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Chapter 312: Parent-Teacher Conference Day

It was a common event, almost like an annual ritual that had been happening for decades, but today, the scale and intent were slightly different.

- Clack, clack...

The sight of soldiers and knights from each family surrounding the Academy, with several lords of the house from the Emperor - Crown Prince\'s faction standing in front with visibly angered expressions, was reminiscent of a battlefield.

"Lestric, you\'re here too."

"Well, of course, I should be here."

It had only been a day since the incident occurred, but their purpose in coming to the Academy, even resorting to teleportation magic, was unanimously aligned.

"My son has been injured by that scoundrel, and I cannot stand idly by."

To take revenge for their child, who had been seriously injured to the point where their bones were crushed by Frey, and was still writhing in agony in the hospital.

“And also, it would be good if we’re able to tame that unruly Princess.”

Furthermore, they had to restore their children\'s honor and influence.

If they succeed, they would prove their abilities to the Emperor and the Crown Prince, and they might even weaken the Clana’s faction.

It was a mixture of personal emotions and political maneuvers, typical of the big figures in political circles.

"Lestric, Count Saint. You\'re here too."

"Marquis Hecrane? Nice to see you here."

"We could have handled this on our end, why did you have to come all the way here?"

Even among the lords of the houses gathered here, the gathering of the three leaders drew everyone\'s attention.

They were Marquis Hecrane, the leader of the Emperor - Crown Prince’s faction, and Count Lestric and Count Saint, who were the Crown Prince\'s right and left arm, respectively.

Until recently, when the Starlight Ducal family, which had been reigning at the pinnacle of imperial power and was even being discussed for the grant of a grand duchy, had fallen, there were hardly any people who could oppose them, excluding the Count Justiano. This was even more so with the Moonlight and Sunset Ducal families maintaining a superficial neutrality.

And the sight of the three powerful figures, with expressions filled with anger, was a rare sight.

"If we keep staying in the background, we\'ll lose influence. That\'s why sometimes we need to personally intervene in such troublesome matters. Don\'t you agree?"

"As expected of Marquis Hecrane. Your cunningness knows no bound."

"We should start moving in soon. The longer we wait, the more prepared that unruly princess will be."

While Lestric flattered Marquis Hecrane, Count Saint gazed at the Academy with sharp eyes and muttered.

Although not as formidable as the Bywalker family, known for their sword, Count Saint was rumored to be on par with the knight commander of the Imperial Knights in terms of skill alone.

His intuition was sharp and tingling.

"I have a bad feeling about this. Let\'s not be complacent and proceed cautiously."

"I knew you\'d say that. That\'s why everyone brought their family\'s knights. The Academy won\'t be an easy opponent after all."

However, Marquis Hecrane waved his hand dismissively.

"As much as I\'d like to lead the troops myself, the ancient magic of the Academy is too formidable."

"Well, even the Magic Tower Master can’t dispel it.”

Despite bringing their family soldiers for a political show, the ancient magic of the Academy remained robust.

Thus, only the kin of the students could enter for the ‘conference.\'

And when the Academy caused trouble for a student, as Frey did this time, up to three guards from their family could accompany them.

Though they were outnumbered, what mattered was not quantity but quality.

The reason why the Sunrise Empire was still referred to as an \'empire\' despite its corruption was because it possessed an unparalleled number of \'knight commanders\' compared to other Countries.

In an ordinary kingdom, there were only about three knight-commander-level talents who had successfully awakened their own sword aura.

When a war broke out between nations, the knight-commander-level talents were such a crucial factor that the first thing assessed to predict victory or defeat was how many knight-commander-level talents each nation possessed.

And such talents were monopolized by the parents of the students at the Killian faction.

The reason the Killian faction wielded absolute power was precisely because of this. And this was also the reason, despite Clana\'s overwhelming momentum in raising her power and influence, she had yet to secure hegemony.

"Even the nine knights we have as guards are enough to easily destroy a whole kingdom on their own. Add to that the escort knights of the other lords, and it would be too much even for the Princess, no matter how resourceful she is."

"Indeed, that\'s true."

Thus, as the Marquis spoke with confidence and moved forward, the two Count also nodded and followed.

"So, what are you going to do about Frey and the Princess? Since it\'s a secluded space, whatever you do won\'t leak out."

"I will break every bone in Frey\'s body. The information in his brain is useful. And for the Princess... it might be a good opportunity to educate her to our liking."

