Chapter 7

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On Fridays, the Department of Administration had International Relations together with the Department of Knights.

Some people might wonder why knight cadets had to sit through a class like this.

The reason was simple.

Despite its impressive name, International Relations was essentially a course on the history, culture, and political situations of every nation on the continent.

And once they had learned about the major powers that divided the continent among themselves, the two departments would branch off into different focuses.

For the Administration Department: diplomacy.

For the Knight Department: war.

The Ciedel Royal Academy had originally been founded as a military academy to defend the capital against enemy armies and monsters. Since those days, this course had been one of the Knight Department’s required subjects.

About two hundred years earlier, when the Administration Department was established and large numbers of noble students were admitted, it became a shared course between the two departments.

It was, in its own way, a class with a long history and tradition.

For a course shared across departments, competition over grades was surprisingly fierce.

Not because it was mandatory, but because of Professor Keron’s recommendation letter.

Students aiming for careers as government officials were desperate to earn it. Only the top five students across all years in the Administration Department would receive Professor Keron’s recommendation.

Tislin ranked around fifth or sixth herself. If she worked a little harder, she could probably earn one.

But since she had no intention of becoming a bureaucrat, she wasn’t passionate enough to study even more for a recommendation letter she had no use for.

Unlike bureaucrats, who needed exams and recommendations, becoming a noble lord required little more than bloodline—or land obtained through marriage.

“…And that concludes our discussion of our nation’s protectorates: the Grand Duchy of Luxen, the Duchy of Seven, the Duchy of Blios, and the Duchy of Hort.”

“I told you there are no eternal allies in international relations. Even so, at present, these four nations can certainly be considered our allies.”

Reality wasn’t nearly that simple.

But Professor Keron had good reason to phrase it that way.

He wasn’t a citizen of Cassedy-Manorca.

He was from the Grand Duchy of Luxen.

If a professor from Luxen referred to the protectorates as vassal states, people might interpret it as Luxen expressing dissatisfaction with its relationship to Cassedy-Manorca.

Likewise, if he suggested relations between the protectorates and the kingdom weren’t always friendly, it could be taken as a hint that Luxen intended to break away.

Everything becomes a political statement.

Watching the familiar professor, Tislin thought cynically.

“Now that we’ve covered our allies, it’s time to discuss our enemy.”

The professor wrote a single word across the board in elegant handwriting.

Parparnan.

Even the arrangement of the letters seemed ornate and strangely exotic.

It was the name of the great empire that had dominated half the continent for centuries and ruled the north.

Even after the empire had fallen into corruption and become an enemy, the authority associated with its name had never completely faded.

“Parparnan.”

“Our enemy.”

“Not some imaginary nation chosen for military exercises, but the nation that has been at war with us for the past fifty years.”

There was an unmistakable sharpness in his voice.

Students who had been slouching lazily in their seats unconsciously straightened their backs.

“You may make mistakes among allies.”

“There is room to recover from mistakes among allies.”

“But mistakes made against an enemy can only be paid for with your life.”

“So among all the nations in the world, Parparnan is the one you must understand best.”

Without giving the students time to sigh, Professor Keron pinned a massive map onto the board.

It was the familiar map of the continent.

And yet…

It looked strangely unfamiliar.

Cassedy-Manorca, Ortus, Hallie, and Lingon—the countries everyone knew—had all been pushed to the bottom of the map, half hidden behind the lectern.

Instead, dominating the center were four enormous landmasses.

Parparnan.

“Parparnan is divided into the capital, Vamulus, and four administrative regions—east, west, south, and north.”

“Each region is governed by an imperial governor appointed by the Emperor, commonly referred to as a Duke.”

“This differs from the hereditary dukes you’re familiar with.”

“They may be actual dukes, higher-ranking nobles… or even commoners.”

The four dukes were well known.

Among them, the people of Cassedy-Manorca were most familiar with the Southern Duke.

Though he had died several years earlier.

“Each of Parparnan’s administrative regions—or ‘duchies,’ as they’re often called—is roughly equal in size to the entirety of Cassedy-Manorca, with an economy of comparable scale.”

“Some territories were conquered only after Emperor Hezra’s accession.”

“But even excluding those, there is no denying that Parparnan remains an overwhelmingly vast empire.”

He was stating facts.

Yet somehow it sounded like praise.

