Chapter 37

“Can’t you speak properly?”

“Eek!”

The servant, pale as a ghost, trembled as another man stepped forward from behind him.

“I’ll explain.”

It was Lawrence, the butler.

He gestured for the servant to leave and waited for the room to fall silent.

Once the footsteps faded away, he spoke calmly.

“May I ask if there are those in the Magic Tower who seek to undermine you, my lady?”

“…?”

Natalianne raised one eyebrow.

She hated roundabout talk, but the butler was not one to speak without reason.

Narrowing her eyes, she replied,

“Yes. There are plenty of fools desperate to become one of the Seven Sages. They spend more time scheming than actually achieving anything.”

“I see.”

Lawrence nodded once, then placed a silver tray before her with a newspaper neatly folded on top.

“This morning, an article like this was published in a local paper from the region where the Nerencia Tower is located.”

Natalianne picked up the newspaper and skimmed through it.

The further her eyes moved down the page, the tighter her jaw grew.

Finally, she crumpled the paper in her hand, her voice turning dark and dangerous.

“These worthless pests.”

The butler bowed deeply, keeping his tone polite.

“So, I took the liberty of finding the journalist who wrote that article and bringing him here.”

“Good work.”

Natalianne gave a small nod.

The butler truly was efficient.

“Show me to him.”

She set her book down, brushed the dust from her robe, and rose to her feet.

Dust floated faintly in the sunlight streaming through the window.

Adjusting her black veil, she strode past the bowing butler and the wide-eyed Melissa, heading for the door.

* * *

“G-good afternoon. I-I’m Roben, a reporter for the social affairs section.”

What a joke.

At first glance, the man looked timid and fragile. Natalianne gave a small, humorless laugh.

He could barely look her in the eye, yet he had the audacity to publish that kind of article?

“Enough.”

Natalianne sat down on the sofa and threw the newspaper on the table.

“Explain this.”

“I-I… I’m…”

Roben’s trembling knees gave out, and he collapsed to the floor.

“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean… I was only…”

“Only what?”

Her eyes sharpened, but before he could answer, noise erupted outside the room.

Why is it so loud today?

Just as she opened her mouth to shout for silence, the door burst open.

“There you are!”

“You can’t come in here, sir!”

The servants tried to block the intruder, but the middle-aged man in an expensive robe scowled and barked,

“How dare you stand in my way!”

Smack!

He struck one of the servants across the face, then tore off his gloves as if they were filthy and threw them to the floor.

“Filthy creature. You’ll pay for that with your life.”

“What did you just say?”

Natalianne stood up.

“What’s the meaning of this behavior?”

“How have you been, Professor Natalianne?”

The man spread his arms in an exaggerated bow that was far too deep to be polite.

Straightening again, he gave her a sly grin.

“Or should I say Lady Eisenhart? I, Orléans, offer you my greetings.”

Vismonte de Orléans, another professor of the Nerencia Tower.

Natalianne’s teeth ground together at the sight of him.

“I told you not to call me that.”

Her tone was cold enough to freeze the air.

Orléans only raised an eyebrow and said,

“You’re still as arrogant as ever. Such rudeness, to not even show respect to a fellow professor.”

“And you think you’re the polite one?”

Her gaze flicked to the servant kneeling on the floor, the red mark on his cheek swelling rapidly.

Orléans shrugged.

“One must know their place in the hierarchy, mustn’t they?”

“And someone like that dares to run their mouth in my presence?”

“As you know, I am a professor of the Magic Tower, and the Tower stands above imperial law.”

“And have you forgotten that this is the Eisenhart Grand Duke’s estate?”

“The Grand Duke himself isn’t here, is he?”

“…!”

Natalianne’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

Orléans smiled faintly, his tone mocking.

“You wouldn’t go back on your own words, would you?”

He smirked.

“Didn’t you declare that you ‘had no connection whatsoever with the Grand Ducal family’?”

“That’s right.”

Her voice was steady.

“I’ve never once relied on their name. You should know that better than anyone.”

