I Became a Swordsmanship Instructor in a Romance Novel

Rosnante only managed to start speaking after profusely apologizing, having belatedly realized that the food was prepared by Selena herself.

Though the question lingered whether those insane dishes were truly meant to be delicious,

Everyone is equal before a large mana pouch.

Rosnante swallowed his doubts, prioritizing his immediate survival.

After the commotion subsided and a suitable atmosphere for conversation settled in,

Selena had someone serve tea.

Of course, the tea served was mint chocolate.

Rosnante’s face hardened at the sight of the bright blue tea, but

With Selena already harboring a grudge against him, he couldn’t dare to speak up.

‘Gulp’

He lifted the teacup and took a sip.

“…Ugh. The taste is really…. ‘Ahem’. That’s not important right now. Instructor Zeke Clayman, I’ll ask you directly. Are you aware of the new swordsmanship instructor?”

“Yes.”

Rosnante asked, his face serious, his eyes locked with Zeke’s.

Zeke had no reason to hide it, so he readily nodded.

Rosnante bit his lip.

However, before he could speak, Zeke added,

“However, I don’t particularly enjoy tedious conversations where we beat around the bush and try to gauge each other’s true intentions.

Let me tell you upfront, I also learned about this today in the principal’s office right after processing the Northern Princess’s admission.”

“…I see. Then, have you met him in person?”

“Yes, the principal introduced me to him.”

Rosnante’s expression relaxed at Zeke’s answer.

‘Instructor Zeke may have his flaws, but I really appreciate this about him.’

He didn’t try to hide things in a roundabout way like Ilios, causing unnecessary headaches.

If Zeke Clayman had known about the 3rd Prince’s arrival beforehand and hadn’t told him, his head would have been spinning with complicated thoughts.

Of course, it was possible that Zeke Clayman was lying now, but

Rosnante wasn’t particularly worried about that.

‘This man has no reason to lie.’

Zeke Clayman could have anything he wanted, and there was nothing he couldn’t achieve with his skills.

Therefore, he didn’t need to put on a false act in front of anyone and simply spoke his mind.

Rosnante was gradually accepting Zeke Clayman as his ideal.

‘But Ilios was right. He said the 3rd Prince might already be here, but he’s already entered the academy….’

“Ehehe…. I see. A new swordsmanship instructor…. Huh? W-wait a minute! What do you mean? The 3rd Prince is the swordsmanship instructor!?”

Selena, who had been enjoying her mint chocolate tea with a relaxed smile, asked in surprise.

“Yes, the 3rd Prince, Licht Leonine, has become the new swordsmanship instructor. It seems he gained some new insight into the sword while training in magic. Since all things converge, it’s not exactly illogical.”

“…B-but, as far as I know, he’s much younger than us…”

“Selena, you also defeated the swordsmanship instructor in the previous sparring evaluation.

Frankly, if you weren’t my student, you would all be qualified to be swordsmanship instructors, let alone being taught.

What matters for a swordsmanship instructor at Ramielli Academy is proving their strength.”

After pondering Zeke’s words, Rosnante stood up and said,

“Anyway, I understand, Instructor. Then at least I won’t have the misfortune of being taught by the 3rd Prince. I should return to the mansion and gather some more information.”

“Ah, I forgot to mention. Rosnante, the 3rd Prince requested you, and I agreed.”

“What…!?”

* * *

Meanwhile, the Northern Princess, Lillie, was enjoying tea time with Karen after meeting the children and returning to the mansion.

“Oh, th-this is coffee…! B-but it’s so black…. And there’s ice….”

Karen exclaimed as she took a sip of the coffee Lillie offered.

Gulp

Karen’s brow furrowed deeply.

“Ugh…? Is this really coffee…?”

“Yes. You can only drink this here.”

Lillie had bought various drinks from that place and brought some for her maid as well.

Contrary to her expectations that Karen would either be amazed by the new bitter taste or annoyed by its unpleasantness,

“No, th-this isn’t coffee!!!”

Karen jumped to her feet and shouted at Lillie.

“…Huh? Have you ever had coffee before?”

Lillie asked with a dubious expression.

Recalling the taste she experienced in Zeke’s room, Karen presented a strict coffee theory.

