Chapter 116: Falling in Love (1)

Chapter 116: Falling in Love (1)

The sun was beginning to rise.

First thing in the morning, Vikir did as Hugo had instructed him at the banquet last night.

"Enter the Academy."

Hugo's tone was still blunt.

A sheet of paper was slid in front of Vikir.

It was a home letter announcing that the Academy was recruiting new students for the new semester.

<Academy 'Colosseo' is recruiting new students for the 20th class>

Application submission: November 04, 19th year of the imperial calendar ~ November 26th, 19th year of the imperial calendar

Class period: 8 semesters (4 years)

Entrance date: January 1, 20th Imperial Year

Academy Colosseo. A large-scale collective educational institution in Imperial Rock.

It has a staggering number of students, over 7,000, and if you count the post-academy students, the number is over 20,000.

The number of faculty and staff alone reached 4,000.

Considered one of the greatest institutions of higher learning in the history of mankind, the Colosseo attracts students from many families, including the seven families that hold the Empire together.

Every noble young man in the Empire considers it a lifelong honor to be admitted, and indeed, graduates of the Academy have proudly served as elite members of the Imperial family and in the highest ranks of society.

From the first Emperor of Imperial Rock, most of the heads of the Seven Great Families have already graduated from the Academy, as well as billionaires of all kinds, heads of the largest guilds, renowned scholars, and other social leaders who hold top positions in politics, law, business, culture, media, academia, sports, and more.

The alumni network was already unrivaled in the empire and the most influential of all social groups.

"...."

Vikir stared down at the document in front of him.

Students at the Academy are not discriminated against during their four years here, admission and graduation are based solely on merit.

The majority of the Academy's students enter at the age of 20 and graduate at the age of 24, although there is some deviation.

Academy graduates are given the option of remaining in the Imperium and working for the Empire or returning to their original families.

Hugo had hoped to return home after the Academy, and his eldest son Osiris had followed the same path.

And Vikir, of course, intended to follow suit.

"I'll be back."

Vikir didn't hesitate to accept Hugo's offer.

He'd been to the academy before, before the regression.

'...Of course, I wasn't eligible for admission then.'

He had followed the students as a hound, escorting them to various services.

For the record, the Academy's first class of students were triplets: Highbrow, Midbrow, and Lowbrow.

Hugo nodded, then turned to Vikir.

"Do you have a brother who would like to come with you?"

The Academy had given the Baskervilles a certain number of seats at the Academy.

It's a kind of seed assignment, TO was vacated, but considering the brand and name value of the Baskervilles, it's natural.

Vikir didn't hesitate to answer.

"I want to go with my brothers to the Highbrow, Midbrow, and Lowbrow."

He had said this to Hugo before.

Hugo still rubbed his chin in disbelief, but then he was convinced.

"'Cause they're the only brothers in your row that's worth going with."

But Vikir didn't want to take the triplets for that reason alone.

Naturally, his mind wandered back to the end of yesterday's great banquet.

' ... It was unexpected.'

On his way to his bedroom, Vikir had gotten a visit from the triplets.

Sigh.

With a strange look of determination on their faces, they drew their swords and stood in his way, intent on exterminating him, who was in more ways than one.

To bury them, along with what happened in the depht two years ago.

But.

The triplets had a completely unexpected reaction.

...Shake!

All three knelt on their right knees in front of Vikir, heads bowed.

The tip of the drawn blade was resting on the instep of their right foot, and the tip of the handle was pointed at Vikir.

If the Vikir reached out and pressed, their swords would go straight through their own insteps.

It was an act of surrendering one's life to the other, or in dog terms, lying down on one's stomach.

"What are you doing?"

Vikir asked in disbelief.

Then, as if to double-check, Vikir asked Hugo a question.

"I understand that my disappearance two years ago has greatly benefited the Main House in its diplomacy with the Morg."

Hugo nodded at Vikir's straightforward statement.

Vikir continued.

"And my father has told me that he is rewarding me for this."

"That's right. I said I'd reward you appropriately, but we're still discussing that."

Vikir's accomplishment was so great that a modest reward would not clearly recognize it.

Hugo was considering it, but Bikir spoke up first.

"I want that reward now."

"Hmm. Do you want something?"

It was also unusual for Vikir to want something first.

Hugo looked at his son's face in front of him with a gleam in his eye.

And then. Vikir's mouth opened.

"What I want is for you to answer my question, Father, honestly."

"...?"

Hugo's brow furrowed slightly.

It was a demand that could be offensive to some.

Hugo opened his mouth.

"I don't understand the question."

"Then I'll ask it with your permission."

Vikir looked Hugo in the eye and asked in a much more direct manner than Hugo had.

"What was your relationship with the late First Lady, the Marquise de Roxana?"

Hugo's entire body went rigid.

Is this the expression of a dragon that has been stabbed in the back?

Extreme agitation. Hugo is reacting in a way I've never seen before.

"...What are you trying to do?"

Hugo's voice became extremely cold.

A terrifying chill, a cold aura, radiated from his entire body.

But Vikir was unfazed.

He didn't flinch, despite the fact that all the intimacy and rapport he'd built up to this point was collapsing.

Hugo opened his mouth.

"Get out."

"...."

"Forget about the Academy, it's a blank slate."

Hugo threw up his hands.

It had never happened before in his life that he'd let his emotions get the better of him like this.

But Vikir was still in his face.

"I understand that your admission to the Academy has been canceled."

"...."

"But the trade gains my family made from my disappearance two years ago cannot be canceled."

That meant he'd better answer quickly.

Hugo gave Vikir a look of irritation he'd never seen before.

"What the hell do you want an answer to!"

"It's a question."

Vikir said, still in an even tone.

"What did you think of the Marquise de Roxana?"

The Pomeranian's smiling face floated around in Vikir's mind.

What would Hugo's reaction be if he learned of the existence of a granddaughter he hadn't even known existed?

Would he be as displeased as he was now? Most likely, he would.

'...because he's a man without blood or tears.'

The first wife he met through an arranged marriage, the eldest daughter born with her and kidnapped by the natives, and the granddaughter of mixed native blood.

Vikir had already run through 365 different scenarios in her head of how Hugo would react to the discovery of the Pomeranian's existence.

And in every case, she had made arrangements to benefit herself and the Pomeranians.

...?

Hugo began by saying something that wasn't in any of Vikir's 365 plans.

"She was the only woman I ever loved in my entire life."