A Failed Knight Who Went to the Academy To Get Married

027 A Friend’s Unilateral Decision

Train stared down at the handcuffs at his feet and asked Lisbeth.

“At least you’ll give me an explanation I can understand, right?”

Then Lisbeth, gripping her greatsword and taking a stance, said.

“Put on the handcuffs first.”

Train cautiously tried to pull out a tulip from his pocket,

But Lisbeth swiftly struck down Train’s arm with her sword.

“Don’t try anything foolish. Even you, injured to this extent, I can easily subdue.”

“Then subdue me with force.”

“I said I didn’t want to do that.”

As Elisabeth pointed her greatsword at Train’s neck,

Train let out a short sigh and asked.

“Why on earth do you want to tie me up?”

“It’s obvious. If you knew who the culprit was, your next move would be predictable.”

“You can’t be serious. The real culprit is one of our own classmates?”

At that, Elisabeth took a moment to catch her breath before calmly stating.

“I am the culprit.”

“…What?”

“I said, I am the culprit.”

As Train stuttered in response, Elisabeth’s expression grew even more menacing.

“So put on the handcuffs. Make any false move, and I might just kill you right here.”

Eventually, Train silently picked up the handcuffs and clasped them on his hands.

“Thank you.”

“Now what are you going to do?”

“We’ll proceed as if Cat is the culprit.”

“Do we really need to go that far?”

“If we get expelled as students, we’ll be branded as criminals, and that’ll block our path forward.”

“So, you’re saying it’s obvious I’d side with Cat, and you want to keep me out of the way?”

Lisbeth shrugged her shoulders and said,

“Cat already has a criminal record, so what’s one more line to it?”

“So you’re using Cat as a sacrificial lamb?”

“I’ll ask my father to settle it with a fine, and I’ll pay that fine.”

“You expect me to accept that after hearing such nonsense?”

“That’s why I handcuffed you. That’s why I apologized.”

Trine glared at Lisbeth with all his might, then, as if resigning himself to fate, slumped to the ground.

“I should’ve realized sooner what kind of person you are.”

Then Lisbeth forcibly took the grimoire from Trine’s arms and said,

“It’s okay to resent me.”

“It’s disgusting how much we resemble each other.”

At those words, Lisbeth’s expression momentarily hardened.

And then, with a smile that seemed slightly sad, he replied.

“I guess so.”

Turning away, he left the room, leaving the train behind, and said,

“Just stay put for a couple of days until the trial is over, and I’ll let you go.”

***

Late that evening.

Yuril, who had been waiting alone in the inn room, finally reached the limits of her patience.

“Why hasn’t that fool come back yet!”

Having revealed even Yuril’s identity, only to run away.

She had been bracing herself to give him a piece of her mind upon his return,

But no matter how long she waited, there was no news at all.

It wasn’t like him to forget to return because of the painful burns on his back.

Perhaps he ran away again, not wanting to meet Yuril,

But at least the Train that Yuril knew wasn’t the type to do such a thing.

“Could something have happened?”

In the end, Yuril abruptly rose from his seat.

He immediately stepped out of the inn and after running around a few places, he finally sprinted to the academy dormitory.

At the entrance of the dormitory, a blond delinquent student suddenly picked a fight with him.

“Don’t you know peddlers are not allowed here?”

…Prince Siran, he was certainly quite close to Train.

Yuril took a deep breath and then asked him.

“Where is Train?”

“How would I know that?”

“He hasn’t returned since he went out to meet Cat.”

Yuril thought he would pick another fight over this, but

Prince Siran, seemingly catching the mood, frowned and said,

“That guy did stop by here briefly earlier, saying he was going to find the culprit.”

“And after that?”

Prince Siran muttered, looking up at the windows above the building.

“Haven’t seen him. His room light was off too.”

“Is something the matter?”

At those words, Prince Shiran clicked his tongue and said,

“Follow me.”

As soon as he entered the dormitory, he shouted with all his might,

“Hey! Does anyone know where Train went?”

Then, the red-haired woman nearby, Lizbeth, answered,

“If you’re looking for Train, he said he was going to the next village to hunt for the culprit.”

“He went all the way to the next village?”

“He said he’d be back by the day after tomorrow at the latest.”

“That patient lad sure is nosy.”

Prince Shiran chuckled in relief.

However, Yuril glared at Lizbeth and asked,

“There’s no way he could go to the next village in that condition, right?”

“I’m not sure, but he said it was urgent.”

“Did he go alone?”

“It seems like it.”

“Why didn’t you go with Train?”

“Train told me to stay and guard my room.”

“…If you happen to contact Train, please let me know right away.”

“Sure. Would you like to exchange contact information with me?”

Yuril and Lizbeth touched foreheads and whispered a small spell to each other.

Then they stepped out of the dormitory,

when another student cautiously approached her.

“Excuse me…”

“Yes, what can I do for you?”

“I’m Barbara, a friend from Train’s class. There’s something I want to talk about.”

“What is it?”

Barbara looked around carefully before attempting to whisper in Yuril’s ear.

“You see, the truth is the culprit is-“

Just then, Lizbeth burst out from behind and exclaimed.

“Barbara!”

Startled, Barbara stumbled backward,

as Lisbeth forcefully pulled her arm and dragged her back into the dormitory.

…Left alone, Yuril glared at the dormitory for a moment and muttered,

“She’s definitely hiding something.”

Yuril untied her white scarf and gave it a big flap.

Then, the scarf transformed into a cape.

Yuril, now cloaked from head to toe, re-entered the dormitory.

She immediately followed Lisbeth and Barbara and saw,

Lisbeth cornering Barbara in a secluded spot, threatening her.

“I told you not to speak.”

