After sprinting flat out just to beat the clock, Elias finally made it back to the Aurelle mansion right before sunrise.
The moment he got there, he rushed straight to his room and threw himself into getting ready to wake Evelyn and Elysia, handling everything from laying out their clothes to brushing their hair, then walking around the city to pick up some food for them.
Since this was the last day, the three of them made time to buy a few local goods from Aurelle territory too, food, clothes, that sort of thing.
Even though Elias felt completely drained from missing a night’s sleep, he forced himself to act perfectly normal, careful not to let Evelyn or Elysia catch on to how exhausted he actually was.
Besides being scared of getting punished, Elias had also started noticing lately that the two girls genuinely worried about him.
That much had already been proven when his arm broke during training with Seraphina.
Along with the interrogation, they’d also nursed him with surprising care, going as far as buying an expensive potion in the city just for him.
Honestly, Elias didn’t really need anything that pricey, since Auntie Centipede’s homemade potions worked just fine, even if the healing came in stages…
But watching Elysia look like she was holding back tears while cleaning the cuts on his body made Elias accept the potion in the end, however reluctantly.
‘Well, I still don’t really get why it turned into that.
But hey, if it ends well, might as well just let it slide.’
Elias trailed a few steps behind the two girls, who kept glancing into various shops as they walked.
To Elias, even though they were seventeen, their childlike streak still showed clearly in the way they looked at anything new and interesting.
He honestly never would’ve guessed that two girls this pure would eventually turn into Villainesses.
“This is the party’s last day. Sounds like some important guests are coming.”
“Ah, if you mean the second prince and the Saintess candidate, then tonight’s definitely going to be livelier than usual.”
“Hm~ what do you think, Elysia?”
“Same either way. I just want to head home already. Going back home is the single best thing in this world… in my opinion.”
“Geez… My little sister’s so cute when she talks about the things she likes~”
Evelyn wrapped her arms around Elysia from the side and peppered her cheek with kisses.
Rather than stopping her, Elysia just let her sister keep kissing away, a faint blush coloring her cheeks the whole time.
“But Big Sis, since an important figure is coming, there’s bound to be something special planned too.”
Evelyn stopped what she was doing, resting a finger on her chin like she was thinking something over.
“True enough. Something special happened at our own coming-of-age party too… Elias, what do you think Marquis Aurelle might have planned?”
“…”
“…he’s fallen asleep standing up.”
“Oh my god, how adorable~ Look, he’s practically drooling!”
Elysia walked over to Elias and gave his face a light tap.
“Wake up, sleepyhead!”
Startled awake, Elias reflexively grabbed the hilt of his sword, still only half conscious.
“Stand behind me, my Ladies! I’ll protect you!”
“…”
“…”
Fair enough, honestly, some guy suddenly shouting and striking a weird pose in the middle of a crowded street was bound to draw every eye around.
Watching Elias’s whole display, Elysia could only sigh and press a hand to her forehead.
Evelyn, meanwhile, just laughed softly at how absurd the whole thing looked.
“Ahaha… Sorry about that.”
‘This is so embarrassing!
I could just die right now…’
“Are you sleep deprived? Why were you sleeping standing up like that?”
“Or wait, don’t tell me you were up to something else last night, huh?”
“N-no, no. I didn’t do anything, I’m just a little worn out and not feeling great since I ate way too much yesterday.”
“What?… Big Sis, can eating too much actually make someone this exhausted?”
“…I wouldn’t know. I’ve never eaten that much in my life.”
“O-of course it can! Overeating can give someone a sudden stomachache or even make them too lazy to move. I got exhausted from that eating contest earlier, and on top of that, all that food made me sluggish, which ended up costing me sleep too.”
Elysia listened carefully, nodding along without really understanding a word of it.
“I see…”
Watching her little sister fall for Elias’s excuse so easily, Evelyn could only let out a small sigh while still smiling.
