Chapter 25
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Training (5)
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'...Weird.'
The way she wasn't disgusted, even as she was forcibly held in the arms of a man groping her body.
Pretending to struggle, but deep down having already given up on any real resistance.
...Even the way she obediently opened her mouth just because he asked her to speak.
'...Really, so weird.'
Her own behavior felt so awkward, like a love-starved puppy desperate for affection.
"...It's not really meant for you. I'm just... muttering to myself."
Veronica, nestled in Aren's arms, hesitated for a moment before letting out some incomprehensible words.
...It felt like she was making excuses, claiming it was just her pride making her talk to herself...
'Is that the vibe?'
Okay.
Understanding complete.
Aren nodded quietly.
Instead, to help her relax and speak freely, he gently stroked her hair.
It was physical contact he'd never gotten permission for, but right now, no one cared about that.
More precisely, no one was bothering to care. Not Aren, nor Veronica, who was reveling in his embrace in her own twisted way.
"...I'm a filthy mongrel with tainted blood, a witch born from devouring my own mother."
"......"
Veronica's memories began with the servants' gazes treating her like something dirty.
All the negative emotions directed at the innocent, unknowing girl.
Anger, jealousy, disdain, resentment, curses.
It all stemmed from her birth.
"My father—well, the Adel Adler Duke—was a total wastrel in his youth."
"A wastrel...?"
"Yes. A wastrel."
The Adel Adler Duke.
Even Aren, who had come from the eastern continent, had a vague idea of the empire's great archmage.
A man now revealed to be infamous in the empire as a wastrel, too.
"He'd throw drunken parties at the drop of a hat and always had women in his bedchamber. Even his late grandfather despaired, saying he was beyond saving. But then, that wastrel happened to meet the woman who would change his life."
People change with the right trigger.
For some, it might be money, anger, friendship, sorrow, or love.
And for the Adel Adler Duke, it was love.
Unlike the cheap women who only chased his power and wealth, Veronica's mother had touched his heart.
She was...
"A commoner."
"...So that's why you're called a mongrel."
"Yes. My mother was a commoner."
But back then, it didn't matter much.
The Adel Adler Duke might have been a wastrel, but he was incredibly capable.
Both in magic and in practical affairs.
He was talented enough to bury his notorious reputation. So, he could take a commoner as his official wife without sparking any backlash.
In fact, realizing true love made the duke pull himself together and become a proper lord.
"...The problem came after that."
A child was born between Veronica's happily loving mother and the Adel Adler Duke.
That child was Veronica.
"I heard they were over the moon. He stayed up all night planning childcare and bragged about it to everyone."
They were that happy.
But the happiness didn't last.
Veronica's mother died in childbirth, unable to endure it.
"......"
"...My father didn't welcome a witch born from devouring her mother. And so, I started getting shunned by the family."
After that, the Adel Adler Duke reverted to his old ways.
Throwing parties, bringing different women to his bed every night.
"Then Veronica's brother hates you because... your little sister ate his mother to be born?"
"No, that's not it. My brother... Rudolph and I have different mothers. Rudolph's mother was a noblewoman my father married for political reasons first."
"......Ah."
No way.
"She was my stepmother. And from their position, I must have been a thorn in their side."
From Rudolph and the duchess's perspective, Veronica was an irritating existence.
A mongrel tainting the noble ducal bloodline, yet the child of the woman the Adel Adler Duke truly loved—so they couldn't touch her carelessly.
And for the duchess, Veronica's mother was a problem too. Her husband had treated another woman almost like a principal wife, despite already having her as his wife.
It was an act that trampled a woman's pride head-on.
"So when my mother died and my father's attention shifted away from me, it was a golden opportunity for them."
A perfect chance to remove the thorn in their side.
They tormented her with all sorts of rumors and slander, branding her the witch's spawn.
And at the end of that torment, the duchess shoved an absurd political marriage on her.
"...I couldn't take it anymore. I stayed quiet like they wanted, endured their bullying without a word, and what do I get? A forced marriage."
