The next day, the atmosphere in the Rosette estate was a little different.
Yesterday, when I entered the estate, the maids had looked at me with pity.
Not today.
The pity was gone.
In its place was wariness.
It was the look one gave an insect that should have died but survived the night and came crawling back in the morning.
Honestly, it was not a particularly pleasant look.
Still, it was better than before.
Yesterday, I had been someone destined to die.
Today, I was an unidentified person pretending to be dead.
Three more days of life had been worth it.
"Welcome, Teacher."
The butler greeted me at the entrance.
His bow was slightly deeper than yesterday.
To be precise, though, it was less respect than observation.
His eyes seemed to say he was watching to see just how long this commoner would survive today.
"Is the practice sword ready?"
"Yes."
"Without gold thread, a crest, or fragrance?"
The butler's expression stiffened by the slightest degree.
"It has been prepared as you requested."
"Good."
"However, the young lady is waiting in the library today, rather than the drawing room."
I stopped walking.
"The library?"
"Yes."
Eveline Rosette, in a library.
Those were words that did not belong together.
Even in the original story, Eveline was not a character who got along with books.
To borrow the phrasing from the strategy guide:
`Eveline Rosette does not read books. She throws them.`
If she was in the library, there could only be one reason.
Last night's homework.
Her fiancé's final letter.
I followed the butler to the library.
The hallway was the same as yesterday.
Red carpet.
Walls marked with sword scars.
Decorations far too expensive.
But one thing was different.
The shards of teacup that had been scattered across the drawing-room floor yesterday were gone.
Not the traces of someone having cleaned them up, but the traces of someone learning how to clean up for the first time.
A tiny water stain remained on one side of the carpet.
Apparently, she had not been very skilled with the tongs.
Well done.
It was better than perfect cleaning.
Because these were traces Eveline Rosette had left herself.
As we arrived outside the library door, I heard paper crumpling inside.
The butler opened the door.
"My lady. Teacher Leon Cart has arrived."
"Tell him to come in."
Her voice was as sharp as usual.
But it cracked slightly at the end.
The voice of someone who had spent a restless night.
I entered the library.
Eveline Rosette was seated at a desk.
Her red hair was less tidy than usual, and faint shadows lay beneath her eyes.
Her sword was not at her waist today.
Instead, a letter lay on the desk.
A letter full of creases from having been crumpled and smoothed back out.
Seeing it, I let out a quiet breath inwardly.
She had read it.
Without tearing it up.
Without burning it.
She had read it again.
That was enough.
"You're here."
Eveline glared at me.
"You strange commoner teacher."
Hearing the title the system had given me spoken aloud felt strangely unpleasant.
"Did you have a peaceful night?"
"I did not."
"Good."
"What's good about that?"
"It means the lesson had an effect."
Eveline's hand moved toward the inkwell on the desk.
I stepped to the side.
"If you throw it, I will add it to your tuition fee."
Her hand stopped.
"You're irritating."
"I hear that often."
Eveline picked up the letter.
Her fingertips dug into the slightly crumpled paper.
"It was three lines."
Her words were very quiet.
But everyone in the library heard them.
The butler's expression hardened.
The maid standing by the door lowered her head further.
Eveline did not look at either of them.
She was looking only at me.
"Three lines, just like you said."
I nodded.
"You read it well."
"Don't praise me."
"It is praise."
"I said don't."
"Then let me correct myself. For the first time, you read something properly."
The corner of Eveline's eye twitched.
She tossed the letter onto the desk.
"So?"
"What would you like to know?"
"What does this mean?"
I picked up the letter.
The paper was high quality.
The phrasing was polite.
The handwriting was impeccable.
A letter written exactly as an educated child of a noble house should write it.
The problem was that its politeness was too pristine.
Letters without a person's heart in them were usually this clean.
"I will read it."
"Out loud?"
"Yes."
Eveline's face stiffened.
"Don't."
"Then there can be no lesson."
"It's my letter."
"It is also your ruin route, my lady."
She glared at me.
The term ruin route would still sound strange to people in this world.
But Eveline did not ask about it.
Apparently, the letter frightened her more than that expression did right now.
I unfolded the letter.
"To the esteemed daughter of House Rosette."
At the very first sentence, Eveline's fingers began to tremble.
I did not stop.
"With the turning of the season, warm winds have begun to blow through the capital as well. White roses have begun to bloom in the gardens of House Berhardt, and my father is busy preparing for this year's Academy entrance ceremony."
