Chapter 56
Aslan, who was standing nearby, grabbed his waist as if he were used to it and let out a sigh.
“Brother!”
“No, Delly! That guy just sneered at me. It’s all an act, I’m telling you!”
At my sharp reprimand, Adrian pulled a long face.
When I turned around to check, Alferen was mumbling with his eyebrows drooping into a frown.
“I was just smiling…”
Of course he was.
Anyway, this sis-con brother of mine picks fights with Alferen at every opportunity!
I snapped at Adrian, who still hadn’t snapped out of it and was badmouthing Alferen.
“Why are you even complaining about him smiling now!”
“Haaaah.”
Adrian rubbed his face with a look of utter despair.
“Delly doesn’t believe me and only listens to that guy… I mean, my friend’s words.”
Ignoring my brother completely as he dragged out his words and pretended to sob, I turned to Alferen.
“If my brother bullies you again, don’t hide it—just tell me.”
“We’re friends, Delly.”
“Ugh! How are you going to survive in this harsh world if you’re this kind-hearted?”
That’s why he ends up losing his girl to his friend and even his life to a villainess.
I was thinking I needed to protect him until summer came, as I ate the éclair he’d neatly sliced for me.
“Hahaha, this is really hilarious!”
Aslan, who’d been watching the whole time, bent forward at the waist and burst into laughter.
‘Oh man, that guy doesn’t seem right in the head either.’
He was laughing so hard tears were streaming down his face in a situation that wasn’t funny at all, which instinctively put me on guard.
“Wow, what a riot of a sibling pair. Never thought I’d see the day Alferen pulls a sly fox act.”
His red eyes, identical to Julia’s, gazed at me with interest.
Just as I was thinking that if he stayed still, he could pass for Julia in men’s clothing—they looked that much alike.
“I get why they’ve been hiding you away like some precious treasure… You’re definitely pretty. But not my type, though.”
My face twisted in disgust at the sudden evaluation of his tastes.
Well, you’re not mine either!
I was holding back and just glaring because he was supposedly my brother’s friend.
Suddenly, Alferen pulled my face into his chest and murmured.
“Delly, you should only look at good things.”
“Yeah. That guy’s harmful, so it’s best not to make eye contact for more than three seconds.”
When even Adrian joined in, Aslan made a bewildered expression.
“You two only sync up perfectly at times like this? I’m not some germ—what’s so harmful about looking at me!”
“Idiots have a way of spreading their idiocy just by being around.”
“Ditto.”
Aslan shuddered at the back-and-forth between Adrian and Alferen.
That’s when it happened.
“Oh my! Can our Magia really participate in that event?”
All eyes turned toward Sierra’s excited voice.
Julia, who was leisurely tilting her teacup in front of her, nodded gracefully.
“Of course. I was actually in a bind because one spot opened up, so I’d be grateful if you joined. I’m sure it’ll help with running the club, Miss Sierra.”
They were already on a first-name basis.
Before I could even marvel at her insane charisma, Sierra raised her voice again.
“I’ve been so busy with the hideout that I missed the application deadline—it was such a shame. But if we can attend the cherished items auction, we’ll get a ton of club funding and it’ll make it so much easier to promote the club and recruit new members!”
“I’m glad to be of help.”
Hold on.
Going where?
It couldn’t be… right?
My heart started pounding irregularly.
Hearing about this familiar event out of the blue, I poked Sierra in the side repeatedly.
“Where are you saying you’re going?”
Julia’s oddly satisfied expression only heightened my unease.
Whether she knew about my foreboding or not, Sierra said,
“There’s one spot left in the cherished items auction hosted by the club. You might not know, Rodellia, but just attending gets you an enormous amount of club support funding!”
Oh, no!
Recalling the original story’s content, I felt deeply troubled.
The Magia club was originally supposed to be forcibly disbanded before the first half of the year was over.
It was because they caused an incident akin to terrorism at the club booth event and cherished items auction in June.
‘It was definitely some weird magic experiment demonstration that went wrong and caused an accident.’
There were more than a few suspicious points.
For starters, Edwin was a walking trap spell, wasn’t he?
Unfortunately, a high-ranking noble got caught up in it and injured, which blew the whole thing up.
‘In the end, they were disbanded on charges of moral turpitude and scattered to the winds.’
It was probably an episode meant to completely isolate Edwin from his peers.
After that, Edwin’s wandering led to his reunion with Summer, marking the start of his persistent obsession.
‘I was relieved when she said she forgot to apply because she was busy with the move, but of all things!’
But what good would blaming Julia do?
She didn’t even know the original story, so she hadn’t introduced the event with any ill intent.
From her perspective, it was just an act of kindness.
Besides, I was the only one who knew an accident would happen there, having read the original.
It was probably the original story’s contrived force at work. Hadn’t I seen plenty of that already?
‘I wonder if it’ll be okay…’
Still, having broken off Alferen’s engagement and twisted a key route for the sub-male lead made me a bit less anxious.
If I could prevent it once, twice shouldn’t be hard.
Unaware of my worries, Sierra grabbed my hand and shook it enthusiastically.
“Rodellia, you’re definitely our club’s lucky charm! Ever since you joined, good things have been exploding one after another.”
Sob, my mental state’s the one exploding.
If it’s come to this, I’ll resolve it early to prevent any accident!
* * *
Rain was drizzling steadily outside the window. Thanks to the downpour tempering the heat, a cool chill lingered in the room.
“Hello, Lord Daven. The weather’s a bit gloomy today.”
Rodellia familiarly replaced the wilted lilies with fresh ones and sat down in front of the former Duke Ainluk.
His appearance hadn’t changed a bit since the first time she’d seen him.
As she quietly gazed at his face, which seemed frozen in time, a wave of melancholy washed over her.
It had already been a week since she’d received the summoner’s stone from Eden.
Contrary to her bold start, no miracle of a new sprout emerging from the stone had occurred.
Of course not. What talent do I even have?
Even as such thoughts deflated her, seeing the sleeping Daven forced her to muster her spirits again.
“Just wait a little longer.”
She knew that as long as Alferen didn’t give up on him like in the original, he wouldn’t die.
The problem was that breaking off the political marriage with the imperial family had caused issues with the holy water supply.
Alferen didn’t show it, but she could see he was increasingly exhausted, which made her even more anxious.
It was while she was casually chattering to Daven about Alferen, pretending everything was fine.
“You’re still here.”
“Oh. You’re off work already?”
“The mana field felt a bit off.”
He answered lightly and hurried to check the magical device by the former Duke Ainluk’s bedside.
The device, which he’d personally inscribed with formulas, prevented the former duke’s vitality from waning.
Because the formulas were so intricate, the duke’s body was completely isolated from the outside world.
Thus, Alferen was the only one who could touch him directly.
Since she’d never run into him during her visits to the annex.
Rodellia suddenly feared she might have unknowingly damaged the device.
“Why? Is something wrong? I really didn’t touch anything this time—I was careful…”
“Just a moment.”
Alferen double-checked to ensure the device was functioning properly.
A short while later, he murmured with a peculiar expression.
“That’s strange.”
“Huh? Uh, what’s strange about it?”
Alferen looked down at the sleeping Daven.
Unlike his rush over thinking there was a magical anomaly, the device was operating perfectly fine.
“No, it must have been a signal error. Checking it now, there’s no issue.”
That struck her as a bit odd, so her response was delayed for a moment.
Rodellia let out a deep sigh and stroked her chest in relief.
“Phew. I was so nervous thinking I’d messed up again like last time.”
