Seria Blanc.
The moment that name appeared in the system window, the warnings from the strategy board surfaced in my mind first.
`Caution during the early stages of Seria’s route.`
`Do not trust her smile.`
`Do not drink her tea.`
`If she compliments you, save immediately.`
Seria Blanc had a notorious reputation in the game community.
If Eveline Rosette was a sword held before your eyes, Seria Blanc was a needle hidden beneath a teacup.
When Eveline got angry, she exploded right away.
That made her dangerous, but at least you could see where she was headed.
Seria was different.
She smiled.
She praised people, sympathized with them, handed them a handkerchief, and poured them tea.
Then, by the time they came to their senses, they were saying things that would hang them with their own words.
In the original story, Seria Blanc was the second daughter of the Ducal House of Blanc.
A silver fan.
Blue hair.
Eyes that were always smiling.
In high society, she was called the Little Chancellor. Among the player community, she was known as this.
`The Smiling Poison-Tongued Woman.`
Her original ruin route was being framed for an attempted poisoning at an imperial banquet.
She really had been framed.
But the problem was that there was no one who would clear her name.
Because everyone thought the same thing.
`Seria Blanc might really have done it.`
She had stabbed far too many people.
With words.
With information.
With smiles.
So even when she was not the real culprit, no one believed her.
If Eveline was ruined because she could not endure defeat,
Seria was ruined because she could not build trust.
And now that woman stood before Eveline, who had barely survived her first ruin route.
"Lady Rosette."
Seria Blanc smiled.
"You seemed more human than I expected today."
The applause in the grand ballroom had not completely faded yet.
But as soon as those words fell, only the area around us went quiet.
They were cruelly precise words.
They sounded like congratulations.
But underneath, they were an insult.
`Today.`
`More than I expected.`
`Human.`
All three were blades.
Eveline’s hand moved.
Just slightly.
Her handkerchief nearly crumpled.
I spoke at once.
"The rules."
Eveline clenched her teeth.
Her red eyes turned toward Seria.
The young lady in the black dress who had just received applause in the grand ballroom was at the very point where she could revert to her old, unruly self.
But she stopped.
She drew in a breath.
She smoothed out the handkerchief.
Then she spoke.
"Lady Blanc."
Her voice was cold.
But she did not explode.
"Then what did you think I was until yesterday?"
Good.
Very good.
She asked immediately.
She was the first to question her.
Seria’s eyes curved just a little.
It was not an unpleasantly mocking smile. It was the smile of someone genuinely intrigued.
"My."
She covered her mouth with her fan.
"I did not expect you to ask me that in return."
"And your answer?"
Eveline did not back down.
The young nobles around us held their breath.
Seria Blanc and Eveline Rosette.
Both were young ladies notorious for being exhausting in social circles.
One lashed out like a sword.
The other stabbed like a needle.
And the two now stood facing one another.
Of course, it made for quite a spectacle.
Seria looked at Eveline for a moment.
Then she smiled and said,
"I thought you were dangerous."
Eveline’s brow rose.
"So you did think I was a person."
"Is that a relief?"
"Today, it is."
Seria folded her fan.
Tap.
It was a small sound, yet strangely distinct.
"Today’s Lady Rosette was far less boring than I expected."
Eveline’s lips stiffened.
"Is that a compliment?"
"It is."
Seria looked at me.
"More precisely, though, it is a compliment better suited to Lady Rosette’s new companion."
There it was.
Her attention shifted to me.
As expected, she had not come merely to prick at Eveline.
Seria Blanc saw the board.
The strangest variable at tonight’s ball.
A commoner teacher.
Lady Rosette’s companion.
The man whose name the Second Prince had called.
The man who had dismantled a duel challenge with a handkerchief and successfully performed a swordsmanship demonstration without a sword.
That was me.
Unfortunately.
Seria’s blue eyes swept over me.
From head to toe.
But unlike Eveline, she was not appraising my price.
Seria was reading the structure.
The cut of my clothes.
The placement of my seal pin.
The wear on my shoes.
The faint tremor in my fingertips.
The distance at which Eveline held onto me.
She had probably gleaned quite a lot from that brief glance alone.
"Teacher Leon Cart," Seria said.
"You are the busiest commoner in high society tonight."
I inclined my head.
"It was not my intention."
"Of course not."
Seria smiled.
