Chapter 24
As if he found it a waste of time to indulge her whining.
The Emperor looked down at Nanael with an icy gaze and opened his mouth.
“In the end, it’s you, Nanael, who failed to win over Duke Ainluk’s heart during that long engagement period.”
“……”
“Thanks to that, the Duke has made excellent use of the imperial family. I’m deeply disappointed in you over this matter, Nanael.”
His gaze, cold as a sheet of ice, seemed to pierce straight through Nanael’s heart.
“I, I……”
It was just as she barely managed to squeeze out those words.
The Emperor grabbed her hand and said,
“If you can’t accept this outcome, then take action yourself. As a member of the Barnard imperial family, you should be capable of at least that much on your own.”
With eyes as sharp as a hawk’s.
* * *
In the Barnard social scene, one could join various social clubs starting from the debutante ball.
From clubs centered around all sorts of hobbies to gatherings that took the form of study groups.
The more historic the club, the more complicated the membership process tended to be.
“Delly, just come to our club already?”
Adrian, who had insisted on following me all the way here as I came to submit my application, grumbled.
I easily ignored him and headed toward the reception desk.
“Delly~!”
To be fair, I couldn’t entirely dismiss his complaints.
The ‘Genus Club’ that Adrian belonged to was where the heirs of the four great ducal families gathered, and it was the undisputed top among existing social clubs.
Normally, as Lady Peris, it would have been natural for me to join there as well.
‘But that’s one of the main settings in the original story!’
I had no desire to willingly step into a place where the love triangle would unfold in full force.
Besides, I was already connected to Somer through that wonderful ‘Daddy Long Legs’ relationship.
Adrian whined.
“Where on earth are you trying to join! At least tell me so your big brother can prepare accordingly.”
“What are you going to do with that information, anyway?”
“Well, to check what kind of guys are there and deal with them in advance……”
I knew it would be something like that.
Just how long is this guy’s sis-con going to last?
Maybe it’ll quiet down once Somer shows up?
I feel bad for Somer, but it might be better to offload this lacking brother onto her.
It was around the time I was mulling over such thoughts. Adrian pretended to look away and swiftly snatched my application form.
“Ah!”
“Majia? Was there even a club like this?”
“Give it back!”
I quickly grabbed the form back and huffed in annoyance.
“Ah! I remember now. Isn’t that the one that was just recently established? I think it’s a gathering for magical flora and fauna studies……. Delly, were you interested in that? From what I can tell, you’re built for swordsmanship.”
“Nah. Swordsmanship suits you better. I’m just mimicking it.”
“I naturally thought you were interested in swordsmanship……”
Adrian smacked his lips regretfully.
He and I had trained in swordsmanship together since we were children.
The Peris sword style was known for its agile, rushing strikes that were so elegant they resembled a dance, earning it the name ‘the sword of dance.’
And the one who wielded the Peris sword style best was undoubtedly Adrian Peris.
In contrast, I was a talentless body that couldn’t even awaken an aura.
“What I learned is closer to self-defense.”
“That’s not true. There are so many guys at the academy who are worse than you. This is me speaking as your brother, but you look so cool when you swing a sword, Delly. Like a butterfly……”
“I’m done hearing about your sis-con filter.”
“But it’s true. Why won’t you believe me?”
Adrian furrowed his brows in disappointment.
Honestly, as someone who’d watched a genius swordsman like Adrian from childhood, his words just sounded like mockery to me.
There was a time when I, too, wanted to master the family’s secret techniques and become an impressive swordsman like him.
‘A genius like my brother will never understand how an ordinary person like me feels.’
It was thanks to remembering my past life that I grew up straight without going astray in the face of that overwhelming talent gap.
In the original story, Rodellia deeply resented Adrian, after all.
Anyway, they say a stone thrown by a genius can kill an innocent frog, right?
I drew a firm line against Adrian, who seemed ready to try persuading me again.
“Anyway, I’m joining Majia. And I have no intention of continuing with swordsmanship.”
