Chapter 87 - A Challenge to a Duel (1)

Junior.

Levian’s expression turned cold at the word. All the students seated in the café with Aaron Obald wore green neckties or scarves.

It was the color of the third-years. They were all eighteen, the same age as Levian, but they were in different years at Maria Academy. Levian had taken last year off to care for Rufus and returned this year as a second-year. Her former classmates, naturally, had advanced to their third year.

“Levian, my little junior.”

A brawny male student with blond hair and blue eyes propped his legs on the table and gave her an oily smile.

Aaron Obald, the eldest son of House Obald.

Under its previous head, House Obald had been a merchant house capable of rivaling House Marigold. Since the current head took over, however, its business had been declining.

And the next generation would very likely see it go completely bankrupt. Levian disliked that sort of wager, but if she absolutely had to place one, she could stake her entire fortune on Aaron Obald ruining his house.

That was how much of an idiot Aaron Obald was. Born into a merchant house, he hadn’t the slightest talent for trade. He should have become a swordsman instead, but his greed for the position of head of the house made him insist on becoming a merchant. Yet he had always barely scraped passing grades in General Studies, an academy requirement, and Business Administration, an elective essential for any merchant.

That pathetic fool was Aaron Obald. Even though they both came from merchant houses and their families had ties going back a generation, Levian genuinely wanted nothing to do with him.

Their houses were no longer in the same league as merchants. Aaron had even stopped taking Business Administration altogether when he became a second-year.

“Junior Levian? Your senior is speaking to you. Why aren’t you answering?”

Aaron chuckled as he asked, placing particular emphasis on “senior.” The students seated with him shook with laughter, their eyes full of mockery as they looked at Levian.

“Hah...”

Levian let out a sigh from deep in her chest. Of course she knew the students sitting with Aaron. They were the crowd that swaggered around with him. Their families might have been distinguished, but their characters certainly weren’t.

“What are you doing here?”

“What does it look like? Drinking coffee.”

The girl sitting beside Aaron snorted and swirled her cup.

“We rented out the whole café today. But honestly, the coffee isn’t very good. I heard you used to come here often, Junior Levian... Rather cheap taste in coffee for Lady Marigold, isn’t it?”

“Ha. Calling beans from the continent of Vermira cheap?”

Levian shook her head in disbelief.

“Why not keep your mouth shut when you don’t know anything, my dear senior? All that blather only makes you look more ignorant.”

The girl’s eyebrows shot up at Levian’s taunt, but she couldn’t snap back with an insult. She had, after all, been talking without knowing what she was talking about.

“There are so many cafés on this street. Why rent this one in particular? As far as I know, you seniors... don’t usually come to places like this.”

Levian made no attempt to hide her displeasure in her smile. She had wanted to spend some leisurely time with Yuto at a café she had grown fond of during her time at the academy. Finding Aaron Obald—that pig with muscles for brains—and his gang occupying the place was bound to irritate her.

“Junior Levian. Just so you don’t get the wrong idea... we weren’t waiting for you.”

Aaron jiggled his legs on the table as he spoke.

“Oh, really?”

Anyone could have recognized that blatant lie. Obviously, they had been waiting here to pick up where the carriage quarrel on the day of the entrance exam had left off, while mocking Levian for being held back along the way.

“Wasting money renting an entire café for something this pointless. It’s not as though you have many ways to grow your fortune. Why not start economizing now, my dear senior?”

Levian made sure her taunt carried. The smile vanished from Aaron’s face.

“Levian Marigold. Show your senior some respect...”

“You must be thrilled to be able to call me your junior. I understand. When else would you ever get to talk down to me?”

With that, Levian caught Yuto’s sleeve. She had no desire to argue with Aaron any further or indulge his attempts to pick a fight. It was irritating not to be able to relax in a café she liked, but as she had said, there were plenty of others on this street.

“Shouldn’t you apologize before you go?”

Aaron’s voice came at Levian’s back as she turned to leave the café with Yuto.

“I’ll be generous, as a senior should, and forgive you for insulting me just now. But I’ll need an apology for wrecking my carriage a few days ago.”

“Haaah...”

Another deep sigh escaped Levian’s lips.

“An apology... An apology, you say. What exactly am I supposed to apologize for? Your carriage was the one that crowded ours and threatened us that day.”

“The driver was a fucking idiot.”

Aaron grinned.

“He was terribly inexperienced. But that’s one thing, and your carriage hitting mine is another. You broke a wheel. Do you know how much trouble I had that day?”

“Haaaah...”

Levian gave an even longer sigh and clenched her fists.

“I had no idea House Obald’s fortunes had declined so far that you couldn’t even afford carriage repairs. Very well. Those who have should give to those who don’t. Shall I buy you a new carriage?”

She had been taking jabs at his family’s finances for a while now. Aaron’s mouth twisted. He glared at Levian for a moment, then slammed his heel down on the table.

THUD!

“Who asked you for money? I said apologize! Bow your head respectfully and say, ‘I’m sorry, senior!’”

Then Aaron raised a finger and pointed at Yuto.

“You slum bastard! You’re a first-year. Why the fuck are you holding your head up?”

Here stood a textbook example of a worthless noble. Yuto gave a little scoff and spoke.

