War of Nerves (2)
Aidrin's expression soured at Adela's blatant treatment of Sillon as a lowly commoner, a mere toy. Sillon, on the other hand, spoke with an utterly nonchalant face.
"Pardon me, but does anyone happen to share the same number as me?"
"No~, there is no one. Quite fortunately, I might add."
"Is that so? Haha, what a shame."
"A shame? Oh, silly me. Look at my head. Yes, that's the word I meant to use. To think we couldn't be in the same group as someone who almost snatched first place right out from under Lord Drin and Lady Kasha—how terribly disappointing, don't you think? Hmm?"
Adela paused mid-sentence, then 'pretended' to notice Aidrin only just then, turning her gaze toward her.
"Oh my, how rude of me, Lady Aidrin. I am Adela of the Aspien family."
Unlike her treatment of Sillon, Adela offered a formal, polite bow. Aidrin also immediately composed her expression, painting a bright smile on her face as she returned the formal bow.
"I am Aidrin of the Telrn family."
"Oh my! You are that Telrn—I knew you looked extraordinary the moment I saw you, and indeed, my intuition was correct. It is an honor to meet you like this."
"The honor is mine, to meet Lady Adela of the Aspien family."
Aspien and Telrn. In terms of sheer status, both families held similar standing within high society. Adela treated Aidrin with utmost courtesy and caution—on the surface, at least. Beneath that polite veneer lay a dark, blatant malice.
"I've heard the rumors. That you took the lead in resolving that unfortunate incident during the exam—oh?"
Adela 'pretended' to notice Aidrin's number only now, covering her mouth with her hand.
"Oh dear, Lady Aidrin. What a pity."
Her face was a mask of deep regret. But if one were to pull away the hand covering her mouth, a mocking sneer would surely be revealed. Through this sequence of actions, Adela was sending a clear message to Aidrin:
'I am already leading so many of our noble peers, yet here you are, all alone with that worthless commoner you trampled over? And in the same group, no less.'
A faint glimmer of superiority danced in Adela's eyes. Reading it clearly, Aidrin felt a surge of hot anger rising within her. Was it because her own situation felt pathetic compared to Adela's? No. It was because she was disgusted by how Adela was openly mocking Sillon right in front of her. And what disgusted her even more was the fact that she couldn't do a single thing about it.
As it stood, Sillon was merely a penniless commoner with mediocre talent. To make matters worse, Adela's score in the second exam was superior to hers. Adela had undoubtedly heard about Aidrin's record from that hulking brute next to her and set up this entire stage.
'Ugh, how annoying.'
This was the exact kind of petty power play that routinely occurred in the noble world—and one that Aidrin absolutely loathed.
"My apologies. I seem to have touched upon a sensitive topic."
"Not at all. It is not a sensitive topic in the slightest, so please do not pay it any mind."
"Oh, Lady Aidrin... how incredibly kind of you... to be so considerate of me even in such a difficult situation."
"..."
"Ah, by the way, I heard you achieved an incredible record of two minutes and thirteen seconds in the second exam. How marvelous. I struggled so much just to break the three-minute barrier—eh?"
As if they had rehearsed it, Melchen cut in right on cue and whispered into Adela's ear.
"It wasn't two minutes and thirteen seconds. It was three minutes and thirteen seconds."
What on earth was the point of whispering? Hearing the whisper that was perfectly audible to Aidrin as well, Adela gasped in mock surprise and covered her mouth. Even in the face of this childish farce, Aidrin maintained a relaxed smile.
'Aaaaargh! That absolute bitch!!! I am going to remember your face forever!!!!!'
Spewing volcanic rage inside her mind, she barely managed to speak.
"If you have no further business with us, we shall take our leave."
Before even waiting for a response, Aidrin turned on her heel, wanting to escape this wretched place as quickly as possible. Just as Sillon was about to follow her—
"Our lady is still speaking. Where do you think you're going—"
Melchen suddenly grabbed Sillon's shoulder and yanked him back. Extremely roughly. Since it was awkward to touch Aidrin, a fellow noble, he was taking his frustration out on Sillon, the easy commoner target.
Adela had fully intended to use this opportunity to firmly put Aidrin—who would hold a similar standing to her once they entered the Academy—in her place.
"Huh!?"
But something was off. Melchen was the one who had grabbed Sillon's shoulder with brute force, yet he was also the one who looked utterly bewildered. He had clearly grabbed Sillon's shoulder, but it felt as if he had grasped empty air. With no resistance to absorb his force, the momentum rebounded entirely onto Melchen. His massive body lurched, and he began to fall backward.
"Uh...?"
He tumbled straight back, crashing right on top of Adela. But it didn't end there.
"Whoaaaaa~!"
Pretending to lose his balance, Sillon let out a loud, dramatic scream for everyone in the vicinity to hear—
"Oof!"
"Ack!"
