I Became an Outcast in the Academy

1. Nightmare (6)

“Don’t take it, Sian. It’s a trap that Letisha is giving you.”

“What?”

Simply put, it’s a trap, from this situation itself to the item she’s giving you. So don’t take it. Never.”

With those words, Cartesia forcibly snatched away the unknown thing Letisha had given to me, as if it was a cursed object that could cause great harm to me.

“…What are you doing?”

Naturally, I couldn’t help but feel bewildered by Cartesia’s actions.

There was no way not to be baffled by her suddenly popping up out of nowhere and crying trap without any context.

“…Your Highness?”

Letisha seemed to be just as puzzled, looking over with a bewildered expression.

“A trap? What are you talking about?”

“I know everything. I know you’re pretending to help Sian while actually planning to chase him away from here. The item you’re trying to give Sian now must be something that will harm him in this duel, no doubt-“

“…Sia.”

At that point, I cut off Cartesia’s words and sighed quietly.

“Enough. I know you care about me a lot, and I understand that you don’t like Letisha very much. But this time, I think you’re going too far.”

“…What, what did you say?”

Completely caught off guard, Cartesia widened her eyes in surprise.

“That’s right. Although Letisha and I may not be on good terms right now, she still came all the way here, worrying about me. And she said she hopes that I win the duel, so she wants to give me that gift. I think it’s wrong to blindly doubt and corner her like that.”

“It’s not just groundless suspicion. Because that woman… she has hurt you a lot, and as a result, you’re being chased away from here. I don’t want that to happen again this time. Really.”

“…Again?”

In response to Cartesia’s words, I blinked my eyes.

Something feels odd. And a sense of discomfort lingers.

What Cartesia is saying now seems as if she’s bearing witness to the time when I was expelled from the academy with her own eyes.

“I haven’t been expelled yet. The duel is far from beginning. Most importantly, I’m perfectly fine. I haven’t been injured at all.”

“…Right. That’s how it was now. Sorry, I got a bit confused.”

I couldn’t quite grasp what had caused the confusion, but Cartesia spoke while biting her lip tightly.

“And as for proof… it’s here. Letitia wants to give you that, she said to unwrap it right here. If I’m not mistaken, that should be the Demon Sword.”

“Demon Sword?”

The Demon Sword was a corrupted weapon, tainted by the dark magic of demons, granting its user tremendous power but also driving them to madness.

As such, if it were discovered that I had the Demon Sword in Lutra, I would have been immediately expelled.

If what Letitia gave me was indeed the Demon Sword, as Cartesia claimed… it would mean that even before the duel with Eli, I would have already been expelled from Lutra, just because the fact that I possessed the Demon Sword served as conclusive evidence of the baseless rumor that I, a person with no actual abilities or anything, relied on the power of the Demon Sword.

As I turned to Letitia upon Cartesia’s words, her expression remained impassive.

As if all these words Cartesia was spewing were nothing more than baseless mockery.

“So, go ahead and check it.”

“…What?”

“Just now, Her Highness mentioned that I intended to give you a Demon Sword to get you expelled from Lutra. So if that’s the case, isn’t the best way to verify it to unwrap this gift bundle with your own eyes? How long could it possibly take to open this gift?”

Letitia’s attitude, strangely self-assured.

I couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease as I watched Letitia’s behavior, but Cartesia, as if having waited, began to tear open the gift wrapping.

Unfortunately, Cartesia’s words ended right there.

What was inside the gift wrapping, as Cartesia had described, was a sword.

However, it was by no means an object that could be called the Demon Sword.

Because the aura emanating from the bright, silvery blade was unmistakably one of sanctity.

“Actually, I asked Celia to infuse this sword with holy power. Holy power not only enhances the sword’s performance but also bestows healing abilities upon its wielder. And I did some modifications to the sword myself.”

Letitia’s words, as she explained, had a somewhat melancholic tone to them.

Could it be that this was her lament for having reversed the unjust accusation just like me?

“It’s just that I didn’t want to go to the trouble of feigning giving you something so wicked and instead chose to speak harsh words to you, as long as the matter wouldn’t be resolved easily. It might have been better to tell you the truth from the beginning.”

But was it just my misperception?

Just a moment ago, I had the strange feeling that Letitia was gazing at Cartesia and revealing an inexplicable smile.

“By the way, Your Highness the Princess. What did you say to me earlier? So… what did you say about the Demon Sword?”

****

In the dormitory room where Letisha usually stayed.

There, Robellia sat on Letisha’s bed and stared intently at Robellia entering the room.

“So, did you finish the job well? Did you manage to deliver the present to our brother as planned?”

“Of course, I did. You don’t think I can’t handle such a simple task, do you?”

It was a much cooler response than Robellia had expected.

Although she couldn’t help but send Letisha to do the task because she couldn’t move recklessly herself, she thought the girl would be boasting a lot about handling the simple task.

“Did something happen? You seem to be in a better mood than usual for some reason.”

“Well, I wonder what happened.”

Until then, Letisha, who had been simply beaming with smiles, suddenly stiffened her face as if she had suddenly remembered something.

“By the way, have you ever talked to someone else about this plan or leaked any information elsewhere?”

“No, there’s no way. Can’t you see that I’m sneaking into your room like this to be cautious? The only people who know about this plan are you, me, and Lord Ricardo.”

“…Does His Royal Highness the Crown Prince know about this too?”

“Well, what can I do? The only person I know who can directly influence the royal family is Lord Ricardo.”

Upon hearing Robellia’s words, Letisha sighed as if she finally understood something.

“…As expected, it was like that. That woman made such a fuss, and now it seems that the information had leaked to them.”

“What do you mean the information leaked?”

“Princess Cartesia knew. She knew about our plan to give our brother the Demon Sword as a present.”

“…What?”

In an instant, Robellia sprang up from the bed.

“How could she know our plan? How on earth?”

“I don’t know. She appeared just when I was about to give that sword to my brother and shouted at me, saying it’s a Demon Sword. It seems that the information must have leaked from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince’s side. Since she’s also a princess, she probably has ears everywhere.”

At Letisha’s words, Robellia anxiously bit her nails.

“So? You didn’t get caught, did you?”

“There’s no way. Of course, I didn’t. That’s why I told you. The Demon Sword is too conspicuous, so let’s go with a more subtle and quiet method. If I hadn’t suggested changing the present to something else, what would have happened to us?”

“…You’re saying you didn’t get caught. Good, it’s a relief. It’s a good thing we decided not to give the Demon Sword as a present in the end.”

Finally feeling relieved, Robellia let out a sigh of relief.

“So, neither our brother nor the princess would have noticed, right? It seems like an ordinary sword on the outside, so they wouldn’t have known it was a trap.”

“Well, they couldn’t have noticed it. Even if something happens because of that sword, we’re just worried sisters giving our brother, who is about to duel, an excellent sword as a present. With this, our worries have been put to rest for now.”

Without saying anything, Leticia raises the corner of her mouth, giving a cold smile.

“As long as he wields that sword, it’s a certainty that my brother will be expelled from the academy.”