The Villain’s Aide Has Run Away - Chapter 25.2
“So, His Highness the Crown Prince chose me?”
Kailos looked at the Dean who had posed the question.
Perhaps because of his gaunt frame, or the unusually deep creases around his eyes. Perhaps it was the roughness in his voice. Whatever the reason, there was a harshness about him.
The election of the Dean had proceeded swiftly. From the moment the candidates were named, he had been prepared to enter the Dean’s office at any time, so he had been able to settle into his seat quickly.
“Rather than chose, it was closer to a recommendation. All I did was say that Baron Kelly would make a fine Dean.”
“That is the same thing, is it not?”
For someone meeting the Crown Prince for the first time, Dean Kelly showed no sign of nerves. He was saying everything he wished to say.
Leslun looked between him and Kailos with anxious eyes. What if Kailos took offense at his attitude and decided to raise up Viscount Vincent instead of Baron Kelly?
Yet, contrary to his worries, he showed not the slightest fear.
“Does not a single word from Your Highness change a person’s entire life?”
At Dean Kelly’s remark, Leslun nearly nodded without thinking.
Hadn’t he himself never imagined he would become the Crown Prince’s aide? In that sense, he could relate to just how sudden it was for Baron Kelly, rather than Viscount Vincent, to be named Dean.
“Were you not already on the list of candidates from the beginning? I simply chose the one who suited the role best.”
“Viscount Vincent would suit it better. And yet, did you not choose me because it was more favorable to Her Majesty the Empress?”
Kelly’s blunt reply cut through Kailos’s smooth tone. This time, his words were so daring that Leslun’s breath caught.
It was little different from openly declaring that Viscount Vincent was a man loyal to the Empress. To speak so baldly at a first meeting—it made the heart pound from sheer boldness.
“And why do you say Viscount Vincent would be better suited?”
“Because the Viscount can fill the Academy with excellent pupils.”
Dean Kelly was seeing the situation with clear eyes.
“Nevertheless, I chose you. Which means you will see to it that this Academy is filled.”
“I trust you will.” Kailos fell silent after those words, and Leslun turned to glance at Robin.
Surely, even if they accepted Dean Kelly, Kailos had already prepared a separate plan to fill the incoming class.
But he showed no intention of mentioning it. Dean Kelly, fixing his gaze firmly on Kailos’s face, finally said bluntly,
“Why not just say it plainly.”
It seemed he had no patience for twisted words, cutting Kailos’s speech cleanly. But Kailos only laughed lazily. It was as though he delighted in bending the mood however he pleased.
“They say there’s a shortage of students, so I thought I might recommend one.”
The condition he offered was not difficult at all. On the contrary, it stirred Dean Kelly’s curiosity.
“Does Your Highness mean you intend to attend lectures yourself?”
It wasn’t impossible, but considering the Crown Prince was already taught by the greatest scholars on the continent, what need would there be?
“Not myself—my aide.”
At Kailos’s bombshell, Leslun flinched. He hadn’t spoken a name, but if it was his aide, then surely…
He looked to Robin. Meeting his gaze, Robin gave a small shake of his head.
As if that weren’t enough, Robin then gestured between himself and the Crown Prince. Leslun puzzled over what he meant.
Ah. Robin had already studied alongside the Crown Prince.
That gave Leslun one more reason to believe it wasn’t Robin. And then he remembered the questions Kailos had asked him while they had been walking through the courtyard earlier.
“It must be that boy.”
Dean Kelly also realized at once. Under his gaze, Leslun instinctively straightened his posture.
Blue, cradled in his arms, twitched his ears uneasily at the weight of his stare. Under his sharp eyes, Leslun felt as though he were standing trial.
“Yes. He’s rather clever, so I thought I might keep him close. But to do that, one must make an offer too tempting to refuse.”
At Kailos’s added explanation, Leslun’s stomach churned.
Dean Kelly seemed about to reply, but Kailos cut across him.
“You go take another look around the grounds. You still haven’t seen everything.”
He tossed the words at Leslun without so much as sparing him a glance.
It was a clear dismissal.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
