Chapter 87: The Sacred Day Of Lady Elise (8) |
[❗This❗gallery❗is❗great❗because❗there❗are❗no❗nuclear❗tactics❗used❗here❗][4]
[Should we give a thumbs up to the winner who received a gift on Lady Elise's Day? LOL][35]
[...A gallery member confessed their feelings today and got rejected.][51]
[I swear I smelled something demonic today?][20]
[Check out the gift I received today and then go LOL.][16]
[🔞 Making a sex friend is so easy.jpg][0]
[Insisting that women must give men gifts on Lady Elise's Day is just corset thinking...][7]
[Wow, I just came up with an awesome idea LOL.][9]
[They say humans are 70% water.][17]
[I swear I smelled something demonic today?][20]
The suspicious smell I mentioned last time definitely seemed demonic, seriously intense today…
ㅇㅇ(74.811): Talking nonsense about demons LOL. Do you even know what Lady Elise's Day is?
ㄴTenant Farmer Fan■: Seriously LOL. It's been over 1000 years since demons vanished with the advent of Lady Elise.
ㄴㅇㅇ(211.209): Why though... It's possible some have lived over 1000 years…
ㄴWhoopee■: Wow ㅜ A 1000-year chicken coop ㅜ. Just imagining it is terrifying.
ㄴJustSayNiceThings■: Sigh, idiots LOL. What do you know? LOL.
ㄴㅇㅇ(74.811): Can't argue, so you resort to insults?
ㅇㅇ(122.39): I told you it smells like a chicken coop LOL.
ㄴJustSayNiceThings■: Seriously, it's not funny. Stop with the chicken coop jokes.
ㄴㅇㅇ(122.39): I find it funny? I'm going to keep going LOL.
ㄴㅇㅇ(598.215): I find it hilarious too? LOL.
“….”
The gallery wasn’t enjoyable at all.
I only checked to see if Estelle had posted anything, intending to close it immediately afterward…
But I couldn’t help but briefly check on Elfrida’s post because it seemed too significant to ignore earlier.
‘…That’s a relief.’
It seemed like the usual provocative Elfrida didn’t take the earlier event too seriously.
“Sigh…”
I just wanted to go home and sleep, but Estelle and I were the only members of the library club.
With Estelle absent, I had no choice but to stay until the library closed.
Click-clack- Click-clack-
Students like these were still coming into the library.
“Hello, Ian.”
“…Who are you?”
“Oh? I thought you would recognize me. We’ve seen each other a few times, haven’t we?”
Impossible not to recognize.
As famous as Laplace or Lady Yuris.
The heiress of the Redrose family.
Helen Redrose.
Swoosh-
“This is the premium chocolate released exclusively by Redrose Trading for Lady Elise’s Day, limited to 30 pieces. Even most nobles can’t even lay eyes on it.”
“So? I mean, why are you giving it to me?”
“You’re quite prickly… You’re different from what I’ve heard.”
“….”
“Well, alright. You don’t seem to want to talk. You know the saying of the Redrose family, right?”
“…A red rose lays a golden egg.”
“Yes, a red rose lays… tsk, how vulgar.”
Upon hearing my response, Helen furrowed her brows and retorted.
“If you don’t know, let me tell you. ‘A red rose blooms on the battlefield.’ Do you understand the meaning behind this motto?”
“…I’m not interested.”
“Even if you’re not interested, listen. It means our Redrose family blossoms red flowers by absorbing the blood spilled on battlefields.”
Helen’s continued meaningless chatter only worsened my already sour mood.
“So, what’s your point?”
“Oh, what do you think is the reason a woman or Lady Elise would give a man chocolate on this day?”
Swoosh-
I returned the chocolate to Helen, saying,
“…I’m sorry, but today is not a good day for me. If you’re only going to joke around, I would appreciate it if you left.”
“A joke? Do you think ‘Helen Redrose’ came here just to play around?”
Sliding-
Helen unwrapped the returned chocolate and popped one into her mouth, commenting,
“Mmm… Delicious as expected. Most people would choose sight as the most important of the five senses, but for me, it’s taste. I believe nothing makes humans happier than gourmet experiences.”
“….”
“Well, it seems you’re not interested in this either. Fine, I’ll be straightforward.”
Click-clack- Click-clack-
“Ian, become my boyfriend.”
“…Sigh.”
As I sighed, Helen, sitting next to me, lifted the corners of her mouth and said,
“I heard you’ve been getting along well with the sophomore class leader.”
