Ch.220New Star (2)

This world permits polygamy, but it doesn’t mean it can be practiced indiscriminately. For a husband to take another woman—a concubine—he must obtain his wife’s permission; otherwise, it’s undeniably adultery.

However, nobles fundamentally differ from commoners, possessing a sense of superiority and wielding tremendous power, which results in relatively lower moral standards. The higher one’s position, the stronger this tendency becomes.

For this reason, high-ranking nobles, aware of their authority and power, commit immoral acts. The absence of moral principles in marital relationships inevitably leads to serious consequences.

This explains why adultery runs rampant in noble society, and why rumors surprisingly don’t spread easily. It’s simply a matter of taking measures to silence loose tongues.

Of course, while the percentage is high, many arranged marriages still result in couples who care for each other. Arranged marriages are bound by contractual relationships, so if one party commits wrongdoing, the losses return twofold.

Surprisingly, wives sometimes suggest their husbands take concubines—either because the wife has issues bearing children or because the husband’s vigor and affection are too overwhelming to handle daily.

While the former is understandable, the latter might sound amusing, but it happens frequently in this world. Even Issac, who only received basic knight training, possessed holy power and enough stamina to subdue Cecilly on their first night.

He even withstood the combined assault from Marie, who exploded with jealousy over Leona, and Cecilly, who found amusement in the situation. Whether his father Hawk’s genes manifested late as his body developed, his physical abilities continue to increase daily.

That brief digression aside, Marie couldn’t help feeling discontented. From the moment she accepted Cecilly, there had been complications, and now she had to accept Leona because of cultural norms.

There was even Kate, who despite her lack of sexual knowledge, openly asked for his seed. At least Marie found some comfort in Kate’s dysfunctional interpersonal relationships.

However, as Issac’s first lover and future first wife, her complaints were entirely justified. Perhaps in the distant future, if Issac were revealed to be Xenon, he might “inevitably” accept more women, but not now.

While Cecilly was content simply being connected to Issac, Marie constantly felt threatened. With the atmosphere around the bodyguard Adelia already concerning, she firmly declined any increase in women.

Once you’ve tasted Issac’s sincere affection during the day and pleasure mixed with love at night, you can never forget it. The thought of sharing that with others was unacceptable to her.

Simultaneously, she felt fortunate. She was the first to know Issac. Had someone else known him first, she would have been the one trying to wedge her way in.

Moreover, her status as a daughter of the Reckyless ducal family served as a strong shield. Because of it, other women didn’t dare approach Issac.

Although Issac himself might not realize it, he was already quite famous within their class. A year ago, he attracted attention with his unique combination of red hair and golden eyes; now, having grown into a tall, handsome young man, his beauty had fully blossomed.

Rumors even circulated among female classmates about him being someone they’d like to sleep with. Issac, busy with his teaching assistant duties, remained completely unaware, but these occasional indecent rumors increased Marie’s stress.

Of course, that stress melted away like snow the moment she saw Issac’s face. This was also why she occasionally bit his cheek.

“…So, is this your next wife?”

“It’s not like that.”

But she hadn’t expected the new student. Marie asked in a resigned voice, looking at Cherry, the pink-haired girl standing beside Issac.

Issac vehemently denied it, insisting she was just a junior he wanted to introduce, but Marie, Cecilly, and Rina watching didn’t seem entirely convinced.

There was a difference in their reactions: Cecilly, in a similar position to Marie, gave a bitter smile at the awkward situation, while Rina, as a third party, watched with interest. As they say, watching a fire from across the river is most entertaining, and that perfectly described Rina’s current situation.

Meanwhile, Marie crossed her arms in dissatisfaction and looked Cherry up and down. She was of average height… but her chest was remarkably large.

Glancing at Cecilly’s chest beside her, they were nearly equal. Both their uniforms seemed to be crying for help.

While Marie’s chest was by no means small and above average, these two were simply unapproachable. What did they eat to grow so large?

