It was an awkward atmosphere.
But strangely enough, I found myself getting used to situations like this.
Not that I welcomed it, of course.
Still, Yuna’s provocations tended to follow a pattern. Even when she made such blatant remarks, she usually smoothed them over with a joke shortly after.
A true menace, really.
“Well, I suppose that’s possible.”
“Huh?”
But today was different.
Ariel didn’t frown or look upset like she usually would. Instead, she calmly agreed with Yuna’s words.
“They say heroes are often womanizers, right?”
“Huh?”
I’ve never been a hero, let alone a womanizer.
I’m not the kind of shameless guy who goes around charming women.
And let’s not forget. It was Ariel who used her family’s power to push for our engagement, not me.
As for Yuna, while she didn’t use power, she was just as forceful in her own way.
“And I know Yuna’s liked Johan for a long time.”
“……”
“I accept that. I’m not such a petty woman.”
The more composed Ariel appeared, the stiffer Yuna’s expression became.
This was a standoff I’d never seen before.
“But Yuna, you do understand, don’t you? No matter how hard a commoner like you tries, there’s no place for you in a noble marriage. Was it called an affair? There’s no need for that. I’ll graciously allow you to become a concubine.”
Do I get a say in this?
What kind of bombshell was that?
I’d figured one of them would naturally back down over time….but why go out of the way to create a scenario like this?
I had no idea how I was supposed to manage the domestic fallout from all this.
No matter how I imagined it, all I could see in my future was getting stabbed or used as a target for magical experiments.
“Well, it’s not like there’s much else a commoner like you can do, right?”
I’d forgotten what she was really like.
Ariel was more aware of her authority than I’d realized.
Wasn’t she the same person who, at the beginning of the semester, had subtly looked down on others with a sense of superiority?
Spending time with the imperial princess must’ve taught her just how powerful authority can be.
So this is the might of a duke’s family?
It’s absolutely terrifying.
“What you did this morning wasn’t all that different, was it? Yo two are really a match made in heaven?”
“Shut up.”
The Oracle who was completely oblivious to the tension looked back and forth between me and Ariel with interest.
God, I really can’t stand her.
It’s not just that she looks like Alice. She was just fundamentally incompatible with me as a person.
“Hmph.”
After enduring Ariel’s relentless show of power, Yuna let out a short exclamation.
Not a trace of her usual cheerful smile remained. She had just a perfectly blank expression.
“This is getting interesting.”
The word that finally came out of her mouth was nothing short of catastrophic.
“Interesting.”
Bang!
Yuna slammed her hand on the table and stood up.
Then, flashing a small smile and shrugging her shoulders, she said,
“Then you’d better watch and see what I’m capable of, Lady Ariel.”
“I’ll be looking forward to it.”
I can’t breathe.
What’s even scarier is that I didn’t even have a say in any of this.
“Watching you suffer really whets my appetite. Haha.”
“……”
And next to me, the Oracle was happily shoving cake into her mouth, grinning from ear to ear.
I was beyond irritated.
***
Lobelia was living a life split between the Imperial Palace and the Cradle.
Did it really need explaining?
It was all thanks to Emperor Abraham’s constant harassment.
“Haa…”
And during all that time, Lobelia’s mind was slowly being worn down.
The Imperial Palace was crawling with vipers, and on the road to the Cradle, she encountered assassins more often than newspaper vendors.
Even with bodyguards in tow, most of them were under the Emperor’s influence.
Just being around them was exhausting.
But she couldn’t simply leave them behind.
Refusing the bodyguards personally assigned by Abraham would be tantamount to insulting his honor.
And for someone like her, who was aiming for the throne, that wasn’t an option.
That’s why, more than anything, she needed time to herself.
Lobelia lay staring blankly at the ceiling in a dorm room far too modest to belong to imperial members.
“…I don’t recall doing anything to make you hold a grudge against me?”
There was something on the ceiling.
It was the moment another wave of fatigue was added to Lobelia’s already draining life.
In the Cradle, there were very few who could deceive her senses.
One was Headmistress Olga Hermod.
And the other was an assassin so skilled that even she couldn’t detect her.
“Yuna, is there something you want to say to me?”
“Yes.”
It could only be Safe Clown.
Lobelia swallowed dryly as she spotted Yuna clinging to the ceiling, peering down at her.
Honestly, it gave her chills.
“I see. If it’s not too much trouble, could you knock before coming in next time?”
“I did. You weren’t here, so I came in first. But you looked deep in thought, so I waited.”
“Hmm…”
Lobelia had entered the room about 30 minutes ago.
Even for someone of her caliber, she hadn’t sensed Yuna’s presence that whole time. This was proof of just how ridiculously monstrous the girl really was.
