Translator: Nox

8 - How to Escape the Reverse Harem Cliché

Chapter 8

“Young Lady.”

Knock, knock. I heard the maid's voice calling me along with the sound of knocking.

When I answered to let her in, the door opened and the maid, Lena, entered cautiously, looking around.

“Young Lady. I have something to tell you.”

“Yes. What is it?”

“Young Master Aiden is returning from the Academy.”

“……The reason?”

“I don’t know the exact details, but according to the coachman, the Headmaster himself gave the order.”

Thanks to his sharp intellect, Aiden had been admitted as the top student and had finished his first semester last term as the top student as well.

The National Academy he attended was an educational institution established in each country by a coalition of four nations, including the Aint Empire. Therefore, it was inevitably in a competitive relationship with the ‘Imperial Esper-Guide Specialized Academy,’ which belonged to the imperial family’s affiliated organizations.

The National Academy, which had always been overshadowed by the Imperial Academy, welcomed the arrival of a genius who came to them of his own accord after a long time. They were so pleased that they sent a congratulatory letter to his family before the official report card was even released.

And it was a handwritten letter from the Headmaster himself.

But then the Headmaster ordered his expulsion? This would be unthinkable unless Aiden committed a grave offense like school violence at the Academy.

No. That greedy Headmaster would cover up even if Aiden had resorted to violence, so it was safe to say that Aiden would almost certainly not be expelled.

……He’s been found out. That he’s an Esper.

Ah, I was a fool to have trusted this damn brother. In the end, Aiden, who had left with such bravado, returned to the family in less than a year.

---

It was two days before Aiden returned to the territory.

The mansion was bustling with activity to welcome the Young Master’s return after a long absence. As usual, I was out for a walk, contemplating how to secure a false identity, when the Countess secretly summoned me, saying she had something to discuss.

“Mother. You sent for me.”

“Yes, come in.”

When I arrived at the Countess’s private quarters and closed the door, she took off her glasses and beckoned me over.

Perhaps it was because there were no servants around, but I felt a strange unease. An inexplicable anxiety washed over me, and I swallowed a sigh.

“It’s nothing major, so don’t worry.”

“Yes.”

As soon as I sat on the sofa, there was a knock, and the butler entered, pushing a trolley with a cake and tea set.

It was my favorite strawberry shortcake. When she offered me this, it usually meant she had something quite serious to discuss, so the tension I had managed to suppress flared up again.

What could she possibly want to talk about, making me so anxious?

“Laila. You know Aiden has quit the Academy, don’t you?”

“Yes. They said he’s taking a leave of absence due to illness.”

The Count and Countess seemed to intend to keep Aiden’s situation from me. They had told me that Aiden was taking a leave of absence because he wasn’t feeling well.

I, too, wanted to keep quiet about Espers, so I just nodded as if I didn’t know.

“When Aiden returns, we were thinking it might be good for you, Laila, to temporarily move to a provincial territory and study with the goal of entering the Academy.”

“What?”

It wasn’t entirely unexpected, but I hadn’t anticipated it being brought up so directly.

Actually, after Aiden enrolled in the general National Academy, the Count and Countess seemed to have given up on sending me to the Academy. For reasons I didn’t know, they seemed to want us to not be close, so I never brought up the Academy myself.

In fact, it was a relief for me. I had been trying to persuade them to send me to the Academy, thinking they wanted to send me there. Naturally, I couldn’t attend the same Academy as Aiden, who had manifested as an Esper.

But as soon as Aiden was expelled from the Academy, they thought of sending me there? It must be to prevent Aiden and me from crossing paths. For a couple who had never shown any interest in my education to suddenly offer to send me to the Academy.

“Aiden will likely need private tutors at the mansion to study. He needs to recuperate.”

“……Yes.”

“I hear he’s been visiting the Count’s study frequently lately. The butler mentioned that you seem very interested in studying.”

That was a matter of life and death for me, so I read anything and everything I could get my hands on.

Still, this household has too many eyes. I wasn’t exactly acting in secret, but it still didn’t feel good to know that someone was watching my every move.

Having nothing else to say, I quietly picked up my teacup and took a sip. The Countess smiled kindly and pushed the plate with the beautifully arranged cake towards me.

“Laila. I think you would do better than Aiden. What do you think? Don’t you want to enter the Academy and study to your heart’s content?”

Of course, it was an excellent condition for me.

I didn’t know how much Aiden, whom I would meet for the first time in half a year, would have grown as an Esper, so it was better to avoid him as much as possible.

