A week had passed.

During that time, Luca had been leading an ordinary life at the academy.The most out-of-the-ordinary thing was that Milia and Isella were avoiding meeting each other.

"Milia says she has plans again today."

"Well, I figured as much."

After a week, Luca had become indifferent.He was used to going to school alone, and besides, with Ottbo around, he wasn't really alone.But Ottbo wore a rather forlorn expression.

"Do you think she doesn't intend to hang out with us anymore?"

"Well... given that she didn't come out with us over the weekend either, I guess so."

Even for what was effectively their first weekend since school started, Milia and Isella hadn't come along to Havok with them.With the same excuse—that they already had plans.

"She knows who she is. She probably realized that hanging out with second sons like us does her no good."

"Hey, that's way too depressing."

"I don't care, but just being repeatedly turned down is tragic in itself."

At times like this, it was 'Lee Myunghyun', not 'Luca Traverse', who surfaced.

"Don't be too hung up on meetings and partings. She just didn't have enough fun with us to want that time to last."

"...... Luca. Don't say such sad things. I feel like I'm going to cry."

Ottbo, unable to endure Luca's gloomy remarks, looked like he was about to burst into tears.

"M-Milia must have her reasons too. We did have a lot of fun together!"

"If that works for you, I don't mind."

"......"

Ottbo still seemed to harbor some hope—at Luca's words, his lips trembled before he bowed his head.Luca, eating quietly, glanced over at Ottbo.

'Tch, was I too harsh?'

Luca was aware that Lee Myunghyun's negative side had come out. Still, he had expected Ottbo to brush it off with wit, but it seemed things were worse than he thought.

'Well... It doesn't really matter to me, but if that guy keeps being depressed, it'll be a problem. And I still need to get all the hints for the Undying Princess.'

With that thought, Luca cleared his throat.

"If you care that much, I'll look into it for you."

"You'll look into it?"

Ottbo raised his head immediately, as if he'd been waiting for that. Luca flinched slightly, then nodded slowly.

"Yeah. I'm actually curious myself about why she suddenly started acting that way."

"R-Really? But how?"

"To catch the general, you have to shoot the horse. And since we have swordsmanship class tomorrow..."

Luca rolled his wrists as he spoke.

"I guess it's time to duel that girl again, after a long while."

To capture Milia, he had to negotiate with Isella.

* * *

"Today, we'll be learning about advanced Iron-cutting. Even if you haven't mastered the basic technique yet, listen to the theory. It will be on the test."

"Ar-Are we going to have a test, too?"

"Of course. I told you during orientation, didn't I?"

With this shocking news, Kryphi's class began.While everyone was listening to the theory, Luca went over to Isella.

"Isella."

"......"

Despite being called, Isella looked conflicted and didn't answer.But Luca didn't give up and continued.

"Let's duel today."

"... Duel?"

Even Isella, who had been planning to ignore him, reacted to the word 'duel'. Under their current academic obligations, refusing a duel was not allowed.And besides, Isella seemed to want to duel for some reason.

"We don't even need to take the test, so let's duel first. I've already talked to Professor Kryphi."

"... Alright."

Seeing Luca's preparation, Isella didn't refuse further and picked up her sword right away.They both headed straight to the dueling arena in the training ground, drew their swords, and took their stances.

"Let's just use basic techniques, no magic power, as usual."

"Understood."

"Then, let's begin."

Clang!

At his signal, the two blades collided.The moment their swords met, Isella's eyes widened slightly.

'Something's changed after just a few weeks?'

Most people wouldn't notice, but Isella could tell.Luca's sword had become stronger and heavier.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

They exchanged rapid blows, mixing various fundamentals, but both responded calmly.

Clash! Clash! Clash!

As their swordplay heated up, Kryphi's theory class ended, and many students came over to watch.

Clang! Whoosh whoosh whoosh! Thud!

Someone's sword was sent flying and stuck into the ground—the duel was over.

"This time, it's my victory."

"... Tch."

This time, Luca was the winner.

"Whoa~"

"He's good......."

"Did you see that, class? That's an application of Iron-cutting. That's how you get an A+."

As everyone cheered, Luca slowly approached Isella. She flinched and stepped back, but Luca didn't stop.

