I tried to leave my seat to avoid interfering with my brother’s love business, but I couldn’t.

 “Lili.”

Because Jansi called me. When I pretended not to hear and tried to slip away subtly, he extended his hand toward me.

“Come here.”

 “No, I don’t want to…….”

“Where are you going? Protecting you is my duty.”

As I stood there seemingly unable to move, Jansi approached and embraced my shoulders without hesitation.

Jansi, who usually avoided expressing intimacy, especially touching someone, was an unusual sight.

It was a secret between him and me that he did this to prevent accidentally harming someone due to his uncontrolled powers. Although the details were not known publicly, it was well-known that Jansi did not readily engage in physical contact. As a result, Jansi rarely had a partner.

This was because he was reluctant to escort or dance, but the ladies who did not know his true intentions actually admired him, saying that he was really cool.

This usual behavior wasn’t an exception for me either, whether as his sister or whatever. But today, he was unusually intimate.

 After hastily hiding her surprise, Hyacinth smiled at me.

 “That’s right, Lady Elodie. We rarely meet, so let’s chat until the start of the monster subjugation event. Shall we?”

Given my notorious ruthless nature, my standing in the social circle was quite limited.

Naturally, I had never interacted with Hyacinth before.

 Occasionally exchanging nods from a distance was the extent of it.

 ‘I should probably keep up appearances as a potential younger sister-in-law.’

After all, she might become the future Lady of House Perdia.

“Before the monster subjugation event begins, it would be nice to engage in some small talk.”

When I agreed readily, Hyacinth smiled gracefully.

“Well then, let me introduce you to my friends. Lord Jansi, would you join us as well?”

I felt a certain intention in the way Hyacinth looked at him.

The perceptive Janshi must have sensed Hyacinth’s intentions, but he only smiled his usual picturesque smile. 

“Since I’m attending as Lili’s escort today, I should quietly participate in that role.”

“What are you saying, Lord Jansi? Everyone will welcome you. Now, this way, please.”

Hyacinth was about to guide us to her friends when a noisy shout in the distance caught our attention.

 “Hey hey hey hey! The saddle is weird, come and take a look!”

Jansi smiled slightly as he saw Carlot waving in the distance. Ah, that one. That’s the smile he makes when he’s really annoyed. 

“Uh-oh! Hurry up!”

As Carlot urged and shouted loudly, Jansi had no choice but to move.

 “Go talk to your friends, Lili.”

 “You don’t have to worry about me.”

When I told him he could leave, he sharply refused, but when I saw that he couldn’t turn down Carlot’s request, I realized he cared about his family. 

 “Don’t worry about it. I’ll be right back.”

When Jansi gestured to Raeyan, who was waiting nearby, Raeyan furrowed his brow for a moment and then approached me.

Being given orders by someone who wasn’t his employer seemed to put him in a bad mood.

 “You may go, Lord Jansi. I’ll take care of Miss Elodie.”

Hyacinth smiled brightly and linked arms with me, uncomfortable with this sudden linking of arms when we weren’t that close, but not unwilling.

 “Yeah. Time for me to make some friends and start fresh………!

Goodbye Elodie Perdia, the friendless misfit.

 I joined Hyacinth’s group of friends with high hopes and soon found myself forcing a smile.

 “Lady Elodie, what’s Lord Jansi’s favorite food?” one asked.

“Well, um, what does LordCarlot usually do during breaks?” another inquired.

That’s right. Their interests revolved solely around Jansi and Carlot.

 I couldn’t understand what they saw in those two.

 ‘Aren’t they both terrible husbands?’

But I couldn’t say that out loud, so I brushed it off awkwardly.

“Um, well…”

“Lady Elodie, you must know, right? Just tell us one thing, please. Please?”

But these girls were relentless in their infatuation with the guys. In the end, I reluctantly gave in first.

“Jansi likes sweet things a lot. Extremely sweet, to the point of rotting his teeth.”

Just so you know, Jansi doesn’t actually like sweet foods.

But given his hypocritical nature, he probably wouldn’t refuse and would graciously thank them with a gentle smile, right?

Thinking about the many sweet treats Jansi would receive after today, I couldn’t help but find joy in the impending revenge.

“And what’s Lord Carlot’s current biggest interest?”