Even Leona, who boldly declared she would become his wife, appeared similar in size to Marie at first glance. Having realized something, Marie asked Issac directly:

“Issac, do you like women with large breasts?”

“Why are you suddenly asking that?”

“Just answer first.”

“…I do like them.”

He really can’t lie. Or rather, he doesn’t bother anymore since he always gets caught.

Marie smiled slightly at Issac, who answered with a slightly flushed face. She always liked his honesty. His face was just a bonus.

The question about being his next wife was just a joke. A kind of revenge. Lately, too many women had been drawn to him, so she teased him a bit out of jealousy.

However, Cherry’s condition seemed somewhat concerning. Marie scratched her cheek and shifted her gaze from the embarrassed Issac to Cherry.

Judging by her pink hair and eyes, she must be from the Roseberry family, famous as a philosophical house within the Empire of Minerva. Just as the Reckyless family was known for snow-white hair, the Roseberrys were known for pink.

But there was something off about her. Whether it was a lack of vitality or motivation in her eyes, they seemed dim. Not knowing Cherry’s circumstances, Marie wondered if that was just her natural state.

“Your name is Cherry? You’re a new student?”

“Y-yes…”

Her voice was as pretty as her appearance, but completely lacked enthusiasm. Not only Marie but others also noticed something strange, judging by their puzzled expressions.

But not knowing her circumstances, they assumed it was just her personality and didn’t dwell on it. First, they needed to find a place to sit since Issac wanted to introduce her.

“Let’s move somewhere else. Our usual place?”

“Let’s do that. Cherry?”

“Yes…”

At Issac’s call, Cherry cautiously looked around and waited for them to move first. She apparently intended to follow behind them.

While the academy upheld equality for all, authority was unavoidable. Marie was the daughter of Duke Reckyless, Rina was the Imperial Princess, and Cecilly was the Princess of Helium.

Marie wanted to suggest they walk together, but Rina was present. Without knowing who Cherry was, asking her to walk alongside them might disrespect Rina.

As a result, Cherry ended up following behind the group. They engaged her in conversation occasionally to avoid ignoring her, but something caught their attention.

She followed behind Issac like a baby bird. She wasn’t keeping her distance but was so close that she was nearly touching him. She even fidgeted with her hands, seemingly wanting to grab Issac’s long, flowing hair.

It was suspicious enough that both Marie and Cecilly gave her strange looks. Issac and Rina, engaged in conversation, were completely unaware of Cherry’s close proximity.

Marie and Cecilly exchanged glances simultaneously. Without speaking, their sharp intuition allowed them to understand each other’s thoughts.

This girl Cherry clearly had romantic feelings for Issac. As women who loved the same man, it would be strange if they didn’t notice.

For now, they remained quiet since Issac needed to make introductions, but given the opportunity, they would question her. With this in mind, the women headed to their usual restaurant.

Just as they arrived at the restaurant and were about to open the door, Marie made her move.

“Oh, right. Issac, can I ask a favor?”

“What is it?”

“I think I left my pen in the classroom. If you go with Rina, you’ll know which pen it is.”

While saying this, she subtly signaled to Rina. Though suddenly singled out, Rina quickly grasped the situation and nodded.

“That one? Alright. Issac and I will go look for it. If it’s not there, we’ll just come back.”

“It would be fortunate if it’s not there. Cherry, right? You wait with us.”

“Ah, I…”

Perhaps anxious about suddenly being separated from Issac, Cherry hesitated, looking back and forth between Marie and Issac. Her pink eyes trembled pitifully, like during an earthquake.

However, her thinking had somewhat returned compared to before meeting Issac. After considering what to do, Cherry quietly answered.

“…Alright.”

“Good. Then we’ll go in first.”

“Okay. I’ll be back quickly.”

Time had been bought. Marie waved as Issac and Rina walked away.

Then, looking at Cherry, she smiled brightly and suggested:

“Shall we go in?”