“Whine.”
His voice carried a petulant whine, and I felt chills run down my spine.
“Don’t do that, Brother.”
“I won’t if you join Genus too? The other guys would love to have you there.”
“That’s not a place that allows dual memberships.”
“If it’s not allowed, we can make it allowed!”
He really has an answer for everything. I clicked my tongue and reiterated my refusal.
“What’s an ordinary person like me going to do mixing with a bunch of geniuses?”
The heirs from the ducal families in Genus were all geniuses and eccentrics to boot.
Even Adrian, who was all brightness in front of me, turned terrifying once he held a sword.
That’s when Adrian murmured meaningfully,
“Delly, you seem to underestimate your own potential.”
The sudden shift to a serious atmosphere made me tense up as I asked,
“What do you mean?”
Could it be that I have some hidden power that wasn’t revealed in the original story?
My heart pounded with anticipation.
With my face full of expectation, I waited for Adrian’s lips to part.
Adrian grinned and said,
“What do you mean! Our Princess Delly has the ultimate beauty in the universe, so just existing makes you amazing! Just stay put, Delly—your brother will pave a flower path for you!”
Seeing him follow that up by forming a heart arrow with his fingers and shooting it made me cringe.
‘He totally killed the vibe.’
I shot Adrian a cold glare.
To think I’d trusted him when this isn’t even the original story. What a huge mistake!
The bit of expectation I’d harbored shattered into pieces, and my anger turned toward Adrian.
I mimed slicing the heart he’d thrown my way right in half, as if to show him.
After that, I ignored all of Adrian’s nonsense, finished submitting my application, and was on my way out.
“Oh, Miss Rodellia.”
I ran right into Loti, who had just come to submit her application.
After we’d faced Nanael’s insidious plot together last time.
I’d been exchanging letters with Loti ever since.
You could say my pen pal count had increased to two.
This was our first meeting since we’d agreed in our letters to call each other by name.
“Lady Bei…… no, Miss Loti, you’re here to submit an application too?”
In the original story, I don’t think she joined any club.
But seeing her here right at the start of the application period, it seemed she’d set her sights on one.
“Yes.”
Loti replied shyly, her cheeks flushing.
Her golden hair, neatly braided into a single plait, caught the eye particularly.
Her blue eyes, glancing at me, were deep and rich like sapphires.
‘She definitely seems less gloomy than before.’
Her nickname had been ‘Ghost Lady’ after arriving in the capital and immediately getting targeted by Nanael, forced to play the role of her puppet.
She’d followed Nanael around like a shadow, devoid of presence, but she’d regained her vitality thanks to Somer and even gained quite a bit of popularity.
‘Well, with that shy, girlish demeanor, it’s no wonder. Guys would naturally feel protective toward her.’
Especially with those freckles dotting her fair, delicate face—they were a real charm point.
That’s when Loti asked, as if confirming,
“You’re applying to the place you mentioned before, right, Miss Rodellia?”
“Oh, yes. It’s a field I’ve been interested in for a while. You said you were still deciding, Miss Loti—looks like you’ve made up your mind?”
“F-For now, yes.”
Loti gave a faint smile, bowed politely, and walked away.
And Adrian, who’d been watching the whole thing, had a gleam in his eyes.
“A friend?”
He looked thrilled, as if seeing his little sister’s friend for the first time.
I muttered casually, without much thought,
“Sort of. Like, the enemy of my enemy is my ally.”
If I’d wanted to get really close to Loti, I wouldn’t have stopped at just pen pals.
I only intended to build a moderate acquaintance.
Expecting true friends in this wretched social scene would be a luxury.
“……I wish our Delly were just a bit more sociable.”
“Stop sounding like Dad and hurry up and come along.”
As I tugged his arm, Adrian let himself be pulled along easily.
“Yes, yes, coming.”
Though his words were offhand, his eyes were filled with concern for me.
I inwardly grumbled, not understanding why he was meddling like this.
‘I’ve already given up on finding friends here anyway.’
