Did I say that? Nigel tilted his head slightly at Rowen’s words. But he soon realized that wasn’t the important thing and said as he walked toward the main building.
“It’s true. I can count on one hand how many times my head has been this clear since enrolling at Kaiserion.”
Rowen, who had been leaning against a statue in the garden, caught up to Nigel, who had set off first without any sign, and said.
“…Really?”
Rowen’s eyes were suspicious. Because he knew Nigel was a master at hiding when he was in pain. But Nigel’s eyes truly had vitality in them.
“Really.”
Nigel’s profile showed him smiling coolly. Rowen knew well when Nigel Kaiserion smiled like that.
When it seemed like everything was going the way he thought, when it seemed like the gods of timing and fate were raising his hand. Nigel would twist only one side of his lips and smile like that.
“Now I really have to do what needs to be done.”
“……”
There was no need to ask what that was.
Because it was clear he was talking about that matter that hadn’t left Rowen’s mind since Nigel, who had disappeared for several days, returned.
“First, exclude the Alchemy Department.”
Rowen made the first move. Nigel turned his head as if surprised.
“Why?”
“You saw it yesterday too. Those guys are too innocent to be the culprit.”
Rowen smiled mischievously and imitated Nigel’s words.
“…That’s true.”
Nigel smiled and acknowledged it. Ezra’s dazed face and the messy laboratory came to mind. They definitely weren’t it.
“Then who do you think the next suspect is?”
At Rowen’s question, Nigel’s eyes sharpened. Walking quickly across the garden, Nigel said.
“A very good question.”
Then he just walked for a while. What? When Rowen caught up right beside Nigel and stared at him as if telling him to speak quickly, Nigel spoke in a tone that suggested he himself didn’t like saying this.
“…There are too many suspects.”
“What?”
Nigel stopped and began counting on his fingers one by one.
“Those who were ruined by Student Council budget cuts. The count’s heir who was humiliated by me at the last Imperial Palace ball. And even the children of opposition nobles within the imperial family who are constantly eyeing my position. And there are those who dislike me for no reason simply because I’m Nigel Kaiserion.”
Five fingers folded quickly. But Nigel didn’t stop and raised the other hand as well.
“Even the dormitory supervisor doesn’t like me much. Because I follow roll call rules so strictly there’s nothing to nitpick.”
“…Wow.”
Rowen opened his mouth with a disgusted expression.
“Nigel, you really lived a tiring life. I didn’t know you had this many enemies.”
“Correct that. It’s not that I have many enemies, but that they’re envious of me.”
Nigel retorted shamelessly.
But inwardly he had to acknowledge it. That the seeds of arrogance he’d sown were scattered everywhere. Normally he wouldn’t have cared, but when someone deliberately attacked like now, specifying the suspect was like finding a needle in a sandy beach.
“So, Rowen. I can’t go around interrogating all these guys one by one. It’s a waste of time.”
“Then what are you going to do? Give up?”
“No. I have to change the game.”
Nigel turned his head to look at the campus bustling with students.
The two had already arrived at the academy’s main building.
Giant banners were hung, stalls were set up, and an excited atmosphere not usually seen enveloped the Academy.
“It’s festival time, isn’t it? Everyone’s walking around without going to classes. That’s good for the two of us.”
The corners of Nigel’s mouth rose diagonally.
The festival’s commotion was the perfect cover. In that chaos, no one would know who was setting traps and who was falling into them.
“Let’s go, Rowen. To hunt.”
There was no hesitation in Nigel’s steps. Rowen followed him, looking at his friend’s back that was both familiar and unfamiliar. The guy who had been staggering with a pale complexion just yesterday had completely different eyes the moment he set a goal.
It seemed to be true that his head was refreshingly fine.
“Do you have a concrete plan?”
Rowen asked.
“Simple. Throw out bait.”
Nigel loosened his tie and smiled coolly.