 “Carl…….”

I recalled Carlot’s usual activities.

 Waking up and practicing swordsmanship, having breakfast, practicing swordsmanship again, coming to my room just to exchange a few words unnecessarily, doing a tiny bit of studying like a drop in the ocean, and then practicing swordsmanship again, followed by dinner. I summarized all these activities briefly in my response.

“Swordsmanship training.”

Without embellishment, I simply stated the facts, but the young ladies applauded in admiration.

“As expected, Lord Carlot is diligently training every day.”

“Lord Carlot will surely win in the upcoming subjugation event.”

“So cool!”

Where was the brilliance in this swordsmanship fool’s routine? The succession of incomprehensible praises left me bewildered.

 “And I heard that His Grace the Duke of Perdia gave the Lady a generous allowance?”

“I envy that you get to talk with Lady Themis so often. So jealous.”

“Oh, Lady Themis is truly admirable!”

Now they started chattering among themselves without me saying anything. I sat quietly, observing their gossip.

 I keenly felt how the usually closed-off Perdia family was perceived by others.

 One of the four great families.

 High honor and great wealth, comparable to, perhaps even surpassing, that of the imperial family, with a remarkable air of nobility and good looks to match the power attribute of ‘destruction’.

It was enough to be an object of admiration. However, the evaluation of Jansi and Carlot was still hard to accept.

‘In my eyes, they’re just two pitiful individuals with a decent exterior.’

Perhaps growing up thinking of them as close siblings for almost a lifetime led to such a perspective. Making friends seemed challenging.

Just as I was thinking that I just wanted the subjugation to start, a young lady spoke to me. 

 “Have you heard what everyone is talking about lately,  regarding you, Lady Elodie?”

“My story?”

“Yes. Everyone wants to become friends with Lady Elodie, but since Lady Elodie rarely goes out and doesn’t participate in events, there haven’t been many opportunities.”

“Due to health reasons.”

I replied vaguely, accompanied by a delicate smile.

Upon hearing that, they all nodded in understanding. It was because of my overly sensitive nature, frequently falling ill before recalling memories from my past life.

“In the future, will there be a chance for Lady Elodie to interact with us? If it’s okay, it would be nice if you could visit our family.”

“I did send an invitation before-.”

While I regarded admiration for Perdia as other people’s stories, the way they treated me as a member of the Perdia family felt peculiar. At that moment, one of the young ladies called out to me.

“Lady Elodie, I have a question, may I ask?”

I looked up. It was the Lindgreen Viscountess’s daughter, and when I nodded slightly, she asked sharply. 

“Lady Elodie, you don’t have any powers, right? Even though you’re from Perdia.”

 “……So?”

 “I’m sorry if you’re offended, I was just worried that you might be upset because you don’t have powers despite being a direct descendant of one of the four major families…….”

While pretending to express concern, she was actually mocking me.

Mocking me for pretending to be from Perdia when I didn’t have any powers.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense due to one person’s indirect attack. Everyone hesitated, looking at Lady Lindgreen and me. Then, a young lady who had been silent the entire time spoke tentatively.

 “W-Well, after all, Lady Perdia worked a miracle as the savior of Ishtar…….”

Visibly timid, she finished by clasping her hands together nervously.

“I didn’t ask Lady Gretel.”

Lady Lindgreen responded somewhat coldly. Despite the expl*cit dismissal, the young lady named Gretel didn’t seem bothered. It implied that being ignored was nothing new to her, even in normal circumstances.

“I just expressed what I thought.”

“Interfering in a conversation without permission is ignoring me, isn’t it, Lady Gretel?”

I looked at Gretel carefully after siding with me and seeing her brushed off so casually. Gretel Sangpan.

Although it didn’t carry much significance, she was a character from the original work who became friends with Estelle, the struggling female lead, through an incident. Although described as timid, her character was portrayed as kind.

‘I didn’t know you would take my side.’

It was about time for me, the actual participant in the conversation, to step forward.

“Everyone, please stop.”

Hyacinth, the leader of this group, started to intervene.

 “I’m afraid we’ve given Lady Elodie a bad taste in her mouth, and Lady Gretel, I’m afraid you’re going to have to stay away from our meetings for a while.”

“…What?”

