Nightfall, in the Brokesword Tavern located along the academy’s bustling street, Roel, Paul, and Geralt were gathered around a table, enjoying mugs of beer while reading a newspaper.

  Given the huge commotion caused by Antonio’s announcement and the confrontation between the transfer students and Roel’s group, the academy press rushed out those two stories and managed to make it in time for the evening papers.

  Without any insider details, the reporters could only attribute the cause of the conflict to the Knight Kingdom’s culture of respecting the strong. They lavished compliments on Roel for standing up against the transfer students and upholding the authority of the Ringbearers.

  Still, it was Antonio’s announcement and his motivational speech to the First Grade students that took the headline. The relaxation of the Challenger Cup’s eligibility criteria was huge news. Most students were shocked to hear about it, and the news spread like wildfire.

  It was just that this wasn’t the most important issue to Roel and his two aides right now.

  In Eyes of the Chronicler, Brittany’s arrival at Saint Freya Academy was a huge event, but here, it was clouded by an even larger problem. Roel didn’t know the exact reason behind it, but William appeared oddly hostile toward those around him, especially toward Nora and Charlotte.

  This hostility was so unexpected and inexplicable that Roel was completely clueless about it. What he had to do now was to collect intelligence, and he happened to have an informant right beside him…

  Geralt Stephenson, the number one ‘strategist’ of Bluerose Faction, as well as the young master of Knight Kingdom Pendor’s Stephenson Marquess House.

  As a high noble, he was bound to know a fair bit about the nobles of Knight Kingdom Pendor. The only problem was that he was in a traumatized state. His legs were wobbling like noodle strands when they left the assembly hall earlier, and he would have never been able to make it here if not for Paul’s support.

  Roel understood how he felt, which was why he dragged him over to the Brokesword Tavern so that he could drink his troubles away.

  There was a saying that alcohol emboldened the cowards. No matter how terrifying of an encounter a person had, two mugs of beer were all it took to turn them into fearless heroes. Other than that, the bustling atmosphere of the crowded tavern would give him a sense of security too.

  After gulping down half a mug of beer, the red-faced Geralt seemed to be faring much better. At the very least, he was now able to speak meaningful words without biting on his tongue. Through his explanation, Roel and Paul slowly gained an understanding about the situation in the Knight Kingdom.

  “What?! That woman is your fiancée?”
“Lower your voice, Paul.”
Paul couldn’t help but exclaim in astonishment upon hearing about this matter for the first time. It immediately drew attention from the customers sitting at nearby tables, so Roel quickly shushed him up. The trio quietly drank their beers before Geralt started talking about the transfer students from Knight Kingdom Pendor.

  The first one he spoke about was naturally Brittany. That woman was born in a ducal house and possessed the Valkyrie Bloodline. Geralt and her got engaged at a very young age.

  Brittany was a beautiful woman, and her figure was amazing due to her consistent training over the years. She was a talented transcendent, and her Valkyrie Bloodline made her a force to be reckoned with. It was just that the rules of the Sia Continent dictated that power and cost came hand-in-hand.

  As powerful as the Valkyrie Bloodline was powerful, it came with a huge flaw.

  To put it simply, Brittany was a yandere.

  The Lunde Ducal House, which Brittany belonged to, had a bloodline lineage that ensured that their female offspring were always stronger than their male offspring, but even so, the head of their house was always male. The greatest reason behind that was the emotional instability arising from the Valkyrie Bloodline, though the extent of instability varied from person to person.

  Brittany was one of the more emotionally stable ones in her lineage, but Geralt was still unable to stand it.

  “On my tenth birthday, Brittany personally led the army of the Lunde Ducal House up a mountain, slew ten demonic beasts, and gave them to me as a birthday present.”
“Ah… Well, it’s indeed a peculiar choice of gift for a birthday present from a woman, but isn’t that Pendor’s culture? It doesn’t seem too much.”
Paul took a sip of wine as he posed his question. Toward that, Geralt answered with a lifeless look on his face.

