Should I quietly tip off the others, too?

She’d originally planned to protect only the Guardian’s Sword, but once she actually tried to, she hesitated. What if a ton of people get hurt in the meantime?

They say the house even catches fire.

What if someone dies? Damn it! I hate feeling any kind of moral responsibility when I didn’t even do it!

I should prepare in advance after all...

“Camilla.”

“Huh?”

Camilla, lost in thought, hurriedly lifted her head at Petro’s call.

“You can tell me /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ now, can’t you?”

“Tell you what...?”

“The reason you came to our house like this.”

“Didn’t I tell you last time? Elisha and—”

Camilla couldn’t finish the sentence. Petro gave a faint smile and lightly shook his head.

“Seems like it’s something difficult to say.”

Seriously, he picked up on things fast. Camilla clicked her tongue.

“I only have a guess, that’s all. I’ll tell you once I’m more certain.”

“Understood.”

Petro didn’t press further. Instead, as if he wanted to keep the conversation going, he changed the subject.

“I noticed earlier—Elisha seemed to be in a very good mood.”

“Really?”

“Maybe she’s happy you came, Camilla.”

No, it’s not that. Expensive jewelry is just doing what expensive jewelry does.

I seriously can’t tell if this guy is sharp or dense.

KNOCK KNOCK.

“Sir Petro.”

Just then, the door opened again and an attendant stepped inside.

“A guest has arrived.”

“A guest? Who is it?”

“Young Master of the Ducal House of Sephra—”

Before the attendant could even finish, someone slid into view from behind the door.

It was Arsian.

“Why are you here?”

“To hang out.”

“What?”

“I said I came to hang out.”

For the first time, Petro—who never lost his smile—had a face that strangely collapsed. It was the expression of someone who had just heard the most absurd thing in the world.

“Hang out? With who?”

“With you.”

“......”

“Which room do I use?”

“What are you talking about? A room?”

Don’t tell me he planned to sleep here, too.

“I’m using the room next door.”

“That’s my room.”

WHOOSH!

“...You didn’t come to hang out. You came to pick a fight, didn’t you?”

“Why are you using the room next to Camilla?”

“Hah.”

You literally just said you were going to use the room next door, too. Petro stared at Arsian in disbelief as Arsian grabbed him by the collar in an instant.

“It’s not that I’m using the room next to Camilla. That room is my room to begin with. And there aren’t any empty rooms left on this floor.”

“Then it can’t be helped. I’ll stay in this room with Camilla—”

“Stop spouting nonsense and come with me. My bed’s wide.”

“Why would I share a room with you?”

“You said you came to hang out with me, didn’t you? Let’s hang out properly.”

“Let go of me.”

“Come along while I’m asking nicely. Before I escort you to the room farthest from this one.”

“......”

In the end, Arsian was dragged out, practically pulled along by Petro.

[So he came too?]

“Looks like it.”

One way or another, lately the two of them got along pretty well. Was it because their personalities were complete opposites? Somehow, it felt like they actually matched.

[You must be happy.]

“Pardon?”

[You were smiling.]

“...Me?”

At Zeno’s words, Camilla’s eyes widened slightly.

“Well... it’s not bad.”

Still a little flustered, Camilla lightly shook her head.

No matter what anyone said, in an emergency, Arsian’s abilities would be a huge help. It was only natural to be glad he’d shown up, wasn’t it?

Camilla brushed off the reaction she’d shown without even realizing it.

Chapter. Elisha’s Dream

“The weather’s nice.”

Not nice—hot enough to roast you alive.

The manor was so stifling that Camilla came outside. She figured maybe it would feel cooler if she at least caught some breeze.

But outside wasn’t any different.

“Shade, shade!”

Camilla hurried around the garden, looking for somewhere suitable to rest.

“Really?”

“I’m telling you.”

“So what happened after that?”

“So then I....”

As she walked for a while, a group of people came into view.

They were sitting under the shade of a tree, chattering away.

The bottom-of-the-barrel seven bunch.

It was Elisha and her friends.

Camilla immediately turned around. There was nothing to gain from getting tangled up with those girls.

“So? What happened to him in the end?”

“......”

“......”

“......”

...Huh?

Camilla, mid-step, froze. She’d sensed something strange in the air.

The moment Elisha spoke, the girls who’d been giggling a second ago fell silent at once.

Not one of them opened their mouth. Not one of them reacted.

What is this vibe?

When Camilla glanced back, Elisha was forcing a bright smile, while the others ignored her and sipped their tea.

Then, after a moment—as if nothing had happened—the three of them started laughing and talking again.

Without Elisha.

“I ran into Lord Adron a few days ago, you know?”

“Lord Adron? You mean the young master of House Esro? I’ve seen him a couple of times too. Does he still like books?”

“......”

“......”

“......”

Again, the instant Elisha tried to speak, the three clamped their mouths shut at the same time. Anyone could tell they were deliberately ignoring her.

