Chapter 125
Chapter 125
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 125
Chapter Title: Social Death
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From the very start, my mood was foul.
That look, tone, and attitude of disdain, treating me like dirt just because I'm a commoner.
Without even a moment to catch my breath or calm my heart.
I entered the banquet hall in a state of mild irritation.
And right then...
"Alphartz von Weisell... How dare you extend this lowly hand to the young lady."
That single line hit the peak of all my displeasure.
And when that filthy hand reached out toward Carnel...
[The player's rage causes 【Fragment of Rage】 to react.]
My emotions crossed a line.
And once again... the moment I realized who this 'moron' was.
I crossed another line.
'...Alphartz.'
Alphartz von Weisell.
The name I'd heard from Uncle Beru.
"......"
Yeah.
[The player's rage causes 【Fragment of Rage】 to react.]
To be honest...
I was pissed.
Because I knew this guy was scheming against Carnel.
Because I knew she only bowed her head to the name 'Delbar', not 'Carnelia'.
Watching that filthy hypocrisy right here...
It made my blood boil.
...Thud. Thud.
I deliberately made my footsteps loud as I walked forward.
Tapping people's shoulders one by one, drawing all eyes to me.
The murmurs stopped, glasses paused, quietly... very quietly.
Everyone's gaze focused on me.
Amid those gazes, I walked toward Alphartz and...
"...What the hell is this, you moron."
Thwack!
"Kuhk...!"
I kicked him squarely in the face.
His body staggered backward, some unknown red liquid splattering on the carpet.
"What is the meaning of─!"
He jumped up and yelled at me.
But...
The moment our eyes met, his voice dried up in mid-air.
"Wh-what..."
His lips trembled, eyes unable to focus.
Alphartz had clearly realized it.
That he... could never surpass the 'me' standing before him.
I swallowed a laugh.
Suppressing the sneer rising within... I looked down at Alphartz with an expressionless face.
'Retard.'
If I gathered the gazes here and had him kneel to offer his hand to Carnel as a partner... the banquet hall's attention would all focus on Alphartz.
'Alphartz von Weisell truly admires Carnelia von Delbar.'
...A fabricated narrative.
Even if Carnel refused the offer, it would be romanticized as the image of a 'pure-hearted man'.
Unyielding love despite rejection... bullshit like that.
And in that narrative, the one who suffers... would be Carnel, cast as the heartless woman.
'What a moron.'
Really.
What a moronic story.
But that's noble society for you.
'...Annoying.'
No matter how lame or ridiculous the scenario... if the actor plays it convincingly, the audience buys it.
Truth gets twisted, lies get packaged as truth, and real emotions right in front of you get dismissed as fake.
'......'
And... the only thing born from that is 'image'.
So I decided right then to completely trample all that image bullshit.
A mocking laugh nearly burst out, but I pressed my lips down.
What had happened was already done.
No need for me to open my mouth first and stir things up.
"Hello, President."
I casually turned and greeted Carnel.
But... Carnel's condition was a bit off.
Her mouth half-open, eyes wide...
The wine glass in her hand trembling.
"...Hm?"
I glanced at the glass.
And...
Swish.
Without a word, I reached out for that wine glass.
From Carnel's hand... to mine.
"Is this tasty?"
As soon as I finished speaking, I downed the glass in one go.
......The moment it touched my tongue, a bitter tang stung the tip.
'Huh.'
Not strawberry juice, huh.
I'd thought it was juice and tossed it back... but it was wine.
Pretty strong stuff too.
Anyway... to make excuses for being late to Carnel, I pulled out the map she'd drawn.
"President, you need to practice your drawing."
".........Huh?"
"Couldn't tell if it was a map or an earthworm?"
Wiggly, blurry lines that looked like an earthworm.
...No, a map.
'Oh.'
Come to think of it, we're not in the cradle now...
We're in the heart of the empire... and Carnel isn't student council president here, but Lady Delbar of House Delbar.
So the way I address Carnel should change too.
"Should I call you 'Carnel' instead of 'President' today?"
But there was no response from Carnel.
Just wide eyes, like 'where am I, who am I'...
A face that hadn't caught up to reality.
And... the response came from an unexpected place.
"Urk... You! What do you think you're doing!"
Burst lip, nosebleed flowing.
Alphartz pointed at me with a twisted expression.
