ASDM 25

Chapter 25

“Lapidem is currently away on a short business trip to the Bastion territory. Since Young Lord Franz is at the age where he’s growing by the day…”

“Unlike someone I know.”

Wolfgang, who had seemed absorbed in his paperwork, added the remark without looking up.

Ugh, seriously. Did he really have to tack on a jab just to feel satisfied?

I glared at the infuriating man, then gave a haughty “hmph” and crossed my arms. At the moment, I was less interested in clothes or boutiques and more concerned about something else.

“Come to think of it, we still haven’t had our formal introduction.”

“…Pardon?”

“With my future brother-in-law, I mean.”

That Franz guy who’s the same age as me. I’d already heard plenty about his reputation.

Apparently, his personality was unmistakably that of a Bastion—and he was every bit Levi’s brother.

I was half worried and half excited about how I was going to break through that final barrier when—

“Excuse me.”

Hugo appeared, knocking politely before stepping inside. In his ever-spotless white gloves, he was holding a letter.

“A letter from the Campbell ducal house.”

The Campbell dukedom…

Wasn’t that the same Campbell family that had made a fortune from their inexhaustible emerald mines?

I’d heard that they had originally only been counts, but thanks entirely to their massive wealth, their title had climbed two whole ranks.

They were infamous for “charity” bribes disguised as goodwill, lavish “donations” to curry favor, and quarterly tributes of the finest full jewelry sets to the late empress—who was notorious for her domineering influence.

Thanks to such tireless efforts, they had managed to secure one of only five ducal titles in the empire. But still, they weren’t exactly respected.

If the Bastions were shrouded in awe, fear, and a dash of envy, the Campbells were their complete opposite.

Put nicely, they’re approachable. To be blunt, they’re just nouveau riche who struck gold overnight.

And now Campbell was sending a letter to Bastion?

If we were classmates, we’d probably graduate without exchanging a single word—so what could they possibly want?

Curious, I leaned in to get a look, and Wolfgang beckoned to me.

Come over? Why?

I shuffled closer, only for the letter to be dropped right into my hands.

“Read it.”

“…Are you sure?”

“It’s your duty.”

Because I was now a member of the Bastion household.

He didn’t even need to say it—I knew exactly what he meant. The thought made my nose itch again.

Must be spring pollen allergies.

While I straightened my shoulders with misplaced pride, Hugo sliced open the envelope with a paper knife.

Taking a deep breath, I pulled out the yellowish stationery inside—

“Oh my gosh…!”

“What is it?”

“I can’t even read half of this.”

Imperial was hard. Especially the fancy, roundabout words nobles used to sound refined.

After struggling over the letter for quite some time, I ventured a guess.

“From the tone, I think it’s just a greeting. Asking how you’ve been…”

“Honestly.”

Benjamin clicked his tongue.

What? Was there something wrong with that?

He took the letter from me, skimmed it, and then gave a knowing look.

“Talk about timing.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s too perfect.”

Ah, I got it. He suspected they’d heard about the incident last night and had sent this “greeting” first thing in the morning.

In other words—

Prime suspect for assassination attempt, number one!

Benjamin and I stared at the letter with the same distaste. Should we rip it up? Burn it?

After some debate, we settled on a symbolic execution: tearing it into shreds and letting the scraps scatter into the air.

Meanwhile, the actual target of last night’s attack—Wolfgang—didn’t so much as glance our way.

…Not even angry? Not even trying to guess the culprit?

How could he be so indifferent? If it were me, I’d be suspicious of even the leaves blowing past my feet.

I was still sneaking puzzled looks at Wolfgang when I caught Hugo watching me.

Right—he was still here.

I was about to ask if he had other business when Wolfgang spoke first.

“Go with Hugo.”

Go where?

Without a chance to ask, I hurried after Hugo, who was already leading the way.

“Hey, Grandpa Hugo—”

“Incorrect.”

“…Hugo.”

The quick correction earned an approving smile from him.

Fine, it’s awkward, but I’d better get used to it. I am going to be the future Lady Bastion, after all.

Suppressing my inner Confucian instincts with a cough, I asked, “So, where are we going?”

“I’ll be showing you to the room you’ll be staying in from now on.”

“Oh, really?”

I couldn’t help grinning.

The maids’ quarters hadn’t been bad, but this felt… different. Accepted.

A room. My room. Just the thought made my heart flutter.

It wasn’t some crumbling basement apartment or a cramped dorm crammed with people—it was mine…

“You said this was my room—”

“The bedroom is connected through here.”

Hugo pointed calmly toward a certain corner.

I could only tremble in outrage.

Because this place was—

“A library?!”

The only answer I got back from the stone walls was an ominous echo.

Figures. This cruel world would never accept a mere commoner daughter-in-law without some catch.

