Chapter 227

It had become troublesome.

Kallia barely suppressed the frown that threatened to crease her brow in bewilderment. Maintaining her poker face with difficulty, she addressed Serena.

“Aaron…….”

[Aaronlikeitlikeitlikeitlikeitsoverymuchsoverymuchsoverymuchsoverymuchsoverymuchsoverymuchsoverymuchsoverymuchsoverymuchsoverymuchsoverymuchsoverymuch!]

“…….”

“Is something the matter, Ms. Kallia?”

“It’s nothing…….”

No.

I couldn’t even bring myself to continue.

The moment even the ‘A’ of Aaron left my lips, Serena’s mind visibly spiraled out of control.

The passionate chorus erupting inside her head was so intense that even I almost began to wonder, Did I actually like Brother Aaron after all?

No. Get a hold of yourself, Kallia.

You mustn’t get swept up in that madwoman’s pace.

Steeling myself inwardly, I carefully analyzed Serena’s psychological state. Just what about my brother did this woman like so much that she had practically lost her mind?

If she had only desired the wealth and power of the Stingray Family, things would have been simple. But if that wasn’t the case, then it became complicated. If she was this deeply infatuated with Aaron, it wouldn’t be easy to sway her heart by tarnishing his image or driving a wedge between them.

‘What should I do.’

To begin with, I couldn’t understand why she liked him so much. Yes, he came from a good family, he was handsome, well-built, tall, had a respectable occupation, and was good at fighting……

“…….”

Right. He was worth liking.

Come to think of it, in the past, I had also liked Brother Aaron well enough. No—there had even been a time when I respected him.

It was only after I learned that beneath that handsome face lurked a killer incapable of understanding human hearts that fear and wariness overtook that respect.

Aaron Stingray was also the sibling who most closely resembled the monstrous side of Drake Stingray, the chairman.

‘What a pitiful woman.’

To be able to smile foolishly while idolizing him without knowing anything—on one hand, it was pitiable, and on another, almost enviable… No.

‘Enviable? Why would I…….’

Yes, I was envious.

I wanted to live thoughtlessly like this woman.

Born as a princess of the Stingray Group—an imperial household in all but name—I had to live every day with my heart clenched tight, never knowing when I might lose my life in a struggle over succession. My circumstances were wretched beyond words.

My father was a madman, and my brothers were madmen.

This city was being toyed with by madmen. And to survive in their hands, I couldn’t relax for even a single moment.

‘Haah…….’

But was that not the fate of those born into the Stingray Family? Having come into this world grasping everything in our hands, it was only natural that we had to fight more fiercely than others, wagering our lives.

It was only that this ‘war’ I was preparing for…… this ‘battle’ that would surely claim either Aaron’s life or mine if it broke out…… I found myself wishing it might begin a little later.

“…….”

A useless thought.

Kallia shook her head, erasing her idle musings.

To grow lax like this with a potential enemy right before me. It had been a fleeting distraction, not even a full second long—but had this been a battlefield, it would not have been strange if I had already lost my life.

‘Perhaps I’ve accumulated too much fatigue.’

After all, ever since my meeting with the Stingray Chairman, I had lived without a moment to spare. I had been on edge twenty-four hours a day, searching for allies who could lend me their strength in bringing down the monster named Aaron Stingray.

Swindlers and flatterers always crowded around me, each one greedily waiting for a chance to taste even a morsel of my blood and flesh.

Amid such people, it was perhaps inevitable that my guard would slacken upon seeing someone like Serena.

Though it was abundantly clear she stood on Aaron’s side, she was still just a woman dazed by love. I had not felt inclined to sharpen my blade against her.

But that very slackness—

was my mistake.

“Ms. Kallia. Is something troubling you?”

“Pardon?”

“It’s about your future husb— I mean, Mr. Aaron, isn’t it?”

“…….”

Serena struck unexpectedly from the flank. Though I had exposed a gap for less than a second, she had caught it with frightening precision and pointed it out.

Still, how many times had I faced situations like this? I knew well how to steer the conversation away.

To panic and reveal one’s inner thoughts at times like this was the worst possible move.

“Oh my, how perceptive. How did you know?”

“I may look like this, but I do bear the name Beresford.”

“Indeed, the child of a prominent politician is certainly different. But I’m sorry. It’s a rather sensitive topic to discuss with you, Ms. Serena.”

“But I’m going to become Mr. Aaron’s wife in the future, aren’t I? I’ll be your sister-in-law. Wouldn’t it be all right to tell me? I’d like for us to become closer, Ms. Kallia.”

“Even so, it’s a bit…….”

“If you’re truly uncomfortable, I won’t pry too deeply. But if it’s a matter related to Mr. Aaron, I can’t help but be concerned. Ah, and you don’t need to worry that I’ll go around blabbing about it. I may not look it, but I’m quite tight-lipped!”

“It’s not that I distrust you, Ms. Serena. If anything, I’m worried you might be hurt more. You seem to be very fond of my brother. Depending on how you see it, this topic could end up sounding like criticism of him.”

“Siblings can squabble a little.”

“It might be more than you think.”

“I still want to hear it.”

Serena answered with a smile.

In response, Kallia allowed herself a faint smile inwardly. The flow of the conversation wasn’t bad.

