Chapter 10: Save 07 – Reasons to fight

It has been four months since classes started and we are just a few days away from the end of the semester and the beginning of the vacations.

A week before the end of semester exams a dance is held, to show the students what they have learned in etiquette class.

The general ballroom was such a huge place that it took up an entire building on the west side, where the Lunar Light dormitory was located.

The decorations, servants, food, and musicians were some of the finest I could imagine. Lyle - my stupid older brother - told me about this celebration when we were still in our territory.

This party was meant to not only celebrate a final, but also to give students a chance to socialize with those of higher status and marriage proposals. All the young people who were here were four of the five classes. I would try my best to try to hook up with someone of high status or some girl of viscount rank, but my luck was always foul.

"Hah? You're just a miserable baron I'm not interested if you're not at least a viscount."

"I refuse, I wish to live in the city and the country is the worst choice for a fine girl like me."

"Your lands are nothing and yet you want to establish connections with me? Know your place trash!"

I had been rejected by several girls and boys with the latter being the worst of all as he pushed me to the ground.

"Damn!!! Every single one of them are human scum!!! Die you fucking pests!!!"

I was so annoyed that I went to a buffet table to swallow instead of chewing.

"Shit!!!" -I said under my breath as I took bite after bite and then downed it with a glass of mineral water.

I was annoyed and saddened as despite it being a first year party they had separated us nobles and commoners into different areas. I was in this place while Irisdina went along with the other commoners to a bar.

I entrusted the holy task to Ixion to protect her from any trash that tried to take advantage of her. So currently it's just me. It had been a long time since the party started and I was about to leave for Irisdina's since no one wanted me here.

After I finished eating and cleaning up I was heading for the door when....

"Klein, explain to me what this means!!!"

I heard a woman's shout coming from the center of the room. The music suddenly stopped playing at someone's voice.

"Hey, Alice Are you really sane to suddenly start screaming?

The two people in the center were the sons of dukes. Klein in his uniform with two girls in his arms and Alicelotte who wore a beautiful red dress and shoes with thin gloves as part of her attire.

Her hair was pulled back in a Victorian style for this dress and she had a pair of glowing red earrings, even her lips looked beautiful and sensual with that crimson shade on them. But the part that caught my attention the most was her well covered neckline that still showed the shape of her magnificent and huge mountains.

Apparently she was demanding something from him and Klein was indifferent.

"Explain to me, Klein what was all your talk about me lately and also you have the audacity to..... making out with those girls in front of me!!!"

Alicelotte was telling Klein a lot of things, but Klein only answered her.

"And!?"

Grabbing one of the girls he put his hands on her rear end and then proceeded to stick his tongue in her mouth like a dog. Both people watching were stunned, Alicelotte had a sad face with mixed feelings in her expression; pain, sadness, helplessness, frustration among other things was reflected in her look and grimaces.

I stopped immediately before leaving to stare hatefully at Klein. Even though what he was doing was grotesque I didn't care, it was none of my business what Alicelotte feels because of her fiancé, but....

A part of me for some reason felt a deep hatred and aberration towards Klein. I couldn't explain it, but Klein was an existence that made me hate him just looking at him, like... if I was seeing a sort of reflection of myself.

It was silly to think that since I never did dastardly things like that. I slowly approached him, looking at Klein.

He pulled his tongue out of the girl's mouth and a trail of saliva was visible between the two of them. He wiped the dripping drool with his sleeve and stared at Alicelotte.

"Do you see, Alice, do you think I care one bit about even your opinion, you're just a woman who was born to be the womb of the future heir to the Kingsfort principality!!! Nothing more and nothing less than that!!! Stop pretending that you're anything more than just a walking vessel!!!!!

It was there that I stopped. The words he said, were something I had never heard in my life, this scumbag who calls himself a human...how does he see women.

The bastard kept talking.

"Engrave this in your hollow head. I am the heir of the most storied archduke house in this country. If there were no prince I would be the next king and rule as I please."

"Your family was the one who came to my father years ago to form this betrothal, so you should be grateful that a sow like you has the right to be mate to the great me!!!"

Klein kept talking and talking crap until....

"Stop talking nonsense!!!!! -It was Alicelotte who yelled that at him.

