Chapter 104: One-Eyed Inspector (2)

"The building’s still as gloomy as ever, I see."

Leisurely folding my arms, I was observing the Academy building by myself.

Then I smiled as I heard the hurried footsteps echoing from afar.

Roughly, I already knew who was running over.

"Mr., Mr. Roger...!!"

I slowly turned my head.

What came into view was Ronnie, rushing over in a panic, alongside a middle-aged man.

I knew who he was.

Jerry Howard, the Head of Academic Affairs.

He wasn’t around when I attended the Academy, but I’d heard enough rumors to know about him.

The royal family's top clown.

He was famous for groveling to those who pressured the Academy, while pretending to be all dignified within school grounds.

Well, not that he was necessarily a bad person.

He was just the middleman who passed on most of the bribes he received to the Academy’s upper leadership.

At least he wasn’t the kind of thug who openly demanded money from parents.

In fact, the previous head of academic affairs during my student days had been fired for coercing bribes from parents. This man was sent as a comparatively better replacement.

A very exhausting middle-management position.

Having held a similar role when I was the Chief Secretary, I could only sympathize.

"It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Jerry Howard, Head of Academic Affairs at the Imperial Academy."

"Roger Julius, President of the Erian Foundation."

I extended one hand.

The Head of Academic Affairs bowed slightly and politely returned the handshake.

"It’s truly an honor to have you here. Have you come to see your younger sibling...?"

"Yes. I also wanted to take a stroll down memory lane."

Director Jerry forced a smile as he personally guided me into the school—the same one the guards had so adamantly blocked me from entering earlier.

"Please, come in. Allow me to offer you a cup of tea."

"Shall I? I did want to come in, but the guards kept stopping me."

I smiled slyly, my eyes narrowing like a fox’s.

And at the same time, I let sharp words spill from my lips.

"Excuse me...? How can they block entry to a relative of a current student? There must’ve been some mistake."

The Head of Academic Affairs gave the guards a cold glare.

Only then did they bow their heads with nervous expressions.

"If we had known you were coming, we would’ve informed the guard station in advance. We sincerely apologize. Please, this way."

I calmly placed my hands behind my back.

Then, side by side with the Head of Academic Affairs, I strolled down the Academy corridor.

Ronnie stared at my back with a dazed look.

To see someone walk confidently beside the very Director of Academic Affairs—someone all the elite parents he’d seen had groveled before.

He was finally witnessing for himself the kind of moment he had long admired and envied.

But this was only the beginning.

"Please, this way. I’ll escort you to the reception room."

The reception room of the Imperial Academy.

This was the place reserved for entertaining only the highest-ranking parents.

Even his older brother—no, even he himself entering this place felt unreal.

As the door opened and the rich scent of leather sofas wafted from inside, he swallowed hard.

Meanwhile, my expression remained calm.

As if I were someone who frequented places like this.

"This is quite the place. Certainly befitting the standards of the Imperial Academy."

I spoke leisurely, glancing around the reception room.

A platinum-colored table, the finest leather sofas, a brazier handcrafted by an artisan, and a carpet imported from the East.

Just looking at this, it was easy to tell how much money the Academy's upper management had been raking in.

"Haha… Thank you for the compliment."

The Head of Academic Affairs made a flustered gesture, waving his hand as if fanning himself, then quickly called for the clerk.

"Miss Lona, could you bring us some drinks? What would everyone like?"

"I'll have coffee. Ronnie, what about you?"

My younger brother, who had been spaced out, blinked at my question.

Then, brushing back his neatly parted bangs, he tried to compose himself.

"Uh… I’m fine with just water."

"Hey now, you like hot chocolate. He’ll have hot chocolate, please."

The clerk nodded politely in acknowledgment.

She carefully closed the reception room door as she stepped out.

"My apologies. A random old man interrupting a reunion between two relatives must feel quite awkward."

The Head of Academic Affairs, as expected of someone trusted by the higher-ups, had a good way with words.

