Several ornate carriages were racing down the road in a line. Each was an identical luxurious six-horse carriage with the Toulouse ducal crest painted on the doors.
The Duke was heading to the Academy for a "parent-teacher conference" after hearing the news that his daughter Knightley had been beaten by a professor. He was furious—or perhaps "delighted" would be a better description.
The Duke hadn't been angry now, but rather when Knightley had fled to the Academy to escape her arranged marriage.
Currently, the Empire was divided into two major factions: the Noble Council that had traditionally ruled the Empire, and the opposing side consisting of commanders like the 2nd Princess who had achieved meteoric success during the Four-Year War, along with some minor nobles.
The former group had revealed their incompetence during the Four-Year War, causing their position to weaken considerably and putting them at a significant disadvantage against the latter faction.
At such times, internal unity was crucial, which was why the Duke had carefully selected a suitable family for Knightley's marriage. But she had run away to the Academy—specifically to the Special Mission Academy managed by the 2nd Princess, who stood on the opposite political side from him.
Initially, the Duke had tried to bring Knightley back, but he couldn't. The Academy had responded that, in principle, it was impossible to expel a student due to external intervention. The Duke firmly believed this was the 2nd Princess's scheme.
He thought she intended to hold noble children hostage to weaken their families' power. It was particularly troublesome timing, as some nobles were already showing signs of defection from the traditional power structure by sending their children to the Special Mission Academy.
But now the situation had changed. As a parent, he planned to strongly protest the professor's assault on his student and bring Knightley home. That's why he was delighted rather than angry.
No matter how "special" the mission academy claimed to be, if they refused to release Knightley even under these circumstances, the Noble Council would surely rise up in protest.
After stepping out of his carriage, the Duke immediately began berating the unsteady-looking Dark Elf Principal with all his might—or rather, he was in the middle of doing so.
Suddenly, some fellow inserted himself between the Duke and the Principal, greeting him as "Commander." How dare he! Who does he think he is? Does he know who I am?
But when the Duke recognized the man's face, his body went cold with shock, rendering him speechless.
That man... Lieutenant Dian?!
The Duke's connection with Lieutenant Dian began during a desperate situation when the noble military coalition, led by Duke Toulouse, was retreating after a devastating defeat.
The Duke remembered that moment all too vividly.
The noble army's front line had collapsed against the Demon King's forces due to the incompetent noble commanders' repeated blunders. They were fleeing chaotically toward the rear, but they had already been caught and were continuously losing troops.
Two young officers visited the nobles' temporary camp as they stood with their backs against the wall.
They introduced themselves as members of some unit from some department in the Empire, saying they had come to carry out a special mission.
That mission was tracking the White Dragon Hindrasta, a major headache on the frontlines.
They had been searching for it since it mysteriously disappeared a month ago, and rushed here after hearing it had recently reappeared.
"What's the connection between Hindrasta's appearance and your coming here?"
"Hindrasta is lying in ambush along the nobles' retreat route. You should change your course."
At first, Duke Toulouse and the commanders didn't believe them. They even dismissed it as an imperial plot to weaken the Noble Council during this chaotic situation.
"You're free to think that way. If we just left you alone, it would be a perfect opportunity to annihilate the Noble Council's private armies. Why would we bother giving you this information?"
Lieutenant Dian shrugged.
"You can continue leading your troops with the same arrogance and stubbornness you've shown throughout the war, straight into the dragon's jaws. It makes no difference to us."
The already on-edge commanders grew furious and drew their swords, but the young officers didn't even flinch.
"Lieutenant Dian, was it?"
Duke Toulouse spoke up.
"Fine. Let's say Hindrasta is lying in ambush. But as you said, why would an imperial special unit help us?"
"I was against it, actually. But this friend here said that would be inhumane."
Lieutenant Dian pointed to the tall, handsome Lieutenant Linus with blond hair and blue eyes standing beside him.
"A justice devotee, you know? So rigid that he has to act according to his beliefs to feel satisfied."
Lieutenant Dian chuckled while Lieutenant Linus stared at him with a stern expression. What was with those two?
"Anyway, change your route. We've given you fair warning."
After the two officers left, the commanders fiercely debated the matter. In the end, they decided to change their route.
They needed to retreat anyway, and Duke Toulouse, having seen the look in those officers' eyes, decided to trust them.
The next day, their words proved true.
As the noble army was bypassing the valley where Hindrasta was supposedly lying in ambush, they suddenly felt the ground shake and heard an indescribably terrible roar.
Looking back, they glimpsed enormous wings flashing between the valley walls and terrifying flames shooting upward. Boom! Boom! KRAAAAAAAH!!
