Ch.235235. Judgment (3)

Elnore was inwardly letting out a deep sigh.

Her mind was replaying events from the recent past.

It happened in her territory, before returning to Elphante.

“Pleased to meet you, Baron Campbell.”

“…”

“I believe we’ve met once before. Have you been well?”

Anyone seeing the middle-aged man before her, pale-faced and unable to give a proper response, might think she was tormenting him. But Elnore was simply bowing her head respectfully according to noble etiquette.

The angle of her bow was so deep her crown was visible.

This was an excessively respectful gesture. Someone of the Tristan Dukedom’s status would normally only show such deference to the Emperor. Even her form of address was honorific.

…In a way, perhaps she was tormenting him.

“P-please raise your head. I’m the one who should be humble.”

When Baron Armin Campbell nervously uttered those words, Elnore nodded and returned to an upright position.

How obedient, he thought.

The atmosphere felt uncomfortably like “a new daughter-in-law trying to impress her in-laws,” which sent chills down Armin’s spine, but anyway.

“I’ll get straight to the point, Baron.”

As he cleared his throat several times with that thought, a calm voice fell from the young lady across from him.

“How do I get Darwood to sleep with me?”

Armin spat out all the tea he was drinking and continued coughing for quite some time.

Then, with blank eyes, he stared at the woman before him.

His expression showed he couldn’t comprehend what he’d just heard.

“…If you require me to prove my qualifications, I’ll do anything.”

With those words, Elnore drew her sword with a cold gaze.

Armin recoiled in fear at the sudden action.

Clearly she wasn’t intending to cut him, but a Tristan noblewoman with a sword in hand was enough to provoke such a reaction from a rural baron who had no connection whatsoever to combat.

“If necessary, I could offer one of my arms—”

“I don’t want it! Please, put away your sword!”

When Armin exclaimed in panic, Elnore calmly nodded and sheathed her sword.

To be honest, if he had told her to cut it off, she probably would have. With that chilling realization, Armin barely managed to swallow.

“May I ask you something, Lady Tristan?”

“Anything.”

“…Could you first explain why you’re asking such a question?”

At that question, Elnore tilted her head as if his query was strange.

“Isn’t it stranger that Darwood and I aren’t doing it?”

“…”

Faced with her blunt response, Armin closed his mouth, and Elnore continued with a small huff.

“However, he’s such a blockhead that I simply don’t know how… Even when I create the right atmosphere, he doesn’t respond…”

“…”

Ah, so she’s already tried.

She failed to seduce him, so now she’s seeking advice from his parents.

“…”

Is that right…?

Such thoughts crossed Armin’s mind, but he soon cleared his throat and carefully changed the subject.

After all, he wasn’t brave enough to speak carelessly to a high noble who could approach the Emperor directly.

Honestly, he subscribed to the belief that any woman who could firmly hold onto that son of his—who would chase after any woman who merely made eye contact with him—would be fine by him.

“…First, I think it would be good to increase the time you spend together.”

So he decided to offer “wholesome” advice within reasonable bounds.

That was the intention behind his words.

Although Elnore’s eyes were burning uncomfortably as she listened, Armin somehow managed to continue speaking haltingly.

“Despite appearances, he’s always conscious of those around him. Rather than being oblivious… he’s probably intentionally ‘avoiding’ you.”

“…”

Elnore’s eyes widened at those words.

It was a natural reaction since she had never approached the situation from that angle.

“…Avoiding? Me? Why—”

“He’s probably not just avoiding you, Lady Tristan. Even when he was young, he often avoided getting involved with women in general.”

More precisely, he ran away because he didn’t know how to treat women.

The problem was that despite this, he had a colorful history of spreading his pheromones everywhere.

His reputation as a womanizer had clearly been established since then.

“Then how—”

“It’s simple. If a tree doesn’t fall after ten strikes, strike it a hundred or a thousand times.”

“…”

“That’s how my wife won me over. That boy isn’t disliking you; he’s just passive.”

“…Oh.”

“If you become more aggressive in your approach, it will work out somehow.”

If Darwood had heard this advice, he would have screamed in horror, but Elnore’s face was spreading with an expression of enlightenment.

“For instance… Well. Isn’t this around the time when club activities are in full swing at Elphante?”

“…Yes, certainly.”