"You seem troubled. Your sword is distracted."

"What?"

Isella looked rather flustered but couldn't completely deny it.

"... You could sense it?"

"You can't help but feel it once swords cross."

"Tch."

Isella clicked her tongue. She glanced around, then whispered,

"Can you ask that professor for permission? I'd like to talk somewhere else."

"Sure."

Luca immediately explained the situation to Kryphi and got permission to talk separately with her.

"Luca, you're bursting with youth. How passionate!"

"... It's not like that."

"Hehe, there's no need to be embarrassed. It's only natural."

He seemed to have created a strange misunderstanding, but anyway, it was solved.

"This place is..."

"You're going somewhere else for lunch anyway. Let's get some coffee."

Luca took Isella to a cafe within the academy. Since the coffee was free, it was crowded, and most people there seemed to be couples.Isella was visibly hesitant about going alone with him, but seeing Luca's unaffected demeanor, she followed anyway.

"I sensed something off since last week. You had something to say."

"Oh, y-you did?"

"Yeah."

Isella looked flustered at Luca's words, but soon nodded.

"I can't just say something else after coming this far. You're right. Since last week, that guy started flirting with the lady."

"That guy?"

At Luca's question, Isella nodded slowly.

"Yeah. Theodore Partigel. That guy clinging to Milady is the problem."

"Theodore Partigel?"

The Partigel Ducal house is one of the three major factions in the Hernan Empire and handles the empire's economic affairs.They manage tax collection, goods distribution, and human resource administration—wielding immense power.On top of that, they run the continent's largest merchant group, the Partigel Merchant Group, making them a family with power nearly equal to the royal family.

'But I've never heard the name Theodore Partigel before?'

At least, that name never appeared in the original story.The Duke of Partigel had a lot of children, so characters with the Partigel surname appeared once or twice, but none important enough to pay attention to.

Isella noticed that Luca didn't know who he was and explained.

"He's the fifth son out of the Duke Partigel's five sons and eleven daughters."

"... The fifth son, out of five sons and eleven daughters?"

"That's right."

The phrase drove home just how remarkable the Duke's breeding capacity was.Isella hesitated, then continued.

"Theodore Partigel... is quite the playboy."

"A playboy, really?"

"Yeah. That's really the only way to describe it."

Even though he was just the eleventh child, as a Partigel, Theodore's social skills were extraordinary.He'd attended every ball since childhood, made a ton of friends, and had already formed a faction in the academy.That piqued Milia's interest.

"Milady and I... Well, we've never really played like that. So it was a bit of a shock."

"What kind of parties did they throw?"

"... It was wild."

Isella seemed unable to put it into words. Her dazed expression, unusual for her, looked a little cute, but Luca decided not to press her further to avoid trouble.

"So is that why Milady hasn't been eating lunch with us? She's eating with him instead?"

"Yeah. Milady thinks being around you is dangerous for you. So she's putting distance between you two."

"... Dangerous?"

At Luca's retort, Isella bit her lip and sighed.

"She thinks the recent incident you got involved in happened because of her."

"What kind of nonsense is that?"

Luca had no idea how his fight with Martin, from Demons, was connected to Milia.She was obviously making a mistake.

Isella, however, seemed unwilling to explain further.

"I can't go into details, but anyway, that's how it is. Just know that Milady doesn't hate you."

"... Let's say that's true."

Luca smacked his lips and changed the subject.

"But judging by how you called him a problem, you must have something troubling you."

"... Theodore Partigel knows Milady's real identity."

"What the..."

Luca stopped midsentence. On second thought, that was no small matter.

"A few upper-level academy people know about her. But my background check showed Theodore Partigel has no connection to them."

"He's from the Partigel House—it's possible he knows through their own information network, isn't it?"

"Don't underestimate our allies. Even in the capital, very few know the lady is here."

Isella fell silent for a while, then shook her head.

"No, at least, Theodore Partigel shouldn't know. There's no way he could."

"Why?"

"..."

When Luca pressed, Isella bit her lip.Luca clicked his tongue and shook his head.

"If you don't want to say, you don't have to."

"... Because Milady's supporter is his father."

"!"

Even Luca couldn't help but be shocked by Isella's words.

