I’m the Slit-Eyed Character at the Academy, but I’m not the Mastermind
Chapter 359

Nade’s chilling command to sever the child’s arm.

An absurd order—but the knights didn’t seem to think so.

They forced Adel to his knees, holding both of his arms in an iron grip.

“Young Master, he is just a child, too young to understand the ways of the world. Please, show him mercy.”

“If I let something like this go, the honor of nobility will be trampled. I cannot allow this to set a precedent that may harm other nobles.”

The villager’s plea was dismissed without a second thought.

No one else dared to argue further.

A noble’s right to punish their subjects was an undeniable reality in this world—it was the power of their rank and the authority of a lord.

“This will serve as a lesson to the other children as well. Don’t you agree, Teron?”

Nade’s smirk deepened.

One knight restrained Adel’s torso, while another grabbed hold of his right hand and stretched it out.

A child’s delicate, slender arm was fully exposed.

“Let go! I said let go!”

The sudden, makeshift execution drew murmurs from the students and instructors.

“Shouldn’t we stop this?”

“…It’s beyond our authority. He’s the baron’s son.”

“Yeah. A small barony like this wouldn’t have an elder council or administrators.”

“If he were going to kill him, maybe we could intervene, but this…?”

“A second-in-command with absolute power… This is a mess.”

The instructors and students murmured amongst themselves.

There was no one willing to step in.

No one who could help.

Adel’s arm was seconds away from being cut off.

If only—

‘If only Teron wasn’t here.’

Behind Nade stood the protagonist of this game, Alex.

Just as Alex moved to place a hand on Nade’s shoulder, someone grabbed his wrist and shook their head.

It was Teron.

‘Leave this to me.’

I couldn’t hear his voice from where I was standing.

But I recognized the lip movements.

Because I had seen this scene countless times before.

“Ahem…”

Teron cleared his throat.

His voice wasn’t too loud or too soft—just the right pitch to reach most of the ears around him.

“But if it were me, I wouldn’t handle this in such a way. This is the approach of an amateur.”

“…What?”

“This is merely the childish prank of a foolish young boy. At times like this, one should show forgiveness and generosity. That would bring you far greater honor. If anything, it’s a shame. Had the egg actually hit you, the scene would have been even more dramatic.”

Nade’s expression twisted in an instant.

And this time, Teron was the one smirking.

Neither could see the other’s face from where they stood—

But they both knew exactly what kind of expressions they were making.

Nade had sought Teron’s approval for a reason.

By borrowing the name of a high noble, he aimed to justify his actions and share the burden of responsibility.

It wasn’t just about maintaining favor with the villagers—

If things went south later, mentioning Teron’s agreement would lessen his punishment.

After all, Teron’s family—the Vyuern—was one of the Eight Pillars of the Empire.

If Nade could say, “Teron also agreed at the time,” then even if he was blamed, the consequences would be softened.

He had been aiming for public opinion control and precautionary damage control—

And he tried to achieve both by invoking Teron’s name.

But—

‘Teron just flipped it right back on him.’

No, more than that.

Not only had he effortlessly countered Nade’s move, but he also used this moment to educate an incompetent noble while simultaneously elevating his own reputation.

For quite some time, Teron’s name would now be spoken among the villagers, merchants, knights, students, and instructors alike.

With words like—

“That day, Teron stepped forward and saved a poor child.”

‘Politics among nobles really is terrifying.’

Every word, every action—each one carried hidden traps.

Over the years, I had fallen for countless wordplays and manipulations from noble characters while playing this game.

To an outsider, it might seem like Nade had simply acted foolishly.

But it wasn’t that simple.

“Teron really is impressive.”

“Agreed. I thought there was no way to stop this from happening.”

“This time, I have to admit, Teron did something worth praising.”

“…He’s not an easy opponent.”

Even Yuridia and Victoria—who usually carried themselves with such confidence—were repeating “What do we do now?” in a state of panic.

Yet Teron had single-handedly defused the entire situation.

It meant that, in terms of political maneuvering, he was far ahead of his peers.

He was probably already as skilled as most Counts.

In the end, Nade’s mistake was underestimating Teron because of his age.

‘Though, there is another reason Nade looks down on Teron.’

But that wasn’t important right now, so I set it aside.

“…Let him go.”

Now that Teron had dismantled his plan, continuing the punishment would only damage Nade’s image.

The knights immediately released Adel at his command.

“Thank you for your wise guidance.”

Nade expressed his gratitude toward Teron—

Though his lips trembled slightly as he spoke, betraying his anger.

Teron, of course, pretended not to notice.

“What is your name?”

“…Adel.”

“I see. Adel, do not do this again. You should be grateful for Nade’s generosity.”

“Generosity, my ass!”

“By the way, I’m curious—why did you throw the egg? And why a rotten one, at that?”

Teron knelt on one knee, meeting Adel’s gaze.

On the surface, he looked like a noble who kindly bent down to listen to even a child.

But in reality, he was nothing more than a hyena, sniffing around for scraps he could take for himself.

Nade, realizing this, strode forward.

“It’s nothing. Children will be children.”

“Don’t treat me like a kid!”

“At least listen to what he has to say first. So? What exactly is your complaint?”

“You need to properly investigate the kidnappings! Dolores is in danger!”

Teron flinched.

This was a tricky subject, even for him.

