Chapter 71

The day after the martial arts tournament, as usual, I walked to the academy with Serea. At the main gate, we found Powell, the musclehead, and a stern-looking armored man waiting for us.

The armored man must be the captain of the Royal Guard! Upon spotting us, he dashed over and performed a full prostration, creating a cloud of dust as his bald head hit the ground. What on earth is going on here!

"Your Highness! My unworthy son has committed a grave offense! I, Uriel Hargan, Captain of the Royal Guard, beg for your forgiveness!" he said, bowing deeply.

Powell also ran over and prostrated himself next to his father. I really wish they would stop.

"Without knowing it was you, Your Highness, I committed a grave offense and have no way to apologize!"

"Ah... That's fine now. Please get up. Powell has been expelled, so that matter is settled. If you have no way to apologize, then just go home," I said.

Their faces turned pale as they lifted their heads. It was clear that I had no intention of helping them.

"The Royal Guard, the shield of the royal family, should never draw a sword against a prince. Please behead me!" the captain said, placing his sword before me. No, no, no, no, no, what kind of gruesome scene is this at the school gate in the morning? There's no way I would do such a thing.

After I've apologized to this extent, it would be petty not to forgive them! People who just want to make a show of it often come to the palace. I'm used to it.

"That's not a crime anyway. Besides, he's not a member of the Royal Guard. As long as he doesn't become one in the future, this incident won't be an issue."

"Eh, eh, what?!"

"Carrying a sword, which is prohibited by school rules, and repeatedly ignoring warnings. Drawing a real sword in the school and challenging an unarmed opponent to a duel, and actually attacking with a sword. Those are the reasons for his expulsion. The fact that he's the son of the Royal Guard captain is irrelevant. Captain Uriel, you are not at fault. Please don't worry."

This made Powell turn even paler.

"No! I, I had the school's permission..."

"The school never gave you permission. I confirmed that no one issued such a permit. You were just ignoring the school rules and carrying a sword. It was a problem before, and you ignored warnings, saying things like 'In the past, noble knights had to carry swords' or 'I have a duty to maintain the school's order.'"

"I didn't know you were the prince!"

"That makes it even worse. If it had been another student, you thought you could get away with it using your parents' power. If you think I will forgive you, you're mistaken. A student who always carries a real sword with the intention of harming others must be expelled to ensure the safety of the school."

"Such a harsh punishment for a mere student martial arts tournament!"

"In a student martial arts tournament, you drew a real sword and used it. No matter how much your parents prostrate themselves, it can't be covered up. Don't you understand?"

"I didn't really intend to cut anyone! I just wanted to remove the mask!"

"All the students saw you draw a real sword and attack me."

"That was... because you provoked me..."

"Someone who can't control themselves after being provoked and causes bodily harm is not needed in the school or the knights."

There was no way for him to argue.

"Powell, you haven't admitted your fault at all. How do you plan to apologize?"

Powell's face changed suddenly.

"I'm sorry!! It was my fault!"

"Please, please, forgive me!!"

The captain grabbed Powell's head and slammed it to the ground, forcing him to prostrate himself.

Father and son, both muscleheads...

"Sire... that's enough."

Serea tugged at my sleeve.

The students on their way to school had surrounded us, causing quite a commotion. Ahaha!

"Alright, Serea. Then, for Serea's sake, I'll forgive you this time."

They lifted their heads, mouths agape. Blood was flowing from Powell's forehead. Prostrating to the point of bleeding, that's going too far.

"I'll petition the school to revoke the expulsion, but that's just my personal acceptance of your apology. The school will still punish Powell. Be prepared for a long suspension."

"Yes, sir!"

"Powell."

"Yes, sir!"

"Follow the school rules. Carrying a sword and violent behavior are prohibited. If you don't, you'll be expelled immediately. Understand?"

"...Yes."

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

"Don't misunderstand. Both of you, thank Serea."

The captain rubbed his head against the ground.

"Thank you, Lady Serea!"

"Thank you!"

This should improve the school's discipline.

Walking around with a real sword, that's just too much.

"This will make him bow to Serea. One less person to judge her."

We passed through the main gate, which read "All who enter here must abandon their status," and walked to the school. Serea glared at me.

"Were you waiting for me to stop it?"

"Yes."

"That's unfair, Sire..."

Ahaha! I had to do it, you know!

Jack called out to me from behind.

"Hey, I saw that. You handled it well... I was a bit surprised. If you had left it alone, he would have been expelled, and it would have been less trouble."

"Removing a character from the game would cause confusion on the scene."

"What does that mean?"

"Let's just say I have my reasons."

If I had eliminated a character, I wouldn't know how it would affect the "game" Serea mentioned. If I can't predict the impact, I might be caught off guard. I want to avoid that.

This doesn't mean it's over. His future as a Royal Guard is hopeless. A man who drew a sword against royalty can't join the Royal Guard. Powell's future is closed. I'm sure the captain understands this. I'm sorry, but this is his own doing.

There are things in life that can't be undone or redone. For a noble knight...

"You use your power too, don't you?"