As they passed through the Academy\'s barrier, their sinister plans began to pour out.

"According to the information, it seems she has fallen for Frey, but our sons would be better than such a lowly commoner. Of course, after staying at the Academy and completing the \'proper education.\'"

"Now that I think about it, the Academy maids are quite beautiful. We could give them as rewards to the knights while we\'re here..."

"Let\'s use this opportunity to either win over the dean to our side or replace him, so we can overhaul the sponsorship system. Of course, all sponsors will be from our families. They will consider it an honor to serve."

With their escort knights in tow, the three corrupt lords entered the Academy, revealing their dark intentions with a smile.

"Stop."

However, someone blocked their path.

"From now on, we will guide you."

"Hmm?"

Isolet, with an even colder gaze than usual and accompanied by faculty members, stood in their way.

"Well, do as you please."

"I’m sure Frey and the princess are doing well, right? I want to go to the conference room quickly."

Initially, Marquis Hecrane and Count Lestric looked at Isolet with slightly wary eyes, but after glancing at the knights behind them, they smiled and began to follow her.

"...What?"

Only Count Saint, a knight-commander-level talent, was sweating profusely with a pale face.

"Is it just my imagination?"

When he faced Isolet, although it was only for a moment, he could distinctly feel it.

A pure sword aura, unlike anything he had seen in his life, emanating from her.

"..."

He felt completely overwhelmed.

There were only two moments where he felt like this.

When he witnessed the Emperor\'s fury when he was young.

And when he had sparred with the imperial knight-commander.

For the first time in a long while, he felt a sense of powerlessness he hadn\'t experienced since those moments.

"My Lord?"

"Ah, yes. Let\'s go."

As he stood rooted to the ground, drenched in cold sweat, the call of his knights brought him back to his senses, and he began to move again.

...I need to be fully alert.

If she could emit such an aura in a split second like that, he needed to be fully alert to suppress it.

So, as Count Saint tensed his body in preparation, a thought struck him, causing him to stop in his tracks again.

What if it wasn\'t just a split second?

What if the difference in rank was so great that he could only sense it for a split second?

Ah, surely not. That couldn\'t be.

They couldn\'t miss the opportunity to take control of the Academy.

The sight of the fresh students and maids was tantalizing.

And it was the perfect chance to get their hands on the insolent princess. Rather than handing her over to the smug and pudgy Marquis and his son, she would surely prefer his son instead.

"If need be, we can use the knights as shields."

Count Saint shook his head, he began to hasten his lethargic steps.

"..."

And there was Isolet, giving him a cold, fleeting glance.

.

.

.

.

.

"So, what is this all about?"

The Marquis\' voice, full of disbelief, echoed throughout the auditorium.

"Please wait here."

Isolet, who had guided them to the auditorium instead of a conference room, left them with those words and took a seat on the stage.

"Go ahead, do as you wish."

The Marquis stared at her for a moment and muttered under his breath with a greedy tone.

He thought this only added more justification to their cause.

"Bring Frey and Clana here."

However, Count Lestric, unable to hide his impatience, crossed his legs with an arrogant expression and spoke.

"Before we overturn the Academy."

"...Ha."

At that absurd word, someone sitting next to Isolet smirked.

"Who is that?"

Count Lestric asked, his expression turning cold at the blatant snort echoing through the auditorium.

"It seems you\'ve lost your fear."

Then, he looked at Lulu and Irina, and murmured with a twisted smile.

"If we take over the Academy, we\'ll have to deal with that girl first."

"The Princess is our priority."

Then, the Marquis muttered with a somewhat rational expression on his face.

"Bring Frey and Clana within 5 minutes. If you do not comply, we will order the knights to attack."

Count Lestric, slightly nodding to the Marquis’ word, pompously repeated his threat.

"Do we look like we\'re joking?"

"Why are these kids here? Are they part of the student council?"

"Lord, shall we chase them out?"

At the same time, the lords of the houses were making noise and glaring at the people on the stage.

"E-Excuse me, Marquis."

"...Yes?"

In this tense atmosphere, Count Saint looked pale as he attempted to say something to the Marquis, but then-

- Thud, thud...

"Has everyone gathered?"

At that moment, Frey and Clana ascended to the stage, naturally drawing the Marquis’ attention to them.

"Let\'s be direct, Professor Frey."

