Chapter 411: Gold and Silver (16)
Chapter 411: Gold and Silver (16)
What happens when a commoner becomes a noble’s romantic rival?
No matter how much the Academy claimed that talent knew no rank, the end was always all too predictable.
If one was lucky, it ended with public humiliation. If not, it wasn't uncommon for eyes to be plucked out, for people to go missing, or for mysterious deaths to occur.
All for the simple crime of loving a noble man.
The gap between the nobility and the common folk was that absolute.
No matter how hard one struggled, it was impossible for a commoner to overcome the divide of social status. While a tiny fraction of commoners managed to earn titles through great merit, that was a world away from Emma’s reality.
And yet, Emma had dared to covet a man sought after by high-ranking nobility.
No, she had gone beyond mere coveting—she had even kissed him.
To make matters worse, her rival was Elsie Lainella, a girl infamous for her foul temperament.
It would be a lie to say she wasn't afraid.
Nevertheless, Emma tried her best to calm her pounding heart. She told herself over and over that she had to be brave.
She couldn't rely on Ian’s shadow forever.
Nor did she want to lie about her feelings.
Whatever insults were hurled at her, she would endure them in silence.
Wasn't that a small price to pay for a commoner who had dared to love above her station?
However, Elsie’s actions were far beyond anything Emma could have imagined.
"Charge it all to me."
Those were the first words Elsie spoke after taking Emma out.
Before that, there had been no conversation. Not even a common greeting had been exchanged.
In that long silence, Emma’s tension had reached its peak.
Was Elsie giving her time to beg for forgiveness first?
Nobles hated brawling with commoners. Fundamentally, it lacked grace.
Thus, to preserve their pride, they would sometimes offer a 'merciful' choice to a commoner. They would wait for the person to confess their sins and throw themselves at the noble’s mercy.
Usually, the noble would then grant a generous pardon. It was partly for the sake of their reputation and partly because they didn't want to deal with the hassle.
To have to lift a finger just for one commoner...
It was a waste, an inefficient choice.
In just a few minutes, Emma’s hands became damp with cold sweat.
It was no exaggeration to say that a commoner’s life depended on a noble’s whim.
The experience and instincts accumulated since childhood constantly urged Emma.
I should just kneel now.
For some reason, Elsie was leading Emma into the city. If she begged for forgiveness in a place with so much foot traffic, Elsie would be forced to forgive her for the sake of her family’s honor.
Yes, that would be the right choice.
But Emma couldn't bring herself to speak.
The mere thought of a life without Ian brought tears to her eyes.
It was then that Elsie stepped into a lavish clothing boutique.
At first, Emma thought she was being made to act as a servant, but Elsie simply pointed at clothes at random as if it were a chore.
Most of them were sizes far too large for Elsie’s petite frame. Emma watched, dumbfounded, as Elsie went about her business.
And then came those words.
The command to charge it all to her.
Emma hesitated, unable to grasp the intention behind it, when a bolt from the blue struck her ears.
"Which lady should we use as the model for the fitting?"
"Her."
The person Elsie pointed to indifferently was none other than Emma.
Emma, who had never even stepped foot in such a high-end shop, couldn't even process the conversation. While she stood there tilting her head in confusion, she found herself being handled by a tailor who had appeared with a measuring tape.
Elsie handed the clerk an amount that seemed to be the payment for the clothes.
A platinum coin—a coin worth a staggering 100 gold.
The moment she witnessed that noble luster, Emma snapped back to her senses.
It felt as if currency from another world had suddenly appeared.
Emma instinctively shook her head in refusal.
"L-Lady Lainella! These clothes are far too much for someone like me..."
"I’ll be the judge of that."
Her tone was firm.
That voice carried the arrogance and confidence unique to the nobility. It was the conviction that her decision was absolutely correct, regardless of whatever judgment a mere commoner might make.
In the end, Emma had no choice but to remain silent.
The clothes Elsie chose were all exquisite. Not only was the fit perfect, but the fabric itself looked entirely different.
Emma had only bought clothes in the city a handful of times in her life.
With barely enough money for food, she didn't have the luxury of coming to the city. Her only decent outfit was the Academy uniform issued to all commoners upon admission.
She had been careful even with that, and now she was suddenly being gifted custom-made clothes.
