Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Just Seduce Him
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Laura Clarins was spending her first peaceful days since that day that turned her fate upside down.
"Yawn..."
"Are you awake, miss?"
"Yes..."
"Then, if I may."
A maid offered a perfunctory greeting as Laura woke up.
She guided the drowsy Laura, still nodding off in her morning haze, to the vanity and helped her get ready with skilled hands.
Laura glanced at the maid's reflection in the mirror and thought.
'She has no intention of getting close at all.'
The maid assigned to her showed no interest beyond her duties, even after more than a week of seeing each other every day.
This was probably because the maid belonged to the academy, not the Clarins Family.
The academy assigned servants to students for their convenience.
Not because of rules against bringing outsiders, but as a welfare policy for students.
The empire was vast, and poor nobles outnumbered the wealthy ones.
Even poor families rarely lacked servants entirely—
But few could afford to send servants along with their third sons or daughters to the academy.
Most families saw it as a waste.
They'd raised them until adulthood and sent them off—what more wealth did they plan to squander from the family?
That was the typical noble mindset.
Thus, those who brought family servants to the academy without exception came from prestigious, status-conscious families.
The Clarins count's family fell into that category, but—
"Go back, Nina."
"Pardon? But miss, the family head ordered me to..."
"Give this letter to Father. He'll understand."
"Miss..."
Laura had sent back the servant from her family home.
After staying briefly with the Dominica family and experiencing life with people who didn't know her "secret."
No one looking at her with suspicion was something Laura had always longed for.
That's why the maid's businesslike attitude felt so comfortable.
She watched her like a maid should, but without wariness.
Every time she realized that, tears seemed to well up in Laura's eyes.
"Yaaawn..."
Whether from past memories or morning drowsiness, she wasn't sure.
After finishing her preparations under the maid's cool but meticulous care, Laura smiled brightly and expressed her thanks.
"Thank you."
The maid gave a curt bow in response to her gratitude, then explained the day's schedule.
Laura listened while nibbling on berry fruits, white bread, and cheese, then sipped her tea.
As the tea touched her tongue, a unique rose scent filled her mouth.
Laura frowned slightly.
'Strange scent.'
Why did Leonardo like this tea?
She kept drinking it, thinking she'd get used to it eventually, but it never happened.
Still, she smoothed her expression and slowly drank every drop from the cup.
After her simple breakfast, Laura left her dorm and headed to the courtyard.
Soon, a familiar voice called out.
"Lor-a!"
So energetic first thing in the morning.
Laura greeted Kiara Mondial approaching from afar.
Fortunately, she wasn't running over like their first meeting.
Still, with her wide strides, she approached briskly and greeted Laura.
"Did you sleep well last night?"
Her greeting was so elegant and refined it was hard to believe it came from the tomboyish figure of moments ago.
Laura sighed softly at the sight.
She often— no, frequently— forgot due to her rough demeanor, but Kiara was the heir to the Mondial Marquisate.
Her innate grace, honed from birth to inherit the family, was enviable to Laura, who had been cooped up in her room for years.
Of course, knowing the reason behind it, she didn't truly admire her.
"Kiara, you can stop calling me 'Lady Clarins' like last time."
"What do you mean? I'm merely acting as befits a lady of Mondial."
"...Sorry."
Laura ended up apologizing to the persistent Kiara.
But Kiara turned her head primly with a huff and said.
"I won't forgive you until you call me 'sister'."
"Kiara's the same age as me—"
"Kiara sister!"
"...Kiara sister."
"Ohohoho!"
Kiara laughed heartily as Laura reluctantly gave in.
Finally satisfied, Kiara headed to the lecture hall with Laura.
Their first class today was Understanding Mana.
A major subject for the magic department, but surprisingly few magic students took it— most were from other departments.
Those passionate enough to enter the magic department had usually already done some self-study.
Exceptions like Laura were rare.
But Laura felt no anxiety or nervousness about it.
She was excited, instead.
To Laura, studying had always been a silent affair.
She'd spent her days alone, buried in books and scrolls, reading until her eyes grew dry.
But academy classes were different.
"Welcome, everyone. Before we begin, a brief explanation—"
Voices filled the air.