Right now, we were pretending to be nothing more than tourists.

Under these circumstances, even Teron couldn’t act recklessly.

“I heard about it. Wasn’t it just an elopement?”

“That’s ridiculous! It was obviously a kidnapping! And it was carried out by corrupt knights!”

“…What?”

Teron’s gaze shifted toward Nade.

Knights, the culprits behind a kidnapping? That was completely unheard of.

“It’s just a child’s wild imagination. Knights, who value honor above all, committing such a crime… It’s unthinkable.”

Nade hurriedly tried to dismiss the claim.

But Teron wasn’t looking at him anymore.

Instead, he seemed to be considering the possibility that he could be the one to resolve this incident.

If he could handle this situation himself, it would be the perfect opportunity to raise the dwindling influence of the Teron faction.

“Your name is Adel, correct? Do you have any proof? Any evidence that knights were involved?”

“There have already been five kidnappings! And they haven’t taken any real action! They’re not even trying to find the missing people! Why do you think that is?”

“…Because they’re the ones responsible for the kidnappings?”

“Exactly! See? It’s so much easier talking to someone as smart as me!”

A string of disappearances.

The fact that the knights had been suspiciously passive lined up with the testimonies from the villagers and merchants.

However—

“…That’s not enough to be considered proof.”

“What? Why not?!”

“Because it’s just speculation.”

“T-Then what about the people who keep disappearing? What’s the reason for that?!”

“They probably left to find work elsewhere. People abandoning their hometowns is a common occurrence all across the Empire.”

“That’s your speculation! And even if that were true for the others, Dolores would never do that! She wouldn’t just leave without saying anything to her family!”

Teron pretended not to hear him and stood up.

He had decided there was nothing else of value to gain from this conversation.

The possibility that knights were involved had been brought up, but the likelihood was low.

Why would knights—who already had stable positions—risk everything to commit kidnappings?

“Could it be that they all made a pact with demons?”

“That’s impossible.”

Victoria responded.

“If that were the case, there wouldn’t be a single person left in this village.”

A contract with a demon required a constant supply of sacrifices.

But so far, only five people had disappeared.

At most, that suggested one contractor—two, if they were stretching the limits.

“Bickerd hasn’t been on duty for days! What’s he even doing in the middle of the night?!”

“He’s on a special assignment.”

“A special assignment? What kind of assignment?”

“There’s no obligation to tell you that. But more importantly… how do you know Bickerd’s schedule?”

Nade’s gaze turned icy, making Adel instinctively shrink back.

“Pjol, it seems there’s been a security breach. If even children can get access to this information… Don’t you think that’s a problem?”

“…My apologies. I will take immediate action.”

Sometimes, a single piece of evidence could be powerful.

But more often than not, the true strength of evidence lay in accumulation.

Unfortunately for Adel, the duty roster he had obtained was the latter—an accumulation of small clues rather than a smoking gun.

In other words, he had just incriminated himself.

“N-No! Say something! Aren’t knights supposed to give honest counsel to their lord?!”

“…The lord and the young master are both doing their best. So wait patiently.”

“How could you say that?! Dolores adored you!”

Adel’s voice trembled slightly.

His desperate plea—laced with tears—

But it didn’t reach Pjol.

He simply turned his back on him, pretending he hadn’t heard a thing.

“My apologies, Teron. Since there are so few children in this village, they all seem to have grown quite close. That’s likely why they’re struggling to accept reality.”

“A tragic situation. I now understand why Nade reacted as he did earlier.”

Around them, students and instructors began exchanging opinions.

Most of the conversation revolved around praising Teron and justifying why Nade had been so irritable before.

It seemed like the egg-throwing incident was coming to a close.

That was—

Until the vice-captain of the Trash Sprout Defense Squad, Whale, loaded another egg into a slingshot and shouted.

“You evil bastard! Take this! My ultimate Rotten Egg Attack!!”

Thwip!

With a sharp twang, the egg shot through the air.

Its target was clear.

“Young master!!”

Pjol threw himself in front of Nade.

But—

The egg never reached Nade.

Nor did it hit Pjol.

“How amusing. A cute little toy.”

The one who intercepted it was none other than Bickerd, the knight with anger issues.

He caught the egg effortlessly in mid-air.

Then, with a simple flick of his arm—

Smack!

“Guh—!”

Whale staggered back as the egg splattered across his face.

Black liquid dripped down his cheek.

“Ugh… Urrgh! Ptoo! Ptoo!”

“Did you really think such a childish prank would work on a knight? How utterly adorable.”

Catching the egg midair was impressive enough, but to catch it without breaking it?

As expected, knights in this world were beyond human limits.

‘Monsters.’

If there was ever a fitting term to describe them, that would be it.

Maybe I’d just been spoiled after seeing abnormal cases like Lucia, Caron, and Adonis—

But even these knights were more than qualified to be called monsters.

“Take both of them.”

Nade ordered.

“Nade, sir…”

“Don’t worry. I won’t punish them. But they do need to understand how dangerous their actions were.”

“…As you command.”

A few knights grabbed Adel and Whale, dragging them away.

Luna stomped her foot in frustration—

But standing beside her, I felt nothing.

‘The story is proceeding as planned.’

Oh, right.

A major hint had just been revealed a moment ago.

I wonder if anyone had picked up on it.

–TL Notes–

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