[Vol. 7] Chapter 261: The Fool Caught Between Two Lions
Sainz Academy, First District, [Lionheart Society] Headquarters.
As one of the three largest student groups at Sainz, and the leader among the Academy City's student organizations supported by the Austre Empire, the Lionheart Society's building stood in a quiet area of the first district. It was almost like private property, fully managed by the Society itself.
The building looked just like a luxurious palace used by emperors when traveling. It was built with funds directly from the Empire, heavily guarded inside and out. Only members with special permission could move around freely inside.
This alone showed how powerful their background was.
The president of the Lionheart Society had, since its founding, always been a direct member of the Austre Empire's royal family. Even if the seat was temporarily empty and a vice president took over for a while, this rule had never been broken.
If you imagined Sainz Academy as its own world, then the Lionheart Society would be like the Austre Empire itself inside it. Breaking into their headquarters wasn't quite as hard as attacking the Seven Towers, but it still wasn't something normal people could even dream of doing.
Yet somehow, today, the Lionheart Society's headquarters were completely empty. The intruders made their way deeper and deeper inside without seeing even a single guard. It wasn’t until they burst into the President’s office that they finally saw someone, a young man with red hair sitting calmly at the main seat. He finished wiping his sword with a white cloth, then looked up calmly, his sharp, heavy gaze like that of a lion.
"......"
The masked attackers had already surrounded him, weapons in hand. But the man, named Xiluo Frederick, acted like he didn’t even notice. He simply stared at the group’s leader, a woman who, unlike the others, showed her face openly. She looked plain and unremarkable.
Xiluo gave a light, careless smile.
"You’re slower than I thought. Just a bunch of nobodies like you… and you think you can take down a lion?"
Nobody answered him. Even though the room was packed with more than a dozen strong fighters, they were as silent as puppets, like they were being controlled. Only the woman in front met Xiluo's gaze, her face cold as she drew a short sword.
"Killing you... will be enough."
"Heh~"
The red-haired young man lowered his head slightly. The shining sword in his hand reflected his calm, emotionless eyes, as if everything happening now was already expected.
"That old man needed a righteous excuse to start a war. An excuse that, even if everyone knew was fake, no one could argue against. Either my royal sister or I had to die in Sainz to pave the way for the Empire’s advance. I already knew this before the assembly even began."
"This gathering is a life-and-death contest between me and Carinvega. I had no choice. I didn’t want to die, so I did everything I could, using every method possible to push her down, gathering supplies for war, pulling her top supporters over to my side, even using that girl named Violet to hide myself in the shadows to move more easily. It was all for that one goal."
"But I failed. I wasn’t strong enough. I couldn’t outsmart the old man, and I couldn’t beat Carinvega either. In the Frederick family, only the strong survive. It’s natural for the weak to become stepping stones. I gave it everything I had, so... I have no regrets."
The woman stared at him with a blank face.
"Of course you couldn’t beat her. Her Highness will become the ruler of the Empire. And you? You’re just facing the consequences of your own evil. Your downfall was set the day you tried to frame her."
"You really are loyal to my royal sister, huh~"
Xiluo smiled, not bothered by her harsh words. He calmly looked over the woman he supposedly didn’t know and said casually.
"Looks like you’re getting impatient. But before we start, there’s one thing that’s been bothering me. Back at the [Fantasy Sky Courtyard], you stole the ring from me and tried to set me up to fight Violet... Tell me, was that Carinvega’s plan? Or was it something you servants cooked up on your own?"
The woman frowned, surprised by the hidden meaning behind his question. Her foot, which had just started moving forward, stopped for a moment.
"How did you know it was me? Did I mess up my disguise somehow?"
"Hehe~ If you’re willing to waste time chatting with me about small details, I don’t mind telling you. But, little thief... are you sure you want to wait?"
"......"
Letting out a slow breath, the woman steadied herself, pushing away the invisible pressure he gave off, and answered frankly.
"It had nothing to do with Her Highness. A companion and I made that plan ourselves. We wanted to trip you up and limit your future moves in Sainz. But in the end, we were the ones outplayed. It was our mistake."
"I see... I knew it. There's no way my royal sister would come up with such a childish plan. You servants really are arrogant and foolish. Let me guess, today’s attack was also your idea, not Carinvega’s? If she wanted me dead, she would never have used such a clumsy, direct method."
Xiluo curled his lips into a mocking smile.
"How laughable... A fool caught between two lions, putting on a ridiculous show and thinking they're helping their master. My royal sister is amazing in every way, except she's too soft-hearted and spoils you servants too much."
He continued, “You know, all the things I do, acting and all that. It’s always seen as weird, dumb, and meaningless. But none of it has reached the point where it’s considered immoral. But you... I know all the shady stuff you've done all this time, but you all act so innocent, huh? And you still call me evil. Hahaha, haven’t you ever looked in a mirror? What would happen if your master knew about it?”
It seemed that his sharp, merciless words hit the woman’s most sensitive spot. Her pupils shrank violently, and her voice, no longer calm, was now filled with anger and frustration.
"Enough talking! You’re going to die here, Xiluo Frederick!"
She swung her raised arm downward sharply, like sending out a silent, deadly command. All the masked attackers around Xiluo immediately raised their weapons and charged forward without hesitation, slashing straight at him!
However...
"BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!"
Xiluo only raised his hand to grab his sword, and with one sweep of his arm, a terrifying blast of sword energy erupted like a huge tornado.
The violent force tore through all the attackers, sending them flying like broken dolls, smashing into the walls one after another, and falling to the ground without the strength to move.
With just a single move, Xiluo wiped out all the powerful fighters in the room, and he hadn't even stood up yet!
The leading woman was also hit by the sword blast, but she was clearly stronger than the others. She wasn’t seriously hurt right away, only thrown backward with a few cuts left by the invisible sword energy.
Covered in dust and looking quite battered, she stumbled to her feet, but the shock and confusion on her face were impossible to hide.
"You... how can this be...!?"
"How can this be...?"
Xiluo, who had casually unleashed that terrifying attack, didn't even bother to get up. In the now-destroyed room, he still sat calmly at the only table that hadn’t been broken, looking at the woman with cold, almost mocking eyes, like a lion looking down at an ant.
"That’s why I said, you’re just a lucky fool. If you hadn't gotten help from certain things by chance, you wouldn't even be qualified to stand in front of me."
"You think you're clever for setting up all these plans? Since you already figured out that my arrogance was just an act, did it never cross your mind that I might also be hiding my true strength?"