Chapter 4: I Am the Only One Beside the Fallen Grand Duke's Daughter

Ghost That Devours Iron (1)

Shagallor’s vast stash of treasure was secretly loaded into the carriage.

Aside from me, there were other maids and attendants escorting the Lady.

If even one of them was Shagallor’s planted spy, it would eventually be exposed.

No, there definitely was a spy among them, so it was only a matter of time before she found out. But then what was she going to do about it?

It’s not like she could just order the already departed carriage to turn around.

She knew full well that what she did to the Lady was unacceptable, so if it came to it, we had plenty of excuses on our side.

And spinning the situation with a calm face? That would be entirely up to the Lady.

‘If she brings it up, I’ll smooth it over. Rhetoric was part of my imperial studies, after all. No sense letting it go to waste, right? Fufu.’

With those words from the Lady, we made our way to the capital.

It took longer than expected due to the deep midwinter snow hindering the carriages, but fortunately, none of us—including the Lady’s attendants—suffered any major injuries.

…That is, until we arrived at the capital Karlank and I was greeted with the most predictable welcome imaginable.

More precisely, it happened when we tried to enter the inner grounds of Sigmund Academy.

“Yohan Kim, you are not permitted to enter. Please turn back.”

“…Excuse me?”

Sigmund Academy stands a little outside the central district of Karlank, towering like a fortress of its own.

In essence, it's like a satellite city to the imperial capital.

Because we bore the insignia of a Grand Duchy, we were able to enter Karlank itself without any formal inspection.

But entering Sigmund? That was a completely different matter.

“I’m Lady Karalin’s retainer. The rules should allow her attendants to enter as well, shouldn’t they?”

“Yes, but to be precise, we grant access only to those listed on the official escort registry submitted by the respective noble family. However… the list we received from Vitagarte does not include your name. At all.”

‘Ha, of course...’

Shagallor wasn’t the type to sit still after having her vault raided.

She clearly put some kind of restriction in place.

That heartless hag never missed a chance to be petty.

Even if Karalin wasn’t her blood daughter and they were only a decade or so apart in age, a daughter is still a daughter, isn’t she?

And yet, after exiling her own daughter to the academy, she couldn’t even spare ‘a few’ gold bars to help her get started.

But whatever.

It would’ve been arrogant to think things would go that smoothly anyway.

None of this was unexpected.

From the start, they had made it clear that 'there would be no support for me.'

If anything, this was manageable. I’d prepared for worse.

‘Looks like her strategy was simple. Since I was the one shielding the Lady, and they couldn’t touch her directly now that she was gone, they'd just block me out entirely.’

Then again, it didn’t feel like a direct attack—just a frustrating nuisance.

Which meant something more urgent had probably happened back in Vitagarte.

For example, maybe the wyvern invasion came earlier than expected… but I'd have to confirm that later. Right now, getting past the gate took priority.

As I was stuck arguing, Lady Karalin slightly opened the carriage window to intervene on my behalf.

“Gatekeeper.”

Her voice was cold enough to freeze the air.

The atmosphere turned so threatening that the gatekeeper instinctively straightened up like a soldier.

“Y-Your Highness the Grand Duchess! It is an honor to behold your presence.”

“Yohan is my one and only retainer and personal escort. Are you seriously pulling this nonsense about a name list as if that overrides my authority?”

“T-the thing is, during admissions season, we receive a great number of nobles, so we’ve had to enforce strict screening to keep dangerous individuals out—”

“I vouch for him.”

That final sentence dripped with contempt and loathing.

“I just said I vouch for him. Are you saying that’s not enough?”

“M-my apologies!”

“And watch your words. My retainer is not some dangerous stranger, as you implied.”

Even I got chills hearing that. But the gatekeeper kept his spine straight, sweating buckets.

“M-my deepest apologies, Your Highness! I-I mean no offense. It’s simply a matter of protocol to ensure everyone’s safety. Please understand…”

Talk about a guy who’s serious about his job.

But with him holding this firm, there wasn’t much we could do.

“…Sigh. Fine. Forget it. I know you’re just doing your job.”

“Th-thank you so much!”

The man was just doing what he was ordered. And it’s not like I could kill him just because he wouldn’t let me in.

“Yohan, I’m really sorry… maybe I unnecessarily provoked Mother too much.”

“No, this was ‘our’ decision. I was prepared for this, so it’s okay.”

“Thank you for saying that… I’ll find a way to resolve it from inside. Just wait nearby for a little while, okay? I promise I’ll get in touch.”

“Yes. I’ll see you again soon, My Lady. Please don’t worry.”

The Lady’s tone when speaking to me was nothing like the one she used with the gatekeeper. She was genuinely trying to reassure me.

But in the end, the reality was that I was left alone.

‘Goddamn it…’

Separated from the group, I could only circle around the outer gates of Sigmund, racking my brains for a legal way to sneak in.

If I wanted to go the illegal route, I could bribe the gatekeeper, look for a hole to crawl through, or find a scalable wall.

