A Heroine's Aura and a Childhood Friend's Fury
Serina devoured the croissant with impressive gusto.
“Now that I’ve had something delicious, I need to put in some real effort!”
Her eyes burned with determination as she threw herself into making the pies. She clearly wasn’t a beginner—her hands moved with practiced ease, shaping the dough with impressive skill.
“You’re really good at this,” I said.
She beamed at the compliment, flashing a bright smile. Ah, right. I’d decided to speak casually with her. Serina must not have known much about my background, because she was the one who first suggested we drop the formalities. Most people who knew who I was tended to keep their distance. Or maybe after seeing the crown prince and the next Magic Tower Master up close, she’d grown numb to high-ranking nobles.
Ding~
The oven produced a mouthwatering apple pie, perfectly baked. The quantity was far too much for a mere hobby. Was she planning to share it with her friends?
Serina, wearing those adorable oven mitts, carefully placed the best-looking pie onto a plate and held it out to me.
“Try it.”
Crunch.
A pleasant sweetness spread through my mouth. The first person who came to mind the moment the pie hit my tongue was Marine.
Ever since we were kids, Marine had been obsessed with sweet things—especially apple jam. I used to make her apple jam cookies all the time.
Serina watched me eat with a warm, satisfied expression before popping a piece of pie into her own mouth.
“Mmm~”
She wore a look of pure bliss. It was clear she genuinely loved baking.
For a while, we ate the pies in comfortable silence. My stomach was starting to feel full, yet the mountain of apple pies showed no sign of shrinking.
“What are you going to do with all of these?”
“I’m thinking of taking them to Lady Marine.”
Huh?
Why was Marine’s name coming up here? I asked again, completely thrown off.
“You mean Marine from the Knight Division, right?”
“Yes, Lady Marine.”
What was going on? Did Marine already have some kind of connection with Serina?
Serina began packing the remaining apple pies into a basket. I decided to watch quietly without pressing further.
“I’ll head over to Lady Marine now.”
“Wait, do you even know where she is?”
“Marine…? You know Lady Marine?”
“Yeah. We’re childhood friends.”
Serina’s eyes widened.
“Are you… Lord Hendel, by any chance?”
“Yeah. How did you know?”
“Lady Marine always carries around a portrait of you, Lord Hendel.”
She carries a portrait of me? Marine does?
“I had no idea.”
“Perfect timing! Let’s go together!”
That’s when I remembered my original purpose. I had come to check on Marine while staying out of sight. I shook my head firmly.
“No, I think I’ll head back for today.”
“I… I see…”
Her reaction was oddly hesitant, as if she’d been hoping I would come along.
“By the way, why are you still speaking so formally? Just talk to me casually.”
“B-but… you’re the young master of a count’s family…”
“I literally chased off the crown prince and the next Magic Tower Master. What’s there to be formal about?”
“…”
The moment I mentioned those two, Serina’s expression darkened. Hmm… it looked like those two would need to work a lot harder if they wanted to win the heart of this romance fantasy heroine.
As we left the kitchen, Serina—now carrying a basket full of apple pies in both hands—bowed deeply.
“Thank you so much for today!”
“I told you to speak casually.”
“…Okay.”
Once Serina disappeared from view, I quietly began following her. Watching how Marine treated her might give me some clues.
Serina left the Knight Division building with quick, light steps. It seemed Marine wasn’t actually inside the building after all. I’d guessed wrong.
As I trailed behind my human Marine detector, several astonishing scenes unfolded.
A leaf fluttered down and naturally settled in her pink hair like a perfect accessory.
“Oh! You there, student! You’re the ten-thousandth person to pass by today and win our prize! Here you go!”
“Wow, thank you!”
She won an event at a lottery stall where students had been loudly accusing them of rigging the odds.
Chirp chirp chirp!
Sparrows landed on her shoulder and sang sweetly.
Meow meow.
Even the notoriously picky cat approached her, rubbing its face against her leg and acting adorable.
She really is the protagonist, huh.
After following her for about ten minutes, I came to one clear conclusion: the world itself loved her. When I tried to approach the cat that had been fawning over her, it immediately swatted at me with an angry paw. Feeling a slight pang of jealousy, I continued after her until we reached a wide garden.
Countless flowers bloomed throughout the space. As someone who handled the magic of flowers and trees, it was a place that brought peace to my heart. I hadn’t known the academy had a spot like this. I’d have to come here more often.