"I am not your servant or anything, I am Alicelotte von Bismarck, the duke's daughter and I will not allow anyone, even you being my fiancé to insult and disrespect me!!!!"

Alicelotte's words sounded loud and powerful, all people were shocked at her words and she made her earn my respect.

(I always thought upper class women were materialistic scum, but I see she is not like that). -I said in my head as I glanced at her.

But Klein...

She gritted her teeth at Alicelotte's strong strong words and he rushed towards her grabbing her dress. Everyone saw that scene and did nothing.

The moment I saw it I tried to move, but Lyle's words came to my mind.

I mumbled back. "Is this what he meant?" a feeling of helplessness was born in me and made me see my origins.

(I am a baron, an insignificant and inferior existence compared to that of an archduke) -That was in my head and increased the regret.

(If I try to do something, I am putting my life and my family's life at stake! She is just a stranger with whom I never established a connection so no one can judge me or label me as a coward!!!) -I was thinking while watching the scene with trembling eyes.

Suddenly Klein let go of Alicelotte and ripped off one of her gloves to throw it at his bulky chest.

"Pick it up," he uttered as if giving a command to a dog.

Alicelotte looked down fearfully then back up at Klein.

She knows what this means, she knows what will happen if she picks him up, she knows what the consequences will be no matter what.

But still she looked at Klein with a strong-willed face in her eyes. Then she was trampled by reality.

She turned to look at the people who were part of her entourage, but they all averted their gaze.

"Huh, guys?"

Alicelotte turned from left to right more than once, the students, those in her entourage even the teachers and other members of the party did.

They know what it means to challenge an archduke, but no one wanted to do it and even more so one who is very hostile.

Alicelotte's eyes were teary looking around for someone; anyone, anyone who could help her at this moment. It was there that her eyes met mine.

It lasted only a few moments, but the look between us met, it seemed that everyone in the place had disappeared except for the two of us.

We had never seen each other.

We had never spoken a word.

We had never bumped into each other until today. However...

At this moment Alicelotte's eyes looked at me like a child asking for help after being separated from her parents. Her lips seemed to want to blurt out a word that would have made any decent person help her, but...

I closed my eyes and with a half-turn I disappeared into the audience.

◇◇◇

Alicelotte had lost her last hope which could be seen in her gaze. After cleaning herself in a refined manner she spoke to Klein.

"Even if I have no one around me, I will still stand firm as the daughter of Archduke Bismarck!"

Her words did not seem to be weakened and that bothered Klein so much that he wiped away the smile he had for one full of anger.

Then suddenly he walked with strong steps towards Alicelotte and grabbed her by the dress with his left hand and shouted at her.

"You talk a lot for a pig!!! I'll teach you a lesson this very instant!!!"

Raising his free hand to the top, Klein formed a fist, Alicelotte immediately tried to cover herself. The people around averted their eyes so as not to see as Klein laughed frighteningly.

"Do you think any of the trash around here will do anything!!! I'll strip you naked and walk you like a dog!!! So that way you'll learn once and for all that no one can mess with the heir of the King-principality!!!"

Before he finished speaking, a brown sphere-shaped dessert hit his cheek.

Klein himself as well as Alicelotte and the others were stunned at what they saw.

Then a second brown sphere hit the same cheek, a voice was heard coming from the background.

"Sorry, but it accidentally landed on your cheek, my goal was to get it into your stupid mouth bigger than an elephant's butt."

The person making those sarcastic comments was Rudel, who had two of those fleshy spheres left, which he finished throwing without hitting.

Everyone present watched with shock the bizarre scene they were witnessing.

Suddenly, Rudel approached Alicelotte and with one hand pushed Klein's hand away and then bent down to pick up the glove.

Alicelotte could not process what was happening as she watched Rudel stand in front of her to speak.

◇◇◇

"Now, please appoint me as your begleiter." -I said in a mocking and sympathetic tone.

(Begleiter was a squire in imperial Germany).

"Eh?" -Responded Alicelotte on the basis of my answer.

But Klein interrupted us.

"Hey, scumbag I don't know who the hell you are or who you are, but let me tell you, you're getting into a place where riff-raff like you shouldn't be getting into."

His sharp words rang throughout the room, but I didn't flinch.

