“My little brother? Fighting? Not a chance. He can’t even kill a bug. He’s been sickly since he was little, so I’m always worried about him. Sometimes, I wonder if he’s out there getting picked on somewhere.”
Thud! Bam!
“Aaagh!”
“Ugh... p-please, stop...!”
“It hurts?”
Alex smiled pleasantly.
“Of course it hurts. That’s why I’m doing it.”
“And he’s so kind. He’d rather get hurt himself than hurt someone else. Honestly, he’s like an angel. I have no idea who he got that from.”
...Cheion.
Who exactly was he talking about?
Ceres let out a hollow laugh as she watched Alex happily grind the fallen students’ hands beneath his shoes.
That’s not even remotely close.
Was the Alex she’d heard about from Cheion all this time just a fictional character?
Cheion, do you actually know your brother?
Crunch!
“AAAAAGH!”
“You should be more careful from now on. And try not to use these hands so recklessly.”
Zyael’s scream sounded particularly gruesome. It sounded like one of his fingers had just been broken.
Having delivered his final warning, Alex turned away, looking entirely satisfied with his work.
Flinch.
“—!”
His body went rigid the moment he spotted Ceres standing there. She was staring back at him with a look of complete disbelief.
“......”
“......”
Well... if you’re going to look that shocked, you’re making this awkward for me too.
Ceres scratched her cheek and turned away. There wasn’t any reason for her to stay.
“Wait!”
Alex hurriedly called after her.
“There’s an explanation for this...”
His eyes began to glisten with tears. Combined with his pale face and trembling voice, he looked so pitiful that he might collapse at any second.
It was hard to believe he was the same person who had mercilessly trampled those students.
“I think you’ve misunderstood...”
“Misunderstood?”
Ceres glanced over her shoulder.
“What part? That you’re a lot better at fighting than Cheion thinks? That you’re not actually someone who can’t hurt a fly? Looks to me like Cheion’s the one who’s been mistaken.”
“......”
As she spoke, Alex’s expression gradually changed. The tears disappeared as though they’d never existed.
A smile slowly returned to his face.
“You’re right. My brother does seem to have the wrong idea.”
Taking a step closer, Alex leaned down and whispered near her ear.
“And I’d like it to stay that way.”
His smile never faltered. His eyes, however, were ice-cold. There was a quiet menace in them that suggested he wouldn’t hesitate to kill her if necessary.
“Then that’s your problem.”
Ceres didn’t so much as blink. Instead, she clicked her tongue and gestured toward the students sprawled across the ground.
“You should be more concerned about them.”
“......”
“If you leave that one alone, he’ll lose the use of his left hand. This one won’t be able to walk properly for about three weeks.”
Her gaze shifted to another student.
“And that one’s in serious trouble. If he doesn’t get treatment within the hour, the internal bleeding is going to keep getting worse. There’s a good chance he’ll die.”
After a quick glance over the injured students, she looked back at Alex.
“You really went out of your way to hit every vital spot.”
She shrugged.
“Though if your goal was to leave them crippled for life, I suppose you can just leave them there.”
With that, she turned away again. There was nothing more for her to do.
It’s not like I’m the one who beat them up.
She wasn’t kind enough to clean up someone else’s mess.
“......”
Alex could only stare after her as she walked away without hesitation, as if none of this had anything to do with her.
***
“Welcome, Grand Duke Persia.”
Emperor Devrica personally came to the entrance of the hall to greet Kainel.
“......”
Kainel offered little more than a curt nod in return.
He really doesn’t try to hide it.
Watching from behind, Ceres snorted quietly. She wasn’t particularly fond of gatherings like this herself, but Kainel was on an entirely different level.
The only reason he was here at all was because Emperor Devrica had personally sent an invitation and practically begged him to attend.
“Thank you for coming to my son’s welcome banquet.”
The Emperor was long accustomed to Kainel’s cold demeanor and simply smiled like it was nothing unusual.
That’s all well and good, but... why am I here?
Ceres shot Kainel a disgruntled look as he stood speaking with the Emperor. Being dragged along to meetings was one thing, but she still couldn’t understand why she was forced to attend a banquet, too.
Tonight was the official welcome banquet celebrating Prince Alex’s return to the capital.
“Hey.”
“What?”
“Why would I go to an Imperial banquet? Have you finally lost your—”
“I’ll cut your debt in half.”
“What do you think I should wear? The outfit you bought me last time?”
“......”
Money really is the root of all evil.
Then again, if he was willing to cut her debt in half, what choice did she have?
It’s been a while since I’ve attended something like this.
Even when she was Grace, she had never cared much for parties. The invitations arrived in an endless stack, but the number she actually attended could be counted on one hand.
Why?
“That’s the new head of House Ellesia?”
“Isn’t she a little young to be running the family?”
“I heard she’s rather inexperienced.”
“Oh my.”
Because she hated scenes like this.
Ceres shook her head as she watched nobles gathered in little clusters throughout the hall, whispering among themselves loud enough for their target to hear.
Places like this were always the same. People passed judgment with barely any shame, and every conversation seemed to hide some political scheme beneath it.
Her gaze drifted toward Herion, the new head of House Ellesia. She was listening to the whispers with a composed expression.
Just then, someone strode over to Herion.
“Lady Ellesia! There you are!”
“Ah. Good evening, Count Lafir.”
“Forget the greetings! Why hasn’t House Ellesia placed an herb order this season? The deadline’s already passed!”
Count Lafir was a merchant whose herb business was one of the largest in the Empire. Naturally, House Ellesia had long been one of his biggest customers.
Yet despite the ordering period having already passed, no request had come from the count’s estate this time.
“Ah, well...”
“So what is it? Are we doing business or not? Because if this keeps up—”
“We won’t be.”
“So we won’t...? Wha... what?”
Count Lafir stared at her blankly.
“What did you just say?”
“I said House Ellesia won’t be doing business with House Lafir anymore.”
His eyes widened. For a moment, he genuinely wondered if he’d heard her wrong.
“W-What do you mean you won’t be doing business with us?!”
The Count practically barked the words through clenched teeth. Herion flinched instinctively, but quickly gathered herself.
A conversation from not long ago surfaced in her mind.
“Do you know why they’re always shouting at you like that?”
“Because I’m frustrating?”
“Because they want to be the one calling the shots.”
“Calling the shots?”
“Nobody with real leverage needs to scream. The louder they get, the more desperate they are to make themselves look important.”
“Ah...”
“Would you rather be the one getting pushed around?”
“No.”
“Then stop letting them. You’re the one holding the advantage here.”
It was advice Ceres had given her.
According to Ceres, people only raised their voices when they were afraid others would notice how little power they actually had.
“I mean exactly what I said.”
Herion met Count Lafir’s gaze without backing down.
“We won’t be discussing herb contracts with House Lafir anymore.”
“W-What are you talking about?!”
“I’ve brought this up several times already. The quality of the herbs you’ve been supplying has been consistently poor.”
Her voice remained calm.
“And the last shipment wasn’t any better.”
“Th-That’s because this year’s harvest was poor everywhere...”
“Really?” Herion tilted her head. “The herbs we received from House Eshura were excellent.”
“—!”
Count Lafir’s face stiffened.
“Then where do you suppose they got theirs?”
“Y-You signed with another supplier?!”
“Yes.” Herion nodded, “I told you before. If the quality didn’t improve, we’d take our business elsewhere.”
“N-Now wait a moment...”
“There won’t be any changes.”
Herion cut him off firmly.
“House Ellesia will no longer be doing business with House Lafir.”
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