Chapter 55: Why Does My Reputation Keep Getting Worse?

A new week began.

On Monday morning, Will took the first half of the day off to personally purchase a magical tool designed to analyze the materials of royal seals. This particular tool could identify the source of communication within the royal family. However, since it involved the royal family, such items were only available on the black market.

Fortunately, thanks to his knowledge of the original story, Will had anticipated dealings with the royal family. The protagonist, Hugh, had used this very tool in the original plotline. Leveraging a small portion of the Hysterm family’s connections, Will had already established a line to acquire it.

When the time came, all he had to do was contact the right people to get what he needed.

The result was a small vial of black powder. Supposedly, the powder would change color depending on the composition of the wax seal, revealing its origin.

“I’ll test it out tonight.”

Of course…

Will found the existence of such a tool to be a bit absurd!

Why would the royal family use a seal that could be identified by outsiders? And why would they continue using it for so long? Wouldn’t it be ridiculously easy for their secrets to leak?

But upon studying the royal family’s history, it all made perfect sense.

Because… this method was never meant to leave the royal family in the first place.

The kings of Entark had always been prolific breeders, producing numerous offspring in every generation. However, instead of the traditional system of primogeniture, the Entark monarchy relied on the king’s will to determine the successor.

Two hundred years ago, the reigning king found himself unable to control the infighting among his children. Letters and intelligence flew back and forth, spies and traitors were everywhere. The problem was so chaotic that even the king himself couldn’t figure out who was writing to whom or which nobles belonged to which faction.

As king, he didn’t necessarily oppose the infighting. In fact, he enjoyed the spectacle and used it to identify the most cunning and resourceful child to succeed him.

But…

When even he couldn’t decipher the schemes of his own children, he felt like a failure as a ruler.

So, after acquiring a material from a dungeon that could be used in wax seals for identification, the king decreed that all royal communications must use this material. Any letter sent without it would lose its legitimacy as a royal document.

He distributed different materials to his children for identification purposes, allowing him to monitor their relationships and abilities while reducing the risk of outside espionage.

And then…

This system…

Was never updated in two hundred years due to royal complacency and laziness!

Two centuries ago, only the king knew how to interpret the materials and identify the senders.

Two centuries later, the method was widely known on the black market, with regular updates on which material corresponded to which royal branch. Yet, as a matter of tradition, no prince or princess dared to bypass the system for fear of losing their legitimacy.

This perfectly illustrated the Entark royal family’s decline…

A lineage of prolific kings, children embroiled in severe power struggles, and a two-century-old, decaying system.

The Entark royal family was like a candle flickering in the wind.

Ready to topple with the slightest push.

If Will didn’t know he’d have future dealings with the royal family, he wouldn’t have bothered stepping into this mess.

That’s right, the royal family’s “mess” was more like a “swamp.”

“Speaking of which, today’s my first official day as a member of the elite class. I wonder if my classmates’ opinions of me will change now that they know about my high practical exam scores?”

Will pushed open the classroom door.

His seat was still in the corner of the room, and his desk was spotless. Thanks to Leah’s intervention, no one dared to vandalize it anymore.

But…

Uh…

Why…

Why were all the other desks moved a meter away from his?!

The classroom didn’t have many students to begin with. Unlike his previous school, where desks were crammed together, here, students could space out their desks as much as they wanted.

Previously, his seat was a bit isolated, but at least there were people in front and to his right. Now, everyone had shifted their desks closer together, leaving a wide berth around him.

“Uh… what’s going on here?”

Should he ask someone?

He turned to the blonde girl chatting nearby—the same enthusiastic noblewoman who had avoided him on the first day.

“Excuse me, could you tell me what—”

He tapped her shoulder.

“!?”

She jumped as if she’d seen a ghost, scrambling back to her seat while shouting:

“Ahhh! Don’t come near me! I-I-I’m sorry! Don’t come after me! I didn’t do anything!”

