A Failed Knight Who Went to the Academy To Get Married

022 For the Sake of the Knight

The monster summoned by Prince Kkumcheok was a manticore, far more colossal than the griffin before.

A massive and sleek lion’s body.

Grotesque bat wings.

And there, a writhing scorpion’s tail.

From beneath the beast’s feet, a desperate voice cried out.

“Sa, save me!”

It was neither the voice of Princess Shia nor Prince Shiran.

Certainly not Traein or Cat either.

The owner of that voice, filled with sheer terror, was Prince Kkumcheok himself.

“I, I am a prince of the Romer Empire!”

The monster, as if mocking him, drove its claws into his shoulder.

As Prince Kkumcheok screamed, the creature wore a satisfied expression,

All the while, its gaze intently fixed on Traein’s party.

Prince Shiran snorted in derision.

“How pathetic must one be to not even control a single monster they’ve summoned?”

Cat hesitated by his side before replying.

“Is this really the time for such talk? That thing is way stronger than a Forest Grizzly!”

A vile monster that delights in toying with its prey.

It’s said to relentlessly pursue those who flee in terror,

So it’s clear that escaping together would be impossible.

“aaargh!”

The monster gouged into Prince Keumcheok’s shoulder, eliciting an even more ragged scream.

At this rate, he’d be dead within minutes.

And then, it would surely target someone else.

There was no time to wait for additional reinforcements.

Prince Shiran clicked his tongue and drew a gun from his cloak.

“Train, I’m sorry, but stick with me to the end, will you?”

Train pulled a spellbook from his cloak and briefly answered,

“Roger.”

And then, with a fleeting glance at Cat, he said,

“Cat, take the princess and run away first.”

But for some reason, Princess Sia also drew her gun and stepped forward.

“I will fight too.”

“Excuse me?”

“If any one of you dies, I plan to take my own life as well.”

“Are you insane? What kind of nonsense is-“

“So let’s all survive together. You got that?”

As Princess Sia beamed an innocent smile,

Train wore a momentarily stunned expression.

It was a smile that seemed different from usual.

Perhaps the lifting of the curse had slightly changed her personality.

Or maybe she was feeling some sense of responsibility.

Either way, it seemed futile to try and stop her.

In the meantime, Cat grumbled, scratching his head furiously.

“Darn, everyone’s gone mad. Can I just run away since I don’t fit in?”

Then Train replied.

“You won’t be blamed, so you can go.”

Next to Train, Cat stood side by side and said,

“It’s a joke, you rotten boss.”

In the end, all four of them stood together in front of the hideous monster.

Train, with a somewhat tired face, took a long sigh and then,

soon burst out laughing exaggeratedly and exclaimed,

“Alright! Let’s all see the end of this tiresome tale together!”

The loud crowing of a rooster signaled the beginning of the battle.

***

Surely, not dreaming at all is far happier.

‘The princess is destined to die at the age of 15.’

Sia had already understood the meaning of those words when she was five.

She could easily accept her fate.

Before despair was known to her,

It was hope that tormented her more.

“I will surely break the princess’s curse!”

“If only this book can be deciphered, she can definitely be saved.”

“Don’t worry. I will never leave the princess to die.”

Voices of temptation were ceaseless around her.

But the moment Sia harbored even the slightest hope in them,

She was inevitably dragged back down to the depths of despair.

“I’m sorry. I have failed.”

“I, I made a mistake! The decryption was a lie!”

“If you want the Book of Walpurgis back, pay up.”

Realizing that giving up meant no more pain didn’t take long.

She decided not to trust anyone.

She decided not to show her true feelings to anyone.

She resolved never to open her heart to anyone again.

Therefore, she had given up on dreaming of hope.

But…

“Don’t live recklessly just because you’re going to die soon. Doing such things will only make you suffer more.”

“I promise to stand by Princess Shia until the curse is lifted.”

“Why don’t you understand! I am your knight!”

Forcing his way into her heart,

He imposed hope upon her, who had given up,

And forcibly dredged up the emotions she tried to forget,

Until he finally freed her from the shackles of the curse.

Thanks to him, Shia could dream again.

A dream of living a new life with him, after the curse was lifted.

But despite that, he never once truly looked at Shia.

“Then don’t go through with it to the end. It would be better for both of us.”

Ironically, she was much more miserable than before she met him.

If it was going to be like this, she wished he had never saved her.

She knew all too well how selfish and wicked the thought was.

Yet, even with that knowledge, the overwhelming emotions could not be contained.

…And so, she decided to hate him.

“Goddess of Jealousy! If I cannot burn, then freeze everything instead!”

At Shia’s cry, a massive pillar of ice surged upward.

In the moment the monster, charging at Train, paused to evade,

Cat hurled a large bead with all her might.

“Chew on this!”

As the bead exploded like a firework, casting a brilliant light,

The monster was flung backward, tumbling over.

Seizing the opportunity, Prince Sirian opened fire with his pistol.

“Take this chance to deal with its tail!”

Train charged at the monster, purple sword in hand.

He aimed to sever its tail while the beast was immobilized by electric shock, but-

“Be careful!”

At Cat’s cry, Train reflexively pulled back

And the tail’s stinger narrowly missed, grazing past him.

Train floundered for a moment and shouted,

“This guy was pretending to be electrocuted!”

The stingers flew in wildly.

While Train was distracted trying to dodge,

A forepaw crushed him down.

“Damn it!”

The beast tried to bite the head of Train, pinned under its paw.

“Get away from him!”

Sia’s bullet exploded inside the beast’s mouth.

As the beast choked with its jaw frozen,

Siran rushed in and stabbed the dagger into its forepaw.

“Let’s see if you can withstand this!”

