Chapter 87: 'Holy' Ellis's Day (8)[R-18]
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 87: 'Holy' Ellis's Day (8)[R-18]
[❗I❗LOVE❗THAT❗THIS❗GALLERY❗DOESN'T❗HAVE❗TACTICAL❗NUKES❗][4]
[Winners who got gifts for Ellis's Day, let's see some upvotes lol][35]
[...This gallery dweller got dumped after confessing today][51]
[But for real, I think I smelled a devil today?][20]
[Long Post) Check out the gifts I got today lol][16]
[🔞 Making a sex partner is so easy.jpg][0]
[About the corset of women having to give men gifts on Ellis's Day...][7]
[Whoa, I just thought of something insane lol][9]
[They say 70% of a person is water][17]
[Author: UseNiceWordsOnly■] = [Elfriede Karleya]
[But for real, I think I smelled a devil today?][20]
That suspicious smell I mentioned last time? I’m pretty sure it’s a devil. The scent was really thick today, for real...
ㅇㅇ(74.811): A devil? Lmao. Does this kid even know what Ellis's Day is?
ㄴILoveTenantFarmers■: For real lol. It’s been over 1,000 years since the devils vanished when Saint Ellis descended.
ㄴㅇㅇ(211.209): Why are you guys like this... They could have lived for over 1,000 years...
ㄴPyeolkwaelkwael■: Gasp. A 1,000-year-old chicken coop. Just imagining it is terrifying.
ㄴUseNiceWordsOnly■: Sigh, you idiots lol. As if you’d know anything.
ㄴㅇㅇ(74.811): Can’t even argue back, so you just resort to insults?
ㅇㅇ(122.39): I told you already, that’s the smell of a chicken coop lol.
ㄴUseNiceWordsOnly■: Seriously, it’s not funny, so stop with the chicken coop jokes.
ㄴㅇㅇ(122.39): Well, I find it funny. I’m gonna keep doing it lol.
ㄴㅇㅇ(598.215): I think it’s hilarious too lol.
“....”
Looking at the Gallery wasn't fun at all.
I had only checked it on the off chance that Estelle might have posted something, and I was about to close it immediately, but...
Even for Elfriede, I felt I had been a bit too harsh earlier, so I took a quick peek at her post.
‘...That’s a relief.’
Seeing her drawing aggro as usual, it didn't seem like she was particularly bothered by what happened earlier.
“Haa...”
Part of me wanted to just go home and sleep, but Estelle and I were the only members of the Library Club.
Since Estelle was gone, I had to stay in the library until closing time.
Click— clack—
Because, as it happened, there were still students coming into the library.
“Hello, Ian.”
“...Who are you?”
“Oh my? I thought you’d obviously know who I am. We’ve seen each other’s faces a few times, haven't we?”
It was impossible not to know her.
She was a celebrity on par with Laplace or Lady Yuris.
The Red Rose Heiress.
Helen Redrose.
Slide—
“These are top-quality chocolates, limited to only 30 boxes, released by Red Rose Commerce specifically for Ellis's Day. Most nobles can't even get a glimpse of these.”
“And?”
“It’s a gift. Take it.”
“I meant, why are you giving them to me?”
“How prickly... Your personality is a bit different from what I’ve heard.”
“....”
“Well, fine. It seems you’re not in the mood for small talk. You know the Red Rose family motto, don't you?”
“...Red roses take golden shits.”
“Yes, red roses take golden... Tsk, how vulgar.”
Helen frowned deeply at my response.
“If you don't know, I’ll tell you. It’s ‘Red roses bloom on the battlefield.’ Do you know the meaning behind this motto?”
“...Not interested.”
“Even if you aren't, listen anyway. It means our Red Rose family sucks up the blood spilled on the battlefield to bloom our red flowers.”
Helen’s continuous, meaningless chatter was making my already foul mood even worse.
“So, what’s your point?”
“My, what other reason would a woman give a man chocolate on Ellis's Day?”
Slide—
I pushed the chocolate back toward Helen and spoke.
“...I’m sorry, but today hasn't been a good day for me. So, if you’re just planning to keep playing around, I’d like you to leave.”
“Playing around? Do you think I, ‘Helen Redrose,’ came all the way here just to play a joke?”
Crinkle—
Helen tore open the packaging of the chocolate I had returned, popped one into her mouth, and spoke.
“Mmm... as expected, it’s delicious. If people had to pick the most important of the five human senses, most would choose sight, but for me, it’s taste. I believe nothing makes a human as happy as gourmet food.”
“....”
“Well, I suppose you aren't interested in that either. Fine. I’ll be blunt.”
Click— clack—
“Ian, become my lover.”
“...Sigh.”
As I let out a sigh, Helen, who had sat down in the seat next to me, curled the corners of her mouth upward.
“I’ve heard rumors that you’ve been on good terms with the second-year top student lately.”
