TVEDR 09

Chapter 09 …

Should I Avoid Rakash? Or Should I Not Avoid Him? That Is the Question — Part 4

The next morning, I visited my brother’s room while it was still very early.

BANG BANG BANG.

I pounded mercilessly on the door before opening it, discovering it hadn’t even been locked.

Despite all the noise—and despite someone opening the bedroom door—my hopeless brother was still deep in dreamland.

With a sloppy grin spread across his face, he rubbed his cheek against the pillow he was clutching tightly in both arms.

Even the familiar beast curled up on the bed had woken up before him.

That said, the cat-shaped monster merely cracked one eye open, recognized who I was, and promptly closed it again.

Once I confirmed my brother’s familiar wasn’t going to interfere, I strode over to him, snatched away the fluffy pillow from his arms, and pressed it hard against the grinning fool’s face.

“Ahhh, Lisa-tan! Lisa-tan’s……… really are so soft…”

The fact that he was still smiling blissfully and continuing his happy dream after all this honestly impressed me.

I tossed the pillow aside, grabbed my brother by the shoulders, and shook him vigorously.

“Brother, please wake up! The first rooster crowed ages ago! The name ‘Early-Rising Safia’ will weep at this rate!”

“………No, that nickname was meant to mock me for staying out all night until dawn, not because I can actually wake up early, you know? …Ah, ahh, wait, where’s my Lisa-tan…”

Still dazed, my brother finally opened his eyes and looked around blankly.

Then, once he realized he was still in his own bedroom, he looked up at me lazily.

“…Oh my, if it isn’t my younger sister whose personality is rotten despite her splendid appearance. Good morning, Luciana. What brings you here so early in the morning?”

My older brother—and the heir of our marquis house—Safia Dianthus (19), remained sprawled across the bed as he brushed back his somewhat long hair.

Silvery eyes gleamed between strands of silky blue-violet hair slipping through his fingers, and combined with his refined features, they formed an undeniably beautiful young man.

However, the clothes that beautiful man wore were an outrageously flashy golden nightgown that glittered excessively. For some incomprehensible reason, more than half of the upper portion was transparent. And atop his head sat a matching cap made from the same fabric.

If I had to describe my brother in a single phrase, “eccentric clown” would fit perfectly.

He was the textbook example of someone whose fashion choices, despite being worn with full confidence, only made the wearer more disappointing.

…What a waste.

Why would God grant such a magnificent appearance to such a hopeless human being?

Lamenting the unfairness of the world, I returned his greeting politely.

“Good morning, dear brother whose appearance is beautiful but whose substance fails to live up to it.”

Hearing my greeting, my brother curled the corner of his lips upward in amusement.

“Mm—no, I think you intended that as retaliation, but it’s completely inaccurate. I am a second-rate product that failed to become first-rate due to lack of effort. But you are a complete bargain-bin clearance item who lacks both effort and talent.”

“Yes, exactly so, Brother. Which is why this bargain-bin item has come to request a favor from a second-rate item. Today, it seems there is a birthday celebration being held in the Fritillaria Ducal Territory for the Duke himself. I wish to attend it, so please lend me your aid.”

After hearing my request, my brother stretched lazily and sat halfway upright.

“Oh? I thought you were aiming for Prince Ernesto, but now you’ve switched targets to the Fritillaria Ducal House? Either way, your choice is terrible. You could spend a hundred years trying and still never win them over, so I suggest choosing another target.”

“I understand! I shall sincerely devote myself to pursuing the plain, virtuous, and kind-hearted second son of some viscount family instead, so please rest assured.”

“No, Father and Mother would never accept that. Rotten though you are, you’re still a marquis’s daughter… Though more importantly, what’s gotten into you, Luciana? This is the first time in your life we’ve ever had a remotely coherent conversation. Did you eat something strange?”

With an expression like he had discovered something fascinating, my brother peered at me curiously.

No, no, I could say exactly the same thing to you, Brother.

As I spoke with him, I silently replied that in my heart.

My brother Safia was a third-year student at the same academy, yet Luciana had rarely approached him.

The reason was simple: despite having decent specs, he was lazy, pleasure-seeking, and overall a thoroughly worthless individual.

Anyone who got involved with him inevitably ended up losing something—that was the kind of man Safia Dianthus was.

At least, according to both the game’s settings and Luciana’s memories.

But now that I was actually talking with him, he didn’t seem unintelligent at all, nor did he appear fundamentally rotten at heart.

Though this was only my first real impression, so I couldn’t be certain yet.

“…So? The Fritillaria Ducal House is the foremost ducal family. Why exactly do you think the mere son of a marquis house would possess the right to attend an event hosted by the pinnacle of noble society?”

“Why, because Brother possesses one of the five most beautiful faces in the academy and a romance-specialized brain capable of endlessly producing sugar-coated sweet words, of course. So… wouldn’t you happen to know something about obtaining an invitation card to the Fritillaria Ducal House?”

Fixing him with an unwavering stare, I stepped closer as if refusing to let him escape.

