Lelia came back halfway through the winter break. She lived with her fiancé Emil, but she hadn’t come back for a while, and was worried about him.

“What do you mean you’re challenging a dungeon, L-Leila?!” Emile’s question was timid, and Leila acted disrespectful.

“I told you I was going to challenge one before the winter break.” “I never thought you were serious!”

From Emil’s point-of-view, she was just excited for the break.

But, when he heard she was actually planning to, he was surprised.

“Why are you doing something so dangerous? —Why such a dangerous thing?”

“It’s important business.”

She couldn’t tell Emil the details.

Therefore, her explanation was unconvincing. Ideal was watching the situation, by Leila’s side.

He suddenly appeared.

“It’s nice to meet you, Emil. My name is Ideal. I’m Lelia’s spaceship in her service—oh you can’t tell.”

“Huh, an airship? Even though it’s so small?”

“Oh, my main unit is separate. I was picked up by Lelia and Serge-san. I’m grateful for their help.”

“—What? Serge was with you too?”

Seeing Ideal, who was talking flippantly, Lelia reached out to grab him.”Hey, why did you come out?!”

“I thought I could clear up the misunderstandings.”

“Bah! You idiot! I told you to stay hidden! Don’t you remember my instructions?”

“Didn’t you tell me to hide for one minute?” “What’s happening? Why are you with Serge?” Emil raised his voice, to Lelia’s surprise.

She hadn’t expected the timid Emil to raise his voice.

“It’s fine. I only asked for his help to conquer the dungeon.”

“You didn’t tell me you were with a man! Lelia, we’re engaged now.” Lelia reminded herself of the fact that she rejected Serge in favor of Emil. That’s why she was even more angry at Emil for not believing her.

I refused Serge’s advances, and you suspect me for cheating?!

“Nothing happened! Are you going to ask me this every time I do something? Are you jealous of your friend?”

“I’m not jealous. Why, of all people, is it Serge? You think I don’t know what he thinks of you?”

“You don’t believe me?”

Lelia squinted her eyes and Emil shook his shoulders.”No, no that’s not what I meant.”

It’s easy to push the weak Emil.

She thought that he would pull back if she talked to him sternly enough, but today he was resisting.

But that’s all, Lelia thought.

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore—okay?” “Yeah, yeah.”

Once Emil’s problem was taken care of, she had to deal with Ideal.”You too! From now on, don’t appear in public without permission.” “I’m sorry for being careless.”

Since he apologized quickly, Lelia couldn’t pursue further.

“It was true my instructions were bad. I’ll let you off this time. I’m going back to my room.”

Lelia walked back to her room alone. Emil and Ideal were left behind.

〇

The Raults’ house.

When Serge returned, Albert summoned him to his study.

Albert is dismayed to see his adopted son, Serge, who is a bit of a lark.”If you’re going to leave, at least inform me.”

Serge is sitting on the couch, looking at the ceiling. He fluttered his hands.

“I know.”

“You don’t, and that’s why I’m repeating. You came back just a while ago, but you left again. Where have you been?”

“Well, it varies.”

Albert gives his son a bitter look when he avoids the question.

The reason for accepting Serge as his adopted son was to make him the heir of the Rault family. After his son, Leon, died, Albert adopted him.

However, Serge wanted to be an adventurer, and lately, he wasn’t attending the academy.

“Serge. Refrain from adventuring in the future.” “Huh?”

“I only allowed you to adventure during the vacation period at the academy, but you ignored that order and did whatever you wanted. Did you think this would be acceptable?”

It would be a while before Serge would get to adventure again. But his reaction was different than expected.

“You’ve never accepted me as your son before, though?”

“This again? I have accepted you as my son. And you should at least…” “Am I not a stand-in for him?”

“No one said anything like that.” “I don’t know.”

Him—referred to Leon, Albert’s dead biological son.

Serge didn’t like being compared to Leon since he was taken in.

This makes it hard to introduce Leon-kun to him. But I’ll tell him eventually.

Leon, a young man from the Holfort Kingdom.

He was very similar to Leon, Albert’s biological son, and was also very… popular in the Republic. It would be impossible not to tell Serge.”Serge, the New Years’ festival is near. Please join us.”

“New Year’s Day? It’s just a festival. I’m not a kid, and I don’t want to go through the trouble of attending.”