“The culprit will be watching my condition. They must be dying to see me suffer or collapse. But if I appear right in front of them, obviously fine, and acting shamelessly?”
“…They’ll get impatient.”
“Right. Isn’t the medicine working? Did the curse fail? Why hasn’t Nigel Kaiserion turned into a frog? They’ll doubt and panic and inevitably make a move that reveals their tail.”
Nigel’s eyes flashed.
“That’s the moment we catch.”
Good. Rowen smiled broadly and followed him.
It was just as the two entered the main building lobby.
“Oh! Your Highness! Your Highness!!”
A resounding shout came from somewhere. Nigel frowned and turned his head.
The Swordsmanship Department 3rd year representative, who had been chased from the training grounds in the morning, was running over like a bear while clutching a giant bundle of cloth. Though sweating profusely, his face was clearly full of pride.
“…What now.”
Nigel already felt his head throbbing. The student stopped in front of Nigel, panting.
“What great timing! I was just on my way to find Your Highness!”
“Just state your business. I’m busy.”
“Ah, the flag! The one Your Highness pointed out this morning, we fixed it completely!”
The Swordsmanship Department student smiled vigorously and gave a thumbs up.
“We asked the Arts Department kids to fix it but they just wouldn’t understand. So our members gathered and picked up needles ourselves. We were ready to pull an all-nighter with determination, but when we focused, it finished quickly, right?”
Here! Look! With eyes full of anticipation, he unfurled the velvet banner he’d been holding.
“Look! Doesn’t it finally feel like the Swordsmanship Department’s spirit?”
“……”
“……”
Nigel and Rowen simultaneously lost their words. If what they saw in the morning was a ‘fat and lazy cat,’ what was in front of them now was….
Rather than a lion….
The fat body was the same, but bumpy, muscular arms and legs had been forcibly added in embroidery.
Especially the details of the lion’s thigh muscles and trapezius were creepily meticulous. Its teeth jutted out ferociously like some ogre.
“…This.”
Nigel’s voice trembled.
“This is what you call fixed?”
“Yes! After all, a lion should be buff, right? We used three whole spools of cross-stitch thread just to get that trapezius line!”
The student smiled innocently without reading the room and shrugged his trapezius. Nigel felt dizzy. He was the fool for expecting aesthetic sense from these muscle idiots.
“…Rowen.”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Did your department… swallow aesthetics in soup while training?”
Rowen awkwardly cleared his throat and avoided his gaze.
“Still… they put effort into it. It does look sturdy. Very healthy looking.”
Healthy. Nigel sharply turned his head.
“It’s disgusting.”
Nigel stated coldly. The student holding the flag pouted when Nigel’s reaction wasn’t satisfactory.
“Come on, Your Highness. This is a real man’s romance…. You really don’t understand art.”
“Shut up. Take it away now.”
After saying that, Nigel immediately continued.
“No, just hang it. But stick it in a corner. Know that if you hang it center stage, you’ll die by my hand.”
Because he had a feeling they’d be revising the flag countless times at this rate. Since it was much better than before, Nigel forcibly lowered his standards for the Swordsmanship Department by several levels and approved the flag with a reluctant face.
“Understood! But the audience will like it!”
The student muttered while carefully gathering the flag. Nigel was about to pass him with a disgusted expression when he suddenly remembered something and stopped.
“Wait. What’s your main event for this festival? Rowen keeps being vague every time.”
Budgetwise there were no problems, so he hadn’t actually confirmed what the Swordsmanship Department was planning to do during the Mardinia festival period. From Nigel’s standpoint, as long as they didn’t break school rules, he wasn’t interested.
“Ah, that? You can look forward to it.”
The student puffed out his chest with a determined face.
“……”
That expression made Nigel uneasy.
When a flag created by hundreds of people rushing in was at that level, he couldn’t even imagine how good something they shamelessly declared worth anticipating would be.
He glanced at Rowen Ashfield standing beside him, but that guy also had a proud expression.
Confirming that made Nigel even more anxious.
