10 - How to Escape from the Reverse Harem Cliché
Chapter 10
“Ask Mother when day breaks.”
“Laila. Where are you leaving to?”
“Mother…”
“Cut the ‘Mother’ talk.”
I was on the verge of losing my mind. Honestly, I was a little sleepy, but that didn’t change Adrian. Even as an Esper, he was still flustered by my words.
…Well, for now.
“Aiden. Are you angry with me right now?”
“……”
“It’s Mother’s will. Do you think I can go against Mother’s will?”
Adrian seemed to gradually regain his senses at my surprisingly coherent words.
His cool gaze slowly regained its warm hue, and he stood by the doorknob, his legs trembling with anxiety. My voice, higher than usual, had completely intimidated him.
I wanted to say one more thing to put him in his place, but seeing him looking like a drowned puppy again softened my heart.
This is the problem. Living for decades without a single sibling, and now this fake brother who dropped from the sky makes my heart flutter for no reason.
“…I’m sorry, Laila. I… I wasn’t trying to be angry, I was just anxious. Scared… Scared of what would happen if Laila left me…”
“Aren’t you supposed to go to the Esper-only academy anyway? We wouldn’t be able to meet then, either.”
“No. Even ordinary people can enroll in the specialized academy with permission, Laila.”
“……What?”
“They say ordinary people can enroll with the permission of the dean.”
I pondered for a moment who this ‘ordinary person’ might be.
Adrian is an Esper, and Valerian is an Esper.
…I’m a Guide, but I am an ordinary person right now. Could it be me? He wouldn’t be crazy, would he?
“Come with me, Laila.”
“What?”
“That’s why I came with Astolphe.”
“……”
“Let’s tell Father and Mother when day breaks tomorrow. Let’s go study together, Laila.”
“Adrian. Are you crazy?”
“Why?”
Why? Is he really out of his mind? Did that academy put some kind of pressure on him?
Adrian, deviating from the original work, had become an enormous lunatic. That meant he had become a rotten lifeline for me.
No, can ordinary people even enter the Esper-Guide Specialized Academy in the first place? Was that even a setting in the original work?
Rummaging through my jumbled memories of the original work yielded nothing. I stared at Aiden, who stood at my bedroom door, consumed by bewilderment.
So that’s why Valerian looked at me with displeasure earlier? Because I, an ordinary person, was receiving my brother’s help to enroll?
No, setting that aside, I couldn’t understand the situation at that academy. Aiden, after the fire incident, was desperate to protect me, so I could understand him, but why would they listen to a low-ranking Esper like Aiden? Do they cherish Espers that much?
Ah, my head is going to explode. Not only did I meet the male lead 1, but I was also caught before I could even escape, and this rotten lifeline was driving me to the brink of madness.
“For now… for now, get out. I’m sleepy and want to sleep.”
“Okay, sleep well. I’ll unpack the luggage again tomorrow, so you know, Laila.”
“…Do as you please.”
“Sleep well, my Laila.”
The door closed.
I opened my eyes and extended my middle finger towards the closed door.
That damn brother of mine. I shouldn’t have saved him… I really picked the wrong button. He truly was a rotten lifeline…
I could only hope that the Countess I would face tomorrow morning would break Aiden’s stubbornness.
There’s a saying in our language: “No parent can overcome their child.” It means no parent can overcome their child’s stubbornness, but fortunately, this world is not ours, so it doesn’t apply to the Fascianne Family.
“You know better than anyone that it’s impossible. You’re wasting time with pointless talk. Don’t disappoint me, Adrian.”
I expected the Countess to firmly refuse, but unexpectedly, the Count shook his head more sternly.
In fact, the Count was someone who would nod to whatever I and Aiden asked for.
He wasn’t kind or gentle, but he would give his children whatever they desired. At least, since I was adopted here, this was the first time I had ever seen the Count refuse Aiden so resolutely.
“He tried to spirit Laila away.”
“Cough!”
Aiden’s defiance, which ultimately brought me into the conversation, made the food I was eating get stuck in my throat.
