Chapter: 114
Cecil Soladin.
If I had to sum up this character in a single word, it would be “troublemaker.”
He’s the type who uses his status and power to bully others, only to eventually collapse and provide a sense of relief.
Why?
Because he has a filthy personality.
Having lost everything to the first prince, he’s driven by possessiveness. He’s constantly compared to his brother and, despite pretending otherwise, he has a complex about his intelligence. On top of that, he’s an extreme believer in brute force, always arguing that knights are superior to scholars.
He frequently spouts nonsense like “fists get things done better than laws.”
He’s like a living embodiment of the extreme version of the strong-weak dynamic.
It might be one thing if he were just an ordinary noble, but this guy is a prince, behaving like it’s perfectly normal!
Cecil often appears as a hindrance in the personal stories of noble NPCs, and once anyone starts a storyline involving the third or first prince, he instantly becomes the main antagonist.
If you were to guide his personal storyline towards redemption, he could turn out to be a decent human being, but until then, he’s closer to a beast than a person.
Because of his countless screw-ups, he’s nicknamed the “Idiot Prince” among players. In fact, the “prince” part is barely ever used.
It was a daily occurrence to see Cecil’s picture under the title “Idiot” gaining recommendations on the forums, which gives you an idea of how his reputation was perceived.
Personally, I didn’t despise him that much.
After all, his strength is top-notch.
Who cares about his personality or his acts of villainy?
From a player’s perspective, character performance was everything.
But when the game becomes reality, that changes.
In real life, personality triumphs over performance.
When he was just a crazy nut behind a monitor, I could ignore whatever bullshit he pulled, but that’s not the case anymore.
If this guy acts out, the consequences hit me directly.
Especially in my case, it’s more serious.
Based on past experiences, my Mesugaki skills would definitely lead me to call Cecil the “Idiot Prince.”
What would his reaction be when he hears that?
It wouldn’t be a positive one.
If he were the type to just laugh it off, he’d never be called an idiot in the first place!
“I approach you because I’ve taken notice of your talents.”
What do I do?
How can I escape this situation?
While Cecil rambled on with his self-absorbed nonsense, I tried to think it through.
First off, keep my mouth shut.
No matter how carefully I speak, my Mesugaki skills will surely blurt out the “Idiot” insult.
From previous encounters with Arthur, I could tell.
“The talents you possess, being of the great Alrn lineage, are sufficient to command this continent, and your intellect surpasses that of your brother. How could I not recognize such talent?”
While I appreciate the compliments, I am not interested in any affiliation with you, thank you very much!
If I kept you around, I’d surely end up calling you the Idiot Prince, and I want to avoid that disaster!
So please don’t say, “Join me as my subordinate!”
“I propose this to you: would you consider coming under my wing?”
Gahhh!
I’m doomed! I’m doomed!
[Hey, girl. What’s with the panic? ]
Did my frantic eyes give it away?
The old man’s voice quietly crept in.
Ah, right! The old man is here.
“Grandpa, help! Help!”
[What is it this time? ]
“I think I might just call the prince an idiot! How can I keep my mouth shut and slip away from him?!”
If only it were Agra making an absurd claim, I could somehow escape through my game knowledge, but this situation leaves me clueless!
I don’t want to lose my head over blasphemy!
[That’s quite the pickle. ]
I instinctively glanced around as the old man responded like it was someone else’s business.
Now’s not the time for that!
I’m in a hurry here!
Answer me!
NOW!
[Are you okay with drawing his ire? ]
“I’d have no problem with that!”
In fact, making him hate me would be great.
He’d surely want nothing to do with me.
Better to earn his resentment than cause a scene by calling him the Idiot Prince!
[Then just stay silent, nod politely, and walk away. Ignore him if he tries to stop you. ]
“Is that even allowed?”
[Absolutely. If you act that way, he’ll misinterpret your actions and think you meant to ignore him. ]
Huh? What does that mean?
He’s saying he’ll misinterpret it?
It was confusing, but the old man had never been wrong before.
I bowed slightly to Cecil, who extended his hand, then turned my back to walk away.
Will it look like a firm rejection?
“Hey!”
As soon as I took a step, Cecil’s voice reached my ears as he tried to grab my attention, but avoiding him wasn’t particularly hard.
Thanks to the stubborn skill I had, all I needed to do was dodge him.
Ignoring the shouting coming from behind me, I pushed through the crowd and walked quickly away.
He won’t follow, right?
Please just give up on me!
Do I really have to keep a temperamental Mesugaki like this around? This masochistic prince?!
*
“How bold.”
Cecil stared at his empty hand where I had just been, his fists clenched tightly as he glared after me.
“Huh? Quite audacious.”
