33 - How to Escape the Reverse Harem Cliché
Chapter 33
At my sudden words, Aiden’s eyes widened, and he shook his head vigorously. He must have mistaken me for revealing that I was a Guide.
But he was mistaken. Was I crazy? To do something that would put me at a disadvantage.
“Is this not something we can discuss here?”
“Yes.”
“Understood.”
“Laila! What……”
Aiden, flustered, called my name, but I ignored him and left the abandoned building with Valerian.
The ground was still damp from the rain. It was bothersome, the mud, but I walked without minding it, and Valerian, who had been following, extended his arm towards me.
“Allow me to escort you.”
“It’s alright.”
“But the ground……”
“You saw how soaked I was earlier, didn’t you?”
At my words, Valerian seemed to concede the point and retracted his arm.
However, so that we wouldn’t have to walk on the muddy ground any longer, he sent the soldiers from his unit, who had been standing guard nearby, far away, creating a space where only the two of us would be.
“You may speak now. There is no one here.”
“Do you remember your visit to our territory last year?”
“I remember.”
“Then you must also remember accompanying me to the capital?”
“Yes.”
Valerian, not denying it, seemed to understand what I was trying to say. His expression stiffened slightly, but I didn’t stop and pushed forward.
“You were quite rude to me back then, Young Master.”
“…….”
“And later, you said you would make sure to compensate me for that rudeness. You remember that too, don’t you?”
“Didn’t you say you received your compensation by not seeing me again?”
Of course, I did. I couldn’t stand the sight of him and said I never wanted to meet him again, asking him to consider that as compensation, but what could I do? We met again like this.
“But we met again like this, Young Master.”
“…….”
“You were the one who approached me first and greeted me.”
It was Valerian who approached me as I stood there blankly in the rain. In fact, that was a kindness shown by Valerian, so I was now repaying that kindness with enmity.
It wasn’t a method I particularly liked, but there was no other choice.
Valerian seemed to agree with my words. For a fleeting moment, it seemed like he let out a hollow laugh, but he quickly composed his expression, making me wonder if I had imagined it.
“I see. I broke my promise of compensation first.”
“Then give me my compensation, Young Master.”
“Please state it.”
“Evan Olivite’s last year at the Academy is this year.”
“…….”
“So, please postpone his registration as an Esper for a little while, so he can graduate safely.”
Valerian didn’t answer immediately. It was the reaction I expected. I didn’t expect him, who was so clear about public and private matters, to readily agree to my request.
If this doesn’t work, I’ll have to find another way.
The Marquis Olivite family is the family of the Imperial Consort, so even the Astolphe Dukedom couldn’t easily interfere with them. If I could somehow latch onto that, I might be able to buy some time until Evan graduates.
“Instead, there is a condition.”
So, it was I who was surprised by Valerian’s sudden words.
What’s going on with him? Wasn’t he the type of character who never made exceptions for things like this? I doubted my ears.
“When your rank is tested with an Inspection Stone, if it comes out B or higher, you must go to the dedicated Academy without fail. From B-rank onwards, you cannot live among ordinary people. This is due to the risk of Berserk and the Guiding levels of Espers themselves. You know this too, Young Lady, don’t you?”
“Yes. I understand.”
I nodded confidently at his proposal because I knew Evan’s rank.
He had clearly told me his rank was D. In fact, seeing that he was receiving my Low-Class Guiding, there was no way Evan would score B or higher.
And that became reality. Evan’s rank, when he returned with Valerian and touched the Inspection Stone, turned out to be C.
The fact that it wasn’t D bothered me slightly, but what did it matter? As long as it wasn’t the promised B, it was fine.
“Then, may we return?”
Evan seemed a little excited, though I couldn’t tell why.
I guessed he was thrilled that I had done something for him. …That immature fool.
“Is your ability Teleportation?”
“That’s right.”
Evan spoke with a somewhat swaggering tone, but Valerian didn’t point it out.
Ah. This day is too long. What a hardship because of some nameless supporting character 1.
Feeling utterly drained, I was desperate to leave this place as soon as possible, but Valerian took Evan aside, saying he had something to discuss with him.
Since it seemed like it would take some time, I crouched down on the ground. Then, I saw Rose walking briskly towards me from afar.
