Ch.175Zernya’s Melancholy (4)

I spent some quality time with Chairman Stranov. I received a promise of extremely “personal support” for crystal research.

As a result, I got money. A lot of it.

“What exactly did you talk about?”

“Secret.”

“Did you earn some personal research funds?”

Seti made a sharp observation. As expected of my sibling, she has good intuition. But with an embargo in place, I can’t carelessly disclose anything.

In situations like this, changing the subject is the best strategy.

“Sister, is everything finished now?”

“…It’s not over yet. I need to make contact with more companies, and think about how to distribute shares to which companies. If things go well, we’ll need to go public too. Sigh, there’s a mountain of things to consider.”

Seti let out an adorable sigh.

“Anyway, thank you.”

“For what?”

“For arranging the meeting with the Stronium CEO. The Megacorp chairman wasn’t someone I could easily meet.”

Seti scratched her cheek as if embarrassed.

I was touched.

It seems like just yesterday she was cursing at her brother, but now she’s mature enough to express gratitude when she feels indebted.

But you know what.

“Sister.”

“What?”

“If you’re grateful, you know what to do, right?”

I shot her a meaningful look. Seti shook her head as if she’d expected this.

“So, where’s your lab?”

After asking, it’s only natural to take her there. Having returned to the college, I immediately brought my shareholder to my laboratory.

There, Rustila Kersil, Ireh Hazlen, and Mezulen Hueritia were assembling crystals. Seeing this, Seti cursed and ran away.

“This is insane! Does she think she’s a professor or something?!”

Her sharp voice echoed in my head.

***

A few days later.

I was walking to attend the first student council meeting after the semester began.

When I opened the door and entered, Zernya von und zu Trisha Adelbein was already seated. She was scanning through documents that needed to be processed with tired eyes.

The image of a weary modern person was reflected in her slurping coffee. Her expression was half-collapsed, with dark circles in full bloom under her eyes.

“President, did something bad happen?”

I asked her, also as a morning greeting. Her vacant purple eyes soon turned toward me.

“…Nothing.”

Zernya smiled so faintly it was like touching snow powder. It felt like a forced smile.

I can pretty much guess.

As a medical student, as student council president, and as the next head of the Adelbein family. Handling three roles simultaneously must be very difficult.

I pulled some of the documents she was looking at toward me.

“I’ll help.”

“Ah… thank you.”

Zernya readily expressed her gratitude. The same words I heard from Seti yesterday.

In the past, she wouldn’t have even considered such expressions. No, even now, it wasn’t something she could easily say. Zernya suddenly spoke up.

“Hey, you know.”

“Hmm? What?”

“I was wondering how the vice president’s school life is going these days.”

School life, huh.

Except for not being able to date Rustila Kersil directly, I don’t have any particular complaints. Research is progressing smoothly, and I’ve secured proper investment. The path forward is as clear as if I had a compass.

“It’s fun. How about you?”

“I’m… a bit overwhelmed.”

As expected, it was exactly the answer I anticipated.

“As I mentioned before, the succession ceremony will take place this month or next. I’ll become the family head. By then, it will overlap with midterm exams… I have a mountain of things to do, so I can’t even sleep.”

“Shouldn’t you get at least some sleep?”

I answered, feeling concerned. Zernya waved her hand limply.

“It’s fine. I don’t have time to sleep.”

“Don’t say that, just sleep a little.”

“It’s fine.”

“Don’t ruin your body like that. There’s still some time before the meeting, so lie down. I’ll take care of the remaining approvals.”

“…I said it’s fine.”

How stubborn. Charitably speaking, it shows responsibility; less charitably, it’s obstinacy.

In fact, being overly responsible is part of Zernya’s inherent character. If she had been lazy, she wouldn’t have become arrogant. The problem is that this sense of responsibility has been overshadowed by her pride until now.

After processing documents together for about ten minutes.

Zernya, who had been glancing at me repeatedly, suddenly pushed the documents aside and collapsed.

“…Just, a little nap.”