"What are you talking about? It's the opposite. I'm saying that using power in the school or covering up misconduct with parental influence is not allowed."

"Oh, right."

I wonder how the students who saw the sliding prostration interpreted it. I hope they don't misunderstand.

The martial arts tournament is over, and the final exams are done.

My ranking remains at the top, with Hartis in second.

Serea is in thirteenth place, and the heroine has dropped to around thirtieth.

"Maybe she gave up on trying to win over the top students like you and Hartis," Serea said.

Maybe she should focus on other characters.

Fried, the cool character, is around twentieth. Cool characters need to be smart to be cool, so he needs to work on that.

Pikar, the idiot, is at the bottom, and Powell, the musclehead, isn't even on the list. He's on suspension and didn't take the test. He'll probably have a lot of makeup classes after he returns. He needs to reflect thoroughly.

"Alright, the exams are over, and winter break starts tomorrow. Let's do something fun together!"

At the end-of-term assembly, Jack and Silfa, who avoided failing, looked relieved.

"Hmm... We need to catch up on the public duties we neglected during the break."

"Come on, one day won't hurt."

"Eh, eh, what? Fun plans!?"

The classmates gathered around excitedly.

"Hey, Sire and Serea, are you secretly dating?"

"Of course we are."

"Where do you usually go!?"

"To the theater, street food, shopping..."

"Normal..."

"Too normal..."

Everyone was disappointed. Of course, being a prince doesn't mean we do anything particularly exciting.

"Serea, where did you have the most fun with Sire?"

Serea blushed and seemed to recall something.

The class's expectations rose!

"...The church."

"Serious!"

"Why the church..."

"Too perfect!"

The class criticized her.

Ah, that must be it! The secret wedding we held at night when we were ten. It was thrilling. So, Serea still treasures that memory the most. Wait, does that mean nothing has been more fun since then? That's a problem.

"So, what do you usually do for fun?"

"Hmm... The capital doesn't have much to offer in terms of entertainment."

Jack thought about it.

In the provinces, there are "hot springs" as a pretext for adult entertainment. Some lords even promote gambling to extract money. Despite regulations, they find ways around them, causing headaches for the government. The capital, being the royal seat, is strictly regulated, so there aren't many places for us underage students to have fun.

"Picnic?"

"It's too cold."

"Bowling?"

"We did that at the sports festival."

"Rent a restaurant and party!"

"We don't have the money..."

Yeah, my class has a lot of poor nobles.

"Then how about this!"

Sandy, a classmate, showed some tickets.

"There's a production of 'The Phantom of the Opera' at the Globe Theater, and I have ten discount tickets!"

"Wow... Why do you have those, Sandy? Are you in the drama club?"

Sandy is in the drama club. I saw him in a supporting role at the school festival.

"Yes, after the festival, a guy named Shakespeare from the Globe Theater came and wanted to buy the rights to our play. A new screenwriter, Andre Lloyd, rewrote the script, and it's being performed at the Globe!"

"That's great. How much did the drama club get for the rights?"

"Two hundred discount tickets..."

"We have to sell them."

"Actually, yes."

Well, they're half price, so that's fine.

"Thanks. Let's all go tomorrow!"

"Yay!"

It's nice to go out with the class.

We drew lots for the ten discount tickets, and those who wanted to go were chosen. I and Serea didn't get in, so we'll pay out of pocket.

The next day, we met at the fountain park...

"Why are you here?"

"It's a coincidence!"

"Don't you get it? I was drawn to your radiance!"

What's going on? The heroine, Pikar, and Fried are here.

"I'm interested in how professional actors will perform 'The Prince of the Opera,' which I starred in. It would be unfair to the actors if I didn't watch."

Sure, sure.

"You being here is surprising..."

"Leave me alone..."

Fried, the cool character, is also here, standing next to the heroine. He's got it made.

Powell, the musclehead, isn't here. He's on suspension and under house arrest.

"Let's go! Everyone, follow me!"

Why is Pikar in charge? Everyone follows him, laughing. He's well-loved. They say the dumber the kid, the cuter they are.

Fifteen of us from Flora Academy occupied the cheapest seats at the theater to watch "The Phantom of the Opera."

I had a hunch the title would change from "The Prince of the Opera" to "The Phantom of the Opera," and the protagonist would be the Phantom.

"Yeah, this is better."

"Maybe the screenwriter thought this would make a better play after seeing it..."

Serea and I whispered to each other.

The music was amazing. The real pipe organ in the theater was powerful. The dialogue was all sung in opera style, making it a fantastic play.

The story was the same, but while the prince's version had a happy ending, this one, with the Phantom as the protagonist, was a tragic love story. In the end, the Phantom disappears, sacrificing himself for the dancer he loves.

How sad to never be loved...

I'm lucky to have Serea. It made me reflect on how precious it is to be loved by someone.

"What was that? It's wrong!"

Leaving the theater, Pikar was upset.

"The Phantom seemed like the main character!"

...That's the issue?

...Now?

Everyone could only laugh wryly.

Next: "71. [Third Year] The Heroine's Movements"