I Became an Outcast in the Academy

7. Proof (6)

“Oh my, are you just rejecting my recommendation?”

The Duke of Orphea personally recommended it to me. He asked me if I was interested in becoming his disciple.

He is the strongest swordsman in the empire, and at the same time, it is the recommendation of an absolute person who is ranked among the five fingers on the continent.

An average person would think that it is an opportunity that cannot be missed, even if it means licking the soles of the Duke’s feet.

Because becoming the duke’s disciple means that in the future, you may be taught everything that the duke has accumulated so far.

But I had no intention of becoming Duke Orphega’s disciple.

To be more precise, although he hesitated a bit, he ultimately decided that it was better not to become the duke’s disciple.

“This really makes me jealous. “Even so, I didn’t expect you to dump me all at once.”

No matter what excuses I added, I had completely rejected Duke Orphega’s proposal.

I thought I couldn’t help it if the Duke Orphea, whose pride was hurt, got angry at me, but unexpectedly, the Duke didn’t look that upset.

No, rather, he was even looking at me with an expression that seemed interesting.

“Even if you reject my offer, it can’t be helped… Can you hear what the reason is? “I’ve seen a lot of people slam their heads into the ground saying they want to be my disciples, but this is the first time I’ve seen someone refuse like you, so I’m intrigued.”

I thought for a moment about what to reply to Duke Orphega’s words.

There were many reasons for rejecting the duke’s offer. However, I was just thinking about which of the reasons I should give to make him understand.

“If I become the Duke’s disciple, I will have a relationship with Ellie that can be considered an alumnus. “Isn’t that right?”

“Well, that’s true. “The Duke’s swordsmanship is not specifically aimed at being passed down to one person.”

“That’s why I don’t like it. “Since Eli became the Duke’s disciple before me, I have to put him to death.”

For a moment, Duke Orphega looked as if he was somewhat confused by my answer, but then burst out laughing.

“hahahahaha! This guy is really funny. So, you’re saying you rejected my offer because you didn’t like the fact that becoming my student would mean you’d be one level lower in rank than your sister?”

“No matter what, I wanted to protect my authority as an older brother within the family to the end.”

Of course, no matter what, I absolutely did not reject the duke’s offer based on this trivial reason alone.

Ultimately, I decided that Orphee becoming the Duke’s disciple would not be very helpful in my revenge against Eli.

At first, I thought about this plan.

The plan is that after I become the Duke of Orphega’s disciple, I will ultimately take away everything that Ellie has enjoyed as the Duke’s disciple.

But this plan wasn’t my taste, and more than anything, I didn’t like it.

As I said to the Duke, I didn’t like the idea of being in a relationship with Ellie, and I even didn’t like the idea of taking on the appearance of borrowing someone else’s power to get my revenge.

Even if Orphee used the duke’s authority to take away everything that Elie had, it could not be said that it was truly revenge achieved through my own strength.

I wasn’t saying something stupid like I was going to take revenge in a fair and proper way.

I just did it because I had a premonition that if I took revenge in that way, I wouldn’t feel relieved after everything was over.

Also, I didn’t want to give Ellie an excuse like, “Because I learned the duke’s swordsmanship, she was able to surpass herself, so why not give her an excuse?”

“And… “This is only my personal opinion, but I feel like I can’t trust the duke a little if the first step is made like this.”

“Oh, what does that mean?”

Hearing the Duke’s curious question, I glanced at Cartesia, who was standing silently next to me.

I opened my mouth to the duke, thinking like a pillar that Cartesia would step in for me if anything came to pass.

“This is just my guess, but… “I believe that the series of events that occurred today occurred because the duke made a decision.”

The smile on the duke’s face grew deeper at my words. And I realized that the Duke’s smile was a kind of signal to continue talking.

“Just now, the Duke appeared before me at the right time and defended me. But now that I think about it, it seems a bit strange. “It’s not that it’s strange that the duke appeared at that time, but that the duke was in Luthra itself.”

Cartesia said this while we were eating earlier. When a cadet is kidnapped, it is somewhat comical for a person as high as the chairman of the board to personally step in and solve the problem.

And if you think about it the other way around, it also means that it is strange that Duke Orphega, who has as much authority as the chairman of Lutra, is directly involved in this matter.

