's cheating to support his own assertions.
At this precise moment, she had mercilessly scattered that information across the entire school.
There had been room to negotiate… or rather, that was the intended use of the information. But judging from his behavior during the holiday, there was virtually no chance Clyde would agree to negotiate. So she had decided to release it without restraint—like a bomb.
And besides, she understood something.
The biggest reason Clyde had been able to remain class leader wasn't his strength, eloquence, or charisma—it was that he had guaranteed a certain degree of benefit to Class A.
Therefore, the moment they lost the contest—the venue where they could satisfy their sadism and vanity—his influence had already deteriorated considerably. Those who remained had placed their hopes not in his character, but in his ability to turn things around.
If she then drove the final nail—presenting evidence so overwhelming that denial was impossible, proving that no comeback was possible…
"Hey! Are you listening, Clyde! How do you intend to make amends for this?!"
"You've betrayed our trust! Know that this crime weighs heavily!"
Thus, his isolation was a foregone conclusion.
That day, she had let Clyde off the hook—not out of mercy, but because there was no need to finish him off.
Just as she had said—she hadn't even needed to lift a finger.
Those same people who were condemning him now would certainly suffer if Clyde were gone, since without him they'd have no remaining means to disparage Class B. That much was undeniable.
But since things had come to this, they could only accept it and move on.
They calculated: "Let's at least minimize the damage—let's pin all the blame on Clyde and push our own sins onto him." That was why they were conducting such fierce denunciations now.
…Since she could see right through it, watching was hardly pleasant.
But she had judged this approach to be most effective against people of this type, so Katia had deployed it. She would watch this farce play out to the end from the center of the classroom.
And Clyde—finally betrayed even by his former allies, now completely isolated—
"—Wait!"
Even now, he refused to give in.
"You've got it all wrong! You're being deceived! You seem to think I fabricated the evidence—but it was Katia, the one who provided that information, who fabricated it! How can you not understand something so simple?!"
"Don't be ridiculous! That evidence includes eyewitness accounts too numerous to ignore, and even things we've personally witnessed! Are you still trying to squirm out of this at this point?!"
"Yes! How much more humiliation do you have to pile on before you're satisfied?!"
But the accusers, and indeed people of this stripe, showed a terrifying tenacity when it came to dragging others down.
Clyde's desperate excuses were shut down immediately, and as he grew increasingly unable to speak, even more abuse was heaped upon him.
"I knew something was off from the start! Someone who only strutted around riding on His Highness Aster's coattails!"
"Indeed! Someone who can barely string words together, and yet puts on such airs!"
"His Bloodline Magic is probably just something he's hiding—it can't possibly be anything impressive!!"
And finally, they stepped into territory no one had touched before.
The contradiction that had allowed Clyde to wield such influence at this academy—why had no one ever questioned it?
Clyde heard their words, his lips trembling in shock.
"…Why…"
He opened his voice—laced with anger, sorrow, and pity.
"How can you say something so terrible!? I've worked so hard for everyone's sake all this time! Why won't anyone believe me?! Don't you think this is far too cruel to me?!"
"…"
"Haven't I always said it? That nobles going forward should be humble and work together! And yet, the moment you thought it might disadvantage you, you abandoned me! Won't any of you help me, after everything I've contributed to Class A?!"
No one raised their voice in response to Clyde's claims.
Not because they couldn't—but because they were simply dumbfounded.
At the speed with which he shifted to playing the victim. At the sheer stupidity of making arguments with no substance.
But Clyde himself, speaking in a tone as though not the slightest doubt had crossed his mind, delivered one final statement:
"How arrogant and selfish you all are! People like you will receive the same treatment as His Highness Aster—
Punishment
will be
upon you
!!"
At that brazen, barefaced declaration with absolutely no basis—
Nesty and the others responded with laughter.
"…Ha. What was that?"
"Punishment? How foolish of you. I suppose that just proves what you really are."
"Oh, if you're so capable, go ahead and deliver it right now—to us! If you can!"
The three pressed Clyde with undisguised mockery.
