“…….”
“I’ll help you. So could you help me as well, Lady? It’s a bit embarrassing to admit that this isn’t purely out of goodwill.”
“Are you perhaps in need of the power of our family—our mines or business holdings? However, that’s not something I can decide on my own.”
“All I need is an opportunity to have that conversation. If even that is too much, I will gracefully step back. Still, I hope you’ll accept the medicine.”
It was almost the same as openly admitting it wasn’t simple kindness, but somehow Hailey’s heart felt strangely unsettled.
“Wow… direct hit… charm success…”
“Bell.”
“S-sorry…”
She didn’t understand what that meant, but Hailey found herself wanting to trust the young lady in front of her.
“I’ll do my best.”
“….”
“Did I act too rashly by provoking the Panesula family during the reading club? Of course, it’s pointless to regret it now, but still.”
“Tia.”
“Targeting both the military industry and mana stone mines of Hailey Ginebra and the Delphoi family was the right move. But maybe there was no need to step in because of the Violet family. I was too impulsive.”
What was I even thinking when I did that?
After escorting Hailey Ginebra back to her carriage, she looked at me with a mixture of complex emotions before slowly turning away.
‘I will await your letter with great anticipation.’
In normal conversation, you wouldn’t normally add words like “great anticipation.”
For someone of House Rosena’s standing, it wasn’t a casual promise that could be ignored, yet Hailey had deliberately added those extra words.
Perhaps she truly wanted to express how sincerely she would wait. That meant I hadn’t left such a bad impression after all.
“Tia, from what you’re saying, it sounds like you earned Lady Ginebra’s favor. So why are you so worried? You did very well. Or has the engagement issue hit a wall?”
“That part is fine. I’ve already finished investigating House Delphoi. Their documents were so well-prepared that it’s just a matter of reading them.”
My older sister, who had been worried when I first said I would attend the reading club, only smiled after hearing that.
“Ah, so our people must have helped quite a bit.”
Yes. The information guild of Rosena had done its best regarding House Delphoi.
When did she prepare all of this? Thanks to her, I could focus only on the reading club.
‘I believe Minabel will handle things properly, but…’
After meeting the prince that day, my sister had opened up to Minabel somewhat and now called her more gently.
“Minabel.”
“Yes?”
“Were there any rude ladies at the gathering who disrespected our Tia?”
(That includes you.)—or so it felt like only I could hear.
Still, Minabel seemed touched, so I decided to let it go.
In truth, Minabel had done her best.
She stepped in whenever I would have struggled to answer questions, even going so far as to take the lead.
“It was a sudden situation when she left, but it wasn’t unmanageable. I knew Hailey was unwell, but I didn’t realize that was the reason.”
“She kept holding her lower abdomen, her back looked uncomfortable, and she left her seat often. Also, her dress itself was structured in a way that compressed her lower abdomen.”
“She usually leaves her seat frequently when she’s uncomfortable, so I didn’t notice. Besides, I have the system setting that disables menstruation…”
“….”
Jealous. I want that too. Can I buy that system?
I coughed and forced myself back on track.
That wasn’t the important issue right now.
“I said those things in Rosena’s name, but I’m sorry in case you end up in trouble because of me, Bell.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
Panesula couldn’t openly attack Rosena. Even if they plotted in the shadows, it would be difficult.
But targeting Minabel and Hailey—those I seemed to favor—and striking indirectly? That would be entirely possible.
If Rosena ever became the direct target, it would only happen after everyone else had already been ruined.
Would Minabel, who would likely be the first target, even have the capacity to worry about me then?
“Sorry.”
“Oh, you’re worried about me and my family?”
“Yes.”
Minabel’s feelings toward Count Chellita’s family were somewhat faint since she had come from another world.
It wasn’t that she felt nothing, but it wasn’t especially strong either.
Memories as Minabel Chellita existed, but her feelings toward her original world were also vaguely intertwined.
So she didn’t seem to feel a strong duty to protect her family. In fact, she said she didn’t fully understand aristocratic society.
“If the family falls, something might happen to you too. You shouldn’t be so calm about it.”
“Well, that may be true. But I just have this baseless trust that you’ll protect me.”
She even added, casually, that if things got bad, she could just go back to that mansion they had visited before and live alone for decades.
As if she didn’t realize how those words pierced straight through someone’s heart.
She still felt like someone who hadn’t fully adapted to this world.
“I wanted to help Hailey too. And honestly, I’ve already done plenty of things that would make me disliked. It’s fine. I’m good at this sort of thing—being deliberately unpleasant to people.”
Minabel smiled brightly. Even my sister glanced at her again, looking more concerned now.
“But I couldn’t solve Hailey’s engagement problem…”
Well, according to what I heard before attending the reading club, in the original timeline my sister was the one who had recruited Hailey Ginebra.
“You and Minabel shouldn’t be acting like me. I may be a bad person, but you aren’t.”
“No, sister. You’re not bad.”
“Tia, for your sake I could abandon even being human itself.”
Back then, my sister—after being expelled from Rosena—had infiltrated high society under a new identity from the mage tower.
She later skillfully severed the relationship between the crown prince and Panesula, causing the Panesula marquis to fall victim to his own schemes, leading to his execution by the crown prince’s faction, while Lillian was stripped of title and wealth.
Hailey had materially and strategically supported those actions, eventually securing her own marriage with her fiancé.
Of course, their ending wasn’t exactly happy.
‘House Delphoi was a knight order loyal to the imperial family. In the collapsing empire, they tried to protect their lord, but soon Jade was beheaded by the mad emperor, and Hailey took her own life.’
Neither I nor Minabel had my sister’s bold eloquence or magical ability.
And unlike my sister, whose goal was revenge, I was trying to prevent this destruction altogether.
That made everything feel like my head would explode.
We couldn’t simply let them fall—we had to actively make use of them.
I had vaguely thought that recruiting Ginebra for military supply expertise and Delphoi for legitimacy would be ideal, just as I had hinted to my sister.
But the addition of the Violet family made things more complicated. Well… that was also my doing.
If you make a mess yourself, you fix it yourself.
“There are no major issues with House Delphoi right now. So if anything happens, it’ll likely be fabricated by Panesula. What would be the worst kind of disgrace for a knight house?”
“Serving another lord, or showing disloyalty.”
“Ah… that makes sense. Then we can roughly predict Panesula’s next move. And sister, do you know much about Violet? The one who deals with magical tools.”
“If you mean Violet… are you talking about Aubrey Violet?”
“Not Aubrey. The youngest one who appeared there. She hasn’t even had her debut yet.”
“The youngest… Phoebe Violet? The pampered youngest daughter. That’s all I know for now. Though I’ve heard they often send her out early to build independence.”
My sister made a slightly disgusted expression, as if she understood.
It might also be that, since Aubrey Violet was busy with social duties, she was unwell and the youngest had to come in her place.
“The eldest is already married and out of the house. But it’s not like communication is impossible.”
“Yeah. I did ask Phoebe Violet to find time to talk later.”
“Good. As for Violet… I’ve never had contact with them before. But I’ve seen Aubrey visiting the mage tower or sending letters.
