Ch.32What Kind of Nonsense Is This (1)

“What are you all doing here?”

A gentle woman’s voice interjected while an awkward situation had been continuing for several minutes. Her tone carried both curiosity and puzzlement.

At that voice, not only I but also the two women holding my arms turned their heads. Where we looked, a blonde woman was standing with a wine glass in one hand, watching us with a questioning expression.

Wavy golden hair and sapphire-blue eyes that sparkled brilliantly. Her off-shoulder dress, with its perfect blend of gold and white, naturally exuded an elegant and noble dignity.

She also wore numerous expensive accessories, as if to showcase who she was.

It was Rina, who, like Marie whose demeanor had completely changed, now appeared not as a student but in a manner befitting an “Imperial Princess.”

“Are you having some kind of love triangle drama? Quite entertaining.”

Rina spoke with an interested expression while taking a sip from her glass. Though she had the attitude of a distant observer, her words carried a sting.

“…Love triangle drama?”

Marie furrowed her brow at Rina’s words and then met my gaze. I too inadvertently made eye contact with Marie.

“…Ah!”

Suddenly startled, Marie released her grip on my arm. It seemed she had belatedly realized how the current situation might appear to others after hearing Rina’s comment.

Meanwhile, Cecilly also seemed to be ending her prank as she gently released my arm. My arm, which had been pressed so tightly against her chest it was almost buried, was finally free.

This might sound strange, but Cecilly’s chest felt as soft as a pillow stuffed with down feathers. I could feel this sensation more clearly as I pulled my arm away.

“W-w-w-who’s having a love triangle drama? D-don’t misunderstand!”

With the situation resolved, Marie shouted at Rina. From her snow-white skin turning red to her stammering speech, she was clearly embarrassed.

In response, Rina shrugged her shoulders and replied nonchalantly, as if it didn’t matter to her.

“I’ll apologize if I misunderstood. It seems like Cecilly was just playing a prank, right?”

Rina then directed her question to Cecilly. Her voice was calm but full of certainty.

“You caught on quickly? As expected of you, Rina.”

Cecilly didn’t deny it and immediately admitted it. I glanced at Cecilly while trying to calm my flushed face.

Judging by how she answered with her hands behind her back and her gaze directed elsewhere, she seemed completely unbothered, unlike Marie.

But I still couldn’t understand why she had pulled such a prank. Even for a joke, it was a bit excessive. Grabbing someone’s arm so intimately, regardless of talk about rewards, would be seen as a display of affection by anyone.

‘…Is she just teasing me like a little brother she enjoys pranking?’

Cecilly does have a fondness for me. It’s not a delusion—anyone, no matter how oblivious, would notice from her attitude and pranks toward me.

However, I’m often confused about whether her fondness is for me as a person or as a romantic interest. If it’s a “reward” as she mentioned earlier, it’s probably closer to fondness between people.

‘I should just think of it as a simple crush…’

It’s better to think of it that way for now. The evidence that Cecilly likes me romantically is too flimsy, and even if she did, I’d keep my distance.

I’m the son of a mere baron, while Cecilly is a princess of Helium. This alone shows how vast the gap between us is.

Of course, the situation would reverse the moment she learns I’m the author of the Biography of Xenon, but revealing a carefully hidden secret is uncomfortable for anyone, so let’s consider that an exception.

This applies not only to Cecilly but to Marie as well.

“By the way, Issac’s formal attire is red like Cecilly’s? It really suits your hair color.”

“Thank you. You look like the sun in a blue sky, Rina.”

“Hehe. Thanks for the compliment. Marie, I was wondering why you put in so much effort—you look even prettier than before?”

“I don’t feel happy hearing that from you at all.”

Despite Rina’s friendly compliment, Marie responded coldly. Even though Marie is a duke’s daughter, she continues to show disrespect to the Imperial Princess, who outranks her.

However, Rina didn’t seem to mind at all and just smiled without saying anything further. Meanwhile, Marie’s expression was visibly souring.

“…Anyway, what are you planning to do now?”

Marie asked Rina with an obviously displeased attitude. Rina answered in her characteristically gentle voice.

“I was planning to take Issac around. I thought I might introduce him to some friends I know.”

