## Chapter 224 – Underwater Battle (7)
‘Things are taking a strange turn…’
Before I knew it, the flower bed had long been forgotten.
The sight of the two women glaring at each other across the flower bed fence was being reflected in my senses.
Charlotte, a noblewoman pulling weeds in the flower bed like a farmer, and Laratina, who seemed to be subtly provoking Charlotte with her attire adorned with valuables from across the flower bed fence.
‘I was thinking of tailing her anyway, so is this a good thing in its own way…’
I was planning to have the Kernel Worms monitor Laratina someday, but if she shows up like this first, it’ll be easier to follow her.
In a sense, the same goes for Charlotte.
Now that I’ve established myself to some extent in the academy, I needed to learn more about the academy’s top authority.
But my immediate interest was, of course, the relationship between the two people in front of me.
After quietly eavesdropping on their conversation, it seems the academy is struggling financially, and Laratina is thinking of taking advantage of that gap to get a piece of the pie.
‘Laratina is a commoner financier from the back alleys…
I know they have different statuses, at least…
The academy director and the madam of a brothel are…
Hmm… probably incompatible…’
Only Lucia knows this, but Charlotte also stepped up to try and get a piece of Anne’s pie before.
Of course, after the social gathering turned into a mess and the Wicked Game fell through, Charlotte, who couldn’t claim a stake in the action, just watched Anne for the time being.
Even from Enic’s perspective, who doesn’t know the circumstances, the current power struggle seemed quite fierce.
Charlotte, who owns the academy but needs money to run it.
And Laratina, who has more than enough money but wants to get her hands on the tempting prey that is the academy.
Of course, there’s more than one source of money, but in order for Polignac to move wealthy financiers, she inevitably has to accept some potential losses in some way.
Especially from the moment it becomes a debt, it’s obvious that other forces will intervene in the academy.
Personally, I think it would be good to solve the immediate problem if Charlotte accepts the proposal conditionally…
‘Family honor, or pride as the academy’s operator…?
Or is it just a simple aversion…?
I’d like it to proceed as it is…
I still don’t understand why she’s acting like that when she’s about to starve to death…’
The reason why the offer is attractive to me is that Laratina’s path will make it easier to encroach on the academy.
An outsider, and a brothel where prostitutes come and go, in the academy.
It may be morally or ethically flawed, but it makes it easier for the swarm members or our Henias to move around in the chaos and filth of the academy.
But, what should I say.
‘Even that little kid is trying to protect the academy…’
All the students attending the academy are adults by this world’s standards, so even if Charlotte, who is actually a student here, is small, she’s not a child.
But even if she’s the daughter of a mere Marquis, just a little girl.
The sight of that little girl protecting her turf, glaring at and confronting an underworld figure who might do anything later, was a little admirable even to me.
‘I want to praise her conviction at least.
Her family must be proud of her.’
If it were the old me, I would have wanted to meet a woman like that.
A woman who is confident anytime, anywhere, and who demonstrates that ability.
And yet, a woman who loves my lacking self.
‘That’s how it used to be.
I thought it was a waste for such a woman to come to me.
I thought she could definitely meet a better man.
Maybe that was just an excuse for my own inadequacy.’
I felt like giving her a hand.
Just like I gave Anne, who came into this flower bed three months ago, a hand.
If it’s an academy she wants to protect so much, I thought it wouldn’t be bad to give her some help.
At least the academy has to remain so I can exploit the students there.
‘It’s a kind of symbiosis… no…
It’s a parasitic relationship…’
My interest in Charlotte is only personal, but since Laratina is a rival to Vivian anyway, she was also an enemy to me.
‘If I’m going to get rid of her anyway, it’ll be easier to use Charlotte here as a means to eliminate the competition.’
“I’m a busy person too, Director Polignac.
Contact me if you change your mind, okay?”
Eventually, Laratina, unable to wait for Charlotte’s answer, left only a hint and moved on.
But as she tried to move towards the academy, the faculty members, following Charlotte’s orders, resolutely blocked her.
“There’s no way that’ll happen, so just go back.
Don’t ever set foot in the academy again.
Don’t mistakenly think you can do whatever you want with the academy that everyone who has come and gone here has created.”
I guess she had tentatively confirmed that the deal would go through and was planning to look at the site of the academy where she would set up a temporary brothel in advance.
Laratina, frowning at Charlotte’s formidable check, turned around with a very dissatisfied expression.
‘Then from here, surveillance…!!’
Taking advantage of the gap, I quickly attached a few Kernel Worms to Laratina and had my subordinates follow her as she disappeared with her men.