“...Aren't you the top student?”
“Hmm...? Are you not even going to use honorifics now? Well, fine.”
“....”
“I’m the top student in terms of overall grades... but everyone knows I’m actually second place, don't they? If Estelle hadn't missed all the practical exams because of her legs, she would have been the top student.”
“So?”
I replied with a voice clearly laced with annoyance, but Helen continued unphased.
“Do you know what the most important thing for a merchant is? Money? Trust? Well, those aren't wrong, but ultimately, it’s the eye to read the flow.”
Tap— tap—
Helen tapped her eyelid with her fingertip.
“That’s why I became the Red Rose heiress. I can see the ‘flow.’ Oh, that doesn't mean I’m a Blessed One. Should I say I’m just smart, or perhaps quick-witted?”
“....”
“You’re close not only with Estelle, but also with Lady Yuris, the Saintess Candidate, and Princess Laplace, the Second Princess, right? Oh, and of course, there’s no need to even mention that Golden-haired Mad Dog, Evelyn.”
For the first time in this conversation with Helen, a useful piece of information surfaced.
I hadn't known, but it seemed Evelyn had the nickname 'Golden-haired Mad Dog.'
“...So, what are you trying to get at?”
“I told you from the start. Become my lover. Oh? Are you perhaps dating one of them?”
Estelle was a friend, Lady Yuris was a bitch, Laplace was an onahole, and Evelyn was a sex partner.
In the literal sense of the word, there was no one I was 'dating.'
“...No.”
“Hmm? Really? Then that’s even better. I can just tell everyone you’re my lover starting today. It’s very common for couples to form on Ellis's Day, after all.”
“Why do you keep talking nonsense? You aren't even interested in me, are you?”
“Hahaha!! How interesting. I won't tell a cliché lie like saying I fell in love at first sight.”
Click— clack—
“I told you. ‘Red roses bloom on the battlefield.’ Even if no one else does, the ‘Second Place’ clearly harbors feelings for you. ...And nothing shakes a woman’s heart like love.”
Helen stood up, her heels clicking as she circled around me.
“When the Second Place finds out that you, the one she loves, are in a relationship, she’ll have a pretty hard time. Since I’m skilled enough to beat her when she’s struggling... only then will I truly ascend to the position of ‘Top Student’ in the truest sense.”
“Ha... You call that skill? If you become the top student like that, how is it any different from now?”
“It’s different. I didn't make the Second Place’s legs the way they are, but I’m the one shaking her heart. Using everything at your disposal is also part of one's skill.”
Helen twisted her lips into a smirk.
‘Well, that’s just an excuse, though.’
Second place in the Academy? Top student?
Having a high rank wasn't a bad thing, but for Helen, a member of the Three Primary Colors Families and the heiress of ‘Red Rose,’ it was far too trivial a matter to truly care about.
From beginning to end, every word Helen spat out was merely to draw Ian’s attention toward her.
‘He doesn't seem to realize it... but it’s certain that not just the ‘Second Place,’ but also the ‘Golden-haired Mad Dog,’ the ‘Saintess Candidate,’ and the ‘Second Princess’ all harbor feelings for Ian.’
She had tested the waters by using the word ‘close,’ and it seemed Ian still hadn't noticed who loved him.
‘...This is a massive opportunity! To think the Princess and the Saintess Candidate love the same man!’
Currently, the bond between the ‘Imperial Family’ and the ‘Church’ was incredibly solid.
So much so that even the Red Rose Family couldn't find a single crack to wedge themselves into.
However...
As history has proven, the thing that always drives a wedge between people is ‘love.’
‘A battlefield! I will personally start a war right here in this Sacred Academy!’
Helen intended to use Ian as a weapon to ignite a battlefield within the Sacred Academy.
Of course, at the center of that battlefield would be the ‘Second Princess’ and the ‘Saintess Candidate.’
From the advantageous position of being Ian’s ‘lover,’ she would walk the tightrope between those giants and tear them apart.
And at the final moment, she planned to play the part of the tragic woman who yields Ian to one of them, securing massive profits for her commerce guild in the process.
‘I’ll drive a wedge between the Imperial Family and the Church while making them both indebted to me. Hehehe!’
And the best part about this plan was...
This was, strictly speaking, a ‘romantic feud’ taking place within the Sacred Academy.
No matter how powerful the Red Rose Family was, the risks of being caught engaging in ‘political maneuvering’ to split the Imperial Family and the Church outside the Academy were immense.
However, a ‘romantic feud’—especially one occurring within the Sacred Academy, where equality was guaranteed in the name of Saint Ellis—was something external forces could not interfere with.
‘...Well, and I’ll take the spot of the true second-year top student as a little bonus.’
Just as Helen gave a confident smile and wound a strand of her red hair around her finger...
“...This is ridiculous.”
Ian’s voice, thick with anger, reached her ears.