Chapter 7

“Yes. That’s right.”

Briseyes felt strange hearing those words. In the original story, Delilah was a genius. From what Briseyes had observed and felt, Callisten was no different from a genius as well.

However, the reason the original Callisten repeatedly missed first place was because of Delilah.

Briseyes couldn’t be happy about having two people above her. She had accepted Callisten since they had taken classes together since childhood, but for Delilah to suddenly appear too.

Remembering how much Briseyes was compared to Delilah in every class in the original story made it even more dreadful.

The villainess Briseyes was merely a device to make Delilah’s wisdom shine. After all, Briseyes’s ignorance, viciousness, and malice contrasted with Delilah.

“I prefer obedient women over smart ones.”

“What about someone who’s both smart and obedient?”

Delilah asked with downcast eyes at Demian’s words, and he stroked her hair as if she were cute and said:

“That’s good too.”

Briseyes’s eyes met Demian’s. He smirked and said:

“But women just need to be pretty anyway.”

“Then I should work harder. To be both pretty and smart.”

“Dili speaks so beautifully.”

Delilah looked at Demian with an enchanted smile, and Briseyes deliberately previewed the third period lesson to ignore their conversation.

After an unbearably long time passed.

When it was finally time to leave school.

“I’ll see you at the evening victory ceremony.”

Demian was supposed to attend the victory ceremony with Briseyes, but he was saying he would go ahead.

“I need to buy some clothes for Dili.”

“……”

“The clothes she’s wearing seem a bit large. Dili has such an elegant body.”

Demian, who had casually delivered an insulting remark to Briseyes, was leaving the classroom with Delilah.

Briseyes sighed and lowered her gaze, then felt her heart grow cold as she saw Delilah mockingly look at her, wave her hand, and leave.

“I, I still think Bri is much better.”

The tactless Saturn said this as soon as Demian and Delilah disappeared.

“Right, Evusi?”

“Yeah. My taste is also more this way.”

Since Saturn and Evusi were identical twins, their voices were very similar. Only their personalities differed; outwardly, they resembled each other so much that no one could deny they were identical twins.

“Thanks for saying that, at least.”

Briseyes felt strange lately, wondering if she was truly an inadequate person amid the constant criticism.

“It’s not just words. Bri is truly much prettier.”

“There’s nothing to gain from empty flattery. I’m being sincere, Bri.”

At their words, Ronald, who was watching the situation like a bird of prey, interjected. Despite being the son of a count family, he was quite rough-spoken and reckless. Especially considering his excellent grades.

“We didn’t say anything because Demian was keeping her around, but what’s good about a commoner? She looks like a country bumpkin, so rustic and frail.”

Briseyes might not have noticed due to her circumstances, but everyone had some antipathy toward Delilah.

Above all, the Wilhelm Academy was famous for having the most stringent entrance exams in the empire. Not only that, but because it provided the best education across the entire continent, even friendly foreign countries sent their children to study abroad.

No, it was such an excellent school that even countries from hostile regions wanted to enroll their children after concealing their identities.

No one would look favorably upon Delilah, who had entered such a school without properly taking the entrance exam, just because of her war contributions.

And since the classes were divided by rank.

Class 1’s twenty students were the top students, ranked from 1st to 20th. They were people with high competitive spirit and pride.

That’s why the antipathy toward Delilah was growing, whether consciously or unconsciously.

However, this antipathy was suppressed due to fear of Demian, the Grand Duke.

“I was happy to hear a female student was joining us, but why a courtesan?”

“Hey, even courtesans need to be cultured. She lived completely as a commoner, how can you compare them?”

Someone said this, and as everyone was snickering and about to leave.

“So this is the kind of incitement going on?”

Demian had been listening at the door before entering. Delilah was standing behind him.

“Bri.”

“…Demian.”

Although Briseyes hadn’t said a word, Demian glared at her as if she were the sole culprit behind everything.

“This is why I’m drawn to Dili. Because of your disgusting facade.”

“That’s too much…”

“Yes. Bri, it’s true that you’re beautiful. But what good is that? When your heart is such a cesspool.”

