The Villain’s Aide Has Run Away - Chapter 12.2
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Leslun set the cushion where Blue was sprawled down beside him and busily took notes on the meeting. Most of it was a conversation between Kailos and Robin.
“The potential of the Wisley Academy needs no elaboration. The lineup of children already on its admission waiting list is not insignificant—its sphere of influence must be secured.”
The most urgent issue was the matter of the academy construction project being pushed forward by Count Maven.
“An academy meant to provide opportunity to the inquisitive—you would use it for politics?”
Kailos glanced at a newspaper photograph of the academy, speaking in a tone of clear distaste. Of course, he wasn’t opposing Robin’s words. He understood them in his head, but his heart resisted.
The Imperial City was the fiercest political battleground. Anyone who came and went there had one foot in politics. Allies shifted by the day; enemies wrestled openly.
But to draw into this fray those not yet of age, or only just coming of age—Kailos had no desire for that. Yet, whether he wanted it or not, the academy would not remain untouched.
“You must have expected the Empress to extend her hand.”
It had been Kailos himself who fumed that Count Maven might be aligning with the Second Prince. Even Robin, who usually cautioned against conviction without proof, had seen no need to dispute what seemed an inevitable future.
“Look at the two men Count Maven has recommended. Viscount Vincent and Baron Kelly—they are fine scholars, but each has his own issues.”
Viscount Vincent, born of a venerable line of scholars and possessed of profound knowledge. Baron Kelly, of lesser lineage but with a passion for learning that none could match.
The two had met at an academy twenty years earlier and had clashed endlessly as rivals ever since. And now Count Maven had put them both forward as candidates for headmaster, as if to flaunt it.
On the surface, it was plausible. There was justification, and it wasn’t a bad choice. The only problem was that Viscount Vincent happened to be a distant relative of the Empress.
And that was not the only problem.
“If Baron Kelly becomes headmaster, do you think parents will readily send their children? All those lined-up admissions will be withdrawn.”
Baron Kelly’s notoriously eccentric temperament would spark resistance from many. To anyone’s eyes, this was the same as recommending only one candidate. Kelly was mere window dressing, so it was no wonder Kailos’s mood soured.
“So to secure incoming students, we must accept Viscount Vincent? It’s no different than handing the academy into the Empress’s mouth.”
“If the academy is not properly established, the blame will fall on Your Highness.”
Leslun, quietly taking notes, summarized the situation for himself. No one explained it to him, but he could follow well enough.
The academy soon to be completed had appeared in the original work as well. In the original, it was already somewhat established.
Amid the conflict between Crown Prince and Empress, the academy was a tempting fruit. Students themselves could not yet take part in politics, but they had parents. And when those students grew up and entered society, they would become the pillars supporting the next emperor.
‘In the original, the choice went to Viscount Vincent.’
For now, the doors of the academy had to be opened. It was an affair the Emperor himself had paid special attention to and entrusted to Kailos.
Special attention, yes—but in truth, it had been an order given with failure in mind.
Yet Kailos had brought it this far. The academy was ready, awaiting only its opening, and the key question was who would reap the final fruit.
Becoming Crown Prince had been easy; keeping the position was the hard part. Especially with the Empress wide-eyed and waiting for her chance.
Kailos’s intent was to secure the students smoothly for now, and find a way later. But already, the game was lost—Viscount Vincent had swiftly gathered the parents of incoming students, pulling them into the Empress’s camp.
It was the very moment when the Empress’s faction grew stronger and the Crown Prince began to be pushed back.
This was the event that gave justification for the Crown Prince to make an even worse move than before.
Leslun looked at Robin, who rattled on incessantly before Kailos.
Every one of the Crown Prince’s misdeeds was carried out by Robin.
And he was also the one who, while serving to protect the Crown Prince, would die young.
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