Episode 125

“…E-Edwin.”

Dylan’s face twisted in surprise at Edwin’s sudden appearance.

Then, as if trying to play it off, he forced an awkward smile.

“It’s Joshua’s birthday party, of course I came! Do we really need an invitation between us—”

But Edwin wasn’t smiling.

“What do you mean, ‘between us’?”

“…Huh?”

“We’re not exactly close enough for me to overlook you barging into someone else’s house and picking fights.”

“W-Wait, Edwin, what are you saying—”

“Mind your manners, Viscount Travis.”

Edwin’s voice was cold and firm, drawing an unshakable boundary between them.

Dylan’s jaw fell open in stunned disbelief.

But Edwin wasn’t done yet.

“And this one?”

His sharp gaze shifted to the other boy standing beside Dylan—the one who had called me a parasite.

Under Edwin’s piercing stare, the boy stammered.

“H-Hello. I’m from the Viscount Gaspar family…”

But before he could finish, Edwin narrowed his eyes.

“Never heard of you. Did you even get invited?”

“I, uh… My cousin is the Countess of Selona, so I just… came along…”

“So, you weren’t invited, but you tagged along with a distant relative to grab free food.”

“……”

“And yet, you’re the one calling someone else a parasite?”

Edwin’s gaze flickered between Dylan and the boy, his voice filled with quiet mockery.

His expression remained neutral, but his eyes were filled with pure contempt.

Both boys turned bright red, their humiliation evident.

Dylan, clearly furious, snapped back.

“Hey, Edwin! Don’t you think you’re being a little too harsh? I even saw Lawrence at the last gathering! And you’re defending some commoner girl over—”

“I warned you to watch your mouth, Dylan Travis.”

Edwin suddenly grabbed Dylan’s shoulder.

Then, he leaned in and whispered something into his ear.

Even though the distance between us wasn’t far, I couldn’t hear what he said.

But whatever it was, Dylan’s face contorted in horror.

“Edwin, you—Agh!”

Dylan, who had been about to retort, suddenly let out a pained yelp.

Only then did Edwin let go of his now bruised shoulder.

“Take your friend and get out, before I call the knights and do something worse.”

With that, Edwin brushed past them and strode toward me.

“Let’s go, Belze.”

Still frozen in shock, I barely had time to react before he grabbed my hand and pulled me away.

Even as he led me toward the garden, I couldn’t help but glance back.

“D-Dylan, are you okay?”

“Agh! It hurts! Don’t touch it!”

“D-Did he break your shoulder?!”

I could hear their frantic whispers behind us.

As I kept glancing back, Edwin, walking ahead of me, sighed.

“Walk properly. Don’t trip and start crying.”

I turned my gaze back to him and mumbled hesitantly.

“…Was that really okay?”

“What was?”

“Well… He’s your friend, isn’t he?”

“Friend? Please.”

Edwin scoffed.

At twelve years old, he had grown even colder and harsher than when I first met him.

‘He was already ruthless back then, but he’s somehow even worse now…’

It was honestly impressive.

I stared at him for a moment before hesitantly asking—

“…What did you whisper to him?”

“The reason House Travis wasn’t invited to today’s party.”

Edwin answered flatly.

He didn’t elaborate, but I had a pretty good idea.

‘Now that I think about it… hasn’t House Travis been struggling lately?’

Running a beauty salon meant I overheard all kinds of noble gossip.

Even if I hadn’t, in my past life, House Travis had often borrowed money from the Duke’s estate.

I was about to say something when—

“…And you.”

Edwin frowned and let out an annoyed sigh.

“Why did you just stand there like an idiot? Why didn’t you tell them to shut up? Or better yet, grab Gomdori and beat them up?”

“How could I do that…?”

“Why not? You do it all the time.”

“When have I ever?!”

I immediately denied it, but Edwin just scoffed again.

‘He makes it sound like I’m some kind of gang leader…!’

Okay, maybe I had used Gomdori a lot.

And, well, maybe I had ordered people—commoners and nobles alike—to be beaten up when necessary…

But Dylan Travis was different.

‘He’s your friend. And this is your family’s guest…’

The words lingered on my tongue, but I couldn’t bring myself to say them.

Because Edwin had already made it clear—

Dylan wasn’t his friend.

His cold, ruthless attitude toward Dylan was so different from my past life that I couldn’t help but wonder—

‘…Did they have a falling out?’

I didn’t know why Edwin had suddenly cut off Dylan.

But then again, it wasn’t that surprising.

Even before this, Edwin had never been particularly close with the noble heirs of other families—including Dylan Travis.

I didn’t delude myself into thinking Dylan had only been hostile toward me because of today’s incident.

Even in my past life, Dylan had always compared me to Diana and looked down on me.

Edwin had known this, but he had never particularly cared.

Dylan had always been a cunning person—someone who enjoyed poking at my nerves just enough to be irritating.

But he had never crossed the line before—not like today, calling me a parasite and a disgrace to Kallios.

Of course, it helped that in my past life, I had always lost my temper first—making a scene before anyone even noticed Dylan’s jabs.

I thought this life would be the same.

I glanced sideways at Edwin as we walked, wondering why he had acted the way he did today.

But no matter how much I racked my brain, I couldn’t come up with a solid answer.

…Well, whatever the reason, it’s a good thing.

At the very least, keeping distance from House Travis was beneficial to me.

No, to Edwin and the Duke’s household as well.

