Chapter 4
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The Iron Maiden.
It was a title given to Valentia by the students of the Academy. It was a truly awful name to give to a woman—a name derived from the tool of torture originally used to persecute people in the old days.
It was an actual torture device, a coffin with blades embedded in the lining, crafted into the shape of a woman made of iron. If you were to put someone inside and close the door, the blades would mercilessly pierce them.
The blades inside were meticulously placed, meant to avoid any of the vital points on the victim, forcing them to die from the blood loss instead. Essentially, it was well known for being the cruelest of all torture tools. It granted upon others the shared fear of dying slowly, agonizing in the darkness.
There was no shortage of reasons why Valentia was given such a terrible name.
Part of it was due to her lack of social skills and the fact that she, after studying like crazy, dared to win first place at the Academy, beating out so many other high-ranking noble men and women.
A cold personality, low status, and inability to socialize with others were the perfect recipe to be ignored and shunned by the larger student body. And so she was given that nickname, one meaning that she was detestable in the eyes of others because she studied well.
But though she was hated enough at the Academy to earn such an awful name for herself, she didn’t mind.
Valentia headed off towards the Academy dining hall. Today’s lunch was set to be pork, battered and fried, coated with a sweet sauce, and a side of button mushroom soup and bread.
The dining hall at the Academy was quiet.
The taste of the food wasn’t bad, but the menu was rather ordinary. Some might even call it boring. As such, the noble students among the population who enjoyed things of the more gourmet variety never partook in the dining hall.
Instead, they often went to the cafes around the Academy, ones with a good atmosphere. For the most part, the dining hall was only really used by commoner students who entered the Academy through special admissions.
Commoners accounted for nearly half of the student body, but the dining hall was very large and there was no set meal time. It was always so quiet there.
It would be no exaggeration to say that Valentia was the only noble who used the dining hall on campus.
[Staff] “Is that you, Valentia?”
Valentia went to drop off her bag and once she walked up to them with her tray, the staff immediately recognized and greeted her.
[Valentia] “Yes. Hello.”
Valentia nodded as they poured some of the soup into the dedicated place on the tray.
[Valentia] “Oh, that’s too much.”
[Staff] “You have to eat a lot. You study so hard, so you have to remember to eat well. And be sure to come back before you go. I’ll sneak you some extra bread.”
[Valentia] “Yes. Thank you.”
She whispered so quietly that it could barely be heard.
[Staff] “Gosh, I don’t know how a student can be so kind and greet properly despite being a noble.”
[Valentia] “No, I really appreciate it.”
She quietly sat down, soaking the soft bread into the soup and eating it. The fried meat was crispy and not bad, either. At the very least, she was glad she could eat comfortably here.
Whenever she was at home, she felt like she was going to be sick. Though she had the same last name as a baron house, she wasn’t considered their family.
Valentia was the daughter of Baron Syner. Her father was alive and her mother was present, but she was not her blood-related mother. Her real mother died when Valentia was very young.
Their marriage was a rare one—one that came about from love. Apparently the love affair was one that made the Baron very anxious and excited at the time.
But that feeling was shallow. It did not last long and eventually disappeared completely. Shortly after their marriage, he found himself another woman.
That was around the time her mother got sick. She was always a frail woman, but looking back on things now, her disease was likely one that plagued her mental state.
The baron, Valentia’s father and her mother’s husband, had an affair after they were married. The woman in question was the daughter of a minor baron, and they were so brazen with it, that she would regularly come and go from their home with pride.
After her mother passed away at a young age, her father brought in the woman he had been having an affair with. That was her current stepmother.
With the dowry that her stepmother brought in, her father became rich and devoted all of his time to her. It was the first time since she was born that she’d seen her father show such a kind side of himself.
And now her father and stepmother even had children. They were the cornerstone that made up their happy family. Thanks to them, things were always friendly for them, though that hardly included her.
As soon as Valentia came of age, she entered the Academy. She liked it when she could study there because at least she didn’t have to think about anything else. Her plan was to graduate from the Academy with impeccable standing and then go work for a national institution.
It was common for noble women to still marry a man from a healthy family even after attending the Academy, but it was questionable whether or not her father and stepmother would attempt to marry her off.
There was no chance they would provide the money necessary for a dowry, which meant she was more likely going to be put up for marriage to an old nobleman. Because of that, Valentia studied like her life depended on it.
After finishing her meal, Valentia went to the bathroom and washed her hands. Then, when she reached for a handkerchief to wipe them off, she paused.
