← Previous Chapter | Chapter Index | Next Chapter →

Meeting the Magus Lord

Translated by: ME

Treat me to a Ko-Fi to give me more motivation!!!

*****

Two years had to pass from their enrollment in the academy before they were permitted to attend evening balls.

In the time before she met Magus Lord Eides—specifically, since entering the academy—Wellmy had poured all her energy into staying by Lola's side and ensuring Irvine's eyes were fixed on her instead of her sister.

Strictly speaking, it was trivial to win over a man who had been so visibly disappointed by his first glimpse of Lola's current appearance.

(This man is hopeless.)

By this point, Wellmy had become self-aware of an ability that set her apart from others. She could intuitively grasp a person's true essence. She didn't know the logic behind it, but it was much like the way she had seen through her parents' hearts on the night of her fever.

When Irvine looked at Lola, and then at Wellmy as she bowed and introduced herself, the difference in his gaze was blatant. Furthermore, she saw a vulgar glint deep within his eyes.

(He is only interested in a woman's exterior.)

She had known as much from the way he had proposed an engagement to a sister he had only seen once. Irvine was a second son, and while his family held the rank of Count, there was little profit in marrying into the House of Ernest, which was politically on the decline.

He was truly only after her sister's physical beauty. His features were fine, but he was a man of no other substance. He likely viewed women as little more than tools to satisfy his own desires. He was not a person fit to be entrusted with her sister's life.

At the same time, Wellmy carefully considered what kind of people to associate with and how to carry herself. She sought no one among the noble children to be a true friend.

Instead, to keep Lola away from Irvine, she deliberately drew in sycophantic sons and young ladies who lived for gossip and backbiting. They were incredibly useful; by feigning a dislike for her sister and acting coquettish toward Irvine, they would immediately spread ill rumors—tarnishing both Wellmy’s and Lola’s reputations.

The younger sister who steals her sister’s fiancé, and the elder sister whose fiancé was stolen. Two girls of the same age, half-sisters with completely different looks.

It was perfect bait.

The fact that her sister had a fiancé served to keep other men at a distance. Yet, the fiancé himself was someone Wellmy could easily steer away... she had effortlessly created a very convenient dynamic.

It pained her heart that her sister was forced into a life of social stifling not just at home but at school as well. However, she believed that anyone with a decent—not as a noble, but as a human—sensibility would realize Lola’s true worth after even a brief interaction.

She carefully searched for someone capable of that, someone who wouldn't be swayed by public rumors.

The one person she identified as a possibility was Carla, the daughter of a Viscount. Carla acted demure, but beneath that exterior, she was quite strong-willed. Wellmy liked that Carla was ambitious yet cautious, choosing her associates while maintaining a proper distance.

When they met, Wellmy already had her circle of gossip-loving hangers-on, but Carla approached their group, which was comprised of children from influential families.

Upon investigating her background, Wellmy found she was the daughter of a rising house that had succeeded in commerce and held ties to powerful commoner merchants and even a Margrave. Despite being a Viscount’s house, they were not to be underestimated... they had backing strong enough that they had no need to fawn over powerful rivals; it wouldn't be strange if they were eventually raised to the rank of Count.

(It’s her,) Wellmy thought.

Carla had an eye for people and acted with tact. And yet, she spoke her mind clearly to Wellmy in front of everyone.

「Lord Irvine is your sister's fiancé, is he not? ...I don't believe there is any profit for either of you in acting this way.」

"No profit." From an outsider's perspective, she was absolutely right. Without knowing Wellmy’s true goal, it looked as though she was scattering her own reputation to the winds, leaving one sister surrounded by incompetent flunkies and the other isolated.

That was why Wellmy decided this girl needed to be by her sister's side.

「If you wish to be so polite, well-mannered, and beyond reproach, then why don't you simply stay with my sister instead?」

How had Carla taken that request, delivered as it was with a sneer? She stared intently at Wellmy, then looked at the hangers-on who were smirking at the exchange, and left the spot in silence.

She never associated with Wellmy's group again. She must have judged them to be of no future value.

A few days later—whatever exchange had taken place between the two of them—Wellmy began to see Carla by her sister’s side.

(This is for the best.)

Carla would surely drive away the "bad insects" who tried to approach from the outside. And the people Carla deemed worthy of friendship would surely become good friends to her sister. After all, Wellmy would be vanishing from society before long. Even then, she was already moving toward a future of ruin.

The only miscalculation was Leo, the son of a poor Baron.

(He's no good,) she had thought the moment she saw him.

