The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 142
Astonishment descended upon the event booth.
Three of the four heads of the main ducal families were present at the event, with the formidable Duke of the dark house.
‘Why on earth did the Sword King and the Dark Lord come?’
The celebrity I had actually aimed to invite was only Duke Alfonso.
I glanced briefly at Catherine in the corner.
Her eyes were ablaze.
Catherine and I had discussed something beforehand.
I really don’t want to join the festival.
Is it because of Duke Alfonso?
Yes, I hate the idea of him getting any news about me. You know he will disdain anything I do at the festival.
What if you take this opportunity to show Duke Alfonso his place during the festival?
…What do you mean?
Don’t you want to give my father a piece of your mind too?
Yes.
I wanted to use this opportunity to alleviate some of Catherine’s grievances.
Using that chaos to hit it big.
‘Pressing down the pride of Alfonso, the head of a magical house, would surely cause a huge stir.’
My father, Duke Huam, well.
I invited him because of Duke Alfonso.
The atmosphere would have been too awkward with just Duke Alfonso, and to prevent any impulsive actions from him.
“Thank you for coming despite your busy schedule, Father.”
“It’s nothing. I need a change of scenery once in a while. I never attended festivals during your school days, and here I am now. And that outfit suits you.”
“…Thank you.”
Seeing Duke Huam’s warm smile, my heart fluttered for a moment.
In my childhood, my parents never came to school events.
Class observations, sports days, school festivals, etc.
I wondered if this was how it would have felt if my parents had been there.
‘…How childish.’
I turned my head to look at the other two guests.
“It’s a pleasure to meet both of you for the first time.”
I first looked at the woman.
The Sword King.
Like Duke Alfonso, she was a formidable being who had reached the realm of ‘Seeker’.
However, her appearance belied none of that.
Duchess Louis, the Sword King, was dressed in a suit.
At a glance, she looked like a young career woman, and only the ordinary iron sword at her waist hinted at her knightly status.
She had a pleasant demeanor.
It’s not for nothing did someone like Theren, a well-known social butterfly, come from her lineage; a gentle smile adorned her face.
But I knew all too well how cold that smile could become towards ‘enemies’.
To her foes, she was more fearsome than anyone.
‘Why is she really here? Could it be because of what happened with Theren last time? No, surely not. The Sword King wouldn’t be so petty, would she?’
Then, the Sword King smiled softly.
“I am also glad to meet you, Professor Van.”
“Please, feel free to speak informally.”
“That would be inappropriate. You are my son’s professor, after all.”
“…….”
“I came to see Theren’s festival activities and stopped by. Theren mentioned he was quite indebted to you recently.”
Damn.
She had come because of that last incident!
‘Why would the Sword King be so petty? I thought she was known for being almost frighteningly detached.’
But I kept silent.
Upon reflection, there was something that made sense.
To the Sword King, or more accurately, to the house of swordsmanship, issues regarding Theren could justifiably be a sensitive matter.
‘Ah, whatever. What can I do about it? It’s not like I’ve done anything wrong as a professor.’
Then, I turned to the man next to her.
“It’s an honor to meet the patriarch of the dark magic community.”
“Ah, ah? No, don’t mind me. I just tagged along because my brothers said they were coming. We were having a community meeting when they received your invitation.”
As I mentioned before, our Ecclesia residence and the houses of magic, swordsmanship, and darkness were all neighbors.
‘Our dukedom was across from the dukedom of magic, next to the dukedom of darkness, and diagonally across from the dukedom of swordsmanship, right?’
Of course, they didn’t just come for no reason.
Duke Byron, the Dark Lord, was also a very frightening figure despite his unassuming appearance.
‘He’s not quite the Seeker lvl like Duke Alfonso or the Sword King, but still, he’s a Senior Sage at Lv. 8.’
“I was, I was curious about you. A-And my brothers always talk a lot about you. I was naturally curious.”
For a moment, Duke Byron’s eyes flickered with black flames.
‘I drew some attention because of the last time I defeated that dark mage from their family.’
I frowned.
The house of darkness had legitimate dark mages, not evil beings.
But that didn’t mean they were necessarily good.
It was unclear whether their interest was in a positive or negative direction.
“Please, take a seat. I’ll take your orders.”
“What do you recommend, Van? I’ll have the cheese spaghetti.”
“I’ll go with meatballs.”
“Uh, I’ll have pizza. The gorgonzola looks good, brothers, sister. Shall I share mine with you?”
“When is the show starting?”
It was Duke Alfonso who interrupted the amiable ordering with a tactless comment.
Crossing his arms, he sneered slightly.
“I can’t wait for the show you’ve prepared that’s supposed to astonish me.”
I’ve prepared an event that will astonish Your Excellency.
That was the content of the letter I sent.
“It’s a circus.”
“A circus? By you?”
“No, the students are the main stars of the festival. Naturally, they will be performing.”
“Hmm. Not you, then?”
Duke Alfonso made no effort to hide his disappointment.
“Then, is that girl Catherine performing? Seems like I came here for nothing.”
“Your opinion might change after watching the performance.”