“Why don’t you create opportunities to be together there? Since everyone has to attend after school, it should be easy.”

“…Indeed!”

“That boy is surprisingly weak against persistence. If you push him, he’ll give in despite his resistance.”

Elnore clenched her fist.

“…Father, no, Master.”

With a very serious voice, Elnore exclaimed with genuine sincerity.

“I will repay this debt for the rest of my life…!”

“…”

Hmm.

Is that all it takes?

Such an expression spread across Armin’s face.

●

Clearly, she had heard such a story.

And that was the reason she had desperately come to this place.

Of course, there had also been a hellish confrontation with Chancellor Atalante.

-Lady Tristan. This constitutes a serious violation of school rules. Even if you invoke your family’s authority, I simply cannot allow—

-Exorcism Club.

-…Reconsider, please. As chancellor, if I permit this, I’ll inevitably face accusations of giving you special treatment—

-Exorcism Club.

-Elnore, you brat! You’re the student council president! After using up all your vacation days, you want to join some club for underclassmen?!

-Exorcism Club.

-That Darwood bastard is already killing me, and now you’re doing this to me too-! I’m really struggling-!

-Exorcism Club.

…It’s unclear who had the nightmare, but it was definitely a nightmare for someone.

So even after going through all that, she came here to somehow increase the time she could spend with this man.

But what was with these people?

She glanced sourly at the person sitting beside her. Then, with a displeased expression, she opened her mouth.

“…Your Majesty, what are you—”

Elnore’s mouth closed immediately.

It was probably because Cecilia XI, who usually kept her eyes narrowed, had slightly widened them.

Her irises, reminiscent of slit reptilian pupils, glimmered playfully, and then the Emperor brought her hand to her mouth in a shushing gesture.

Then, words matching that gesture flowed out.

“Nice to meet you, ‘senior.’ I’m Cecilia.”

“…”

Good heavens.

Elnore pressed her forehead as she roughly grasped the implied meaning.

Usually, she was the one delivering such surprises to others, but given who she was facing, there was nothing she could do.

“…What kind of prank are you pulling to enter the academy, Your Maj—”

Again, the shushing gesture made Elnore sigh and change her words.

“…Junior Cecilia.”

“Prank? I’m a new student who grew up in a rural farming village and entered through special admission.”

“…”

There’s a limit to how badly a cover story can fall apart.

While Elnore was contorting her expression, Darwood, sitting at the judging panel, was showing a similar reaction.

With an expression that said he wanted to end this chaos quickly and rest, he eventually asked a perfunctory question.

“…Starting with candidate number 1, let me ask a question. What is your motivation for joining our club—”

“I’ll join and crush everyone inside.”

“…Why?”

“So I can shut down this club and drag you into the student council.”

“…”

After searching for a response for quite some time, Darwood finally gave up and turned his head elsewhere.

“Your Maj—”

Ah, that’s not right.

Seeing Cecilia XI’s—no, Cecilia’s—expression, Darwood swallowed his words.

“…Candidate number 2, what brings you to our club?”

“I want to experience school life.”

“…”

“I heard the club president is such a wonderful person, so I decided to join. I look forward to working with you, Senior Darwood.”

With a face that begged to be rescued from this hell, Darwood turned his head and skipped asking Faynol anything.

As he had already seen, there was no telling what might come out if he engaged with him incorrectly.

Finally, making eye contact with Victoria, Darwood cleared his throat and opened his mouth.

Or rather, he tried to.

The answer came before he could ask.

“I want to kill my sister.”

“…”

“And while I’m at it, I’d like to gather some information about all the demons gathered here.”

“What do you—”

“That would be helpful for me too.”

Victoria answered nonchalantly.

While Darwood and Elia stared at her in bewilderment, Victoria looked around as if to reconfirm her words.

Her sunken eyes glowed brightly. She made eye contact with everyone present, one by one.

And Darwood could clearly see it.

The heavy “violet” light settled in Victoria’s eyes.

The exact same feeling he had seen in Serath.

“…!”

Without a doubt.

It was the sign of a “Vessel.”

One containing a demon of the same color as Serath.

“I’d appreciate your cooperation with that.”

“…”

Then, Darwood at the judging panel could be seen covering his face.

Should I just quit this shit?

His gesture clearly conveyed that sentiment.