He had anticipated being turned down.
He knew well about Lucy Alrn’s spunky personality.
She had disrespected his father, so why would she care about his feelings?
She moves as if she’s the sky, without a care in the world.
There’s no way she’d consider coming under him.
He expected that much, but it still made him furious.
If any normal person turned him down like that, Cecil would have thrown a fit.
How dare someone like you reject my proposal!
But Lucy Alrn was different.
To Cecil, who divides everything into strong and weak, someone as remarkable as Lucy Alrn deserved respect.
Even if he was boiling with embarrassment at having lost face in front of so many, she was worth the wait.
“Holden.”
As he diverted his annoyance, Cecil called out to his subordinate once they were out of sight of the crowd.
“Yes, your Highness.”
“What do you think of Lucy Alrn’s reaction?”
Holden, who had the highest strategic insight among Cecil’s subordinates, paused for a moment before replying.
“I don’t see it as entirely negative.”
“Why not? She was publicly humiliated!”
“Because she was Lucy Alrn.”
If an ordinary person had been silent in the face of rejection, it would have implied firmness.
But Lucy Alrn is not an ordinary person.
No matter who stands in front of her, she speaks her mind.
If she had truly disliked his proposal, she wouldn’t have hesitated to throw venomous insults.
Her remaining silent and maintaining decorum meant she acknowledged Cecil to some extent.
“Just look at how she referred to the third prince as the ‘Pitiful Prince’. She’s not one to hold back her discontent.”
As Holden explained, Cecil raised an eyebrow in surprise.
“Do you think Lucy Alrn considered that?”
“If it were the earlier simple-minded Lucy Alrn, perhaps not, but the current Lucy, who has proven her intellect, certainly would.”
Interesting. That’s quite persuasive.
Cecil nodded, pleased with his subordinate’s response, prompting him to continue.
“Let’s assume you’re right. Then, what does her silence mean?”
“Perhaps it was a request for time to think. She’s asking for a reprieve, not a rejection.”
A request for time to think?
Is she weighing her options?
What an audacious act, but Lucy Alrn deserves that privilege.
Her talents shine like stars.
“Very well. I’ll allow her some time.”
But his patience would not be very long.
Lucy Alrn. You must make your decision quickly.
If not, this lion shall come hunting for its prey.
*
Fortunately, Cecil didn’t pursue me afterward.
Hurray for the old man!
He really is versatile when it comes to this stuff!
If only he did less scolding, we’d be much better off!
Successfully avoiding a major crisis, I headed to the training grounds to meet Joy and Frey, but only Frey was there.
What gives? Did Joy sleep in like me today?
Curious about the oddity, I asked Frey and learned they had come here with Arthur but then headed somewhere else.
“He said something about checking the exam papers.”
Exam papers?
Isn’t the results already out? Why would they need to check that?
Is there something odd going on?
I mean, it could be possible.
Since Joy snagged second place in the academy exam.
But the silly Young Lady I know usually flunks to 9th or 10th due to her absurd blunders.
There’s no way she could be thorough enough to earn such a high spot.
Arthur probably thought along the same lines and took her with him to sort it out, right?
I was curious about how Joy had pulled off second place, so I decided to head off solo to find those two.
After asking a few people, I spent around ten minutes searching.
“I took the exam like this and you scored higher than me?!”
I could hear Arthur’s voice filled with disbelief.
“We both made mistakes! That was wrong! This calculation was completely off!”
“Uh, yeah?”
“That’s not an acceptable ‘yeah’, you fool Young Lady!”
“What does it matter? I won based on the total score.”
“Ugh, ughhh!”
Why is Arthur so worked up?
As I stepped closer in confusion, I was greeted by a bright smile from Joy, which was strikingly unusual for her.
“Lady Alrn! Did you see? I placed second in the academy exam!”
“I saw. That’s surprising!”
“Surprising? An idiot Young Lady got second place? How bad must it be for those below her?”
Arthur exploded with a reaction to what the Mesugaki translation had just blurted out, not Joy.
His face flushed as he gritted his teeth, revealing his frustration.
“Arthur, why are you so mad?”
“Oh, poor prince. Feeling inferior? Of course you would after losing to an idiot Young Lady. Heh heh. Pathetic~ Loser~”
“Shut it, Lucy Alrn! I refuse to accept this defeat! How can I lose to this fool?!”
Huh? What’s this about?
Didn’t the idiot Young Lady just pull off second place with less silly antics?
No way.
This is strange.
How did she manage to snag second place in the midst of being an idiot?
As I tilted my head in confusion while watching Arthur’s loud outburst, Joy chimed in.
“It’s all thanks to you, Lady Alrn.”
Thanks to me?
Why?
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