Lucius froze, his mouth working soundlessly as he searched for a counter, any excuse at all. Whatever response he’d expected from her, it certainly wasn’t this.
"Anna, that’s not... Celeste has nothing to do with—!"
"Nothing? Do you expect me to believe that, Lucius?"
Anna’s arms stayed crossed, her posture rigid. The usual warmth in her pink eyes had hardened into something he’d never seen directed at him before.
"You’ve spent the entire month escorting her around campus. Introducing her to professors. Helping her settle into the dorms. And I was fine with that. It was your duty, and I understood."
She took a step forward, and Lucius actually backed up.
"But don’t you dare stand there and lecture me about my reputation when you haven’t asked me a single question about my life in four weeks. Not one, Lucius."
"I’ve been busy—"
"So have I."
Her voice cut through his excuse like a blade.
"And I’ve been happy."
The words hung in the air between them. Lucius’s expression flickered, something complicated passing behind his blue eyes.
"Happy... with him?"
"Yes, with him!"
Anna’s voice softened, but only slightly.
"Reyn is changing, actually changing! He studies, he trains, and he’s been nothing but respectful to me since the day we met in that forest. And you want me to abandon him because some nobles are gossiping?"
She turned away, taking two steps toward the alley’s entrance before pausing.
"I’m leaving. I still need to prepare Reyn’s study materials."
She glanced over her shoulder, and her final words carried more weight than a shout.
"Next time you want to act like you care about me, Lucius, show it beforehand. Don’t just drop a bombshell and expect me to nod along."
She walked away. Her footsteps echoed against the stone walls.
Lucius didn’t follow. He stood there in the narrow alley, one hand still raised as if to call her back, the words clearly failing him.
Well... that was definitely something I didn’t expect to happen.
Good thing it did, though...
✧ ✦ ✧
I wandered the halls for a while, mulling over what I had just heard and seen, struggling to hide the satisfaction blooming on my face.
And who wouldn’t?
That look of disgust she’d given Lucius? Textbook villainess.
And the fact that she did it for my sake made it even better.
Now I just needed to wait until we met in the library, listen to her vent about the whole thing, and use every word to my advantage.
’Perfect...’
I turned a corner and felt a hand on my shoulder.
"L-Lord Reyn...!"
I glanced back, surprised to see Trish behind me, her silver hair slightly disheveled and her violet eyes carrying that same desperate weight I’d seen at the estate.
If I had to guess, her house’s downfall had officially begun.
"Is something the matter, Lady Trish?"
"Well..."
She hesitated, fingers fidgeting with the envelope in her hands.
"Could I ask you to deliver another letter to your father? I believe he may have... forgotten to reply to our last message."
Forgotten? I didn’t blame her for clinging to that excuse. In reality, Father had probably tossed it into his least-prioritized pile the moment he saw their house seal.
If any house knew the Fillaunetes’ downfall was coming, it was the Brimstones, and Father clearly wanted nothing to do with it.
"Of course. It won’t be any trouble."
"R-Really?"
Before I could react, Trish threw her arms around me, relief flooding her face.
"Here’s the letter! I don’t know how to thank you properly, Lord Reyn. Truly..."
"It’s all right, Lady Trish. It’s only a letter."
Trish shook her head, clasping her hands together with an intensity that bordered on fervent.
"No! You don’t understand how much this means to me. I owe you twice now. If you ever need anything, anything at all, please don’t hesitate to ask. I’ll do everything within my power to see it done."
She bowed and hurried off, probably unaware that I could hear her shouting in celebration from halfway down the corridor.
"Reyn? Was that Lady Trish just now?"
Anna appeared beside me, glancing over my shoulder at the envelope in my hand.
"Yeah. She asked me to deliver this to my father."
"I see."
Anna nodded, satisfaction softening her features.
"I like her."
I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"She sees you in a good light."
Anna shrugged, as if the logic were obvious.
"Anyone with that kind of attitude earns my good graces."
Well... that certainly made things easier for when I pursued the other villainesses. At least she didn’t seem to be developing into the jealous kind of yandere.
Not yet, anyway...
Still, I’d need to keep an eye on that. If I wanted to collect every villainess, I had to make sure they all got along. What was the point of giving them happy endings if they just ended up fighting for my affection?
"Anyway, see you later! I’m still preparing our lessons, so I hope you don’t mind me running off."
"No, take your time."
"Got it. See you later, Reyn!"
✧ ✦ ✧
There went another letter onto the receiving pile. Honestly, the stack didn’t even look any smaller than it had a month ago.
It reminded me of my old paperwork, back when I was the kind of general who insisted on doing everything myself instead of delegating to my subordinates.
Apparently, my father was that type of person as well.
I wondered, if I had kept doing everything myself back then, would that nuclear bomb still have reached me?
Well, there was no point dwelling on it. This place was far better, after all.
"Reyn?"
I turned around, surprised to see my father standing there with a fresh mug of coffee.
"I was just delivering a letter for Lady Trish."
"Another one, huh?"
He looked me up and down, surprise flickering across his features before his expression flattened again. Then he plucked the letter straight from the receiving pile.
"What do you think about the Fillaunetes, Reyn?"
"The Fillaunetes? Well, I don’t know much about her parents. But I do know Lady Trish herself is competent."
I answered honestly. Truth be told, aside from Trish, House Fillaunete stayed so far in the background that the story barely even mentioned her parents’ names.
"I see. Well, as a reward for not making a ruckus these past few weeks, I’ll review this letter."
Eh...?
"What do you mean?"
"Don’t worry. I’ll handle it."
THUD!
Father closed the door behind him.