Four people were now sharing the duke’s carriage that had previously carried only one.
Lowell, Pleche, Duke Zeppelin, and his knight sat together.
“Thanks for the hospitality. I really thought we’d be stuck camping outside again today.”
“It’s fine.”
“The carriage is nice. Having money really is the best, you know. Don’t you think so?”
“It is.”
Lowell kept trying to make conversation.
Duke Zeppelin, however, barely answered.
He was always the quiet type, so it wasn’t strange.
‘Ugh! I knew he was a rock, but this is too much, isn’t it?’
A man who valued face and propriety above all.
The exact opposite of Lowell, who was basically a walking disaster.
Because of that, Lowell never liked getting involved with him.
Normally she wouldn’t even have tried to hitch a ride. But this time…
‘I got curious.’
Why would a man who cares so much about appearances be using a mountain road?
She wanted to know.
Lowell had learned directly from Caron that information was power, so she had no intention of wasting this opportunity.
“Anyway, we were really lucky to run into you. By the way, what brings you out here, Duke?”
“Official business.”
“Ah, so it’s about the top-tier magic stones, right?”
“Yes.”
“But that’s weird. This road doesn’t go toward Trash Village.”
Just as Lowell said, the carriages were headed in the opposite direction.
She knew it for sure because it was the way they’d walked from.
“News travels slowly. Annwood Academy will own that mine for the time being.”
“Huh? Then the person in charge is…”
“Principal Dwener.”
That incompetent principal was in charge?
Lowell was briefly shocked, then slowly shook her head.
Because she remembered who stood behind him.
‘Duke Aziz of House Herizeus.’
The man who rose as a new Pillar in place of House Lester.
And the one who’d helped him rise from count to duke and become that new Pillar was…
The very man sitting in front of her, Duke Zeppelin.
‘So in the end, House Vyuern gets its hands on the new mine too.’
The power of those two houses would soar even higher.
Her questions were all answered, and once her curiosity faded, Lowell’s attitude went back to normal.
She rested her chin on her hand and watched the scenery outside the carriage.
Pleche tapped the back of her hand with a fingertip.
Lowell opened her palm, and his finger drew shapes across it.
‘Mining rights, Annwood Academy, supplier not decided, competition between houses encouraged?’
Lowell digested the new information and gathered her thoughts.
‘So is this some staged performance—pretending it’s fair competition while they quietly monopolize the mine? Or…’
Had Dwener rebelled?
The odds of that were low. He was absurdly incompetent, and besides, Duke Aziz was the one who’d installed him as principal of Annwood Academy.
But if… it actually was true?
Lowell’s lips curled into a crooked smile.
“Then why do you look so grim?”
Almost like—
“As if you’re heading over there to punish someone.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She tried poking him a little, but he really was a rock.
She got nothing useful.
‘What did Caron say again? If you want to pull information out of someone, target their personality?’
Lowell recalled what she knew about Duke Zeppelin.
The Fist King, an 8-star knight, the financial backbone of the East, patriarchal, merit-first, and so on.
‘The interesting thing is he treasures talent.’
Scholars, knights, officials, merchants, craftsmen, even artists.
But especially outstanding warriors.
Maybe because he’d once walked the path of a warrior himself, before he got busy developing his territory.
‘There’s even that rumor: if you can knock the coat off his shoulders, he’ll acknowledge you.’
Duke Zeppelin draped his coat across his shoulders like a cloak and never actually wore it.
That was probably how such a ridiculous rumor started.
‘Hmmmmm.’
She racked her brain, but that was as far as she got.
She couldn’t figure out what Duke Zeppelin and Duke Aziz were scheming together.
‘In that case… use information only you know.’
Caron’s teaching. But Duke Zeppelin’s intelligence network was formidable.
The only somewhat useful information she had was—
“Come to think of it, your son goes to Annwood Academy, right? Teron, wasn’t it? He’s got potential, so he stuck in my head.”
“…He’s still got a long way to go.”
“Wow, your standards are too high. For his age, his skills are amazing.”
