My Stepmom is Too Pretty, and It’s Troubling Me – Chapter 113

“…Huh.”

…Huh.

How did it come to this…?

I was certain that all I’d done since coming to the Academy was sleep, receive candies from Rize, and wander around the dining hall and cafe on campus.

For some reason, most of the students in the auditorium were staring at me.

No, starting from this morning, every time I walked down the Academy corridor or entered a classroom, all eyes were on me.

Hmm.

Hmm…

“Isn’t that the one who messed with Lady Roseaki?”

“Leonhardt? That family? They’re a tiny family in the south.”

“I don’t know! They must be from a low-ranking family, so they probably didn’t even receive proper education.”

“Whoa.”

“And I heard Lady Roseaki herself is going to teach them a lesson in magic class today…!”

“Gasp…!”

…Seriously, why did it end up like this? I couldn’t recall doing anything to Grace Roseaki, and I thought I was just getting along fine with Karen.

I had no idea how I got caught up in this situation or why I was hearing such things. It felt like I hadn’t done anything wrong at all. Why on earth?

“…Ella.”

“Who are you?”

“What’s with the staring? Isn’t it a bit too much…?”

“How am I supposed to deal with all the attention focused on you since morning?! I’m scared too…!”

“…That’s true.”

Hmm… To be honest, Ella’s words made me a bit anxious.

Yesterday was fine, but since this morning, it’s been… this constant situation that I couldn’t help but feel pressured.

Honestly, being the ‘person involved’ made it bearable for me, but not for Ella.

“…Really, what did I do wrong?”

I didn’t even know why I was thinking that. What could have possibly been wrong…?

I really felt like I hadn’t done anything. Just because Karen and I were playing around, why did it lead to this?

Is it what they call a “bro-con…?”

Maybe that’s it. Yeah, I started to think it might be something like that. It felt a bit more serious than just a kid wanting to hang out with an older sister.

But I’ve never seen that kind of “bro-con” type before, so I wasn’t sure.

“Ella.”

“Yes.”

“Hmm… What should I do?”

“Why are you asking me?!”

“What, should I win in the duel? Or should I just let myself lose?”

I seriously didn’t know, so I asked Ella.

How should I handle Grace to make this situation better…?

“Is there really no option to lose?”

“There’s no way I’d ever lose.”

“…That’s annoying.”

“Ugh… but I really don’t have a feeling that I’ll lose… it’d be too much of a lie to say otherwise…?”

I didn’t know how Grace was, but I had no feeling that I would lose to her at all.

After all, it’s the weaker side that usually throws the challenge, right?

So, naturally, I had no thoughts of losing.

“Magic class is right after this. What are we going to do? I shouldn’t just treat her however, since she’s Karen’s sister, but if I let it go, it might turn into a nuisance…”

Hmm.

What should I even do now?

*

Before I had the chance to think long, magic class came around really quickly.

Well, it didn’t actually come fast, but it just felt that way to me, anyways…

“Ah…”

I really didn’t want to do this.

I was waiting for the start of magic class, sitting roughly in a corner of the auditorium.

The instructor hadn’t come in yet, and since I didn’t want to draw attention from other students for no reason, I had to hide like this.

Well, I wasn’t really hiding, but still.

“Everyone gather!”

“…Ah.”

While I was spending time in the corner, the instructor came in unexpectedly, and it hadn’t even rung yet… Was this class going to be different from usual, so they came in early today?

Anyway… I joined up with Ella.

Of course, as soon as I got closer to where the students were gathered, it was expected that I’d receive their stares again.

“Today, as previously explained, we’ll be having a duel. You might not have learned much magic at the Academy yet, but magic is ultimately important here. The level of your magical skills…”

Roughly that was the instructor’s explanation.

Nothing special. Just the usual process of explaining why there was a duel class today and checking if there was anyone who couldn’t attend.

“Except for absent students, everyone should have at least one duel. If nobody has anyone in mind, now is the time to decide.”

“…Huh?”

Wait. After insisting on equality within the Academy, what’s with this now?

Even the dorm rooms and classes were allocated to balance things out, so why here…

My head started to hurt.

But I wasn’t about to confront the instructor with a bold statement, so I wasn’t too fond of the situation.

I thought Ella and I would just pair off comfortably, and suddenly someone volunteered for a duel… was this why?

After taking a big sigh, I raised my head slightly and saw Grace approaching me.

“……..”

“Ha! I’ll compliment you for not running away!”

“Uh…”

“Seriously standing here so confidently instead of running away, and even though you could’ve skipped, it’s impressive!”