—and collapsed right on top of Melchen, who was already pinning Adela down.
"What's going on?"
"Hmm?"
Hearing Sillon's scream, the surrounding examinees turned their heads. They saw the squinty-eyed commoner, who had already become a minor celebrity among the participants. And beneath that commoner, they discovered two nobles pinned down in a pathetic, unsightly heap.
"Pfft...!"
"Pahah...!"
Snickers and giggles erupted from all directions. The crowd's contemptuous and mocking gazes lumped Sillon, Adela, and Melchen all into the same category. At this very moment, to the onlookers, Adela and Melchen were no different from that worthless commoner. They were nothing but objects of ridicule and scorn.
"..."
"Pfft."
Even the sycophants who had been trailing behind Adela were visibly struggling to hold back their laughter.
"Ugh—what in the world just—gasp...! A-Are you two alright?"
Sillon was the first to snap out of it in the human sandwich. He scrambled to his feet and looked down at the two of them.
"..."
Adela, who had been lying there dazed and unable to process the situation, finally snapped back to reality under Sillon's downward gaze.
"Melchen."
At her low, chilling voice, which trembled with sheer humiliation, Melchen also snapped to attention. He scrambled up immediately and offered Adela a hand.
"I-I am terribly sorry, my lady!"
Adela ignored his hand and stood up on her own. Awkwardly retracting his hand, Melchen's face contorted with rage as he glared at Sillon.
"Oh dear—w-why are you looking at me like that?! I was merely dragged along helplessly when you pulled me with those muscular arms of yours...!"
Sillon waved his hands in frantic panic. Yet, was it just their imagination? The squinty-eyed expression that was supposed to look flustered somehow felt incredibly mocking.
Melchen barely restrained himself from lunging at Sillon on the spot and looked at Adela. Everyone had seen it clearly. That lowly trash had dragged a noble's dignity through the mud in front of a crowd. Furthermore, no one here would ever take a commoner's side over a noble's. Reaching that conclusion, Adela gave a small, cold nod.
"You filthy commoner piece of trash, how dare you—"
Melchen reached into his breast pocket. He was about to pull out his handkerchief to challenge Sillon to a duel.
"Huh?"
"Ah—"
The eyes of the examinees, who had been watching the spectacle with bated breath, suddenly shifted in unison. The atmosphere grew tense and restless. Wondering what was happening, Melchen and Adela followed the crowd's gaze.
"..."
There stood Kasha Hanahan, looking thoroughly bored. Melchen and Adela, who had been blinded by rage just a moment ago, instantly regained their composure and awkwardly averted their eyes. A heavy silence fell over the area.
"Number two."
Kasha's low murmur drifted through the quiet air. Number two. It was the number pinned to her chest. The examinees had gathered here precisely to find out her number. Now that they knew it, there was no longer any reason to linger. Realizing that Kasha's single word carried the implicit command to 'disperse,' the examinees quickly scattered.
Before long, only four people remained in the clearing besides Kasha Hanahan: Sillon and Aidrin, and Melchen and Adela.
Kasha looked at Melchen and Adela first. As she stared at them, one corner of her mouth curled up into a subtle, mocking sneer.
"Don't mind me. Please, carry on with what you were doing."
Melchen cast his eyes straight to the ground. Only Adela managed to hold Kasha's gaze, forcing a subservient smile onto her face.
"Lady Kasha, it is an honor to meet you. I am Adela of the Aspien family."
"And?"
"I-I simply wished to explain the circumstances of what just transpired."
"Circumstances? An explanation? To me? Why?"
Grin. The other corner of Kasha's mouth curled up, completing her mocking smirk.
"I am merely a fellow examinee, not an examiner or anything of the sort. Just like the others who were watching with such excitement a moment ago. So, as I said, don't mind me. Carry on."
"...Thank you for your consideration, Lady Kasha. However, upon calmer reflection, I believe we acted far too emotionally."
"Oh? Emotionally. Are you admitting that you did something wrong? To a mere commoner like him?"
"It is not so much that we did something wrong, but rather—"
Kasha Hanahan stared silently at Adela, who was scrambling to make excuses.
"..."
Adela couldn't fathom why Kasha was intervening so aggressively to shut this down. But one thing was absolutely certain: if they pushed this any further, they would firmly end up on Kasha Hanahan's bad side.
Adela offered a subservient smile.
"Yes, it is exactly as you say, Lady Kasha. I apologize for causing such a needless disturbance with our improper behavior."
Kasha snorted, showing absolutely zero interest in her apology, and averted her gaze. Finally freed from Kasha's scrutiny, Adela and Melchen let out sighs of relief. They bowed deeply to Kasha before hurriedly fleeing the scene.
Now, only two people remained in the clearing besides Kasha: Sillon and Aidrin. Kasha looked at Sillon first.
'Hmm...?'
She just stared at him in silence. As if waiting for something.