“Wow. Stingy, stingy. Plenty of empty rooms and you give me this? Mean. Just plain mean. Welcome to Mother-in-law Hell.”

Slumping into a chair, I muttered under my breath, and Hugo chuckled.

“This is a courtesy to you, my lady.”

“Hmph. Courtesy? You mean a reminder to ‘know my place’?”

“You’ll understand soon enough.”

With a kindly smile, he personally guided me deeper into the library—no, into my coffin.

Lev Academy – Second-Year Boys’ Dormitory

Despite being full of boisterous young students, this dorm was always unnervingly quiet.

Last year, it had been the first-years’ dormitory that was like this. Next year, it would be the third-years’ turn.

Now, second-year dorm residents lived like monks for one simple reason: they happened to be the same age as him.

That night, as always before bedtime, the students assembled silently in the hall for the dorm master’s roll call.

At the Imperial Academy, noble rank officially didn’t exist.

Even royalty were treated as ordinary students and had to follow the same rules and schedules as everyone else.

Still—

Please, just exempt Lord Bastion from roll call already!

That was the unspoken wish of every student.

His flawlessly composed face never betrayed an ounce of expression. His sharp eyes, blood-red irises, and the perfect angle of his parade-rest posture—

Even after a year of sharing the dorm, the sight was as intimidating as ever.

The dorm master walked down the line, calling names and handing out letters from home from the large basket he carried.

“Here you go—letter from your family.”

“Thank you.”

“Charles Fisher, here’s one from your grandmother.”

After a few warm exchanges, his tone grew a little tenser.

“Levi Bastion.”

“Yes.”

“There’s… mail for you?”

Why would there be? There shouldn’t be.

It was the first time Levi had ever received a letter, and he frowned at the unfamiliar sight, reading the scrawled writing on the envelope.

What does that even say…

The handwriting was atrocious. But the sender’s name was—

“Asha?”

Snatch!

The letter disappeared into Levi’s hands in an instant.

The dorm master, startled by such an uncharacteristic reaction, blurted out, “Uh, who’s it from…?”

He hadn’t really expected an answer—Levi rarely spoke at all.

But staring at the letter, Levi actually replied without hesitation.

“My fiancée.”

The shock of that statement was almost dangerous.

The dorm master’s mouth fell open, and so did the mouths of every eavesdropping classmate, but Levi simply bowed politely and walked straight into his room.

Roll call forgotten, he sat on his bed, still staring at the envelope.

[To Levi. From Asha.]

It was truly from Asha.

He studied the awkwardly written name for a long moment, then carefully opened the letter without tearing it.

Inside was just a single word:

[Help!]

He didn’t know the details—but somehow, he understood.

Levi spent the entire night staring at that one desperate word.

After all, it was the very first letter from his fiancée.

I didn’t want to understand. If this was what they meant by “courtesy,” I wished I’d stayed ignorant forever.

Because the reason they’d given me a bedroom connected to a library was—

So I could study until I passed out right at my desk!

With a groan, I slammed my head onto the mountain of homework piled in front of me.

This was hell. Hell made of endless lines of text.

If I turned my head to the side, I could see the cozy little bedroom through the half-open door.

I hated to admit it, but it was a perfect setup.

It was just as much effort to crawl to the desk upon waking as it was to drag myself to bed when exhausted from studying.

“Ughhh… damn studying.”

And not just any studying—foreign language studying I’d never asked for.

Still grumbling, I forced myself upright and began writing the letters over and over again.

I might have wanted to live happily as an illiterate forever, but I knew this was an unavoidable step.

At least I could now manage basic words like “apple” and “bag,” and even string together simple sentences. That was… something.

Actually… I think I’m ready to send that now.

On a sudden impulse, I decided to get it over with.

On a fine piece of parchment, I wrote carefully, then signed my name in clear letters.

It was the first official document I’d ever produced with my own hand.

I sent it off with Hugo—

“…You’re firing me?!”

The reaction came swiftly.

Bibi burst into the library, roaring like a bear that had stepped on a thorn.

“You can’t just spring this on me!”

“I told you I would.”

“I thought you were joking!”

“Hm. Why? I’m a very serious person who doesn’t know how to joke.”

Ignoring Bibi’s “Are you insane?” look, I propped my chin in my hand and continued.

“Tell me, Bibi—are you satisfied?”

“…With what?”

“With being a maid.”

Bibi didn’t answer right away.

There’s no shame in honest work, but if you can’t take pride in it yourself, that’s another matter entirely.

Slapping my desk for emphasis, I declared, “The Bastion household has no need for maids who’ve lost pride in their work!”

“Oh, come on!”

“Face it—you haven’t been putting your heart into it lately!”

“That’s…!”

That look—she knew I was right.

I knew it!