The hot day had already passed.
With the arrival of night came a hint of lazy coolness.
Seven o'clock in the evening.
I was walking along the path to the academy's Academic Affairs Office, planning to retrieve something. Shirune had told me that another package had arrived from the estate. I didn't even have to guess who sent it.
The image of a certain snot-nosed kid immediately floated up in my mind.
I hadn't troubled her to fetch it this time, simply because I wanted to clear my head.
A rare day of classes had finally ended, and it was now officially break time—a brief post-dinner stroll.
There weren't many figures on the school path, giving it a leisurely feel.
The gentle breeze was comfortable, carrying no dry heat.
Arriving at the student-facing Academic Affairs Office, I retrieved the package sent by my younger brother, Eliot. Ever since I left the ducal manor to attend school in the Royal Capital, this kid had suddenly started placing extreme importance on family, writing letters to me every few days.
I tore open the wax seal on the envelope, and the familiar handwriting immediately came into view.
He started by rambling on and on with a bunch of questions about whether there was anything fun in the Royal Capital. Then, reading between the lines, he subtly hinted and anticipated that I, his older sister, would hurry back as soon as summer vacation started.
Ah, I wanted to go back too.
But there were still final exams to deal with. Finals week seemed to be the week after next, right? I had already finished reviewing the major aspects of mana—such as control, output, and types—and my magic theory was also rock solid. I figured I should aim for a good grade.
After all, if I didn't do well on the finals before summer vacation, going back might be a bit troublesome.
Uh, wait, I forgot. The old-timers in this world probably don't care at all. Come to think of it, I haven't even met my mother yet.
And on the very last line of the letter, he wrote in an almost pleading tone:
“To prove that I've grown up, I specially asked the estate's chef for cooking lessons recently. I made these nut cookies myself and packaged them to send to you, Sister. You must try them.”
“—From your loving younger brother, Eliot.”
Ooh, finally finished reading it.
I popped open the exquisite wooden box attached beneath the letter and found a neat stack of baked treats inside. They were roasted to a beautiful golden brown and gave off a rich, milky fragrance.
Looking at these beautifully colored cookies,
my cheek twitched slightly, out of my control.
I had expected some sort of disaster dish, but I didn't think they'd actually look the part.
That little brother of mine, who was even shorter than me, actually learned how to cook? He used to cry after falling off a horse—well, maybe that's normal for a kid? But what I'm trying to say is, after just a short while apart, his change is staggering.
This sort of thing is truly shocking.
Moreover, judging by the delicate icing work and the sweet aroma of butter drifting in the air...
How did they somehow seem better than mine?
Back when I was undergoing lady-like training, the unrecognizable charred objects I had been forced to whip up in the kitchen made even Shirune fall into a long silence upon seeing them.
Yet, the finished product made by this kid's hands actually managed to outshine mine?
“The chef probably helped out a lot,”
I muttered in my heart, carrying the box of treats along with the letter.
...
After retrieving the mail, since the path back to the dormitory was quite long, I followed my whims. Stepping along the cobbled path, I sampled a piece of cookie.
Dusk in this world always fell very quickly. The light of the setting sun filtered diagonally through the branches of the massive evergreen trees.
I watched, slightly dazed, completely immersed in fragmented memories of the ducal domain, and my footsteps unconsciously slowed.
A span of three or four months must have indeed felt very long to my younger self.
However, before I could even take a bite of the next piece,
a swaying figure suddenly appeared around the corner ahead.
In the shadows where the dim night and twilight intertwined, the girl stumbled, her face as pale as a sheet of paper.
Several textbooks she had been cradling in her arms slipped weakly to the ground, letting out a dull thud.
Before she could even let out a gasp, her entire body collapsed like a kite with its string cut!
And fainted flat right in front of me!
!
?
!?...
Wait, what?
Because of the hazy night, I couldn't make out her face.
“...” I had no choice but to keep my patience and quickly step forward. Faced with this terrifying scene, I fell into a fluster. The panic of my past life as an ordinary person instantly broke through my elegant disguise as a “villainous daughter.”
I knelt on one knee to check on her situation.
It was night, and she just had to collapse right in front of me at a time when there was no one around. If those gossiping onlookers caught sight of this, and I just walked past without doing anything, the terrible rumors in the cafeteria tomorrow about the “Tyrant of the Aldheim House Assaults Classmate” would absolutely spawn several versions!
Thinking about it carefully, I had better get involved.
And out of simple, basic morality, I couldn't just ignore someone who had fainted right in front of my eyes.
Of course, my past life would have been a different story.
Steeling myself, I lifted her buried face to see clearly who it was, while also placing my hand on her forehead to check her temperature.
Then, I saw her.
—Isabel.
Huh?
In this otome game world filled with ruinous flags, most of my knowledge about this classmate of mine came from my younger sister, who used to play through the game like crazy while munching on potato chips.
She was by no means a regular background character, though since she hadn't appeared in a long time, I should probably introduce her briefly.