Thinking about the cold I had a few days ago being Manifestation Pain sent shivers down my spine. The original story had already gone awry the moment Aiden’s burn had transferred to me. Therefore, there was no guarantee that I would manifest at exactly seventeen.

Rather than being discovered by Aiden if we were in the same space, it would be better for me to stay at the National Academy, where there were only ordinary people and no one would know if I unleashed my Guiding freely.

There’s no harm in being cautious beforehand.

“I like it, Mother.”

“Yes. That’s a good decision. Laila, I hope you understand how much the Count and I are counting on you. You will truly be a proud Pascianne.”

“Yes, I will do my best to meet your expectations.”

Right, at my current state with nothing, not even funds, a proper escape is impossible. It would be better to hide at the Academy, gather information about this world, think about my future path, and take a break.

Speaking of which, after barely finishing the K-education system and living as a jaded office worker for years, the thought of holding a pen instead of a keyboard made my vision go dark.

I was so sick of studying that I’d had enough, but how did I end up like this again? My life truly felt cruel.

“I’ll tell the butler, so let’s plan to leave tomorrow morning.”

“What? So soon?”

“Wouldn’t it be better for you to go there before Aiden arrives? If he sees you, he’ll just try to stop you from leaving.”

“Ah… that’s true, but…”

Indeed. Aiden’s carriage would enter the territory in two days, so if I were to leave, it was better to leave right now.

As she said, if he were to grab me with those innocent eyes that only I could see, it would be troublesome.

Still, I hesitated, wondering if leaving in such a rush was the right thing to do, but finally nodded and said I would return to my room to pack.

According to the Countess, there was a very small territory owned by Pascianne, located a short distance west of this Count’s domain.

Currently, a collateral cousin was temporarily managing the territory in place of the Count, so she told me not to worry and to prepare there for about half a year before enrolling in the National Academy next spring.

Returning to my room, I watched the servants pack my belongings and began to pack the essentials myself. I also took out the white pills I had secretly saved for days, not eating them, and put them in a portable pouch.

In my haste to pack, I ended up spending the entire day preparing for my journey. Exhausted, I collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep earlier than usual.

CRASH- CRASH- CRASH-!

I was startled awake by a sudden thunderous sound.

What, what is it?! Is there a war?!

This world was one where wars constantly broke out, so I had always been prepared for the possibility of a bomb exploding in the middle of the night.

Because of this, I reflexively sprang out of bed, crammed myself under the vanity, and crouched down, covering my head with my hands, breathing heavily.

I had experienced earthquakes when I lived in my previous world, so I still had deep trauma from such events. My gasping breaths grew more rapid, and I thought I might hyperventilate and get into serious trouble, but I couldn’t stop my ragged breathing.

My hands and feet trembled, and my vision grew hazy. As I collapsed on the floor, thinking I might actually die, regardless of being a Guide or not, something burst into my bedroom with the sound of shattering glass.

“Laila!”

“Gah…!”

“Laila! Snap out of it! Laila, why are you like this?! Laila!!”

……Aiden?

I confirmed that one of the two people who had invaded my bedroom was Adrian. Aiden, his face even more panicked than mine, pulled me into his embrace and kept calling my name.

“Move aside, Pascianne.”

The other man beside him took me from Aiden’s arms, pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket, folded it into a makeshift bag with one end closed, and held it to my mouth.

“Breathe, Young Lady.”

Perhaps out of my mind, I grabbed the man’s arm with trembling hands and took a deep breath into the paper bag.

My rapid breaths gradually slowed, and my hazy consciousness began to return.

“Laila! Are you okay?!”

Aiden, realizing my breathing had returned to normal, pulled me back into his embrace and held me tightly.

He was shedding tears as if he had barely saved his younger sibling from death.

“I, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you… I’m sorry, Laila…”

“……It’s okay.”

I glanced at the shattered balcony window. The roar I heard in my sleep must have been Aiden knocking on the window.

I almost died because I got scared for no reason.

With a sigh of relief at that thought, I looked at the man who had saved me while being held by Aiden. Is he Aiden’s friend? I should thank him.

……Huh? Wait a minute.

I couldn’t clearly see the man’s face, with the moonlight behind him. His hair color was also swallowed by the pitch-black darkness, so I couldn’t tell.

However, the badge on his uniform was incredibly clear. The badge bore a familiar crest and a single abbreviation written in the Aint Empire’s language, which was the first letter of the ‘Astolphe’ family name.

So, this person is from the Astolphe family.

And as far as I know, there is only one young man of this age currently in the Astolphe family.

Valerian Astolphe.

The true male lead of this reverse harem novel broke into my room through the window and saved me.