She should have done that from the beginning.

I quietly nodded.

Thirty minutes after Zernya collapsed, student council members began to appear one by one. They froze like statues when they saw the fallen president.

Fellow council members Edward Meyer and Senior Sinclair approached and asked.

“Was the president the type to fall asleep in a place like this?”

“She’s a medical student. While we only have spring and fall semesters, medical school has classes almost year-round. She’s a sophomore now, so it’s natural for her to be struggling.”

“She seems to be in a deep sleep.”

A faint wheezing sound could be heard. Her shoulders and body, buried in white hair, rose and fell rhythmically with each breath. She looked just like a baby seal sleeping in a snowy field.

“This is the first meeting of the semester anyway. Why don’t we all just take a break?”

“Yes, that sounds good.”

Many other council members still thought of Zernya as a fierce president. Therefore, they all kept some distance from her.

“Vice President, any important agenda items?”

“None.”

I also agreed that we could skip this meeting.

Everyone is busy outside of student council duties anyway. Besides, there were hardly any matters to handle since the semester had just begun.

“Let’s have necessary discussions starting next week.”

I sent the gathered council members out of the meeting room.

Afterward, I stayed behind and organized all the documents Zernya had been processing.

Having read many academic papers, these documents were easy to handle. Plus, with Cartesia’s computational assistance, it was even more efficient.

Just as I was finishing everything, Zernya woke up in a flurry.

Zernya wiped away the dried saliva and raised her head to check the clock first.

She asked me with rabbit-like eyes.

“Why… aren’t the members here?”

“The meeting’s over.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“Since the president wasn’t feeling well today, I turned everyone away at the door. I handled all the urgent matters at my discretion.”

“Why did you decide that on your own…”

“Because I’m the vice president.”

Zernya stopped speaking at my interruption. I answered once more.

“I’m your vice president.”

She had a blank expression.

Come to think of it, I haven’t been spending much time with Zernya lately. I’ve been so focused on trying to reclaim my youth with Rustila Kersil that I seem to have forgotten about this fragile girl.

In fact, rationally speaking, Zernya is the most important person at this point. The future of the Adelbein family depends on her.

I thought I should build our friendship at least while we’re in the student council room, especially since we’ll likely see each other less and less.

“Seeing the president struggling, I thought I should handle things. Isn’t that what a vice president is for?”

“…Yes, you’re right.”

Zernya nodded.

“V-vice presidents should be there when presidents are struggling. That’s natural. It’s natural. Yes. Probably.”

I opened the window for ventilation. A warm spring breeze came in. Just feeling the air made me feel drowsy. Zernya yawned slightly.

“Did you sleep for about an hour? If you want to sleep more, you can lie down on the bed in the lounge.”

“…I should do that.”

Zernya picked up her bag and got up. She sluggishly went to the portable bed in the lounge.

“Vice President, turn off the light.”

“Yes.”

“Thank you. You can leave now.”

“As you command.”

Soon, Zernya closed her eyes like a child in her mother’s arms. I stayed in place until I heard her breathing softly, then got up from my seat.

***

She dreams.

A very frightening dream.

Zernya was in the middle of a courtroom. The people in the judges’ seats all had white hair. Familiar faces. They were Zernya’s relatives.

– Why did you betray our family?

The supreme judges ask sternly. Zernya couldn’t say anything. She felt suffocated.

– Why did you sell out the Adelbeins! You traitor!

No.

I didn’t betray anyone.

I’m just trying to correct what’s wrong.

She ran away, not wanting to hear the jeers.

As soon as she left the building, she saw darkness deeper than pitch black. Walking through this darkness, Zernya spotted a faint light in the distance and headed in that direction.

It was a computer.

The same main computer as in the Adelbein main house.

[Enter password: ]

Using her status as a direct descendant of the Adelbein family, she accessed the family’s entire database. Here, Zernya confirmed countless original sins. Traces of severe corruption. Traces of immoral transactions.

Biological experiments.

Money laundering.

Contract killings.