She lightly pushed Orion, who was blocking her path, aside and then crouched down in front of me, meeting my gaze.
“Lady Pasianne.”
“Yes, Lady Rose.”
“You owe me a debt too.”
“…….”
“You were the one who guided that idiot, weren’t you?”
I had no excuse to deny it.
Only Rose’s unit members were here, and she knew better than anyone that there were no Guides among them.
When Evan, whose Guiding ability hadn’t worked, disappeared somewhere and then returned with his Guiding levels full, not Berserk, wouldn’t she naturally suspect me?
But I, who wanted to be nameless supporting character 2, chose silence. Sometimes, silence is the most appropriate weapon.
“I am different from Sir Astolphe. He throws unregistered Espers into prison, but I make an exception for Guides.”
“…….”
“I’ll let it slide this once. If you want to live as an ordinary person, don’t draw attention to yourself.”
“Thank you for the advice.”
“It’s not advice, it’s a warning.”
“…….”
“Guides like us can become emperors or slaves, depending on where we are.”
It was unexpected. I thought she disliked me and was keeping her distance, but she clearly acknowledged me as a Guide.
“I came this way because I didn’t want to be a slave. To be precise, I was dragged here, but in any case, I intend to play the emperor here for a while.”
“That statement, if mishandled, could be considered treason.”
Rose burst into laughter at my joke. Then, she shrugged, her expression conveying a ‘come what may’ attitude.
“It might be, if things go wrong.”
“Please leave us Pasiannes out of such dangerous affairs. My parents have only Aiden to look after.”
“Adrian can’t live without me.”
I nodded at her words, which carried a deep sense of familiarity. Even though they bickered, I thought she was doing a good job as Aiden’s Guide.
When I learned Aiden was High-Class, I thought they might end up in the same unit as Rose, and indeed, they were on the same team.
It felt strangely unfamiliar because Rose was a main supporting character, and Aiden was a supporting character among supporting characters.
Their commonality was that they were sacrifices for Laila’s growth.
“Thank you. If Aiden causes trouble, please be a little understanding, Lady Rose.”
“I’m jealous.”
“What?”
“I was wondering who she was, given how much she fussed about never showing her face.”
Rose muttered to herself, then looked at me and said,
“It would be nice to see you again, but I hope we don’t meet as Guides. Because I don’t know how I might change then.”
“I’ll keep your warning in mind.”
“This isn’t a warning, it’s advice.”
As she smiled, I felt as if her fragrance flowed into me on the wind.
I didn’t know how to explain it, but strangely, my gaze couldn’t leave Rose.
However, Rose rose without lingering, turned her back to me, and left contemptuous words for Aiden and Orion, who were still glaring at her.
“You’re both so vulgar. Your eyes are going to tear.”
“Don’t talk like that, Rose.”
“Why should I?”
“Think about how the listener feels.”
“So, why should I? I don’t want to.”
At Rose’s utterly childish retort, Aiden turned his head with a look of exasperation.
Orion, on the other hand, completely ignored Rose. Instead, he approached me and sat down next to me, becoming my conversational companion.
“Laila, that’s great. You’ll be returning to the Academy soon.”
“Yeah.”
“…….”
“If you have something to say, say it, Orion.”
“I think you’ll complain. I won’t say it now.”
My reflection was captured in Orion’s blue eyes.
He carefully took my hair, lightly kissed the ends, and then let go.
“I’m jealous.”
“What?”
“I’m so jealous of Olivite’s Spiritual Body.”
“…….”
“If I had known, I would have kept my Esper status a secret. I would have attended the Academy with Laila.”
“…….”
“But I know I can’t do that. If I weren’t an Esper, I wouldn’t have been able to meet Laila.”
I couldn’t say anything as I looked at Orion, who smiled bitterly.
Orion, who knew me better than anyone and knew I would never offer hasty comfort, chuckled and released my hair.
“Take care, my Laila.”
“Yeah, you too. Take care, Orion.”
“That’s strange. I feel uneasy when Laila says that.”
“What’s uneasy? You worry too much.”
The perceptive Orion noticed my escape plan, so I quickly averted my eyes to prevent him from realizing it.
And so, the night passed, with both of us hiding our true feelings.