"No need to apologize. It’s actually quite nice to hear directly from the Director of Academic Affairs about how my little brother is doing."

I gently patted my brother on the shoulder as I spoke.

Not used to such a gesture from me, he gave a little shudder and pulled away in alarm.

"Ronnie is doing very well."

Director Jerry replied kindly as he dabbed his forehead with a handkerchief.

"Among the knight cadets on campus, he's among the top in skill. He’s so diligent, it seems he doesn’t even have time to read the newspapers."

He took a sip of the tea the returning clerk handed him.

"So much so that he hasn’t even heard about his older brother’s achievements."

"Achievements…?"

My younger brother repeated, looking as if he had never heard anything of the sort in his life.

After all, the only memory he had of me was when I joined the Grand Duke’s house as a secretary candidate.

But now...

"Student Ronnie may not know, but your older brother is currently the president of the most promising foundation in Nord."

The situation had completely changed.

"You know the Black Swan, Gehenna, right? That dancer and Bennet Tolkien are both signed under President Roger’s company."

Gehenna Natasha.

The moment he heard that name—

Ronnie’s blank, dazed expression completely changed.

Because he realized that his favorite celebrity belonged to his own older brother’s company.

"Y-You’re serious, right…?!"

"Yeah. We had breakfast together just a few days ago."

I replied in a casual tone.

Only then did Ronnie realize why I’d always seemed so relaxed, even after leaving the Grand Duke’s house.

"Not only that, but he also recently won the urban renewal project initiated by Her Majesty the Empress. Aren’t you scheduled to have an audience with His Majesty the Emperor soon?"

"That’s right. I’m staying in the capital for that reason. The meeting is set for next week."

Now, I was even scheduled to meet the Emperor.

Ronnie went completely rigid, as if he'd taken a final blow from a knight's sword.

"But Director, it seems there’s nothing you don’t know about me."

"When you sit in this seat long enough, reading the newspaper becomes a habit."

Jerry Howard skillfully steered the atmosphere into a warmer, more pleasant direction.

Inside that cozy reception room, Ronnie quietly sipped his hot chocolate—

like a puppy ashamed of having worried about his older brother.

I found his expression rather adorable.

"……."

The reception room fell into a brief silence.

Then, as if he’d been waiting for the right moment, the Head of Academic Affairs cautiously brought up the real reason for this meeting.

"By the way, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask."

"What is it? Please, feel free."

I replied leisurely, sipping my coffee with no concern.

At that, the Director took out a check he had carefully kept aside.

"It’s just… There seems to be a minor issue with the tuition payment you sent us."

"An issue?"

I tilted my head at his words.

"Was the amount not enough?"

At my calm response, Director Jerry frantically shook his head.

"No, no, not at all!! In fact, the problem is that you sent far too much."

He carefully placed the check on the tea table.

A check with my name and signature proudly printed in one corner.

"Our Academy’s tuition for the year is ten million gold. That covers both the first and second semesters."

Ronnie glanced at the check that the uneasy Director handed over.

Then, the moment he checked the amount, his jaw dropped open.

"But you sent five hundred million gold…"

"Five hundred million?!"

Ronnie jumped to his feet in shock.

"Sit down, Ronnie. I sent it, and I meant to."

I pressed down on his frozen body and forced him back onto the sofa.

The leather cushions sank deeply, making a soft creaking noise, almost as if someone had let out a chuckle.

"There’s no need to be surprised. I simply followed what other families do—they pay through to the graduation year in advance, so I did the same."

Just like the nobles I had served all my life, I crossed one leg over the other.

Then, with both hands gracefully interlaced, I spoke.

"It’s my way of saying—please take good care of my younger brother until he becomes an adult."

The final-year classes—something Ronnie hadn’t even dared to dream of attending.

If completed, he could challenge for a position in the Imperial Knights. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for any aspiring knight.

I had handed him that opportunity, all at once.