The conviction in the professor’s voice only reinforced that impression.

Pretending to stretch, Tislin glanced toward the back row.

Arkin Rudera sat there all by himself.

He didn’t even have a textbook on his desk. He was obviously just sitting there.

The seat beside him was empty.

Is Damian absent because of knight duties…?

…Not that it’s any of my business.

She forcibly dragged her attention back to the professor.

Professor Keron was from Luxen and had once taught Adelind.

He knew Tislin, Damian, and Arkin personally.

It would be awkward if he noticed her constantly glancing toward Arkin.

Fortunately, the professor seemed completely absorbed in his lecture.

He was always like this.

Nothing had changed since the days he taught Adelind.

He was still as strict as ever, insisting that recommendation letters only went to the top five students.

Tislin vaguely remembered Adelind crying because she didn’t want to attend his lessons.

About seven times.

Per week.

“Before the tyrant Hezra succumbed to madness, Parparnan was the undisputed center of the world and the empire that ruled half the continent.”

“Today, it is our greatest enemy.”

“No matter how many times I emphasize this, it will never be enough.”

“But I know full well that no matter how passionately I lecture, only those willing to listen will actually hear me.”

“So…”

Uh-oh.

“I’ve decided to assign you a group project.”

“It will replace your midterm examination.”

Only a month into the semester, and they were already getting a midterm replacement assignment.

Tislin let out a quiet groan.

Sierra, sitting beside her, lightly tapped the back of her hand.

“Together?”

“Obviously.”

They exchanged a practiced look before focusing on the professor again.

Tapping the map with his fist, Professor Keron continued.

“Parparnan is a nation with which we have virtually no contact.”

“The objective of this assignment is to understand what kind of country Parparnan truly is.”

A student from the Administration Department raised a hand.

“I have a question.”

“Go ahead.”

“What exactly are we supposed to analyze? Politics? Culture? Military affairs? Which aspect should we focus on?”

“All of them.”

“Research everything.”

“And write about everything.”

Wonderful.

The Administration students collectively fell into despair.

Only the Knight Department students blinked innocently.

“So… we can just write about whatever?”

“Naturally, each of you has different interests and areas of expertise.”

“If you wish to learn more through this assignment…”

Wait.

Don’t tell me…

“…it would be best to work with someone from another department.”

“You will work in pairs.”

“I’ve already assigned them.”

“Share your knowledge with your partner and complete the report together.”

Groans erupted throughout the lecture hall.

“The Knight Department students are always missing class because of military duties. Doesn’t that mean we’re basically writing the whole paper ourselves?”

Well…

That was certainly one concern.

The knight cadets probably had complaints of their own.

They at least knew something about Parparnan’s military and history.

Meanwhile, the Administration students knew next to nothing about warfare.

So the most important section would inevitably fall on them.

Discontent filled the room.

Professor Keron, however, looked positively delighted.

“Now then, your pairs are as follows…”

Apparently he had prepared them in advance.

He pinned a large sheet of paper beside the blackboard.

Administration students were listed first.

Knight Department students second.

Tislin searched for her own name.

There it was.

Tislin Ermiz.

Spelled perfectly.

And beside it…

Beside it…

Tislin Ermiz — Damian Xsanov

A neat line had even been drawn between their names to make sure there was no confusion.

Her head began to spin.

“Tis… what are you going to do?”

Even Sierra’s voice seemed distant.

Tislin squeezed her eyes shut.

How did this happen?

Of all times…

Right after their engagement had been arranged.

Right after they had talked about breaking it off.

The engagement itself was a private matter between the two of them.

But…

Did Professor Keron already know?

If the news had spread far enough for even Luxen nobles living outside the duchy to know…

Then even if they broke off the engagement, she would forever be known as Damian’s former fiancée.

No…

More likely…

He’s simply being considerate of Damian.

Of course, he could have been even more considerate by not assigning a project at all.

Apparently his goodwill toward Damian Xsanov didn’t extend that far.

Still, pairing him with someone he already knew so he wouldn’t feel uncomfortable…

What nonsense!

Even so, considering Damian’s busy schedule as a war hero of the allied nations, it wasn’t strange that the professor had paired him with someone familiar.

All around the classroom, students were already searching for their assigned partners.

It was probably a blessing that Damian wasn’t present.

Tislin let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Then…

Someone gently tapped her shoulder.

