Chapter 365

Not all Orbis Class graduates joined the Revolutionary Forces.

Duke Granz had graduated as the top student from the Orbis Class, and had no reason to join the Revolutionary Forces. Then again, it didn’t seem to me that anyone, regardless of their background or wealth, had a reason to join the Revolutionary Forces.

Why would anyone want to risk one’s life for something like that?

Even if someone believed that a revolution would benefit them, it would be better to align with whoever came to power in the new world after the revolution rather than to risk one’s life participating in it. But, if Duke Granz were part of the Revolutionary Forces, he would likely be a key figure.

“He always brags about graduating top of his class whenever he scolds me, but honestly, I don’t believe it,” Riana said.

He had graduated at the top of his class. The smartest ones always made the best idealists.

Riana, unaware of my thoughts, sipped her whiskey and pointed to her head.

“No matter how I think about it, I’m not that smart. Where do you think this brain came from?” she continued, implying that since she wasn’t smart, her father was probably lacking in intelligence too.

Her remarks made my head spin, but I couldn’t be bothered with them at the moment.

If Duke Granz was part of the Revolutionary Forces, would it be right to consider him as a soon-to-be ally, since I would eventually join forces with the Revolutionary Forces?

Whether or not Duke Granz was part of the Revolutionary Forces, my only interest was in delaying the revolution until after the Gate Incident.

I was creating this Anti-Empire Alliance only as a pretext, and I had no real intention of opposing the empire. In the original story, the Revolutionary Forces and the independence movement within the Church of the Five Great Gods were all swept away by the Gate Incident. Humanity suffered great losses, and dreaming of anything beyond survival became impossible.

Rebuilding the world became humanity’s focus after the Gate Incident, the ending point of the story. In light of the greatest crisis humanity had to face, all minor interests disappeared. But if that great crisis disappeared, what then?

Perhaps it would be better if the Gate Incident happened... In fact, given what I knew, that seemed preferable. However, I knew I had yet to fully grasp the circumstances behind the Gate Incident. Without that understanding, all these thoughts and worries were ultimately meaningless.

***

With three of the kids knocked out, we decided to wrap things up early rather than drink more. After helping the sleeping ones to their rooms, Riana and Cliffman also went to bed, each heading to their own rooms.

I couldn’t sleep.

The surprise party, hastily organized to cheer me up, had indeed touched me, but my coming had stirred up more unexpected worries.

Nothing was certain.

As I quietly gazed out at the garden, laid out under the night sky, I noticed someone wandering through it. A man with a robust build—Duke Granz. Unsure of what to do, I opened the door to the annex.

As the door opened, the duke paused his walk through the garden to look at me, then burst into a hearty laugh.

“Ah, it seems I’m not the only one who can’t sleep tonight.”

His laughter, somehow, seemed tinged with sadness.

***

“You’re Reinhart, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you.”

I had a reputation for causing trouble, and it seemed Duke Granz had heard various stories about me.

“Even my daughter, who usually gets annoyed when I ask about the Temple, has mentioned you,” he said.

“... Ah, yes...”

Duke Granz chuckled and patted my shoulder.

‘What is it with these people patting others on the shoulder while talking? Did Riana get this from her father?’

It seemed Riana had spoken quite a bit about me to Duke Granz. She had painted me as a truly bizarre guy at the Temple at the start of the semester.

Of course, Riana didn’t seem to enjoy conversing with her father much, so Duke Granz hadn’t been exhausted by tales about me. Mostly, it was about incidents and accidents. Naturally, I started to sweat nervously.

Duke Granz, Orbis Class graduate, possible member of the Revolutionary Forces.

“When I heard you fought with an Orbis Class senior, I thought, ‘Although I don’t know this guy, he must be quite something,’” he said.

I thought he might be holding a personal grudge against me for being the catalyst of the Orbis Class’s closure. Yet, Duke Granz laughed heartily, and his expression only showed admiration for his daughter’s bold friend.

Did he not care about the Orbis Class, or was he just hiding his feelings?

“The events that followed must have been quite surprising for you, Reinhart,” he said, addressing the situation directly.

“Yes... I didn’t expect things to turn out that way...”

I truly hadn’t anticipated that a single fight would lead to the closure of the Orbis Class and accelerate the activities of the Revolutionary Forces.

“What was meant to happen, happened,” Duke Granz said, looking up at the winter night sky. His demeanor suggested he had long been aware of the issues within the Orbis Class.

Judging by his words, perhaps he wasn’t involved with the Revolutionary Forces after all.

However, no matter what was keeping him awake on this sleepless winter night, the deep regret and some form of remorse on his face were unmistakable, and it wasn’t just my imagination.

As we walked and talked, I happened to glance towards the mansion and was slightly taken aback. Someone was watching Duke Granz and me. A mature woman, her arms crossed, was frowning at me as if something displeased her. When our eyes met, she frowned even more and abruptly drew the curtains.

Both Duke Granz and I saw this.

“Ah, hmm... My wife is a bit sensitive,” he said.

‘The duchess?’

Come to think of it, just as Riana hadn’t introduced the duke, she hadn’t introduced the duchess either.

“Oh. Ah... That was the duchess,” said Duke Granz, who seemed apologetic.

‘What’s bothering her? Is it that Duke Granz is up late?’

