Unaware of the dean’s inner turmoil, Benedict continued speaking with a cheerful expression.
“Cherrya has always had a strong sense of responsibility. I’m certain she’ll ensure that the students harmed by this incident are properly compensated.”
“Excuse me, haven’t you heard the news…?”
“Pardon?”
“Dame Cherrya Emblem has… in the Carmedan Jungle…”
“Oh, yes. I’ve heard—she’s gone missing.”
“Then how exactly do you plan to provide compensation…?”
“Are you perhaps expecting compensation from the Emblem family itself? Our family has delegated all matters related to the knight order to Cherrya, so they will handle it.”
“No, that’s what I’m saying—Dame Cherrya Emblem is missing!”
“Mmm? I’m aware. But don’t worry. It might take a bit longer, but our Cherrya will make sure the fencing students graduate properly.”
They were talking, but it wasn’t a conversation.
The dean was speaking with the assumption that Cherrya Emblem was either missing or dead.
Meanwhile, Benedict was acting as though Cherrya were still alive and well.
There’s no parent who easily accepts the death of their child—but this was beyond denial. It was as if the loss hadn’t even registered in his mind.
“I understand you must be in a terrible state of mind. But I believe it’s important you understand the reason we’ve gathered here today.”
The dean tried to steel himself and bring seriousness into the conversation, but Benedict brushed it off effortlessly.
“Ah, right. I digressed. Though my daughter’s now an adult, standing on her own two feet… in my eyes, she’s still a darling little angel. Every time someone brings up Cherrya, I can’t help but ramble on like this.”
“Haa…”
Benedict smiled warmly and nodded as if nothing was wrong. There wasn’t even the slightest hint of seriousness on his face.
The dean almost wanted to shout—had he lost his mind from grief?
“You think I’m keeping quiet because I’m not proud of our Enoch? Give me a break. This is exactly the kind of thing that’s wrong with you Emblems.”
“Come now, what kind of life is it if you can’t even brag about your own child? Even the Grays should show a crack in the armor once in a while—people might actually find you more approachable.”
“Approachable? You mean easy to take lightly?”
“No, no—approachable. If you’d like, we Emblems can teach you the secret to being friendly without looking like a pushover.”
“I never asked for anything like that!”
Now watching the two of them chat as if the dean didn’t even exist, he could only gape in disbelief.
Something was seriously wrong. It had to be.
His mind went blank as he cut off their conversation.
“What do you two think you’re doing? Do you not understand the gravity of the situation, or are you simply choosing to ignore it?”
The dean’s voice rose, strained with anxiety he could no longer conceal.
Behind his back, his trembling hands were tightly clasped together. He may have lacked true capability, but what got him appointed as dean of the Continental Academy was his keen sense of social awareness.
And that same awareness was now screaming at him—something was seriously off.
“Don’t understand the gravity of the situation?”
At that moment, Jade Gray echoed the dean’s words with a mocking chuckle.
Then Benedict, who had so far maintained a gentle smile, completely wiped it from his face as he spoke again.
“Or could it be that we know exactly how serious this is—and that’s why we’re acting this way?”
The atmosphere in the dean’s office dropped to an icy chill in an instant.
Both Benedict and Jade turned their gaze toward the dean.
“…….!”
It felt like a sharp, chilling blade had been flung straight into him.
Without realizing it, the dean stumbled back a few steps in fear.
“Sit down. This won’t take long.”
“H-hk!”
Even before he could react, one of Gray’s knights—who had appeared as if from nowhere—grabbed the back of the dean’s neck.
“W-what is the meaning of this!”
The dean thrashed in panic. He hadn’t even heard anyone enter the office. How had Gray’s knight gotten in?
The knight’s grip was harsh and unyielding—so much so that it felt like he could snap the dean’s neck at any moment.
Despite seeing the dean go pale with terror, Benedict and Jade showed not the slightest trace of sympathy.
Benedict gave a subtle nod to the knight holding the dean and spoke softly.
“There’s no need to make a scene when all you had to do was sit.”
The moment he finished, the knight forcibly seated the dean on the couch across from them—without even giving him the chance to move on his own.
“T-this kind of forceful behavior is forbidden at the Continental Academy…!”
The dean stammered in fear, completely overwhelmed by how quickly things had escalated.
No matter how powerful the Emblem and Gray families were—even across the continent—this was still the Continental Academy.
And within its walls, not even the greatest family or nation had the authority to pressure or threaten the dean like this.
That was the unspoken law.
“Ah, yes. The reason everyone has obediently respected the Continental Academy dean until now is because it’s a position even the rulers of nations acknowledge. But you—you are hardly someone deserving of such respect.”
Benedict kindly explained exactly why the dean was being treated this way.
“A mutt of King Pavan, temporarily seated in the dean’s chair thanks to his influence, now wants to be treated like a proper person in front of us? What a joke.”
“…….!”
The dean’s face flushed with humiliation. The blood that had drained from his pale face came rushing back, though it only made him look slightly more alive than before.
“We didn’t come here because our children went missing. They returned safely.”
“What are you saying? Returned? Cherrya Emblem and Enoch Gray were in the Carmedan Jungle…”
“They were supposed to die.”
“……!”
“Isn’t that right?”
A bitter smile curled at the corner of Jade Gray’s lips.
“Whoever King Pavan sent into the Carmedan Jungle, they couldn’t kill our children.”
How? How could they possibly know?
It hadn’t even been a full day since King Pavan had left.
And yet, not long after his departure, Jade Gray and Benedict arrived—already speaking of him and his plot. How could they possibly know about that so soon?
“Seffield Emblem had already gone to the Carmedan Jungle from Lutinas.”
“…Seffield… Emblem… the Swordmaster?”
“That’s right. Seffield Emblem—the Swordmaster.”
Jade Gray continued in a voice that made it clear he wasn’t thrilled to be saying any of this.
“Did you know? For a Swordmaster, it takes less than an hour to get from Lutinas to the Carmedan Jungle.”
Cherrya and Enoch Gray had already been rescued—before the conspiracy could even unfold.
It was a clear failure on the part of King Pavan and the dean—both of whom had underestimated the true extent of a Swordmaster’s abilities.