“But, still-“

“Don’t. Do you really want to ruin your life?”

In the end, Barbara bowed her head and replied,

“Alright. I’m sorry.”

“I get it now.”

“But you can’t keep Traine locked up in your room forever.”

“Just endure it for two more days. Then everything will be resolved.”

At those words, Yuril immediately reacted.

He slipped out quietly and began searching for Lizbett’s room.

‘That Lizbett must be from a duke’s family, so she’ll have one of the best rooms.’

He immediately went up to the highest floor, and sure enough, there was a door with Lizbett’s nameplate on it.

When he tried the doorknob, it was locked.

Yuril sat down hesitantly and then kicked the door open.

“Traine!”

“Good heavens!”

Traine let out a startled scream.

For some reason, he was handcuffed, with his legs dangling out the window.

“Y-Yuril?”

“…What are you doing?”

“That’s exactly what I wanted to ask you.”

“You’re not planning to jump down as is, are you?”

Trine sighed briefly and replied.

“If only you hadn’t come, everything would have been clean.”

Yuril felt a bit irritated.

After all the effort to come here to rescue you, to hear such words.

Just when he was about to retort,

Lizbeth and Barbara, noticing the commotion, hurried over.

“What’s all this noise!”

Lizbeth stood in front of the door, drawing her greatsword,

Yuril lifted only the hood of his cloak and said,

“So it was you who had Trine locked up.”

“…If I’ve been caught, there’s nothing I can do.”

Lizbeth said with an evil smile,

“The truth is, the one who burned down your shop was none other than me-“

“It must be Barbara.”

Suddenly, Train interrupted and interjected into Lizbeth’s speech.

“Lizbeth, you tried to frame Cat as the culprit for Barbara.”

At those words, Lizbeth’s expression turned fierce.

“Why would I bother doing such a troublesome thing?”

“If things went wrong, you were prepared to take the blame for Barbara.”

“Do I look like such a foolishly noble person to you?”

“Being a duke, you figured you’d be forgiven more easily than Barbara, right?”

“What evidence do you have for such an unfounded speculation?”

“No need for evidence. I’m going to confess to being the culprit anyway.”

“What?”

Without warning, Train threw himself out of the window.

Everyone was startled and rushed to the window.

Looking down,

Muscle had caught Train and, hoisting him on his shoulder, began to flee.

“I’ll go first, you muscle-brained girl!”

At those words, Lizbeth also immediately leapt out the window, shouting.

“If you get caught, you’re really dead!”

***

“Ouch, ouch, ouch! Go easy!”

“Weren’t you the one who told me to run as fast as I could? Should I slow down?”

“Damn it! Just sprint to the police station!”

…Trapped alone, Train had been practicing summoning the magic bird dozens of times.

He had nothing else to do and didn’t have much expectation, but he had come up with a hasty plan because he suddenly succeeded and was able to contact Muscle.

“But now, the situation is a complete mess, isn’t it?”

Originally, after fleeing to the police station, he planned to secretly confess to being the culprit without Lizbeth knowing.

Since Train and Yuril were friends, they could probably avoid punishment by claiming it was an accident.

Even if things went wrong, he didn’t particularly care about being stripped of his nobility or being expelled.

However, he never intended to commit such an act for Lizbeth’s sake.

To become unhappy because you dislike others’ misfortune…

Though I had no intention of denying her choice,

I just couldn’t be satisfied without giving her a piece of my mind.

Muscle taunted as he ran with his hefty body.

“Typical of the leader to be a pushover, so everyone else is just as gullible.”

“Shut up.”

“But are you really planning to confess that you’re the culprit?”

“I don’t know. Everything turned into a mess the moment Yuril found me.”

“I don’t care, but you’ll be caught soon anyway.”

Trine glanced behind him and felt a sudden, immense fear.

It was the first time he’d seen Lizbeth with such an enraged expression.

“Seriously, stop before I really scrub your back with a scouring pad!”

If caught, it would mean certain death.

He realized it was no longer a joke.

Cold sweat trickled down his back, aggravating the wound and heightening his anxiety.

“Darn it! Run as fast as you can!”

“Why not just give up slowly and beg for forgiveness?”

“Don’t joke! We could really die!”

“It seems like there are enemies ahead too.”

“What?!”

At those words, Train looked straight ahead.

Somehow a familiar face…

Before he could realize who it was, a massive ice wall unfolded before his eyes.

“What’s it this time!”

When Muscle finally came to a stop, a voice came from beyond the ice wall.

“I don’t know the situation, but did Train do something wrong?”

Train grumbled loudly as he got off Muscle’s shoulder.

“Such a useless princess indeed!”

“Yes, it’s been a while, Train.”

“What are you doing here again?”

“I rushed here hearing that Train was seriously injured, but I’m relieved to see you’re unharmed.”

Eventually, Lizbeth caught up with Train from behind.

“Train! It’s a duel!”

Lizbeth, gasping for breath, abruptly drew her greatsword.

“Now?! Challenging a patient to a duel, how low!”

“Quiet! If I win, I’m the culprit!”

Though it made no sense to claim such a thing after being caught by Yuril,

at the moment, she was too agitated to make any rational judgment.

And Train was no different.

Due to the pain in his back and the subtle provocation magic Lizbeth had cast,

he had half-lost his mind and struck back.

“Fine! If I win, then I’m the culprit!”

He reached into his bosom to draw his rapier, but… it was gone.

“Looking for this?”

Lizbeth shook the rapier and then flung it behind her back.

Train glared at Lizbeth with a sneer.

“Weren’t you always too proud to be this cowardly?”

Lizbeth glared back, retorting sharply.

“I decided to be thoroughly cowardly when fighting you!”