“Perhaps. But who can say for sure?”

He glanced briefly at Lawrence, then let out a sneer.

“Maybe someone nearby has been… helping you.”

“You.”

Her tone dropped several degrees colder.

“Can you take responsibility for what you just said?”

“My, how frightening.”

Orléans chuckled softly.

“Truly the daughter of a Grand Duke.”

“I told you not to call me that!”

Crash!

A surge of icy energy burst from her hand.

But Orléans was ready, summoning a barrier in an instant.

Crack!

The sound of shattering frost filled the air as the barrier began to fracture.

Orléans winced and gritted his teeth.

“All brawn and no control, as usual.”

Snap! Boom!

The barrier shattered completely, and the ice around it burst into glittering shards.

“My lady!”

Through the cloud of frost, Lawrence rushed forward.

“Lady Natalianne, are you hurt?”

“Stop fussing.”

Her voice cut through the haze, cold but firm enough to reassure him.

A snap of her fingers, and the thick mist cleared at once.

There she stood, tall and proud, her crimson lips curling into a smirk beneath the black veil.

“Looks like your pitiful skill has gotten even worse since the last time I saw you.”

“And you still think brute strength counts as talent?”

“Which one of us is really lacking here? You’ve achieved nothing.”

“Ha.”

Orléans’s smile twisted.

“How fitting for a Grand Duke’s daughter. I suppose someone as important as you has plenty of people willing to ‘help’ ensure your bright future.”

“You bastard.”

The floor beneath her began to freeze, spreading outward in jagged cracks of ice.

Everyone in the room went pale.

“My lady, please, this is inside the estate! Let’s step outside!”

Lawrence’s voice broke through the tension. Orléans turned and glared at him.

“How dare a lowborn servant interrupt!”

“You keep saying that word,” Natalianne said coldly.

“Where exactly do you see a lowborn here?”

“Must I point them out for you?”

His mouth curled in a smirk.

“You really are like a delicate greenhouse flower, my lady.”

“Ah, I see.”

Natalianne’s lips twisted upward.

“So that’s what this is about.”

Orléans frowned, not understanding.

Her smirk deepened.

“Inferiority complex.”

“How dare you!”

His face turned red with fury.

The sight only made her smirk wider.

“You like crushing anyone you think is weaker than you, don’t you? Servants, commoners, even me, because I’m a sheltered daughter of a noble house.”

“That’s slander!”

He spat as he shouted.

“How can you insult me like this just for a few words—”

“A few words?”

Natalianne let out a low laugh.

“I have eyes and ears too, you know.”

“Lady Eisenhart!”

“Professor,” she interrupted, her tone icy.

“Use the proper title, Professor Orléans.”

“…!”

He brushed back his hair with shaking fingers and forced a crooked smile.

“Fine. Professor Natalianne. But excessive hostility toward a rival could easily be mistaken for malice.”

“Rival?”

Her laughter was quiet but sharp.

“You think you’re my rival? Do you really believe I don’t know how you bought your position and had your papers ghostwritten?”

“Lies! You dare to spread such lies about a fellow professor!”

“A fellow professor? Don’t flatter yourself.”

Her words cut like a blade.

“You forced your way into the position, but you lack the talent to back it up. You have no accomplishments, yet you want to be one of the Seven Sages. Then I was named a candidate, and you panicked, didn’t you?”

“Baseless accusations!”

“Those are your words, not mine.”

Her sharp gaze turned to the trembling reporter on the floor.

“It was you, wasn’t it? The one who ordered him to write that ridiculous article.”

“…Hah.”

Orléans lowered his head, pressing a hand to his forehead. His shoulders trembled before he burst into laughter.

“Hahaha!”

“So you think that article was ridiculous?”

He looked straight at her, his smile cruel.

“You’re the only one who thinks so, Professor Natalianne.”

“What?”

Her eyes darkened.

Orléans raised his voice, his smirk widening.

“Tell me, is there anyone here who doesn’t know about that incident?”