Isabel, the absolute female lead of the game's yuri route.
In the hidden plotline where all the male leads were rejected—meaning if none of the male leads' routes were taken—the commoner heroine Liliana would form a deep bond with Isabel, ultimately leading to a pure yuri ending where they healed each other and lived happily together.
And in Isabel's settings, she also had a fatal weakness: an extremely frail constitution.
It was said that the stronger her family's magic talent, the more severe the burden and curse on the physical body. Supposedly, in the midterm exam's mana control test, she had scored the third highest in class—as for the top two, they were tied for first. Okay, that sounds a bit redundant, doesn't it?
In short, Isabel possessed a certain talent, but the price was this frail body that could collapse from mana backlash at any moment.
Like right now.
I knew why she was fainted here.
“This is a bit troublesome...”
I let out a sigh. With some helplessness, I took her slender wrist, slowly wrapping it in a soft, dim light as I began to inspect the flow of her mana.
Healing magic wasn't my forte, though the academy's instructors did teach it. I was simply checking her pulse.
Feeling the weak yet gradually stabilizing breath of the girl in my arms, I stared into the encroaching darkness, feeling a bit lost on what to do next.
She was fine, but sleeping out here at night wasn't exactly great either...
How about I watch over her for a bit?
But Isabel was also a plot-relevant character. If I stayed with her, I would probably have to put on a performance. After all, I was a villainous daughter.
...
...
...
Who knew how much time had passed.
Isabel's consciousness slowly drifted up to the surface from a cold, heavy darkness, like a bubble.
She slowly opened her eyelids. The first thing to appear in her vision was the towering, interlocking canopies of the evergreen trees, silhouetted into blurry, dark shapes against the night sky.
The breeze swept by, carrying the distinctive chilly scent of stone structures mingled with a few faint, sweet whiffs of floral fragrance, catching her off guard as it flooded her nose.
She blinked in confusion.
Only to realize that what she felt beneath the back of her head wasn't the hard, freezing marble floor, but rather a soft, almost warm, and wonderful sensation.
“...Awake?”
A slightly lazy voice sounded from diagonally above her.
Isabel was startled. She instinctively tried to push herself up, but her limbs were weak and lacked strength, resulting in nothing but a wave of powerless trembling.
It was precisely this minor movement that allowed her to finally see her current situation clearly, instantly sending her into a state of immense shock.
She wasn't lying on the freezing stone-paved path, but was instead inside a secluded pavilion deep within the corridor.
What she found even more unbelievable was that she was currently lying entirely on Loris von Aldheim's lap!
The moonlight streamed through the pavilion's openwork carved stone windows, spilling perfectly onto the Duke's daughter's signature platinum-blonde hair.
“Classmate Loris...?” Isabel's voice was hoarse and dry.
“Seems like you're fine, since you at least still recognize me,” Loris said flatly.
“I... what happened?”
“You fainted,” Loris paused, then added with a cold snort, “You fainted right in front of me, so I had no choice but to deal with you. This wasn't some kind gesture of support. You owe me a favor.”
“...” Isabel simply lowered her eyes in shame, the memories from earlier finally resurfacing in her mind piece by piece.
She had been too tired lately.
That was the fundamental reason for her fainting.
Ever since the ball, the tension between that well-mannered, bespectacled Secretary and Miss Loris here had made the atmosphere of the student council rather delicate.
Although Isabel was only a first-year student, the rumors below had long been spreading like wildfire.
For instance, rumors that the student council Secretary was making things difficult for Loris, and how Liliana, as one of the parties involved, was affected.
The atmosphere had invisibly become extremely strained.
So much so that the senior Secretary, who was originally extremely kind and often guided first-years with their clerical work, had recently begun deliberately avoiding spending time with the first-year newcomers due to certain factional balancing acts.
Without the protection and guidance of the upperclassmen, Isabel and Liliana often had to expend several times more energy than others just to figure out how to handle student autonomous affairs.
And there was also another thing.
Because of this matter, Loris also seemed to rarely come to the student council anymore. Theoretically speaking, her absence would make everyone feel more at ease.
However, no one was doing her share of the work either.
This was what had led to her physical collapse today.
Under the pressure of an empty stomach and sheer exhaustion, a minor backlash began to manifest. Her vision went black, and she completely lost consciousness.
She never expected to be picked up by this school-famous “villainous daughter.”
“Since you're awake, hurry up and get off my lap... This is the first time I've ever given anyone a lap pillow. Consider yourself lucky to have run into this young lady when she was feeling merciful.”
Isabel blushed—a rare sight for her. She slowly propped herself up, feeling purely ashamed for having been rescued.
“Cough, remember, this lady saved you once. In the future, when this lady has need of you, you'd better pay me back a thousand times over,” Loris added, clapping her hands and preparing to leave.
But what Isabel couldn't see was Loris's inner monologue.
【As a villainous daughter, saving a classmate and saying this kind of high-interest loan shark villain line should be perfect, right? After all, it's a favor for a favor. Still, the villainous daughter persona is really an absolute pain to maintain... My original intention was just to save someone, after all.】
“...Yes, I understand. Thank you very much for your generosity, Lady Loris.”