And until Laratina was no longer visible on the academy grounds, Charlotte, who had been staring at her back, finally bit her lip and began to breathe slightly, as if resentful.
Watching her muttering something to herself as she crossed the flower bed, I was performing my duty without forgetting what I had to do.
“Absolutely… absolutely not…
The academy… this place…
No matter what happens…”
‘I’ll monitor you too for now.’
Having successfully attached surveillance to two major targets, I was imagining the future course of events and recalling solutions one by one.
‘What will happen in the future…
Let’s start by roughly estimating…
Taking action is next.’
Because I’m not human, I have endless possibilities to screw someone over in an amazing way.
Seeing Laratina, who has me as an enemy, crying her eyes out, maybe my personality has rubbed off on Vivian.
‘They say couples resemble each other…
But Vivian is too good for me…
I should be grateful that she likes someone like me…’
And not being able to fix bad habits may last a lifetime.
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The very next day after Enic observed Laratina and Charlotte, Vivian was gathering information in her own way.
She was squatting behind a corner of the training ground that was not easily visible from the outside, resting her chin on her hand and looking at the documents she had received.
It was a truly delinquent posture that only students who had played around could pull off.
But there was no way she would be noticed by others.
In order to witness Vivian, you had to break through Lanie, who was on the lookout, first.
In that position dedicated to skipping class, which reminded her of her previous memories, Lanie was grinning like she was possessed by a god.
“We’re doing this…
It reminds me so much of the old days, Vivian-nim?”
“It wasn’t that long ago.
It’s only been three months…
Yeah… that’s how it was back then…”
Back then, she used to hang out with her gang and spend her days living as she pleased.
I don’t think I had the passion to achieve something with my own hands like I do now.
I just had a vague idea that I had to become something great for the sake of my family.
A child who is not ashamed of her ancestors and is recognized by her family.
What specifically should I do to not be ashamed, and how can I be recognized?
At least her plan, which she thought was perfect, lacked that.
That is, the ‘ultimate goal’ of the plan.
Becoming the head of the family was not the end as a goal.
Reviving the family and passing it on to her descendants until she dies.
Even those descendants had to continue that golden age, which was the mission given to all nobles.
From reading the market to financial indicators for investment, and even reading the public sentiment of the commoners.
Everything she had to learn in the name of ‘inheriting the family’ was at least helping her now.
If only someone had taught her, Vivian would probably be struggling to learn even mercenary tactics now.
‘But it’s thanks to that.
It’s definitely helping me now.’
Rather than doing something that doesn’t help at all, the things Vivian had learned while moving with the idea of becoming something great were something that helped her at this moment.
But everyone only has one body.
Vivian didn’t have enough time to do all of that alone.
‘The start of the swordsmanship department is somehow done.
From now on, I just need to carefully approach the guys who are helpful…
And gradually increase my allies.
Being a commoner is a bit of a problem…
I just need to let them know what it’s like to have nothing to lose…’
School can be seen as a small society made up of immature students.
If she gradually takes control of the swordsmanship department, which is a part of it, and exerts influence, she will naturally have the opportunity to exert influence on other departments.
She can prepare for that time now, but now she has another major task at hand.
‘Laratina… she’s more thorough than I thought…’
Frankly speaking, Vivian’s evaluation of Laratina was a little different from what people were saying about her.
Her flamboyant behavior, as if she was satisfying her burning desires every few days, certainly made her look like a woman living her life as she pleased.
But in Vivian’s eyes, it seemed like she was steadily building a protective wall to protect herself and expanding that wall.
The memory of spying on Mademoiselle by disguising the brothel’s male subordinates as wealthy businessmen gave Vivian absolute certainty.
‘She doesn’t show herself easily.
If she were the madam of a brothel, she would usually show herself first.’
Isn’t there an expression called ‘face value’?
The ‘face’ of a ‘human’ is also a pronoun that refers to the power and authority that the human has.
A loafer in the back alleys is just a loafer as the word says, with no ability or skill.
But Laratina herself was a wealthy woman and the owner representing the brothel Mademoiselle.
By publicly showing herself, the accidents that should have happened would be reduced, and even those who wanted to be noticed by her would approach her, which would create a positive upward effect.
Nevertheless, Laratina didn’t easily show her face.
It reminded her of her stepmother Laura, but Laura just hated being bothered and was a homebody who liked women.
Laratina, who intentionally creates such an environment rather than being bothered by something in the first place, can’t be said to have no other reason.
‘Above all… she has too many men, that bitch…!!’