“You have to be there. I have someone to introduce you to.” “—Who?”

Serge wouldn’t be at the New Years’ Party if Albert told him here, therefore he decided to keep it under wraps.

“I’ll introduce you then.” “Sh*t!”

Serge clicked his tongue, stood up, and left the study. Albert looked forlorn as he watched his son’s back.

◇

Angie and Livia were going to stay with us, so we went back to Marie’s house.

“The reason? It’s too small for all of you to stay here,” Cordelia said. It made sense.

Angie was silent all the while.

I’m sitting in the dining room and sighing.”Oh, how could I have let this happen.”

As I was agonizing, Julius, sitting next to me, poked me with his elbow.”Hey, Bartford.”

“What?”

“What do you mean, ‘what’? Are you going to do nothing in this situation? I’m sure you’ll find a way out.”

Everyones eyes were saying the same thing.

The reality of this situation is one that is forcing me to act.

From what I could see, Angie and Livia were sitting next to each other. But there was no conversation.

They hadn’t spoken to each other since the Noelle incident. They probably want to talk a lot about each other.

Maybe they want to talk about the Republic’s cuisine. But they were currently quarreling.

This created the delicate atmosphere. Everyone wants to have a conversation, but doesn’t have the courage to start one.

Cordelia-san, standing behind me, gave a deliberate cough.

“Leon-sama, why don’t you talk about the dish to those two. I’m sure they’ve never eaten it.”

“Eh? I’m not familiar with it.”

I could hear discouraged voices from around me. But then, Noel wittily explains to them.

“It’s important to use the crustacean broth. The crustacean broth is very important,” she explained to them, unable to stand the silence at the table.

But, it’s not long before she runs out of topics about the food. Angie thanks her curtly.

“I’m sorry to bother you.”

“No, no.”

The conversation trailed off.

It’s been like this for a while now.

The normally noisy dining scene has fallen silent and only the clicking of dishes can be heard.

—What should I do to fix this?

◇

After we finished eating, I decided to talk to Marie about the fight between Angie and Livia.

Inside the mansion, the three of us, including Luxion, were discussing the matter.

“I want to fix their relationship. You guys, lend me your wisdom.”

“It’s refreshing to see you ask for help, master.” I sharpened my gaze at Luxion’s sarcasm.”Whose fault do you think this is?”

“The fact that master was suspected of cheating and the fact that those two are fighting are two different things. They’re unrelated. Now could you please resolve this, it’s uncomfortable.”

Fuck this.

It’s certainly not Luxion or my fault, but it’s like their fight heated up after the whole cheating incident.

I think we have a little responsibility here.

As we stared at each other, Marie looked at us and shook her head. Her face had a look like: “These guys don’t know what they’re doing.”

“I don’t care what those two (Livia and Angie) are fighting about. What matters is Noel. —What are you going to do, brother? I’m worried about her future.”

“—You really don’t like those two, do you?”

“What do you mean? They’re as big a problem as Noel.”

Marie pulled away from me with a very disgusted look on her face.

“Are you dull? We should worry more about Noel than the two who are having a child’s brawl.”

“I don’t think I’m being dull.”

The moment I said that, Marie showed a surprised face.”What?!”

“You’re even more dense than Luxion,” she said, shaking her eye in disgust.

Their reactions were cold.”What?”

“—Forget it. More importantly, Noelle is seriously in trouble. You should help her. Keep an eye on her too.”

“I don’t think I need to. That’s Noelle’s problem. She’s the protagonist.” She was the protagonist of the second otome game.

She has a happy future.

I wonder if it’s fine to interfere.

Luxion and Marie look like they think that I’m a pain in the ass.”You’re still thinking about the original timeline, you idiot, right?”

“Oh, so you’re self-aware? Maybe master isn’t as idiotic as I thought.” They’re being too hard on me.

“You’re too stupid to think straight. I’ll let you decide what to do with Noel, regardless of whether you’re good at it or not.”

“If you bring her with us, I can help solve it.” “It’s Noelle’s life, I have no say in it.”

“You’re really terrible aren’t you, brother?”

Awful? No. If she comes with us, she’ll be treated as a priestess. Granted, she would be treated the same if she stayed here.

Just—I want to at least respect the person’s will.