“Yes…”

Though Cherry seemed somewhat anxious, she quietly followed Marie’s suggestion. As usual, they secured a soundproof room and took their seats.

Marie and Cecilly sat side by side, leaving the middle seats empty, while Cherry sat across from them. Her head dropped, as if her self-esteem had plummeted from sitting with people other than Issac.

Seeing this, Marie looked puzzled, while Cecilly simply stared. From first impressions, she seemed to have no self-esteem whatsoever.

How did such a girl come to depend on Issac? Marie, with growing questions, spoke in a quiet voice.

“Your name is Cherry, right? Cherry Blossom Roseberry. I’ve heard of the Roseberry family. Famous for philosophy.”

“…Yes.”

Cherry flinched at the mention of her family and answered. Her hands gripped her skirt tightly.

Marie could see the tension even from a distance and silently observed her. In the past, she had met Count Roseberry who visited the ducal family, and he seemed like an ordinary nobleman.

A unique man who maintained noble pride while trying to incorporate his philosophy into everything. But judging by Cherry’s intense reaction, he didn’t seem qualified as a father.

“How did you meet Issac?”

“…A letter.”

“Huh?”

“There was… red hair in the letter…”

At first, Marie couldn’t understand, but soon realized what she meant. There must have been a strand of red hair in the letter.

During winter break, while staying at Issac’s mansion, she had read through piles of fan letters with him. Cecilly had done the same.

Among those letters were ones from Cherry. Issac had mentioned she was one of his consistent fans.

He had replied to her, but true to his clumsy nature, a strand of hair must have gotten in. It wasn’t entirely impossible, though somewhat absurd.

“Don’t tell me you know who Issac is?”

Cherry silently nodded to Marie’s surprised question. Marie and Cecilly looked at each other.

Their expressions reflected the question: How? Just a single strand of hair seemed insufficient evidence.

“Just from one strand of hair? That doesn’t make sense. Wait, you kept the hair?”

“…Yes.”

The more they probed, the more unsettling Cherry became. Keeping a strand of hair that most would discard was far from normal.

Unless she was truly a stalker, it seemed impossible. Marie continued questioning with increasing urgency.

“You couldn’t have figured it out just from that, right?”

“…Handwriting.”

“Handwriting?”

“The letter and Issac’s handwriting were identical…”

Issac’s handwriting was elegant like a nobleman’s and meticulous like an author’s. Each word was clear, and even when hastily written, it exuded dignity.

But this too wasn’t entirely normal. With so many people in the world, to be certain based solely on handwriting…

They were increasingly realizing that Cherry was far from normal. As Marie was left speechless and bewildered, Cherry, who had been fidgeting with her hands under the table, raised her head to face the two women. Then, in her characteristically gloomy voice, she said:

“…Issac half-admitted it anyway. He saw my manuscript and said it was interesting, and that he would help me.”

“Huh? Manuscript? What do you mean?”

“Are you a writer too?”

At the mention of a manuscript, both Marie and Cecilly showed curiosity. This seemed to be the reason Issac wanted to introduce Cherry.

Cherry looked at their curious expressions but lacked the courage to maintain eye contact and lowered her head again. Still wanting to speak, she opened her mouth in a barely audible voice.

“My father… tore my manuscript to pieces without even looking at it and trampled on it. But I somehow pieced it back together, determined to show it to Xenon…”

“…Wait. You were enduring?”

“Yes… If Issac hadn’t been Xenon, probably…”

She didn’t finish, but Marie and Cecilly could guess what she was about to say. Her lifeless voice and eyes filled with darkness confirmed it.

The girl’s condition was more serious than expected. This was why Issac deliberately revealed his identity.

If Issac had also rejected Cherry, there might have been grim rumors about a cold corpse found in the dormitory. He revealed his identity essentially to save a life.

“…I see. So that’s what happened.”

“There’s nothing we can do about that.”

