Chapter 76
The moment yesterday when Roll-Bun asked me, “Can you arrange a meeting with Kai?” and then returned to her seat—
I turned toward Pasta’s direction and activated my ability, “Ah, I-Can-Tell-Where-This-Is-Going.”
What I saw was Roll-Bun reporting to Pasta that she had set up the meeting herself.
That was when I became certain. Roll-Bun’s uncharacteristic behavior was clearly because of Pasta’s request.
……And the chance that their relationship was pure friendship? Very low.
“Got it, didn’t you? The Lady’s weakness.”
For a split second, Pasta’s face went pale. But the innocent reaction didn’t last long.
“Oh my, accusing me without a shred of proof? That’s a scary thing to say all of a sudden.”
“It just seemed strange. First of all, Lady Fruling—she used to loathe commoners, but she got beaten badly by me, a commoner.”
“……You really were terrifying. I’ll admit Fruling went a bit far, but still.”
“Yeah. So I figured she’d either drop out or burn my room down.”
“Th-That’s too much!”
“She could have.”
To be precise, in the original story, she did.
After being utterly crushed by Seraphina’s purity, not long later she was insulted by another commoner, and declared she was dropping out. The night before, she tried to set fire to the dormitory.
Of course, she was caught and expelled. I still remember the scene of her parents grabbing her by the hair in front of the school.
But this time—why didn’t she drop out?
The difference is only one thing. The existence of the Schlager Duke’s daughter.
“Fruling was rude to the Schlager daughter. At first glance, it looks like a ruined relationship from the start. But to those skilled at exploiting human connections, it’s a relationship that can be ‘used later.’”
“……”
“They could use the excuse of apologizing to develop the relationship, or the excuse of revenge to escalate things further.”
“……”
“You stopped Lady Fruling from dropping out and kept her by your side precisely so you could use her that way, didn’t you?”
“In the end, you’re not explaining anything!”
Pasta slammed her hand against the old confessional table.
“From my perspective, you’re completely delusional! You think you’re really that important?”
“Yep.”
“…What?”
“The child who made Duke Schlager come to the capital out of season. The only daughter of that Duke Schlager.”
“……”
“Didn’t your father tell you? To try and get close to her?”
Some might say I’m being self-absorbed.
In fact, this isn’t even in the original story. The “Schlager daughter” in the original only enjoyed the capital briefly in autumn before dying.
But if she lived and acted like any other healthy noble daughter? Considering the Schlager family’s influence in the capital, it’s obvious what kind of attention she’d draw.
As expected, Pasta slowly nodded.
“You’re right. Father did talk about you. He told me to get close if possible.”
“And that attempt at friendship was making me show up in uniform while everyone else wore dresses?”
“At least we let you join our group! But more importantly—where did Lafrande go today? Fruling clearly said he’d be here now…”
“I gave Kai a different time and place. He’s resting at the townhouse right now. Fruling passed you the wrong date because I tricked her.”
“Why would you do that…?”
“Because I wanted to talk to you.”
“……”
Pasta looked caught between laughing and crying. Then she tried to excuse herself.
“If you wanted to talk, you should’ve said so! M-My coming here today really was a coincidence! Fruling said something urgent came up, so she let me go instead!”
“Really? I thought you were too embarrassed to ask me to introduce you to a man, so you had someone else do it for you.”
“Absolutely not!”
“Oh, I see… Too bad, I was looking forward to it.”
I stood up. Just as I reached the door, Pasta spoke in a dazed voice.
“W-What were you looking forward to?”
Oh, did I just hook a fish? Without turning back, I answered.
“Information.”
“……”
“You heard about how I humiliated Fruling soon after enrollment, right?”
“Y-Yeah. They said you gather information using commoners and trade it. That you’re like a shady information broker.”
……The rumors are exaggerated. But if they work in my favor, that’s fine.
“Then this will be quick. Yes, I can gather info from the bottom. But I can’t reach the information floating up high.”
“Up high… meaning nobles’ information?”
“Correct. I thought the reason you, the count’s second daughter, managed to lead the noble ladies was thanks to your information network. Specifically—the secrets they desperately want hidden.”
“……”
“So, was I wrong? Lady Arsen, did you really unite the ladies of ‘Grüner Bandt’ with nothing but charisma?”
Pasta stayed silent. Well, figures.
“If you don’t know anything, I’m not interested. Sorry for the misunderstanding. I’ll be off—”
“Wait!”