"If it had been, you would have seemed much less suspicious."
Eveline’s gaze sharpened.
"Lady Blanc."
"Yes?"
"Did you come here to interrogate my companion?"
My companion.
There it was again.
This time, in public.
A faint murmur went through the crowd around us.
I swallowed a sigh.
Those words were good.
At the same time, they were dangerous.
It helped that Eveline took my side.
But if she went too far, the narrative Arsene had been aiming for would come back to life.
`Lady Rosette is obsessed with her commoner teacher.`
There was no way Seria did not know that.
She smiled at Eveline.
"Interrogate him? I was merely curious."
"About what?"
"Why Lady Rosette did not ruin herself today."
She was blunt.
And yet, it was strangely hard to call her outright rude.
Because Eveline really had not ruined herself just now.
Everyone had seen it.
Seria had simply said it without hiding it.
That made her the most troublesome kind of person.
She smiled as she brought out truths that made others uncomfortable.
Because they were not lies, they were hard to refute.
Eveline glared at Seria.
"Were you hoping for it? For me to ruin myself?"
"A little."
Seria did not deny it.
The area near the grand ballroom fell quiet once again.
"More accurately, I thought you would. Lady Rosette, you have always fallen apart exactly the way people expected you to."
Tension entered Eveline’s hand.
This time, her handkerchief crumpled slightly.
I was about to intervene.
But Eveline spoke first.
"I did."
I stopped.
So did Seria.
Eveline had admitted it herself.
"I always did. If someone provoked me, I bit them. If someone laughed, I tore them apart. If someone looked down on me, I drew my sword."
Her voice was low.
Yet it was clear even amid the noise of the grand ballroom.
"But I did not do that today."
Eveline looked Seria straight in the eye.
"So expect something else from me now."
Silence.
It was brief, but powerful.
I admired her inwardly.
Those were not words I had taught her.
They were Eveline’s words.
Well done.
She had done very well.
Seria watched Eveline for a long while.
Then she covered her mouth with her fan and smiled.
This time, her smile was a little different.
Not ridicule.
Interest.
And just the faintest trace of approval.
"Really," Seria said.
"You are interesting today."
A system window appeared.
`Seria Blanc recognizes Eveline Rosette’s change.`
`Seria Blanc’s interest has increased.`
`Caution: Increased interest is not the same as increased affection.`
I knew.
I knew all too well.
Seria Blanc’s interest was closer to a bomb wrapped as a present.
It might be beautifully tied, but it would explode when opened.
Seria’s gaze turned to me again.
"Teacher Cart."
"Yes."
"Do you happen to fix people for a living?"
Eveline immediately spoke up.
"He does not fix people."
Seria’s eyes returned to Eveline.
"Then what does he do?"
Eveline looked briefly at a loss for words.
Then, as though recalling something I had said, she answered.
"He helps you relearn what you learned wrong."
Seria blinked.
This time, she truly looked surprised.
"I never expected words like that to come from Lady Rosette."
"Neither did I," Eveline said bluntly.
"So stop pretending to be surprised."
Seria smiled.
"All right. Then I will change my question."
She looked at me.
"Teacher Cart, can you make someone who learned something wrong relearn it?"
It was a difficult question to answer.
If I said yes, Seria would immediately ask her next question.
`Then what about me?`
Or else,
`Then how do you determine who learned something wrong?`
Seria Blanc built conversations like staircases.
The moment the other person stepped onto the first stair, she was already waiting above them.
I chose the narrowest answer.
"It is possible if the person wishes to learn again."
Seria’s eyes narrowed.
"Then did Lady Rosette wish to learn again?"
Eveline looked at me.
Her eyes were troubled.
Why was she asking me?
She had to answer this herself.
I spoke quietly.
"My lady."
Eveline clenched her teeth.
Then she looked at Seria.
"At first, I did not."
"And now?"
Eveline fell silent for a moment.
Then she said,
"I do not know."
She was honest.
So honest that even Seria could not immediately fire back.
Eveline continued.
"But I do not want to go back to the way I was."
The moment I heard those words, I felt something deep in my chest grow a little quieter.
I do not want to go back to the way I was.
That was the first thing someone who had escaped a ruin route could say.
A system window appeared.
`Eveline Rosette’s ruin route retention rate has decreased.`
`New objective candidate: Pass the Academy entrance examination.`
Good.