And... one voice brought the banquet hall to a halt again.
"What happened."
"Cr-Crown Prince...!"
Crown Prince Rufus.
Alphartz pointed at me like he'd been waiting.
"That lowly commoner...! Rudely reached out to the young lady and caused a scene!"
I tilted my head.
'Contradiction in his words.'
Yeah, I caused a scene, but the one who reached his filthy hand toward Carnel...
Was him, right?
But I didn't point it out.
A contradiction this minor was just... everyday lying.
So I just grinned.
"What... Rufus is here too?"
"That voice... no way...... Adel?"
"Yeah, hi?"
"A bit...... unfamiliar...?"
It would be.
I'm here without a mask... in my real voice.
No hiding expressions or emotions.
Standing here just like this.
"......"
And...
The moment they saw me talking to Rufus like we were close.
Alphartz's face went pale.
I swallowed a sneer and put the finishing touch on that face.
"Give my regards to your uncle?"
"......"
"The imperial seal you gave me last time... using it great."
I pulled out the imperial seal.
Small but overwhelming.
The emblem engraved on it... a symbol reigning over the countless nobles gathered in this banquet hall.
The imperial family... itself.
And...
The moment I, holding that emblem, called the emperor 'uncle'.
Rufus caught my intent.
"Adel, visit the palace sometime. Father misses your face too."
"...I'll think about it."
I made a disgusted face for a moment.
Not a mask... genuine reluctance.
Why the hell would I go to the palace.
I meant that refusal.
"...Is that so? Shame."
Rufus sounded disappointed, but mischief played at his lips.
And... that conversation was enough.
Those few words made the gap between Alphartz and me crystal clear.
No one could deny that chasm now.
"Urk......"
Alphartz's face paled, then flushed red with rage, repeating.
Emotions out of control.
But what could he do.
There was nothing Alphartz could do here.
He couldn't even 'dare' join this conversation.
"By the way... I saw the S Class students all gathered upstairs. Shall we go up?"
"Hmm... sure."
I shrugged and turned.
And this time...
I offered my hand to Carnel.
"President, come with."
"............Yes."
A hesitant... wavering hand for a moment.
But Carnel took it in the end.
Click.
On the way up the stairs.
I paused and looked back.
"......"
So no one else would notice.
Just one person could see.
I dropped one eyelid...
And stuck out my tongue.
"─Mo-ron."
At that short word, Alphartz's face burned red.
Gritting his teeth, hands shaking.
But given the setting, Alphartz couldn't say or do a thing.
Just swallow hard and remind himself of his incompetence and powerlessness.
"......"
Carnel glanced at me like that.
Her gaze stopped near my cheek.
She probably saw my gesture.
But...
I just smiled casually and said.
"It's nothing."
As always.
Just nothing.
***
"You've decided to ditch the mask entirely?"
"No."
Rufus tilted his head.
My answer differed from what he'd expected.
"......?"
"Call me Cinderella Adel?"
".........??"
Rufus tilted his head again at my words.
A literal 'what the fuck' expression.
I nodded at such a Rufus.
Click.
We reached upstairs...
And as we approached the table by the window, a familiar voice rang out.
"Yo, Crown Prince, you're here? What was the commotion downstairs?"
"Nothing."
Serros, grinning at Rufus with one arm slung over the chair back, relaxed.
"Ah~ But......"
And that gaze...
Soon shifted to me.
"......Who's that?"
With Serros's question, everyone at the table turned to me.
Klaus, who already knew my face, Charlotte, Laphia... Serros.
And even Erwin sitting alone in the distance.
Everyone but Klaus... tilted their heads with puzzled looks at me.
"......"
I didn't avoid those gazes, pulling 【Phantasmal Mask】 from my inventory.
Activating 【Illusion】 to change the dark mask to the form of 【Mask of Silence】...
And placed it over my face.
"Ah...?"
"......"
But the reaction was muted.
They understood with their heads, but their hearts couldn't keep up... total cognitive dissonance.
"Good job."
Whatever.
I tossed a short word and put the mask back in my inventory.
...Leaving them flustered and speechless, I led Carnel to a corner seat.
"────?!?!!"
Some weird yell came from behind, but...
I ignored it.
"........."
Seated, I glanced at Carnel beside me.
Her face... utterly dumbfounded.