“…Demian.”

Briseyes clenched her fist, feeling both bewildered and humiliated by his insult.

“Today, I will attend the victory ceremony with Dili. You can either find another partner or not come at all.”

Normally, it was natural for a married couple to attend events together. But Demian was now saying he would take his mistress instead of his wife to an imperial event.

“Let’s go, Dili.”

“Hic… Demi…”

“Don’t cry.”

Delilah sniffled and took Demian’s hand, and as she was led out by him, she glanced at Briseyes and smiled slightly.

In the chaotic classroom, everyone sighed and patted Briseyes’s shoulders apologetically before disappearing one by one.

⁕⁕⁕

Briseyes didn’t want to go to the victory ceremony anyway.

Today was July 7th.

It was also the anniversary of her brother Gael Philia’s death.

The Philia Marquis family originally had four sons and one daughter. Briseyes’s three older brothers all had bad personalities and were much older than her.

The Philia Marquis’s wife was so tired of having only sons that she desperately wanted a daughter. Her weak personality made her suffer from her sons’ uncouth behavior, which intensified her desire.

That’s how she earnestly obtained Briseyes and Gael.

They were fraternal twins, so Briseyes, who was born first, was nominally the older sister, and Gael was the younger brother.

‘Sister, they say I need to go to war to enter the Academy.’

‘It doesn’t have to be Wilhelm Academy. You’re more suited to be an administrator than a swordsman.’

‘But I want to be good with a sword too. Anyone can be an administrator.’

‘Gael….’

‘And with my abilities, Wilhelm Academy is out of reach. Rather than studying half-heartedly, I’d rather do what I want.’

Gael had talent for studying but not as a knight. That’s why he took up the sword under the pretext of entering Wilhelm Academy.

Since the Philia Marquis family already had three strong adult men, they simply let Gael’s rebellious behavior be.

They even agreed with Gael’s plan to accumulate military achievements to compensate for his insufficient entrance scores to get into Wilhelm Academy.

After all, no one from the Philia family had failed to graduate from Wilhelm Academy.

Everyone thought Gael was taking a detour because he was a bit lacking, so they let him be.

“I’d like lilies, please.”

“Ah, yes. It’s been a while, Your Highness.”

“Yes.”

Briseyes forced a smile to avoid sinking into her thoughts. She came to buy flowers while wearing the white uniform of the Academy.

She received the flowers with familiarity and said:

“Please charge it to the Philia Marquis household.”

“Yes, understood. Have a nice day.”

“Yes.”

With that, she smiled forcefully and headed to where Gael’s grave was located.

Gael died on July 7th last year. If he had returned from that war, he would have successfully entered Wilhelm Academy.

But with just one more deployment score left, he died.

Briseyes felt strange in her heart all year long, perhaps due to the guilt that she could have done more to prevent her brother’s death.

In the original story, her brother Gael was one of the male supporting characters.

Yet he died without even meeting Delilah.

Feeling as if it was her fault for changing the original story, Briseyes commemorated Gael’s death anniversary alone.

The Philia Marquis family considered Gael, who died on the battlefield, a disgrace to the family, so they never came to see him on his death anniversary.

Even his funeral was treated as something shameful.

Briseyes pushed away her thoughts and walked quickly toward her brother’s tombstone.

Next to the stone inscribed with Gael’s name, a bouquet of lilies was already placed.

“Hic…”

Someone was already crying.

Briseyes couldn’t tell who it was, but it seemed they had come to see the same person. She silently placed the lilies she had brought on Gael’s tombstone.

Then she remained there quietly.

Suddenly, she felt like she had seen a description of the man sobbing beside her somewhere.

Bright silver hair with gray eyes.

And a knight’s attire that suggested he had returned from the battlefield. His armor was quite worn, dented in various places, with dried blood stuck here and there.

At that moment, she realized.

Who he was.

“Are you perhaps… Gael’s sister?”

He was Casius Rozefel.

One of the male supporting characters in the original story. A man of pure love who revived his family for Delilah and ultimately died for her.