Was this a scheme to torment her by saddling her with an unpayable debt?
But Elsie didn't seem to care in the slightest about spending 100 gold.
"Adjust the details so they suit her. Send them to the dormitory when they're finished."
"Yes, my lady. Understood."
Even after that, Elsie continued her strange behavior.
She took Emma to an expensive restaurant and bought her rare alchemy ingredients.
Finally, they ended up sitting side-by-side on a bench, sipping drinks.
From Emma’s perspective, it was a sequence of events she couldn't understand at all.
It was a luxury she had never experienced in her life, but because she didn't know the reason for it, Emma felt nothing but discomfort.
When she ate a meal that cost over 1 gold, her stomach felt like it was freezing over, and when she received the rare magic materials, she could only watch Elsie’s face with a guilty heart.
It was the same now.
Even as she sipped the expensive drink, Emma couldn't taste it.
She was too busy agonizing over what Elsie’s intentions were.
But no matter how much she racked her brain, no suitable answer emerged.
Unable to bear it any longer, Emma cautiously spoke up.
"Um, Lady Lainella..."
"Hmm? What."
Sucking on her straw as if she were used to this, Elsie turned her blue eyes toward Emma.
Her face remained unreadable.
Sitting on a chair that was a bit too large for her small frame with her legs stretched out, she almost looked like a young girl out on a picnic.
But that was nonsense.
Why would Elsie bother going on a picnic with a commoner?
Emma suppressed her anxiety and asked in a timid voice.
"Why did you call for me...?"
That was the signal.
Elsie’s expression stiffened, and Emma’s heart momentarily sank.
Had she made a mistake?
While Emma fidgeted, Elsie groaned as if hesitating.
After a long while.
As if she had finally made up her mind, Elsie asked in a low voice.
"Hey, commoner. You’ve been getting along well with the Master lately, haven't you?"
It was as she expected.
Emma actually felt relieved by that cold tone. Now, she felt she could finally bring out the answer she had prepared.
She was already braced for the consequences.
Emma nodded with a determined look.
"Yes."
It was only a single word, but it was an answer filled with strength.
It was a declaration of her will—that she would not back down easily, no matter what external pressure was applied.
Facing this, Elsie began to bite her lip.
She hesitated again, and then finally managed to squeeze out a question.
"......How?"
Immediately after, Emma’s brain came to a complete halt.
How?
Emma didn't know either. They had just happened to kiss, and since then, she had been living every day as if in a dream.
But Elsie looked more desperate than Emma could have imagined.
The girl licked her lips and pressed Emma again.
"I-I mean, how did you two get so close! There must have been a catalyst, a catalyst! D-Don't get the wrong idea, okay?"
At the same time, she puffed out her small shoulders, pretending to be haughty.
She couldn't overcome the limitations of her stature, but her intent to bluff was well-conveyed.
Elsie forced a triumphant expression and raised her index finger.
"It’s not like the Master and I are on bad terms, you know? It’s just, well... how should I put it. It feels like we can't get close beyond a certain point. Ahaha... so I was j-just a little concerned. Otherwise, there’s no way I’d ask a commoner like you for advice, right?"
By the end, her true feelings were leaking out.
Asking a commoner for advice.
To Elsie, who had been raised as a high noble, it was something close to a disgrace.
Suddenly, Emma recalled Elsie’s behavior throughout the day.
The stiff face and the low voice—at first, Emma thought she was angry.
But she wasn't.
Elsie just wanted to hide her embarrassment.
The moment she realized that, Emma’s previous anxiety vanished as if it had been a lie.
Instead, she even felt a strange sense of kinship toward Elsie.
Even if she was a lady of the Lainella family, a woman was still a woman.
When it came to love, Elsie was agonizing over it just like Emma was.
So, Emma inadvertently let out a small giggle.
It was an act of rudeness that would normally be unimaginable.
It was a mistake that would usually make her startle and check the other person’s reaction. Yet, Elsie didn't seem particularly angry.
She was just trembling, unable to overcome her shame.
"D-Don't laugh...!"
"O-Oh, no! How could I ever... it’s just that I once had a similar concern in the past."
Oops, Emma thought she had made another mistake.
To say she had a 'similar concern' in front of a prideful noble.