  “No, it’s not about the birthday present… When she presented those carcasses to me in her bloodstained armor, she told me this would be my outcome if my heart ever changed.”
“…”
Paul was just about to take another sip of beer when he heard those frightening words. His hand froze in mid-air as terror filled his eyes. Meanwhile, Roel took a sip of his beer and sighed.

  Roel had encountered this event in Eyes of the Chronicler before, so he was aware of the problems between Geralt and Brittany. The incident that Geralt had just recounted was his biggest childhood trauma, as well as the main reason why he was so afraid of Brittany.

  The truth was that those weren’t Brittany’s true thoughts. It was her mother who taught her to say those words.

  The younger Brittany had once consulted her mother on how she could make Geralt fall for her. There would have been nothing wrong with this in an ordinary household as it was only normal for inexperienced youths to seek the wisdom of the elders.

  Unfortunately, the wisdom of the elders wasn’t so reliable when it came to the Lunde House. It would do well not to forget that Brittany’s mother was a possessor of the Valkyrie Bloodline too, and her degree of yandere-ism was much higher than that of Brittany’s.

  Thanks to the advice of Brittany’s mother, the amicable relationship Brittany and Geralt had built up thus far crashed and burned, and the repercussions lasted even to this day. On top of that, being raised in the yandere Lunde House left Brittany inept at expressing her emotions. The only way she knew how to relay her feelings was through aggression and force.

  Such deep misunderstandings made it impossible for them to untangle the knots in their relationship by themselves. Without external intervention, it was only a matter of time before Geralt annulled their marriage, causing Brittany to go full-blown yandere. By then, it was just a question of how many attempts it would take for Brittany to lop off Geralt’s head.

  As someone who knew the truth, Roel felt obliged to intervene and ensure that they had a happy ending. On a personal level, it was satisfying to do something nice for those around him. From a practical point of view, having the powerful Brittany join the Request Club was definitely a boon.

  But before that, he had to first gather more information on the other transfer students from Pendor, so he asked about them too.

  Geralt began sharing information about the others, but what he knew about them was limited when compared to his comprehensive knowledge of his fiancée and the Lundes.

  “Prince William is the godson of King Wilson. He has always worn his full armor in public, refusing to reveal his true face. There are rumors claiming that he’s the real son of King Wilson, and that King Wilson is trying to protect him by keeping his identity under wraps. The reason why he wears that helmet is to conceal his face, which bears a great resemblance to his father. It’s just that there’s no concrete evidence supporting those claims.”
“There are such rumors going around?”
Roel blinked his eyes in surprise. Now that he thought about it, he realized that William had never taken off his helmet in Eyes of the Chronicler too.

  It looks like he’s quite a secretive one, but it’ll be best not to probe into the secrets of the royalty.

  Shaking his head, Roel proceeded to ask about the second person he was curious about.

  “What about Miss Teresa? What’s her background?”
“Miss Teresa is the sole daughter of Duke Constantine. The Constantines are a lineage that branched out of the Cambonytes centuries ago, so strictly speaking, they do possess the Dragon Bloodline too. Miss Teresa’s bloodline ability is extraordinarily powerful even amongst the Constantines, to the extent where even her casual words turn into hexes. She started refraining from speaking due to an incident from her childhood, and ever since then, she has insisted on communicating through her notebook.

  “Due to her high standing and the royal bloodline flowing in her, she is dubbed as the Hextongue Princess in the circle of nobility. I haven’t really spoken to her much, but she’s often together with Prince William.

  “Now that I think about it, there are speculations that there’s something more between her and Prince William. Miss Teresa is from a branch of the royal family whereas Prince William is the godson of King Wilson, so some believe that their closeness is a sign that she’ll become queen one day.”
Now that they were done talking about Brittany, Geralt’s words started to flow smoother. He even brought up quite a few gossips from Pendor’s circle of nobility.

  Roel fell into deep thought.

  Are the two of them really a couple?

  He took a sip of beer as he considered the possibility.