“Eh?!”

“That’s him! The super-violent Will who brutally punished Felix during the practical exam is here!”

—It wasn’t punishment, okay? Sure, I baited him, but he challenged me first!

“I heard he beat Felix for a full ten minutes, making him beg for mercy before letting him go!”

—The match lasted ten minutes, and I only punched him once!

“The scariest part is that even our homeroom teacher, Miss Leah, succumbed to his tyranny and fell asleep in his arms on the field!”

—Leah ran over and fainted on her own!

“Oh, and I heard he often takes Miss Leah to dark hallways to do unspeakable things.”

—Uh… well, that one’s a bit…

“Someone stayed late cleaning one night and saw him coming out of Miss Leah’s lab, disheveled!”

—That’s because the experiment materials exploded!

Alright.

Will understood now.

In his quest to surpass bullying, he had become synonymous with it.

Not… not that it was entirely bad?

It’s fine. Changing people’s impressions is easier than starting out as the bullied one. At least this way, he wouldn’t end up locked in a cold storage room again.

He sat down and scanned the room.

Felix’s seat was empty, and even his belongings had been cleared out. His suspension had ended, but judging by the state of things, he had likely dropped out of the elite class altogether.

As for Belle, the red-haired green tea girl, her belongings were still there, but she was absent. Will remembered her as a diligent student who usually arrived twenty minutes early. It seemed the recent events had hit her hard enough to skip class.

The third member…

Hunter.

He was the only one from the trio who had returned to class after his suspension. However, he had moved from his previous seat behind Belle to another corner of the room.

What, was he trying to emulate Will and become the “corner king”?

As Will observed, he noticed Hunter glancing back at him. Their eyes met, and Hunter’s gaze was sharp, almost menacing.

Then Hunter pointed at himself and then at Will.

“Hmm… does he want something from me? This feels ominous…”

Class wasn’t long. As soon as it ended, Will and Hunter exchanged glances before exiting through different doors, meeting up in a secluded hallway.

Will looked up at Hunter, who was a head taller than him and exuded a brooding aura. His blue hair partially obscured one eye, making him look particularly intimidating.

“What’s up? Your stare earlier was… kind of scary.”

“I…”

Hunter bowed deeply.

“I need to thank you.”

“Wait, why does that sound so sarcastic?”

“No, I’m serious. You helped me see Belle’s true colors. Otherwise, I would’ve wasted years on her.”

Will thought, This guy’s surprisingly mature. Even after being betrayed by his childhood friend, he’s recovered quickly and is facing life head-on.

“It was just a coincidence. No need to get so worked up.”

“You also showed me a new path. Women are unreliable. Only by serving a wise leader can one achieve their ideals and go further, higher, and steadier.”

“So your ‘wise leader’ is…”

“Exactly! Lord Will, please accept me as your follower! I’ll do whatever you command!”

“Your grand ambition is to be a follower?!”

Will rubbed his forehead.

Well, this was an unexpected bonus.

Hunter didn’t even have a name in the original story, let alone any detailed description. As someone outside the book’s control, he’d be less bound by fate.

He could be useful for gathering information Will couldn’t obtain himself… or something like that.

“Also, Lord Will.”

“Don’t call me that. You’re taller than me; it’s weird.”

“I’ve brought you… information left behind by Felix.”

Hunter spoke calmly.

How had he betrayed his former boss so quickly? This guy couldn’t be trusted!

“Actually, Felix did have someone backing him. While they didn’t provide much power or resources, they seemed to be manipulating or guiding him.”

“What? Hmm… let me guess. Was it an upperclassman, maybe two years ahead of us, with slicked-back blonde hair?”

Will recalled the suspicious figure he had seen during his practical exam—the only person who had caught his attention.

“That’s him. Impressive, Lord Will. You already suspected.”

“What’s his identity?”

“The second son of the Branton family, a rival of the Hysterm family.”