She wouldn't be able to complain even if Elsie got furious and asked if Emma thought they were equals.
That was the nature of nobles.
Self-centered, uncontrollable people.
However, Elsie surprisingly didn't blame Emma. Instead, her eyes sparkled with interest.
"A similar concern?"
"Yes, y-yes... I also worried a lot before I became close with Ian."
Emma felt it instinctively.
She knew how to speak without offending Elsie while moving things in the direction she wanted.
Living as a commoner at the Academy was no easy feat.
That long experience was now opening a path for Emma.
Elsie made a curious sound and lowered her voice.
"Then, can you help me out?"
"Pardon? How could I ever presume to help Lady Lainella..."
"You said you wanted to be a concubine."
Elsie brought it up casually.
It was an attitude that didn't even consider that such a thing might be an insult.
And it was also the truth.
When a noble and a commoner were joined, the commoner usually took the position of a concubine. Only a noble could become the primary wife.
Emma knew this well, so she wasn't particularly hurt.
"You know how hard it is to live as a concubine, right? The primary wife’s scrutiny is no joke... But what if I become the primary wife?"
To be honest, it didn't feel real.
Marriage—to Emma, it felt like something in the distant future.
But the expression on Elsie’s face as she made the proposal was incredibly serious. It meant she was truly aiming for the position of Ian’s primary wife.
Emma could only offer an awkward smile.
A noble’s life is quite exhausting too.
That was her only impression.
"I’m not being nice to you because you're pretty. It’s just, if you want to stay by the Master’s side... you need to get used to noble dignity. Think of the clothes I bought today in that sense. Stop walking around in that shabby uniform."
"Ah, yes. Yes! I’ll keep that in mind..."
Emma hesitated but nodded for now.
Inwardly, she felt embarrassed by Elsie’s point.
Noble dignity—come to think of it, Ian was also a noble.
Naturally, he would care about honor and dignity.
And yet, the girl following him around was starving every day and wearing shabby clothes.
People might have been pointing fingers behind his back.
Emma felt dejected and lowered her head slightly.
Seeing that, Elsie clicked her tongue.
"Be careful from now on. I’ll look out for you occasionally, but..."
She was saying she would help Emma, even while pretending not to.
Even though Emma hadn't even accepted Elsie’s proposal yet.
As they continued their conversation for a long while, Emma thought.
That she might have been misunderstanding Elsie.
Like a leader of a group, Elsie was easygoing and her sociability wasn't bad. At the very least, she wasn't the type to nitpick every little thing about her own people.
As her evaluation changed, Emma’s attitude naturally relaxed.
By the end, they were close enough for Emma to throw out a teasing joke.
"But if things get romantic between Ian and me first..."
"Hey."
It happened then.
Whoosh. Emma’s upper body was suddenly forced back. Before she even knew what was happening, she was forehead-to-forehead with Elsie.
Elsie was smiling.
Yes, at least the corners of her mouth were curved into an arc.
However, the light had vanished from her eyes.
"Don't cross the line, okay? You're the concubine, and I’m the primary wife. Let’s make that very clear."
In the end, Emma could only answer tearfully.
"Y-Yes, ma'am..."
Nobles were scary after all.
Elsie Lainella especially so.
That day, a new alliance was born.
It was a strange combination: an arrogant noble and an understanding commoner.
*
I stood there dazed for a moment.
In the elegant office, two beautiful women were seated before me.
Silver hair and silver eyes.
Even their focus wasn't clear. I couldn't tell where they were looking or what they were thinking.
Not knowing someone's intentions breeds anxiety.
And this eerie appearance was the symbol of a certain family.
Alphenhauser—one of only two Ducal families in the Empire.
The woman standing before me boasted a radiant beauty befitting that name. The woman standing behind her, however, gave off the opposite impression—gloomy and dark.
It would probably look much better if she just trimmed those bangs covering her eyes.
Of course, that was none of my business.
What caught my attention more than anything was the table between me and the two women.
Upon it, platinum coins were piled up like a mountain.
As if flaunting the wealth of the Alphenhausers.
"Well? Is it enough?"
With a voice as noble as her status, the woman sitting across from me gave a slight smile.
"As the price for selling the Saintess."
I soon let out a chuckle.
And instead of an answer, I raised my hand axe.