“I don’t need to watch to know. She was already worthless, and now she’s taken to swordplay? Well, perhaps even a lowly form of swordplay might be an improvement for her.”
Duke Alfonso, unfazed by the presence of the Sword King, disparaged all knights of the world with his toxic personality.
Duchess Louis’s expression turned displeased, but that was nothing compared to Catherine’s reaction.
“……”
With a fierce grip, Catherine clenched her fist.
A mix of resentment, anger, passion, and most of all, wounded, was evident.
Catherine had been anxious throughout the preparation for this festival.
Can I really crush my father’s arrogance with this?
Isn’t it lacking impact? Won’t it be insufficient?
I have to strike him hard.
I couldn’t help but notice Catherine’s true feelings.
Despite her resentment towards Duke Alfonso, she longed for her father’s acknowledgement.
It was a contradictory emotion, but understandable.
After all, he was her father.
Not something she could easily shake off.
‘It will only fester. It needs to be addressed at some point.’
“Seems a bit premature to me.”
I faced Duke Alfonso directly.
“Today, Your Excellency will find yourself apologizing to Catherine for the remarks you’ve just made.”
“!!”
“Catherine, Libel, step forward.”
They moved onto a separate stage next to our booth, their faces set in grim determination.
“……”
The venue fell silent.
Normally, a festival performance would be met with lively cheers, but Duke Alfonso’s presence had filled the air with a tense atmosphere.
“Let’s begin.”
With a flourish, Libel unleashed his magic, and Catherine brandished her sword.
Magic and Sword Battle.
A circus act providing a spectacle of magic versus swordsmanship.
“Libel’s magic is no joke, huh? Now that I think about it, wasn’t he the top of the magic department in the recent exam?”
“He isn’t just some troll?”
But the real star was Catherine.
Her sword gleamed with a brilliant, multicolored light, slicing through Libel’s magic with a now-matured magic sword.
Gasps of astonishment erupted from the audience.
“Already a Lv. 3 magic sword? Wasn’t Catherine in the swordsmanship department until recently?”
“Her swordsmanship posture isn’t bad either. It’s still rough, but she’s got a solid foundation.”
“She spends every dawn practicing in the training grounds.”
“She even has a nickname. The Spirit of the Training Ground.”
Catherine was always a hard worker to the core.
Her relentless effort perfectly matched her talent for the sword, leading to explosive growth.
“She has a bright future ahead,”
Said the Sword King, standing beside.
Eventually, the performance ended, and thunderous applause ensued.
Duke Huam, as well as the Sword King, joined in the clapping.
Only two remained still.
Duke Alfonso and the Dark Lord, Duke Byron.
“Uh, brother? What did you think? I don’t know much about swordsmanship,”
Asked Duke Byron, glancing at Duke Alfonso.
“It was alright. No, it was excellent,”
He surprisingly answered.
But then added,
“For swordplay, that is.”
“!!”
“It was much better than I expected. I was worried it would be terrible, but it turned out to be quite the spectacle. Haha, does this make me seem like a generous parent? Being a parent is hard. Having to watch such pointless performances.”
Catherine’s complexion paled, unnoticed by Duke Alfonso as he rose from his seat.
“That’s enough of wasting time, let’s go back.”
“Please wait a moment.”
“Hmm?”
“If you found Catherine’s performance lacking, why don’t you give her some lessons?”
“Can you repeat that?”
“How about you and Lady Catherine have a direct Magic and Sword Battle Circus?”
“!!”
Everyone looked incredulous.
Naturally, Catherine had the most vehement reaction.
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“What’s the problem? I believe you can win.”
“Are you crazy?!”
I’m not crazy. I’m serious.
‘I knew from the start that Duke Alfonso would never acknowledge Catherine.’
So, I had planned their duel from the beginning.
“Haha. Are you serious? You think Catherine would win?”
“Yes, if it’s a circus battle with level restrictions, Catherine is bound to win. As a professor, I see that Catherine’s potential surpasses that of the Duke.”
“!!”
I dropped the bomb.
“I even think Catherine will reach Ascendant even before the Duke does.”
“…What was that?”
“The Duke may never reach Ascendant, but Catherine surely will someday.”
“!!”
A comment that struck Duke Alfonso’s sore spot.
“Haha. Hahahaha!!”
Duke Alfonso burst into laughter.
A chilling, eerie laughter.
“Fine. That sounds amusing. Let’s see just how great of a talent this child is.”
I then approached Catherine, who was standing rigid.
“What are you doing? Are you insane? Why provoke such madness!”
“How is that madness?”
“Are you asking because you don’t know?!”
“100 penas.”
“What?”
“Let’s make a bet. Between you and Duke Alfonso, who will win. I’ll bet 100 penas on you. Who will you bet on? Just so you know, I don’t bet on losing outcomes.”
Catherine closed her mouth.
“You are a disciple of I, Van the Legend. Therefore, achieving such a miracle should be well within your reach.”
I turned Catherine to face forward.
“Go. Go and give him the punch you’ve desired. This fiery gaze shall vigilantly watch over you.”
