The Academy (1)
The situation unfolded at a breakneck pace, leaving no room for intervention.
A liquid that should have been inside the cup soaked deeply into the clothing, staining it dark.
“…….”
Whoosh, crackle, crackle…!
Soon a blonde woman with striking blue eyes unleashed a blue bolt of lightning from the corners of her eyes.
Just as she sought to confront Lottie’s crimson aura.
It happened in the instant when her faint mana began to assemble itself into a butterfly shape.
“──Enough.”
BOOM!!
At the last moment I forcefully disrupted every ounce of energy in the space.
I flicked the air with the back of my hand, and instantly Lottie’s blood qi and the woman’s bluish mana vanished from sight.
The two women turned to me with startled expressions.
“……Adelaide Teyran.”
Her golden blonde hair and blue eyes as clear as mine.
Now on the same level, yet she was still the daughter of another highest noble who had once split the Duchy of Havertz and the empire in two.
I narrowed my eyes slightly at her, watching her like a gentle, refined noble cat.
That was how mysterious her aura always was.
“Our little brother isn’t that way though.”
Just as I was filling my head with such meaningless thoughts.
“……Hah.”
With a short sigh she took out a handkerchief from her bosom and dabbed at the water on her face.
Then she quietly turned to look at me.
“Isaac.”
“…….”
“No…… I suppose I should call you Duke now?”
She smiled faintly, as if asking which way I preferred.
I never expected her to keep such a calm demeanor after being drenched in water.
If it were me I would have cut the opponent in half.
Of course, under the assumption that the opponent was not in a position to act disrespectfully toward me.
Still, in this case, because she was a woman of the same ducal family, the difference in position between Adelaide and Lottie was not that great…….
But she remained an uncomfortable woman.
The first time I met her was three years ago at a young age, and even now she made me uneasy.
She was said to be the very picture of a noble lady.
Even while dripping water from her entire body she managed to keep such a poker face.
“……Hoo.”
I rubbed my throbbing temples and thought for a moment.
How should I bring it up? Well, if I just watched quietly it seemed I didn’t need to worry about that part so much.
I glanced at Lottie’s expression, then quickly turned my gaze away and spoke.
“It’s fine if you call me by the title you prefer. The title…… doesn’t matter much.”
“……Huhu, really?”
She covered her mouth with a hand and folded her eyes into crescents, nodding as if she had known all along.
“Then I’ll do that, Isaac. Even after calling you like that for three years, the title ‘Duke’ still doesn’t sit well with me.”
“……Bring a towel.”
I casually tossed the words behind me to the waiting maid.
The brown-haired girl who had been frozen between Lottie and Adelaide gave a vigorous nod and hurried away.
Soon she returned with a towel, which I handed to Adelaide.
“…….”
“……Lady?”
She stared at me without immediately taking it.
I tilted my head curiously, and then Adelaide smiled faintly.
And playfully she said,
“You’re not going to wipe it for me yourself?”
“……Huh?”
“It’s just a light joke.”
I blinked blankly with both eyes.
What was that about?
Wipe it for me? Me? You?
……Why?
“Ahem.”
Feeling a little embarrassed after saying it myself, Adelaide quickly snatched the towel I offered and gently wiped her hair.
It was a bit amusing, but what could I do? It was done.
At that moment I glanced at Lottie, who was rolling only her eyes in a thoroughly ambiguous expression as if she didn’t know whether to stand or sit in the situation I had interrupted.
“Charlotte Havertz.”
“……E-Eh?”
I called her right then.
But in a way that might have been quite bewildering for her.
A title that was neither “Lottie” nor even “Charlotte,” but an extremely stiff “Charlotte Havertz.”
It was the decision I reached after a short moment of thought.
In the current situation, this was the best choice.
I placed my hand on her shoulder with a cool gaze.
It wasn’t heavy, and it wouldn’t hurt, but it conveyed pressure.
“……Oppa.”
“You’ve never once said you can do whatever you want to…….”
“…….”
“Apologize to Lady. What kind of rudeness is this.”
“I, that……”
“Now.”
I cut off Lottie’s words as if she was about to say something.
She trembled and looked up at me with shaking eyes.
It was an expression and gaze filled with no small amount of confusion.