Pasta grabbed my arm.
“…Sol, you’re right. I’m holding their secrets as leverage.”
“……”
“I found out which lady got sent here for stealing from her family vault, whose household is shaken by business troubles… At the start of term, I approached each girl struggling to adapt to this school and dug it out of them.”
“I see.”
“I think my ability is quite good. For now I’m stuck in this awful school, but if we joined forces, I could go much further.”
I slowly turned back. Believing I’d been convinced, Pasta’s face lit with joy as she stretched out her hand.
“Join me. We’ll take control of every student and teacher here, and by graduation, they’ll all be beneath us—”
“Ah-choo!”
“…Huh?”
A sneeze echoed through the confessional. Not mine. Well, this place is dusty.
Pasta’s eyes went wide.
“Wh-What was that? A ghost? Sol, that wasn’t you, right?”
“Not a ghost… Oh, forget it. Girls, you can come out now.”
“…What?”
As soon as I spoke, the other side of the confessional opened, and one by one, girls stepped out. The cramped space had already cut off Pasta’s escape.
“Wh-Wh-What the—where did you all come from…?!”
“Oh, Sol said she’d show us something fun, so we followed! Who knew we’d hear such frightening things?”
Betty’s eyes sparkled. By tomorrow, this story will have spread all the way to the teachers’ relatives.
The other commoner girls standing behind her all wore the same look—like they’d just caught something juicy.
“No wonder. The noble girls were oddly wary of you.”
“To think you held their weaknesses…”
“Isn’t this enough to get expelled?”
Expelled. At that word, Pasta’s face turned white.
……Of course.
Nobles usually come to Grüner Bandt for three reasons.
One, the parents or the student are deeply pious.
Two, the parents are broke.
And the glorious third reason: they want to stash their troublemaking child somewhere safe.
Fruling was case three. And apparently, so was this lady.
Pasta’s legs trembled. She managed to stay standing, but looked like she’d collapse any moment.
“…Sol.”
“Yes, my lady?”
“Who’s going to believe you? They’ll just say it’s commoners making up lies to slander us!”
“Oh? Did I say it was only commoners here?”
“…What?”
Finally, the last girl stepped out from the other side of the confessional—an undeniable noble, Seraphina.
A noble girl who never tried to cozy up to nobles. A girl who had lived virtuously without any weaknesses.
Her face was filled with anger as she looked at Pasta.
Wow. First time I’ve ever seen Seraphina angry. My throat went dry. The others looked just as shocked.
“Paste.”
Her voice was chilling.
“At the start of term, I tried to take your invitation to bond among nobles in good faith. But if that was just an excuse to dig up our weaknesses, then I can’t cherish that memory anymore.”
“Ghh…”
“I’ll report this to the High Temple Council.”
“W-Wait! Not the school, the Council? Why blow this up so big?!”
“This is a crime. School rules alone can’t handle it. A sinner must be judged in the name of God.”
“Seraphina! M-My father will make a good offer, please, don’t—!”
But Seraphina had already left. Pasta chased after her, but her untrained legs quickly gave out and she fell.
I crouched next to her and whispered.
“Don’t worry, Lady Paste Arsen. Even if you leave here, you’ll surely end up in a safe place where people like me don’t exist.”
“Where do you mean…?”
“Why, the last stop for troublesome children—the convent!”
“N-No…!”
The only reply to Pasta’s wail was the tolling of the temple bells.
Dong, dong, dong.
The commoner girls rushed out of the confessional, running in a panic. Meanwhile, Pasta still sat there like a tragic heroine.
“Why must I hear this nonsense… all because of filthy commoners…!”
“Not getting up? Want to keep pretending to be the heroine?”
“Just get lost, you and your filthy friends!”
“That bell just now was the ten-minute warning before curfew. If you don’t head back, you’ll get demerits—and later your father will scold you for ‘acting out.’”
“……”
Pasta gave up her act. But maybe she twisted her ankle when she sat down dramatically, because she couldn’t get up properly.
“…Sol. H-Help me up. Please.”
“Five silver coins.”
“……”
“No money, no help.”
“Do you have to charge me even for this?”
“Your choice.”
I stood and began walking away. Sure enough, Pasta shouted after me.
“I’ll pay, come back!”
“Six silvers.”
“Hey!”
“Seven silvers.”
“…Eight silvers, just come back already!”
Looks like our lovely noble lady finally learned how the world really works. This commoner couldn’t be more proud.
