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Chapter 9
No matter how reasonable the excuse was, being the one dumped by a commoner was an extremely humiliating affair.
As a result, with the honor of their eldest son about to be dragged through the mud, House Leight expressed strong dissatisfaction.
After reading the letter, Kalios’s face immediately darkened.
“Tsk. It seems we won’t be able to announce Kadin and Rosia’s engagement right away.”
The duke clicked his tongue in annoyance.
He had never imagined Ayla would act like this.
Now that she had lost the backing of the ducal house, he had assumed she would desperately cling to her fiancé out of regret…
“How does she plan to deal with the consequences after graduating from the Academy?”
For now, since she was attending Riod Academy and many eyes were watching, House Leight would not be able to openly harass her.
However, after she had damaged Kadin’s reputation so severely, it was obvious they would try to get revenge somehow.
Even aside from that, there were countless ways to make Ayla’s life difficult within the Academy itself.
Watching his father’s reaction carefully, Gerat cautiously opened his mouth.
“Father, about that… What if we bring Ayla back after she graduates from the Academy?”
“Bring her back?”
“It would be difficult to treat her as a duchess’s daughter again, but hiring her as your assistant wouldn’t be impossible.”
Of course, considering Ayla’s pride, she would not accept such an offer easily right now.
But as time passed, she would inevitably realize just how unstable her situation truly was.
Believing he was doing everything for Ayla’s safety, Gerat continued enthusiastically.
“By then, Ayla won’t be in a position to threaten Rosia anymore. Rosia should have firmly established herself by that point.”
“…True. She did pass the Academy transfer examination with excellent results a few days ago. Her magical talent is certainly worthy of being the eldest daughter of House Blanche. The more I see of her, the more I like her.”
“She’ll probably graduate at the top of her class as well. No one will be able to doubt that Rosia is truly a daughter of House Blanche.”
“If anyone dares to doubt it, I won’t let them get away with it.”
Kalios spoke arrogantly.
It was clear that he was already very pleased with his new daughter, whose magical aptitude was exceptional.
“Yes… your point does make sense. Ayla has managed the family’s internal affairs quite well all these years. Having her work as an assistant wouldn’t be a bad idea.”
Hearing his father’s response, Gerat let out a sigh of relief.
For Kalios to speak that positively was practically the same as accepting the suggestion.
Father has probably noticed it too.
That life has become inconvenient without Ayla.
Gerat took a sip of the tea in front of him and instinctively frowned.
Turning toward a maid, he asked,
“Hey, why does this tea taste like this?”
“P-Pardon?”
“Isn’t it different from usual?”
The maid’s face instantly turned pale.
Gerat clicked his tongue.
He genuinely seemed unable to figure out the reason.
Whenever something like this happened, Ayla would always solve the problem immediately.
Kalios was feeling the same discomfort.
His gaze lingered on the cabinet in the drawing room as if something was bothering him.
That was where sweet desserts prepared for him were always placed.
But now, instead of desserts, there was a pot of West Mountain Ritt Tea.
It was an extremely bitter tea that nobles usually drank only when they wanted to show off their refinement.
Kalios turned to a nearby maid.
“Who ordered the Ritt Tea to be served?”
“L-Lady Rosia did, Your Grace.”
“Then was Gerat’s tea also prepared by Rosia?”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Kalios fell silent.
The moment Ayla left, he had ordered Rosia to begin managing the household.
Rosia had enthusiastically thrown herself into the work.
At first, he had found it adorable.
But somehow, nothing she did felt satisfactory.
It can’t be helped. She’ll improve eventually.
After all, Rosia had only recently arrived at the household.
It would have been stranger if she had already become skilled at managing everything.
Still, trivial things that he normally would never notice kept irritating him.
It felt as though his overall satisfaction with life had somehow decreased.
And that was only natural.
Among all the family members, Ayla had been the only one who knew Kalios loved sweet desserts.
Even she had only discovered that fact after years of careful observation.
The middle-aged duke had hidden his preference because he thought it would look ridiculous for a powerful nobleman to enjoy sweets.
So Ayla had always quietly served desserts without ever mentioning it.
But Kalios thought little of it.
Well, as Gerat said, we can simply hire Ayla after she graduates. It doesn’t really matter. Hopefully she’ll return as soon as possible.
Ayla would never properly adapt to life at the Academy.
Academy life looked glamorous and comfortable on the surface, but appearances were deceiving.
The Empire’s Riod Academy was an extremely difficult place for a commoner with no exceptional talents to survive.
Especially after breaking off her engagement with Kadin. She won’t have many options left. If the family extends a hand after graduation, she won’t be able to refuse.
At that time, the duke had no idea.
He did not know that Ayla would never return to House Blanche.
* * *
A week was a long time.
More than enough time for the students to learn that she was no longer Ayla Blanche.
Perhaps that was why, on the first day of the new semester, Ayla could feel the sharp stares directed toward her.
The students assumed she would be completely crushed.
Naturally so.
Someone who had believed herself to be a noble her entire life had become a commoner overnight.
How badly her pride must have been wounded.
Yet Ayla walked with her head held high.
Her face looked somewhat thinner than before, but there was no trace of servility in her expression.
In fact, the aura she carried was hardly any different from when she had been a noble.
As she confidently entered the classroom, the students of the Department of Magic stared at her in surprise.
The first person to approach her was Freya, her longtime friend from the Magic Department.
“Ayla, you’re doing better than I expected.”
Hearing the familiar voice, Ayla turned around before taking her seat.
There stood her old friend, looking at her with sharp, somewhat cold eyes.
Freya had once been Ayla’s closest friend at the Academy.
Our families were close, and we grew up together since childhood.
Because they had spent so many years together, Ayla had truly believed Freya was her best friend.
But after recovering the memories of the original novel, that belief had been completely shattered.
The moment Freya learned that Ayla was a commoner, she began looking down on her and mocking her.
“Why are you suddenly treating me like this, Freya? We were friends.”
“Friends? I only stayed close to you because you were the daughter of House Blanche.”
“What…?”
“Be honest. You knew all along that you were a commoner, didn’t you? You deceived all of us while knowing the truth. Honestly… how vulgar and despicable.”
Until then, Ayla had almost never heard words that rude directed at her.
That was why she had been deeply shocked by Freya’s sudden change in attitude.
So shocked that she had even stammered like a fool.
“T-That’s impossible… I didn’t know anything. It was never intentional.”
“Ha! How stupid. Becoming a commoner must have made you forget how to speak properly too.”
“…What? How can you say something like that to me?”
Wounded in her pride, Ayla lost her temper and lashed out at Freya.
In the original story, Freya’s changed attitude became the trigger that encouraged the other students to start mocking her as well.
Just like right now.
“Why is Freya suddenly being so cold toward Ayla?”
“You haven’t heard? Ayla’s a commoner now.”
“What? Really? How?”
“I heard a nanny secretly switched her own child with House Blanche’s real daughter. The truth came out, and Ayla got kicked out of the Blanche family.”
“My goodness. How could something like that even happen?”