“I see. That was a blind spot.”
Was it just too ridiculous to even be angry about?
Lobelia couldn’t even think of what to say to Yuna, who had entered an unoccupied room without permission.
“So, what is it you wanted to say? I believe this is the first time you’ve spoken to me directly without going through Johan… Ah, is it a message from him?”
“No.”
“Then?”
“I need a noble title.”
“For you? Ah—no offense intended. It’s just… you never struck me as someone who cared about that sort of thing.”
“Well, I didn’t at first.”
“Is there a reason behind this?”
“Yes.”
Lobelia gave a small chuckle at Yuna’s unexpectedly subdued demeanor.
Unaware of what had happened earlier that day, she took Yuna’s request lightly.
That’s why she began listing off solutions without hesitation, never imagining that she was only hastening her own downfall…
“I’m sorry, but noble titles aren’t something you can just hand out. Usually, you’d have to earn great merit on the battlefield, develop technology that benefits the imperial family, or….though it’s not exactly noble, you could buy a title.”
“…You can buy one?”
“That’s right. Typically… fallen noble families will sell theirs that way.”
“How would I go about buying one?”
“Well, you’d usually marry into the family line…”
Lobelia trailed off.
Yuna’s expression made it clear she didn’t like the sound of that.
Well, she was still in love with Johan, so of course she wouldn’t.
“There’s also the option of being adopted into the family.”
“……”
Yuna frowned at that. Not because she disliked the idea, but because it brought up painful memories.
She had once been adopted by Charybdis Salos and lived as a young lady of the Salos family.
She hadn’t bought the title, exactly, but in a sense, she’d already been the heir to a noble house.
How had she forgotten that?
She was already a noble.
However, it wasn’t something she could go around boasting about.
The moment she revealed she was the heir of the Salos family, questions about Charybdis’s death would surface too.
And more than anything, she hated hearing Charybdis’s name brought up.
Because whenever his name came up, so did his crimes.
“I wouldn’t really recommend the latter, though. From the outside, it doesn’t look good, and having money doesn’t automatically mean you can buy a title. The supply is overwhelmingly short compared to the demand.”
“……”
“Besides, even if you did make money through assassination, it’s not exactly clean money, is it?”
A noble title carries a hefty price.
In fact, you could say the price is whatever the seller wants it to be.
Even if it was just a baron’s title, those looking to buy it were usually people who lacked nothing.
There’s only one thing they were missing and that was power.
And by that point, money was practically something they live on a mountain of.
In the worst case, no amount of money might be enough to buy a title.
“Instead, why don’t you work under me and build up some merit…”
Lobelia had been talking excitedly at the chance to recruit someone as talented as Yuna….until she noticed Yuna had suddenly gone quiet.
“Hmm…”
Yuna was smiling as if she’d just figured something out.
The moment she saw that smile, Lobelia realized she’d gotten too excited and said too much.
“You’ve got a plan? Someone who might be willing to sell a title…?”
“There is someone I could ask. Thanks, Princess. Let me know if there’s ever someone you need taken care of. If they’re a bad person, I can take them out for you.”
“…Sealing a deal with the kingdom’s strongest assassin with just a few words. Seems today’s my lucky day.”
“Puhihi! That’s great news.”
Still, Lobelia didn’t think she’d lost anything in the exchange.
She smiled as she watched Yuna exit through the window with a cheerful look.
With that, Lobelia lay down on her bed, feeling noticeably lighter.
It felt like the stress she’d built up during her visit to the Imperial City had melted away.
***
While Lobelia lay resting comfortably in bed—
This time, Ariel came to visit.
“Your Highness, do you know what happened today?”
Something good must have happened to Ariel, because she seemed to be in a better mood than usual.
Lobelia listened to her with a smile.
And then…
“I do feel a little bad, but I couldn’t just sit back and take it, could I? Huh? But Your Highness, why are you sweating so much? Are you hot?”
“Uh, hmm… A little. I suppose so…”
“I’ll use some magic for you.”
“Thank you, Ariel.”
Lobelia was sweating bullets. It was only then that she realized why Yuna had come to see her.
She had, essentially, helped Ariel’s romantic rival—
—with her own hands.
Even if it hadn’t been me…!
Lobelia hurried to come up with excuses in her head.
…Even if it wasn’t me, she would’ve figured it out on her own eventually, right?
It wasn’t even that complicated.
It was the kind of thing someone else could’ve explained just as easily.
Unless Yuna had asked for a noble title in exchange for earning merit under her, this much probably wasn’t crossing the line… was it?
“…Sorry.”
“Hmm? For what?”
“…There’s just… something, Ariel.”
But no matter how hard she tried to justify it, Lobelia couldn’t shake the guilt bubbling up inside her.
