Cecil Soladin.

If I had to sum this character up in one word, it would be “infuriating.” He’s the kind of person who uses his status and power to pressure others, only to get taken down later in a way that brings satisfaction.

Why? Because his personality stinks.

Having lost everything to the First Prince, he has an overwhelming sense of entitlement. He’s constantly compared to his younger brother’s intellect, so despite pretending otherwise, he’s deeply insecure about his knowledge. On top of that, he’s a staunch believer in physical strength, always claiming that warriors are superior to scholars and that fists are closer to justice than laws.

Cecil runs the extremes of bullying the weak and kowtowing to the strong. And the worst part? He’s a prince, so he feels completely justified in acting this way.

In most NPC storylines, Cecil shows up as an obstacle, especially in quests tied to either the Third Prince or First Prince. Once you get involved in his personal story arc, he becomes a full-blown antagonist. Sure, if you manage to reform him, he turns out okay, but until then, he’s more beast than man.

Thanks to the countless idiotic mistakes he makes, players call him “the idiot prince.” In fact, people rarely even added the word “prince” anymore. Just putting his picture under the word “idiot” was enough to rack up likes on the forums.

Personally, I never hated the guy that much. After all, he’s a beast in terms of strength. Who cares about his personality and all that evil stuff? From a player’s point of view, it’s all about how good the character performs.

But things are different when the game becomes reality.

In real life, personality matters more than stats. When he acts like a jerk, it has real consequences—especially for someone like me.

Given what I’ve seen so far, there’s a 100% chance my Mesugaki skill will make me call him “the idiot prince.” How do you think Cecil will react to that? It’s not going to be good, that’s for sure. If he were the type to laugh off an insult like that, he wouldn’t have earned his nickname in the first place.

“I approached you because I’ve taken note of your talents,” Cecil said, sounding pleased with himself.

Oh no.

How do I get out of this? I can’t open my mouth. Even if I choose my words carefully, Mesugaki will definitely make me call him an idiot. That’s what happened when I dealt with Arthur.

“The martial prowess you’ve inherited from the great Allen family is nothing short of extraordinary, and your intellect rivals even my brother’s. How could I not take notice?”

Thanks for the compliments, but no thanks. I’d really prefer not to be associated with you. If I stick around, I’ll end up calling you the idiot prince, and that’s a disaster I’d rather avoid. So, could you please spare me the, “Join me!” speech?

“That’s why I’m offering you a proposition. Would you consider serving under me?”

Gah! It’s over!

Child, what troubles you?

Grandpa’s voice echoed in my head, probably because he noticed my panic.

Oh right, I have Grandpa!

‘Grandpa! Help!’

What’s the problem?

‘You know how my blessing won’t let me say people’s names? If I open my mouth, I’ll end up calling this prince “an idiot”! How do I keep my mouth shut and escape?!’

I could usually handle things when it came to game mechanics, but this wasn’t one of those situations. If I end up committing lèse-majesté, my head will roll for sure!

That’s quite a predicament.

Grandpa sounded so calm, like it wasn’t even a big deal. But this is a big deal!

Give me an answer! Fast!

Child, would it be fine if this person ended up disliking you?

‘That would be perfect!’

It’d be even better if he hated me and wanted nothing to do with me. That would save me from accidentally calling him “the idiot prince.”

Then simply stay silent, bow politely, and walk away. If he tries to stop you, just ignore him.

‘Is that really okay?’

It is. He’ll interpret your actions in a way that benefits you.

Wait, what? He’ll interpret it…? How?

I didn’t fully understand what Grandpa meant, but he hadn’t been wrong about anything so far. So, I gave a polite nod to Cecil and turned to walk away.

Will he take this as a firm rejection?

“Hey!” Cecil called after me as soon as I took a step, but it wasn’t hard to dodge him. My Iron Wall skill alerted me to his attempt, and I smoothly evaded it.

Ignoring the grumbling behind me, I pushed through the crowd and sped up, eager to escape.

He’s not going to chase me, right? Please, just give up on me already! Why are you so eager to recruit a troublesome Mesugaki underling, you masochistic prince?!

*  

"Bold."

Cecil clenched his hand, staring at where Lucy had walked away.

"Very bold."

He had expected to be rejected. He knew Lucy Allen’s temperament well enough by now. After all, this was the same girl who had dared to disrespect his father, the king. Someone like her would never take orders from anyone.