Cornered, Clyde seemed unable to say anything more. He retreated—until finally, he turned his back and walked out of the classroom.
The sound of three voices laughing triumphantly echoed through the room.
Everyone would have seen it as Clyde buckling under their denunciation and fleeing in disgrace.
In truth, Katia had seen it that way too—but then…
"…?"
She noticed two things that felt off.
First, that a few people in the classroom had shown a slightly strained quality amid their mockery of Clyde.
And second, that just before leaving the classroom, when Clyde had passed by Katia—his expression had been strangely distorted.
But these were too subtle to call real concerns. She had no basis for action and no time to react. Classes continued as usual that day, Clyde never returned, and the day ended uneventfully.
And then, the next day.
—
The number of empty seats in
Class A
had increased by
three.
"…Eh…?"
The absent trio were Nesty, Reinel, and Annette—the three who had denounced Clyde the day before.
According to their homeroom teacher that morning, the reasons for their absences were:
Nesty had been caught in a rockslide by chance and suffered severe injuries.
Reinel had been caught in a fire at a nearby shop for no apparent reason and was unconscious in critical condition.
Annette had been struck by a stray shot from a monster subjugation operation on her way home—an unfortunate accident that had left her with terrible burns.
In an eerie atmosphere, after homeroom ended—
"—See? I told you so."
Clyde had arrived at school as though nothing had happened, wearing a smile of genuine delight.
"Punishment
has been dealt. To those three—greedy, arrogant, and selfish—"
"Don't be ridiculous!"
Katia couldn't help but shout.
"What is that!? The timing, the people—anyone would think you had something to do with it! What exactly did you—"
"My, my, that doesn't sound like you at all, Katia."
But this time, Clyde returned her accusation with a composed, triumphant smile.
"'Anyone would think I had something to do with it'? To judge guilt based on such conjecture is foolish. Your father himself always says, 'Without evidence of a crime, there can be no charge.' Surely you're not so shameless as to dismiss that principle—?"
"You—"
"If you wish to charge me, then bring proof—real, irrefutable proof. Ah, and of course, the previous evidence won't be of any use? That was all fabricated charges to begin with. If you press further, you might just receive your own 'punishment'—"
His tone was so utterly assured, and yet so impenetrably vague.
And since there truly was no physical evidence—Katia could only stand there in silence.
◆
"…I had heard about it, but to think it actually happened yesterday…"
"What do you… mean?"
That day at lunch.
The four of them had gathered for their usual meal, but today the mood was far from cheerful.
Katia explained the morning's events alongside those of the day before, and Ermes listened with a grave expression. Sara and Nina were no different.
"So… while Clyde certainly has the most obvious motive… Is there really no evidence at all?"
"…That's right."
Sara's question—currently the most perplexing doubt—was met with Katia's nod.
"I contacted Father right after homeroom. The reply I just received says that… as things stand, the only conclusion is that 'three consecutive coincidental accidents occurred.'"
The rockslide: there had been no reports of suspicious figures near the cliff.
The fire: it had started inside the shop, and no one on the staff had left any gap for an intruder to slip through.
The stray shot: the nobles' soldiers who had been conducting the subjugation showed no suspicious movements or connections whatsoever.
And above all—
"—Clyde
showed absolutely
no signs
of lying."
The most terrifying fact of all, delivered by Katia.
"I am, after all, the daughter of a duke. I can read to some extent whether someone's words are false based on their reactions. But with Clyde—there was genuinely nothing. Not a shred."
"…That means—"
"He truly, wholeheartedly believes that it was a 'coincidence'—that 'punishment was dealt.' …What on earth is going on?"
More frightening than any clear threat—Katia shuddered and clung to Ermes.
"…I've heard of something like this before," Nina said, responding to Katia's account.
"In the previous term, something similar happened. Some Class A student apparently said various things to Clyde—called him a 'leech on His Highness,' said he 'couldn't even use magic,' and so on. And the very next day… well, you know how it went."
Katia finally understood.
The reason Clyde—who couldn't use Bloodline Magic—had been able to say whatever he wanted at this academy was because it benefited Class A, and because Aster's influence was still alive.
