I Possessed a Character in an Academy Without a Protagonist – Chapter 40

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“Schlus Hainkel. I want to bestow you a title. Tell me if there’s anything you desire.”

“……”

What reaction did I show upon hearing those words?

Did I twitch the corners of my eyes?

Or did I unconsciously open my mouth?

I’m not sure, but for now, I had no choice but to pretend to be calm.

“When you say anything I desire, do you mean I can say anything without reservation?”

“Yes. Just say it.”

“Even if I say I want the title of a duke, you wouldn’t care?”

A smile spread across Aria’s lips.

Currently, there were only 3 positions for a duke in the Empire.

The duke of the desert development area.

The duke of the southern colony.

And the duke of the Monarch Duchy.

All three were economically and politically important positions.

If a commoner like me suddenly sat there one day, the social ripple effect would be enormous.

“Are you being serious?”

“It sounds like you’re saying you can’t give it to me. I clearly remember you told me to say anything.”

“Heh…… Ohoho…… Hahaha! I’m seeing all sorts of funny guys.”

Aria ended up bursting into laughter, wiping her eyes.

It seemed she liked my honesty.

Although she might just think of me as an amusing jester.

“I misunderstood your capacity. Yes. As you said, even I can’t easily give away the position of a duke. Is there something else you want?”

“Yes. There is.”

I was waiting for those words.

The offer of a title was indeed very tempting.

If I got the position of a viscount in some remote countryside and just collected taxes at the minimum tax rate, I would have a steady income for life without doing anything.

But that’s the only advantage.

There are actually more risks.

Even though I’m well-versed in the plausibility and events of this work, I have no information about managing a territory.

If I try to revive the territory but end up sending its economy and stability to rock bottom and get branded as a stupid viscount, I can clearly see that future.

In that case, it’s better not to have a territory at all.

But it was too much of a waste to just refuse this opportunity.

So the brilliant idea I came up with was this.

To make Aria refuse herself and receive another reward equivalent to the one she originally intended to give.

That way, I gained the right to demand a reward other than a title.

“May I take a treasure?”

“A treasure? What kind?”

“I heard there’s a warehouse in the underground of the palace where numerous treasures are stored. May I decide after seeing them?”

Actually, I had already decided on the treasure I would demand from the beginning.

Because among the treasures in the underground warehouse of the palace, there was one that had to be taken out as the top priority.

But if Schlus, who had never even set foot near the palace grounds, suddenly mentioned the name of the treasure, it was obvious that the source of the information would be doubted, so I said I would choose after seeing them.

If I’m lucky while choosing, I might even get to see the emperor’s face.

I want to meet that old bastard soon too.

Because he’s going to die soon.

“Alright. Most of them aren’t being used anyway. You can take anything inside the warehouse.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

“The palace is planning to confer a medal upon you. You can choose then.”

“Conferring a medal…… What do you mean by that?”

What? What?

Didn’t they say the school would give the medal?

How did it change to the Imperial Family giving it?

Isn’t the scale getting too big?

“Are you really asking because you don’t know? It’s to commend you for two things. For preventing the catastrophe on the Day of Magic. And for executing the damn Crow who killed my father.”

“……”

The latter probably had a bigger influence on the medal conferment than the former.

Henderson was the one who infiltrated the palace and brutally murdered the Crown Prince, Aria’s father.

Even after that, he wasn’t caught for several years, but I caught him instead, so they had no choice but to give me a reward.

But Henderson was actually…… Tsk, no. I’ll talk about this later.

“Your reaction is lukewarm. Do you not want to receive it?”

“I’m not very fond of intangible rewards. I feel like it will only make things noisy for no reason.”

I should be wary of becoming too famous too early when I’m still weak and haven’t stolen any plausibility yet.

When Henderson barged in, I was barely able to win thanks to luck, but if such guys keep targeting my life from now on……

I have no confidence in surviving at all.

“Ha! An intangible reward, you say. You’re probably the only one who would call the honor that other nobles would risk their lives to obtain that way. But you can’t refuse to receive it just because you don’t like it.”

“……”

“I’ll notify you of the detailed schedule later. If you don’t attend the medal conferment…… Right. You won’t be able to obtain the treasure you want.”

