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Chapter 70
The Day of Lancaster’s Ruin (2)
The Lancaster family was the most prestigious swordsmanship house in the West.
Because of that, their main residence was grand.
“His Grace has granted permission. Please come in.”
The gatekeeper at the front gate let us through.
Kalleon led the way, followed by Yols and Angela.
I came in last.
“…….”
A wide garden… no, perhaps it should be called a plaza.
True to their reputation as the West’s representative swordsmanship house, even the front yard was on a grand scale.
The problem was that hundreds of swordsmen were arrayed in formation on that front yard.
If my guess was right, every one of them was a Graduate.
“Humph…….”
Even after seeing their ranks, Kalleon snorted contemptuously.
Then he lifted his chin and spoke loudly.
“Henry Lancaster! Is this the proper way to receive guests? The Lancaster house’s standards have really fallen!”
Kalleon’s rebuke echoed out.
From beyond the line of hundreds of swordsmen, a voice answered.
“My apologies, Kalleon Ignias.”
A middle-aged man with a neat appearance was looking toward us.
He was Henry Lancaster, head of the Lancaster family.
“Today is the day we inspect the swordsmen’s training. I hoped you would understand.”
“So you’re saying the swordsmen standing here have nothing to do with us?”
“That’s right. Think of them as decorations for the garden, like sculptures.”
“Hah, how amusing.”
Kalleon scoffed again at Henry’s brazen attitude.
“You must have gathered your forces to threaten us. From the looks of it, the Lancaster house scraped together every Graduate they could mobilize.”
“…….”
Among the ranks there were some noticeably older swordsmen.
Not elite Graduates who had created mana hearts on campus by taking elixirs, but men who had wielded swords for decades as regular soldiers and had awakened sword ki.
Even those veterans had been mustered — the Lancaster house had formed a regiment of hundreds of Graduates.
To intimidate the inspection party from the Academy.
“Kalleon, aren’t you the one doing the intimidating here?”
“What was that?”
“You three top-tier Graduates showing up together — what is that supposed to mean?”
Henry shot us a sharp look.
“If it had been Professor Valentiano or someone like that, I would have welcomed them. But ‘Dragon-Slayer’ Yols Kallesius, ‘Black-Chain Sword’ Angela Bertinsky… you’ve really brought only bloodthirsty people.”
“…….”
“Why would you bring such people? Is your goal to cut off my head?”
At Henry’s remark, Yols — who had been silent until then — finally spoke.
“Your words are excessive.”
“Sending three top-tier Graduates out of the blue seems the more excessive action to me.”
Henry spoke without hesitation.
“I can’t understand this at all. Since when has the Academy trusted the words of the heretical sect so readily?”
“…….”
“You’re saying the Lancaster family hired the heretics to eliminate Academy students? You believed such a thing and came here because of it? Even sending in three pinnacle-level fighters?”
Saying that, Henry shook his head in disbelief.
“This is ridiculous. I never thought the Academy could be this foolish.”
“Henry Lancaster, so you’re saying all this is baseless?”
“That’s right. From my point of view……”
Henry’s gaze turned toward me, who was standing at the very back.
“I suspect this is that brat’s petty scheme.”
“Ernas’s?”
“Isn’t that the natural conclusion?”
Henry glared at me as he spoke.
“He must have dealt with a leader of the heretical sect. He promised to save that man’s life if the man would give false testimony.”
“Are you saying Ernas bribed a heretical leader to entrap the Lancaster house?”
“That’s right, Kalleon.”
“Why would Ernas do such a thing?”
“What other reason could there be? He’s trying to crush the Lancaster house that irks him, using this opportunity.”
Anger laced Henry’s voice.
“That brat has been harassing our family for some time. He was the one who had my son Lester expelled from the Academy. Because of him, our family was once accused of sending assassins to the Academy.”
“…….”
“I don’t know what grudge he bears to torment us this way.”
