Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: My Brothers Aren't Villains!
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Aiel's face, languid from the indoor air, came into full view.
Pop—
Even those who had been waiting for their chance caught sight of Aiel's face at a glance.
"......"
Gasps echoed layer upon layer through the cafeteria.
"It's on the level of a mold!"
"She looks just like the Count!"
"She has that kind of face that makes you want to escort her back to the Rudelriz estate even if you find her lost on the street!"
It was only then that the young ladies and heirs realized who the enigmatic networking queen was.
Their pale faces immediately broadcast the information.
[Identity of the Missing Girl: Rudelriz Lady]
Swipe! Swipe swipe!
Drip. Drip. Drip drip drip!
Beep. Boop. Bweeep!
Aiel, who had sat down and taken out Mayches' special potion (strawberry flavor) to sip, tilted her head.
"This cafe has some unusual white noise......"
Urgent replies flew into the communicators of the young ladies and heirs.
[Cease contact! Do not get friendly with the Rudelriz Lady!]
As expected, the clever children swallowed hard, already planning not to without being told.
Succession issues, the existence of illegitimate children, and all sorts of other complicated family matters......
In noble society, it wasn't uncommon for family members living under one roof to be mortal enemies.
In such cases, the unwritten rule of high society was that befriending one side meant preparing for enmity with the other.
But what about the Rudelriz Count's siblings...?
The young ladies and heirs glanced at Aiel.
There were endless rampant rumors about that family's siblings.
The most recent addition was the 'Conductor's Unfinished Tale.'
"Uh, what happened was, the White Flame really hugged the Count tight...!"
Since the speaker had even met the Count privately, the remark was repeated endlessly. And as it was repeated, many people latched on to interpret it.
Finally, the most plausible hypothesis emerged.
"What happened was, she was trying to grab the Count tight and shake him, which made their relationship even worse!"
It was confirmation bias, the greatest flaw of high society, rearing its head once more.
The young ladies and heirs quickly averted their eyes from Aiel.
To them, steeped in misunderstanding, even Aiel's appearance now felt profoundly significant.
"Doesn't it seem really suspicious that she came all the way to school? It's safe to assume she rushed here to tightly control the Count!"
"From the circumstances, it looks like the Count was supposed to come greet her, but he went out instead, leaving his sister hanging—that's pretty fishy. Maybe the Count even ran away."
"With five guardians rushing to the broadcast room, it's weird that only the missing girl wandered into the cafeteria alone, right?"
This sibling relationship must be seriously bad!
Not just between the two of them, but bad with all five of the others too!
Chills crept up the spines of the young ladies and heirs.
One wrong move, and they could end up enemies with the entire future of Ileneias!
...However, even amid all this, there were those who moved in a completely different direction from this fierce battle of wits, knowing that knowledge is power.
"We'll serve you with utmost care for a pleasant tea time."
Aiel's eyes went wide when the cafeteria servers suddenly wheeled a line of trolleys straight to her table.
Atop the trolleys were croissants topped with rose-shaped whipped cream, a vibrant tower of colorful macarons, a glossy whole cake assembled from six different slices, and other small, delicate treats stacked in layers.
Aiel flailed her hands in panic.
"I didn't order this?"
The server smiled while lifting a pretty plate holding three cupcakes in pink, yellow, and light purple.
"It's from that table over there."
"Pardon?"
Aiel looked where the server pointed.
The figures who had cast Aiel as the protagonist of a venerable classic were two young ladies waving from a distant table.
"Lady, no, milady~."
"Hello~ What a beautiful afternoon~."
It was Rosiana Elnika, some young lady who was the daughter of the Repitelips Academy headmaster.
And Etit Radawen, some young lady who was the daughter of a major daily newspaper publishing house.
The young ladies and heirs in the cafeteria were horrified.
"What are those crazy duo doing right now? No matter how oblivious they are, how can they still not get it?!"
"Could it be they'd be fine even becoming enemies with the Count, as long as they can get involved?"
