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Chapter 265: Council of Kings (1)

Eve Ropenheim realized she lacked courage.

If it had simply been a matter of courage, things might have turned out differently. However, Isaac was constantly surrounded by influential figures so imposing she could hardly dare to even glance in their direction.

Luce Eltania, Kaya Astrea, Dorothy Heartnova, Alice Carroll, Princess Snow White...

There was simply no way to break in, and as time went by, Eve\'s courage dwindled, leaving her with nothing but a deepening hesitation.

This won\'t do...!

Eve chastised herself as soon as she woke up in her dorm in the morning.

This couldn’t go on. She had to talk to her brother, she told herself, slapping her cheeks.

That day, she was feeling good. She was overflowing with unfounded confidence and felt she could properly talk to Isaac even if the world were falling apart. It was one of those rare, perfect days.

However...

"Isaac, where are you...?"

No matter how much she wandered around the academy, she couldn\'t find Isaac.

With a faint hope, Eve went to the administration office at Bartos Hall and asked the faculty about Isaac\'s whereabouts.

"Student Isaac is out right now."

"What...?"

"He applied for leave and passed through the guard post just this morning."

Eve was dumbfounded.

On a day like this, he went out again...?

Why did it turn out like this again...?

"Um? Student Eve?"

The faculty member worried about Eve, whose complexion had turned pale.

***Keridna Whiteclark. She was a second-year student in the Magic Department at Märchen Academy, ranked 5th in her grade, and was assigned to Class A last semester.

This vacation held special significance for her.

She had arranged to meet her betrothed candidate for the first time.

Though her parents had chosen him as her intended match, Keridna didn\'t even know what he looked like.

However, since he was renowned as a handsome young nobleman, she couldn\'t help but feel a sense of anticipation.

"Lady Keridna, are you nervous?"

"N-nervous? There’s no way?"

Keridna was seated in a beautiful pavilion set up in the garden at the front of the Whiteclark family\'s grand mansion. A maid stood demurely beside her.

The roof of the pavilion was covered with the white snow that fell year-round in the northern region. Designed with snowfall in mind, the scenery was full of aesthetic beauty.

Keridna, dressed beautifully, imagined her ideal type and her hand holding the teacup trembled.

"But your hand..."

"Can’t you feel the sudden tremor?"

"Oh, yes... But how about taking a deep breath to calm yourself?"

"I\'m not nervous."

Keridna laughed frivolously.

"On the contrary, I\'m brimming with confidence. Why should I be nervous? It\'s the other person who should be nervous. If he can\'t accept the evil nature hidden behind my innocent face, he doesn\'t deserve to be my man...!"

"Oh... yes. That\'s right."

Keridna had yet to outgrow her adolescence. She had a pure and delicate nature, but she was fascinated by the character of a villainess and tended to view herself as an evil person. This was due to her empathy and sensitivity, which made her easily immerse herself in plays and novels from a young age.

It was a familiar occurrence for the maid. She let it go without a word.

At that moment, the maid noticed a man and his escorts approaching Keridna.

"You\'ve arrived."

"Ah...!"

Keridna jumped to her feet and froze stiffly.

Her heart pounded wildly. Keridna blushed, recalling the handsome male characters from plays who embraced villainesses.

The maid was the first to greet them.

"Thank you for traveling all the way from Viyans."

"Hehe...! No…!"

Keridna\'s eyes, sparkling with anticipation, darted around.

Keridna fixed her gaze on the nobleman who was approaching her.

"...On the contrary, it\'s a pleasure to meet you, Lady of the Whiteclark family! I am Helize of the Duke of Saint Rio\'s house!"

Ssss.

Keridna\'s gaze turned cold as if doused with ice water.

The man approaching her was a young boy, shorter than Keridna, who had nothing but flashy clothes to show for himself. His swaggering demeanor and innocent “Kya kya” laughter made him seem frivolous.

He was indeed as beautiful as the rumors said, but he looked way too young. He was far from the handsome figure Keridna had hoped for.

"Ah, welcome... Lord Helize. If I may ask, how old are you?"

"13 years old this year!"

Keridna let out a suppressed sound and staggered, clutching a table to prevent herself from collapsing.

It was unexpected.

"Lady Keridna?"

"I didn’t want some kid..."

"Pardon?"

"What I wanted was a handsome man, strong like a beast, yet appearing as innocent as the fresh flavor of Sigur Mountain tea at times...!"

Keridna murmured in a sad voice with her head down. Her pink hair drooped, hiding her disappointed face.

Her parents\' order to get engaged felt like coercion. It was disheartening to realize she had to consider this engagement with the boy positively.