No, why did the Duke of Orphega, who could be said to be the most important person in the empire, stop by the academy where only teenagers receive education?

“The leap in logic is a bit extreme. Is there any law telling me not to take time out of my busy schedule to stop by Loutra? “For example, wouldn’t it be possible that he rushed here to check on his beloved student after hearing that a kidnapping incident had occurred?”

“Certainly, that possibility was not out of the question. However, if the Duke hadn’t accepted Eli’s greeting only after my duel was over.”

No matter how you look at the duke’s attitude, it was far from trying to ensure the safety of his precious disciple.

It was only at that point that I finally realized.

The purpose of the operation was to test me from the beginning, and everything I went through was prepared just for that purpose.

“… Well, I guess there’s no use making excuses. You are right. “It was all of my own making to expand the disappearance of a cadet that occurred in Luthra and to come here under the pretext of investigating the case.”

And according to my guess, Duke Orphega readily confessed that everything was his own doing.

“Did you make plans with Leticia in advance? Why did you push me into a corner like this?”

The Duke of Orphega looks puzzled as if he doesn’t understand my question.

“Leticia? By any chance, are you referring to your younger sister, whom the Magic Tower lord has been carrying around with all her affection lately? But why does your sister’s name appear here?”

“… Could it be that the Duke didn’t know anything about Leticia?”

“I don’t know what you’re misunderstanding, but what I did was simply to slightly enlarge the size of the disappearance case in order to legally visit Luthra. “Anything else has nothing to do with me.”

There is no reason for a person like the Duke of Orphega to lie, so it is safe to say that the Duke and Leticia really have nothing to do with each other.

So, to what extent did this incident happen because Verdel couldn’t overcome his jealousy toward me? Was it just an accident that happened due to multiple coincidences?

“Then why did the duke want to meet me through such a cumbersome method?”

“That’s because His Majesty recently issued an order to almost all nobles not to interfere with Lutra in any way. “He let the cadets resolve everything that happened among them on their own, so I had no choice but to use this lame method.”

Duke Orphega’s words reminded me of the words that Cartesia had bragged to me in the past.

Is this what you meant when you said you would never again allow someone like Ricardo to abuse his power and charge you with such absurd charges as harming the royal family?

“But to me, something feels a bit unfair. Not only did I get rejected by the guy I thought was a potential student, but I also received such absurd suspicions. “If you just leave like this, it feels like a huge loss to me.”

“… “I have already refused to become the duke’s disciple.”

“But I didn’t accept your refusal. “I’m sorry, but I really want to make you my disciple.”

I ended up making an expression of bewilderment at the Duke’s words, which felt like a strange obsession.

“I know that there are many people other than me who want to become the duke’s disciple. And doesn’t the Duke already have one disciple?”

“It is better to have two disciples than one. And while watching the duel just now, I sensed some potential in you. You… “Maybe it’s someone who can make my wish come true.”

“… Yes?”

“I won’t hesitate. Become my disciple. “If you do that, I will pass on to you a power and authority greater than anything in the world.”

I slowly shook my head at the Duke’s words.

“I’m sorry, but I understand you’ve already answered that suggestion.”

After hearing those words, Orphea became even more reluctant to become the Duke’s disciple.

It sounds good to inherit the duke’s power and authority, but in reality, isn’t it like sticking a spoon into someone else’s leftover rice bowl?

Anyway, since I had decided not to seek revenge by relying on the duke’s authority, my answer would never change.

“… You’re persistent. “I thought you were a wise child, but in the end you made me feel so miserable.”

“I’m sorry. But no matter how much I think about it, it’s something I don’t want to do.”

Even though the Duke of Orphega was saying things like that, the atmosphere was actually not that scary. Perhaps the duke also seemed to have let go of his feelings to some extent.

‘If this is the case, the duke would have fully understood what I said.’

Just when I was sighing with relief that one thing was over, Duke Orphega suddenly grabbed my shoulders and opened his mouth.

“If you don’t want to be my disciple that much, there’s nothing I can do. So what do you think about becoming my person?”

“… Become the duke’s man? “What do you mean by that?”

What is the difference between that and Orphea telling you to become the Duke’s disciple?

When I blinked, unable to understand what the duke was saying, the duke spoke to me in a stern voice.

“Are you planning on marrying my daughter?”

“… Yes?”