“So, back to Livia and Angie, right? I mean, it’s just a minor quarrel, and that’s all well and good. If you don’t interfere, they’ll make up with each other. You don’t have to worry about Noelle either! Men are such idiots.”

“It’s nice to meet someone who worries about the little things, postpones the big things—it’s nice to see you’re doing all you can to help the wrong master.”

Luxion, as usual, is full of sarcasm.

Does he really consider me as his master? Such a question comes to my mind.

Marie looked down in front of me.

“Brother, are you sure you want to leave this up to Noelle? If Brother says so, Noelle will definitely follow!”

I understand what she’s saying, but I’m hesitant to do it.

If I tell her to come to the Kingdom, she’ll come without a doubt. But will that really make her happy?

“Don’t rely on me so much, because—”

Suddenly, a knock comes from the door. Cordelia-san’s voice comes from behind the door.

“Leon-sama, you have a visitor.”

◇

“Hi, how are you doing?” My guest was Louise.

The name is Louise Sara Rault—the second villainess and daughter of the last boss in the maiden game, Albert Sara Rault.

In the game, she was a bad girl who bullied the main character, but if you ask me, she’s a big sister character who takes care of people. She also asked me to call her big sister as soon as we met. That would be a scary thing to hear in different circumstances, but to me, whose sister is very horrible—”I’d be happy to!”, I’d like to say she’s a very sweet woman.

If I could choose a sister, I’d choose her. Why isn’t she?

She reminds me of Jena, my own sister. She’s a terrible sister, to say the least.

Loose yellow-blonde hair that reached her shoulders and kind purple eyes.

She’s a senior in the academy, and acts like a real big sister.

—It would be great to actually have her as my older sister.

While I have mixed emotions, I put on a smile and respond to her.

“It’s been quite hectic these past few days, but I’m doing fine.”

Louise laughed as if she was troubled by my response, but she seemed somewhat happy.

“I’m sure you’re fine if you can talk about it lightly. I’ll ask you about your concerns later. Today, I came to invite you.”

“Invite?”

“Yes, to the New Years’ Festival of the Six Nobleman.” “New Years’ Festival? Ah, I remember…”

It was one of the stories I heard from Marie, earlier. It was one of the events in the second game.

It should have occurred when Noelle, was in her second year.

If things went according to the game timeline, the capture target would invite her there and formally declare their relationship or something like that.

“Oh, you knew? Once a year, we pledge our undying loyalty to the Holy Tree. But now it’s just a small festival.”

“A festival?”

“There’s a cave in the Sacred Tree formed by the roots. The younger generation, like us, swear allegiance to it.” Luxion, who was at my side, asks a question.

“You mean it’s not an awe-inspiring ceremony, but a festival to be enjoyed? And you’ve come to invite master to it?”

“That’s right. It’s quite solemn at the start, but afterwards, the mood changes to that of a party. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. —hmm?”

I didn’t understand what was being said at the start and merely nodded, but then a chill ran down my spine. I heard footsteps coming in to my room.

When the door opened, I saw Cordelia-san’s figure there. She moved away from the door and let Angie pass through.

“Oh… that’s an interesting story. Leon, let me hear from you.”

The next person to enter was Livia, who was supposed to be fighting with Angie.

“I heard a beautiful woman came to visit you, Leon-san. It seems to be true.”

I glared at Cordelia-san, but she averted her gaze. — Are you my enemy too?

“Huh, some people… Could, could it be? You’re—”

As I was wondering how to introduce Louise-san, I saw the person herself happily clasping her hands.

With a twinkle in her eye, she approached Livia and Ange and shook their hands.

“Could it be that your Angelica? And you’re Olivia, right?” “Mm-hmm. Yeah, but—”

“Uh…”

They were puzzled by Louise’s sudden friendly attitude. Leaving them puzzled, Louise-san continued happily.

“I was surprised to hear you had two fiancé’s, but even I, of the same sex, am envious of their beauty. You are a lucky man, Leon. Oh, I’m Louise.

Louise Sara Rault. I hope to get along.”

When Angie recovered from her confusion, her expression softened, but she still remained dumbfounded.

“Y-You’re the Raults’ daughter, right? You seem quite close to Leon.” “I’m a good friend of his. Of course, it’s not a man

/woman thing.” Livia looked relieved at her words.