“You speak as if Issac will definitely be with you. Aren’t you going to ask for his opinion?”

“Then I’ll ask him now. What do you think, Issac?”

Rina responded smoothly to Marie’s hostile question. She looked at me and asked for my opinion, ignoring Marie’s increasingly crumpled face.

I rubbed the pen callus on my middle finger as the situation became uncomfortable again.

I’m already receiving various gazes as it is, and following Rina around? It’s obvious how others would look at me.

Rather than disappointing Rina, rejecting her offer would be much better than stepping into the complicated political world of nobles. I’ll firmly refuse even if she pressures me like last time.

“I’m sorry. I think I would be a burden to you, Rina.”

“Even if I ask you as a favor?”

When I politely expressed my refusal, Rina said what I had expected. She said “favor,” but it was closer to an order from an Imperial Princess.

I looked directly into Rina’s eyes. Her eyes held the confidence that I wouldn’t be able to refuse. But I can say with certainty that all her expectations were wrong.

“I’m sorry, Imperial Princess. I have no interest in complicated matters. At this moment, I just want to enjoy the gathering itself.”

I conveyed my intentions to Rina in a firm voice. I placed my hand on my chest to emphasize my determination.

Perhaps because I spoke directly, and even used the title “Imperial Princess” instead of calling her by name as usual, Rina’s eyes widened slightly. It was a reaction showing she hadn’t expected me to say such things.

Although it might hurt her feelings, cutting it off clearly here would be beneficial for my future well-being.

“…I understand. If that’s your wish. I can’t force someone who doesn’t want to come along.”

Rina seemed to understand my feelings and spoke with regret, but showed no signs of disappointment. She closed her mouth briefly, and then, as if she had nothing more to say to me, she spoke to Cecilly beside her.

“What about you, Cecilly?”

“I’m curious about who your friends are.”

“Alright. Marie…”

“Do I really need to answer that?”

Marie’s prickly response came before Rina could even finish her question. At this, Rina smirked as if she had expected it and opened her mouth.

“Marie. Let me ask you in advance—how long are you going to maintain that attitude? Do you dislike me that much?”

“I don’t like getting close to people who wear masks. I can understand your position, but you shouldn’t have done that to me at least.”

It seems Marie had been deeply hurt by Rina in the past. Rina didn’t say anything in response, suggesting she also thought she was in the wrong.

After Marie’s answer, a deathly silence fell, but it was soon broken when Rina spoke again, though her voice had less energy than before.

“…Let’s talk separately later. Cecilly? Let’s go now.”

“Okay.”

“I hope you two have a good time.”

Rina took Cecilly and headed toward where people were gathered in small groups. Before leaving, Cecilly waved goodbye to us warmly.

I waved back, experiencing a sense of déjà vu, as if I’d been through a similar situation before. Beside me, Marie only greeted Cecilly, not even looking at Rina.

By the time Rina and Cecilly were surrounded by people and disappeared from view, Marie looked at me and suggested with a bright face, completely different from how she had addressed Rina.

“Shall we go somewhere else now?”

“Hmm…”

I stared at Marie, who had so naturally referred to us as “we.” I didn’t answer immediately because I had something to think about.

The reason I rejected Rina’s offer was partly because I didn’t want to get politically entangled, but the fundamental reason was that I find Rina burdensome. She’s not someone I can talk to comfortably like Marie or Cecilly.

But Marie is somewhat different. I consider us fairly close, and she currently has some kind of fondness for me.

Whether that fondness is romantic or platonic is as unclear as with Cecilly, but I can definitely say it’s not an uncomfortable relationship.

‘Still, I should say what needs to be said.’

I asked Marie with a slightly concerned tone.

“Wouldn’t being with you negate my reason for refusing Rina’s offer?”

“Uh…”

Marie seemed at a loss for words on that point and didn’t immediately respond. Her blue eyes rolled around as she tried to find a reason.

Despite Marie’s lack of interest in authority, she is still from the Reckyless ducal family. She’s in a position where she can’t avoid complicated matters—political entanglements.

In fact, she had mentioned something similar before. Even though she dislikes attending gatherings, she has to participate to expand her connections as a daughter of the Reckyless family. This is an undeniable truth.

I wonder what choice Marie will make here. I waited quietly until she had sorted out her thoughts.

