Amid the crumbling ruins, Seffield turned away coldly, leaving behind the barely-breathing King of Pavan.
Even if the king were to die here, the imperial decree from the Emperor of Lutinas, held tightly in Seffield’s arms, would ensure the king’s atrocities would be widely exposed.
In that case, despite losing its king, Pavan would still be left with an irremovable debt to Lutinas.
Thanks to the Emblem Knights taking care of Pavan’s troublesome affairs, Pavan had managed to avoid sacrificing its own knights. And yet—Pavan, fearing the rising fame and recognition of Emblem, had tried to kill its successor.
Such shamelessness was outrageous enough to label them the enemy of the continent.
At a time when monster outbreaks were occurring across the continent, and the need for elite knight orders was greater than ever…
Any nation that understood Lutinas’ military might—and the fact that they possessed both Gray and the Emblem Knights—would turn their backs on Pavan.
“Tsk. It’d feel so good to tear him to shreds.”
Even so, Seffield hoped the King of Pavan survived.
Only then, after suffering the humiliation of losing his throne and being crushed by the helplessness of defeat—when no one even bothered to care about him anymore—could he be torn apart and killed.
“Well, that takes care of this one. Next…”
Seffield turned his gaze toward the direction of the Continental Academy, a smirk rising on his lips.
Just imagining who the dean of the Academy might be facing at that moment was enough to clear the tightness from his chest.
***
The loss of human life was always a grievous matter that could not be measured in severity.
However, at the Continental Academy, such a loss wasn’t something that could be resolved with a simple apology to the victims and their families.
Because most of those involved—including the students—were from high-ranking noble families, it wasn’t just the victims’ families the academy had to answer to, but entire noble houses.
The more powerful a house was, the greater its influence over the academy’s reputation. And accordingly, the weight of responsibility the dean had to bear also shifted.
“I deeply regret how things have turned out. However, according to witness testimony from other students, there was a dispute between the two involved…”
The dean recited his prepared statements, doing his best to ignore the cold sweat running down his back.
Though it wasn’t unheard of for the Academy’s long-standing swordsmanship club to see accidents, the truth was—there had never been a casualty from a prestigious household like Emblem or Gray.
Even after scouring the archives containing the records of every former dean, he couldn’t find a single useful precedent to reference.
Which meant it was entirely up to him to handle the aftermath of this incident properly.
‘All I have to do is get through the backlash from these two houses.’
And so, the dean chose to go all in—boldly and shamelessly.
Cherrya Emblem hadn’t been present as a student, but rather as an exam supervisor. That technicality made her the perfect scapegoat.
By pinning the blame solely on her, the Gray family—already on bad terms with the Emblems—might even go so far as to declare war.
And if the academy claimed its only fault was assigning the duty to an ‘incompetent’ Emblem knight, who would argue?
“In a test supposedly protected by the great Emblem Knights, who could’ve possibly expected such a tragic accident…”
The dean double-checked his cheat sheet tucked inside his robes, then took a deep breath.
Just then, there came a knock at the door—knock knock.
“Come in.”
The dean said, trying to sound as grave and somber as possible.
The door opened, and the moment he’d been dreading finally arrived.
“…It’s been a while.”
It was Duke Jade Gray, head of House Gray and guardian of Enoch Gray, who greeted him first.
Though his only grandson and heir was reported missing, his expression remained cold and unreadable—his eyes sharp, his face devoid of emotion.
Looking at him, one would never guess he’d lost family.
The dean couldn’t help but click his tongue inwardly.
‘Is he in denial? Or is this the level of composure it takes to lead a house like the Grays…’
The dean watched carefully, wondering when that calm expression on Jade Gray’s face would finally crack—especially after hearing the news he was about to deliver.
Then, his attention shifted to the man who followed Duke Gray into the room.
“I believe this is our first meeting.”
It was Benedict Emblem—Cherrya Emblem’s father and the representative of the Emblem family.
With a warm smile and a voice full of composed elegance, he respectfully greeted the dean.
‘Hmm?’
The dean winced inwardly, frowning slightly.
When Benedict entered, his striking appearance lit up the entire room like someone had turned on a spotlight. But what truly unsettled the dean—was that his face showed none of the grief you’d expect from someone who’d just lost a child.
“If I’d known we’d arrive at the same time, I would’ve suggested we share a carriage.”
“Hmph. Why would I share a carriage with you? It’s cramped.”
“I heard your carriage even fits a bed. If we return to Lutinas together, you’ll have to give me a tour.”
“My carriage is only for my son-in-law. If you wanted a ride that badly, you should’ve had the sense to choose my daughter instead of Seffield’s.”
“Haha, well, what can I say? I was completely swept away by Melsia.”
“Tsk.”
Throughout their exchange, Benedict maintained a constant smile. Jade Gray, though blunt in his replies, still responded with what could only be described as indulgent banter.
They didn’t look like two men who had lost loved ones.
In fact, their interaction seemed surprisingly amicable for members of the rival Emblem and Gray families.
‘What is going on here?’
The dean began to sweat as he recalled the cheat sheet hidden in his coat.
He had expected the mere sight of both Emblem and Gray in one room to spark bloodshed. Yet here they were, chatting like old friends.
Everything he thought he understood about the world was collapsing.
Under normal circumstances, there should’ve already been swords drawn by now.
“I must admit, I was concerned when I heard both Houses Emblem and Gray would be here at the same time… But it seems my worries were unfounded.”
“You were worrying over nothing, even with Emblem standing before me, I wouldn’t be so foolish as to act on personal emotions in a setting like this.”
Jade Gray said with a furrowed brow. The slight narrowing of his brow was enough to change the air in the room—so sharp it felt like it cut across the dean’s cheek.
“Y-Yes, of course. My apologies. I’ve been on edge due to this unfortunate incident, so I may have overthought things. Please forgive me.”
The dean quickly bowed, keeping a low profile as he ushered the two men toward the sofa.
“Ah, I understand. What happened in the Carmedan Jungle must be giving you quite the headache, Dean. The Swordsmanship Department’s graduation exam was canceled—what a disaster. That moment was something the students had waited for their entire lives.”
Benedict soothed the flustered dean with a gentle voice—something he, of all people, absolutely shouldn’t have been doing.
‘Why… Why are they acting like this? Have they both gone mad from grief?’
No one can remain rational in the face of losing their child. And yet, those two seemed to have lost their sanity so completely… it was as if they’d slipped into denial instead.