“Amazing, huh… Fascinating. You can say that after seeing those grades?”
Sixth place in the midterms.
Considering Teron was from a prestigious family, it was a bit of a lukewarm rank.
“Well, it’s the golden cohort. He just had bad luck.”
“He lacks ability.”
“Isn’t that a bit harsh? As long as he works hard, that’s what matters.”
“A typical excuse of losers.”
Lowell frowned.
The more she listened, the more he sounded like her own father, Duke Luke.
Someone who didn’t even look at their own children if lacked talent.
Anger rose before she knew it, and she ended up crossing the line.
“So what, you planning to turn that kid into another eldest son of yours?”
Zzzap—!
Electricity raced through Lowell’s whole body.
Not literally, but that’s what it felt like.
‘Block it!’
Her sharp intuition kicked in.
Lowell instinctively leaned back and crossed her arms.
At the same time—
The Vyuern Family Style, First Secret Technique.
Force Burst.
Duke Zeppelin’s fist shot toward her.
Craaaash!!
Thanks to her intuition warning her early, she managed to block it.
But there was no stopping the force sending her flying.
Kwah-bang!!
The carriage door shattered, and Lowell and Pleche were blasted outside.
The carriage had been moving at a good speed, but Pleche wrapped himself around Lowell the moment they hit the ground, so they escaped without serious injury.
“Lowell! Are you okay?!”
“Guh…! Damn it!”
Breaking the carriage and blasting two people out with a single punch.
Monster strength.
“What the hell? Are we under attack?”
“Duke!”
The coachmen brought the carriages to a halt, and the knights sprinted over.
Duke Zeppelin, however, was perfectly calm.
He opened the intact door and stepped down with steady footsteps.
Even after throwing a punch hard enough to launch two people, his coat hadn’t shifted an inch.
“…”
He looked down at her in silence.
Lowell glared back up at him.
Duke Zeppelin was an 8-star knight. He was several times stronger than she was, so this much shouldn’t be surprising.
What really shocked Lowell was—
‘That bastard… he really tried to kill me.’
Sure, she’d crossed a line, but she was still a member of House Lucid.
If great houses clashed, it wouldn’t just be a fight between two families.
Blood allies, political partners, and opportunistic factions would all pile in.
The Empire could very well split in half. And yet he still tried to kill her.
‘I thought he was a rock, so this level of provocation wouldn’t get a rise out of him…’
Maybe things were different when it came to family.
Who knew. For now, getting out of this situation came first.
Assuming the man in front of her would even let her go.
“Your skills have improved.”
“Yeah. Otherwise I’d have died to a crazy bastard, wouldn’t I?”
“I thought Duke Luke had gone soft with age, but I was wrong. There was a reason he acknowledged you as a lion.”
Of course—
“I don’t think you’re strong enough yet to run your mouth however you please.”
Rrrrmmm—.
Duke Zeppelin’s aura exploded out of his whole body.
She couldn’t die here.
Lowell was about to push herself to her feet.
“Duke! Please wait a moment!”
Pleche stepped between them.
“Sir Pleche… You finally speak.”
“My apologies. I missed the right moment to pay my respects.”
“No matter. I didn’t, either, so let’s set that aside.”
He was only talking about their lack of greetings.
“Step aside. I have a jackal here who thinks it’s a lion, and I need to deal with it.”
“…What do you intend to do?”
“Kill her. Duke Luke will be grateful.”
“That won’t do. And I do not believe the duke would feel that way.”
“Hmm… is that so?”
Then—
“You can die instead.”
Duke Zeppelin’s killing intent shifted to Pleche.
Everyone present could tell.
He fully intended to kill Pleche.
Pleche knelt.
It wasn’t the posture of someone giving up.
His back and head were held straight, the image of a loyal knight.
“If that will satisfy you, then please do so.”
“Admirable posture.”
Duke Zeppelin’s eyes flashed.
“No!”
Lowell threw herself at them, but it was useless.
By the time she felt the blue-tinged fist smashing Pleche’s head—
“Huh?”
Question marks popped up over everyone’s heads.