Basically, in order to approach her, you had to break through the wall of numerous men she had built.
There was a physical limit, but it could be said to be a network limit that went beyond that.
Women are jealous, but the same goes for men.
In some ways, they even do jealous acts that scatter flesh and smell of blood.
‘Not only is she protected by private soldiers from the back alleys…
She hides secrets by making the most of the advantages of the social world, which is based on personal connections…
From her travel route to her personal life, everything is strictly secret to outsiders…
She doesn’t give great information unless she trusts the other person, so it’ll be easier to find traitors.
At best, the information that gathers is gossip, so it’ll be easy to hide her true self.
If the other person wasn’t Enic, it would have been difficult to find out this information…’
She cleverly uses the jealousy of men who try to protect their women to form a closed human relationship system from outsiders.
Laratina, who sets up numerous men as barriers to protect herself, thoroughly manages the system and sits in the center, can be seen as a truly natural ‘queen bee’.
If it weren’t for the seemingly gentle attitude of the men, the system, which might have reminded her of an army serving the king, could be seen as the thickest barrier that has protected Laratina so far.
‘I don’t think she’s someone who can be persuaded…
Even if she’s a commoner, if she’s that wealthy…
She’s ahead of me in political power right now.’
The more she thought about it, the more she couldn’t find an answer to the current situation, so Vivian bit her nails slightly and looked down at the parchment with anxious eyes.
‘Then is assassinating her without anyone knowing realistic…?
I don’t know if it’s possible without anyone knowing…
For now, I have to worry about that method first…’
Eventually, Vivian crumpled the parchment and put it in her pocket, and slowly got up from her seat with a deep sigh.
“Did you read it all?”
And while she was getting up from her seat, was it because she felt the air unnaturally wrapping around her body?
Vivian, who was momentarily surprised and swung her arm to the side, could feel a strong grip grabbing her wrist with one hand.
“Skipping personal practice time, and in this corner.
The juniors these days are quite bold.”
It seemed like she was shaking a little, but Vivian, holding her coldly cooled heart in her hands, opened her mouth while not stopping her eyes from glaring at the opponent, at the grip that was firmly blocking her movements.
“I was just taking a break.
Skipping class, that’s a terrible misunderstanding.”
“Ah…? Ah!!!! You!!
When did you come here!!”
Only then did Lanie’s flustered voice, sticking her head out from outside the corner after hearing that voice, reach her ears.
Vivian, thinking of scolding Lanie later for failing to be on the lookout, was in a situation where she had to deal with the woman in front of her first.
Lucia de Borgia.
The heiress of the Borgia Dukedom, which is said to be the best among the few dukedoms in the kingdom.
If you think about it, she was also an excellent student who was historically outstanding in the swordsmanship department, so she was also a senior to Vivian.
It was a comedy that such a woman was now working as an assistant instructor helping with the department’s work.
‘Did she see…?’
“Still, there’s such a thing as privacy.
I wish you had made a sound.”
“I just came too.
To catch the runaway students.
Didn’t you hear the order to stop practicing and gather?
The break must have been quite sweet.”
“Keuh…”
As she felt Lucia’s grip on her wrist gradually increasing, Vivian frowned slightly but didn’t stop her eyes from glaring at her opponent.
“Gather quickly.
We’ll start practicing against people.”
“Heut… stop there.
I’ll… gather.”
Eventually, Vivian, unable to bear it, shook off Lucia’s hand, and Lucia slightly staggered and began to glare at Vivian with a seemingly interesting expression.
As she turned around, Vivian also began to follow her with Lanie.
“I’m sorry, Vivian-nim…
I didn’t even know she was here…
I… I really am…!!”
“It’s okay. It’s understandable with a woman like that.”
Before she knew it, the students lined up on one side of the training ground came into view.
It was Vivian and Lanie who seemed to have been dragged here by mistake.
Perhaps because of that, the students were laughing and chattering, but it quickly subsided as Lucia passed by them.
Lucia as a senior was also someone who could be seen as difficult to deal with, but after becoming an assistant instructor, she became even stricter.
“Parvati, Baltimore, number 1.
Eleanor, Francois, number 2.
Merry Hughes, Lena, number 3…”
As Lucia’s mouth began to open in front of the students, the students’ attention was focused on her.
“Anne, and Vivi. You’re number 8.
Then move according to the called number.
So you can stand by for battle in the court.”
Only then did Vivian’s narrowed eyes, who could know the truth of that grinning smile, meet Lucia’s deep smile.
“Her love for her disciples is also special… Tsk…”
