CH 84

※Told from Pipi Barlier’s perspective.

“The back gates are about to be breached!”

That report from one of House Cuglietto’s soldiers sounded more like a scream. Loretta offered a sharp rebuke in response.

“Hold strong! We’ll stop them here!”

At the Royal Academy’s back gates, Loretta and I had been positioned here to defend the academy.

The commoner’s once peaceful protests had finally taken a violent turn. They armed themselves with common knives, hatchets, and other improvised weaponry, marching toward the nobles district looting whatever they found on their way. They of course bore their fangs at the Royal Academy as well.

At the front gates, a large mob of several thousands of commoners gathered and were trying to force their way onto the premises. Right now, Loretta’s father―Count Cugletto himself―served as the acting commander and led the defense. Loretta had been assigned to defend the back gates, and I was to support her as her aide.

“Pipi, you know, you didn’t have to force yourself to come with me?”

Even though her expression was tense, Loretta still managed to flash me a smile. It was a kind gesture, and Loretta was very kind, but those weren’t the words that I wanted to hear.

“Hmph, Loretta, aren’t you the one forcing yourself right now? Just be honest and say you want me to stay by your side.”

“Urr…”

Loretta’s cheeks took a red hue as she found herself at a loss for words. Ever since the events at the music festival, I had become ferociously proactive in my approaches toward Loretta. It was clear she still held feelings for Claire-sama, but her response to me wasn’t an unfavorable one either. One day, I was sure that I’d steal her heart.

In order for that to happen, there was no way that I’d allow myself to die here.

“Hey, Loretta! Get your head out of the clouds, the soldiers are awaiting your orders.”

“Ah, you’re right. Squad three, proceed forward!”

House Cugletto’s soldiers took action the moment Loretta issued her command. While I thought that Loretta looked really cool right now, this was neither the time nor place so I chose to focus up.

“Death to the nobility!!”

“For our common freedom!!”

Even as I listened to the angry roars of the commoners, I continued to think. Would the era of nobility really come to its end? Yuu-sama had once said something that now sounded like prophecy, but at the time I simply thought that there was no way. The thought that a day where the commoners would overthrow us nobility had never once occurred to me. And yet, that very scenario was currently playing out as our reality.

(I suppose it’s fine if nobility lose their rank and title. I mean, my house, House Barlier, has already lost its rank.)

As a result of our dealings with Marquis Achard, House Barlier had already lost its title. The only reason we had not faced execution was because our contributions in actually capturing Clément had been recognized. My parents now relied on an influential connection in the territory that they had once ruled over. Even though we were originally nobles, my father had garnered good will and rapport from the way he had governed, so there were several merchants who were willing to help him get back on his feet. Until my father could settle into his new lifestyle, I was put under the care of House Cugletto.

That’s why I no longer felt any attachment to my lineage or nobility. However, Loretta was part of a noble lineage that stood at the top of the army meant to protect the nobles. I absolutely wanted to find a way to prevent her from losing her life in this revolution.

(In the worst case, perhaps I could make Loretta faint and take her away from the battlefield…?”

No, that wasn’t practical. At present, both sides to this conflict felt evenly matched. If Loretta were unable to take command, the revolutionaries would certainly break past the back gates making it near impossible for us to escape.

(Ahh~ Geez! Just what should I do!)

I mentally stomped my feet in frustration.

“There’s more insurgents! It’s no good! They’re going to break past us!”

“Krh…!”

I saw panic creep into Loretta’s expression. Considering the situation, it only made sense.

“Loretta-sama, please permit us to use offensive magic!”

“If we allow this to continue, it’s only a matter of time before they break through!”

“… Absolutely not!”

That’s right. Under Loretta’s command, the soldiers were forbidden from casting offensive magic. If we were able to use magic, perhaps we would still have a chance to win. However, she would not allow that.

“The commoners are what we should be protecting, not attacking! We must hold onto our position through strengthening magic and healing magic!”

Yes, all so that we would not fatally wound any commoners. At some point in time, Loretta had aligned herself with Claire-sama’s ideals. Or perhaps, it was our experience during our summer vacation where she had begun to think this way.

“It’s no good! The gate will be broken through!”

Just as that report was conveyed, the commoners managed to breach the back gate. Almost like a landslide, the commoners flooded through the gate.

The soldiers were now practically engulfed by the masses of commoners, and their weapons were just in front of us. Was this the end?