Very good.
Eveline’s story could now move on to the next stage.
But Seria was not someone who would simply congratulate her.
She spoke very softly.
"I envy you."
Eveline frowned.
"What for?"
"For having a past you do not want to return to."
Those were strange words.
They did not sound like the Seria who had been hurling barbed remarks only moments earlier.
For a moment.
For only the briefest moment, fatigue showed behind her smile.
I did not miss that opening.
Seria Blanc viewed every relationship as a transaction.
She manipulated people, gathered information, and stabbed with words.
But there had been a line in the original setting.
`Seria Blanc did not have even one person she could sincerely trust.`
She had no past she wanted to return to.
Because she had never been at ease from the beginning.
Seria immediately hid that opening.
Her fan rose again.
"Forgive me. I have been rather talkative tonight."
"Are you not always like that?" Eveline asked bluntly.
Seria smiled.
"That is true. But I have been a little more so tonight. I saw many interesting things."
She looked at me.
"Teacher Cart. I would like to speak with you again next time."
"If the opportunity arises."
"Then we can make one."
Dangerous words.
When Seria said she would make an opportunity, it usually meant someone would end up in trouble.
Then Liana cautiously approached.
She still looked tense.
But there was something slightly different in her eyes than before.
"Lady Rosette."
Eveline looked at Liana.
This time, she did not immediately bristle.
"What is it?"
"Thank you for earlier."
Liana lowered her head slightly.
"I could not say it properly myself, but you asked after my name for me."
Eveline awkwardly looked away.
"I did not do it for your sake in particular."
Liana smiled faintly.
"Still, thank you."
Seria watched the scene with interest.
"My," she said.
"This is the strangest sight of the evening."
Eveline’s eyes sharpened.
"What is?"
"The red unruly young lady and the commoner Saint Candidate are thanking each other."
Liana panicked.
"S-Saint Candidate? I am not yet..."
"You will soon be called that."
Seria smiled.
"You have a face the church would like. Kind, anxious, and easy to use."
Liana’s face turned pale.
Eveline spoke at once.
"Lady Blanc."
Her voice was low.
"That was too much."
Seria blinked from behind her fan.
"Was it?"
"Yes."
Eveline stepped half a pace in front of Liana.
She did not completely block her.
But she had clearly placed herself between Seria’s gaze and Liana.
"If you are going to stab her, at least stab her with words she can understand."
Liana looked at Eveline.
She looked surprised.
Seria said nothing for a while.
Then she gave a small laugh.
"You truly have changed."
"I have heard that several times today."
"Does it offend you?"
"A little."
"Then I will put it differently."
Seria folded her fan.
"You have become better."
This time, Eveline froze.
It was completely unexpected.
Seria was still smiling.
But this time, there was a little less poison in it.
"Of course, you are still frightening, your manner of speaking is unpleasant, and you are clumsy."
"If you take all of that away, it is not a compliment."
"It is still a compliment."
Eveline looked speechless.
As I watched, I thought to myself,
What a strange combination.
An unruly young lady.
A commoner Saint Candidate.
The Smiling Poison-Tongued Woman.
In the original story, they were people who would have pushed one another away, used one another, misunderstood one another, and each been ruined or grown in their own ways.
Now they stood in one place.
Awkwardly.
Sharply.
But without yet splitting apart.
This, too, was a scene absent from the original story.
A system window appeared.
`The initial relationship map of the three major female characters is being reconfigured.`
`Eveline Rosette - Liana Bell: Initial hostility flag removed.`
`Eveline Rosette - Seria Blanc: Competitive interest.`
`Seria Blanc - Liana Bell: Potential danger flag retained.`
Good.
The last line was not good at all.
There was still danger between Seria and Liana.
There had to be.
Seria’s ruin was a poisoning accusation.
Liana was a Saint Candidate.
The church.
An imperial banquet.
Poison.
A sacred goblet.
Pieces of the original story clicked together in my mind.
It was still far away.
But the original narrative had said it would move on to its next target, so those pieces might arrive sooner than expected.
Seria looked at me.
"Teacher Cart."
"Yes."
"Do you happen to like tea?"
A chill ran down my spine.
Tea.
Caution during the early stages of Seria’s route.
Do not drink her tea.
The warning from the game community surfaced in my mind again.