Aria said with a chuckle.

The treasure was taken hostage.

With this, even skipping without notice was impossible.

Of course, I never had the slightest intention of doing such a thing in the first place because I would be marked by the Imperial Family.

“Yes. I will make sure to attend. In return, Your Highness must also keep your word.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“No matter what treasure I choose, you’ll have to give it to me.”

“Hmph. You must be out of your mind.”

The atmosphere turned chilly in an instant.

It seemed I had properly upset her.

Of course.

I had just done the act of doubting Aria’s words.

It was a stupid thing to do, but it was a necessary stupidity.

If I stimulated her like this, she would coolly give me whatever treasure I asked for because her pride was hurt.

Or she would pretend to be cool while doing so.

“Judging by the way you’re scratching my belly so gently while saying this, the treasure you have in mind must not be an ordinary precious one. I’ll be looking forward to it. To see what you’ll choose.”

“Yes. Prepare yourself.”

Aria’s eyes twisted once more.

It wasn’t an empty threat.

She would really have to prepare herself.

To give me the treasure I wanted, she would probably have to kneel before the emperor and beg for permission.

Thinking about her flustered appearance made me want to laugh.

“Haah…… I think I understand the Head Professor’s words now.”

“What did Head Professor Ludwig say?”

“That you’re a madman. A real madman. Now I fully agree with the Head Professor.”

“……”

Ludwig said that.

That I’m a madman.

Hmph. Really. How absurd.

I should think of a way to deal with Ludwig later.

“It was quite an enjoyable conversation. But the tea was a bit lacking in taste. Too bitter.”

“It seems to have been switched with mine.”

I thought mine was too weak compared to usual.

Was that why the Crown Princess kept making all sorts of faces in between?

It seemed Emilia had mistakenly switched the guest’s and mine when serving.

Even this small detail…… Her acting of being flustered was great indeed.

“Do you usually drink it this bitter?”

“I’ve never felt it was particularly bitter.”

“…… You should go to the hospital. Something must be wrong with your tongue.”

Aria shook her head and stood up from her seat.

Soon, Emilia appeared with a pale face, clasping her hands and fidgeting.

Even acting as if she was afraid of being punished for making a mistake……

“Are you leaving now?”

“Somehow, the way you say it sounds like you’re saying ‘This wench is finally leaving’, doesn’t it?”

“There’s no way that’s the case.”

“You should fix that way of speaking first before coming to the palace. Unless you want to be beaten to death.”

Nah.

You don’t think I’d do this in front of the emperor, do you?

Worrying is your fate, dude.

“Would you step aside for a moment?”

“Step aside…… Yes. I understand.”

“I’d like to borrow your attendant for a moment too, if that’s alright?”

“Use her as you please.”

I immediately understood upon seeing Aria’s hair.

She was going to put that long hair inside the hood.

Because she had to leave now.

To do that, she would have to take off and put on the outer garment, so she was telling me to get lost.

I went into the next room and waited without asking or arguing.

At that moment……

‘What’s this? A barrier?’

I faintly felt the presence of a spell.

Roughly analyzing it, it seemed to be a barrier, and judging by the output, it was a recognition-blocking barrier that only blocked sound.

I could shatter it right away if I wanted to, but I didn’t bother.

What were those two talking about without me knowing?

After hearing Emilia’s voice saying I could come out a little later, I went to the living room.

Aria had already hidden her long blond hair under her clothes and covered her face with the hood.

“See you again at the palace.”

“Yes. I will see you then. Take care on your way back, Your Highness.”

I only saw Aria off until the main gate of the mansion.

I thought I should see her off to the main gate of the Imperial Academy, but I was afraid of attracting unnecessary attention, so I decided to send her alone.

No, actually not alone.

The moment Aria left the mansion, I felt the mana waves changing like crazy from all directions.

‘Phew. Did I survive?’

The spells that had been aiming at me all disappeared at once.

Were they Aria’s escort magicians?

They had been on standby since morning, so I thought I was going to die of fear.

They were probably planning to blow up the entire mansion if something went wrong.

I sighed in relief that I was alive and returned to the mansion again.

“……”

But somehow, Emilia’s condition seemed strange.

