Surviving as a Con Artist at the Academy

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64th Chapter. I Am Innocent! (2)

The next highest power after the Emperor is the noble class, and among the nobles, the highest status belongs to the Dukes. Among them, the Chain Silver Family boasts an extraordinary influence, making it a prominent house.

With just one word from the Duke, mountains can be erased from maps, and anyone who crosses him must be prepared to be set ablaze like a moth diving into fire.

Even if the circumstances are unfortunate, it is a great honor for an ordinary student to have an audience with the Empire’s supreme authority.

Since I’m facing such a distinguished person, I must show proper respect, but if I fail, even if it is just my sister’s friend, I could easily fall out of the Duke’s favor.

Given the huge blunder I’ve made, kneeling in front of him wouldn’t be excessive, but Gerard is generous enough to give me a seat, considering he’s the family of Jenny’s friend.

Just the fact that he provides an opportunity to explain to my family shows how magnanimous he is.

However, even such a great man might not be so forgiving when it comes to someone randomly ransacking his room. I was knowingly gambling with that danger on my knees.

“It’s because of a curse! The curse of the liar is the cause!”

“…??”

“The reason our family became scammers is entirely because we were cursed.”

Upon hearing my shout, everyone tilted their heads in confusion. Even I was surprised that what I had shouted, which should have been muted, was heard perfectly fine.

The reason was simple. I touched the Eternal Flame that had been on my graduation certificate before being caught by the servants.

“Finally, I can provide an explanation.”

At my desperate words, Gerard frowned as if reflecting on the situation.

The Crawler couple’s evasive attitude, and the graduation certificate that had been defaced by their devoted wife, all of it cannot be overlooked.

“That means you can also explain the rudeness you just caused?”

There was a weight to Gerard’s question. If I weren’t a friend of his daughter, I would have been thrown into jail immediately.

The fact that he is giving me another chance to explain shows how kind he is. After all, he is far too nice.

“Yes, I can say anything now!”

“….”

But to Gerard’s surprise at my unexpectedly bold reply, Jenny and my parents stood there, utterly dumbfounded.

Here, a crowd gathered, full of questions about my lies. I seized the opportunity and started explaining point by point.

What the curse on the Crawler Family really is, why we are pretending to be scammers, and what our purpose in enrolling was.

All of it stemmed from an unjust situation caused by one single curse… and it struck accurately into their ears.

“So, the act of touching the graduation certificate earlier….”

“That’s correct. I did it reluctantly because I desperately needed the Eternal Flame.”

The reason for ransacking the Duke’s room was naturally explained as well. Thanks to that, the distrust Gerard had towards the Crawler family was significantly alleviated.

“To sum it up… everything is because of a curse?”

“That’s correct.”

“Hm… an unheard-of curse, huh?”

I feel the same. If even the main characters of this world don’t know it, what is it exactly?

Is it because the curse is over 300 years old?

“And I’ve heard some information about you from Jenny. They said you weren’t on good terms at first?”

“That’s right.”

“If you had explained that you were cursed earlier, it would have all been resolved…”

If that had been possible, then it wouldn’t have escalated to breaking Jenny’s ribs and tossing her into a lake. Gerard seems to have accurately grasped the reasons why, so he said nothing more.

“If what you said is entirely true, then that is a sufficient explanation. Everything that has not made sense until now is suddenly clarified.”

The one who led to Jenny’s precious pendant being destroyed… even cooperated in controlling the Silver Age.

He even risked his life during the Lycanthrope incident to hold off the wolves. He certainly doesn’t come off as a pathetic scammer.

His parents are the same. The husband is a 6-circle mage, and the wife is an upper-tier spirit sorcerer.

Together, they possess the kind of qualifications that any organization would welcome with open arms.

It doesn’t make sense for such talented individuals to be living as vagrants deep in the mountains. It’s fortunate they haven’t been suspected of being part of a reclusive black magic organization.

“So to reduce that erosion rate, is it similar to the act of selling sleeping medication to my daughter?”

“It was quite some time ago.”

Here, the father explained.

Fearing how much the erosion rate had consumed, the couple said they even tried to find work at a newspaper.