“I’m sorry I doubted you.”

“It’s okay. You seem to have been misunderstood.” Louise turned to me and gave a teasing smile.

“Leon, you can’t have such cute fiancé’s and be playing with other woman.”

“Ha, I’m sorry about that.”

Then Louise turns her face to the two, and tells them of the story.

“I’m sorry for being so abrupt, but please let me tell you about why I’m with Leon-san.”

Angie nods her head.

“I made a promise to my brother long ago…”

?

Once Louis was done and left, I was stopped by Livia.”Leon-san!”

“W-What is it?’

I was surprised, but Livia didn’t care and continued. There were tears in her eyes.

“Please make her wish come true!” “U-uh, yeah.”

Livia is about to cry.

The reason why Louise loves me like a brother— because her brother died.

It seems me and that dead brother have a similar atmosphere.

But the load is quite heavy for me. To act as the standin for a deceased brother.

“More importantly, won’t Livia make up with Angie?” Livia’s shoulders tremble, and she looks away awkwardly.

“Oh, I want to apologize. I want to apologize and make up with her. But I don’t agree with her treatment of Noelle. What do you think, Leon-san?”

“I think Noelle-san should choose.”

To my naïve answer, Livia puffs her cheeks.”Leon-san is mean.”

“Why?”

“I understand you’re thinking of both me and Angie. But Noelle-san is unhappy because of it.”

“Hm?”

“I understand that Noelle-san is an important person, unlike me.”

I wish I could say something, but under these circumstances, it’s useless.”…To me, Livia is more important.”

When Livia looks up, she blushes to her ear, and opens her mouth.

Then she holds he chest with her hands and regulates her breathing, before look at me with moist eyes.

“Leon-san, you’ve improved your mouth since you came to the Republic. I don’t think I can trust your sincerity.”

“Huh, am I that untrustworthy?”

When I laughed, Livia grabbed my arm.

“Angie is worried. Please talk to her. I’m sure Angie is waiting for you.” Looks like they’re still close.

◇

When I visited Angie’s room, she was sitting on her bed.

When she heard me walking towards her, she laid down on the bed with her upper body as is.

Even though I’m there, she looks quite vulnerable.”Did Livia say that?”

“So… Will you make up with her?”

“I want to make up with her right away! But—what should I say? I was going to use Noelle for pure profit.

I wasn’t looking at her as a person.”

Anyone who gets their hands on the priestess would try to make a profit.”If money is rolling in front of a person, they would grab it.”

Well, it would be scary if tens of millions were on the road. I’m a small- minded and greedy person, I’m not one to blame Angie.”I’m sure you were thinking about the people of the Kingdom, weren’t you?” She was being greedy for others. I couldn’t imitate her.

“You are kind. I’m sure I thought only for myself. I wanted her for my own interests.”

“Angie’s interests? Like increasing your family’s political power?” If you obtain the Holy Tree, you’ll gain a lot of political power in the

Kingdom in the future. That’s how much power the Sacred Tree holds. I

think it’s natural for Angie to put the interests of her family above her own.

That’s a common noble mindset.”No, I didn’t think of it that way.” However, Angie shook her head.

“You’re the one I thought of first. I thought future strength would make you happy. Only, you wouldn’t want power at the expense of Noelle’s feelings, would you?”

“My happiness?”

“I was blinded by profit. Forgive me.”

“No, no, no, no, I don’t need to, you should make up with Livia.”

“Yeah, that’s another thing! How do you think I should say sorry to Livia?”

Angie, who was so cool a few minutes ago, turned into an unreliable little girl when it came to Livia.

It’s fine to be normal.

I was laughing at Angie, and she got up and popped me.

“Wah, stop laughing! I’m in real trouble!”

“No, I’m joking. Joking. You two can go sightseeing. Hmm, if I left you alone though, you’d get into trouble. Alright, I’ll give you a tour of the Republic!”

“Oh, you’re sure?” “I promise.”

Angie stopped hitting me and just held me in her arms.

“Make sure you show me around properly. I forgot to mention that I was also looking forward to sightseeing this time. Besides–ah!”

Angier seemed to remember something.

She looked embarrassed that she had forgotten.

“Leon, I’m sorry. There were so many things going on that I forgot to tell you.”

“Eh?”