'The Fourth Princess's supporter is the Duke of Partigel? Seriously? But the Duke of Partigel is...'

He'd just received staggering information in the most unexpected setting.His mind was getting tangled, but he had to keep the conversation going for now.Luca forced himself to speak calmly.

"Let's pretend I didn't hear that."

"... I figured it'd be fine to tell you."

With some relief, Isella scanned the area and continued.

"Anyway, unless he wants the family destroyed, the Duke would never tell Theodore about Milady."

"That's true. It is something to be very careful about."

"Milady thought so too at first, but for some reason, after Theodore said something to her, she insisted it was fine. She didn't even explain to me why."

From the displeasure in her voice, it was clear Isella hadn't heard the reasoning either.Luca gave a wry smile and took a sip of coffee.

"Then you just have to go along with it. You're Milia's loyal sword, after all."

"......"

Isella went silent, clearly holding back things she wanted to say.Luca decided it was time to say what she was hoping to hear.

"If you have something to say, just say it. For better or for worse, we're friends, aren't we?"

"... Friends."

At the word 'friends', Isella twisted her lips. After a deep breath, she drained her drink in one go.

"Phew. Luca Traverse. If it's possible, if it's not too much trouble..."

She put down her glass and spoke seriously.

"Investigate what kind of guy Theodore Partigel is."

"How interesting. You're making a request of me for once."

Luca emptied his glass as she had, stood up, and gave a cynical smile.

"I'll take care of it."

* * *

After all his classes, Luca called Ottbo to his dorm room and told him what he'd discussed with Isella.

"Theodore Partigel?"

"Yeah. He's the guy Milia's been ditching us to hang out with."

At the name Theodore Partigel, Ottbo's jaw dropped.

"He's crazy famous!"

"Is he?"

"Not as much as you, but he's still really famous!"

Am I really that famous...? Ottbo, seeing Luca's bewilderment, took a magazine from somewhere.

"Look! He was even in this month's Party People!"

"And what's that?"

Luca had never seen this magazine in the original story, so he received it with curiosity and surprise.

'So these things exist here, too.'

It was a color glossy magazine printed on quality paper.

"Theodore Partigel shows up in Party People all the time!"

"Huh."

Luca flipped through the pages and found the section on Theodore Partigel.There were handsome photos of him, his attendance at this month's parties, and performances he'd given there.

"So that's it... Milia's joined the Theodore faction..."

Ottbo looked utterly crestfallen, as if he'd just watched his first love get snatched away by a blonde, tanned playboy.He looked neither angry nor hurt, just... sad.Luca gave him a sympathetic look, then closed the magazine.

"Anyway, Isella says there's something suspicious about that guy and asked me to investigate him. Apparently, it's not easy to do it without Milia finding out."

"Is there really anything to investigate? Theodore Partigel is so well-known that even the color of his underwear is in the magazine."

"... Really?"

At Luca's question, Ottbo opened a page and showed it to him.It was true.

"Unbelievable."

"But, it is weird. Could Theodore Partigel really know about Milia's ide—cough! Anyway, do you think it's possible?"

Even Ottbo looked doubtful at that point.

"But even if we investigate, what can we do?"

"I can do things. And you can too, right? Isn't that so?"

"......"

At Luca's suggestive remark, Ottbo hesitated.

"You want to hang out with Milia again, don't you? Then, even if you have to force it, find some dirt on Theodore Partigel and drive a wedge between them."

"Wha? Isn't that a bit much...?"

"Then I guess that's the extent of your feelings for Milia."

After wavering, Ottbo suddenly widened his eyes and clenched his fist, his gaze serious.

"A-Alright. I'll find out something bad about him, no matter what!"

"I didn't really mean for you to take it that far, but... whatever."

Luca chuckled at Ottbo, who was getting fired up in an odd direction, then glanced to the side.

"You heard, didn't you, Bella?"

"Of course, young master. Bella is always ready."

Bella's voice rang from somewhere unseen. Ottbo flinched, but seemed to have accepted not picking a fight with her.Luca stretched and stood up.

"Well, time to get our friend back."

Time to play detective.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=Nice build-up to the Undying Princess Arc!!!【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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