Miraculously, Pleche’s head was still attached.
Duke Zeppelin’s fist had stopped right in front of his face.
“As I thought… What a waste. Too good to kill, and too good to hand over to that damn lion.”
Duke Zeppelin picked up the coat that had fallen to the ground.
It was the first time Lowell had seen him with his coat off.
“There’s no need to waste time on a half-wit who lost a succession fight.”
“Yeah, Teron’s lucky. Someone else went and took care of the big brother he’d have to fight for rank.”
“…It seems you require some lessons in manners. Can you manage that?”
Pleche glanced sidelong at Lowell.
“If I could, we wouldn’t be in this situation to begin with.”
“True enough. If you get tired of playing babysitter, come find me anytime. I’ll always welcome you, Sir Pleche.”
“H-hey! Who said you could steal him?! I’m the lord here and he’s my knight!”
While Lowell yanked on Pleche’s hair in a fit of temper, the carriage carrying Duke Zeppelin set off again.
One side of it was wrecked, but it seemed that didn’t matter for travel.
“Gah!”
Lowell dropped to one knee.
Blood dripped steadily from her mouth.
“Even blocking it still left me wrecked… That family’s techniques really are a pain.”
She tried to focus her mind, but the mana in her body refused to move.
She’d be bedridden for at least a week.
“Anyway… He’s heading for Annwood Academy?”
“Looks like he has an issue with Principal Dwener. He’s probably planning to get there early in case their paths don’t cross.”
“…I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
“Don’t even think about going. In your current state, if you run into him again, it won’t end well.”
“I know. If his target is the principal, then there’s no reason for Delin to get dragged in… so it should be fine.”
“Still, it’s fortunate. The village is just a little farther. How about leaving the duke a nice thank-you letter?”
“Sure. I’ll send him one that says he can go eat shit.”
As they walked down the road, something suddenly crossed Lowell’s mind.
Now that she thought about it, she had more kids to worry about than just Rodelin.
My adorable students—other than Zero—do whatever you want. Anything is fine.
Just one thing.
Don’t ever end up at odds with House Vyuern.
A subterranean prison where not a single beam of sunlight reached.
Among all of it, there was a space hidden in the deepest, most secret part.
A man appeared there.
The darkness was so thick he couldn’t see a finger in front of his face, yet his steps never faltered.
For a being who had gone beyond the realm of mere humans, that was only natural.
“…”
The head of House Lucid, Duke Luke.
Soon, a space filled with holy light appeared before him.
The air was dense with holy power.
That’s right. This was a prison woven from holy power itself.
“Krukuk, you vile human. What are you doing here again?”
The Demon inside the cell lifted its head.
A 7th Grade Demon. The highest among the lower ranks, and the lowest among the middle ranks.
It occupied an awkward, in-between position.
It was so weak Duke Luke could kill it with a flick of his fingers.
And yet the Demon was utterly confident. Because—
“You can never kill me. Know why? Because I’m a Demon of the glorious Second Legion! Kyahaha!”
The Demon jumped around, taunting Duke Luke.
Even Duke Luke, whose patience was legendary, apparently couldn’t stand it this time.
He reached out and grabbed the Demon by the throat.
–TL Notes–
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I’m the Slit-Eyed Character at the Academy, but I’m not the Mastermind – Chapter 455
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I’m the Slit-Eyed Character at the Academy, but I’m not the Mastermind – Chapter 457
One thought on “I’m the Slit-Eyed Character at the Academy, but I’m not the Mastermind – Chapter 456”
theodor says: May 17, 2026 at 2:49 am
Damn…Duke Zeppelin kinda stacked…A bit behind Duke Luke but he should also be younger so…
Teron kinda maxed out for his age though being 4 star already and would compare favorably with Rodelin,The next echelon of talent would be Adonis then Lucia
And Teron elder brother being kill…Is it supposed to draw parallel with Baron Kelven who kill his son?
Pleche pretty amazing too being able to fend off Duke cloak,But he did lose to Lowel just a little while ago
I look forward to Teron dark flashback!