"Ojou-sama please appoint me as your begleiter. I cannot answer to him if I am not treated as his squire." (Ojou means upper-class lady.)

"Huh? Sure... Huh?!?!?"

The whole room shouted the same - "huh!!!" -that she did. A begleiter was a personal knight of the squire type, in the royal and military academy were the only places allowed for this title.

By making someone a begleiter it meant becoming that person's patron or patroness during a duel. And that's what had happened just a few minutes ago.

Alicelotte had accepted me to be her squire and with it Klein's duel.

I smiled.

"I do now. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." -I said, smiling at him synonymously Klein.

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"The ojou-sama has accepted the duel and accepted me."

"As you are a great archduke I would like you to allow me to select the venue."

Klein was looking at me with a murderous look given how tall I was.

"Hoo, why should I do that and not settle it here and now?" -He said too eager to hit me.

But I answered him calmly.

"I have two reasons for it; the first is that it will benefit you more than me and the second is that you will thus show the riff-raff how kind-hearted the archduke's son is in spite of being insulted by an inferior being."

Saying that, Klein looked at me for a few seconds and then turned his gaze to the people around and while he was at it I leaned close to his ear and whispered a few words.

"And as a bonus, the prince is already on his way here and I don't think you have enough time to make excuses, do you?"

The moment he heard that, Klein felt a shiver and only Alicelotte saw it.

In his head he wondered what I had said to him to make him go like that.

Then I withdrew from Klein's ear and held out my hand to close the deal. Klein saw it and extended his hand to me and spoke.

"Okay scumbag. Tell me, where do you want to do this?"

"After next week the inter-school is coming and I'd like to settle that there. It's the best way and the most appropriate way to show your true power, isn't it, Archduke?"

He was answering confidently to an irritated Klein. After hearing that he tightly squeezed up and down my arm to close the deal.

"All right. In two weeks I will put an end to your life in front of this riffraff. I also promise you that no one will hurt you until then." -He said with a sinister smile.

I smiled as well and turned to Alicelotte.

"Did you hear ojou-sama? In two weeks you will have your duel, don't you have any requests in case you lose your fiancé?"

The people gasped at what I said. The archduke himself only laughed and replied sarcastically.

"That is very simple I will vouch for her as I know it very well. If I win you will never interfere in my life ever again, but if you win..... pff hahahahahahahaha!!!"

I laughed at the possibility of me winning. The others laughed at that too. But I didn't mind their laughter. Alicelotte looked at me to very confident.

Then she spoke.

"I-if I win I want you to stop your misdeeds and behave like someone worthy of the aristocracy." -Those were Alicelotte's words.

She looked with intense eyes at Klein and he in a sarcastic and mocking tone agreed.

Saying that Klein said - "Deal" -And grabbed the two girls he was with and before retiring he said to both of them - "I'll look forward to these two weeks. Alice and trash. Hahaha." -With a maniacal smile he left there laughing and the stage returned to normal and the musicians started to play.

◇◇◇

Alicelotte was still dumbfounded and the people who were her entourage also left leaving her alone. Rudel watched them go and from a distance made a victory gesture to Alicelotte which she had no idea what it meant.

Everyone wondered why this happened, but no one knew the answer.

Of course there was an answer and that was something called an "event".

Although the three main characters were on adventures and had no idea what was going on, and even Erselica herself was locked in her room studying for having wasted time in her fantasies to come.

In the story of the game, the situation was more or less accurate with the differences that the one insulting a victim was actually Alicelotte.

She had been flirting shamelessly with an unknown man, and Klein saw that and retorted her immoral behavior. But Alicelotte simply laughed it off calling him exactly the same thing he was saying to her.

People laughed at Klein and when he couldn't take it anymore he grabbed one of her gloves and threw it at her. When he came to his senses he couldn't process what he had done and tried to apologize, Alicelotte spat in his face calling him an impotent coward.

It was then that Rudel entered the scene and also challenged Klein who was torn up inside. Alicelotte accepted Rudel as her squire in awe of the way he humiliated Klein.

That was how the situation was supposed to happen.

But once again the factor called Rudel altered the order of things, but leaving the same result. No one imagined the disaster that was to come in the inter-school.

◇◇◇

Somewhere below an island at the bottom of the sea for some strange reason there was a shadow, this shadow was large but now it had become so dwarfed that it disappeared.