Startled, she spun around.

It was Arkin Rudera, subtly gesturing for her attention.

His red hair was just as messy as when she’d visited him before.

Silently mouthing the words, she asked,

“What about your partner?”

“We’ve already talked.”

“It’s not like we’re starting the assignment right now.”

At that, Tislin released a long breath.

Seeing her reaction, Arkin awkwardly ran a hand through his hair.

“Damian couldn’t come today because of work.”

“He didn’t skip on purpose.”

“I didn’t think he did.”

“Oh…”

Feeling embarrassed, Arkin looked around before adding,

“Anyway, he’ll be back tonight.”

“I’ll tell him about the assignment.”

“But you’ll still need to meet at least once.”

“I think it’d be better if you set the schedule.”

If she wanted to break off the engagement as soon as possible…

She had to meet him again anyway.

Convincing herself of that, Tislin nodded.

“I’ll arrange it.”

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* * *

Why did professors always assume students took only their class?

Starting with Professor Keron, every professor seemed to have been waiting to dump assignments on them.

Tislin spent the entire weekend buried in homework.

By the time she finished one assignment after another, thoughts of breaking off the engagement had been pushed halfway out of her mind.

“What about the International Relations project?”

“I ran into Irina and Kisha on the way to the library earlier. They were really worried about you.”

“Worried is a bit much…”

“I’ve more or less prepared.”

In reality, she’d only organized a rough outline.

Good thing I learned Parparnan.

Not for this assignment, of course.

Almost nobody at the academy could read the Parparnan language.

Perhaps nobody.

Why would anyone learn the language of a nation whose only contact with theirs consisted of war, espionage, smuggling, and kidnapping?

Simply being able to read Parparnan books already gave Tislin a huge advantage.

She had actually planned to visit Damian yesterday.

But the mere thought of walking into the Knight Department building made her heart race, so she’d given up and only worked on what she could do alone.

It was exactly the same route she’d taken when visiting Arkin.

Why was she suddenly so nervous?

Meanwhile, Sierra had finished her assignment yesterday morning.

She’d been supposed to go on a date in the afternoon with the Magic Department student she’d been introduced to before, but their project discussion had dragged on too long.

Since she’d postponed the date until the next day, apparently she hadn’t fallen for her Knight Department partner instead.

“Speaking of which, how was your date?”

“He wasn’t upset that you postponed it by a day?”

“Mmm… well…”

Sierra twirled a strand of hair.

Tislin immediately narrowed her eyes.

“Didn’t go well?”

“The guy Eden introduced wasn’t bad.”

“He just…”

“I don’t really feel like seeing him again.”

“So it didn’t go well.”

“He wasn’t a bad person.”

“He just wasn’t very charming.”

“But Tislin Ermiz…”

“Shouldn’t you be worrying about your own love life first?”

Caught completely off guard, Tislin quietly turned back to her assignment.

She scribbled furiously for a while.

Finally placing the last period, she pushed the paper aside.

“Oh! Finished?”

“This one, at least.”

There was no time to waste.

Stacking the library books she’d borrowed into a towering pile, Tislin stood up.

“Returning those?”

“Want me to come with you?”

“It’s fine.”

“It’s only a few books.”

Balancing the stack high enough to reach beneath her eyes, she headed toward the library.

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The academy library, located at the very center of campus, was packed with students working on assignments.

Most were Administration students.

Everyone was in the same situation.

There were plenty of Magic Department students too.

Half of them seemed like carefree eccentrics.

The other half were obsessive researchers who practically lived in the library and laboratories.

And Sierra somehow manages to drag those people out on dates.

Maybe I should’ve gone on a few dates before I got engaged.

She’d been secretly in love with Damian Xsanov for five years.

With her standards hopelessly set on him, she’d rejected every blind date Sierra had ever tried to arrange.

If they’d actually been dating, that would have been one thing.

But she’d refused them all over nothing more than an unrequited crush.

Had she known she’d end up engaged to him only to desperately try breaking it off…

She wouldn’t have been so stubborn.

“What are you thinking so hard about?”

“Dates…”

“Ah.”

The weight pressing against her arms suddenly vanished.

A hand lightly brushed her bare skin as it effortlessly lifted the towering stack of books away.

Tislin blankly raised her head after the books.

A familiar voice resonated quietly.

“…Dates?”