LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 273
In front of the chaotic corridor.
Shuen, clutching the head of a half-eaten sausage, was breathing heavily and fuming with anger.
“Let go!”
“Shuen!!”
“I said let go! I’ll purge this noodle-brained wench in the name of nobility!”
Who did this half-eaten sausage think it was insulting? Even as a noble, Shuen was careful not to risk her livelihood, but the suggestion to fabricate evidence and frame someone as a criminal snapped her rationality.
“What are you doing?! Let go. I said let go.”
“Go ask your grandmother to let go! I have no intention of letting go.”
“You damn wench!”
“Noble Technique! Leg Sweep!”
Shuen, shouting about a technique she hadn’t even learned, hooked her leg around Vienna’s calf.
However.
Shuen’s scrawny leg wasn’t enough to topple someone from the Swordsmanship Department.
“Ugh! I thought your head was full of noodles, but you’ve stuffed your body with them too! As expected of the ignorant Swordsmanship Department! Brainless in both body and mind!”
“You crazy wench!!”
Shuen didn’t avoid Vienna’s rough grasp but confronted it head-on. Using magic would escalate things too much. Clinging to her last shred of rationality, Shuen resisted Vienna’s grip and opened her mouth.
“Noble Technique…! Commoner Bite!”
“Aaaah!!!”
“If I don’t have teeth, I’ll use my gums! Die, commoner!”
“Just let go already!!!”
Shuen refused to release her bite on Vienna.
“Apologize! Commoner!”
“For what?!”
“For having such an annoying face!”
That was until Ricardo, hearing the commotion from the second floor, came upstairs.
“Sigh… What on earth are you all doing?”
Ricardo pressed his throbbing temples and let out a deep sigh.
***
“Huff… Huff…”
“…”
“Huffffff!”
Having transitioned from student to thief, and now to a pressure cooker in terms of her temperament, Shuen, still fuming, held a fork in a reverse grip and glared at Vienna, who was being comforted outside the convenience store.
-Sob… I just thought everyone would think the same way…
-It’s okay, senior…? Shuen’s always been weird like that. Please understand.
-No… It’s my fault… Waaah…
“That damn wench!”
“Whoa, whoa…! Calm down, Shuen.”
“Let me go! I’ll turn her into a decent commoner!”
I held back the frothing Shuen as she charged forward, smiling despite myself. I didn’t know why they had fought, but an angry Shuen was adorable. Not as much as the Young Lady, of course, but still cute enough to make me laugh.
“Huff… Huff…”
Having displayed every disgrace imaginable as a noble, Shuen exhaled heavily, venting her frustration.
“If my Finishing Move had worked, that wench wouldn’t even be standing! I didn’t go far enough to fix her!”
“Pfft!”
“Why are you laughing?!”
“It’s just… this whole situation is so ridiculous I can’t help it.”
“What?”
“Vienna specializes in swordsmanship, doesn’t she? What kind of wizard fights a swordsman in hand-to-hand combat… Pfft.”
“She made me mad!”
“Hahaha! Then let’s hear it. Why did you fight?”
I could already guess.
I figured Shuen fought because Vienna had asked to switch partners. It was something that had happened in the novel, and given Vienna’s usual behavior, it wouldn’t have been surprising.
But Shuen gave an entirely unexpected answer.
“That woman suggested framing you as the culprit! So I fought her!”
“?”
“How dare she…! Insulting a noble’s dining companion! That’s something she should pay for with her life!”
Stunned by Shuen’s confident declaration, I stared at her blankly.
“What?”
“What?!”
“No, did you just say you fought because of me…”
“That’s right.”
“Because of me?”
“Has the commoner finally gone deaf?!”
I shook my head, letting out a hollow laugh. Then, seeing Shuen’s earnest expression, my eyes widened.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes!”
“But why?”
“You’re my dining companion!”
“So it wasn’t because she asked to switch partners?”
Shuen shook her head.
“That part didn’t bother me. I just wouldn’t let her switch.”
“Then…”
“She made me mad. Trying to frame an innocent person!”
Stunned by Shuen’s bold words, I paused and looked at her face. Her cheeks, puffing with anger, bore a small scratch.
‘She’s hurt.’
I pushed my chair back with a scrape and gently touched Shuen’s cheek.
“Eek! That hurts!”
“…You’re injured.”
“Huh?”
“You’ve got a scratch here.”
“Oh… It’s fine. This much will heal with some spit.”
At Shuen’s cheerful remark, I was momentarily speechless. For a noble… no, for any woman, a wound on the face wasn’t something to take lightly.
As if to confirm my thoughts, Shuen kept touching the injured spot, her movements filled with concern over whether the scratch was deep or would leave a scar.
-Clench…
Even Shuen, for all her eccentricities, wasn’t someone who enjoyed fighting like the Young Lady.
-Eeeeeek!!! Damn it! Let go!
-Young Lady, please calm down.
-Eeeeeeeeeek!
-If you hit her more, she’ll die.