“Me?”

“Yes, you! You’re not even a noble. You got in by sucking up to Marigold!”

“Maria Academy isn’t somewhere you can get into just by sucking up.”

Yuto looked at Aaron and his gang with a mocking smile.

“Or so I thought. Looking at you, I’m beginning to think Maria Academy isn’t all that impressive. To think people like you have lasted until your third year.”

“What... did you just say?”

A huge male student sitting with Aaron sprang to his feet.

“You think you’re something special because you were the first new student to pass...”

“I am something special. I was first out of a thousand.”

“A thousand nobodies...”

“Are the Ristal royals nobodies?”

The boy’s face went white. The words he had blurted out in anger came straight back to silence him. When he couldn’t find a reply, the girl Levian had embarrassed earlier leaped to her feet.

“H-how dare a slum dweller like you speak of Their Royal Highnesses of Ristal?!”

“Why shouldn’t I mention them? I’m their classmate.”

Yuto’s lips twisted into a sneer.

“You people seem awfully fond of making younger students call you their seniors. Will you demand the same from the Ristal royals?”

“You little sh...”

“You won’t, will you? Royalty is far nobler than the likes of you. Yet even those noble people don’t look down on Levian and me the way you do. What exactly is going through your heads?”

He had always despised nobles who failed to live up to their station, but the things they were saying to Levian were more contemptible still. Did any of their houses truly surpass House Marigold? Was any one of them truly a better person, a better student, than Levian?

Surely not. Their only advantage over Levian was that they had advanced to their third year instead of being held back. And Levian hadn’t been held back because she had failed. She had withdrawn to care for her father, Rufus.

“I think you’re the ones who should apologize, not me. Bow your heads and apologize to Levian now, and I’ll forgive you.”

“Forgive...? Forgive us?”

The boy who had stood up glared at Yuto with wide eyes. A slum dweller speaking of forgiving nobles? That wasn’t something he could accept even as a joke.

“Hahaha!”

It was a joke that wasn’t remotely funny, yet Aaron laughed. He lowered his legs from the table and shifted in his chair, then propped his chin on one hand and glared at Yuto and Levian.

“Levian. Did you fuck that bastard?”

“What?”

The question was outrageously vulgar, and childish to boot. Seeing Levian too dumbfounded to speak, Aaron snickered.

“You did. You actually did. You’re really something. How could you even think of rolling around with a slum dweller?”

Still grinning, Aaron pinched his nose.

“Slum dwellers drink gutter water and pick up bugs to eat. No matter how often they wash, they must stink, and when they open their mouths, there must be ants crawling out of their throats... You’ve certainly got a strong stomach.”

“Ah... Ahaha, Levian was always like that, even in our first year, wasn’t she? Getting dirt on her hands and fiddling with bugs for her herbs or whatever.”

The girl laughed and joined in.

“Right, she was. I thought she was pretty ruthless... Heh, but I never imagined she’d go this far. Levian Marigold. Your older brother died, so you’re going to be the next head of House Marigold, aren’t you?”

“Aaron Obald.”

Levian’s brows drew together.

“I don’t particularly want to know... what you’re about to say. But you’d better watch your words.”

“Oh, how terrifying. Why? Are you going to have me killed like your brother?”

“Aaron!”

Levian shouted. Noble houses were rife with intrigue of every kind. Especially when a position like head of the house was at stake, siblings often drew blades against one another to claim it.

“What? It all fits together so neatly. Your father was poisoned with something your brother made, then that slum dweller suddenly appeared and cured him, and your brother died? Leaving you the sole heir?”

“Aaron...!”

“Funny, isn’t it? You were the one fiddling with poisonous plants and insects at the academy. Where exactly did your brother get that poison?”

Where Cayenne had obtained the poison, and how Yuto had cured it—the circumstances were already common knowledge. But Aaron and his gang didn’t care about the truth. Truth never mattered much to slander and conspiracy in the first place.

They had felt inferior to Levian ever since their earlier days at the academy. Now she had been held back and become their junior, was walking around with an utterly insignificant slum dweller, and even had a story they could use to smear her. Aaron continued with a grin.

“You conspired with that slum dweller...”

Before Aaron could finish speaking—

CRUNCH!

Yuto sprang off the floor and drove his knee into Aaron’s face. Only as he tumbled to the floor did Aaron realize that his nose had been crushed.

The boy and girl already on their feet hadn’t even realized Yuto was charging. Neither had Levian, standing beside him. Blinded by the fury that had surged through her, she only came back to her senses at Aaron’s scream and the spray of blood.

“Aaagh!”

A kick slammed into Aaron’s side as he sprawled on the floor. Finally realizing what was happening, the boy shouted and lunged at Yuto.

“You crazy bastard!”

THWAP!

Yuto caught the boy’s punch with almost absurd ease.

CRACKLE!

As Yuto tightened his fingers, the boy’s fist slowly began to crumple.

“Ah... Aagh! Aaagh!”

“Ah.”

With that small sound, Yuto released the boy’s hand. No, he flung it away. The huge boy went tumbling across the floor as Yuto threw him.

“We’re at the academy. I should follow its rules.”

THUD!