Elisha seemed to have sensed that atmosphere a while ago, too—but she pretended not to notice, trying somehow to blend in with them anyway.

“Someone’s really into men, as usual.”

“PFFFT!”

“Why? Are you interested in him this time?”

“Oh my! Even if you are, isn’t a man over thirty a bit much?”

“Right. That’s too much.”

“She stole the guy her friend liked, so what wouldn’t she do?”

Snide remarks poured out in an instant. Elisha’s expression hardened as she bit down on her lip.

“I said it was a misunderstanding.”

“A misunderstanding?”

Linders—who’d been the closest to Elisha until recently—curled her lips into a nasty smile.

“You met Lord Oslin privately even though you knew I liked him? That’s a misunderstanding? When so many people saw it?”

“It was a coincidence.”

“That again?”

“I only happened to run into him at the theater.”

“Then what about that?”

“That?”

“Lord Oslin confessing to you. Was that a coincidence and a misunderstanding too?”

“That’s...!”

Elisha really was wronged. She’d only gone to the theater to watch a play she liked, and she’d coincidentally run into Oslin.

She knew perfectly well that Linders was interested in him, so she’d meant to just exchange a brief greeting and leave.

He’d stubbornly chased after her insisting they have tea, but she’d politely refused and gone home.

But someone had seen it—of all things.

And a rumor spread fast that Elisha and Oslin had watched the play together and spent time together.

*****

Did you meet Lord Oslin yesterday?

Lord Oslin? Yeah.

“Yeah”? So it’s true?

We just ran into each other for a moment and said hello—

How—how could you do that when you know I like him?!

What? No! It was really just a coincidence, and we only said hello.

Liar!

*****

Elisha denied it, but it was useless. And as if that weren’t enough, Oslin went and confessed to Elisha, deepening the misunderstanding even more.

I thought you’d accepted the invitation because you wanted to clear things up...

To repair the relationship somehow, she invited them over. Thankfully, they all said they’d attend, and Elisha was truly happy.

But looking at it now, it was obvious—they’d accepted the invitation with the intention of openly ignoring her like this.

You fucking bitches!

Elisha wanted to leap up and grab them by the hair right then, but she swallowed it down.

Still—she was a duke’s daughter. No matter how wronged she was, she couldn’t do something that undignified. She absolutely couldn’t give them something to nitpick over.

“You’re still picking only the dumbest things to do.”

“......!”

Then an all-too-familiar voice rang out.

When they turned their heads, they saw Camilla, clicking her tongue repeatedly like she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

“W-why are you here...?”

“Me? I came to hang out.”

“What did you say?”

Linders’ gaze snapped to Elisha. That woman is here? She hadn’t heard a word about this.

“And you—Rank 107.”

“Ugh!”

Linders’ face twisted at Camilla calling her by her ranking again like it was nothing.

She wanted to say she wasn’t Rank 107 anymore—that last exam she’d been Rank 77—but in front of Camilla, who’d taken first place again, that would only make her own situation look even more pathetic.

“I knew you were never cut out for studying, but I didn’t think you were so stupid you’d struggle with everyday life itself.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?!”

TAP.

“Who’s this kid’s brother?”

Camilla placed a hand on Elisha’s shoulder.

“What...?”

“I’m asking who her brother is. You don’t know?”

“Hah!”

Was she seriously asking because she didn’t know? Linders let out a disbelieving laugh.

“It’s Sir Petro.”

“Right. The face she’s been seeing since the moment she was born—Petro Jevillan.”

Not only Linders, but Elisha too didn’t understand what Camilla was trying to say.

At their baffled expressions, Camilla clicked her tongue again. Do I really have to spell this out?

“Recently, the name of the friend he goes around with is Arsian Sephra.”

If Arsian were here, he would’ve snapped, What friend? But he wasn’t, so fine. Let’s just let it slide.

“And who’s someone she’s been forced to see all the time since she was little, whether she wanted to or not? Our brother Ludville and brother Ravi.”

“What are you even trying to—”

TAP.

“Her standards are high.”

Camilla patted Elisha’s shoulder again.

“Petro, Arsian, Ludville, and Ravi are the faces she grew up seeing. So in this kid’s eyes... who? Oslin?”

That musclehead? Camilla had run into him a few times at the Academy too, but honestly, she’d never given him more than a second of her attention.

He’s just too loud as a person.

A hearty type whose mouth ran ahead of his actions, or something like that.

Of course looks weren’t everything, but between his personality and all of it, she couldn’t find anything particularly appealing.

Well, people have their personal tastes.

To Linders, he probably looked amazing.

But here’s the thing.

Elisha—who always picked her ideal type as her own brother Petro—absolutely did not have that kind of taste.

And that girl, who’d been glued to Elisha every day, wouldn’t not know that. Yet she was doing something this ridiculous?

It was obvious: she was throwing a tantrum because she was pissed that the Oslin she liked had confessed to Elisha.

Even so, this was not it.