Chapter 37: I Tried Confronting the Three Stooges.
“Well, well, if it isn’t Prince Edward von Leclair-sama. We haven’t had much interaction at the academy, but is something the matter? Going out of your way to gather so many people, it’s as if some kind of event is about to begin, isn’t it?”
I, being mindful of decorum, knelt on one knee and placed my fist before my head.
“Don’t play innocent. You know why you’ve been summoned here, don’t you?”
“Hmm? I haven’t done anything, though?”
As I stood up, I tilted my head.
“It doesn’t matter what you say. Serios von Aegrid, I hereby pass Judgment upon you.”
Edward’s voice echoed coldly. I felt the gazes of the nobles sharpen further.
“Judgment…? On what grounds, I wonder?”
I deliberately feigned composure and asked back. However, Edward’s eyes didn’t waver in the slightest, and his words, though quiet, carried a heavy resonance.
“First, regarding the mistakes you’ve made as a Lord. Oppressive tax policies, merciless treatment of your people. The blunder of letting bandits run rampant, causing the deaths of many citizens of the Kingdom. And then, Lady Liese, who was suffering due to the heavy taxes you imposed—you ‘helped’ her with the power of your gold, and using that debt of gratitude as a shield, you worked her until her health collapsed.”
All the Sins the Prince listed were undoubtedly Sins Serios had committed.
“If someone like you continues to do as they please in the borderlands, it will disrupt the order of the entire Kingdom. As a member of the Royal Family, I cannot allow that.”
A member of the Royal Family, huh? The moment Liese’s name was mentioned, I clenched my fists.
“Let me correct one thing. Her overworking herself was not due to my orders. It was the result of her own efforts. Don’t get it twisted.”
As Prince Edward flinched and stepped back, Raul spoke up with a cold smile.
“‘Don’t get it twisted’?! It’s a fact that she collapsed from a fever, isn’t it?!”
“Can the oh-so-clever son of His Excellency the Chancellor not even understand such simple words? Her efforts were her own. Don’t mistake them as being due to my orders or for my sake! That’s what I said.”
“O-Of course! Her efforts are genuine. But you bought her with gold. Can you truly say she had free will?”
At those words, a small murmur arose from the surrounding nobles.
“It doesn’t matter what you all think. Our relationship is one of Master-Servant. It’s not for the likes of you to comment on.”
“Master-Servant? To think you’d use such words to justify dominating a person.”
Raul’s sarcastic words stirred unease within me. Not missing that opening, Gard stepped forward.
“Serios, you are merely using her efforts to bolster your own position. If you truly wanted to save her, you should have stopped her before she collapsed. More than anything, you should have given her freedom as an individual student, not as an attendant.”
Those words cut deep into my chest. The memory of when Liese collapsed flashed through my mind.
(To give her freedom as an individual student. Indeed, if I did that, even our Master-Servant relationship would cease to exist.)
However, I have no intention of backing down to them here. I stared them down.
“She chose to be by my side of her own free will. Those like you, who are content to surround someone with superficial goodwill, probably wouldn’t understand.”
At that moment, Gard’s expression hardened, and Raul snorted softly.
“It doesn’t matter what you say.”
Edward cut in coldly.
“Your actions burdened Lady Liese. That alone is the fact.”
“And we are here to protect her.”
“She is an outstanding citizen of the Kingdom. And you are the lowest of the misgoverning nobles, a heretic of the Kingdom!”
(…I see. I thought this scene looked familiar. This is what happens when the heroine becomes romantically involved with multiple men. Is this the Judgment event from the reverse harem route? However, this is the academy where we spend three years, and Liese shouldn’t be involved with anyone. Why is something like this happening?)
However, from our exchange so far and their attitudes, I finally realized. They are trying to disparage me using Liese as a pretext.
“I don’t believe you’re truly acting for her sake, though.”
When I said that sarcastically, Edward frowned slightly.
“Serios, do not utter any more words to justify yourself. Your mistakes will not disappear. And you must take responsibility for them.”
Those final words Edward declared were like a verdict confirming my Sins.
(How do I get out of this situation…?)
While feigning composure, I searched for my next move.
What they would try next, how much I could maneuver in this situation. But what was clear, was that they had already made preparations to corner me.
And this “Judgment drama,” I came here having sworn to myself that I wouldn’t let it unfold as they wished.
“Responsibility? Then, let me ask you, Prince Edward. You just said you would pass Judgment on me. A Prince who has not yet even been appointed Crown Prince, how can you hold me, a Margrave with a noble title, responsible? If it were the members of the Everett Dukedom, whose lands border my Aegrid Territory and from whom I’ve received various forms of support, perhaps. But there is no one here who can pass Judgment on me!”
In the original otome game, Serios would have messed up much more on his own, and he would continue to commit evil deeds even after entering the academy.
His actions would be so egregious that the King himself would pronounce the Judgment.
But the current me has reformed the territory, corrected the past misrule, and even subjugated the bandits.
Furthermore, I’ve been quietly dedicating myself to my studies at the academy.
As for the factors that could lead to my Judgment, ever since I purchased Liese with gold, I have taken various countermeasures.
“I knew you would immediately use your authority as a shield like that. Lady Claris.”
When Edward called out, Claris and two other young ladies emerged from within the crowd.
“Yes, Lord Edward. Did you call for me?”
“Ah, Lady Claris von Everett. Lady Astasha Duran, Lady Mireille Glanz.”
“Serios! They are our Fiancées, and as you mentioned, also young ladies of the Everett Dukedom. Someone from the House you rely on will expose your misdeeds. This is the end for you.”
Edward looked down on me with a triumphant expression.
Solemnly and politely, the three young ladies remained silent with their eyes closed, steadfastly waiting for Edward to address them.