Hearing Henry, Kalleon fell silent and looked at me.
His eyes said, Go ahead—say whatever you have to say.
‘It’s about time I spoke.’
I walked forward slowly.
When I stepped to the front, I could feel the Graduates around tense and ready.
But I didn’t care, and I opened my mouth.
“Lord Henry, you can’t say that.”
“Ernas Ranzstein, what do you mean?”
“It was Lester Lancaster’s own fault that he was expelled from the Academy.”
I looked Henry squarely in the face and spoke boldly.
“From the start, Lester intended to attack me during the first exam. I merely fought back against him with my sword.”
“Nonsense! I heard you ambushed him first!”
“Lester was pursuing me with his retinue. And——”
I continued without hesitation.
“It is clearly Lester’s own fault that he had a live blade.”
“You were the one who reported that to the Academy!”
“Are you saying I should have covered up Lester’s violation of the rules? As a member of one of the Empire’s six great sword families, I didn’t want to do something so dishonorable.”
“What….”
Henry opened his mouth to retort, but I didn’t give him the chance.
“From the way you speak, it seems the Lancaster house harbors much resentment over Lester’s expulsion. It isn’t I who holds a grudge against the Lancaster family—it’s the Lancaster family that holds a grudge against me, isn’t that right?”
“What are you—”
“Be honest. That grudge is why you kept trying to kill me.”
“……!”
Henry’s eyes widened at my blunt accusation.
Kalleon and Yols were taken aback too—apparently they hadn’t expected me to speak so outright.
Only Angela seemed amused, letting out a little chuckle.
“Kastalion of the Black Heaven Sect’s Filchester branch mentioned the Lancaster family by name. He said someone requested they eliminate Ernas Ranzstein. When we tracked that lead, it pointed to the Lancaster household.”
“Then that’s slander! You bribed that man, didn’t you!”
“How on earth could I have bribed him? By what means?”
“Well… by promising to spare his life……”
“Don’t speak nonsense. That man has killed far too many people. He would be beheaded immediately.”
“…….”
“I’m only a student. I have no authority to spare that man’s life.”
In truth, when I persuaded Kastalion I did tempt him, saying I would save his life.
But since I had no authority to actually do so, it was an empty promise.
“The more you overthink it, the further you stray from the truth. The straightforward truth is that the Lancaster family tried to hire heretics to kill me.”
“There’s no physical evidence—what truth are you talking about…!”
“How could there be physical evidence in a matter like this? There wouldn’t be a contract left behind. In the end, you have to judge by the credibility of testimony.”
After saying that, I continued speaking so Henry had no chance to rebut.
“A few months ago when I was attacked in the punishment wing, it was the same situation.”
“That incident—its credibility of testimony is even more dubious……”
“Back then, Raziel Brosian told me he would kill me and then slay the heirs of other sword families. Wasn’t it you, Henry, who issued such an order?”
“That’s absurd! I never gave Raziel such orders!”
“How peculiar.”
“What do you mean by peculiar?!”
I looked at the flustered Henry and spoke calmly.
“Did you know the assassin’s name? This is the first time I’ve named Raziel Brosian as the one who attacked me.”
“……!”
The expression on Henry’s face stiffened.
He realized he’d been caught in a trap.
“You’re twisting my words. You mentioned Raziel Brosian, and I merely denied giving orders to someone like him. I—”
“You want to claim you don’t know such a person, but the Brosian family has served the Lancasters for generations. There’s no way you don’t know the name Raziel Brosian.”
“That’s…”
“Try to explain. The more you try to excuse yourself, the more your story will tangle.”
When I pressed him like that, Kalleon grabbed my shoulder.
“Ernas, what are you talking about? Raziel Brosian was the assassin’s name?”
“Yes. He’s the father of Yuser Brosian, who was expelled from the Academy along with Lester Lancaster.”