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“Come behind me.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

At the Crown Princess’ order, Emilia hurriedly approached and stood behind her back.

The Crown Princess grabbed her top and lifted it up.

Then her snow-white back was revealed.

“Put your hands inside and pull your hair out from below.”

“Ah, yes!”

Emilia, who understood her intention, stretched out her hands.

And she put both hands under the lifted top and pulled them out behind her neck.

Even though she tried to keep her distance, the sensation of her back on her forearms was unavoidable, and it felt so smooth that it seemed like it wasn’t a human’s back.

Emilia swallowed her saliva, pretending not to be agitated, gathered the Crown Princess’ hair, grasped it, and pulled it down.

Then, with a pleasant sliding sound, the Crown Princess’ flowing hair came down under the top.

“Hmph. Why are you doing it so far away? The clothes will stretch.”

“Ah…… I apologize.”

Emilia deeply bowed her head.

She had done that to avoid touching her noble body as much as possible, thinking it would be a great discourtesy……

She had made too many mistakes today.

She had been trained so thoroughly by the Intelligence Agency not to be flustered in any situation, but to make mistakes one after another as soon as she encountered the Crown Princess……

Today was undoubtedly a humiliating day for Emilia.

“By the way.”

“……?”

At that moment, the Crown Princess waved her hand.

Feeling something off, Emilia noticed that a barrier had been deployed right next to the two of them.

It was a recognition-blocking barrier.

With such a faint output, Schlus in the next room probably wouldn’t even notice the existence of the barrier.

It meant there was a conversation she wanted to have with just the two of them.

“What is your name?”

“Emilia Siegfried.”

“Emilia…… You’re as pretty as your name. I can see why Schlus chose you as his attendant.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

“Even though you make so many mistakes, the fact that he hasn’t fired you means you must be quite good at night work, hmm?”

“……”

For a moment, Emilia’s expression crumpled as she couldn’t endure it, but she quickly returned to her original smiling face.

Even though the Crown Princess was famous for being honest, this went beyond honesty.

At this point, it was nothing more than a personal attack.

Not understanding her intention at all, Emilia had to barely suppress her rising irritation.

“Night work is not included in my duties. Mr. Hainkel is not the type to lay hands on his attendant, so I would appreciate it if you didn’t insult him.”

“Hahaha! You’re taking it so seriously when I said it as a joke!”

“……”

Making me angry and then saying it’s a joke.

Are all the Imperial Family bastards like this?

Should I just kill this wench and die with her?

Emilia seriously considered it.

“Well, let’s stop joking around here.”

“……?”

“Let me ask you something. What purpose are you monitoring Schlus for?”

Her heart sank.

It was no small fortune that she was standing behind the Crown Princess’ back.

Otherwise, she would have almost shown her eyes widening in surprise live.

“I don’t quite understand what you mean, Your Highness.”

“Are you going to play dumb? Schlus can’t hear anyway.”

“……”

“You’re being no fun. Alright, fine. Listen while being crushed. There’s no problem if you’re just monitoring.”

How did she know?

No, how much does she know?

All sorts of thoughts rose in Emilia’s mind and tangled together in a mess.

Emilia clenched her fists and listened to the Crown Princess’ words, who was leisurely hugging her knees.

If it turned out that she knew too much about the existence of the Intelligence Agency, there was no other choice.

She would have to immediately break her cervical vertebrae and kill her.

“I don’t care if you were sent by the damn separatists, the stupid anarchists, or the Kingdom’s spies, as long as you’re just monitoring. But if you try to harm Schlus……”

The Crown Princess’ slowly turned her head.

Emilia could soon make eye contact with her, who was smiling creepily.

It was a chilling smile that sent shivers down her spine.

“If you try to harm the benefactor who avenged my enemy, you’ll have to prepare yourself thoroughly then. Prepare to face the full force of the Empire. Make sure to convey that to your employer as well.”

“I really have no idea what you’re talking about. Your Highness.”

“Enough. You’re no fun.”

The Crown Princess clicked her tongue and stood up, pulling the hood over her head.

As she waved her hand, the barrier was deactivated again.

Until Schlus came out of the room and saw the Crown Princess off, Emilia stood there blankly.

Still unable to escape from the shock.

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