I had passed on to my younger brother the dream of becoming a knight—one that I had failed to achieve myself.

"……."

In that solemn atmosphere, Ronnie didn’t say a word.

He simply bit his lip and quietly watched the situation unfold.

“B-But even if we total up all the tuition for the final years, it would only come to around a hundred million gold. This is five times that…”

Jerry tugged at his tie, clearly uncomfortable.

His expression said he’d rarely encountered a bribe of this magnitude.

“I’m sure you understand why I’m doing this.”

I looked at him with the sly, calculating eyes of my former days as Chief Secretary.

Under that gaze, the Director seemed to stop breathing for a moment—

as if he were seeing in me the same ruthless glint he often saw in his own superiors.

“There probably aren’t many parents who’ve shown this level of sincerity.”

With a graceful gesture, I pushed the check he had set down back toward him—

toward his chest.

“So just send along the usual amount to the higher-ups… and perhaps our hard-working Director Jerry could make use of the rest himself.”

I turned my gaze to the door between the reception room and the director’s office.

Through the open gap, I could see an old, high-end tea set.

“Take the opportunity to enjoy a hobby or two. It’s good for you, isn’t it?”

For a while, the Director simply stared blankly at the five hundred million gold check.

If he cashed it and forwarded the standard amount to the Dean and Chairman, the rest would be his.

There was no doubt he could pocket it without much trouble.

Still, he didn’t give in right away.

“Even so… money like this isn’t easy to accept. This is money Mr. Roger worked ‘hard’ to earn.”

A loaded comment.

He had accepted countless bribes from nobles without hesitation, but now hesitated over my money.

The reason was simple.

It was because I wasn’t a noble.

Since I had accumulated wealth in a short time, he worried it might come back to bite him.

If my family ever went bankrupt and an asset investigation mentioned the bribe, it would be a major problem.

‘So he does know how to be cautious—he is the Imperial Academy’s Head of Academic Affairs, after all.’

Even after praising my achievements so far, he hesitated the moment it involved getting entangled with me.

This was the difference between nobles and those who weren’t.

"Don't worry. It’s safe money."

I uncrossed my leg.

Then, taking another sip of coffee, I added—

“If you’re willing to accept, we can also consider collaborating on the Academy’s internal events through the Erian Foundation.”

“You mean the Erian Foundation would support school events?”

The Head of Academic Affairs looked stunned, overwhelmed by the scale of what I was offering.

Even someone who had risen solo to a key position in the Imperial Academy looked like he couldn’t quite process what was happening.

"Yes, as you know, our foundation has become quite well-known in the entertainment industry."

He gave a small, unconscious nod, as if in agreement.

"If you haven’t selected any celebrities for the upcoming school events yet, we’d be happy to assist."

"Y-You’re serious…?"

At the mention of introducing the two most famous celebrities in the Empire—figures whose names were known nationwide—Director Jerry instinctively asked again.

In response, I looked at him with a pleased expression, as if watching a fish bite down on the bait, and gestured once more to the check.

"If that money feels like too much, then just consider it a gesture of goodwill toward the contract."

The Director, who had been quietly doubting whether I was just a nouveau riche upstart—

Only now did he fully grasp that I was the president of the foundation representing the Empire’s two top celebrities.

"I’m not overextending, either. Sir Bennet heard that Her Majesty the Empress wanted to see him, so he gathered his courage and decided to stop by the capital."

Only then did his wariness begin to melt away, little by little.

"I simply asked him to drop by while he was here. Miss Gehenna, being from Nord, said she wanted to tour the capital as well."

I spoke about the two of them as if they were family, in a relaxed, casual tone.

Then, I leaned in toward the middle-aged man and whispered slyly.

"Just imagine it—two legends appearing at the Academy. And it’ll all be thanks to you, Director."

"……."

Jerry Howard wiped his neck with a handkerchief,

as if unaware that he’d started sweating.

"W-What would you like me to do…?"

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