And beyond that—he had been feared. There had been an inexplicable terror surrounding him that kept everyone obedient without their realizing it.
If that was the case, then her classmates' reactions yesterday made perfect sense.
"What is this, really? Why…?"
"—Please calm down, Katia."
Confronted with what she had witnessed firsthand and gripped by terror, Katia was trembling. Ermes placed a hand on her shoulder to reassure her.
…He was grateful for his own personality at times like this, and began speaking calmly.
"Let's organize what we know. Three people were injured in accidents. Given the circumstances, it can only be Clyde's doing. And yet there is absolutely no evidence that anyone—Clyde included—was involved. …Is that correct up to this point?"
"…Yes. It's my father's investigation. I trust it."
Katia nodded firmly, drawing closer to Ermes.
"Then. If no human hand was involved, the very first suspect should be—"
"Magic.
Clyde's…
Bloodline Magic."
"Yes. …The fact that he himself may be unaware—'unconscious activation of magic'—that's entirely possible with Bloodline Magic."
Sara had arrived at the same conclusion simultaneously. Ermes nodded in agreement and continued his reasoning.
"The problem, then, is its true nature… Nina, you seemed to know something about it."
"It was during the contest. …Sorry, I only know that it 'doesn't seem to be an attack spell.' I heard that secondhand, so it might not be reliable."
As it happened, the Helmuth family was apparently extremely secretive about their Bloodline Magic. That made obtaining information from anyone quite difficult.
But that was no problem. Even without direct knowledge—they could deduce.
"It's all right, Katia."
To calm his trembling mistress, he began with logic.
"The root cause is almost certainly Bloodline Magic. And its effect—let me state this firmly. There is absolutely no possibility that it involves some vague, undefined 'curse' or 'manipulation of luck.'"
"…Wh-why…?"
"On my expertise in magic. …Besides, just think about it."
Of course, there was a possibility that Clyde used some technique Ermes didn't know—but that could be ruled out from another angle.
"Let us suppose, for the sake of argument, that Clyde's Bloodline Magic is some pitiful spell that 'brings terrible misfortune to its target'—"
Then, after a brief pause, Ermes said plainly:
"—Then why
weren't Katia and I
the first
targets?"
"…Ah—"
"Without question, the person he resents most right now is you and I. If he possessed such magic, he would have used it immediately. He would have cut ties with his family without hesitation to do so."
The fact that he hadn't—meant there was something preventing it.
"There must be some kind of trick or restriction. …Then the next thing we should do is uncover it. So—Katia, can you think of anyone who might be targeted next?"
"That's—"
She was about to question why they needed to know—but thanks to Ermes, her newly calmed mind caught on to his intent.
"…You intend to protect that person yourself?"
"Yes. If they move against us, it gives us a clue. Even if they don't, it serves as a deterrent. Given that there's clearly some reason he can't target us right now, this seems the most effective approach."
That said, since they still didn't know the enemy's hand in detail, the risk was far from low.
Katia hesitated for a moment at the thought of sending Ermes into such danger—
(—No.)
She realized that doing so would be tantamount to saying she didn't trust his abilities.
If she trusted him more than anyone—then the only words fitting for a retainer willing to act to resolve the situation were these:
"…Understood. I'm entrusting it to you. But please, don't push yourself too far."
"Yes. Just allow me to handle the protection detail. And—Sara, Nina, if you would."
"Got it. We'll keep watch over Katia."
"Understood. I can handle a rockslide or two."
With these three always together, they would be safe. Sara was already staying at the Trackia household, which made her presence natural, and as for Nina—she was, frankly, even more reliable than he had expected.
In any case, to reward the two for their willingness to help—Ermes resolved to get to the bottom of Clyde's magic no matter what.
And besides, this was a good opportunity.
If it became known that Clyde had personally harmed classmates, he would be truly finished.
(Admittedly, I do wish even he would show some restraint…)
It was time to expose everything and bring it all to a close.
With that resolve, Ermes set about his task.