After a moment, Marie looked toward where Rina and Cecilly had gone and then nodded. She seemed to have organized her thoughts.

“…I can’t right now. As you know, I have things I need to do.”

Marie spoke with a slightly gloomy expression. The “things she needs to do” clearly referred to expanding her connections.

If she had been focused on the gathering itself like me, we could have gone together, but unfortunately, the situation wasn’t that simple.

“I understand. I’ll see you later then.”

“Yes. We can meet when the event is winding down. Oh, and…”

Marie paused and stared intently at my face. I tilted my head in question.

She opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, then blushed slightly and cleared her throat. Then she spoke to me in a voice that had become smaller than before.

“Um… because of Cecilly’s prank earlier, people might ask what’s between you and me. When that happens…”

“When that happens?”

“… …”

Marie was now beyond trailing off—she had fallen silent. At the same time, her face began to turn as red as the sunset.

Well, I have a pretty good idea of what she’s thinking. She’s probably internally debating what kind of relationship we have. I quietly waited for her to speak.

After some time of contemplation, she glanced at me and then sighed deeply. Then she spoke in a somewhat dejected voice.

“…Just say we’re friends. Okay? Say that situation happened because you were worried about Cecilly’s prank.”

“Okay.”

“…Right. Have a good time then.”

In response to my blunt answer, Marie replied weakly and began to walk away. Only after she turned her back did I notice that the back of her dress was deeply cut. Though not as much as Cecilly’s, Marie’s dress was also quite daring.

I gazed at her for a moment, admiring her beauty even from behind, then turned around as the situation seemed to have concluded.

“…Huh?”

Suddenly feeling someone’s gaze on me from behind, I turned my head back. But as if it had been my imagination, there was no one looking at me.

Only Marie’s receding figure was visible. I kept my eyes on her back for a moment before turning away again.

‘Maybe I’ll have some wine.’

On my way to the table, I remembered the wine Rina had been holding earlier. Since people are considered adults at 17 here, drinking alcohol is allowed.

I’m not particularly fond of drinking, but I was curious. What would the wine in this world taste like? Maybe because I have a childish palate, I’d prefer it to be sweet rather than bitter.

‘But when does the event actually start…’

I was grumbling to myself as I headed toward the table.

“Hey! You with the red hair!”

“Huh?”

Is “red hair” referring to me? The voice piercing my ears and the fact that they’re calling me by my hair color rather than my name makes me think I know who it is.

When I turned my head, sure enough, a familiar face came into view from a close distance. Though surrounded by people, his unpleasant face was unmistakable.

Seeing the unpleasant face and feeling the attention of people focused on me, I looked around just in case. But indeed, I was the only one with red hair.

So I pointed at myself with my index finger, expressing my doubt.

“Me?”

Did my question get through?

The unpleasant face—Jackson’s face—visibly contorted. His expression clearly said, “Who else would I be talking to?”

I inwardly chuckled at his reaction as I walked toward Jackson. As I did, the gazes of the people surrounding him gradually converged on me.

They were all unfamiliar faces, probably students from the martial arts department. Most of the men were either tall or broad-shouldered, and some of the women wore men’s formal attire instead of dresses.

Standing in front of Jackson, I greeted him bluntly as I had done before. I didn’t mind that there were many people watching.

“Hello.”

“… …”

Jackson’s face crumpled even more than before. For whatever reason, he seemed displeased with my greeting.

After that, he took a deep breath as if to calm his anger and said quietly.

“You… have no manners whatsoever. Didn’t your family teach you to use honorifics when addressing someone with a higher title than yourself?”

“… …”

I didn’t answer immediately and just glanced around with my eyes. Unfamiliar faces were watching the situation with interest.

It seems he’s trying to paint me as someone without manners in front of others, but Jackson is mistaken about one thing.

“That only applies when one has ‘officially’ inherited a title, not to children like us, as far as I know.”

“…What?”

As soon as I answered, Jackson looked flustered. As I said, showing respect according to title only applies when one has officially received the title.

Of course, there are exceptions. For instance, royalty above nobility is such a case. That’s why I always use honorifics with Rina. Cecilly told me to call her “big sister,” so let’s consider that an exception.

