“Who? Huh? It’s Cain! Caaain!”
When I waved my hand, a pink dot from over there quickly ran over and hugged me tightly, then lifted me up into the sky without warning!
“Krgh. Ugh. Cain!”
“I thought I’d die missing our puppy during break! Did you buy me a present? What did you buy? Huh? Was the Principality fun?”
Cain tossed me into the air two more times, then started moving busily and rummaging through the boxes and bundles placed beside us. Even with my eyes spinning, I stopped him.
“Ugh. That’s what I shopped for today. The presents I bought from the Principality are piled up in the dorm, so don’t touch them.”
“Rye, you’re the best as expected! Waaah!”
Cain hugged me tightly as I’d barely regained my senses and playfully bit my cheeks. Smearing saliva all over me. Cesare, who had just finished his business and returned, witnessed this dirty scene and got irritated.
“Even if Lionel is a commoner, Cain, aren’t you a noble?”
“Hey, Cesare! Long time no see! You look even better? Rye must have fed you a lot.”
“As if you can talk.”
Cain and Cesare greeted each other by bumping fists.
“Thanks to what you sent, I’ve been doing really well. That side got resolved well too. I’m still in ‘training.'”
“The plan changed a bit, so it seems you’ll have to wait a bit longer. Will that be okay?”
“As long as there’s money, anytime.”
From what I heard, Cesare must have sent my money to Cain to reinforce Astol’s forces. But since Cesare became friendly with the pro-Principality faction this time, it must be talk about postponing military intervention.
‘Did we put out the urgent rebellion for now? Thank goodness.’
As I was listening to their conversation, the guys stared at my face. I quickly smiled innocently, pretending not to understand anything. Mitche, who was licking ice cream, also imitated me and grinned at them.
“Can’t we fix that expression of Lionel’s somehow?”
“It’s cute and very Rye-like though, so it’s good. Ah! Seeing you guys makes me feel alive. I just arrived at the dorm, but when I heard you guys went out to the shopping district, I threw down my luggage and rushed out.”
“Did you listen well to Count Astol’s nagging during break? Hmph.”
I asked after Cain about how he spent his vacation. Then he got angry and raised his voice.
“Don’t even talk about it! How much she turned my stomach inside out, flirting around with Sylvia, that wench!”
“Sylvia?”
At the feminine name, I slapped my knee as the seductive woman who had insulted my aunt during Homecoming came to mind.
“Your older sister? Come to think of it, I think I saw your sister during Homecoming. Why didn’t you tell me you had a sister?”
A moment of silence fell at my questions. From their reactions, I realized I’d said something wrong. Cain shut his mouth tight and Cesare crossed his arms, then soon spat out a word.
“Not his sister, but Cain’s stepmother.”
“Huh…?”
“She’s only 7 years older than Cain. It’s a fact most capital nobles know.”
“Uhh…? Wait. By any chance, that time when you said legally she’s the second son’s, son’s, uncle’s wife on the family register…?”
“Rye. Why do you remember everything except studying!”
Hah. I couldn’t tell at all whether this feudal society was conservative or open.
As I was dumbfounded, Cain completely stole my ice cream and grumbled.
“Anyway, I’m the eldest son. Whether that woman gives birth to a son or not, Astol is set to be inherited by me.”
But for saying that, his voice was quite uncertain. Cain, who always caused big and small incidents, didn’t have a very good relationship with Count Astol.
‘If the favored new wife gives birth to an heir, Cain might just be abandoned.’
If that happened, given the custom here of passing most of the property to one child, it would be difficult for him to inherit Astol’s fortune. I guessed that Cain made a deal to support Cesare with troops because of this woman named Sylvia.
‘Should I probe to see if that’s right?’
Remembering that Cain had let slip that the woman might be connected to the Dark Guild, I deliberately asked a direct question.
“Isn’t that woman dangerous? You said last time she might be connected to the Dark Guild.”
“…Cain. Did you tell Lionel something?”
As expected, Cesare glared first. Cain broke into a cold sweat and started making excuses to him.
“No. Uh, back then. Um. Since the assassin’s identity wasn’t revealed, I just gave a little tip to be careful…”
I quickly pretended to get worked up and pressured Cain.
“Cain, she might have deliberately come to target Astol’s fortune! Kick her out right now!”
“Uh… actually, Cesare is dealing with Sylvia… um.”
I knew it. My guess seems right. I quickly sparkled my eyes and whined to Cain and Cesare. Especially sending more earnest eyes to Cain while firmly grasping his hand. He had a weaker side to me than to Cesare.
“What? What is it? What’s going on that only you two know? I’m really hurt because it feels like our friendship has gotten thin. *Sob sob.*”
“R-Rye. Well…”
“The woman named Sylvia is the hidden daughter of the Dark Guild’s leader.”
“Huh?”
Lena, it’s Mabel’s daughter. A line from a makjang drama that was popular a few years ago flashed by.
“If we find evidence of that, we can kick her out of the Countess position, so I’m helping. So stop clinging disgracefully to Cain.”