The weather.
The garden.
The house.
Good.
The more unnecessary words there were, the fewer words he truly wanted to say.
I continued reading.
"I pray for the well-being of House Rosette. I look forward to seeing you at the entrance ceremony, each of us presenting our best selves in our respective places."
Here came the first knife.
Our respective places.
Not words fiancés used with one another.
Words meant to create distance.
"May Lady Eveline also remain well."
The end.
I folded the letter.
The library was quiet.
Eveline did not smile.
Nor did she get angry.
That made it more dangerous.
"Let me summarize."
I placed a finger on the letter.
"Six lines about the weather."
I moved my finger.
"Five lines about House Berhardt."
I moved it again.
"Two lines about House Rosette."
Finally.
"Three lines addressed to you, my lady."
Eveline's lips parted slightly.
I said,
"And one of those three lines is merely wishing you well."
"Stop."
"I am not finished yet."
"I said stop."
Red mana spread across the desk.
The letter trembled.
I pressed it down with my hand.
"If we stop here, you will learn nothing, my lady."
"What am I supposed to learn?"
"How nobles discard people."
The air in the library grew cold.
Eveline's eyes wavered.
I deliberately did not soften my voice.
If I did, it would become comfort.
Comfort was not what she needed right now.
She needed an interpretation.
"They do not stab with a sword. They do not raise their voices. They simply reduce your name. They remove promises, change forms of address, and make the place to meet vague."
I held up the letter.
"Arsene Berhardt did not lie to you, my lady."
Eveline asked in a low voice,
"Then?"
"He did not say what was true."
Silence.
Eveline lowered her head.
Her red hair covered her face.
Her shoulders did not shake.
She did not cry.
Instead, her fingers dug into the edge of the desk.
I knew what would happen.
If I stopped here, Eveline would tear up the letter.
Then she would take up her sword.
Then she would go find Arsene Berhardt.
The first choice in the original broken-engagement route.
`1. Go to House Berhardt immediately.`
A choice many beginners had selected.
The result was the worst possible outcome.
Rumors spread through high society, Arsene took the position of the victim, and Eveline became even more firmly branded a delinquent young lady.
I had to eliminate that choice.
"My lady."
"Shut up."
"You will not use a sword today."
"I said shut up."
Eveline raised her head.
Her eyes were red.
Whether from mana, lack of sleep, or another reason, I could not tell.
"Then what am I supposed to do?"
"Write a reply."
She stared blankly at me.
Then she let out a hollow laugh.
"A reply?"
"Yes."
"You expect me to send a reply to that kind of letter?"
"You must."
"Why?"
"Because before you fight with swords, you must fight with paper first."
I picked up the quill from the desk.
"Nobles stab people with ink before they ever use a sword."
Eveline looked at me for a long while.
"Did you make that up?"
"Just now."
"How obnoxious."
"It is still true."
I slid a blank sheet of paper in front of her.
"Only five lines."
"Five lines?"
"Yes. If it is long, you lose."
"Why would a long letter mean I lose?"
"Because it makes you look too emotional."
Eveline's face hardened.
"If you write a long letter right now, it becomes a letter of protest. It becomes resentment, pleading, or a threat. Any of those would favor Arsene Berhardt."
I opened the inkwell.
"So, five lines. Polite. Cold. And without leaving him any way out."
Eveline glared at the quill.
As though it were a weapon she hated even more than a sword.
"What do I write?"
"First line. Write that you pray for the well-being of House Berhardt."
"I don't want to."
"Which is why you must write it."
"You really know how to make people angry."
"Second line. Request that he accompany you as your fiancé to the pre-entrance ball before the Academy's opening ceremony."
Eveline narrowed her eyes.
"Accompany me?"
"Yes."
"What if that man refuses?"
"Then evidence remains that he refused."
Her hand stopped.
I continued.
"If he accepts, your dignity is preserved for now. If he refuses, you gain grounds to say that Arsene Berhardt was the first to evade his duties as a fiancé."
"..."
"Either outcome is better than you taking up a sword and going to find him."
Eveline said nothing.
For the first time, she was calculating.
Good.
I had to make her see the board, not the sword.
"What is the third line?"
She asked.
Her voice remained sharp, but it was different from before.
It was the voice of someone listening to a lesson.
"Write that House Rosette will likewise await the coordination of official schedules before the entrance ceremony."
"What does that mean?"
"If you avoid us, we will know."
"Then just write that."
