Episode 48: Townsman A and the Meaning of the Handkerchief

My second year had begun, and with it, the landscape of both my class and the academy at large had shifted significantly.

First, there was Amy. She was still surrounding herself with the remaining four "capture targets"—the Crown Prince, Marcus, Oscar, and Leonard—as if nothing had changed. However, they no longer held the same absolute authority over the class hierarchy that they did last year.

Nobles belonging to the Second Prince Faction, in particular, had started blatantly avoiding the Crown Prince and his cronies. To put it simply, the power struggles of the royal palace had finally bled into the school halls.

Then there was Leonard. Not only had he been demoted to Class B, but apparently, he’d actually been disinherited.

House Ramslett had filed a formal protest with the House of Viscount Jukes regarding last year’s incident where Ana’s pen was burned. The complaint stated that Leonard had used violence to coerce a confession from an innocent girl. Apparently, Leonard hadn’t shown a shred of remorse; he’d admitted to everything and loudly insisted he was in the right. Faced with that, the Jukes family had no way left to shield him.

See, Leonard was a true believer. He was convinced Ana was the culprit, and because he’d acted out of his own warped sense of justice, he was a "convinced criminal" in the truest sense. He probably still hasn't accepted his punishment. I, of course, was certain of Ana’s innocence. If anything, I suspected the whole thing was a setup by Amy.

Regardless of the facts, you can’t judge a crime without evidence, let alone take the law into your own hands. To think you have the right to dish out vigilante justice is the height of arrogance.

Looking at it that way, Leonard being disinherited and losing his spot as a candidate for the next Knight Order Commander might actually be a blessing. If a guy like that became a knight, he’d be a walking disaster. Letting him lead the order would be madness. Besides, without his family’s backing, I doubt he’ll even graduate with those grades.

That will depend on his own efforts, I suppose, but if he fails to graduate and gets expelled, I wonder if there’s even a place left for him to go.

As for Ana, most people were treating her like she was made of glass. But thanks to Margaret and our new classmate, Isabella, she was more vibrant than she’d been last year. Seeing her smile again made me genuinely happy. Breaking off that engagement was definitely the right move. I truly believed that from the bottom of my heart.

Meanwhile, I was maintaining my position as a decorative object—a background character. The big change, however, was that I could now talk freely with Ana, Margaret, and Isabella.

This was mostly thanks to that "stunt" at the opening ceremony. I hadn't quite grasped the full weight of what Ana had done back then, but a conversation with the girls afterward cleared everything up.

"Well, hello there, Knight-kun. That was quite the display of passion, wasn't it?"

"Congratulations, Allen-san," Isabella added, her face slightly flushed.

We were walking toward the classroom after the ceremony when Margaret approached me with a smirk.

"Lady Margaret, Lady Isabella... I'm sorry, what are you talking about?" I asked, genuinely confused.

"Oh? You did receive that hand-embroidered handkerchief with the family crest from Lady Anastasia, didn't you?"

"Now, now, Lady Margaret. Allen-san is a commoner, so he might not know..."

"Ah, you're right."

Ana was trying to maintain a stoic face while they teased us, but her cheeks were tinged with a faint red.

"Come now, Lady Anastasia. You have to explain it to him properly, or it won't count."

Prompted by Margaret, Ana began to stammer through an explanation.

"A-ah. Well, you see, Allen. Um, well... When a noble lady hand-stitches her crest onto a handkerchief and gifts it to someone... well, it means... you know, that."

Yeah, I didn't get it at all.

"Listen, Allen-kun," Margaret interjected. "That handkerchief is a gift a lady gives to her knight. In other words, Lady Anastasia just declared to the entire world that you belong to her. Honestly, I'm almost jealous!"

"H-hey! Margaret! Allen is my benefactor! Don't call him 'mine'!"

Ah, I see. So that's what it was. Being spoken of like that by such a beautiful, wonderful woman made me happy, but... it wasn't like I could actually make a move on her. I’d known her since my previous life and wanted to save her, so I didn't exactly mind the sentiment, but it left me with complicated feelings.

Besides, the Duke made a point of calling us friends. To me, that was a clear warning: Ana will eventually be married off for a political alliance, so don't get any ideas. In the world of noble politics, a bride's purity was a big deal. It was better for both of us if I didn't expect anything and didn't make any mistakes. That way, nobody would get hurt.

"Lady Anastasia, thank you. Should anything happen, I promise to protect you."

"A-ah... I'll hold you to that."

And so, that’s how it went.

I was now officially recognized by the student body as Ana's "accessory ornament" (albeit one that’s secretly a powerhouse). The school was now split into four camps: the Crown Prince Faction centered around Amy's reverse harem, the opposing Second Prince Faction, the Opportunist Faction who followed the Crown Prince only out of obligation, and us—the Duke Ramslett Faction.

Honestly, schoolyard factionalism is pathetic, but I suppose it's just a microcosm of the kingdom's politics. At this rate, we might still end up with an internal rebellion just like in the game. In fact, the Crown Prince Faction was smaller now than it had been in the original story, while the Second Prince and Opportunist Factions had grown significantly. Essentially, my intervention had handed the Second Prince Faction the perfect ammunition to attack the Crown Prince.

I don't really care who sits on the throne. But I’ve put too much work into my plans to let them go to waste now. I have to prevent the Royal Capital from being trampled at all costs.

Now that I’ve successfully derailed the Scenario, relying solely on game knowledge is a dangerous game. I’ll keep the game’s events in mind as a reference, but I need to focus on gathering real intelligence and staying prepared. Now that the Scenario is broken, I can't afford to be complacent.

The Est Empire! I won't let you bastards lay a finger on the capital!