The Social Season Is Over!

"Is it really that delicious?"

"Yep."

I answered while munching on the Golden Riesling I'd been given.

Bella said it was tasty but too sweet to eat much of, and looked at me curiously.

But I couldn't understand. There couldn't be a fruit this delicious anywhere on Earth, no matter where you searched.

You could call it a difference in taste, but...

If I found it delicious, everyone else should too. That's just how people are.

I spent a while savoring the bliss of good food.

"Lady Raebi."

"Yes, Lady Bella."

"I'm truly sorry about what happened today. I clearly told him not to invite you for a while, but I never expected you to request an audience with him yourself."

'To be honest, I did overreact a little.'

I considered it payment for doing something so absurd just because I wanted to throw her a surprise party.

I'd only intended to see him briefly and leave, but I never expected Aiden to do something that could have been either a threat or a joke.

Relieved that things with Bella had ended fairly well, I answered with both hands clasped toward her.

"It's all right. I think this time was largely my fault as well. More importantly, thank you so much for getting me out at an appropriate time."

"If something like this happens again, let me know first. Aiden deliberately withholds information about things I might be able to stop. Like today."

"Ah... I think I understand. I'll keep that in mind."

Bella nodded once, then directed an annoyed gaze toward the door.

From the way she acted as though this sort of thing had happened many times before, I became certain Aiden's behavior just now was not normal.

"Do you need more Golden Riesling?"

"Ah, no. I'm full."

I shook my head.

Honestly, if she told me to eat, I could probably keep going forever, but I wasn't so tactless that I'd wipe out Bella's snacks without a second thought.

"But what exactly happened? Usually, people lose their minds when they're hit by Aiden's skill. Everything about this is baffling, including the fact that you're perfectly fine, Lady Raebi."

"Um... It's a bit complicated. Do you want to hear it now?"

"Yes. Please."

I told Bella in detail what had happened in the student council president's office.

I wondered if I really needed to tell her about my suspicious origins and activities, but Aiden had almost certainly completed his investigation beforehand, so I told her everything without holding anything back.

If the information was going to be exposed anyway, it would be better to tell her in advance and build trust.

She asked me in a tone that made it clear she disliked the answer.

"So, in the end, you have no intention of telling us about your origins. You're quite bold about it."

"Yes."

"......"

"But I'll do as you say, so please let this one slide."

Bella then let out a laugh like air escaping from her lungs. 'Pffft!'

Though she looked somewhat dumbfounded, the displeasure that had shadowed her face disappeared.

"Well, all right. It has nothing to do with what we originally agreed on, after all. As long as you cooperate with us, I'll overlook the rest."

"Thank you!"

"But there is one condition."

"A condition?"

......Another strange condition was being added.

My head was already beginning to throb.

But Bella continued, saying, 'It isn't difficult.'

"You agreed to submit a list of everyone who possesses information about you, didn't you? If you take any action that harms us, don't blame us for what happens. That's all."

"......Ah."

She didn't say it outright, but what she meant was, 'I'll kill you.'

I'd expected it, but hearing it made the hair on my head stand on end. I began feeling sorry for the people around me again.

But I couldn't lie about it, either, since there was a high chance a magic contract would be used when I submitted the list.

How long had they maintained their power? There was no way they'd be so careless as to lack even a safeguard like that.

I gave up on pointless scheming long ago and said,

"I understand what you're saying. However, I have a favor to ask."

"You're worried that we'll threaten your acquaintances?"

"Ah... yes, yes."

How did she know?

"Put your mind at ease. We agreed to make a formal agreement, didn't we?"

"Huh?"

"……Do I need to explain further?"

"......"

"You really are an idiot, aren't you? If you don't understand, ask your attendant later."

As expected, a child was still a child. Bella looked at me that way.

My pride was stung a little, but the fact remained that I hadn't understood her, so I muttered a small, 'I understand.'

Bella gently stroked my head, saying she liked my honesty.

Even so, she was treating me with more respect as a person than she had at first.

"Hehe, I'm easier to deal with than ordinary nobles, right?"

"No? You're too casual, which is stressful. Still, you're much better than children who pretend they've matured despite being young."

"......Ah."

Figures.

There was no way a woman that haughty would care about a child's feelings.

I wanted to take back what I'd given her, but I suppose the ring's price was part of what I'd paid for her overlooking this many suspicious things about me.

"If you'd just say it a little more kindly..."

When I mumbled timidly, Bella let out another hollow laugh.

She scolded me for still having much to learn, telling me to pay attention not only to my studies but also to socializing.

Her advice grew more cryptic by the minute, but I was aware that I was dense in this area too.

I decided to learn 'noble etiquette' from Kang Hana later.

It wasn't a real field of study, but Hana would understand what I meant immediately and teach me.

After that, Bella and I talked about everyday things.