"What is the matter, my dear?"

"Ugh...!"

The young boy\'s words sent chills down her spine and made Keridna want to cough up blood.

"Lady Keridna..."

"This isn\'t it, this really isn\'t it... How should I refuse...?"

"Even if you ask me that, I’m not sure…"

In consideration of her family, she couldn\'t afford to fall out with Helize.

Keridna, in a desperate attempt, asked the maid for help in a low voice, but all she received was a helpless response.

At that moment.

[Kaaaah!]

The roar of a ferocious beast rang in everyone\'s ears.

Keridna\'s eyes widened, jerking her head upward.

This roar...

She had heard it just a few months ago.

A strong wind blew. Helize the boy of the Saint Rio family shouted, "W-what\'s that?!" and trembled in fear, while his escorts immediately protected him.

White jade mana spread out like snow, and a massive white dragon descended, landing in the Whiteclark family\'s garden.

"What is that...?"

It was the mythical white dragon, Frost Dragon Hilde.

The servants of the Whiteclark family were greatly surprised, exclaiming, "White dragon...?"

The escorts of the Saint Rio family displayed intense vigilance.

The 13-year-old boy, Helize, overwhelmed by the dragon\'s majesty, whimpered in fear, "Mommy..."

The white dragon lowered its head to the ground, and the man with silver-blue hair riding it casually dismounted. He walked straight to Keridna.

He was not dressed in luxurious clothes like a noble, nor was he stylishly adorned, but he possessed the ideal male image Keridna had seen in plays.

However, to Keridna, the man was not a romantic interest but an object of fear.

"Hmm?"

The silver blue-haired man, Isaac, stopped in front of the pavilion.

The escorts were wary of him.

The servants were astonished.

The young nobleboy, terrified, hid behind his escorts.

Keridna also showed signs of fear.

"Did I come at a bad time?"

"Why are you...?"

Keridna felt like fainting.

***Council of Kings.

After the「Alice Subjugation」, Lightning Sovereign Jaul Dragoniac invited me to this meeting.

I came to meet Aichel Whiteclark of the Whiteclark ducal family for this.

As soon as I arrived, I saw my classmate Keridna Whiteclark and went to see her first, but it seemed I had arrived at a bad time.

Keridna valued networking but wasn\'t really close to me. I struggled to recall if I ever had a proper conversation with her.

But we both know we’re classmates.

I decided it would be best to act friendly.

Hilde was reverse-summoned. I had consulted with Aichel Whiteclark through letters before riding her.

The Duchy of Whiteclark in the North was so far and vast, so I needed confirmation that there would be no issues on Aichel’s part.

The last time I went to Düpfendorf, I had to cross borders while preserving the dignity of a King. I didn\'t want to rudely cross the empire\'s airspace at will, so I refrained from riding Hilde.

Indeed, riding a dragon was far more efficient in terms of time compared to a carriage.

“Tea, tea is served…”

“Oh, thank you... but why are you serving tea?”

“I thought it would be polite…”

Reception Room.

I was sitting on the sofa, waiting for Aichel. For some reason, Keridna brought out steaming tea.

She stood there demurely with her hands clasped like a maid, looking restless, which made me uncomfortable instead.

"Why are you speaking formally? We\'re classmates."

“This isn’t the academy…”

Strictly speaking, we belonged to different countries, so there was no hierarchy between us.

Keridna was simply scared of me.

"What are you talking about? It\'s not like you owe me anything. The only issue between us is that we\'re not close."

"I-I do have a sense of shame...! I said some terrible things during last year\'s end-of-semester evaluation..."

I first met Keridna during the end-of-semester evaluation of Semester 1 Year 1.

At that time, she spotted me from the rooftop of a tall building and yelled something.

I couldn\'t hear a thing, so I ignored it, but Keridna seemed to think she had made a bad impression on me.

"Don\'t worry about it. I didn\'t hear anything."

"I was doubtful, but as expected, you really didn\'t hear it...!"

You didn\'t realize that until more than a year had passed? You\'re way too late to be heartbroken now.

"By the way, where is Lady Aichel?"

"Oh, she’ll be here soon. She was out for a while. When I told her you arrived, she said she\'d come immediately through her familiar."

"Okay, hmm..."

Using formal language with a classmate really was uncomfortable.

"...Seriously, stop using formal language. It’s just uncomfortable and makes me feel unnecessarily guilty."

"How could someone like me dare to speak informally to a King..."

“…”

It was really uncomfortable.

What should I do?

Ah.

"Then, I\'ll use formal language as well."

“…!”

Keridna was astonished as if she had heard something shocking. Her complexion turned pale.

I calmly took a sip of tea.