Of course, it did not mean Seria would put poison in my tea right now.
Rather, early-story Seria did not use poison herself.
The problem was that tea, poison, and rumors were always intertwined around her.
I answered.
"It depends on the circumstances."
Seria’s eyes smiled.
"What a boring answer."
"It is an answer that helps one stay alive."
"Then I shall invite you."
"Where to?"
"To a small tea party at the Ducal House of Blanc."
Eveline immediately said,
"No."
Seria smiled at Eveline.
"I have not even given you an invitation yet."
"You are trying to invite Teacher Cart."
"Lady Rosette as well."
Eveline hesitated.
Seria looked at Liana.
"If she does not mind, I would like to invite Miss Liana as well."
Liana was flustered.
"M-me too?"
"Yes. You are the stars of tonight, after all."
Those words were sweet.
But I felt the edge hidden within them.
A tea party.
Eveline.
Liana.
Seria.
And me.
It was too soon.
Normally, that combination would not have been possible until the middle of the Academy arc.
Right now, it was only the beginning of Part One of the private tutoring arc.
But the original story had already gone off course.
Seria had caught the scent of that deviation and come closer.
A system window appeared.
`Seria Blanc’s invitation event has occurred.`
`This contact is earlier than the recommended timing.`
`Caution: Ruin routes related to Seria Blanc proceed as information warfare.`
`Upon acceptance: Seria Blanc’s story unlocks early.`
`Upon refusal: Seria Blanc’s suspicion increases.`
As expected.
Refusing was a problem.
Accepting was a problem too.
This game made its choices like this.
I looked at Seria.
"May I ask why you are inviting us?"
"Because you are interesting."
"That alone is not enough."
Seria blinked.
"Teacher, you really are troublesome."
"I hear that often."
"All right. Then one more reason."
She pointed her fan at me.
"I want to know why Lady Rosette did not ruin herself today."
"You already saw it."
"I did."
Seria smiled.
"But seeing it is not enough, is it? I want to know the principle behind it."
Dangerous.
Truly dangerous.
If Seria Blanc understood a principle, she applied it.
If she learned the principle of fixing people, she could use it to destroy people too.
That was what made her frightening.
But at the same time,
if I left her without that principle, she would continue reading and using people only in her own way until she was ruined.
I delayed my answer.
Then Eveline spoke.
"Let us go."
I looked at her.
"My lady."
"What?"
"Are you sure you are all right with this?"
"No."
"Then why?"
Eveline looked at Seria.
"That woman said we were interesting."
"She did."
"Then I need to know too."
Her red eyes fixed directly on Seria.
"Why Lady Blanc smiles like that."
Seria’s smile paused ever so slightly.
Eveline added,
"This time, it is my turn to watch."
The air around the grand ballroom changed strangely.
Eveline had not attacked Seria blindly.
Instead, she had declared that she would observe her.
Seria remained silent for a while after hearing that.
Then she laughed as though she was genuinely delighted.
"All right," she said.
"I will look forward to it, Lady Rosette."
Then she turned her gaze to me.
"You as well, Teacher Cart."
A system window appeared.
`Conditions for the early unlocking of Seria Blanc’s story have been met.`
`New objective: At the Ducal House of Blanc tea party, identify the first clue to Seria Blanc’s ruin.`
The first clue to her ruin.
At last, the second villainess’s story had opened.
I swallowed a sigh.
I had barely managed to save even Eveline.
And now there was Seria Blanc.
A woman who dissected people with words.
A woman who made everyone suspicious of her before she was even framed.
And perhaps,
a woman who did not even trust herself.
At that moment, Arsene was quietly watching us from one side of the grand ballroom.
He had seen the entire exchange.
Eveline.
Liana.
Seria.
And me.
The central figures of the original story were connecting beyond his control.
A smile had returned to Arsene’s face.
But that smile had grown thinner.
He was probably calculating how to draw this board back to his side.
I looked away.
Tonight was nearly over.
Eveline’s first ruin route had been broken.
But the original story did not stop.
When one route collapsed, the next one began to move.
And this time, it was not a sword.
Tea.
Words.
Rumors.
Poison.
Seria Blanc unfolded her fan.
Beyond the silver fan, she smiled.
"Then I shall send the invitation soon."
As I watched that smile, I became certain.
The second lesson
would be far more exhausting than a sword.
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