I rarely spoke to her in such a cold tone.
More accurately, I had only done so when my late duke father was alive, hiding my true feelings completely.
At least for Lottie, who had been clinging to me more than anyone else in the past month, this would be confusing.
In that gaze I sensed a trace of resentment, and I felt sorry myself.
But given the situation, there was nothing I could do.
The Emperor had become our enemy.
In this situation, if Adelaide or the Teyran Duke behind her turned, it would bring a lot of trouble.
Even if we had engaged in a betrothal, it wasn’t that deep a bond…….
But maintaining the position of neutral parties rather than becoming enemies would be far better.
“……I, I thought of you, oppa……”
“…….”
Lottie’s lips trembled slightly in front of me.
It was a voice so small that Adelaide behind her probably couldn’t hear.
I knew perfectly well why she had suddenly stepped forward.
I, too, had been unhappy with the woman behind me for the same reason as Lottie.
……I understood, but there was the position in noble society.
Now, owing a debt to Lottie was the better choice by far.
“I hate you, oppa……”
“……Huh.”
So this was the best option.
Since Lottie was not immature, she had probably understood the causality of this situation without difficulty.
Flash!
Seriously or not, her tears welled up as she spat out the words “I hate you” and vanished in a puff of blood qi.
“……Hate. I, I hate.”
I staggered as if I had taken a great wound from an unexpected shock.
I had been prepared…… but when I actually heard those words with that expression, my head felt like it was going white.
I managed to suppress the desire that had almost made me want to hug her right then and say I was wrong.
“Haa, hoo, ahem, um……”
“…….”
“……Damn it.”
I forced myself to ignore the cold gaze behind me and took deep breaths in succession, but calming myself down was also a difficult task.
With furrowed brows I touched my forehead and turned to look back.
Anyway, I had to do what needed to be done.
“I’m sorry, Lady. My younger sister…… is still, a little, young.”
“Didn’t she already receive her adulthood ceremony?”
“……Twenty-one is still a child.”
While turning my head slightly I spoke timidly, and Adelaide’s expression grew even more strange.
“What kind of nonsense is this man talking about?” I suppose that would be the right way to put it.
“The steward.”
I sighed inwardly and signaled to Himmer, who had just arrived from upstairs at the right time.
It meant to expel all the servants in the drawing room.
From now on, there was no need for the servants to hear the conversation that would follow.
Fortunately, the veteran steward Himmer quickly led the maids out.
Now only I and Adelaide remained, alone in the opulent drawing room.
“……I never imagined my little brother would do something so impulsive.”
Adelaide was the first to break the silence.
She looked at me with a soft smile.
“To suddenly appear and pour water on us. I was shocked. I heard rumors, but having such mysterious abilities……”
“…….”
“I suppose the story that Isaac, you lost consciousness and she blocked the army alone is not false.”
“……My little brother is naturally talented.”
“Weren’t you just saying she was still a child a moment ago?”
“Talent is supposed to sprout in childhood, isn’t it?”
“……You receive things very skillfully. Really, not a single word of complaint.”
Adelaide’s lips twitched slightly as she muttered.
“Hmm……”
I narrowed my eyes and scrutinized her expression carefully.
Her voice had grown a bit subdued…… perhaps she was feeling uneasy?
I wanted to ask, but I didn’t.
Of course, there was no need to poke the fire unnecessarily.
“Anyway.”
In any case, that was the end of the unnecessary small talk.
Since our intentions matched, Adelaide and I immediately changed our expressions.
“Why have you come all this way, Lady Adelaide?”
“What does distance have to do with meeting the beloved fiancé…… I wanted to say something pleasing, but……”
“…….”
“Even if I say that, you probably won’t be happy. Isaac. Neither you nor I are in a relationship born of true love.”
If I knew, I should just say what I have to say quickly.
I raised my eyebrows with exactly that expression.
I had done enough to make her hate me already, but saying it still felt odd.
If our relationship with Lottie worsened, it would truly be unbearable.
No more small talk. I declared it like that and shot Adelaide a sharp gaze, and finally the main topic emerged.
“I’ll be direct, Isaac.”
“Yes, Lady. Please speak.”
“I have come here on the imperial command.”