“…You’re the leader, aren’t you?”
“Hmm…? So, we’re dropping formalities now? Well, okay.”
“….”
“Technically, I’m the top student overall… but everyone knows it should have been Estelle if she hadn’t missed all the practicals due to her leg injury. She would have been the leader.”
“So?”
Despite my clearly annoyed tone, Helen continued unfazed.
“Do you know what’s most important for a merchant? Money? Trust? Well, those aren’t wrong, but ultimately, it’s the ability to read the flow.”
Tap-tap-
Helen tapped her temples with her fingertips.
“That’s why I’m the heir to the Redrose family. I can see ‘the flow.’ Oh, not that I’m a chosen one or anything. Perhaps it’s just being smart or having a good sense?”
“….”
“You’re not only close to Estelle but also to Saintess candidate Yuris, the Second Princess Laplace, and of course, no need to mention the ‘blond wild dog’ Evelyn.”
This was the first useful piece of information I got from talking to Helen.
I didn’t know Evelyn was nicknamed the blond wild dog.
“…So, what exactly do you want to say?”
“I told you from the start. Become my boyfriend. Ah? Is there someone among them you’re dating?”
Estelle was a friend, Yuris a nuisance, Laplace an acquaintance, Evelyn a complicated relationship.
In a literal sense, there was no one I was dating.
“…No.”
“Hmm? Is that so? Then it’s even better. From today, you can say you’re my boyfriend. It’s quite common to find a lover on Lady Elise’s Day.”
“Why do you keep talking nonsense? You’re not interested in me, are you?”
“Hahah!! How amusing. I won’t tell you the cliché lies like ‘I fell for you at first sight.’”
Click-clack- Click-clack-
“I told you, ‘A red rose blooms on the battlefield.’ Unlike others, the ‘runner-up’ clearly holds you in high regard… And nothing shakes a woman’s heart like love.”
Helen stood up, her heels clicking as she circled around me.
“If the runner-up finds out that you’re in a relationship, it would surely trouble them. Since I possess the skills to surpass such a troubled runner-up… only then will I truly ascend to the position of ‘top student.’”
“Ha… You call that skill? How is being the top student any different in that manner?”
“It’s different. I didn’t cause the runner-up’s leg injury, but shaking their heart is my doing. Utilizing everything at your disposal is also a part of skill.”
Helen twisted her lips into a smirk.
‘Well, it’s just an excuse, anyway.’
The academy’s runner-up? Top student?
Being high in rank wasn’t bad, but as a member of the tri-color family…
It was a matter too trivial for Helen, the heir to the ‘Redrose’ family, to concern herself with.
From start to finish, everything Helen said was merely to divert Ian’s attention this way.
‘You might not know, but besides the ‘runner-up,’ the ‘blond wild dog,’ ‘saint candidate,’ and ‘second princess’ are definitely fond of Ian.’
She tentatively used the word “acquaintance” to probe, but it seemed Ian hadn’t realized yet who was in love with him.
‘…This is an incredible opportunity! A princess and a saint candidate in love with the same man!’
Currently, the ‘Royal Family’ and the ‘Church’ were in a very solid relationship.
Even the Redrose family couldn’t find a gap to wedge themselves into.
However…
As history had proven, what always drove a wedge between people was ‘love.’
‘The battlefield! I will create a battlefield in this sacred academy with my own hands!’
Helen planned to use Ian as a weapon to stir up a battlefield within the sacred academy.
Of course, at the center of this battlefield were the ‘second princess’ and the ‘saint candidate.’
From the advantageous position of being Ian’s ‘girlfriend,’ she intended to play both sides against each other, dividing them.
In the end, she planned to make a sad gesture of yielding Ian to one of them, thereby reaping massive profits for the trading company.
‘To widen the gap between the Royal Family and the Church, and to put them in debt. Huhuhu!’
And above all, the best part of this strategy was…
It was a ‘love feud’ that took place within the confines of the sacred academy.
Even for the Redrose family, the risk of getting caught conducting ‘political maneuvers’ to divide the Royal Family or the Church from outside the academy was immense.
However, a ‘love feud,’ especially one that occurred within the sacred academy where equality under Lady Elise’s name is guaranteed, could not be interfered with by external forces.
‘…Well, it’s also a bonus to secure the true position of sophomore class leader.’
At that moment, Helen confidently smiled and twirled her red hair around her finger.
“…This is absurd.”
Ian’s voice, filled with anger, filled the library.