Even after all the favors the Duke had given them, House Travis hadn’t lifted a single finger to help when the Duke’s family collapsed in my past life.

As I walked beside Edwin, deep in thought, his voice suddenly cut through the silence.

“…Before you get any weird ideas, let me just say this now.”

“…Huh?”

“I don’t have any friends.”

Edwin turned to look at me as he spoke, his tone matter-of-fact.

I blinked, caught off guard.

“Then what about me?”

“What about you?”

“If you don’t have any friends, does that mean I’m not your friend either?”

I said it lightly, as if teasing him, grinning.

But suddenly—

Edwin stopped walking.

“…Ah!”

I barely managed to stop myself from crashing into his back.

“Why did you stop all of a sudd—”

“Why would you be my friend?”

Edwin’s expression remained unreadable as he stared at me.

For a moment, his words stung.

If I’m not your friend, then… what am I? Just a sponsored commoner?

The thought left a bitter taste in my mouth.

I pouted and glared at him.

Edwin opened his mouth slightly, as if to say something.

But before he could—

“Edwin. Belze.”

A calm voice interrupted us.

I turned my head—

To see the Duke and Joshua standing in front of the giant penguin statue.

The moment the Duke spoke, the nobles gathered nearby instinctively stepped aside, clearing the way.

Suddenly, all eyes were on us.

I tensed up, feeling the weight of the attention.

But Edwin?

He didn’t care at all.

He simply grabbed my wrist and started walking again, dragging me toward them.

“Sister Belze!”

Joshua’s voice boomed across the garden.

He had been receiving a gift from a noble girl his age, but upon spotting me, he shouted in frustration.

“Why are you just getting here?! I told you to come early!”

Clink, clink.

As he waved his hands around, a soft metallic jingling rang out.

It seemed he had immediately unwrapped every gift he received, because his neck, wrists, and fingers were covered in glittering jewelry.

As I stared at him in slight disbelief, the Duke turned to me with a questioning look.

“Did the butler not inform you to come here?”

“…Ah.”

Of course, I had received the message.

But when the time came, I couldn’t bring myself to approach.

Standing beside them felt… wrong.

Like I didn’t belong.

I couldn’t exactly say that, so instead, I just forced an awkward smile.

“I did… but I wasn’t finished getting ready.”

“Understandable.”

The Duke looked me over briefly before nodding in satisfaction.

“You look beautiful, Belze. The dress suits you well.”

Joshua beamed.

“It’s all custom-made! I chose the dress code—white! Because my mom said white was her favorite color!”

…Custom-made?

Only then did I notice something strange.

I glanced around.

Aside from us four, no one else in the garden was wearing white.

Not the guests.

Not the nobles.

Not the servants.

Just the Duke, Joshua, Edwin… and me.

All of us in matching white outfits.

We… looked like a family.

“M-Matching outfits…?”

I was stunned.

I had been worried about being overdressed, but… this was on another level.

No one had told me.

No one had warned me that I would be wearing the same colors as the Duke’s family.

…Is this okay?

I was still a commoner, even if I was being sponsored.

People are going to talk…

Just as I was frozen in confusion, Joshua suddenly snatched the gift box from my arms.

“This is my present?”

“Huh? Uh, yeah.”

“Wow! What is it? What did you get me?”

“W-Wait! You should open it later, in private—”

Rip! Riiip!

Joshua, too excited to wait, immediately started tearing off the wrapping paper.

Compared to the lavish jewelry already adorning his body, my gift felt so insignificant.

I wanted to stop him, but before I could—

“Joshua. Open it after the ceremony.”

The Duke’s calm voice made Joshua pause.

“…Tch. Fine.”

In the past, he would’ve ignored it and kept going.

But now, he reluctantly set the box aside, acting far more mature than before.

I let out a silent sigh of relief, but my peace was short-lived.

The Duke raised a champagne glass.

“Thank you all for gathering today to celebrate my second son, Joshua’s, eighth birthday.”

Instantly, the crowd fell silent.

One by one, the nobles raised their own glasses.

“As you all know, Joshua has endured much hardship due to his illness. I give my deepest gratitude to the goddess for allowing him to overcome it and stand here today.”

“Praise the Goddess.”

“Oh, dear Erea…”

A few of the more devout nobles murmured prayers under their breath.

“The House of Kallios will continue to serve faithfully as devoted followers of the goddess, dedicating ourselves to Erea’s prosperity.”

The Duke’s voice was strong and resolute.

Since this was the first official event in years, his speech was long and formal.

But I was too preoccupied to feel bored.

I couldn’t stop thinking about how I was dressed exactly like the Duke’s family.

Was this… really okay?

At last, the speech neared its conclusion.

“…And finally, I wish to introduce the one who played the greatest role in Joshua’s recovery.”

“…Huh?”

“Belze.”

The moment my name was spoken, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

Only then did I realize—

The atmosphere had changed.

The Duke gently pulled me forward.

“Joshua is standing here today thanks to this child’s healing abilities.”

W-Wait…

Suddenly, all eyes were on me.

The garden fell silent.

The nobles, their faces frozen in shock, stared.

Even though my reputation had changed since opening Belze’s Beauty Salon, there were still many who had their doubts.

But then—

The Duke spoke again, shattering their skepticism.

“And so, I declare this before you all.”

“…?”

“From this day forward, the House of Kallios officially pledges our support to Saintess Candidate Belze.”