As the two fully ascended the stage, Count Lestric stood up with an arrogant look and began to speak.

“I arrest you based on your acts of violence, attempted murder, and other illegal acts against all the lords’ children present here.”

"Arrest? By what authority?"

"By the legal authority of the nobles, granted by the imperial law. Once our kin are harmed, we have the authority to use force."

After saying that, he looked at Clana with a chilling gaze and said,

"And, Princess, you will have to join us for a while for an investigation."

"What are you talking about?"

"It\'s nothing serious. It\'s just that there are allegations of you instigating and encouraging Frey\'s criminal actions."

"As you just said, it\'s merely an allegation. And you surely have no right to arrest a member of the royal family."

Count Lestric, sparkling with enthusiasm at Clana\'s rebuttal, added,

"Of course, we cannot arrest the princess. That\'s why we are \'investigating.\' You\'ll be participating as a witness. If you could just accompany us for a while..."

"Are you threatening me now?"

"No, no, not at all. It\'s just the exercise of our legally guaranteed rights."

Muttering to himself, he thought,

I\'m skilled at twisting the complex imperial laws to my advantage. Even the princess can\'t refute that.

The legal basis and justification were all in his favor.

Initially, he was furious upon hearing that Frey had crippled his son, but now, he was more than grateful to him.

His actions alone had caused a butterfly effect, providing them with a golden opportunity to seize the Academy and the princess.

Of course, the princess could have stayed silent and resisted, but with the most important force, military power, on their side, their victory seemed inevitable.

Certainly, the hidden princess\'s bodyguards could be a variable, but the knights they brought were the strongest in the empire.

Nevertheless, she\'s quite pretty.

The Count, sensing complete victory, murmured to himself as he gazed at Clana, who somehow appeared feminine.

She had lost all that childishness. She\'d be wasted on the Marquis.

As he was about to raise his hand to command the knights, Frey, with a kind smile, began speaking.

"Unfortunately, everything you said is wrong."

"What?"

Frey began his talk with a kind smile.

“I have no reason to be arrested by you.”

“Hoo?”

Then, Count Lestric asked with a joyful smile.

"And why is that?"

He was someone who loved to debate over legal interpretations. Although the situation was dire, there was no need to rush, as the knights brought by the lords were glaring at them with wide eyes.

"You\'ll need to explain convincingly."

It was a chance to humiliate Frey, who had been bragging when he was a Duke, and this could also elevate his own status. Thus, the Count wore a cold smile on his face,

The Count was looking forward to whatever nonsense Frey would come up with.

"I am under suspension for the execution of all crimes until my trial in a few months."

"...What?"

However, the words that came out of Frey\'s mouth were not just empty talk or pretense.

"I have already concluded secret deals with the Imperial Family and the Church by receiving a teaching position at the Academy. I am under suspension for the crimes of high treason, collusion with the Demon Army, and 325 other crimes."

The Count\'s expression began to stiffen upon hearing this.

“This has been confirmed by the Emperor’s decree issued on Orientation Day. Did you not know?”

"I knew that much."

"Is that so? I thought you wouldn\'t know, seeing as you were the first to flee."

Smiling at that, Frey continued, tapping the podium.

"The act of violence and attempted murder you accused me of also falls under one of those 325 crimes. And the execution of those crimes has been suspended by the Emperor."

"Rubbish! The targets and incidents are different! So they should be tried separately–"

"No, the decree issued by the Emperor clearly stated that the suspension was for the \'criminal act\' itself that I committed. Just in case, I included it at the last minute, but it seems the one who issued the decree didn\'t want to deal with the hassle."

As Frey finished speaking, murmurs began to spread among the lords.

"So, even though my crimes against your children could be aggravated and punished at my trial in a few months, they cannot be executed right now."

With those words, Frey added.

"So, you can\'t arrest me, or immediately make Clana a witness. My crimes will have to be dealt with at the trial in a few months."

"Still, an investigation..."

"Why investigate? I\'ve already admitted to all the crimes. The cause and effect are clear, and all the evidence has been submitted. There\'s no reason to investigate."

"This...this bastard..."

As Frey mimicked the Count\'s arrogant expression, Count Lestric erupted in anger.

"Do you not know that the Emperor is behind us? A decree like that means nothing..."

"You\'re the ones claiming that. In reality, the Emperor isn\'t on your side, is he?"

"...!"

The Count, who was trying to assert the Emperor\'s authority, widened his eyes upon hearing that.

