The Perfect Lackey

“It’s Ewan Campbell!”

Someone in the crowd muttered the name.

And then, as if they had all undergone rigorous, specialized training, the crowd parted in perfect, synchronized unison, creating a clear path down the middle.

A path that revealed Ewan, who had been stealthily trying to sneak into the academy from the back of the crowd.

“Holy crap.”

Ewan, still holding a half-eaten kebab, froze. He felt like a master thief caught red-handed in the sudden, unforgiving glare of a searchlight.

Who shouted that? Who has such sharp eyes?!

Can’t you just let me keep a low profile?

Don’t you know how awkward it is for me to show up at a time like this?

Looking at the tense standoff between Emon and Ariel, Ewan felt a headache of epic proportions coming on. Of all the people he didn’t want to see, it had to be the protagonist, Ariel. And of all the classic, clichéd scenes, it had to be the one where his own lackey was serving himself up on a silver platter for Ariel to humiliate and use as a stepping stone.

In this situation, for him, the blond villain, to suddenly appear… no matter how you sliced it, this was bad. It would just make the protagonist think he was here to gloat, which would only crank up her animosity meter!

…

The truth was, Ewan had arrived a while ago, even before Ariel. But instead of heading straight into the academy, he had been leisurely strolling through the surrounding streets, sightseeing, and buying a few snacks. It was only when the crowd at the main gate had thinned out that he had decided to make his entrance.

And of course, that was the exact moment Ariel had emerged from her carriage.

And of course, that was the exact moment Emon and his pack of idiots had decided to block her path.

And then, a few minutes later, the academy gate was surrounded by hundreds of “coincidentally” passing-by onlookers. The whole area was packed solid.

Where did you all even come from?! The gate was completely empty just a minute ago!

Is this the protagonist’s “Domain Expansion: There Must Be an Audience for My Grandstanding” ability? Ewan couldn’t help but grumble internally.

But grumbling aside, being the sudden focus of everyone’s attention triggered the muscle memory of his new body. He instantly wiped the awkward, deer-in-the-headlights expression from his face and replaced it with a standard-issue, benevolent smile, nodding politely to the crowd.

But even though he was, by all objective measures, devastatingly handsome, and his smile held not a trace of malice… at least eighty percent of the girls in the crowd immediately looked away.

“Oh no, if you make eye contact with Ewan Campbell, you’ll get pregnant!”

“Ah, I forgot to smear soot on my face! What should I do? I heard that if he takes a liking to you, you’ll be knocked out and sent to the ducal estate in the middle of the night, and then he’ll do… things to you.”

“You want to be the Duchess? Are you kidding? He’s engaged. He’s just playing with you. I heard the number of girls he’s played with and tossed aside is enough to form an entire class!”

“You know that suicide tower in the academy? They say half of the people who have jumped from there were poor souls abandoned by Ewan Campbell.”

“…” Listening to the increasingly outrageous whispers, the corner of Ewan’s mouth twitched uncontrollably. What kind of super-playboy was he supposed to be? From the sounds of it, he was so universally despised that he was at risk of being run over by a truck driven by an angry, honest man every time he stepped outside.

Although his predecessor, the original Ewan Campbell, had indeed been a scumbag, it couldn’t have been that bad. At most, he had probably just flirted with a few girls. If he had really driven a student to suicide, even as the son of a duke, the academy wouldn’t have just let it slide.

“So this is what they mean by ‘loose lips sink ships.’ Rumors are truly terrifying,” Ewan sighed. Changing the public’s perception of him was going to be a long, arduous journey.

But, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. He had to start somewhere. Since he had decided to change, he might as well start now.

With that thought, Ewan began to walk toward the eye of the storm.

…

“Well, well, well, Ewan Campbell. You finally showed up.”

Seeing him, Ariel wasn’t particularly surprised. In fact, it was exactly what she had expected. After all, he was the one pulling the strings. It was only natural that he would come to watch his enemy be humiliated. Just like he always did.

But she wasn’t about to let that happen.

“What’s wrong? Still the same as ever? Don’t have the guts to do it yourself, so you have to send your wild dogs to do your biting for you? You’re still as pathetic as ever,” Ariel sneered.

“Those words really sting, you know.”

“Aren’t they a perfect fit for you?”

“…Fair enough.”

Calmly accepting Ariel’s mockery, Ewan walked up to her. He placed a hand on his chest and, with the grace of a perfect gentleman, smiled. “Good morning, Miss Ariel.”

“Huh?”

Ariel froze, her eyes wide with disbelief, as if she had just seen a ghost.

What did I just see?

What did I just hear?

Ewan Campbell… was bowing to her? He was wishing her a good morning? His opening line wasn’t, “You filthy, low-born mutt, why don’t you get the hell out of here?!”

Am I dreaming?

Ouch. Nope, not a dream.

Ewan Campbell just spoke like a human being!

“You seem surprised that I’m greeting you.” Ewan struggled to keep the twitching corner of his mouth under control. “I greeted you the same way at the banquet, did I not?”

Ah, that’s right. He did.

…Which made it even weirder! This couldn’t be some simple prank, not if he was keeping up the act for this long. He must be plotting something!

“What are you planning, Ewan Campbell?!” Ariel demanded, her voice sharp and serious.

“…I’m not planning anything. I was just saying hello.”

“Don’t try to fool me! I’ve seen through your schemes too many times! Ah, that’s right! The way you were looking at Lilia at the banquet was very strange. You’re trying to act all nice and proper to make me lower my guard, and then you’re going to make a move on the innocent, naive, and large-chested Lilia, aren’t you?! I’m telling you, I will never let your evil plan succeed! Lilia’s big chest belongs to me and me alone!” Ariel glared at Ewan, like a mother hen protecting her chick.

“I told you, I was just saying hello. You’re overthinking things.” Ewan shook his head with a weary smile. He decided to ignore the overly-imaginative Ariel for the time being and turned to face the group behind him.

“Young Master Ewan.”

Seeing him turn, Emon and his cronies immediately straightened up, their faces plastered with sycophantic grins.

“What are you all doing?” Ewan asked.

“We are challenging Ariel Bourgard!” Emon declared, his voice full of righteous fervor. “To wash away the shame of last semester!”

So, you, a fourth-year, challenging a second-year… isn’t shameful?

Ewan sighed, rubbing his forehead. He didn’t know if these idiots had made his predecessor stupid, or if his predecessor had made them stupid. No wonder, with a family background like his, the original Ewan Campbell couldn’t even last twenty chapters in the novel.

“Did someone order you to do this?” Ewan asked.

“No! We are doing this of our own free will!” Emon puffed out his chest, his face full of pride.

Emon was just the second son of a viscount. He knew that if he wanted to get ahead in life, his only option was to cling tightly to the leg of a duke’s son like Ewan. So he had long since decided to become the perfect lackey.

And what was a perfect lackey? Was it someone who waited for their master to give them orders?

No. A perfect lackey had to understand their master’s intentions and learn to find their own work!