"If you write that, you become a delinquent young lady."
Eveline clenched her teeth.
"The fourth?"
"Do not use the phrase 'our respective places.' Instead, include the word 'together' once."
"Why?"
"We put back the word he removed."
"And the fifth?"
"A brief closing."
"May you remain well?"
"No."
I looked at her.
"I will see you at the ball."
Eveline's red eyes stilled.
A promise.
A place.
A public venue.
Words that narrowed his way out.
Eveline stared down at the paper for a long time.
Then she picked up the quill.
She gripped it far too tightly.
The nib scraped against the paper.
Scratch.
The first line tore.
"..."
"Relax your grip."
"I know."
"You said that yesterday too."
"Be quiet."
"A sword and a pen are the same. If you put too much strength into them, the line tears."
Eveline glared at me.
But when she began again, she loosened her grip a little.
She was clumsy.
Anger stained every letter she wrote.
Still, she wrote.
The hand that had picked up shards of teacup was now writing a letter.
A system window appeared.
`Eveline Rosette completes her second basic training.`
`Emotional control experience has increased.`
`The broken-engagement event rampage rate has decreased by 4%.`
Emotional control experience.
It was a phrase I had never seen even in the game.
The system's entries were changing because of my intervention.
I did not know whether that was a good sign or a bad one.
Usually, changes like this came back to cause major trouble later.
But for now, it was fine.
Surviving today was the priority.
By the time the letter was completed, two quills had broken.
Three sheets of paper had torn.
One inkwell had nearly died.
But it was finished.
Eveline wrote the final sentence and put down her pen.
`I will see you at the ball.`
I read the letter and nodded.
"Good."
"I spent an entire hour just writing this garbage?"
"It took longer than swinging a sword once, didn't it?"
"You're irritating."
"That is why it works."
The butler accepted the letter and sealed it.
Red wax dripped down, and House Rosette's crest was stamped upon it.
Until yesterday, this crest had hidden behind Eveline.
Today, Eveline had written the words for the first time.
Not with a sword, but with a letter.
It was a small change, but an important one.
The butler asked,
"Should I send it immediately?"
I looked at Eveline.
She needed to make the decision herself.
Eveline stared at the letter for a moment.
Then she lifted her chin.
"Send it."
"Yes, my lady."
The butler left.
Only Eveline and I remained in the library.
No, there were also two maids by the door, but they were quiet enough to seem nonexistent.
Eveline leaned back in her chair.
"Now teach me swordsmanship."
"Today's swordsmanship lesson is already over."
"When was it?"
"While you were writing the letter."
Her brows rose.
"Are you joking?"
"Relaxing your wrist, maintaining your breathing, controlling your emotions, reading your opponent's intent."
I folded down my fingers one by one.
"They are the basics of swordsmanship."
Eveline said nothing for a moment.
Then she muttered quietly,
"You're seriously irritating."
That made three times today.
Not bad.
At least no sword came flying at me.
Then a commotion arose outside the library.
Quick footsteps.
Low voices.
The butler speaking.
Then someone knocked urgently at the door.
Knock, knock.
"My lady."
The butler's voice came from beyond the door.
It was somewhat more rigid than before.
"An envoy has arrived from House Berhardt."
Eveline rose from her seat.
"A reply has already come?"
"It is not a reply."
The butler entered after opening the door.
He held a small envelope in his hand.
A white envelope.
Gold trim.
The official invitation format of House Berhardt.
The moment I saw it, I cursed inwardly.
Too fast.
Earlier than in the original story.
The butler handed the envelope to Eveline.
"It is the guest list for the pre-entrance ball."
Eveline snatched it open.
The paper unfolded.
Her eyes quickly scanned the lines.
Then they stopped.
Her face became expressionless.
I lowered my gaze to the line she was looking at.
Two names were written there.
`Arsene Berhardt.`
Beside it.
`Accompanied by: Liana Bell.`
In that instant, my mind went cold.
Liana Bell.
A scholarship student of commoner birth.
A candidate for sainthood.
And the original female protagonist of Academy of the Golden Crown.
Red mana bloomed from Eveline's hand.
The invitation began to burn.
The system window flashed like mad.
`Warning.`
`The broken-engagement event has been moved ahead of schedule.`
`Eveline Rosette's duel-accident route is on the verge of activation.`
Ah.
I laughed inwardly.
It was no time to let my guard down just because I had lived three more days.
The first ruin route...
Had already arrived at the doorstep.
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