In a world of nothing but paper and print, adding sound was truly revolutionary for her.
And it wasn't just that.
"Now, let's try manifesting mana. If you channel it precisely along the circuits in the crystal orb provided by the textbook—"
Magic classes always included practice.
Practice where you knew exactly what to do for a clear result.
Her past "experiments" had been foggy uncertainties— would it work? What if it did?
This felt more like play than study.
'Fun.'
Fun, of all things.
When was the last time she'd felt this?
And she had talent for magic, too.
The blood from her witch ancestor hundreds of years ago.
Laura had inherited it the strongest, so magic bent to her like a tamed puppy.
The academy's magic instructor wasn't blind to talent or stingy with praise.
"This is... outstanding! I can't believe it's your first try!"
Repeated successes and the rewards that followed.
A simple method, but one that motivated more than anything.
She immersed herself in the class.
As she focused, people gradually gathered around her.
"You're amazing, Lady Clarins. Could you teach me your method?"
Classmates approaching to praise her magic skills.
They were drawn by her background as "fiancée of Dominica," but Laura didn't mind.
People were driven by desires, after all.
Intentions that weren't malicious, just impure, didn't seem so bad to her.
And above all, she wanted friends.
So Laura befriended the viscount's daughter who'd bravely approached first, and soon others followed.
Friends appeared in her once-lonely life.
A peaceful environment, people to interact with, pursuits to immerse in.
To Laura, it all felt like a dream.
She dove into this sweet life, forgetting her original plan.
Forgetting goals like using her eye's power to manipulate the Dominica family for untouchable influence.
She walked a path utterly different from the villainess in the story, who dreamed only of revenge after ruin.
Laura savored this daily life and prayed before bed.
Lord, if this is a dream, never let me wake.
And if it must end someday, let it last as long as possible.
She prayed that every night.
But humans adapt.
As this dreamlike life continued for weeks, Laura began to adjust.
Not that it was losing its appeal.
She simply realized this was reality.
Then, a familiar feeling resurfaced.
Dormant after losing everything, it crawled out like a worm infesting grain now that she held happiness.
'How long will this last?'
The feeling was anxiety.
She was so happy it scared her.
Her past irrational loss fueled the fear.
'What if something happens again and this life shatters?'
Unlike her sudden past misfortune, she had reason for worry now.
Her eyes.
The ominous power that harmed minds.
Leonardo hadn't approved of it yet.
And the foundation of her happiness came from her fiancé.
Coming to the academy, her friends, the backdrop for worry-free magic study.
None existed without Leonardo Dominica.
She'd been sold to Dominica, after all.
Laura's grim fantasies swelled.
'What if Leonardo learns my secret and demands to break the engagement?'
At first, she'd thought Dominica bought her knowing the secret.
But that theory weakened over time.
He was too unguarded around her, showing no signs of exploitation.
He just cared for her and spent time together.
To Laura, it wasn't for any goal.
Not for desire, either.
A dry sense of doing what must be done.
That's what his actions felt like.
He wasn't meeting her out of obligation.
She could see the surface enjoyment in his mind during talks.
But it didn't drive him.
Like minor amusement during work.
If she crossed some unknowable desire of his, he'd sigh and discard her.
Desire motivated humans, and she wasn't part of his.
That thought made her heart pound unpleasantly.
'No.'
She had to prevent that at any cost.
Wedge into his heart, rip out his desires, and take their place.
But how?
After agonizing, Laura reached a conclusion.
'Just... seduce him.'
He'd called her beautiful from their first meeting.
And humans cherished beauty.
If he desired her, it had to be because of her beauty.
'He said my eyes were jewel-like and pretty.'
Yes. It was possible.
Convinced, Laura resolved.
To seduce her fiancé.
Make him desire her above all, so he'd never abandon her.
'But how do you seduce someone?'
She didn't know the details.
She wasn't some femme fatale who enchanted men.
Laura pondered how to seduce her fiancé right up until bedtime.
"Nicholas, Laura's been acting strange lately. Any idea why?"
"Strange how? I haven't noticed, but what's going on?"
"She keeps getting her face too close."
"...Pardon?"
Nicholas looked utterly baffled by my words.