Chapter 26
“The test script? Yes, I see.”
Lilius moved with frantic speed to take the stack of papers. Without even pausing to comprehend the contents, he began to recite the words aloud in a desperate, rushed tone.
“To Marquis Aster Frazier.”
The room went still.
“Marquis Aster. I trust you are in good spirits. Since you have forbidden me from addressing you as father, I find I lack the bravery to use the word, even in a private letter…”
The voice of Lilius began to falter, a tremor creeping into his speech.
“I beg of your kind indulgence… this… indulgence…”
His fingers, clenched around the parchment—which was indeed the exact same stock used for the examination—were shaking violently. Lilius came to a dead stop, unable to force another word out, until a freezing voice cut through the air.
“Do not stop. Recite every letter exactly as it is written, Viscount Lilius Frazier.”
The order carried the weight of an executioner’s blade. It was a command from Assis Grand Duke Frazier, an authority that no soul within these lands would dare defy.
“The… the winter frost is merciless to everyone… please, I pray…”
Lilius sounded like a man falling apart, his voice wavering more than a branch in a gale. Finally, he reached the concluding lines.
“Even today, I cannot find the nerve to… to post this, so I shall close here. Your daughter… Tu, Tulia Frazier, with deepest respect…”
He flipped through the remaining pages with feverish hands, but the result was the same. Every sheet was an echo of the first: inquiries about the health of Marquis Aster Frazier and the quiet grief of a daughter whose letters remained unsent. They were poignant, sentimental messages—the kind that would pierce the heart of any honorable noble.
Lilius looked utterly hollow. As the youngest scion of the prestigious Grand Ducal House, he had lived a life of privilege; never before had he been trapped in such a humiliating corner.
He stared at Tulia as if she were a specter. She had one hand pressed to her lips, her expression a mask of wounded sorrow and quiet misery. There was no glimmer of triumph in her eyes, no smirk of a victor.
Yet Lilius knew the truth. He had been utterly dismantled. A cold shiver of dread traced its way down his spine.
“I had not realized the situation was quite this pathetic.”
The Grand Duke’s voice shattered the oppressive quiet. A collective shudder ran through the assembly. The fury of Assis Grand Duke Frazier was not the fiery outburst of a youth; it was a cold, inevitable force of nature, like a tidal wave that stripped a man of his will to resist.
“Ruk Kelfosher.”
His aide, who had been a silent shadow until now, answered instantly. “At your service, Your Grace.”
“The investiture resumes in five minutes.”
“I shall see to it at once.”
At the word, the household staff snapped into motion. The stagnant tension in the hall began to dissipate as they worked with practiced efficiency. Curtains were drawn back to let in the light, and heavy drapes were replaced with festive cream ribbons tied into elaborate floral shapes. Windows were thrown open to let out the stifling air, and the lighting was brightened to a brilliant glow. The orchestra took up their bows again, transitioning into a melody that was light and sweet.
The retainers, seasoned courtiers who knew the Grand Duke’s temperament well, followed the shift perfectly. They acted as though the preceding unpleasantness had never occurred, though many now cast glances of genuine pity toward Tulia.
Tulia Frazier stood without any family to support her, unlike Tedrick, but the atmosphere had shifted. She was no longer isolated. The warmth in the eyes of the onlookers was real.
“The poor girl must have been so lonesome.”
“It makes sense now. Children often hide their emptiness behind extravagance and rebellion.”
“She seems so different now. Look at her—she carries herself with such grace today.”
In contrast, Lilius, Aubrey, and Tedrick had become ghosts. No one looked their way; no one sought to curry favor with them as they usually did. While being ignored was an insult, the couple faced a far more terrifying reality. Assis had not issued a sentence yet.
Tedrick had publicly leveled a false charge against Tulia, driven by nothing but petty spite. It was the exact brand of dishonor the Grand Duke loathed above all else. The parents were sick with worry, unable to guess what horrific retribution awaited their son. Comparing their current state to walking barefoot over a path of thorns would have been a mercy.
Amidst the varying degrees of tension, Ruk Kelfosher checked his timepiece. The five minutes were up.
“Your Grace. It is time.”
The Grand Duke, who had remained stoic and unreadable, stood up.
“Tulia Frazier. Step forward.”
Tulia’s eyes sharpened with focus as she approached the dais.
Finally. That took forever.
Lilius and his family probably thought I’d just burn the evidence and act like nothing happened. If you decide to swing at me, you’d better be ready for the counter-punch. Judging by the looks on their faces, I hadn’t just paid them back; I’d ruined them.
I kept a bright, innocent smile on my face, looking like a girl who was simply thrilled to receive her birthright.
“The craftsmanship of ‘Glory’ is truly peerless,” Assis remarked, lifting the necklace from its velvet-lined gold case.
So that’s Glory. I remembered the name from the story. It was the legendary heirloom of the Frazier line. In the original game, even Coriko—who wasn’t a blood relative—eventually got her hands on it in certain endings. The bar for her was practically on the floor. Meanwhile, I had to survive a literal minefield just to see the thing.
But the reward was worth the struggle. I dropped to one knee and held out my hands to accept the piece, following the precise movements Ruk had drilled into me. The weight of the pendant was substantial even through my gloves. When I looked down, my pulse quickened.
The jewels were stunning—shades of pale green and soft pink. Glory was a bespoke treasure, unique to each Frazier who wore it. The gems were chosen to match the hair and eyes of the recipient. I’d never seen Tulia’s version in the original book, so seeing the combination of rare colored diamonds was breathtaking. Pink and green—it was gorgeous.
“Tulia Frazier.”
The Grand Duke gave a brief, traditional speech about the responsibilities and honor of their house. “Now, put it on.”
The final step was for me to fasten the necklace myself. Once this is over, I can finally start hunting for the male leads and aim for that A-grade.
With a heart full of excitement, I lifted the gold chain. Suddenly, my fingers twitched. The necklace slipped and tumbled toward the floor. I managed to snatch it out of the air at the last second.
The room went quiet for a heartbeat before a few polite chuckles broke the tension.
“The young lady is understandably overwhelmed.”
“Her nerves must be frayed after such an ordeal. Anyone would be shaky.”
“Yes, and Glory is quite heavy, after all.”
The retainers were actually defending me. I gave them a sheepish, awkward grin and tried again. I focused entirely on my hands, moving with extreme caution to ensure I didn’t drop it a second time.
Slip. Clatter.
This time, it hit the floor.
The silence that followed was deafening. It didn’t just look like a mistake; from a certain angle, it looked like I had deliberately hurled the heirloom at the ground.
“Miss Tulia…?” Ruk’s voice was a frantic whisper.
He had been so clear during our lessons. To receive Glory, one had to place it around their neck with absolute poise. It was a ritual of accepting the family’s history. To fail—or to appear to reject it—was the ultimate insult to the ancestors and the house itself.
I broke into a cold sweat. The sympathetic nobles were now looking away, unable to find an excuse for a second blunder. A mistake is one thing. Dropping it twice looks like a statement of contempt.
Then, the realization hit me like a physical blow. Wait. Is this a system penalty?
As if answering my thought, glowing text flickered into existence in my field of vision.
[! Warning: Current skill level is insufficient to complete this action.]
[! Warning: Failure to increase skill attributes will result in your reputation falling to the absolute minimum!]