She didn’t care about anyone’s approval. She moved through life as though she were the only one that mattered, as if she were the sky itself. Of course, she would refuse to serve under him. Cecil had predicted this outcome.

But that didn’t mean it didn’t irritate him.

Normally, if someone had refused him so publicly, Cecil would have flown into a rage, demanding how they could dare reject him. But Lucy Allen was different. To someone like Cecil, who divided the world into strong and weak, Lucy was someone worthy of respect, even if she humiliated him in front of the other students.

Even though his pride burned from the embarrassment, it was worth swallowing.

“Holden.”

Now far from the square and other people’s prying eyes, Cecil called for his most trusted subordinate.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“What do you think of Lucy Allen’s reaction?”

Holden, known for his keen strategic mind, didn’t answer immediately. After a thoughtful pause, he spoke.

“I don’t think it’s entirely negative, Your Highness.”

“How so? I was humiliated in front of everyone.”

“That may be true, but the opponent was Lucy Allen.”

Had it been anyone else, remaining silent in response to Cecil’s offer would have been a sign of firm refusal. But Lucy wasn’t just anyone. If she had truly despised the idea, she wouldn’t have hesitated to say so, spitting insults like she always did.

That she remained silent and even showed respect by bowing indicated that she acknowledged Cecil, at least to some degree.

“Just look at how she openly calls the Third Prince ‘the pathetic prince.’ Lucy Allen doesn’t hold her complaints inside.”

Cecil raised an eyebrow at Holden’s explanation.

“Could she really have considered this?”

“The Lucy Allen of old, who was little more than a troublemaker, might not have. But the current Lucy Allen, who has proven herself intellectually, is certainly capable of such consideration.”

Cecil nodded, satisfied with Holden’s reasoning.

“If what you say is true, then why did she leave without saying a word?”

“She likely needs time to think. She may not have been ready to give you an answer yet.”

Time to think, hmm?

Did that mean she was weighing him on the scales, comparing him to others before making a decision? Such arrogance! But Lucy had the talent to back it up. She was like a star, shining far above others.

“Very well. I’ll give her some time.”

But my patience is limited, Lucy Allen.

You’d better make your decision soon. If not, this lion will hunt you down.

*  

Thankfully, Cecil didn’t chase after me.

See, Grandpa’s advice is unbeatable! He’s the best when it comes to stuff like this. If only he didn’t nag me so much.

Having survived that massive crisis, I headed to the training grounds to find Joy and Frey. Only Frey was there, though.

Weird. Did Joy oversleep like me?

When I asked Frey, she explained that Joy had come earlier but left with Arthur to check the exam results again.

“They said they were going over the test answers.”

The answers? Why bother when the results are already out? Was something strange about the scores?

It’s possible. After all, Joy did place second in the academy exam. The Joy I know is usually in the ninth or tenth range because of all her dumb mistakes.

Arthur must be thinking the same thing, which is why he took her with him. I’m curious about how Joy managed to score second too. With my curiosity piqued, I said goodbye to Frey and started looking for the two of them.

After asking around for about ten minutes, I finally found them.

“How could you score higher than me with these kinds of mistakes?!”

I could hear Arthur’s voice, filled with disbelief.

“You messed up this part! And that part! And look at this! The calculation here is completely wrong!”

“Oh, you’re right.”

“‘You’re right’ isn’t good enough, dimwit!”

“But what does it matter? In the end, I scored higher than you.”

“Ugh. Ughhhh!”

Why is Arthur so worked up? Curious, I moved closer and saw Joy smiling brightly—a rare sight for her.

“Lady Allen! Did you see? I came in second in the academy exam!”

‘I saw it. It was surprising.’

“I saw. How did a dimwit like you manage to get second? Just how weak are the people below you?”

Arthur, not Joy, reacted to my Mesugaki-style comment. His face turned red as he clenched his jaw, barely containing his fury.

‘Arthur, why are you so mad?’

“Poor prince, are you feeling inferior? Losing to a dimwit must be tough. Huhu~ Pathetic~ Loser~”

“Shut up, Lucy Allen! I can’t accept this! There’s no way this dimwit, who made so many mistakes, should have beaten me!”

Wait, what?

So Joy didn’t stop being dimwitted. Then how did she get second place?

As I tilted my head in confusion, Joy smiled even more and said something that made my jaw drop.

“It’s all thanks to you, Lady Allen.”

Thanks to me? Why?@@novelbin@@

Could you explain that to me, please?