From the water emerged a wasp with a very long tip which had trouble flying. It is not known where its target was, but that thing intended to look for "something or someone".

◇

It's been two days since that and Klein has kept his word not to hurt me in order to pulverize me in the inter school. It was supposed to be okay that, but the situation was different.

"How dare a miserable country baron like you get in the way of a duke!!!"

"Defending that archduchess bitch was your biggest mistake!!!"

"Know your place, peasant!!!"

For some reason the boys started beating and kicking me since the next morning that day, the girls told their servants to do it too.

I don't understand what they gain by doing this to me if according to Klein he will mow me down in a few days. These guys always pull me out of class with the exception of etiquette where my instructor flunks them if they do it, he looked at me very hurt as if he could only do that for me.

Truly, this man is an example to follow and even more so that he told me - "Standing up for a lady is a gentleman's duty no matter what his status" -I cried when he applauded me for what I did.

Another person who cared about me was pretty Irisdina. Seeing me, she cried and used her light magic that healed my wounds. She was shouting at me - "You fool, you fool, Rudel-san, you are a fool! Why do you get into trouble that doesn't concern you?" -I just laughed seeing her crying for me. My heart was happy to see this side of her.

After getting up from the beating I was given I headed to the place where I had been summoned. It was a very small meeting room and inside there was only one person standing. Unlike me that person, that girl only had her uniform trampled on while I was a mess.

It was Alicelotte who was looking at me with concern.

"I see. So they did this to you too, but in your case it was worse." -Alicelotte told me in a sad and melancholic tone.

"Don't worry. It's nothing this, I'll make sure those guys pay at the end of it all, by the way, they were your lackeys and they seem to be trying to curry favor with Klein. Do you know why they're trying to do that?"

I asked Alicelotte who only averted her gaze to the floor.

"They are no longer my entourage, but worst of all, I thought they were my friends."

Supporting herself with her hands from behind her back, Alicelotte vented.

"Maybe they want to weaken you so Klein can defeat you faster and win their affection."

"What a pitiful woman I am. Even my family won't try to help me."

Oh. Now this I didn't expect.

"They said it was my problem and I should solve it myself. It seems I was born under the star of tragedy no doubt."

Alicelotte put a hand to her eyes to hide her tears and continued speaking to me.

"You should quit now while you can before it's too late. I'll try to appease him so he won't do anything to you-"

"No!!!"

I interrupted her before she finished speaking.

She removed her hand from her face and looked at me, her eyes were teary and only made me more determined.

"Don't misunderstand me. I'm not doing this for you or anyone else."

"I'm doing this for me, because I really want to beat the shit out of your fiancé!!!

"But..." -She said in a nervous tone.

"Here's my condition as squire! You'll end your engagement with that jerk when you see him cry for my hand you understand!"

My words sounded piercing in her ears which rather disconcerted her.

"So don't talk about me losing before my time!!! I'll crush that bastard and everyone who looks down on me!!!"

I turned around to get the hell out of there.

"Both you and them I will have my name engraved on their bodies and minds!!!"

"Remember this well!!! Rudel van Bradford never goes into a fight where he can't win!!!"

As I left I slammed the door hard and got the hell out of there.

"I know you're in there, Ixion."

I called out to Ixion who I kept close to Irisdina so he wouldn't get hurt by hanging out with me.

"I want you to set everything up and find out who will be participating and what mobile knight unit Klein will be using!"

"Understood, Master."

"Would you like me to bring that boy too?"

"Of course. these idiots will never imagine the calamity they have caused, I will show them a spectacle of pain and suffering they never imagined!!!"

◇◇◇

Rudel walked with a furious and demonic face. Erselica who was in the vicinity saw that and grabbed her skirt at the sight of him while mumbling.

"He's finally here!!!"

"I've waited a long time for this event and it seems to be going like gangbusters!!!"

"It won't be long now until we can see it. Not only the ruin and downfall of that woman, but I'll also get to see in the flesh your end... and death, Rudel."

"Fufufu."

With a few wicked words Erselica proclaimed Alicelotte's ruin and Rudel's tragic end.

___________________________________________________

The academy arc still continues.

The inter-school mini-arc has just been unlocked.