I Broke Off My Engagement and Got a Job at the Academy

chapter 85



85. The World’s Most Shabby Vengeance

When waging a public opinion war, there are a few things you must always remember.

The most representative of these is that ‘negative news always has greater power than positive news.’

And, with the help of Seris, the media outlets that conspired with me… were all good at provoking such anxiety.

[Eden Cainus, the creator of the ‘Gourmet’ magic, is actually a fallen noble who holds a grudge against the Emperor]

[‘The Emperor’s incompetence in not being able to properly lead even one of his subjects led to this situation.’ A senior member of the House of Peers’ bitter words toward the Emperor.]

Provocative headlines flooded the country, and people’s anxiety grew accordingly.

Even without that, for a wizard of my caliber, who is also a prominent figure in the Magic Tower academic world, it is normal for people to feel anxious when a scandal like this breaks out. However, what made this incident not simply a treasonous act by a single scholar, but a major event that could turn the nation upside down was the person I was involved with.

[The ‘Gourmet’ magic that was passed on to the Mines… Is there no possibility that it could be used for military purposes?]

Yes. The country I was invited to and even showed my face at an official event was none other than Architelos. In addition to being a country of mines, it is also a country that is wary of many countries due to its heterogeneous political system and unique isolation.

If this controversy had been in another country, there would have been some concerns for a while, but they would have died down soon. After all, the empire is the most powerful country in the world, and other countries are not targets of wariness for the empire’s people.

However, Architelos is different. While there is no disagreement that the Empire is the most powerful country in the world, there is some debate as to whether the Empire is the wealthiest country. Despite the size of the Empire’s economy, Architelos is ahead of the Empire in some indicators, such as the standard of living.

Even Architelos was notorious as a nation of mines. It was only natural that the reaction would be different from that of other nations.

To put it simply, if anxiety is a small spark, Architelos may have poured oil on it.

Of course, there are some media outlets that are friendly to the Emperor. However, they are basically lacking in numbers, and since they were late in reporting on me, I heard that they lack credibility on this topic.

Moreover, since my own family history had already been revealed through the newspapers, the persuasive power of the media supporting the emperor had also diminished.

[A fallen noble whose family was destroyed by the emperor… Takes revenge on the emperor’s faction]

…But because of that, Seris was looking at me with a worried look.

The reason was simple. My past self had suffered extreme pain and fear in my past, and because of that, I had gone so far as to hide my identity. However, she was worried about me because I had told the press about my family history that was circulated throughout the empire.

But, I looked at Seris like that and said.

“…It’s okay now. I can’t live forever fearing the past and burying it.”

After all, the past cannot be buried and avoided forever. Eventually, we will have to learn how to overcome the painful past and move forward.

I pride myself on having only just begun to learn to move beyond the past.

At those words, Seris, who had been looking at me with concern, finally nodded, as if she felt somewhat relieved. I looked into space.

…Yes. The past must be overcome. But that doesn’t mean we have to forgive our enemies.

I have stepped over the past and can now look forward. However, I have not forgotten my enemies. I no longer have nightmares about the terrible past, but instead, I have other dreams.

To make those who destroyed me and my father, and everything that made me, meet the same fate as my father. That is my dream.

As I thought about that, I remembered what Professor Cordelia had said to me.

‘If revenge is the goal of life, there will be nothing but emptiness after achieving it, so revenge should be an intermediate goal. In life, we need goals other than revenge.’

I thought about revenge for a moment, then shook my head and shook the thought away.

There is no need to think about what happens after revenge is completed.

The Emperor had been feeling that public opinion had been unstable recently. To be precise, it could be said that there was an air of unrest among the nobles who followed the Emperor.

The reason was obvious. It was Eden Cainus. It was the result he had created.

When the Emperor first learned of the nature of the ‘Gourmet’ magic, he thought that his era would be blessed with good fortune. If he could use it, the Empire’s military power would be incomparable to that of any other nation.

But now, I’m starting to think that maybe it was actually a misfortune.

The problem was that the one who created it was a successor of Cainus. In the first place, he was the one who had not even cared about it since the Cainus family had fallen. But why, of all people!

Objectively speaking, the Emperor’s actions towards the Cainus family were not something that could be considered gentlemanly. Of course, he had used the charge of treason to bring down the family, and for fear of a backlash, he had only demoted them to baronial status and confiscated their lands.

I thought that the nobles who lived and died for that alone would be completely ruined and that there was no need to worry about it. Was that arrogance? Something that was not firmly rooted out?

“Fuck, fuck!”

The emperor could not control his anger and broke the wine glass. Even the Duke of Irkali, who had clearly cooperated in burying Cainus, was shamelessly pressuring him together with the Cielline family. Although he wanted to reveal that the Duke of Irkali had also colluded with him, if the story behind it was revealed, it would be the end.

In the end, the only thing he could do was get beaten up by the nobles, including Duke Cielline.

In particular, Duke Cielline broke expectations and actively tried to pressure the royal family.

“We’ve already broken off the engagement, so what does that have to do with you, this whore!”

The Emperor and the Emperor’s faction were at a loss as to how to respond, as they had not expected that she would pressure the Emperor while defending her former fiancée.

The emperor, who had been groaning in such a situation, opened his eyes wide. His eyes were filled with madness.

“Yes, somehow, somehow, I just need to obtain that magical formula. Then, I can begin the war of conquest.”

After the war of conquest is over, it won’t matter what those b*stards say. He will already be the emperor who has achieved the greatest feat of all time, uniting the entire world.

He gritted his teeth and called the Moonlight Knights.

“Secure Eden Kainus’s safety. It doesn’t matter what the means are. It doesn’t matter if there are minor issues along the way. After all, once we obtain the technique, everything will be over.”

The Knights of the Moonlight knelt before their master, the Emperor.

“Your name!”

Ariel stared at the newspaper article. It was an article about Eden Cainers’ history.

There is no way an article like this could have come out without the author’s permission. In short, it was as if Eden had given permission to publish this article.

He decided to overcome his past and move on.

But what about himself? Even though he clearly knows it would be better that way, it is he, not Eden who experienced it all, who is still stuck in the past.

Clearly, she knows that she can’t hold on to the past forever. Even if she clings to the past, it will eventually change and become a mess.

Ariel had already felt it. Meeting people, eating, and falling asleep as if she was exhausted. Even as she went through her daily routine, she suddenly found herself getting used to not having Eden by her side.

But, even so, I feel like I am still stuck in the past, hesitating even though I have already felt it and known about it directly.

Leaving himself in the past, Eden chose to face the future alone. What should he do? What should he do?

Gradually, memories begin to fade. Memories of those times are gradually giving way to new ones.

And yet, isn’t that why you’re going crazy like this because you don’t want to lose that memory? And yet, aren’t you still remembering it?

For now, I just wanted to see his face.

I wanted to talk to him and tell him that I was wrong.

I wanted to feel the warmth I had received from him once again.

Ah, and yet – I come to realize that even the memory of that warmth is fading.

Ariel squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them again.

The only thing he can do now is to use his news to attack the Emperor, who started all this.

Yeah, right now he is… venting his anger.


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