The Price Is Your Everything - Chapter 20

Mahradi’s mouth opened and closed in fury.

Arthur Pendland clapped his hands slowly. His rhythmic applause, like a beat matching a slow melody, gradually spread throughout the room. Soon, Arthur began chanting Nerys’s family name as if singing a song.

“Truydd! Truydd!”

“Truydd! Truydd!”

The other students solemnly joined in. Nerys blushed slightly.

This was the first time she had ever been the subject of such enthusiastic goodwill. When working for the Elandria family, she mostly handled secretive tasks she couldn’t speak about. As the crown princess, her colleagues had never treated her casually on the diplomatic frontlines.

When the cheering died down to some extent, Sir Henri Voltaire raised his conductor’s baton. He spoke with indifference, as if the commotion from moments ago hadn’t occurred.

“Mahradi Ennyn, Nerys Truydd. As punishment for using inappropriate language in school, come to the classroom after dinner.”

“Sir.”

Arthur raised his hand and spoke.

“That’s unfair. Mahradi started it.”

Mahradi, who hadn’t had much of a quarrel with Arthur until now, felt betrayed by his words. Sir Voltaire shot a sharp glare at Arthur.

“When it comes to diplomacy, who started the conflict is important, but how one responds is just as critical. If the other side violates the rules, we must gain legitimacy within those rules. Remember this always: the other party’s rule-breaking does not justify breaking the rules ourselves.”

Ren also wore a dissatisfied expression. He wasn’t happy with Sir Voltaire’s judgment, and Arthur had beaten him to the punch in raising an objection. But Nerys herself seemed entirely unbothered.

Sir Voltaire’s words were right in one sense and wrong in another. Legitimacy only became a weapon when the opposing forces were evenly matched.

The imperial family and the Elandria family could exploit Nerys’s legitimate lineage as a weapon. However, that legitimacy hadn’t brought Nerys herself any happiness.

Nonetheless, in noble society, even great power required legitimacy to secure support without excessive expenditure of time and money. In diplomacy, legitimacy was even more vital.

Thus, Sir Voltaire’s lesson would be helpful to the students present. It wasn’t a punishment meted out by a dormitory supervisor but a teaching moment from a mentor. And since Mahradi was also being punished, Nerys had no complaints.

—

After dinner, when Nerys arrived at Sir Voltaire’s classroom, she felt the faint presence of people conversing quietly inside.

Assuming Mahradi had arrived early, Nerys reached for the door without hesitation but froze at the voices coming from within.

“Thank you for accommodating me, Sir.”

“There’s no need for thanks. It’s not a violation of the rules.”

“If it were against the rules, I wouldn’t have asked in the first place. Still, your help has given me the opportunity to care for my relative, hasn’t it?”

“It’s best to avoid words that others might misunderstand, Nellusion Elandria.”

The hand gripping the classroom door’s handle went cold. From inside came a soft chuckle, followed by approaching footsteps.

Before Nerys could react, the door opened. A kind, handsome face greeted her—a face as youthful as she remembered from the start of the semester.

Clear, sky-blue eyes blinked once before meeting hers and curving into a gentle smile.

“Hello?”

Hello?

A whirlwind of thoughts and emotions stormed through her mind. Thud, thud. Her heart pounded painfully.

‘Nellusion.’

The name was sharp as a blade. Just thinking about it cut her heart, and considering calling it aloud sliced her tongue. Even though she’d passed by him multiple times at school, the name still had that effect.

But she couldn’t remain frozen. Nerys forced herself to respond numbly.

“…Hello.”

Nellusion’s silvery hair—smooth as his family’s pride—was tied neatly to one side. His crescent-shaped eyes, often smiling, had captivated many young noblewomen long before he reached adulthood.

In the past, when she didn’t know his true nature, young Nerys had thought Nellusion was wonderful. She had been proud to be his relative.

But after meeting countless people since, Nerys could see Nellusion for who he truly was. He failed to entirely hide his brazen and self-serving nature.

His seemingly kind gaze occasionally darted to examine her face. His smiling lips twitched slightly with every glance.

The changes in Nellusion’s expression were subtle—too subtle for the average student to notice. But Nerys, who had dealt with seasoned manipulators for years, recognized them immediately.

Not to mention, she had spent countless years under the same roof as him.

If she’d known his true nature earlier, things might have been different. Had she realized he saw everyone as tools and discarded them once he was done, she might have acted differently.

“Nerys Truydd, stop blocking the doorway. You’re letting in the draft. Your punishment today is to assist the student council in their duties. Follow Nellusion Elandria.”

Sir Voltaire approached the classroom door. When Nerys didn’t immediately respond, a ripple of uncertainty flickered in Nellusion’s eyes. He quickly regained his smile and leaned in to whisper kindly.

“Just as Sir Voltaire said. Once we’re done, I’ll escort you back to the dormitory, so don’t worry. Unlike Mahradi, you’re still young. A first-year student staying out late for punishment must have been scary, wasn’t it?”

Although she had suspected it from the earlier conversation, hearing it directly from Nellusion’s mouth made her stomach churn.

She stepped back, distancing herself from him. Then, she turned to look up at Sir Voltaire and spoke.

“I don’t want any special treatment. If I’m helping with the student council, what about Mahradi?”