But Jackson, for whatever reason, had some strange knowledge. Moreover, unless one has a mindset like Jackson’s that looks down on others, people usually use honorifics with each other out of mutual respect.

“Even so, shouldn’t we maintain formality with each other?”

“The red-haired guy spoke informally first.”

“Jackson called him ‘red hair’ from the beginning.”

Ah, that doesn’t mean I did the right thing. As people are saying, we’ve both been labeled as lacking manners.

However, Jackson seemed quite embarrassed by the current situation. It’s one thing for me, but now he too has been branded as someone without manners.

While Jackson was flustered, I spoke to continue the conversation. First, it’s important to know why he called me.

“Anyway, do you have something to say? There must be a reason you called me.”

“…Hmm. Hmm.”

Having regained his composure at my question, Jackson cleared his throat. Then he spoke to me with his characteristic condescending expression.

“It’s nothing special. I just happened to see you as I was passing by. And there was an interesting situation before.”

“… …”

“The daughter of Duke Reckyless and the Princess of Helium. They’re people no one can approach casually. Some people live in a different world.”

“So what’s your point? If you’re going to ramble on about strange things, I’m leaving.”

“W-wait! Listen to me!”

When I made a gesture as if I was really going to leave, Jackson hurriedly stopped me. He probably hadn’t expected me to act this way at all.

But right now, I’m slightly irritated at having my precious time wasted. I was about to have some wine, and now what is this?

Jackson, seeing my annoyed expression, spoke with his usual condescending tone.

“What I want to talk about is simple. It’s a test of our logic.”

“Logic?”

“Yes. Originally, I wouldn’t have thought it worth doing, but seeing you receive attention from many professors made me change my mind. Your knowledge has been verified, and I’m curious about how good your logic is.”

Hmm… So he wants to embarrass me in front of people? Assuming he’s smarter than me?

I don’t understand what kind of confidence led him to make such a proposal. It could even backfire on Jackson.

It seems he wants to embarrass me while showing off his own intellect, but if by chance he loses, it’s obvious that he’ll face backlash.

I raised one eyebrow, expressing my doubt. I was curious about the topic, let alone the proposal.

“What’s the topic? If it’s something strange, I’ll refuse.”

“The Biography of Xenon.”

“…What?”

Why is that suddenly coming up?

While I was considerably surprised, Jackson spread his arms to indicate the people gathered around and spoke.

“Everyone gathered here is a fan of the Biography of Xenon. Just a moment ago, we were discussing how the story might develop. Various opinions and logic were exchanged.”

“… …”

“Then I happened to see your face. You, a new literature student who has received attention from professors.”

“And?”

In response to my question, Jackson snorted and continued.

“As you know, Xenon and Mary are the main characters in the Biography of Xenon, but Jin and Lily also have significant roles. The poignant love story between Jin, a demon, and Lily, a cleric, is currently making many readers anxious. We were just discussing that topic.”

“I know that too.”

And I plan to completely destroy that love story in a tragic way. Regardless of what others say, I need to tie up loose ends and fulfill foreshadowing.

But discussing character pairings? It seemed odd to me. I thought they would talk about economics or politics, but as Nicole said, kids will be kids.

Encouraged by my affirmation, Jackson continued his explanation.

“But I have a different opinion. Jin and Lily can never be together. I’m certain of this.”

“…Why?”

Did this bastard actually find the foreshadowing I’ve been carefully hiding?

I felt my opinion of Jackson, whom I had previously considered lowly, skyrocket as I focused on his words. From an author’s perspective, there’s nothing more satisfying than readers predicting developments through deduction.

Especially if they thoroughly analyze foreshadowing and clues? It makes me think, “They love my work so much,” and motivates me to write even more diligently.

So I couldn’t help but have high expectations for Jackson. While everyone thinks Jin and Lily will end up together, he alone says they won’t, so there must be something…

“Because Lily will eventually go to Xenon.”

“… …”

“A demon and a cleric… no matter what, God wouldn’t allow it. Lily will eventually realize this. Plus, her occasional acts of kindness toward Xenon show that she has feelings for him.”

What the hell is this nonsense? As soon as I heard his explanation, I blurted out a curse with genuine feeling.

“What the fuck?”

This bastard is turning a perfectly normal character into a two-timer.