The handkerchief that was in her bag was not hers, so she had no choice but to wipe her hands using the provided paper towels.
It was occurring to her that she should maybe wash the handkerchief before returning it. Though, looking at it now, it wasn’t too dirty since it just fell in the grass. And moreover, he didn’t lend it to her, she merely picked it up, so she concluded that it would be too weird if she washed it before giving it back.
This wasn’t a good object to keep for too long. The owner of this handkerchief wasn’t a very good person, so she wanted to give it back as soon as possible and be done with it. Before the end of the day, if she could.
So, before returning to the barony, she would find the Prince and return this.
At the same time, while Valentia was far away in the dining hall, a particular set of rumors spread. But there was no one who spoke with Valentia who could tell her this.
She had no friends who could explain the unfairness of this situation to her. But even if she did, it would not have been of any use because she would not believe them.
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[—] “Lord Tex, did you hear the rumor?”
As soon as he was found, Tex replied to the racket in a leisurely manner.
[Tex] “What kind of rumor are we talking about? The rumor that the young miss of a count family was seen with a swollen face, skipping all her lectures before running home? Are you talking about that?”
Whether they were a man or a woman, anytime a fuss came his way, it always came back around to a single man—Lexus, the handsome Prince of the Empire.
And the reason why they asked him of all people was because Tex and Lexus had been friends since they were children…..although, it still remained to be seen whether or not the other person in question truly regarded him as a friend.
[—] “What, did they break up already? Why?”
[Tex] “Why the hell would I know that?”
[—] “No, wait. That’s not the problem. Something bigger happened!”
The rumors did not spread only among the female students. It wasn’t long before even the male students started to hear the rumbling.
Although equality was key at the Academy, cliques and factions started to form among those of the same gender, but the division between men and women was even greater. Even if a really interesting thing happened on one side, it did not immediately sweep through to the other.
But this rumor was spreading exceedingly fast. It was very contradictory that one of the people who was at the center of the rumor was one who did not attract attention.
[Tex] “What did you just say? Lexus has already decided on his next conquest?”
[—] “Yeah. The rumors are stirring up the entire Academy. And more than that……”
[Tex] “More?”
[—] “They say his target is the Iron Maiden herself.”
[Tex] “What?”
[—] “That’s why everything’s gotten so crazy. Ah, speak of the devil, the Prince is walking by. Call out to him, Tex. I think I’m gonna go insane, I’m so curious.”
But despite the clear line that was being drawn between the students, Lexus belonged to no single group. He could get along with everyone and everyone wanted to be close to him.
However, the only person who could actually get along well with him was Tex—the heir to the Duchy.
Standing up, Tex lightly jogged towards Lexus, who was walking with a frown on his face. Now he was really curious about this.
[Tex] “Your Princeliness.”
[Lexus] “What do you want?”
It was a short answer, but even now, Tex could see that Lexus was in a really foul mood right now.
[Tex] “What’s with the attitude? You seem extra cranky today.”
[Lexus] “It’s because I feel bad the second I see your face.”
Tex got quiet for a second.
He was confused about whether or not Lexus was just trying to cut back at him, or if he was messing around by saying he was ugly. But at least he could gather that he was indeed angry right now since he was not the type to call him ugly for no reason, even if he was merely objectively calling him ugly.
[Tex] “What’s up with your expression today, Prince? Did something bad happen?”
[Lexus] “It’s fine.”
[Tex] “What’s going on?”
[Lexus] “There’s nothing to know.”
Lexus was in a bad mood.
He was irritated that everyone kept ending up like this. The last woman he met up with under an agreement ended up falling in love with him and then claimed she was pregnant with his child.
He didn’t go off telling anyone that she brought up the word pregnancy in order to salvage the woman’s honor, but it was still an unpleasant experience.
[Tex] “Did you end things with that lady of the county already?”
[Lexus] “Yeah.”
[Tex] “Why, though?”
[Lexus] “Why do you need to know that?”
Surprisingly, he didn’t talk much about the women he spent time with. Other men who behaved in a similar fashion would go off to those social clubs meant only for men in order to flaunt their conquests and show off.
[Tex] “No, you’re right. I don’t need to know. But I’m curious to know if it’s true.”
[Lexus] “What’s true?”
[Tex] “I heard you already set your eyes on your next conquest.”
[Lexus] “What are you talking about? Speak in a way that’s actually understandable.”
[Tex] “Weren’t you planning on taking the Iron Maiden?”
And at the sound of something he’d never heard before, Lexus’ handsome and straight eyebrow crept up slightly.
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