Sir Voltaire stared down at Nerys with an unreadable expression. In his inscrutable gaze, Nerys found an odd sense of satisfaction. It reminded her of Cledwyn’s composed and enigmatic face.

Refined, seasoned faces like his—people with their own philosophies—were the only ones worth facing.

On the other hand, Nellusion wasn’t worth her attention. His very essence revolved around using and deceiving others.

If only she had known this before being hurt. How different would things be if she could have felt this disillusionment and regret earlier?

“Don’t misunderstand, Nerys. Just because Nellusion is taking you doesn’t mean your punishment will be any easier. You will engage in activities befitting the name of community service, and Mahradi Ennyn will also be assigned work I find appropriate.”

His words sounded fair. Even Mahradi would have no grounds to complain. Nerys briefly furrowed her brows but then bowed her head quietly.

“…Yes, sir.”

“Go. I have other matters to attend to.”

As soon as Nellusion stepped aside, Sir Voltaire closed the door. His cold attitude caused Nellusion to burst into laughter.

“He’s always like that. Can’t even spare a kind word for the cute little freshmen.”

“He’s a good person.”

“Hmm? Of course, he is.”

Nerys’s dry tone made Nellusion uneasy, though he didn’t show it.

Sir Voltaire was generally feared by younger students due to his aloofness and strictness, which bordered on cold indifference. Dropped into a world of severe teachers and peers who outshone them in various ways, students who had been spoiled at home found him intimidating. Naturally, they yearned for someone to offer them kind words.

Nellusion, with his charming looks and warm demeanor, was beloved by many. Even Rhiannon Berta’s humiliation stemmed from misdirected feelings toward him.

Recently, Nellusion hadn’t been in the best mood after one of Abelus’s reckless actions had exposed him in an embarrassing situation. Still, he had been somewhat looking forward to conversing with Nerys as a change of pace. Yet, from the start, the conversation hadn’t gone as he had expected.

‘How strange.’

Not fearing Sir Voltaire was unusual enough, but Nellusion also noticed that Nerys looked at him without even a trace of admiration. That bothered him. Her demeanor, so polished and composed compared to earlier in the semester, also piqued his curiosity.

“Well, shall we go, Nerys?”

Nellusion deliberately spoke in an even kinder tone than usual, smiling brightly. Nerys briefly met his gaze before lowering her eyes.

“…Yes, let’s go. Thank you for your consideration.”

At those final words, the faint sense of unease Nellusion had vanished. He began walking, satisfied, thinking her reserved behavior was either out of shyness or his own misperception.

After all, who wouldn’t admire him?

—

The student council room was empty.

Given the late hour, Nerys thought this was natural. However, in truth, the quiet tonight was intentional, orchestrated by Nellusion.

The council members usually relished using the room as their private social space during breaks. Even when nearby classrooms went dark in the evening, laughter would often spill from the student council room.

“Today, your task will be organizing the attendance records. It’s nothing difficult, so don’t worry.”

Speaking gently, Nellusion walked to the bookshelf that covered an entire wall of the room.

As the legitimate heir to the Elandria duchy, he had joined the council at a young age and was well-acquainted with every nook and cranny of the room.

“Aren’t attendance records managed by each subject’s teacher?” Nerys asked, feigning ignorance despite already knowing the answer.

Nellusion retrieved a thick stack of documents from the shelf. Unlike the cheap local paper produced by Carten’s merchants, the student council used luxurious imported paper with a silky sheen. Even when stacked, its fine texture allowed it to take up minimal space.

He handed the documents to Nerys, fully expecting her to be impressed. Paper was a valuable commodity, after all.

“Primarily, yes. But the student council has overarching authority when it comes to managing academic records. That said, we don’t tolerate negligence any more than the teachers do. The principle of student autonomy is based on diligent learning, after all.”

The attendance records, decorated with fine lines and drawings by artisans and adorned with expensive ink, were not meant to be discarded. Once completed, they were preserved in archives as part of the academy’s long history.

However, Nerys’s expression remained unchanged as she glanced at the records. Nellusion raised an eyebrow. What’s this?

Was her ignorance preventing her from appreciating the value of these documents, or was she simply used to such luxurious items?

Logically, it had to be the former.

“I’m not asking you to write anything on these papers. That’s a job for trained personnel. These are valuable documents bestowed by the imperial family, after all. It would be disrespectful to ruin them by having a novice handle them carelessly.”

Internally, Nerys scoffed.

She had, of course, been handling far more valuable papers her entire life. The paper used for these documents wasn’t even remotely special enough to warrant such reverence. If it were, students wouldn’t be entrusted with them in the first place—they’d be reserved for copying sacred texts.

It was clear what Nellusion was trying to do. His younger brother, Valentin, and even their mother, the duchess, often used such tactics. By showing off expensive items and then acting graciously toward their audience, they sought to elicit awe and gratitude, thereby gaining their trust.

While the act seemed like mere boasting, it was, in reality, a calculated manipulation tool.

Feigning innocence, Nerys smiled softly. The sight of her smile momentarily stunned Nellusion.

He had heard that Megara Lykeandros was the most popular first-year, but to him, Nerys wasn’t just pretty—she had an innocent sparkle that was captivating.

Thirsty for the advantage he could gain from her, Nellusion felt as if he had stumbled upon a treasure. Could this girl really appear this way?