Even though it was just one time, the coffee she had tasted had already become the standard in her mind.

“Coffee is supposed to be a little sweeter and smoother! And who puts ice in coffee!?

It’s supposed to be a hot drink that burns your esophagus! This cold and bitter thing is heresy!”

“…Where on earth did you have coffee?”

Lillie narrowed her eyes suspiciously and glared at Karen.

Coffee beans didn’t grow in the cold North, and due to the severed ties with the capital city, Americano was unavailable.

It was strange that Karen had already tasted coffee, a luxury Lillie could only enjoy after coming to the capital city in her past life.

Karen covered her mouth with a gasp as if she had made a mistake and subtly avoided Lillie’s gaze.

At first, Lillie thought Karen might have mistaken something else for coffee, but her suspicious behavior made her increasingly doubtful.

“Karen. You better tell me the truth. Tell me, where did you have coffee?”

“… …”

Karen kept her lips tightly sealed, exercising her right to remain silent.

She couldn’t imagine the chaos that would ensue if she confessed to sneaking out to meet Zeke Clayman while her ill-tempered mistress was asleep.

“Well, it couldn’t have been in the North. Then, on our way here…?

No, that’s not it either. There’s no way such a luxurious drink would be available in the small villages we passed through.”

“… …”

“The capital city?”

Twitch—

Karen’s trapezius muscle twitched.

Lillie noticed her agitation and continued,

“Hmm. But Karen, you were with me the whole time in the capital city…. The only time you were alone was this afternoon when I went to the academy by myself?”

“That, that’s when it was!”

Karen nodded vigorously, readily accepting Lillie’s words.

Unaware that this was her trap.

“Then, where did you have it?”

“…At, at a teahouse near here…”

Huuuum—.

Lillie raised one corner of her lips and exhaled languidly.

“I see…. But you know, Karen?”

“Wh-what is it…?”

“Coffee isn’t popular in Ramielli, the capital city, yet.

It’s not that the coffee beans don’t grow here, but it’s a luxury enjoyed only by gourmets.

They don’t even sell it in teahouses. There’s only one place I know that sells coffee.”

“…That, that’s the place! I happened to stumble upon it…”

“But Karen, I was there this afternoon. With the new friends I made.”

‘I’ve been caught!’

Karen’s face turned pale.

“But how did you drink coffee? How could a coffee that no one seeks and no one drinks be sold in a shop? Huh? Tell me.

Where is this trendsetting shop? I want to visit it tomorrow.”

Question marks pierced her relentlessly.

Karen squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lower lip.

In the end, she had no choice but to confess.

“…Z-Zeke Clayman treated me to it…”

“Ha. Damn it. I knew it. When was it?

It couldn’t have been this afternoon since you were with me. The dawn of the previous day?”

Nod—.

Lillie let out a hollow laugh and glared at Karen.

‘With the 3rd Prince arriving now, I really don’t want this kind of butterfly effect….’

Lillie pulled out the Creator’s notebook from her pocket.

It automatically recorded the actions of the main characters.

However, since it was written in the language of the Dave Continent—Korean—it appeared as unreadable characters to others.

Therefore, Lillie didn’t hide the notebook too much in front of people she trusted.

Flip—

Flip—

Lillie’s hand moved busily as she scanned the pages.

‘As expected, …there’s no mention of Karen meeting Zeke.’

When did it start?

Ever since Zeke started deviating from the novel and stirring things up, those influenced by him seemed to be gradually tainted by him, leaving many blank spaces in the recorded actions.

However, Karen, who was assigned as an extra from the beginning, only knew of Zeke Clayman’s existence.

She was merely a supporting character who served her, so the fact that she had met Zeke without her knowledge was a huge shock.

Now that even the Demon King had been born,

Perhaps a human far more dangerous than the 3rd Prince she had written about had emerged.

‘But I have to stop the 3rd Prince…. I have to see the ending through properly.’

Lillie hardened her expression and closed the notebook.

“Still, this is a bit outrageous. Since physically punishing you won’t be effective, let’s have a three-hour scolding session.”

“P-please, anything but that…!”

“I’ll give your eardrums a good thrashing.”

Karen’s thick muscles trembled at Lillie’s cruel smile.