Or, I could use my "ability."

If I used one of my「unconventional 」methods, getting in would be a piece of cake.

But if I did that, and it later became a problem tied to my identity, I might never be able to set foot in Sigmund again.

And if that happened, my goal to stay by the Lady’s side in the Academy would fall apart.

So that wasn’t an option.

…Still, even in a tight situation like this, a crack eventually opened.

It all started by coincidence.

I had been leaning against a roadside tree for a short break when I heard the sound of galloping hooves in the distance.

Clop clop clop—

The noise grew steadily louder, and I had a gut feeling that something was about to happen. And sure enough—

Shaaak—

The moment the horse passed by, a cloud of dirt blasted into my face.

"Which asshole...!"

Whoever it was had clearly seen me, yet still kicked up dust in my direction.

Even a child knows that's basic disrespect.

I immediately stepped forward and blocked the rider.

"Hey. Get down."

"Hmm?"

The guy on the horse didn’t even budge. He just looked down at me from his high perch.

A nobleman. Obnoxious long purple hair. The annoying kind you could hate on sight.

But what he said was even worse.

"A barbarian from the North? I don’t know why you’re standing there, but get lost. I don’t have time."

...Really.

He just flung dust into my face and now he’s telling me to get lost?

"No. What comes first is an apology. I care more about your dust than your time."

"...Hey, peasant."

Then, he flicked his gaudy purple hair and drew his sword.

Clang—!

"Watch your mouth. I am Rovan von Sorbe, first heir to the Sorbe barony. I’ve heard the entrance exam for Sigmund is closing soon, and I have no time to waste."

‘…Rovan von Sorbe?’

However.

The moment I heard the name, something stirred in the back of my memory.

‘Ah. I know this guy.’

He was a character from the world I was now living in.

A character from Eternal Eclipse.

Wasn’t he the clown who got thoroughly beaten during the protagonist’s entrance exam arc?

A side character with strong skills but an even stronger ability to attract hate, practically a walking aggro magnet. That was Rovan.

And so I thought:

I was already in a foul mood from getting blocked at the gate… and now this guy showed up? Perfect timing.

“You’ve been rude since the start, and now you’re pretending to talk about manners?”

Now that I recognized his face, I didn’t hesitate.

I delivered a sharp kick straight into his horse’s side.

Thunk—!

"Heeheeheeing-!!"

"Wh-what the hell are you doing!"

"Payback."

"You lunatic, filthy barbarian!"

The horse neighed wildly, and Rovan scrambled to pull on the reins, trying to calm it down. He didn’t fall off, but his appearance was very pathetic.

Decent rodeo skill, I’ll give him that. Must be humiliating though.

"Tch... Forget it! Wasting time here is only hurting me. Expecting manners from a barbarian is foolish anyway."

What’s this now?

Just a minute ago, he was talking big, even drawing his sword like he was ready for a duel.

But the moment I didn’t flinch and pushed back, he tucked his tail and ran away.

Typical. A noble in name, a coward in practice. A disgrace of a swordsman.

I was honestly ready to take him down under the pretense of an official duel, but that resolve felt wasted now.

And just then—

“Hyah!”

Whoosh—

“That son of a bitch!”

That bastard Rovan, even as he ran away, deliberately kicked up a second wave of dust in my face before disappearing into the distance.

Trying to act tough when he probably wouldn’t even pass the entrance exam anyway.

Letting this go? That’d make me a saint.

No. This had to be settled.

Unfortunately, my horse was still tied to a post.

And once Rovan got inside Sigmund, I’d have no way of following.

There really wasn’t a clear way to chase him.

But just as I was thinking of letting him get away—

‘…Wait.’

A jolt hit me like lightning striking my brain.

Really.

This pointless squabble had sparked a brilliant idea.

‘The entrance exam…?’

Let’s think this through.

The reason I got blocked by the gatekeeper was because I was treated as a mere “visitor,” not an officially registered escort.

But, what if I came back as a “prospective student” looking to take the entrance exam?

Then the gatekeeper wouldn’t have grounds to stop me.

And if this plan worked, not only could I get into Sigmund—

I could also stomp Rovan into the exam ground in the process.

Heh heh-

‘Killing two birds with one stone.’

A grin crept across my face.

There’s always a way out if you think hard enough.

Now that I've come up with a great plan, I should put it into action right away.

And as I clenched my jaw, all I could muttered to myself was—

Rovan von Sorbe.

You picked the wrong guy to screw with, bastard.

***

“I’m here to apply as a prospective student.”

When I returned and said that, the gatekeeper looked utterly bewildered.

“Wait. Didn’t we just see each other a moment ago?”

“We did, yeah.”

“But back then, you said you were a retainer—”

“Yes, I was a retainer then. But you didn’t let me in. So I’ve decided to enroll instead.”

“E-excuse me…??”

“There’s an on-site assessment in addition to the preliminary screening, right? Like that purple-haired guy who just rode in. I know all about it.”

Now let’s see how he tries to wiggle out of this one.

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