I worried that even this might be an attempt to pry information out of me, but decided not to worry about it.

How could anyone live in this world if they tensed up over every single word in a conversation?

It was absolutely impossible for me, at least.

About an hour passed like that.

"Nancy, bring Golden Riesling and Ophirusweet."

"Understood."

'Ophirusweet...'

The snack I'd eaten more of than anything except Golden Riesling.

It looked like a tiny baguette and was also a confection made from Gate materials.

"L-Lady Bella. I've already eaten so much..."

Bella widened her eyes as if to ask what I was talking about.

Without answering, she waited for her attendant to arrive. A moment later, Han Jihye was handed something.

It was a beautifully wrapped fruit basket.

"Take it with you and eat it later. It's an apology gift for what happened today."

"Th-this is...!"

The contents were enough to make me go, 'Whoa!'

It was mostly Golden Riesling and Ophirusweet, but there were plenty of other rare delicacies too.

I suppressed the grin that threatened to reach my ears and thanked her.

"Thank you! I'll really enjoy them, Lady Bella!"

"......I didn't know those white cheeks could turn that red."

I nodded, unable to deny the admiration in Bella's voice.

I thanked her once more, then hurried out of the room.

"Hehe, hehehehe."

"Lady Raebi."

"Later. First, I'm going to use a preservation item at the dorm, then get scolded."

If my gloom rubbed off on them, our snacks might take offense and lose their flavor.

It would be a shame to eat them all at once. I could have shared them with the students staying at the dorm, but that was absolutely out of the question.

I was a baby bird crying because I didn't even have enough food for myself.

"Lady Raebi."

"......Whew. Ms. Jihye, you don't understand how I feel..."

"Are you not going to bring Ambassador Lee Chang-jin with you?"

'......?'

My footsteps slowed on their own.

For a moment, the power to my brain abruptly cut out.

I wanted to say I hadn't understood her words, but in truth, I simply didn't want to acknowledge reality.

A sense of unease began to form.

It climbed up my spine, prickled the back of my neck, and then began forcing a concentrated mass of energy out through my mouth.

An enormous sound burst out of me.

"Aaaagh!!! Uncle!!!"

I had them contact Lee Chang-jin immediately.

Lee Chang-jin had already asked Kang Hana for help, and apparently Hana had then sent Han Jihye a message.

Since a companion couldn't go anywhere without someone to vouch for him, Lee Chang-jin had trembled in the infirmary for no less than an hour and a half before he could finally be rescued.

"Ms. Jihye, Ms. Nari. I didn't forget about him—I went to pick him up as quickly as possible. Okay?"

I kept my mouth shut, since I might otherwise end up with a fist drilled into each temple.

An Nari snorted and said she understood, while Han Jihye said she'd intended to let it slide from the beginning.

*

"R-Rest, Uncle."

"Ah... I'm truly sorry, Lady Raebi. I should apologize to Lord Aiden again, too..."

"Uncle, you can speak casually here."

I sent the mentally exhausted Lee Chang-jin back to his room.

His wife was there too, so I told her, 'I'm sorry for breaking your husband,' and left his care to her.

That brought everything I had to do to an end.

Since I could neither tell the truth nor was I allowed to, I had to pretend that leaving things as they were was the happiest outcome for everyone.

The next day, I lent Lee Chang-jin a card for a noble's representative.

Everything in Eight City cost more than ten times as much as it did outside, and Lee Chang-jin accepted it without hesitation, perhaps because his finances were feeling the strain.

Since his family had been with him and I'd already put him through enough, I couldn't invite them again.

I had Kang Hana accompany them and report their itinerary to me, and the Lee Chang-jin family returned home after staying for four nights and five days.

"Hooray! It's free time now!"

"You need to designate a representative first. And you'll have to board your flight a little early."

"Ugh..."

I had resolved many matters, but I was still just as busy as ever.

I chose a suitable Thebes noble as my representative to handle my affairs, then shut myself away in the workshop.

Han Jihye told me to decide more carefully, but rumors had already spread everywhere that I'd been invited into the academy's highest social circles, so everyone was bending over backward to accommodate me.

After seeing that, Han Jihye stopped objecting.

I resumed work on the paused 'Cradle of Rebirth.' I asked Jennifer and Douglas to inspect the workshop.

They had been put through the wringer several times by the continuing incidents, but even so, they let it pass with little more than a scolding.

Jennifer had focused on the workshop because of its standing, and Douglas because of greed, so the other matters didn't seem important to them.

More precisely, their mindset was simply that, since it had already happened, cleaning up the mess took priority.

"So you can set out right after graduating from the academy. Well done."

And so, I received the all-clear.

At last, I headed to the massive training ground near Balkhash, Kazakhstan, for the second semester.

This was around the time the magic rank I'd secretly measured reached the upper end of A-rank.