Even transactions involving an unidentified “star.”

Collecting these traces, one could confirm that the entire Adelbein tree was riddled with one massive, persistent sin.

Zernya trembled. It was too absurd.

All indicators pointed to one fact.

– You are the bloodline of garbage.

No.

– Why dig up what could just be buried?

No.

– As an Adelbein, can’t you just turn a blind eye? Don’t uproot the family pillar with unnecessary righteousness!

That’s not right.

I am not a villainess.

I’m different from you all. I’ve changed. I will change. I decided to become an upright doctor. I decided to become a parent who won’t be ashamed in front of their descendants.

– What’s the point of that?

“Ugh…!”

Zernya shuddered.

Taking medication to alleviate sleepwalking doesn’t control the nightmares. The dream had already transformed into something different from before.

– This is the final warning. Never, ever listen to your conscience. Then you can have everything.

The power of the greatest family in the universe. Honestly, it’s tempting. How could it not be? Such wealth, power, and honor as a human. If only she could make it all hers… Then.

– Zernya.

Would Eidel still call me kindly, like he did then?

Absolutely not. Honestly, it’s been precarious until now, but if she truly commits and condones crimes, they would completely drift apart. That’s what she feared most.

In fact, just looking at how her own blood relatives had treated her all this time, it was clear which path she should choose. Yes, she wasn’t afraid of being ostracized by her family.

Therefore, what Zernya truly feared was:

– She’s an unfilial person who destroyed her family with her own hands!

Being cursed for doing the right thing, simply because she was an Adelbein.

That was the source of her nightmare.

Having lived too cruelly herself, she didn’t think many people would help her. Worry comes first. Being human, she hesitates. Really, if she breaks it here, there’s no going back.

[“Child, you don’t need to worry too much.”]

What neutralized such conflict was the constellation.

[“Correcting wrongs is that difficult. Rather, I want to praise your will to overcome blood ties. You’re moving in the right direction.”]

The God of Humility and Healing, Deneb.

Just as the Magpie Bridge connects Altair and Vega, the Magpie Star connected Zernya’s anxiety with the courage to move forward.

But it was too theoretical. Constellations don’t fully understand humans. They think about and interpret individual conflicts only from a third-person perspective.

[“I suppose that might be true.”]

The dream Deneb stepped closer to Zernya.

[“Humans and we are completely different species. Perfect mutual understanding is a distant goal. Still, I think I can at least listen to what you have to say.”]

A warm touch was felt.

Although she was aware it was a dream, merely a chemical reaction in her brain, still.

[“…Do you like that boy, Eidel, a lot?”]

It was a sudden question.

Zernya tossed and turned in the real world, feeling confused.

Why are you suddenly asking that? She wanted to ask, but no voice came out. Too tired to speak? Or because it’s a dream? No, those aren’t valid reasons.

In fact, there was no need to answer.

A nod was enough.

[“Have you thought about why you like him?”]

He’s tall, handsome, kind. Such fragmentary information wouldn’t make her heart flutter this much.

Well…

It was because he had qualities she lacked.

[“People form groups to fill what they lack. So they come to like people who can fill their deficiencies, and try to emulate them.”]

Why do you always bow down before others when you’re so accomplished?

Why can you laugh awkwardly and move on even when you hear harsh words?

Why can you see life as a journey, not a competition?

These were areas incomprehensible to the former Zernya, who had a competitive and self-centered mindset. So she tried to understand by dipping her toes in, only to slip and fall in…

[“That boy just said it earlier. He’s the vice president.”]

That’s right.

The vice president exists to assist the president.

Conversely, the president cannot live without relying on the vice president to some extent.

[“If you’re worried about the current situation, why not go consult with that boy again?”]

Zernya opened her eyes.

The now-familiar ceiling. The student council lounge came into view.

She clearly remembers asking him to leave before falling asleep. But his presence remained until her consciousness deepened.

Surely, he would be by her side…

“…Eidel?”

He wasn’t there.

Eidel was nowhere to be seen in the student council room.