***
Mona stared blankly out the carriage window as the scenery of the capital slipped past.
Perhaps two hours had passed like that.
The carriage arrived in the Mondeschu District, where the Empire’s newly risen nobles lived.
The House Bellose had originally been an old and prestigious house, so they had once lived in the Valois District, where the traditional nobility gathered.
But around the time Mona was born, Count and Countess Bellose’s business failed, and they were forced to sell their townhouse in the most expensive district of the capital for next to nothing.
*“Around the time Mona was born, even the Valois house went to auction, and one unlucky thing after another kept happening…….”*
*“It’s as though that child brings misfortune wherever she goes. Is that why I can’t bring myself to feel affection for her?”*
As Mona stepped down from the carriage, she unconsciously recalled a conversation she had overheard long ago.
She knew that linking her birth to the decline of the family fortune was a classic post hoc fallacy.
Yet strangely, every time she came to Mondeschu, that old conversation between her parents resurfaced like a long-healed wound tearing open.
‘That’s why I didn’t want to come.’
Ever since moving into the dormitory, Mona had hardly ever set foot here except when her parents summoned her, as they had today.
‘Has it been almost two years……?’
The inner garden of the townhouse was even more lavish than Mona remembered.
There was an ornamental fountain, crystal-studded lighting, and all sorts of sculptures filling the space around them.
At least on the surface, the House Bellose’s spice-trading business seemed to be doing extremely well.
‘Maybe they really have been lucky because I’m not around.’
Thinking something so ridiculous, Mona passed through the garden, took a deep breath, and stepped inside the mansion.
***
“Olivia……! My daughter, you look especially lovely today.”
The moment Count Bellose saw his second daughter, Olivia, appear after finishing her preparations for the banquet, he burst into admiration.
Olivia had come of age this year, and the moment she debuted in high society, her beautiful appearance drew tremendous attention.
Her glossy chestnut hair contrasted exquisitely with her cream-colored skin, while her pale green dress enhanced her natural freshness, making her look like a fairy who had stepped out of the forest.
“My lucky girl, Olivia! I had quite a time finding a necklace that suited you. Go on, put it on.”
“It’s so pretty! Thank you! You’re the best, Dad!”
Olivia could not hide her delight as she received a large emerald necklace shaped like a four-leaf clover.
The banquet today would be attended by none other than Richard Cronel, the hero who had defended the Empire and heir to a Grand Ducal House.
That was why she had wanted to attend looking even more perfect than usual, but she had been bothered by the fact that she had no suitable jewelry.
And now her father had presented her with a necklace that looked dazzling and expensive at a glance.
“Olivia, that necklace really suits you. It’s like the gem was born just for you.”
“Really?”
“Yeah! Emerald green looks amazing on you too. It’s not an easy color to pull off.”
Olivia’s younger twin brother, Liam, showered her with praise, while Countess Bellose watched the scene with satisfaction.
“My daughter will undoubtedly stand out the most among all the young ladies attending today.”
“Of course. Whose daughter do you think she is?”
“Even at the Academy, I could search until my eyes fell out and still not find anyone prettier than my sister.”
Amid her family’s excessive praise and affection, Olivia smiled as she toyed with the necklace.
Then it happened.
STEP, STEP.
As Mona came down the stairs leading into the drawing room, the warm atmosphere vanished in an instant, and silence settled over the entire room.
A deep aversion flashed through Olivia’s green eyes as she looked at Mona.
A kind father who gave her anything she asked for, a mother who treasured her like a jewel, and an obedient, sweet younger brother.
Her family was already perfect.
Then one day, a girl she had never even grown up with suddenly appeared out of nowhere and introduced herself as her older sister.
The aversion that had begun then had only grown stronger with each passing day.
‘……Older sister, my ass.’
She was nothing but unpleasant.
Still, once Olivia grew older, she found that apart from disliking the woman, she also found her rather ridiculous.
She still looked like the same gloomy, stuffy scholar.
‘If it were me, I’d have pestered Father until he bought me a decent dress. What an idiot.’
Mona Bellose was still wearing the old-fashioned dress she had bought for her coming-of-age ceremony, a style that had long since fallen out of fashion.