“Ha ha…”

Hmm… Should I say I feel sick even now?

By the way, Karen was really quiet, innocent, and kind, so why was Grace like this?

I really didn’t understand.

“Even now, if you don’t play with my sister, I’ll overlook it just this once!”

“No thanks. I’m fine…”

“Are you really thinking you can beat me? Against me, who can use ten low-level spells?”

“Wait for a second.”

“…?”

While Grace was chirping in front of me, Nordal interrupted her and came up to me.

What the heck…?

“Lady Leonhardt. Let’s have a duel.”

And then, out of nowhere, Nordal looked at me and said that. Why? Why is she saying this to me?

Seriously, why is this happening since yesterday?

I had no connection with Ivana Nordal at all, and I hadn’t been rude when we first met.

“…Huh?”

“Is that not okay?”

“No, but why all of a sudden…?”

…My head, which was already achy, started to hurt even more.

While I could slightly understand why Grace was behaving like this, I just couldn’t understand Nordal at all.

Why the heck are both of them targeting me?

And on top of that, they both come from much higher-ranking families than me, so it took all my willpower to suppress the urge to sigh.

“Lady Roseaki said she wanted to duel first… Sorry. I appreciate the suggestion, but it’s unavoidable.”

“Hmm.”

“Lady Roseaki has been wanting a duel since yesterday, and canceling that promise would be very disrespectful to her…”

At least, I said that, trying to save my skin as much as possible.

No matter how difficult the situation was, it would have been a problem for me as a baron to just refuse the request of a duchess’ daughter.

And since Grace was the one who first asked me for a duel, this was my best option.

“Hmm… It was Roseaki, correct?”

“Yes, I’m Grace Roseaki, the second daughter of the Roseaki family!”

“Do we have to do this?”

“Huh?”

“Since you seem likely to lose to Lady Leonhardt anyway, do we really need to duel?”

“…?”

What on earth is she talking about…?

In this situation, where two young ladies from prominent families were acting like this, it was only natural for all the students in the auditorium to be looking our way.

Really… my head is pounding.

“Are you saying I would lose to her? A mere baron like Leonhardt would beat me, the daughter of a duke?!”

“Yes.”

“Of course, Lady Leonhardt is amazing, but are you seriously underestimating me?!”

“…….”

“Hey!”

“Uh… yes?”

While addressing Nordal, Grace suddenly turned her words towards me. What on earth is she trying to say this time?

To be honest, I seriously wanted to escape this duel class on the pretext of being sick.

“Did you say something weird to Lady Nordal?!”

“Not at all…?”

“Then why on earth is Lady Nordal defending you?!”

“This is…”

Defending me?

No matter how I looked at it, this was just bullying!

“If that’s not the case, there’s no reason she’d suddenly start acting like this towards someone like you…! Just like with my sister, this… this… your pretty face isn’t pulling some weird trick, is it?!”

“…Huh?”

“Don’t think you’re free to go because you have those innocent eyes that don’t know anything.”

“No…”

…I really didn’t understand.

Of course, she didn’t comprehend the situation either, but I was the one who was the most confused here.

Suddenly, Grace, who brought up Karen just to mess with me, and now Nordal, who is unexpectedly asking to duel.

“…….”

I subtly glanced towards Ella.

But…

-Wiggle wiggle…

Seeing Ella shaking her head from side to side, I decided not to call her out or do anything that would draw her into this.

It was clear that calling Ella over in this situation would only make things worse for her.

“Um… you two?”

I couldn’t pick one out of the two in this scenario, but I definitely didn’t want to deal with both.

That would be… really annoying.

“The teacher is glaring at us. Shouldn’t we sort this out quickly?”

One thing was certain; in a situation like this, using the excuse of someone with a higher status and stronger abilities was the best method.

Everyone else was watching, and since they both happened to come from families much higher than mine… I really had no choice.

Of course, since everyone in class was seeing this unfold, it felt like things were already ruined, didn’t it?

“Lady Roseaki. Is this matter really that urgent?”

“It’s urgent!”

“I’m feeling pretty pressed too…”

“Ugh…”

“Can I beg you just this once to yield? I’d really appreciate it if Lady Roseaki could give me a chance.”

“…….”

“Is that not okay?”

“Well… um…”

Hmm.

It truly seems like power is the most important thing.

No matter what I said as a baron, seeing the way a single word from a duchess’ daughter could easily topple all my words made me think just that.

Even if you have lots of money… true authority, like that, couldn’t simply be filled.