CH 144

“Hey, was that young master like that before?”

Marcus asked Aaron instead of Lars, who was in the midst of his delusional trip. Aaron thought a little.

“Let’s see, his impression before is more of a depressed person who felt anxiety and oppressed about his future. But now, that seems to be completely blown away.”

“…But hey, hasn’t he blown too much in a weird direction there?”

The influence of a girl with eyes the color of leaves they could see from afar was too big for the boy.

Even before the purple star girl came to “The King’s Sword,” Marcus knew Lars’ name and face and often saw him chatting with fellow gold stars about women.

Back then, Marcus only thought he sure had it easy as an aristocratic young master, but Marcus never thought, despite how Lars slandered women back then, Lars would’ve ended up being caught by the vilest possible woman out there.

“Certainly, I did think it’s a little strange, but the current Lars seems happier, so I’d like to watch over him as his friend!”

Without knowing the sarcasm brewing inside Marcus’ mind, Aaron showed a smile that made one feel how good his upbringing was.

“I guess for that young master, his friend is like this, huh…”

“Heh?”

“Nah…”

As Marcus said it was nothing to let the topic slide and glanced at Lars, only to see Lars still spouting the unknown lady’s name and praising her similarity to Sophie.

The two observed Lars for a while, but because of Aaron’s serious personality, he seemed to think the problem was with the black star, and he wore a difficult expression when he saw the clothes of a black star from the window of the academy building.

“Ah…”

Behind the lattice window made of a wooden frame on the second floor, Aaron saw the youngest man who became a paladin, making him leak such a voice.

—Gerald Forsius.

He was a man whose future was already anticipated from an early age – a rare existence that was beyond them despite being the same age. He always had a cold atmosphere and nobody ever saw him upset. For students of the black star, his calm and composed figure was their ideal.

“…To be honest, I think the biggest reason the people of the black star didn’t see Sophie-sama in a good light is due to the selection of those escorts.”

When Marcus found Gerald by following Aaron’s gaze, he agreed with that opinion.

That man was one of the people with the most noble status in the kingdom, with the future potential to be entrusted as an escort of the first prince. Even fellow black stars couldn’t casually call out to him.

“Is it really so?”

The one who disagreed with Aaron’s speculation was Lars, who just returned from his dream world.

Apparently, he was quick to return if the topic regarded Sophie.

“From the perspective of the black star, having Gerald-sama, who was already active as a paladin, called all the way back to ‘The King’s Sword’ just for the sake of escorting Sophie-sama wasn’t something they found amusing, but the purple star does have the authority to be escorted by paladins, and even if the other party happened to be that famous Forsius family, I don’t think it’s weird to have such an escort, considering their age, though?”

On the other hand, considering Gerald was a student of “The King’s Sword” until last year, Lars thought it was a reasonable choice, but Aaron replied with a troubled tone.

“Gerald-sama may play a part in that, but I’m more referring to Warren-sama. Having such a person to serve as Sophie-sama escort, moreover to have her dormitory escorted by such a person, I guess there’s no way that people of the black star find that amusing. Even from our perspective, don’t you think that’s something unbelievable?”

“Eh?”

At the name that Aaron uttered, not only Lars, even Marcus’ expression stiffened.

“…Warren-sama… do you mean that Warren-sama?”

Hearing a familiar name, Lars spoke his doubts.

He had no idea why such a name was mentioned here, so he couldn’t help but timidly ask again.

“Yes. That Warren-sama.”

“Why is Warren-sama…?”

“Why do you ask why? Didn’t he come to escort Sophie-sama the other day?”

“Eh, when was that?!”

“Ah… now that I think about it, Lars was half-conscious back then. I was wondering why your reaction was weak earlier.”

What came to Lars’ mind at the word “half-conscious” was the day after the mountain exercise.

The escort that came with Sophie that day was neither Gerald nor Luca but an elderly paladin.

That stately appearance and outstanding presence were certainly seen by Lars’ eyes. However, Lars just thought that was just how paladins were and he wasn’t particularly concerned about it.

Looking back at it now, he recalled how Aaron seemed to be in a panic and others were whispering around them. Lars was listening while half awake, so the content of their conversation didn’t register in his brain.

“I also saw that person’s face at a close distance the first time that day, but since Firth-sama said so, it should be the case.”

Since not only Aaron but the eldest son of another count family also recognized the person, it was likely to be true.

“But that person came casually to deliver Sophie-sama’s lunch, you know?!”

He also did it yesterday. And Lars got to eat said lunch too.

The paladin who entered in a panic and was astonished by how Sophie slammed on the table that day was also him.

“That person is Warren-sama…?”

Marcus asked in Lars’ stead since he was stiffened at the moment. His expression seemed to say he didn’t want to ask but he had to.

“If you say Warren, you mean that Warren Forsius, right? Isn’t that person Gerald’s…”

“Yes, his father.”

At Aaron’s unrelenting response, Marcus scratched his head as he leaked a long and heavy sigh.

Even though Marcus couldn’t remember the name of the fiancée of the first prince, there was no way he could forget the name Warren Forsius.

“Seriously…? Why did that ‘King’s Divine Horse’ who earned five black stars accept the role of an escort of a daughter of a baron family, even if said person is the bearer of the purple star? In the first place, I thought the bearer of five black stars would only escort the king and the first successor to the throne?”

When Marcus mentioned the name that any student of “The King’s Sword” who chose the military route would hear at least once, Aaron, who had better knowledge in that matter due to his family having served in the royal palace for generations, replied with his own speculation.

“The purple star is the spokesperson of the king. There is a precedent of a paladin with five black stars temporarily escorting the purple star in the past, so it’s not that unusual. Besides, Warren-sama retired not long ago, so perhaps he judged it to be a better duty than continuing his duty as a five black stars bearer.”

“No matter how many people bore five black stars in the past, there’s only one of them who got the title of ‘King’s Divine Horse’ and that is Warren Forsius! Even if he retired, his worth is completely different from an ordinary five black star!”

Among the people who bear five black stars, there was one who was granted the special title of “King’s Divine Horse.”

The one who received such a title was Warren Forsius, the aide among aides of the king.

If the purple star was the king’s spokesperson, then the “King’s Divine Horse” was the king’s right arm.

Even a commoner could understand how amazing such a person was.

Even among aristocrats, unless they hailed from an especially high pedigree, even if they knew his name, they were unlikely to get the chance to look at that person’s face directly. The reason both Aaron and Firth knew that person’s face was because both of them were the eldest sons of powerful aristocrats.

“So the pinnacle of the black star, ‘the King’s Divine Horse,’ serving as an escort… well of course those black stars aren’t amused.”

Marcus had no intention of understanding the feelings of the people of the black star, but there was no doubt it made him chilled at the thought.

Author’s Note:

I intended to end this arc here, but it still goes a little longer, so please accompany us for another chapter. (´・ω・`)