“Huu…”
Once inside the garden, Serina let out a short, resolute breath as if steeling herself. Her hands were even trembling slightly from nerves.
“Hmm…”
There was no reason to be this nervous about meeting a friend. A troubling thought suddenly crossed my mind.
Don’t tell me… Serina is Marine’s shuttle?
I already knew how obsessed Marine was with sweets. It was possible that Marine had ordered her to bake sweet treats and deliver them. I prayed that wasn’t the case as I continued trailing behind Serina.
As we entered a narrow path, I saw Marine sitting there, expressionless, enjoying her tea time.
“Sunflower Rising.”
Sunflowers sprouted from the ground and bloomed brightly toward the sun. I hid myself among them.
Serina approached hesitantly, still holding the basket of apple pies. Marine, who had been savoring the aroma of her tea, glanced at her and let out a deep sigh.
Yeah, they don’t seem particularly close.
For me, who wanted to see Marine’s true nature, this was actually a good situation.
“You’re here again?”
“U-um… I baked apple pies this time… I thought you might like them, Lady Marine.”
Serina looked completely intimidated. If she was going to shrink like that, why had she even come to see Marine? It didn’t seem like Marine had called for her either.
“Ha… You. I think you’re still misunderstanding something. I didn’t crush those worms because I particularly like you.”
“…”
“I only crushed them because they irritated me. I dislike you. How about you learn your place as a commoner and disappear from my sight?”
“…”
It was shocking. I had prepared myself to some extent, but seeing it in person still made my heart ache.
“I understand… I won’t linger around you anymore, Lady Marine.”
“Good.”
“But… could you at least try one of these apple pies as a final favor?”
Marine kept her face blank, but after knowing her for decades, I could tell she was conflicted. The pies did look incredibly tempting, after all.
“…Well… I suppose that much is fine.”
Serina’s face brightened. It seemed Marine didn’t completely hate her.
“Th-these… I actually made them together with Lord Hendel…”
I had only been watching. She must have thought mentioning me—since Marine and I were close—would make her even happier.
“What?”
The atmosphere instantly turned icy. Even from a distance, I could feel the killing intent. Serina, standing right next to her, went deathly pale.
Bang!
Marine kicked her chair over violently as she shot to her feet.
“Commoner. You had better answer me properly.”
“Hic…”
Serina’s eyes darted around in panic. She clearly had no idea what part of her words had set Marine off. Honestly, I couldn’t figure it out either.
“I’m in a very bad mood right now. I suggest you don’t try making any excuses.”
Serina, face now completely white, nodded frantically.
“Hendel is clearly a student in the Magic Division. How would someone from the Knight Division know him?”
“W-well… we met for the first time in the cooking room…”
“Why would Hendel be in the Knight Division’s cooking room?”
“He said he wanted to cook, but there’s no cooking room in the Magic Division…”
I quietly gathered my mana, preparing to step in. If Marine crossed the line, I would intervene immediately.
Please, don’t cross the line.
I didn’t understand why Marine was so angry, but since I truly cared about her, I didn’t want to become her enemy. I swallowed hard and focused on the conversation that followed.
“When?”
Marine interrogated her with cold eyes. Serina answered in a jumbled rush.
“J-just a little while ago… we were together until about ten minutes ago…”
Bang!
Marine slammed her hand down on the table.
“Serina. I thought I told you not to lie.”
“I-it’s true!”
Marine gave her a chilling smile.
“Hendel should be in his Mage Ethics lecture right now. Care to explain how someone who should be in class is in the cooking room?”
A chill ran down my spine. I had never told Marine my schedule. The academy wouldn’t have shared it either, to protect student privacy.
“I… I don’t know the details, but… it’s really true…”
Serina looked at her with desperate eyes.
“Ha… Looks like words aren’t going to work.”
If I kept watching any longer, Marine was definitely going to cross the line. Feeling uneasy, I burst out from the sunflower field.
Serina’s eyes widened in shock. Marine looked utterly flustered at the sight of me and hiccupped.
“H-Hendel… how… I definitely didn’t sense any mana reaction…”
I stopped hiding my mana.
“Marine.”
“Hic!”
At my cold gaze, Marine’s eyes grew watery.
“Didn’t you promise to be kind to everyone?”
My words were harsh, but my mind had gone completely cold. It seemed Marine’s transformation into a villainess had been progressing steadily without me noticing. This world was one from a villainess story. An unreformed villainess would inevitably face the hammer of justice.
For the sake of my precious childhood friend Marine, it looked like I would need to find a new approach.