His character wasn't bad. Even if he and her sister became close, he likely wouldn't make her unhappy... but those quiet eyes that seemed to see through everything were dangerous.

Before she knew it, Leo was by Lola and Carla’s side. It was fine for him to see through to her sister’s essence. But if he were to strip away the dull curtains she wore as clothes and make her sister want to reveal her beauty to the world...

Wellmy's plan would collapse.

At the very least, until Lola graduated from the academy and stood on her own as an adult, her appearance had to remain hidden. If her sister was still in a position requiring a guardian and some villain—or Irvine—noticed her and set their sights on her...

Leo did not have the power to protect her. Irvine, especially, could use his legitimate status as her fiancé to exclude him. Right now, Irvine only used his "ownership" for the sake of harassment, but if that turned into genuine possessiveness, he might well arrange a marriage while they were still students.

Even if Wellmy was currently suppressing that by expressing her own "affection" to her parents and Irvine, she understood better than anyone that she could never stand a chance against the radiance of her sister once her true beauty was restored.

Though the concern always lingered in a corner of her heart, she was relieved that they reached graduation without taking any drastic action.

During that student life, there was the debutante ball.

One makes their debut at sixteen. In an aristocratic academy attended from fourteen to eighteen, one can participate starting exactly from the midpoint. There, Wellmy intended to identify someone worthy of being entrusted with her sister after she forced Irvine to break the engagement.

A woman without a fiancé would normally be escorted to the ball by her father. It was galling that she had to entrust Lola to Irvine just for the entrance as her fiancé, but...

He usually left Lola's side immediately to come to Wellmy anyway. Furthermore, since her parents viewed Lola as nothing more than a foil to make Wellmy stand out, they never strayed far. Naturally, Lola was never allowed to attend a ball alone without Wellmy.

However...

(There isn't a single person here worthy of being entrusted with my sister...)

Every last one of them without a fiancé was either a hyena hunting for prey, or part of a crowd with neither interest in the ball nor any actual power. The desirable sons, naturally, almost all had fiancées already, and popular young ladies like Wellmy—who didn't have a specific partner—had little reason to go out of their way to choose someone like her sister.

Feeling a bit disappointed, and perhaps because she was looking away, Wellmy accidentally bumped into someone entering the venue while Irvine was by her side.

「Ah!」

「Forgive me, Milady. Are you injured?」

A low, quiet voice. Wellmy looked up, her interest piqued... and for a moment, she thought she might be swallowed whole.

Blue-tinted purple eyes, brimming with intelligence and confidence. His face was expressionless, yet she could tell he was purely and without ulterior motive concerned for her. The way his hand supported Wellmy's waist as she nearly fell was devoid of lewdness, yet firm enough not to be considered rude.

It was only afterward that she noticed his features were impossibly well-formed, with silver hair that waved gently, adding a mystical hue to his presence.

Her genuine surprise lasted only a split second. Immediately, she donned her flawless "cat" persona, pretending to be enchanted and speaking in a sweet, coaxing voice.

The skin of the brazen, man-loving Wellmy Ernest.

「Yes, I am quite alright. I am the one who should apologize.」

Instantly, the concern in the man's eyes vanished, replaced by a look of something like disdain. When he did that, his terrifyingly handsome face looked as cold as a demon’s.

「Then, if you'll excuse me.」

He let go of her immediately and walked away before greetings or further words could be exchanged. Wellmy stared intently at his retreating back.

The eyes that saw through a person's essence in an instant told her:

(He's the one.)

Perhaps displeased by Wellmy's lingering gaze, Irvine acted sulky. After soothing him, Wellmy waited until they were apart and casually asked another young lady about the man who stood out no matter where he was.

「Oh, you mean the Magus Lord? He's from a Marquess’s house, but I believe he was granted the title of Magus Lord by the state based on his own merit. Rumor has it he hates society and women, and is as cold as ice. It's such a waste, given his looks, power, and wealth...」

A peerage granted to those with extraordinary achievements in magic. Furthermore, they said he was the head of the Ministry of Magic despite his youth.

A hater of women. Surely, that was a mask.

The fleeting expression he had shown for that one second was not that of a man who felt no pain in making others uncomfortable. For some reason, he was avoiding women. He was likely fed up with people who cared only for his looks.

It felt to Wellmy like a rumor he had intentionally allowed to spread.

Magus Lord Eides Ormirage.

(I've found the person worthy of being entrusted with my sister,) Wellmy thought.

*****

Wellmy playin 3D chess.

Thank you for reading. If you want to help my hobby please download and install LDP9 with my link down below. Just Click the small yellow LDPlayer Banner.