My brother initially looked thoughtful, but upon seeing me at such close range, he suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

“Hey now, Luciana, did you not sleep at all last night? Looking at you up close, both your rough skin and the dark circles under your eyes are terrible. My, my, your eyes are bloodshot too. Since your face is well-formed, looking so utterly haggard actually makes you frightening. Hahaha, your appearance is your only redeeming feature, you know. Even if you march into the Fritillaria Ducal House looking like that, Lord Rakash won’t fall for you.”

Ignoring the fact that he sounded thoroughly entertained, I realized this conversation would go nowhere otherwise, so I decided to reveal part of my secret—that I knew how the future of this world would unfold.

I wanted to live quietly if possible, so I would have preferred to keep my bonus information hidden. But at this rate, my brother would continue treating the situation as amusing entertainment instead of taking me seriously.

Besides, if one thought about it even briefly, my brother neither held an important social role nor desired social standing in the first place. Even if I revealed something to him, it probably wouldn’t become a major issue.

Ahh, thank goodness my brother turned out so disappointingly despite his good looks.

Because of that, he wasn’t even included among the capture targets, meaning there was absolutely no danger of the game’s protagonist approaching him!

Even so, just to be safe, I decided to pretend I possessed prophetic abilities.

“That’s quite alright. My goal is not to capture Lord Rakash, after all. …Brother, though it may be presumptuous of me to say so, I have awakened to the power of foresight. And therefore…”

“Nooo—come now, Luciana, even for you, isn’t that setting a bit too forced? The power of foresight is incredibly rare. Magic has lineages and attributes, all inherited through blood. Our family possesses no foresight abilities whatsoever. If you’re talking about foresight… then that would be the rare magic inherited by the Fritillaria Ducal House.”

My brother rudely interrupted me.

Tch, honestly, it’s troublesome how someone so useless still happens to possess oddly specific knowledge at crucial moments.

Unable to think of a clever rebuttal, I simply ignored his objection and continued.

“According to my foresight magic… Brother, Lady Berta of Count Marge’s family will reject you.”

“Amazing, Luciana! Lady Berta declared we should just be friends literally last night. Truly incredible… your gossip-gathering abilities!”

My brother sounded genuinely astonished. Then he enthusiastically praised my information network.

I-I see, so that’s how he interpreted it.

Certainly, as the villainess, Luciana commanded many students and sat at the top of the academy’s social hierarchy.

It made perfect sense that my brother assumed I had used my underlings to gather rumors throughout the academy… at the very least, it was far easier to believe than the idea that I had awakened foresight magic despite having no bloodline connection to it whatsoever.

I desperately forced my brain into overdrive, trying to recall lines from the game.

…Who else had Brother Safia pursued in the game?

Ahh, right. He was such a minor side character that he only ever appeared in passing dialogue.

“Luciana, you too will replace men one after another like your brother, won’t you? How many women were rumored to be involved with Lord Safia last year alone? Lady Berta, Lady Wilhelmine, Lady Katrin… the list never ends.”

—Those cruel words had been hurled at the villainess by one of the capture targets standing protectively beside the heroine.

Ah, there they are! The young ladies’ names!

But whose line was that again? Just because the target was the villainess didn’t mean they could say whatever they wanted.

If I sued for defamation, I’d probably win, wouldn’t I?

Thinking that, I hurried to speak before I forgot the names.

“Then… what about Lady Wilhelmine of the Viscount Paltzer family? Or Lady Katrin of the Count Gieren family?”

“…You really are incredible. I’m still in the very earliest stages of courting Lady Wilhelmine. My motto is ‘love should proceed quietly,’ so I was certain nobody knew about it.”

My brother stared at me in sincere shock.

“As for Lady Katrin, I only started thinking she was cute yesterday. …Indeed, if your gossip-collecting abilities are this extraordinary, there may actually be fools who mistake them for foresight. Splendid, Luciana!”

With a thoroughly refreshed expression, my brother began praising me enthusiastically.

However, I was sixteen years old—not exactly at an age where being praised by my brother would make me happy—and more importantly, this was hardly the time for that.

“Umm, no, it’s not gossip, it’s—”

“Excellent, I understand! Since you’ve gone so far as to reveal gossip information that would make even the Royal Castle’s intelligence division pale in comparison, you must truly be serious. Very well, I shall play one of my own cards. The Fritillaria Duke’s birthday celebration is normally held privately among close associates, so even high-ranking nobles cannot ordinarily attend… however, our classmate Lady Yuria of the Viola March family is the Duke’s goddaughter. Let’s ask her.”

With that, Brother Safia pulled an elegant card from his desk drawer and swiftly wrote something onto it.

Then he placed one of the flowers decorating the desk into the envelope alongside the card, sealed it with wax, and waved the finished envelope lightly in his hand.

“There, go tell someone to deliver this immediately to the Viola March household. If things go well, we may be able to depart for the Fritillaria Ducal House this very afternoon. Your face is currently experiencing the mysterious phenomenon of being well-formed yet ugly at the same time, so go get some sleep while waiting for the reply.”

And with those words, I was handed the envelope and unceremoniously kicked out of my brother’s room.

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