This explained why she had developed feelings for Issac. Not only did he mend and encourage her dreams that had been shattered by her family, but he also offered help.

They also wondered how much oppression she must have endured in her family to be so broken. To reduce a person to an almost doll-like state must have involved indescribable pressure.

Marie felt sympathy for her, but that was separate from this issue. No matter what, she didn’t want another woman added to Issac’s circle. There were already too many.

She needed to ask her opinion. Marie looked at Cherry with a complicated expression and casually inquired:

“So, do you also want to become Issac’s wife or something like that?”

At that question, Cherry slowly raised her head. She blinked slowly, deliberately, then tilted her head.

Then her rounded lips opened.

“Me?”

As if asking why such a question was being asked.

“How dare I?”

Revealing her rock-bottom self-esteem. Marie couldn’t help but be startled by the response “How dare I?”

How little must she value herself to not even consider such a thought? Honestly, she could be ambitious, but something was fundamentally wrong with her.

As Marie began to feel slightly afraid, Cecilly, who had been watching, seemed to sense something and spoke in her characteristically seductive voice:

“Hey. Weren’t you the one following Issac all this time?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

She proudly confessed to stalking without any intention of hiding it. But her face showed not a trace of guilt.

A mind that had been completely broken and barely recovered could never return to normal. This was an undeniable fact.

Cecilly pondered Cherry’s answer before asking another question:

“What about gifts? Issac has been smelling of cherry blossoms lately. Was that your doing?”

“I gave him cherry blossom sap from our family.”

“Yet you say you have no feelings?”

“Someone like me?”

Once again revealing her rock-bottom self-esteem. Cherry stared intently at Cecilly’s red eyes before speaking word by word:

“I’m just happy that Issac exists. His hair, scent, voice, face, warmth, and so on. Just seeing, hearing, and feeling him is enough for me.”

“…”

“But I shouldn’t have him. Even though I used the pen name ‘Mary,’ a real connection is impossible. Just having him know of my existence makes me happy.”

After this series of statements that bordered on madness, Cecilly glanced at Marie with a sigh. Marie was gradually retreating, pulling her chair back as if frightened.

Cecilly shifted her gaze from Cherry once more and thought to herself:

‘…She reminds me of myself.’

Her salvation came too late.

*****

Meanwhile, Issac and Rina headed to the classroom as Marie had requested. Having improved their relationship, they walked comfortably, conversing without awkwardness.

From the outside, it appeared to be a conversation between a baron’s son and the Imperial Princess, causing passersby to give strange looks, but they could easily ignore such attention.

Issac was glad that Rina had become comfortable with him, and Rina felt at ease now that their relationship had improved.

However, as relationships improve, personal questions naturally arise. Rina looked up and down at Issac, who had grown into a tall, handsome young man, and asked curiously:

“By the way, Issac. Is your waist okay now? Last time, Marie and Cecilly attacked you together.”

“Oh, that’s fine… Wait a minute.”

Issac recalled the past upon hearing Rina’s question. Before Marie and Cecilly’s joint attack, it wasn’t Rina but Leona who was present.

Rina, unlike before, wasn’t embarrassed to mention it since she often heard about her friends’ sex lives. But such a question was strange. It was as if she knew all about his sex life.

Issac blinked and looked at Rina with a questioning gaze:

“How do you know about that?”

“Uh, huh?”

“You weren’t there. I think it was Leona, not you. Didn’t you step out for a moment?”

“Ah, that, well… you see…”

Caught off guard by the unexpected counter-question, Rina began to stammer. Her face turned as red as a tomato.

Issac raised one eyebrow and asked tentatively:

“Rina. Did you perhaps…”

“No! I didn’t see anything! Really! I’m not a pervert!”

“…”

There’s a saying that strong denial equals strong affirmation. And she didn’t even let him finish his question.

Still, Rina wasn’t really a pervert or someone who would peep, so he decided to let it go.

“Phew…”

Rina sighed in relief beside him, but he let that go too.