"B-before their antics splash over to us, we should leave! The prodigies aren't coming anyway!"
Amid the growing murmur, Aiel sat staring awkwardly at the two young ladies winking every three seconds.
Aiel whispered softly to the server.
"They must have mistaken me for someone else....... I don't know them......"
But after saying that, Aiel felt a strange sensation somewhere.
They didn't feel like complete strangers; there was an oddly familiar vibe.
It was just like the sense of déjà vu she'd had when first meeting Mayches' friends.
'Could they be people I know?'
Peering past the servers wheeling the trolleys away in embarrassment, Aiel looked at the two young ladies more closely.
A lady with flashy long hair in brilliant amethyst color.
A lady with neat honey-colored bob cut.
Where had I seen this description before......?
Meanwhile, the Ileneias prodigies, who had bought a little time with the excuse of having to end early leave procedures, were holding an emergency strategy session outside.
Students entering the lounge building late stopped short at the sight of the continent's dreams and hopes clustered on the entrance stairs.
'Why aren't they going inside and just standing out here like they've been kicked out?'
They were dying to know what was going on.
But the students lacked the skill to fabricate something like 'I just happen to have business right by the stairs.'
They could only slow their steps as much as possible to eavesdrop.
"But what if she faints after we refuse?"
"Hey, does that even make sense?"
"She faints even from loud noises. We shouldn't stress her out."
"......"
"And it's five refusals. The stress... five times over!"
Calipan said, splaying all five fingers.
Daluh, sprawled on the stairs leaning against the railing, spoke in a voice devoid of dreams or hope.
"Yeah, what are we even doing, all volunteering like this....... Fine, go get your blessings or whatever......"
Just minutes ago, the boys had each slipped out of their classrooms toward the broadcast room.
And bumped into each other in the hallway.
They spotted each other's ambiguous expressions.
They soon realized they were all thinking the same thing.
With five people, at least one would go, right?
...That complacent assumption led to the mishap where no one went, so they gathered together out of mutual distrust.
Daluh had tagged along awkwardly because Bamper was going, thinking 'Fine, then I won't go!' but it got too awkward to bail.
"How about the rest of us say we have urgent business and bail, and just one goes in?"
Bamper came up with a clever idea.
Daluh nodded that it sounded good, but Yan and Calipan were against it.
"I can't go alone."
"I can't go in alone."
Daluh crossed his arms and stared at the two before drawling slowly.
"I didn't realize there were two more children."
There was a reason for their reluctance.
They remembered Aiel confessing at Mayches' birthday party that she was troubled because 'Brother's friends feel scary......'
And though unspoken, they thought they were the cause.
Yan had suspected himself from the start.
He guessed his own twitchy, rough speech had frightened Aiel.
Calipan had initially brushed it off with "Obviously Yan-hyung," but on the way home after playing, sudden anxiety hit him.
He realized swinging the Boing Hammer might have looked plenty threatening to Aiel.
"Anyway, I absolutely can't go alone."
"Me neither."
At that moment, Jayhan, who had been standing by the railing listening silently to his friends, turned around.
As he headed into the lounge building, Daluh hurriedly asked.
"Jayhan, where are you going now?"
"We can't leave her alone forever."
The cafeteria inside wasn't dangerous, but Jayhan was right. They couldn't leave Aiel by herself for too long.
In the end, the other four stood and headed into the lounge building.
They hastily devised a plan on the way.
"Let's avoid creating a situation where she has to refuse, as much as possible."
"Got it. Best to keep her from even bringing up the request."
"Everyone, keep talking non-stop. Got it?"
But it's a well-known truth that life doesn't always go according to plan.
Thud!
"This is a little gift for you all."
No sooner had the five sat down than Aiel placed an unidentified object on the table.
Of course, sparks flew from the communicators inside the cafeteria, and the following message spread across the continent.
[Rudelriz Lady attempts to win over the prodigies with a gift!]