“Oh, come on, Your Highness. You don’t have to be sorry about anything with me. It’s fine.”
The self-loathing hit her.
Not just for betraying a friend, but for grinning so brightly after gaining so much from it.
She felt pathetic.
“Ariel.”
“Yes, Your Highness?”
“…I’m really… really sorry.”
“You’re acting strange today. Cheer up! I’m really fine, I promise!”
But Lobelia knew.
This was absolutely not fine.
***
Meanwhile, Yuna had set out on her path to acquire a noble title.
It wasn’t a long journey.
“You’re always so brazen. What did you just say?”
“Adopt me.”
“You’ve completely lost your mind.”
After all, this was the Headmistress’s office.
“I mean, really… I’ve never been this speechless before.”
Olga Hermod couldn’t help but feel a swirl of emotions.
What was Yuna to her, exactly?
The first thing that came to mind was the daughter of an old friend.
Next was that she was the enemy of that same friend.
And finally the legacy that friend had asked her to take care of.
Looked at that way, it wouldn’t be so strange for her to adopt Yuna.
But Olga Hermod had said it clearly when she let Yuna go:
Never show yourself in front of me again.
Various things had happened since then that led her to tolerate Yuna’s existence… but still—
His daughter? Me?
Olga Hermod found the idea as unpleasant as her friendship with Charybdis.
They’d spent so much time forced together that “friend” was the most neutral word for it, but had they met as enemies, they would’ve been archenemies.
And more than anything else—
Olga Hermod was single.
Charybdis Salos had also been single.
So the image of adopting Charybdis’s daughter…
To think I’d still be discovering new things that disgust me at my age…
It felt like she and Charybdis had somehow bonded together, and the thought made her want to gag.
“Find someone else.”
Olga Hermod shook her head in disgust. As far as she was concerned, she’d already done more than enough to honor her obligations.
At this point, no one would bat an eye if people started calling her a saintess.
“Fu.”
Was that why?
Yuna, in response to Olga Hermod’s rejection, merely let out a laugh as if she found it ridiculous.
And then…
“Please do it.”
“No.”
She sprawled out across the Headmistress’s office.
It was such an unbelievably childish tantrum that Olga Hermod was once again left speechless.
She hadn’t imagined Yuna would throw a fit this blatantly.
Especially because Yuna usually had a surprisingly mature side.
“Haah… Let’s hear it first. Why do you want to become a noble?”
Olga Hermod could already guess that the sudden request for adoption was about becoming a noble.
There was no other reason Yuna would ask to be adopted by her, after all.
Olga Hermod personally found noble titles a hassle, but she was well aware that others didn’t see them that way.
“If I want to marry Johan, I have to be a noble.”
“There’s no such law, you know.”
“I’m aiming for the position of his official wife.”
“Haa…”
Olga Hermod felt her vision dim at the sheer absurdity of the reason.
“I’m not a noble, so I’m always stuck on the sidelines! Boohoo!”
“……”
“When Lady Ariel suddenly announced their engagement, there was nothing I could do! Boohoo!”
“……”
It was blatant. She was clearly trying to play the pity card.
Olga Hermod knew it was all an act.
No matter what, you can’t fool the eyes of a great mage.
But still…
“Haah…”
What a loud, annoying mess.
There was a part of her that always softened at the sight of a crying child. Even when she knew it was fake.
She had wandered through battlefields so horrific they could drive a person mad.
She had seen too much, learned too much, and witnessed countless horrors.
And to hold on to her humanity, she had swallowed countless lies.
Most notably, the lies of children.
Children who had to lie just to survive—she had seen far too many of them.
She knew this situation wasn’t the same as back then, but still…
“Let’s set some conditions.”
“I’m all ears.”
Yuna smiled sweetly, as if she hadn’t just been crying moments ago, gazing up at her.
Utterly shameless.
But in the end, it was Olga herself who had chosen to go along with that shamelessness.
“There’s going to be an outside guest visiting soon.”
With a sigh, Olga Hermod shook her head and pulled a document from her desk drawer.
She had already been wondering what to do about this.
“Saintess Tillis. She’s visited the Cradle once before, right? She’ll be coming again, and this time, she wishes to study with us.”
Even as she spoke, Olga Hermod couldn’t help thinking she was being too soft..
“So if you serve as her guide faithfully during her stay, I’ll allow you to take the Hermod name.”
She called it a condition, but in truth, there was no real way to fail.
It was almost too easy.
She had already decided to give it to her. This was just her being petty about it.
But…
“Ugh.”
For Yuna who knew Tillis’s true identity, the condition sounded like being told to go defeat the Demon King.
And honestly, that wasn’t far off.
The final perfected form of the Judge was a Demon King, after all.
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