128 – Smiling Prince Maker (5)
Surveillance under the guise of escort.
Naturally, it was Siron who fell in love with Viktor, but she was able to meet Viktor in a very unexpected place.
“Did you do your homework well?”
“Uh. Huh?”
Victor, with a dumbfounded expression, opened his eyes wide and looked at the intruding guest. It had to be that way, since this was an academy where access to outsiders was originally restricted.
The academy’s student council room. As if the title of student council president was just a facade, Viktor was sitting in an executive chair that looked like something a company president would sit in, accompanied by many people.
“Why are you here? How did you get here?”
“They let me in when I showed them the official letter of cooperation with the investigation?”
“Cooperating with the investigation… what?”
Even as time passed, Victor could not shake off his dumbfounded expression. What do you mean by investigation?
According to Siron’s words, a major incident occurred at the academy that would require the administrative agency to intervene, and if it was such an important matter, there was no way that Viktor, the student council president of the academy, would not have known about it.
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Unfortunately, Viktor wasn’t the only one who didn’t understand the situation.
“Chairman. Who is that person?”
Viktor’s right. A girl with glossy black hair gave a venomous gaze. His eyes were so sharp that he looked so fierce that he told Lucia to go away before she was tamed.
“Why on earth are you coming in?”
“Sierra! Shhh!”
Viktor immediately cut off the girl. Then he grabbed her shoulder and whispered.
‘He’s absolutely crazy. If you don’t want to get hit, stay quiet.’
‘……yes? Ma, is that right?’
Sierra opened her cat-like eyes wide. This was because the hand on my shoulder and his voice whispering in my ear were strangely trembling.
President Viktor is from the royal family, but as a daughter of a viscount family, even talking to her is an honor… A man of such a noble status even uses slang to tell him not to be rude.
“What’s up?”
Shiron smiled and stared at the two doing something similar to an act of affection. Thanks to being born with better ears than others, Shiron could vaguely hear the conversation between the two, even though they were quite far away.
‘Why does it sound strange to people seeing it for the first time?’
So, his expression was crumpled. Shiron twitched and approached Viktor with strides.
I’m going through all this trouble to make someone emperor, but instead of being treated like an uninvited guest… I’m suddenly treated like a crazy person, and the corners of my eyes narrow in sadness.
“hey.”
Siron, standing in front of Viktor, made a stern face. Since my partner didn’t treat me like a friend, my slanted personality stuck out like a nail in my pocket and I became grumpy.
“Victor what de Lien.”
“Why why?”
“Follow me to the rooftop.”
“…?”
A dazed expression again. But Chiron was faster.
Siron left the student council room before Viktor could react.
*
After a while, Siron was able to face Viktor, who was out of breath.
“Son of a b*tch…”
A strangely high voice.
Did you have a hard time resolving the situation? Or is it because the road to the rooftop is rough? Victor let out a vulgar curse that was unbecoming of his status.
“Why did you come here? No, if you were going to come, did you at least include a message?”
“…Victor what is it? de Lien.”
Siron took out his glasses from his pocket and put them on. Since they swear openly, it seems like they are still close friends, transcending social status. But apart from that, I wanted to quickly move on to the main topic of poetry.
“I asked you if you did your homework properly.”
“Why do you keep changing the subject? What else is your homework?”
“Night of the Long Sword.”
Siron turned to Viktor. The academy building must have been quite tall, so the wind from the rooftop tangled my hair arbitrarily.
“I kindly drew up the power structure for you. Have you laid a solid foundation?”
This was also the reason why Siron felt annoyed as soon as he saw Victor. At a time when nobles’ banquets are coming and going, faces are stamped, and like-minded people have to become their own people, I’m playing house at the academy where the kids are gathered.
That was so pitiful and deplorable… Siron wanted to hit Viktor on the head right now.
Victor seemed to have noticed the atmosphere as well, looking up at the sky and pointing his finger.
“…two people?”
“What? Two people?”
“…There were six people who had a conversation with their faces turned up.”
Victor spoke as if defending himself. However, when Siron glared at him with his eyes wide open, he could not make eye contact properly, perhaps because he felt embarrassed.
“It hasn’t even been 15 days since that day… If you want to build friendships, the best way is to attend social gatherings, but since that day, there was only one social gathering held two days ago.”
“…”
A moment of silence.
Siron was unable to continue speaking due to Viktor’s protest, which did not even seem like an excuse.
There was no optimistic outlook.