“Because of Lady Gretel, the atmosphere of the gathering may have been negatively affected.”

“I’m… I’m sorry.”

Hmm.

 I think it’s Lady Lindgren who should be apologizing, not Lady Gretel. Just as I was about to lose my temper and say something, Jansi came to me. 

 “Lili. What are you talking about that is so interesting?”

The girls’ eyes sparkled at Jansi’s appearance.

Their efforts to impress him were apparent.

The events that had occurred a little while ago seemed to be forgotten. Of course, I had no intention of letting it slide.

“I didn’t say much. Someone said I was pitiful for not having powers despite being from Perdia.”

As my words ended, the smile disappeared from Jansi’s face.

“…Who said that?”

In contrast, I grinned widely.

“Lady Lindgreen!”

I pointed politely at Lady Lindgreen with one hand. Jansi’s chilly gaze landed on her when I gestured.

Her face, which had been filled with admiration at Jansi’s arrival, was now white as a sheet. 

 ‘There’s no law against snitching, right?’

In reality, it was beyond my calculations for Jansi, who usually maintained a composed demeanor even in difficult situations, to be affected by Lady Lindgreen’s reaction.

The young ladies, who were witnessing Jansi’s rare change of expression for the first time, all had surprised faces.

That was enough. I grabbed his arm and pulled him away.

“Let’s stop, big brother.”

“…Lili, I’ll let it go this time since you’re saying that.”

Jansi, still with a stern expression, followed my steps as I led the way. Passing by Gretel, I whispered quietly enough for only her to hear.

“Lady Gretel, see you next time.”

***

The preparations for the battle to subdue the demonic beasts are finally complete.

Nobles sat in their designated seats, awaiting the start of the battle. Meanwhile, an unfamiliar object gathered people’s attention—a series of floating rectangular panels in the air.

Commonly known as screens.

“What is that?”

“It’s the transmission magical device……? I heard it was developed by the West Tower recently.”

 “It’s different from the communication magic tool?”`

“Yes. The images are transmitted from that magical device.”

“The West Tower made something incredible again.”

Pop! Along with the sound of activation, an image appeared on the transmission magical device.

“Wow!”

The screens displayed participants scattered throughout the mountain ranges, and I felt proud witnessing the surprised reactions of the nobles.

‘It’s a hit again.’

There was a separate reason for my joy.

Because that was one of the magic tools I invested in. As the start of the battle to subdue the demon beasts neared, the magic tower lords from the four directions began to enter.

 Today’s target, Gabe Jenade, also sat down.

‘I can’t see his face.’

Gabe wore a wizard’s robe that mostly covered his face.

Although it was Duke Kreundel’s goal today to confirm Gabe’s face, it seemed challenging.

But Isis’s seat was still empty.

His determination to skip a mandatory attendance event was truly characteristic of Isis.

 After a while, a long trumpet sounded, and the subjugation of the demonic beasts finally began.

 Kwaaaang! As it started, a violent vibration, as if the world were collapsing, shook the spectator seats.

It felt like an earthquake had occurred.

Unlike the chaotic nobles, Jansi, sitting next to me, calmly observed the transmission magical device.

“Carlot used his power.”

 “I see…….”

Inside the transmission magical device, Carlot was breaking the mountain range, wielding his power like a maniac.

He was like a fish out of water, using his power to sl*ughter demons like crazy. Suddenly, he stopped and began to look around, and when he spotted something, he waved his hands. 

 [Sister! Sister Lili! Can you see me?!]

 “……?”

All the attention turned to me. 

 [I’ll destroy everything as sister told me to! Wait for it!]

 “……??”

[sc name=”add_image” image_url=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ABLVV85Zn1B_hJUKRD4jWmrnTvGjPfOrp-tuIjBySFbWhrAh3RsfaNb6SsuQRMBpBiHsITkyVY_F9gQaNynMQIwmzAoAtDfOnZvIxWE-zsYA2zvt9PZpIDI=w2400″][/sc]

Hey, when did I ever say to destroy everything? I said to get first place! However, people only looked at me with astonished eyes.

Perhaps it was due to the usual rumors and behavior, but it seemed like they genuinely believed I had ordered the destruction.

‘That d*mn troublemaker!’

Before I knew it, I had become the mastermind behind the mountain range destruction.