However, the Duchess’s irritated expression seemed to lean less toward displeasure and more toward... disgust and contempt.

That was what it felt like.

“Hmm, I should head inside. It’s cold, and a long walk in the night isn’t good for you either,” Duke Granz said.

“Oh, yes. I understand.”

It seemed Duke Granz wanted to keep his words brief.

***

The next day, in the dining room of the annex, we enjoyed a simple breakfast prepared by the servants. Of course, even a simple meal at the Granz mansion was enough to satisfy Ellen’s enormous appetite.

The menu was simple, but the portions were large.

No one seemed to have a hangover since we hadn’t drunk excessively. However, Harriet was absent from the breakfast table.

“Where’s Harriet?” I asked.

Riana shrugged in response. “It seems like she’s still sleeping.”

She hadn’t drunk that much last night, though. Perhaps she was just tired.

But Harriet wasn’t sleeping.

After breakfast, while we were having tea, Harriet came in through the annex’s front door.

“Oh? Everyone’s up,” she said.

“Weren’t you sleeping?” I asked.

Harriet shook her head.

“No? I was the first to wake up.”

“Then where did you go without having breakfast?” I asked.

Harriet scratched her cheek, looking a bit troubled.

“Well... The Duchess invited me to have breakfast with her...”

At that, Riana sighed deeply, rubbing her forehead.

“Ugh... I was wondering why she hadn’t...” Riana said, frowning at Harriet as if annoyed.

‘Now what’s this about?’

“Harriet, whatever my mom said to you, it’s all nonsense, so just ignore it,” Riana said, her tone completely different from when she talked about Duke Granz.

While she found her father annoying, she didn’t genuinely dislike him. However, when she spoke about her mother, Riana’s words were laced with genuine disdain and contempt.

𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

“Oh? Uh... w-well, she did say some nice things too...” Harriet replied, looking troubled, unable to simply agree with Riana’s dismissive attitude.

“No way,” Riana insisted, firmly denying the possibility, leaving Harriet in an awkward position.

Harriet joined us at the table to drink tea.

Duke Granz and the duchess...

The expression I’d seen the night before had been directed at me, or perhaps at Duke Granz. It had definitely been a look of contempt.

She had invited Harriet to breakfast. Only Harriet, the daughter of Grand Duke Saint-Ouen. Harriet de Saint-Ouen.

The natural conclusion was that the Duchess was someone who was very sensitive about social status.

Harriet’s troubled expression, and her inability to completely refute Riana’s words about her mother’s nonsense, made it clear. She had to have heard things that she couldn’t agree with.

***

After breakfast, we prepared to return to the dormitory together, and Duke Granz saw us off as we left.

“Well, take care on your way back, and be careful not to catch a cold in this winter weather.”

Riana seemed about to snap at him for coming outside unnecessarily, but perhaps remembering that we had called her a brat yesterday, she frowned but refrained from saying anything.

Riana de Granz had gained a new attribute. Brat.

Duke Granz bid farewell to each of us individually.

“Cliffman, you’ll soon master Mana Reinforcement.”

“Thank you, Duke.”

“Adelia, I’ve heard you’re quite skilled. Keep up the good work.”

“Sorry?! Oh, y-yes, yes. Th-Thank you...”

“Ellen, it’s always nice to see you eating well. One day, though, all that food might turn into fat.”

“Yes,

ahjussi

.”

Ellen responded to Duke Granz’s awkward joke by calling him “

ahjussi

,” which made everyone except Riana stare at her in shock.

Duke Granz’s reaction was even more surprising.

“Haha! I always enjoy being called ‘

ahjussi’

!”

‘Wait. Did she call him that on purpose...? I think I understand why Ellen said Duke Granz was a good person.’

“Reinhart, try not to cause too much trouble.”

“Yes, I’ll... try...”

After offering these ambiguous words, Duke Granz turned to Harriet.

“Uhm... I’m sorry about breakfast this morning,” Duke Granz said.

“Oh, no, it’s fine, really. It’s fine,” Harriet replied, looking even more flustered.

Duke Granz seemed genuinely apologetic, and Harriet appeared bewildered.

What on earth had been discussed during breakfast at the main house?

With that, we bid farewell to Duke Granz and began our journey back to the Temple.

“Hey, wait a second.”

“Hmm?”

I let the others walk on ahead and pulled Harriet aside, ensuring our conversation wouldn’t be overheard. Not that it mattered much if they did.

“What did the Duchess say?” I asked.

“Oh... that?”

Harriet seemed to ponder for a moment before shaking her head.

“You don’t need to know,” was all Harriet said.

“Why not? What did she say?”

“There’s nothing good for you to hear.”

The fact that there was nothing good for me to hear seemed to be true.

“Come on, it’s fine, just tell me.”

“I’m telling you, there’s nothing good in it!”

Harriet had lowered her voice and kept glancing at Riana, even though we weren’t discussing anything secret. Harriet clearly didn’t want to talk about it, but then she looked into my eyes.

“Ah... I’m glad you’re back to your usual self, but I didn’t expect you to bother me like this...”

Harriet sighed deeply, casting a wary glance at Riana, who had walked on ahead.

“Come to the Magic Research Club when we get back,” Harriet said briefly.

It seemed like a conversation not meant to be had in Riana’s presence.