I wasn’t sure what would happen in the future, but I correctly remembered the assessment that he would become an emperor worse than Franz. Since I knew that Victor was not a superman on a white horse, I did not expect to hear an answer that he had already laid a solid foundation and was playing around.
However, feeling disappointed by the excuses that came out of my mouth was another story.
“Let’s stop.”
Siron placed his chin and hand on Viktor’s shoulder.
“You shouldn’t be the emperor, but we’ll all be deported together. I’ll be deported because I’ve been criticized by Austin, and you’ll be assassinated because you’re a potential reactionary.”
“Now, wait a minute!”
Seeing Siron’s expression clearly showing disappointment, Viktor prepared to make an additional protest.
“What are you waiting for? I think it’s all over.”
“First of all, let me tell you why I’m here. I told you to wait a moment.”
Viktor grabbed Siron’s shoulder as he was going down the rooftop.
“I hate to say it, but you probably know that the Academy is a place where the most talented people on the continent gather. Right?”
“…I don’t know. Why do you think I know about an academy I don’t even attend?”
Siron grabbed Viktor’s wrist and lowered it.
He didn’t seem to be able to swing a sword these days, and his wrists were so thin that they looked like they would break with even the slightest force.
“But aren’t they younger than Siriel, let alone Lucia?”
“That’s… they’re unique. Anyway, that’s not what’s important.”
Victor’s tone became urgent, as if the crisis that occurred when Austin became emperor was imminent.
“Because it’s a place where children of nobles gather. We can approach parents through the children, huh? Pick out the yellow ones, and reach out for the green ones in advance… Let’s raise them and use them. That was the intention.”
“okay?”
“That’s right. I’m graduating soon. That’s why. During the day, I laid the foundation for the future, and at night, I tried to gather the people I needed right away at the social club.”
“…I’ll take it as that.”
When Siron acknowledged, Viktor breathed a sigh of relief.
I don’t know why there are so many things that have made me nervous lately.
‘My mom and my brother are like that too. Now even this guy is a mess.’
Was it like sh*t from the beginning? When I thought about it, Siron was a consistently difficult guy who had always slapped me from the moment I first met him.
“Anyway, so why did you come here?”
“To spy on you.”
Siron answered simply.
“From now on, it’s my job to stick with you.”
“…continue?”
Victor couldn’t hide his embarrassment.
*
At the academy’s main gate, the sun had already set and the sky was red.
“…Are you going to follow me home like this?”
“Uh. Why am I lying to you?”
A distance of three steps behind Victor, who is ahead. Siron maintained a certain distance and exchanged words with Victor.
“But why on earth am I under surveillance?”
Victor said with a sigh. Siron not only followed the student council’s business, but also followed him when he went to the cafeteria or even went to the bathroom.
Because I used the faculty restroom, which was not normally used by anyone, my only experience was doing my business comfortably, so I couldn’t do my errands comfortably because a man my age came into the bathroom with me.
Shiron didn’t take him seriously and spoke insinuatingly towards the front.
“Surveillance is a justification. The purpose of escort is strong.”
“…Are you alone?”
“What. Do you not trust me?”
Shiron spat out. The sun had set in the middle of the move, so the surroundings were dark.
“Of course not. Escorts are usually done in groups…”
“The group already exists.”
After replying, Shiron followed Viktor closely and looked around. As Viktor said, escorts formed a rank around Viktor and were active in an inconspicuous place.
“I don’t have to take away the food of those who are working well. It’s good for Lucerne to save on budget and manpower. I think this is the best. If you don’t trust me, I will lure Lucina or Siriel and act together from now on.”
The destination was not the imperial palace, but a mansion in a residential area located close to the academy. As I walked aimlessly, I naturally arrived at my destination, and the guards who were on high alert gathered in one place, opened the door to the building, and entered.
“How far do you want to come in?” Tadak-
“…From beginning to end. Even if it is only nominal, we must properly monitor it.” Tuk-
“There’s an empty room next to me. If you want to use it, you can use it.” Pop-pop-pop-
“her…”
That annoying sound I heard earlier. I thought it was the sound made by the escorts who entered first…
The hair on my body stood up and the blood in my head boiled at the situation that was about to happen.
“I expected it, but it was not at all what I expected.”
“…”
Victor could no longer move forward.
All doors in the building are open. Normally, the escorts who entered would have signaled that they were okay. There was no news.
“Next time, I’ll have to bring the kids.”
Seeing the eyes flashing in the darkness, Siron pulled out the holy sword from his arms.