Eyes unfocused, mouth half-open, just staring into space.
I carefully waved a hand in front of Carnel's eyes.
"Drunk?"
"........."
No response.
Well, precisely... there was a response, but no words.
Carnel's eyes were on me...
But that gaze had an unusual... hazy, reddish tint.
'What.'
Suddenly, I recalled the wine glass in Carnel's hand.
She'd been sipping it before I arrived...
The buzz must've hit her now.
"......Yes."
"Yes?"
"......What are you."
"What?"
Carnel suddenly turned her face without explanation.
Covered one eye with a hand...
Swish!
Pointed at my face with the other.
"That face......!"
"It's me."
"I know that...! What is it! Where's the mask...!?"
"On vacation."
"No......!!"
Carnel finally covered her face with both hands and bowed her head.
Thud!
Slamming her forehead on the table.
And soon...
Faint heat rising from her head.
"??"
"What suddenly......"
"It's me."
"...I know that......!!"
"Yeah."
Some weird looping conversation.
But from it, I could tell...
Carnel's mind was a tangled mess, thoughts unsorted.
And... at the center of that chaos was me.
"Tch...."
I shook my head needlessly and picked up a glass on the table.
One smelling of strawberries.
Surely juice this time, I sipped carefully.
"Ah."
...No.
Bitter taste hit my tongue.
'....'
I frowned slightly and set the glass down.
Does this banquet hall have nothing but booze...?
Everything I drink is alcohol.
"President."
I finally tried asking Carnel if there was any other drink.
But...
Carnel stayed bowed with no reaction.
"President?"
Poke. Poke.
I poked her side a couple times with my finger.
But Carnel didn't budge, head buried on the table... still.
"Hmm......"
Looks like...
She's passed out.
"??"
I panicked a bit.
Couldn't just leave Carnel and go, but...
Joining the S Class crew in this state... made me uncomfortable.
"Uuum......"
I pondered for a while...
But no conclusion.
My head creaked, and right then...
Tap tap.
"?
Someone tapped my shoulder.
I whipped my head around reflexively.
And─
"Kyaa! Zero-point pervert spotted!"
Radiant platinum blonde.
Sky-blue, clear eyes.
"...Huh?"
Amelia von Delbar.
Carnel's mother, that is.
"Ooh...? Who might you be...?"
Amelia tilted her head at me, spinning it.
Her blue eyes peered into my face, swirling around.
"Huh? Wasn't this my son-in-law...?"
Swish.
...I pulled out 【Phantasmal Mask】 once more.
And familiarly slapped it on my face─
"Ooh...! It is you!"
Amelia cried out confidently.
Next moment, she grabbed my shoulders and shook me every which way.
"What happened...! Where's the mask!"
"On vacation..."
"Eeek...! Now you're talking...!!"
"Uh......"
Shake shake. Shake shake.
I was rocked back and forth.
Rumble...
...No more, I staggered up from the chair.
Barely holding my wits... I grabbed Amelia's shoulders.
"Uh... what brings you here."
"Hm? Obviously to surprise Carti!"
"......Carti?"
"That one there!"
Shake shake.
Amelia pointed wildly at Carnel, slumped and passed out on the table.
...More than that, calling your daughter 'that one'.
"But...!"
"...Yes."
"Some weird rumor was going around!"
Amelia suddenly changed expression, waving her finger in the air.
The finger zigzagged directions...
And finally stopped at me.
"A man targeting our Carti...!"
"Me?"
"She's already taken... NTR no less...!!"
"Yes?"
"I won't forgive it!"
I floated question marks over my head.
A conversation beyond not understanding what she meant...
Couldn't even grasp where it went wrong.
I groped for invisible structure, trying to trace the origin of this topic.
Still... Amelia blazed her own path through the confusion.
"So! Let's kill him!"
Amelia clenched her tiny fist.
Then...
Swish. Swish.
Punched the air repeatedly.
"......Who?"
"That guy! The scumbag who approached our Carti!"
"......Alphartz?"
"Ah! That sounds right!"
Chaotic, but...
Amelia's proposal was tempting.
I slyly lifted the corner of my mouth.
"We have to kill him!"
"Shall we?"
"Yes! Kill him so bad he can't show his face in society!"
"...Ah, yes. Socially kill him........."
Droop.
I let my lip corner drop.