“Loretta-sama, please let us use offensive magic!”

“Absolutely not! If you take any pride in your nobility, uphold your noble obligations to the very end!”

When Loretta shouted those words, she had clearly made her resolve for the worst.

And then―

“Wonderful words.”

A sage-like voice could be heard as something like a fog rose to cover us. The fog very specifically moved to wrap around the commoners, causing them to fall to the ground one by one.

“!?”

“Don’t worry, I’ve just put them to sleep.”

“Christophe-sama!”

The voice belonged to Christophe-sama. With his wand in hand, he manipulated the magic fog and lulled the commoners into a slumber.

“You’ve really saved us, Christophe-sama!”

“You don’t have to be so formal, Loretta-sama, I am no more than but a viscount now.”

Only Clément, the head of House Achard, had been executed. Normally the entire house would have been, but for better or for worse, House Achard held a lot of influence in our kingdom’s politics. Rei said, “It’s just like how banks will never fully collapse.”, but I didn’t understand what she meant by her words. Regardless, House Achard was forced to change its head, and was demoted. That’s why Christophe-sama was now Viscount Achard.

“And… There’s more coming.”

“!”

Looking in the direction Christophe-sama pointed his wand, there was a group of commoners who appeared to be different from the rest.

“Adventurers…!”

That was how we referred to the various people who accepted and fulfilled requests on behalf of the adventurer’s guild. The majority of them were proficient in combat, which was made clear by the fact that none of them had been put to sleep by Christophe-sama’s fog. They must have set up some sort of countermeasure.

“Let’s get ‘em!”

“Yeah!!”

When the one thought to be their leader gave the command, ten or so of the adventurers rushed in. While there weren’t so many of them, their movements and teamwork were much more refined than the masses of commoners we were fighting to fend off before. They couldn’t overwhelm us with sheer numbers, but they were much more difficult to deal with than the commoners.

“Please, fall back, Christophe-sama!”

“Leave this to us!”

A young man and a young woman, likely very similar in age to us, forced themselves between us and the adventurers.

“No, you two are the ones who should fall back. This battlefield is one us nobles must stand on.”

“No!”

“We’ll be taking this chance to repay you for your kindness, Christophe-sama!”

This was something I only learned after the fact, but these two who had stepped in to protect Christophe-sama were two of the people that he had saved from Clément’s slave trade. While these two could have chosen to simply live their lives as commoners, in admiration of Christophe-sama’s character, they chose to follow him instead.

“Tch… Just kids, huh…”

The man standing in front of the rest of the adventurers spoke bitterly as he came to a halt. The man held a short sword, which was clearly weathered from years of use. I recognized him.

“The man from that time in Euclid…”

“So we meet again, House Barlier’s lil’ lady.”

“If we’re gonna fight, I’ll take you on.”

“Nah… Well, I’m normally not very picky when it comes to my work… But―”

The man took a heavy looking pouch out from his pockets and tossed it back to the man who appeared to be their leader.

“Hey, what’s the deal?”

As he said that, the man gave a disinterested laugh.

“Bastard, you really intend to turn your back on a job you accepted!?”

“Ya never said the job involved killin’ kids, fuckin’ fool! As an adventurer, I get to choose my work!”

Following the man’s lead, the other adventurers too, stopped one by one.

“You know they’re nobles!”

“Yeah, duh. But you know, this lil’ lady here may be a noble, but she’s one that’s got promise. She shed tears for my fallen comrades ya know.”

“That must just be an act!”

“Ya really think a noble would really barf their insides out just as an act? Would ya?”

When the man turned back to ask, Loretta awkwardly looked away.

“Are you going to pull back?”

“Just a temporary ceasefire. I’d rather not have to spill blood either.”

The man responded to Christophe-sama’s question as he sheathed his sword.

“But… Really, to me it looks like this revolution is ‘happening’, yeah?”

“… Yes, it does seem so.”

While we somehow managed to get through this battle, what the adventurer was saying was that it seemed the war was already lost.

Before long, the academy was forced to surrender to the revolutionaries, and any with noble lineage were confined within the academy under their direct supervision.

“… I wonder what will happen from now on…”

“As long as we stay alive, I’m sure things will somehow work themselves out.”

When Loretta let her anxieties slip, I firmly squeezed her hand. As I did, I made a vow within my own heart, that I would live on, no matter what.