It’s like being part of a social club on the citizenship division.

But the curse turned out to be unexpectedly powerful. Although he used public documents to express his views, leading to some tiny lies… by the time he regained his senses, a large-scale lie was already spreading among those public documents.

“Sometimes it gets to the point where my body won’t listen to me because it’s consumed by the curse.”

It seemed the father’s words were partially muted, but Gerard grasped what was said.

‘I don’t think I’ve ever had such an experience…’

Being unable to control one’s body due to a curse doesn’t apply to me.

Is the curse that has befallen them particularly severe? Or did something change when I possessed this body?

I’m not exactly sure.

“I’ve thought about joining society’s underbelly, but as a parent, I couldn’t do it.”

“You made the right choice. I was worried about giving you a penalty since you didn’t say anything at first, but now that everything has been cleared up, I’m considering whether to allow you to reside in this Silver Town.”

“Really?”

At Gerard’s words, the couple’s interest piqued. Due to the explanation, there’s now a possibility for leniency regarding the sleeping medication scam.

“However, don’t get too excited. My aim is to keep an eye on your activities.”

“We are truly grateful for that. Duke!”

“We won’t forget this kindness.”

My mother and father bowed politely. The fact that they intend to monitor them also implies that they’ll be protected.

If they reside in Silver Town, they won’t have to avoid the eyes of the branch family anymore. The shabby cabin they built was also a good reason for this change.

From Gerard’s perspective, this isn’t a bad proposal either. He may not need the children, but considering the couple’s qualifications, the gains far outweigh the losses.

And I had a gut feeling that this couple was quite witty.

When a family falls, their children are often sold into slavery. Given the tendencies of the branch family, that would likely happen.

However, they managed to keep their children safe while also gathering enough money to cover Lyman’s Academy tuition.

Using their capabilities could possibly accelerate railway construction.

“By the way, what was the name of that curse?”

“It’s the Curse of the Liar.”

“Ah! The curse of the… huh?”

Suddenly, Gerard’s words became irregular. It seems he was trying to say the name of the curse, but it got muted.

“Haha, does this curse even make those who aren’t affected act strangely?”

Gerard smiled bitterly.

Even those who aren’t affected are barred from carelessly revealing it. I, of course, was shocked on discovering this, and so were my parents.

“I don’t know the principle, but I can tell it exceeds normal boundaries. I’ll help as much as I can.”

“Thank you very much.”

“That’s right, but do I need to keep holding onto this graduation certificate?”

“I apologize.”

I returned the certificate to Gerard’s wife. However, noticing a change in the certificate seemed to wrinkle his brow.

“The flame is gone.”

The Eternal Flame that had lasted so long was no longer burning. I had a rough idea of what the issue was but said it to confirm.

“The curse of the Liar.”

“What did you say?”

“The Curse of the Liar… just as I thought.”

I clicked my tongue at the fact that the effectiveness of the flame had entirely diminished.

*

I sincerely apologized for touching my wife’s graduation certificate. Knowing how sensitive that object was, I couldn’t let it slide.

Since our family’s unavoidable circumstances were fully explained, Gerard generously forgave me. Even though the blue flame afterward vanished, the graduation certificate itself was safe, so it wasn’t a major issue.

“I’m really sorry about before. I knew it was something your mother left behind, but… I had no choice to do it to clear the injustice.”

I sat in the garden with Jenny. It felt like a heavy burden was lifted off my shoulders to reveal the truth about all the cheating I had done to her.

My heart felt relieved, but I still needed to apologize for damaging the graduation certificate. I knew well how much she valued the things related to her mother.

“….”

Perhaps because her head was tangled, Jenny opened her mouth with a pensive expression.

For a space meant for two people to sit and have tea together, a silence enveloped us. It was so awkward that I was about to turn my head away.

“Actually….”

Jenny broke the silence.

“I’ve always felt sorry for myself. I’ve even been self-pitying, thinking I lived a miserable life.”

“…?”

I tilted my head as if to ask what she was talking about, but Jenny, having anticipated my reaction, offered a wry smile.

“You know what kind of ability this is, right?”