She knew perfectly well that what Elias said wasn’t entirely true, but she decided to let it slide anyway.
‘Well, this means you owe me one now.’
“Elias, since this is the last day, tonight’s bound to be even livelier than the previous nights, what with the important guests arriving.”
“Ah… You mean the second prince and the Saintess candidate? I heard about that right before I dozed off.”
“That’s right. So, what do you think Aurelle’s got planned for tonight?”
“Hmm… If you’re asking me that…”
Since this was a party for young nobles, it was probably going to be something intense, the kind of thing that got the blood pumping and adrenaline spiking.
Elias briefly considered the idea of some low-tier monster-catching contest.
But thinking about the average combat level among young nobles, which was honestly pretty solid for their age, hunting or catching monsters would probably end up being incredibly boring, even if it did work out great for Marquis Aurelle by thinning out the monster population on his land.
“Maybe a sparring match.”
“…why do you think that?”
“Because young people always want to prove they’re stronger than someone else. And a sparring match lets both contestants learn from each other too, on top of that, the crowd gets to cheer on whoever they’re rooting for. Bottom line, it’s loud, exciting, and definitely gets the adrenaline going. But the best part is, everyone walks away having learned something from it.”
Once Elias finished talking, Elysia slowly stepped closer and cupped his face with one hand.
“Who are you?”
“What..?”
“Elias isn’t the type to think this fast. I’m convinced you’re someone else entirely. Where’s the real Elias?”
Elias could only respond with an awkward smile, sweat starting to bead on his cheeks.
“That’s rude. Besides, we’re daughters of House Nocturne, asking about another family’s business or plans would go against noble etiquette.”
“In that case, just ask Lady Seraphina.”
Evelyn and Elysia started walking again, with Elias falling back into step behind them.
“That’d be pointless. She wouldn’t know either.”
“Why not? She’s the Marquis’s daughter, shouldn’t she know what’s being planned for the last night?”
“Ahaha… Seraphina, well, she’s probably been told already, it’s just that she either forgot about it, or genuinely wasn’t listening in the first place.”
Hearing that from Evelyn caught Elias a little off guard.
“Is she really a proper noble Lady?”
“Fufu~ she’s been exactly like that since she was little.”
“She’s an adult now, but she still hasn’t grown out of the habit.”
“Goodness, it’s fine though, isn’t it? She’s still just as cute as ever.”
“You need to stop spoiling that girl so much, Big Sis.”
“Eh~ why’s that?”
“Because…”
“…”
“…”
Trailing behind the two of them as they chatted away, Elias found his mind drifting toward the upcoming Saintess candidate.
He didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but this Saintess candidate was almost certainly one of the MC’s future Harem members.
What worried him was, what if the Saintess ended up suddenly falling for him instead?
‘I mean, I know my face is a one-in-a-hundred kind of handsome.
But still, she’s a Saintess candidate and one of the MC’s future Harem members.
What if the MC ends up holding a grudge against me because of it?’
To avoid that exact scenario, even though it was basically impossible for a Saintess candidate to fall head over heels for him, Elias decided he’d stick close behind Evelyn and Elysia once the party started, so the woman would clearly see he belonged to House Nocturne.
‘Alright, that settles it!’
But no one could ever truly know the future, not even someone who could actually see it.
That night, Elias found himself standing in an arena, surrounded by young nobles watching from their seats all around him.
In a special seating area, up on the second-floor balcony, the second prince, the Saintess candidate, and Seraphina sat together, all eyes turned toward the arena below.
Standing across from Elias was Lucien, smirking with his sword propped against his shoulder.
“Hah! Commoner, today’s the day you stop working for Nocturne forever! Hahaha!”
After listening to Lucien’s booming laughter, Elias dug at his ear with his pinky finger, then glanced toward one of the seats below, right where Felix was sitting.
Noticing Elias’s eyes on him, Felix flashed a proud smile and gave him a thumbs up.
‘What’s even happening right now?
Why am I even here?’