Unlike me who must have been making a stupid expression, Cesare elegantly crossed his legs, held his coffee cup, and drank coffee. His gaze was directed at my hand firmly holding Cain.
* * *
Eating thinly sliced ham and omelet at the cafeteria in the morning made it feel real that I’d returned to the academy. I ate breakfast with Cain while talking about Sylvia.
“So that place really does exist. I’d only heard rumors.”
“I didn’t know well either. It’s a place only high-ranking nobles patronize, so Astol didn’t have much connection to it. It’s a place that handles ‘those kinds of things,’ but when Astol has such matters, they just, slash through them.”
Those things are obvious. All kinds of love affairs, corruption, power struggles, etc.
“Slashing through them, your family is really scary.”
“Anyway, she’s not a woman who’ll leave on her own, so once we find evidence, we’ll publicly stab her with it. Then Father won’t be able to keep that woman in the count’s residence. Even if she has a child, there won’t be official succession rights.”
“Does that woman threaten or blackmail you? That she’ll give birth to a son and kick you out? Like pretending you hit her, acting pitiful, acting nice, being fake to the Count?”
Poor Cain. How hard must it have been for him. Thinking of the evil stepmothers in Korean makjang dramas, I carefully asked him. While also giving him half my omelet onto his plate.
Because Cain is a precious friend.
“Uh, no? But she did say she wants to have a child.”
Gasp. Then she must be a woman who lives extravagantly. I knew it. The dress she wore back then was a dangerous design but looked quite expensive too.
“Then does she spend or embezzle the count’s fortune recklessly?”
“…Um. Not really? She does have a bit of a strong personality. She says everything she shouldn’t say to Father and people.”
Cain’s blank expression and answer were somehow unconvincing. I blinked while looking at Mitche, who was playing on the salt shaker. Mitche also seemed not to understand Cain’s story.
“Ppyoppyo?”
‘Mitche. You find it strange too, right?’
“Then does that woman hate you?”
“She must… hate me, right?”
While drinking orange juice with a furrowed brow, I finally asked directly about the strange point.
“…But Cain. Just because that woman is the daughter of ‘that place’ doesn’t necessarily make her bad, right? Do you really have to kick her out? If she really loves the Count, she might just want to have a child.”
“I just hate that woman! Rye, are you taking that woman’s side instead of mine right now?”
My goodness. It was so absurd I almost dropped my juice glass.
Has this bastard’s brain matter turned into protein too? Did he make a wish to a demon to trade his intelligence for muscle? I wanted to smack Cain’s back right away and give him an earful of curses.
So this guy is trying to kick out Sylvia right now ‘just because he doesn’t like her.’ To the point of moving troops and even participating in rebellion!
‘I overestimated you, really!’
Just because Cain is from Astol, which commands many private soldiers, I thought he was something special, but I’d overlooked the fact that in Korean age he’s only a high school sophomore going through puberty. No, this guy’s way of thinking isn’t even high school sophomore level, it’s not even middle school second year!
‘Fuck. There’s no way this rebellion would have succeeded.’
Now I feel sorry for Cesare. No, Cesare must be helping knowing that Cain is trying to kick out Sylvia for such a useless reason. To get troops.
‘As expected, villain bastards playing together…’
I wanted to bang my forehead on the table right away, but I silently took back the omelet from Cain’s plate. This empty-headed bastard doesn’t even deserve to eat omelet.
Then a male student approached us.
“Excuse me, seniors! I’d like to greet you. I’m Thompson Devier.”
He was a freshman wearing a dark green ribbon over his summer uniform shirt. He stood at attention before us and greeted us. Seeing that, Cain and I exchanged glances with grins while eating breakfast.
‘Rye. A baby, it’s a baby!’
‘Should we accept or not?’
‘But doesn’t he have a different vibe from the guys who usually come?’
‘Right? Somehow feels polite.’
This was a connection-waiting greeting that happens every beginning of semester. In this place where regional ties, school ties, and blood ties are everything, it’s common. In other words, he was saying he wants to become our lackey.
“I’ve, I’ve admired you so much! Senior Mellans, Senior Astol, and Senior Yanox too! You’re, you’re so… cool…! Last semester, your wonderful appearance of not being able to stand injustice before unfair power and your true friendship to the point of giving up exams really impressed me, so I really wanted to greet you!”
‘Cute. He must be a provincial noble.’
The successful capital nobles wouldn’t bother attaching themselves to us who have a ‘different direction of pursuit’ from Cedric’s faction, but to provincial nobles with a ‘let’s grab onto anything’ mindset, the Yanox ducal family gang could look like a golden rope.
‘Just like my past self.’
Also, as Professor Peter said, it seemed that Cesare’s popularity improved because of the Cedric sexual harassment incident. Usually guys with similar eyes to Cain who have bad personalities and don’t dress their uniforms properly come, but conversely this kid was strictly speaking a ‘Jayden-esque’ boy.
“I may have been distant last semester, but that was because I didn’t know you seniors well, and from this semester I’d like to get closer.”
