Chapter 01: The Opening

“Baron Daryl Arthur! I challenge you to a duel!”

An angry voice tore through the somewhat lax air.

The surroundings’ became noisy.

It’s only natural.

Although it is a custom, few people have spoken of ‘dueling’ in recent years.

Furthermore, if the person who uttered those words, the owner of the angry voice, was a member of the royal family of the McBrayne Kingdom, it would be even more unsettling to those around him.

His name is Adam McBrayne.

He is the third prince of the royal family of McBrayne. His Royal Highness, the honorable one.

“Adam, Your Highness! Daryl is the son of a baronet! How could a member of the royal family dare to fight a subordinate in a duel?”

“Damn! It all started because he was disrespectful to Mistress Ariel.”

“?.. I have no disrespect for Ariel-sama! Just ……!”

“You’re at it again! Ariel? That’s disrespect! Mistress Ariel does not allow a man like you to call her names! At least not by me, her fiancé!”

The surroundings became even more noisy.

I thought it was a lovers’ quarrel over Ariel Dunstable, Marquise of Dunstable, the fiancée of His Highness Adam, the Third Prince. The people who were just in an uproar instantly began to listen.

“Darryl! Apologize for your careless remark!

“…… Your Highness! It is true that calling the daughter of …… your fiancé by her first name was an unwise thing to do. I apologize. Just to make a point, I ………… I am a person who was taken care of by the Marquess of Dunstable when I was a child. I had met the Marquise de Dunstable at that time, so-called out as I used to as a child. …… As you can see, I apologize profusely.”

The boy called Daryl huffed at another’s reprimand, and apologized to His Highness Adam. He said that his call to Mistress Ariel was a memory from his childhood. He said that he had not lost that childhood feeling.

The commotion continues, but the tension is somewhat broken in the air of the place.

This is the “Radford Royal Academy of Magic” run by the Kingdom of McBrayne, where those associated with the nobility receive their mandatory education. In this academy, there is a precept that you should not make a special effort to show your family’s position.

Besides, in this country, the kingdom of McBrayne, “nobility” refers only to those who have a title and their spouses, and the children’s of a nobleman is only a “person who is associated with nobility. The kingdom has adopted a form in which there is no difference in children according to the status of the family. In other words, whether you are a baronet or a marquise, your status is only that of a “member of the nobility”.

In such a status system, if there is a difference, it is “those who are connected to the royal family. …… Royalty. This is His Highness Adam.

However, there is no way that a person who sincerely apologizes in front of the public, even if he is a member of the royal family, can ignore his apology and force him to fight a duel. The time had come for this mess to end.

“…… Damn it! …… I accept your apology. I take back what I said about the duel earlier. But don’t make the same mistake again. ……! Let’s go. Miss Ariel.”

His Highness Adam spat that out and walked away, cutting the wind with his shoulders.

The girl, who is called Mistress Ariel, glanced back at the boy, who had been left behind, but did not speak, and left with Adam.

The crowd, too, seemed to have lost interest and dispersed.

In the first place, today is the day of admission for those who will enter the Radford Royal Academy of Magic. In addition to the many practical procedures, there is also the matter of luggage to be carried into the dormitory.

In particular, those entering the dormitory are basically the children’s of local noblemen who do not have residences in the capital, and they are also tired from the long journey. Many of them were still in their traveling clothes. The fact is that they can’t be bothered with extraordinary events forever.

“….. Cecily. Thank you. You’ve been a big help.”

“Hm. Right off the bat. Daryl. You’re Viscountess Alcott, right?”

“Ha-ha. No doubt.”

Those who are left behind.

One of them is Daryl Arthur. He is the one who was challenged to a duel by His Highness Adam.

He has white ash hair and golden eyes. Furthermore, he looks like a boy, but he is a sturdy man.  He had been in actual battles with demons, which was common among noble families on the frontier.

The other was Viscountess Cecily Alcott. The owner of the voice that reprimanded Daryl earlier.

Her dark blonde hair is gathered near her shoulders. Her eyes are blue. She is sculpted like a doll, but her eyes are piercing. This is another noble family from the frontier. She has experienced actual battles against demons and wears the air of a fighter that is the essence of a noble family.

There is one shadow that gazes at such a series of exchanges from a distance.

To tell the truth, that shadow had been there long before Daryl and His Highness Adam’s troubles. It was as if it had been expecting something to happen.

“I didn’t think the opening event would really happen. It’s really just like the game. Now I don’t know what I’m going to do. ……”