Isabel's voice was extremely soft. She didn't feel angered by those sharp words, only nodding somewhat sluggishly.
In aristocratic circles, this sort of “brutal honesty upfront” regarding the exchange of benefits actually made her feel more at ease than hypocritical gentleness.
Biting her lip, she used what little strength she had left to finally support herself against the pavilion's stone bench, slowly sitting up and leaving that warm lap that still carried a faint, sweet floral fragrance.
And then...
She had clearly overestimated her current physical condition.
Within just two steps of exiting the pavilion, a powerful wave of dizziness washed over her vision once again like a tsunami.
The corridor, maple trees, and moonlight before her twisted and spun in an instant. Her knees buckled, and her entire body pitched forward uncontrollably!
“Wait—”
The expected second close encounter with the cold stone-paved ground didn't happen.
The sound of swift, brisk footsteps accompanied by a gust of wind instantly approached, and a firm arm steadily wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her back into a safe zone of gravity once more.
Isabel was slightly shaken, her breath caught in her throat.
She slowly opened her eyes, and what came into her view was Loris's exquisite face.
What did this mean? —
Loris: “What are you trying to do?”
The Duke's daughter was somewhat exasperated, her emerald-green eyes filled with confusion. “Why are you forcing yourself when you can't even walk straight? ...Uh, I mean, are you some kind of idiot who can't even take proper care of her own body?”
She was probably scolding her.
“I'm sorry,” Isabel said, her lips slightly pale.
Probably because she hadn't had dinner yet, her stomach actually let out a quiet growl—such a cliché development.
But it was also very realistic. After all, Isabel had indeed been too busy to have a meal.
Witnessed by Isabel's stunned gaze, Loris seemed to recall something. Letting out a sigh, she returned to the resting pavilion and picked up the exquisite wooden box.
Her little brother's cookies.
With a clack, the wooden box was somewhat roughly placed onto the stone step beside them.
Loris pinched a golden-brown, crispy nut cookie radiating a rich buttery aroma, directly offering it to Isabel's lips in an almost commanding manner.
“Open your mouth and eat it,” Loris ordered. “This lady doesn't want to be called to Instructor Elena's office tomorrow because of some absurd rumor like 'the Duke's eldest daughter idly watches a classmate starve to death in the corridor.'”
After after all, given the school's typical track record, if she did nothing, such a rumor would absolutely spread about a villainous daughter like her.
A classic stereotype.
Looking at the fair, clean fingers right in front of her and the cookie radiating a warm, sweet aroma, Isabel felt a slight twinge of guilt.
She was indeed too weak. The empty, cramping pain in her stomach even reminded her that if she didn't supplement some sugar, she really might not be able to walk back to the dormitory.
Thus, this sickly girl who usually adhered rigidly to noble etiquette did not reject this slightly aggressive kindness.
She parted her lips slightly, receiving it from the tips of Loris's fingers, and gently bit into the small piece of cookie.
The moment the crispy cookie melted on the tip of her tongue, the rich buttery nut aroma and perfectly balanced sweetness of sugar exploded in her mouth.
The warm energy slid all the way down her esophagus into her stomach, instantly soothing the previous cramp.
“...It's delicious,” she whispered in wonder.
Isabel found it somewhat unbelievable. This taste wasn't like the court pastries in the Royal Capital that blindly pursued flashy sweetness; instead, it carried an extremely pure, sincere, hand-crafted texture. Its deliciousness was actually quite touching.
Seeing her swallow it, Loris's expression finally softened a fraction, though her proud attitude remained fully dialed up.
“At least you have some taste.”
“Since you can move now, hold onto it yourself.”
The Duke's daughter let out a cold snort, stuffing the remaining heavy, exquisite wooden box into Isabel's defenseless arms.
Then, with a brisk toss of her platinum-blonde hair, Loris left behind an elegant and haughty silhouette, walking away without looking back.
“Goodbye.”
The crisp voice echoed through the empty corridor, and her figure quickly blended into the deep night.
Tranquility returned to the pavilion, with only the rustling sound of the wind blowing through the red maples remaining.
Isabel stood in place alone, cradling the exquisite wooden box that still retained a trace of warmth in her arms.
She lowered her head, looking somewhat dazed.
Suddenly, she coughed quietly twice, looking weak as though she had choked, and it took a while for her to recover her composure.
She then looked at it once again.
Looking at such an exquisite and thoughtfully made handmade treat, and preparing such a delicious food—there could probably be only one explanation. Lady Loris must have baked them herself. She didn't expect her to have such superb culinary skills. They were likely meant for the President, right? Yet, because of her accident, they were given to her, a passing classmate, instead.
Isabel pinched another cookie from the box and popped it into her mouth. It really was delicious.
“I think I understand... why you spoke of her that way, Liliana...”
A soft, murmured whisper.
Rate on N.U.