On top of that, she insisted on wearing thick glasses because of her poor eyesight, making her look unbearably unfashionable.
‘Well, I suppose looking like that does make her useful.’
Olivia swallowed her thoughts and silently continued fiddling with her new necklace.
“Haa. Why did she suddenly come here?”
Liam, her twin brother, did not even try to hide his irritated expression as he muttered to himself and repeatedly swept his hair back.
The first person to speak in the suffocating, taut atmosphere was Count Bellose.
“Mona, it’s been a while.”
Without even looking Mona properly in the eye, Count Bellose turned his head aside and gave a small cough.
“Ahem! You haven’t had any trouble, have you?”
“…….”
“Right, then. Now that everyone is here, we should get going. There will probably be a great many attendees at today’s banquet, so it would be best to leave early.”
He had asked how she was doing, yet Count Bellose did not even properly listen for Mona’s answer before walking toward the entrance first.
As though avoiding the situation.
‘You haven’t changed at all.’
With a cynical feeling in her chest, Mona settled herself at the edge of the carriage and let out a long sigh, already exhausted.
***
Just as Count Bellose had expected, the victory banquet being held by the Imperial Family had more attendees than usual.
The nobles had dropped everything and rushed over for the chance to see Richard, the war hero and star of the victory banquet.
Richard rarely appeared at banquets despite his fame and popularity, so the hall was already buzzing with anticipation even before the event began.
‘Were Imperial banquets always this crowded?’
Unaware of the circumstances behind it, Mona looked around the packed hall and felt overwhelmed.
‘Am I really going to be able to find Professor Thomas in here?’
It looked as difficult as finding a needle on a beach……
Mona was anxiously sweeping her gaze around the room when—
“Why, if it isn’t Count Bellose. Fancy seeing you here.”
A hard-faced middle-aged man approached the Bellose family with a sly tone.
“Oh! Marquis Roussel. It has been a long time. I heard you were busy with business, yet you came in person!”
“Hoho, my wife insisted that she simply had to see Sir Richard, the war hero, with her own eyes.”
“Is that so? My wife is exactly the same.”
“But Count Bellose, do you know something?”
“Yes?”
“The young gentlemen around my son’s age seem even more interested in the jewel of House Bellose than in the war hero.”
When Marquis Roussel’s gaze landed on Olivia, who had recently emerged as a rising star of high society, the corner of Count Bellose’s eye twitched faintly.
“……You flatter us, Marquis Roussel.”
“Flatter you? If I were merely being polite, would I have personally sent a marriage proposal letter?”
“I am simply grateful that you think so highly of my daughter. However, my eldest daughter’s future has not yet been settled, so I believe it is too early to speak of my second daughter’s marriage.”
“……Your eldest daughter?”
“Yes. This child here. She is a talented student at the Imperial Academy and is already enrolled in a master’s degree program.”
“Ahem. I see.”
Only then noticing the eldest daughter with dull gray hair devoid of shine and thick glasses, the marquis coughed with an unimpressed expression and moved away.
At the sight, Mona swallowed a bitter laugh.
‘Now I understand why they suddenly sent the butler and forced me to attend after leaving me alone all this time.’
They intended to use her as an excuse to reject marriage proposals from high-ranking nobles that were difficult to turn down outright.
‘Damn it.’
Mona swallowed a curse.
Fortunately, it seemed Olivia had yet to find any young nobleman who met her standards, but what if a spouse was chosen for her before Mona earned her degree?
‘They will try to shove me into a marriage first, just so they can marry Olivia off afterward.’
……There was only one answer after all.
She had to earn the title of Academic Knight as soon as possible and cut ties with the family.
‘Today, even if I have to sell my soul to a demon, I’m going to find Professor Thomas……!’
Just as Mona steeled her resolve once more, the musicians’ performance gradually faded away, and the chief chamberlain called out in a booming voice.
“His Excellency Richard Cronel, the greatest contributor who brought victory to the Empire in this Monster War, is entering.”
Richard Cronel.
The moment he appeared, everyone present fell silent and stared at him in a daze.