Knowing that Shuen’s heart was too soft to truly fit the title of villainess, I gave her a bittersweet smile and bowed my head toward her.
“Thank you.”
“What?”
“For getting caught up in an unpleasant situation because of me…”
“When you put it like that, it’s embarrassing.”
Shuen scratched the back of her head awkwardly, her laughter evoking a strange discomfort in me—directed at the woman who had hurt her.
“Heheh…! With this, I’ve finally escaped my record of 100 losses! I’ve claimed my first victory, commoner.”
“Congratulations, Shuen.”
I quietly went behind the counter and retrieved a white box, sitting down in front of Shuen. Taking out some ointment from the box, I applied it to her cheek.
“This might sting a bit.”
“Ouch…!”
“Ouch…?”
“It’s the sound nobles make when something stings. It’s a secret technique of our household that enhances charm.”
“…”
At Shuen’s absurd excuse, I shook my head and focused on disinfecting her wound.
“Please don’t fight again next time.”
“…I don’t want to.”
“Don’t you care about ruining your pretty face?”
“At least you know I’m pretty.”
“Of course. I have high standards, after all.”
“…So, you do like me.”
“Should I pour the entire bottle of disinfectant on you?”
“Ukukku… I’m sorry.”
How long had I been treating Shuen’s wounds? About ten minutes later, the bell above the convenience store door rang.
-Ding.
I fell silent at the sight of an uninvited guest entering the convenience store. I had hoped they would pass by quietly, but my unease grew.
-Step…
-Step…
Watching the confident strides of the woman approaching, I gripped the cotton swab in my hand tightly.
“Sniff… sniff…”
Vienna was crying.
She glanced at me once.
Then at Mikhail, twice.
Lowering her head, she was trying to control her expression.
‘I don’t like this.’
Closing the first aid kit, I spoke while making no effort to hide my displeasure.
“I’m sorry, but we’re closed for the day.”
“…”
“It would be best if you left.”
Ignoring me, Vienna walked toward Shuen. In that fleeting moment, her gaze was not one of sorrow but a cold, calculating glare filled with malice.
‘It won’t be fun if you act like that.’
I shot Vienna a sharp glance as she confidently walked in, then turned to Mikhail standing beside her and asked.
“You don’t seem to hear me.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“No need. I suppose you, like her, think of me as a thief.”
“That’s not it…!”
“I thought I was being considerate, but perhaps I need to do more.”
Meeting my gaze, Mikhail fell silent, his expression tinged with sadness.
With the sobbing Vienna by his side, Mikhail turned to Shuen with a heavy look and spoke.
“Shuen.”
“What is it?”
“Could you apologize to Vienna?”
“Are you talking to me?”
Without even looking at Vienna, Shuen responded curtly, clearly unwilling.
“No. Even if the mother of an unfinished sausage asked me, I wouldn’t do it.”
“…Don’t be like that.”
“Does she not have a mouth?!”
Cutting Mikhail off, Shuen directed her words at Vienna. If you have a mouth, speak for yourself. What are you doing hiding behind a flimsy shield? Shuen said.
“Until that noodle-headed woman apologizes to a commoner, I will never apologize.”
“Shuen.”
“Even if Senior Mikhail asks, I can’t. This is a pride I must uphold as a noble.”
Shuen spoke firmly and shook her head.
And then.
“It’s fine…”
Vienna’s dejected voice marked the start of her plea.
“It’s my fault. Don’t be too hard on Shuen.”
“Vienna…”
“I… hic. I still want to talk things out with you… I want us to be close again like before, but if you don’t want that…”
Watching Vienna, Shuen grabbed a fork in reverse. Muttering that it was time to use the “Noble Art of Purging Commoners.”
I intercepted the fork from Shuen’s hand and placed it on the table.
And then.
-Click.
I leaned in close to Vienna’s ear and whispered softly.
“How’s the dark magic coming along?”
At the faint sound of my voice, Vienna’s body froze cold. She looked at me with trembling eyes, her lips quivering as if to ask how I knew.
Smiling faintly, I whispered softly into Vienna’s ear.
“Why are you so surprised? Did you think I wouldn’t know?”
“…”
“It seems you’ve bought some rather expensive magic tomes with the money you’ve been stealing from the academy.”
“How do you…!”
“Shh. Your voice is too loud. What if Mikhail hears?”
I let out a dry laugh and shook my head.
“But you should use that magic carefully.”
“…”
“If it fails, the caster could get seriously hurt. Just like our Young Lady.”
“What are you trying to say?”
Gently brushing Vienna’s shoulder, I smiled.
“It’s just funny. This whole situation.”
“…”
“Don’t you think so, Mikhail?”
Mikhail, who had been listening to everything from the side, looked at me with trembling eyes.
“What? Do you think I did it again this time?”
“…”
“How amusing.”
I smiled at them, my eyes curving into a crescent shape.
“You’d better find solid evidence.”
“…”
“If you want to pin this on me.”
*
The next evening.
“Commoner!!!”
Shuen looked at me with eyes full of admiration.