For reference, the marriage partner was a third-rate noble, ugly inside and out.
If the marriage went through, a life of misery was as clear as day.
Lying under a grotesquely aged noble, moaning all night, raising unwanted children—that was the path laid out before her.
"......"
"So I ran away."
"...Ran away?"
"Yes."
She ran away.
"To this place. The Academy."
...
Aren stopped stroking her hair and looked down at her.
Her eyes were deeply shadowed.
"At least here, the family's reach can't touch me. So I basically fled here to enroll."
"What happens after you graduate from the Academy?"
She fell silent for a moment.
"...I'll get sold off again. A worthless mongrel who can't properly inherit noble blood? Of course they'd use me as a tool."
'Mongrel, huh...'
It gave a rough idea of the Adel Adler family's mindset.
Veronica smiled wistfully, muttering in a voice laced with self-loathing.
"...If you've changed your mind, get away from me now. Being around me will just get you burned."
"......"
She was pushing away anyone who got close.
No point getting friendly with someone shunned even by her own family.
Her exceptional talent in magic had gotten her this far, but she had maybe four years left.
Unless she became a grand archmage, this was just delaying the inevitable.
Aren stroked Veronica's head.
"Eek..."
She flinched in surprise but, unlike before, accepted his touch quietly.
He leaned down slightly and whispered in her ear.
"...Veronica. How about we do things my way for once?"
"......"
She gave no answer.
But Aren realized that silence was her yes, and he chuckled before continuing.
"We'll shove it right in the Adel Adler family's face."
"...Shove what?"
"Yeah. In a way they could never imagine."
"What do you...?"
To the bewildered Veronica, Aren kindly explained his idea.
"I heard from Sarah senpai that outsiders come to watch the inter-year tournament after midterms. And the Adel Adler family will be there too."
"...My father has no interest in us."
"Doesn't matter. The point is for as many people as possible to see you beat your brother and claim the top spot."
"......"
Show them boldly.
Who Veronica is. What she can do.
That she's a woman of such overflowing talent they can't touch her carelessly.
And plant shock and dismay in the hearts of the Adel Adler family that ignored and scorned her.
"And while we're at it, it'd be great if you had a boyfriend like me to show off to the world."
Twitch.
Aren chuckled and lightly trailed his fingertips along her neck.
"Wouldn't that feel like a huge slap in the face to the Adel Adler family—or more precisely, the duchess?"
"...Well..."
It would.
She swallowed the rest.
"After that, graduate from the Academy and walk out of the family with your head high. If they're just going to shun you anyway, no reason to stay, right?"
Veronica fell silent.
But it was obvious she was seriously considering his proposal.
"...What if they still won't let me go even after that?"
"Then I'll take responsibility for you."
"...Pardon?"
Veronica looked up at Aren with blank eyes.
"Believe it or not, I'm kind of a big deal back in the eastern continent."
Even if he'd been disowned, Aren was still part of the Shinomiya family.
More precisely, the heir.
To Veronica, unfamiliar with eastern continent politics, it might not register, but...
"I can make sure someone like you lives comfortably for life."
—So if worst comes to worst, just grab my hand and run.
...
"...Why exactly."
"...?"
"...Why are you doing this much for me?"
She genuinely couldn't understand.
Whether his words were true or false was secondary; she couldn't fathom why he was being so kind to her.
But to Aren, the question was foolish.
"Because you're my type, Veronica. Is it weird to be nice to a girl you want to impress?"
"......"
Her body twitched, her cheeks flushing slightly red.
Normally, he'd tease her about it, but for now, he just let it slide.
"So, what do you say? Wanna give my plan a shot?"
Veronica still couldn't wrap her head around it.
Why he'd like a woman like her. If taste alone was reason enough to go this far.
It was still beyond her comprehension.
But...
...maybe it wouldn't hurt to trust someone's kindness, just once.
The thought lingered in her mind—
"......"
And finally, she nodded.
"Smart choice. First things first... we need to shape up that body."
Right then, Aren slipped his hand into Veronica's clothes.
He grabbed her large, soft bare breast.