"The Emperor gave up on everything because of laziness, didn\'t he? He didn\'t stop you from claiming to be the Emperor\'s faction, but he didn’t consider you guys to be on his side and didn’t even listen to your request."

"..."

"In the end, you\'re just the faction of Crown Prince Killian. You\'ve only used the indifferent Emperor as your shield."

"Shut up! That\'s just your delusion! If you want, I can send a letter to His Majesty right now–"

"Go ahead."

With a sigh, Frey spoke.

"I\'ll wait as long as you want."

Frey knew all too well about the cursed Emperor, who had been indifferent even when his throat was slit in the previous cycle.

He told Clana that the pact he had made was unusual, and the fact that the Emperor wouldn\'t react to their petty political squabbles.

"Th-th-this is..."

The Count\'s face was flushed with anger, but he was unable to refute a single word that came out of Frey’s mouth. Frey just looked at him coldly.

"Excellent, Frey."

He turned his gaze to the Marquis, who had been observing the situation until then.

"But, there\'s one thing you\'re overlooking."

The Marquis, who was looking at him with a delighted expression, smiled and spoke.

"The legal interpretation isn\'t really that important. I already knew how it would turn out if we delved deeper, this would happen."

"Is that so?"

“I didn’t expect you to point it out perfectly. Anyway, the important point is…”

The Marquis stood up, looked around, and continued his speech.

"Because of your mistake, we have led numerous knights and invaded the Academy."

At that, the Count\'s face, which had been flushed, sat down with an expression of realization.

“Do you really think we will step down if the legal issues are not resolved?”

"Mhm."

"From the moment we entered here, the game is already over. Everything until now is just a formality. Even if the packaging is a bit messy, the fact that we\'ve won doesn\'t change."

Then, the Marquis looked at the silent Count Saint and said,

"Handle him."

However, something felt off.

"..."

"Saint?"

Yet, Count Saint remained silent.

"Ha, haha..."

"Is something wrong?"

Looking at the pale-faced Count Saint sweating coldly, the Marquis tilted his head and asked.

"A trap..."

But Count Saint murmured without paying any attention to the Marquis.

"It\'s a trap..."

His gaze lingered on Isolet, Lulu, and Irina.

"Wh-We need to leave here quickly–"

"Enough, I can\'t take it anymore!"

But before Count Saint could finish his sentence, the enraged shout of Count Lestric, who suddenly burst out, drowned his voice.

"Beat Frey here and now, and bring the princess out! Hurry!"

As he said this, he drew his sword from his waist and took the lead in front of the advancing knights.

"Huh? Bring out the princess?"

Frey said brightly.

"Is this counted as treason?"

"Shut up!! You demon... Kwah!?"

And the next moment, the Count opened his eyes wide and clutched his stomach.

"Keh..."

Blood poured from his mouth.

"Isn\'t insulting the royal family a crime?"

Looking down at the Count, Frey murmured quietly.

"Oh, but murder isn\'t included among my 325 crimes... Killing is a bit much."

"W-What are you doing right now..."

"Instead, I\'ll educate you."

"Aaaaghh!!!"

And with that, Frey mercilessly broke the Count\'s arm.

- Thud...!

"Do you know? Now, even if I commit any crime other than murder, it will be suspended until a few months later."

Frey, who had smashed the Count’s arm to pieces, wiped the sweat from his forehead and spoke in a pleased voice.

"Regardless of your high status, you can\'t punish me."

"Attack him."

"Isn\'t it strange?"

Frey, who had broken the Count\'s waist, looked at the knights approaching him under the Marquis’ command, he muttered.

"Why didn\'t you understand even after I warned you?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the three knights charging at Frey lost consciousness and collapsed.

"Oh, by the way, I heard some interesting discussions at the gate earlier.”

Looking around at the lords, who had opened their eyes wide at the scene, Frey continued.

- Squelch...!

"Gahhhh..."

He crushed Count Lestric’s crotch and asked a question with a bright expression.

"Are you all lacking education?"

- Squelch, Squelch, Squelch...!

The expression on Count Lestric’s face as he was repeatedly trampled by Frey began to turn miserable.

"Why aren\'t you saying anything? We need to have a discussion. Count Lestric?"

"... Cou… Saint, please."

"..."

The expression on Count Saint’s face, who had heard the Marquis’ command, also turned /genesisforsaken