Aiden, who kindly handed me a glass of water as I coughed repeatedly, quickly changed his expression and looked at his parents with an irritated face as he continued speaking.
“I want to protect Laila.”
“Adrian. Stop with the absurd talk. How can you, who isn’t even an adult, protect Laila? Have you ever protected Laila in the first place? Wasn’t it Laila who protected you?”
This time, even I was shocked. The Countess’s sharp voice swept over me and Aiden alternately.
Her tone wasn’t just trying to persuade Aiden; it was genuinely dismissive, making me think even the sensitive Aiden would back down this time.
However, he seemed to have expected this, as he calmly continued his argument, and with great skill.
“Laila might Manifest too.”
…Is he really crazy? Back during the fire incident. I should have just run away and left Aiden behind.
I was on the verge of losing my mind, having only added to my troubles while trying to solve them.
But Aiden’s strategy seemed to have worked perfectly. The faces of the Count and Countess turned ashen at his words.
“I’ve heard that if one of the siblings Manifests as an Esper or a Guide, the other often Manifests as well.”
“……”
“Since I Manifested as an Esper, Laila might Manifest too.”
Although it wasn’t proceeding in the direction I wanted, I couldn’t help but applaud Aiden’s quick wit. He was truly skilled at using his brain.
Aiden in the original work also knew. He knew we weren’t blood-related. The Aiden before me must also know that fact. Of course, he doesn’t know that I know it.
In reality, Espers and Guides are not related by genetics, so Aiden’s claim was merely a common theory.
Even if Laila and Aiden were biological siblings, they couldn’t influence each other’s Manifestation. Therefore, the Count and Countess, under normal circumstances, would have dismissed it as nonsense.
However, they seemed quite agitated now, as they couldn’t refute Aiden’s words. They were likely being careful with their words, thinking that Aiden and I were unaware of the secret of our birth.
For reasons unknown, the Count and Countess had tried to maintain extreme secrecy regarding Laila’s adoption in the original work. It was hard to believe they thought of Laila as their own daughter, given how Laila grew up feeling profound loneliness at the Fascianne Count’s estate in the original work.
There seemed to be a reason for it…
The silence stretched on. The advantage seemed to be tilting towards Aiden.
It felt like I should step in soon. It would be problematic if I were truly caught by Aiden and dragged to that academy.
“Father. I…”
“May I ask one thing, Count?”
My voice, which broke the silence, was overlaid with a low, chilling voice.
Come to think of it, an uninvited guest was also sitting at this table.
An uninvited guest who arrived with Aiden. Valerian stopped eating and politely raised his hand, asking the Count a question.
The Count couldn’t dismiss Valerian, a Duke and an influential figure at the Esper Academy, and had ended up inviting him as a distinguished guest to the formal dinner. Now, he couldn’t refuse even when Valerian intended to meddle in family matters.
No, looking at the Count’s detached gaze, it seemed like he was deliberately letting things unfold as they would.
“It seems you two have no interest in the Fascianne Spiritual Body.”
However, Valerian’s subsequent words caused not only the Countess but also the Count’s brow to furrow.
“Isn’t the most important thing the Esper Manifestation of the Fascianne Spiritual Body?”
“……”
“Yet, the conversation keeps drifting elsewhere, so I was curious and asked.”
Having finished speaking, Valerian looked at me calmly, and I naturally averted his gaze.
It would be strange from a third-party perspective. No, even I found the flow of this conversation strange.
While not on par with Guides, Espers are in a better position than ordinary people. At the very least, they bring benefits to the family.
Therefore, if Adrian had Manifested as an Esper, it would be normal for the family to rejoice and welcome the news. Especially since higher-ranking Espers would bring prosperity to the family.
“You didn’t even ask about the Spiritual Body’s rank.”
“……”
“I understand the Fascianne Family has lived without Espers or Guides for quite some time. In that case, shouldn’t more attention be focused on Adrian, who is an Esper after a long time?”
“……”
“Am I asking a rude question?”