Everyone was stunned and flattened themselves against the ground. Moments later, they saw the White Dragon's massive body rapidly rising above the valley. Its normally white skin was stained with soot and blood.
As Hindrasta fled over the noble army, red blood rained down upon them.
Duke Toulouse still couldn't forget that day.
After extensive inquiries, he discovered that one of those officers was Linus, who later became the Hero of the Continent who killed the Demon King. The Duke wanted to reward him generously, but Linus refused.
So he tried to find the whereabouts of the other officer, Dian, but to no avail. No one knew where he had gone.
The Duke had wanted to repay his life debt if they ever met again, and now, unexpectedly, they were meeting at this Academy.
# # # # #
"Why are you here, Dian?"
"It's a long story. For now, let's go inside. The other professors are busy."
"What? Haha, right! Let's go in!"
The Duke entered the Principal's office along with the Principal and Ismera, the Head Professor of Theory, an elf.
Even as tea was being served, the Duke didn't spare a glance at the Principal and continued talking with Dian. He seemed to have forgotten about Knightley already.
"Head Professor of Combat? Impressive! Yes, that's the perfect position for someone like you."
"Thank you, Your Grace. Though I didn't come here by choice—I was dragged here."
Seeing our friendly interaction, Kirrin tilted her head in confusion, while Ismera quietly bit her lip. I didn't miss that.
After remaining silent for a moment, Ismera changed her expression to a smile and spoke.
"It's wonderful to see you two enjoying your reunion. I'm sure you'd be even happier to see your daughter."
"Huh? Daughter? Ah, right. That's why I came."
The Duke cleared his throat, finally remembering that he had come because of Knightley.
"Principal Kirrin."
"Eek! Y-yes!"
Principal Kirrin straightened her back with a startled squeak.
"I recently heard that some madman thoroughly beat my daughter."
"Ah, th-that..."
"No matter how short its history, this is an Academy officially recognized by the Empire. How could such an outrageous incident occur?"
Kirrin looked like she was about to cry, and Ismera patted her shoulder. However, there was a barely perceptible smile on her lips.
"I'll explain that matter, Your Grace."
Ismera spoke while comforting the trembling Kirrin.
"Recently, the Academy has greatly revised its combat education methods. Principal Kirrin approved a plan to make training more practical. There seems to have been some minor discord in the process."
Oh, look at that. Not the hitting mother-in-law but the intervening sister-in-law. She's planning to place all the blame on Kirrin.
"So, who is this person who hit my daughter? A professor? An assistant? Or a fellow student? Whoever it is, how dare they touch a member of the Toulouse ducal family..."
"Ah, about that. That was me."
I spoke with a laugh, and the Duke stared at me blankly.
"Dian, you hit my daughter?"
"Yes, Your Grace. We decided that the most outstanding student would duel directly with a professor and receive appropriate bonus points. Your daughter naturally ranked first, but for some reason, they designated me instead of the subject professor. With so many eyes watching, I couldn't really go easy on her..."
"Then she deserved it!"
When the Duke suddenly shouted after listening quietly to my explanation, Kirrin jumped in shock, and even Ismera flinched.
"Well done, Dian! That's right! How can noble children learn properly if they're always given special treatment? This is actually a good thing!"
The Duke laughed heartily, slapping his knee.
"I was planning to destroy this place if it was some incompetent nobody, but to think you're teaching Knightley. It's better to let her continue attending this Academy."
"Thank you for your understanding, Your Grace. Though as Head Professor, I don't teach her directly..."
"Please take good care of our Knightley from now on, Dian."
The Duke grabbed my hand warmly and shook it. Sigh, I've accidentally been mistaken for something like a homeroom teacher.
But seeing Kirrin wiping her cold sweat and sighing deeply with relief, I found it difficult to correct the misunderstanding right away, so I just smiled and nodded.
# # # # #
"Farewell, Your Grace."
"Take care, Dian. I'll visit again soon. Let's have a proper conversation then."
The Duke leaned his upper body out of the carriage window, waving as he departed. And there was Combat Head Professor Dian, waving back.
Watching this, Ismera bit her lip.
This wasn't the scenario she had expected. She had anticipated the Duke would turn everything upside down at the Academy, and the imperial court would promptly dismiss Kirrin and promote Ismera, her deputy, to Principal.
"What's wrong, Professor Ismera?"
"Hm? What do you mean?"
When Dian suddenly addressed her, Ismera hurriedly changed her expression and smiled.
"Nothing. You looked a bit unwell. Are you feeling alright?"
"I'm fine. I'm only human—I was just a bit nervous about Duke Toulouse's visit."
"Is that so? Oh no, Principal!"
As Ismera quietly turned and walked away, Dian caught the Principal, who was collapsing with her hand on her forehead.