He surged an electric shock into the dagger.

With a loud crackle, the flames burst forth, and finally, the creature’s forepaw was lifted,

“Now!”

Train quickly rose to his feet and struck, severing the monster’s tail in one blow.

While the monster writhed in agony,

Siran and Train swiftly retreated.

“Good job!”

“Don’t let your guard down yet!”

The monster roared in fury and soared high into the sky,

Attempting to spew a fireball from its mouth.

Siran aimed at the monster’s wing and fired, but was blocked by an invisible wall.

“That b*stard has a barrier too!”

Cat cried out desperately.

“Hurry, do something! That breath is dangerous!”

It was already too late.

A giant fireball was launched,

Suddenly, Shia stepped forward.

“Goddess of Jealousy!”

Layers of ice walls surged up, colliding with the fireball,

Releasing a thick mist and vanishing.

“He’s going to shoot again!”

Then, suddenly, Shia threw herself behind Train.

“What, what’s this all of a sudden!”

“To the sad beast that crawls the earth, lend me wings to roam free!”

Shia and Train’s bodies soared powerfully into the air.

Despite their precarious wobble,

They managed to fly up over the monster’s head.

Train gripped his sword with both hands and said,

“Drop me onto the monster’s head just like this!”

But Princess Shia did not let him go immediately.

“I’ve decided to hate you, Train.”

“…Yes?”

Because she despised him, she decided to torment him.

If he would never look back at her,

She resolved to force him to turn around.

“So, I will do something that Train would hate.”

Princess Shia whispered into Train’s ear.

“I love you.”

-Train felt as if time had stopped for a moment.

Only the moonlight illuminated the sky.

A silence as if floating in a dream.

Her words deeply pierced his heart.

Train took a labored breath before he spoke.

“Princess, I-“

Shia didn’t wait for Train’s words and let him go.

“So brace yourself for what’s to come!”

“That damned princess is real!”

But, of course.

She was finally able to speak of tomorrow.

“This is the end!”

As Trine fell, he thrust his sword into the beast’s neck.

With a flash of purple light, the beast’s neck was pierced.

While Trine leapt down to grab Shia’s arm and descend,

the beast ultimately let out its death throes as it fell.

With that,

the long and arduous journey to break Princess Shia’s curse came to an end.

***

The rumor that Princess Shia’s curse had been lifted spread quickly.

The Academy Knights’ exploits were splashed across the newspapers,

and thanks to that, the Kingdom of Altoria was in a festive mood for days.

However, the actual students of the Knights’ Academy had no part in the festive atmosphere.

“Starting next week, it’s finals, so everyone better buckle down and study!”

The declaration from Instructor Eloi sent the knight school’s classroom into an uproar.

“An exam right after we get back?”

“We haven’t studied at all!”

“Are we going to end up last in the knight department?”

In response, Instructor Eloi slammed his hand on the desk and said,

“Quiet! If you can’t be first as knights, then forget about having a vacation!”

Then Jeez shouted,

“That’s not fair! Maybe we should ask Princess Sia to—”

Lisbeth hurriedly covered Jeez’s mouth.

At the same time, all the students glanced furtively at Train.

The knight who had devoted himself to Princess Sia.

And the tragic hero who was unilaterally broken off by Princess Sia.

Even worse, the news of the broken engagement was plastered all over the newspapers.

Perhaps that’s why Train still had a terrible grimace on his face.

Indifferent or not, Instructor Eloi addressed Train.

“Class leader! You’re responsible for leading the kids to good grades!”

Then Train nonchalantly waved his hand and said,

“I’m going to be the head of the Great Library after graduation anyway, so I’ll just casually take the exams.”

…In truth, Train’s gloomy appearance was all an act.

Of course, it was Train who had requested to break off the engagement first.

Princess Shia had accepted it gracefully with a slap on Train’s cheek.

Officially, it was Princess Shia who had requested the annulment first, as her final act of consideration.

Thanks to that, Train was finally free from all shackles, returning to his original listless self.

That’s why Train could relax and sprawl out to his heart’s content…

But then, Instructor Eloi grinned and said,

“Is that so? Then all the more reason you should aim for high grades.”

“What?”

“Princess Shia has sent a letter to all of you.”

Clearing his throat, Instructor Eloi began to read the letter aloud in a booming voice.

To the students of the Knight Academy,

I’m sorry for leaving without a proper farewell.

My father summoned me to the castle immediately.

I’ll be busy visiting here and there for a while.

I won’t say thank you in this letter.

Such words wouldn’t convey my true feelings anyway.

So, I’ll make sure to meet you all soon and tell you in person.

Lisbeth. Barbara. Lillian. Narsha.

Jisoo. Ranken. Mekail, and brother Siran.

I’ll see you all again soon.

P.S.

Train, do you know?

Once you become a duke, polygamy is allowed.

So, I’ve decided to raise you to a duke with my own hands.

For now, please top the class in the end-of-term exams.

Otherwise, the promise for the director’s position is null and void.

…

Upon hearing the contents of the letter, Train sprang up from his seat and exclaimed,

“I resign!”

He tried to dash out of the classroom.

But Prince Siran tripped him, causing Train to tumble.

“Explain why the word ‘polygamy’ popped up, you wretched scoundrel!”

Simultaneously, Jeez pounced on Train.

“Where do you think you’re running off to, class president!”

Then, the other students also rose and charged at Train.

They began to wildly grab at Train’s arms and legs from all directions.

“You’re the reason we’ve been through hell, so you better take responsibility and raise our grades!”

“You also owe us a full confession about what happened with Princess Shia!”

“From today onwards, it’s group study and interrogation time with Train!”

Train struggled and cried out in despair,

“Please, just leave me alone!”