Suddenly, Jenny raised a hand and concentrated her mana. The bluish mana gathered and formed an ice flower that floated above her palm.

It was evident that her proficiency in manipulating ice had grown significantly.

“At one time… I thought this power was a curse on my life. Everything would freeze without my will, and there was even a time when Rey almost froze to death… and it indirectly led to my mother’s death because I was so clumsy.”

Food that I tried to eat would freeze, or entire villages would turn into glaciers.

It was appropriate to call her a cursed ice witch.

“I hated the world for giving me this power. I couldn’t even make proper friends because everyone was scared of me whenever they saw me.”

The ice flower she was holding withered away to a sad form. Eventually, the flower vanished, and an ice tree sprouted in its place.

On the tree bloomed several withering flowers. Out of all those blooms, only one had wilted.

“However, I never realized the truth. Because I focused only on the curse and didn’t even try to see the ‘whole,’ I was too busy blaming myself. What had afflicted me… wasn’t even deserving to be called a curse.”

The Silver Age, which I had considered a curse for my whole life, was now something I could control freely. At that point, it couldn’t even be called a curse anymore.

The curse of the Liar, which had no visible solution, is the true curse.

“I had a real curse that I didn’t even know existed… and I was too busy harboring resentment without realizing it. I sharpened the blade of revenge and thought you were the villain, vowing that I could never forgive you. And… and again…!”

Now that I recalled what happened during the Lycanthrope incident, an embarrassing feeling burst forth.

The ice tree she had been conjuring completely melted away. Ultimately, she began to tear up with a sorrowful expression.

Knowing what she felt, I wanted to wipe her tears away. But she retrieved a handkerchief herself and wiped the water from her cheek.

“So, I’m saying…! No matter what you say now, I won’t get angry. If it’s a lie, you can say as many as you want in front of me. It doesn’t matter even if it lasts until the erosion rate completely falls!”

Suppressing her emotion, Jenny approached me with a smile, tilting her head toward my face.

“And really…”

I felt a moist sensation on my cheek.

“I’m sorry.”

After withdrawing her lips, Jenny spoke with a radiant face, like an angel. I was so taken aback by her unexpected action that I found myself momentarily lost for words.

“Oh, and… could you move up to Class A?”

It wasn’t simply a request to be on equal terms. She made this request hoping to spend more time together as Class A would allow us to train together longer.

“What’s in it for me if I move up?”

“You can train with me all the time!”

Seeing her eyes light up while saying that, I could tell that was indeed her intention.

“But Lyman is a bit scary.”

“What part is scary? His eyes? His nose? His head?”

“….”

Jenny has never felt fear from Lyman. Why? Because she had been his friend since the beginning of enrollment.

So it only made sense for her to be so naive about it.

“I’ll ask Lyman to fix his appearance once the break is over. Honestly, his white hair is a bit chilling.”

“No, there’s no need for that! Just don’t do anything!”

There’s a limit to being foolish. If that request were made, it wouldn’t end without someone cursing at her and being rejected outright.

“There’s really no need to change anything. That guy Lyman… used to have ‘black hair’ at one point.”

*

Originally, the Chain Silver Family belonged to the relatively weak clans. It was merely a small house surviving on the achievements gained by their ancestors, making it the subject of ridicule among other nobles.

Now that the Chain Silver Family has grown to become a Duke, many harbor jealousy.

“How long has it been…?”

While the servants were organizing the disordered shelves created by Radon, Gerard discovered a picture frame that had fallen in between and whispered.

Inside the frame, nestled between books, was a photo captured through the enchantment of the Reflection Magic.

The scene dated back 30 years featuring a younger Gerard, and beside him, a young man with whom he had his arm slung over—Master White Tower, Tailly Riudciel. Additionally, many comrades were pictured below.

And in the lower right corner sat a man with ‘black hair’ and blue eyes.

“….”

Gerard closed his eyes tightly as he remembered the man in the picture.

“I miss you, brother.”

He cherished the memory of that mentor who had helped him grow. If it weren’t for him, the family would not have prospered as it has.

Surviving as an Academy Scammer.