“Why didn’t you tell us that earlier? If we had confirmed that then, we could have dealt with the Lancaster house for sure back then……”
“I wanted to test the Lancaster family.”
“A test?”
“To see whether they would admit their fault and repent.”
I put on a face of iron.
After all, I, Ernas Ranzstein, was adept at hiding my true feelings and talking convincingly with a concealed expression.
“Professor Kalleon, I wanted to build good relationships with the other sword families.”
“Good relationships…?”
“With the Lancasters or the Ignias, I thought we should all work together for the country’s future.”
“……!”
At the mention of the Ignias, Kalleon’s eyes widened.
“So I gave the Lancaster house a chance. I thought it would be good if they admitted their mistake and bowed their heads in repentance.”
“Ernas……”
“But it seems I misjudged.”
I lifted my chin and glared at Henry.
“Henry Lancaster, you are not fit to lead a sword family.”
“W-what….”
“I do not believe you acted only out of personal resentment toward me. A twisted lust for power likely played a larger role.”
As I accused him, Yols asked a question.
“Ernas, a lust for power?”
“This time, the one who stands at the top of the Academy will be granted authorities greater than before. I can’t say more about the details.”
“……!”
It wasn’t something that should be revealed yet: that the position of Duke of Richtenaur was at stake.
“Henry Lancaster, weren’t you trying to overturn the whole board?”
“Overturn—?”
“Lester Lancaster was expelled from the Academy. He is completely out of the competition. In that situation, isn’t the only way for the Lancaster family to pull through to kill all the remaining rivals?”
“……!”
Henry’s eyes opened wide.
“What nonsense! Why would I do such a thing unless I were mad?!”
“Just the fact you allied with the heretics shows you are mad.”
“Ernas Ranzstein! If you continue insulting me like that—”
At that moment a voice full of fury rang out.
“Henry Lancaster! It seems Ernas is right!”
“K-Kalleon!”
Kalleon glared at Henry with blazing eyes.
“Ernas’s argument is persuasive! It can clearly explain all the suspicions that have arisen!”
“This is absurd! It’s all slander!”
“To prove this is all slander, you’d have to pile on pitiful excuses one by one. Try if you dare! As Ernas said, the more you explain, the more your words will tangle!”
“Ugh…!”
I was cornering Henry by mixing truth and lies.
That was why he couldn’t properly rebut: any hasty defense would only lead him to confess his crimes.
“Henry Lancaster! Admit your crimes and accept punishment!”
Shouting that, Kalleon drew his sword.
Immediately the blade was enveloped in flame.
It was the sword ki of the Ignias family’s Graduate-exclusive art, the “Ignias Flame-Jade Sword Art.”
“If you refuse, we will force you into custody.”
“……!”
As Kalleon deployed his sword ki, the surrounding Graduates hurriedly put their hands to their waists.
But no one actually drew their swords.
They were all waiting for their lord Henry’s word.
“Kalleon Ignias… you have always been hot-tempered. It seems that trait hasn’t changed.”
Henry spoke with a grave expression.
“If you refuse to listen to me and resort to violent means, I will have no choice but to draw my sword.”
Henry pulled the two short swords he carried at his waist.
Holding the twin blades, he spoke seriously.
“I will subdue all of you and go directly to His Majesty the Emperor to prove my innocence.”
“……!”
The surrounding Graduates hastily drew their swords.
Henry — a peak-level swordsman — and hundreds of Graduates had drawn their blades and were pointed at us.
“You must be mistaken, Henry Lancaster.”
But I spoke as if I didn’t care at all.
“You shouldn’t go to His Majesty — you should go to the heretics’ headquarters. That’s probably the only place left for you to entrust your body now.”
“Ernas, you scoundrel…!”
Henry widened his eyes and raised his voice.
“Kill that insolent brat! Kill them all!”
“Yes…!”
As the swordsmen surged forward, I drew my sword together with the professors.
The day had come to destroy the Lancaster family.