Of course, it would be reckless to blurt out here that ‘Aaron Stingray is a killer.’ But it seemed she had succeeded in planting at least the thought that ‘Aaron Stingray is a flawed man’ in Serena’s mind.

Kallia planned to vaguely blur the conversation from here, leaving behind that lingering sense of discomfort.

Serena seemed the obsessive type. She would likely try to uncover everything about Aaron, and in doing so, might eventually reach the ‘truth’ on her own.

And even if she failed to do so, she might repeatedly press Aaron with questions and end up drifting apart from him. By merely hinting that ‘there is a problem with Aaron,’ Kallia would effectively eliminate one of his potential allies.

But before she could even open her mouth according to that plan, Serena unexpectedly spoke first.

“Ms. Kallia. Don’t oppose Mr. Aaron.”

“……What do you mean?”

“If you truly can’t stand your brother and are fighting him for that reason, then I won’t stop you. But if it’s because you want to hold the city entirely in your grasp, or because you’re afraid of Chairman Drake…… it would be better not to.”

“…….”

At Serena’s blunt words, Kallia’s smile vanished as well. At this point, there was no need to continue wearing a mask. At the same time, she judged that Serena knew the ‘truth.’

“Miss Beresford. It seems you’re saying this even though you know everything—.”

“No. If you think I’m saying this out of greed for money, that’s a big misunderstanding. I don’t care at all whether Mr. Aaron gets the Stingray Group or not. I’m saying this purely for your sake. I told you, didn’t I? As your future sister-in-law, I want us to get along.”

“…….”

“Mr. Aaron isn’t a monster.”

Serena spoke with a serious expression.

“If you want to live, you’d better choose carefully whose hand you take. Which one is the real monster, and which one you should join forces to bring down…… open your eyes and see clearly. Now, excuse me, I’ll be leaving first.”

With that, Serena left her seat as though she had said everything she needed to.

It felt somewhat rude, yet rather than being offended, Kallia felt grateful that no more time had been wasted.

‘Serena Beresford…….’

I had thought she was just a woman with flowers blooming in her head, but she was far from easy.

Despite being several years younger than me, she hadn’t yielded control of the conversation once. That alone was worthy of high praise.

‘She must have inherited her father’s eloquence.’

It was almost the first time I had been dragged around so helplessly on the battlefield called ‘conversation.’ Well, if I were honest, it was less a conversation and more that she had said what she wanted and slipped away…… yet that single sentence had lodged itself strangely deep in my heart.

—Mr. Aaron isn’t a monster.

What would you know?

Do you even understand what it’s been like for me, struggling all my life to survive beneath monsters? The words rose to the tip of my throat, only to fade away unspoken.

Before I realized it, the fashion show had ended.

With assistance from her secretaries, Kallia gathered her handbag and coat and rose from her seat. Then she spoke as though nothing had happened.

“Move up the meeting with the Black Dragon Gang. Arrange it as soon as possible.”

“……Understood.”

We need to hasten the preparations for war.

The long winter break ended, and Trinity Academy opened its doors once more.

In the original work, this was the timing when the protagonist and main characters advanced to their second year, and new characters entered the Academy wearing name tags labeled ‘Freshman.’

In the novel, all the trivial matters were skipped over in favor of major incidents, but as someone actually living in this world, I couldn’t do that.

Not only did I have to deal with the backlog of tasks I had postponed while staying in ‘Dwarf Village,’ but with the arrival of new students, even more matters piled up.

—They’re picking the Stingray special scholarship students again this year, right?

—Hey, wake up. You think you’ll get selected?

—Look at this bastard talking. You never know! I heard they select special scholarship students regardless of background.

—Yeah, and you still won’t make it~.

In particular, the ‘special class’ I had created last year to gather the main characters began to feel rather troublesome this year.

And that was because……

‘There’s no one worth picking…….’

The only one I had in mind was a male student called ‘Guardian.’ He was an Adaptee from a sect-breaking monk background, a character who would join the protagonist’s group starting from the second-year arc. Aside from him, there was no real reason to place anyone into the special class.

‘As for the more appealing supporting characters, I can just recruit them as regular scholarship students.’

So I had instructed the scouts to recruit ‘Guardian’ into the special class, and simply passed along the names of other notable supporting characters for them to bring in at their discretion.

But as with most things in life, just because I wasn’t particularly eyeing anyone didn’t mean I could completely ignore the scholarship selection process.

—My son will be entering the Academy this year. I hope you’ll look after him.

—Chairman Stingray, regarding the scholarship selection this time……

—Look at me, Chairman!

—Chairman Aaron looked at me!

—Idiot, he was looking somewhere else!

Some headquarters executives came seeking private favors, while others—despite having no backing whatsoever—researched my schedule in advance and prepared bizarre performances just to catch my eye.

Back when I worked solely at the Foundation building, this wouldn’t have happened. But commuting to the Academy made it unavoidable. Looked at positively, it meant my image had become considerably more student-friendly.

However, being constantly buried under Foundation work meant I had fallen out of close contact with the scouts who directly interviewed students for scholarship selection. As a result, I was late in checking their reports.

Only a few days later did I finally review them.

The scouts’ report contained the following:

—Chairman, there is no student named ‘Guardian.’

—At least not among this year’s incoming students.

I had no choice but to clutch the back of my neck.

What the hell.

Why didn’t this bastard enroll this time either?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep