The Price Is Your Everything - Chapter 21

“So… just use this as a reference.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Nerys glanced at Nellusion, reading his thoughts like an open book, and sneered internally.

Feigning innocence, kindness, and ignorance of the world’s filth—this was the very survival tactic adult Nellusion had once taught her. He had even said that if she paired it with proper etiquette, she could win untainted affection in noble society.

It was a trick that would never work among fellow high-ranking nobles, but members of the social circle often harbored strange fantasies about young lower-ranking noble girls from rural areas. They assumed such girls must be pure and unsullied.

‘Pure, my foot.’

Even a child born and raised without want couldn’t help but think about wealth when surrounded by peers far richer than themselves. Competition for survival was an animal instinct, after all.

How could the poorest student in school, a girl barely scraping by with borrowed tuition, remain indifferent even when the imperial family was mentioned?

If someone had a brain, Nerys thought, that would be the first thing to doubt. But Nellusion, still young and biased in his perception of her, didn’t doubt it at all.

She intended to exploit that for as long as she could avoid suspicion.

“Senior, what exactly do you want me to do?”

Nellusion, who had been staring at Nerys for quite some time, flinched at her calm voice. He blinked a couple of times before steadying his tone.

“Oh, right. Sorry. Take the records I gave you and organize the student files provided by the teachers by grade and then alphabetically. Right now, they’re arranged by subject.”

It wasn’t a difficult task but a time-consuming one, making it a suitable punishment for inappropriate remarks during class. Sir Voltaire’s punishment seemed fair. Nerys smiled.

“Understood. Thank you for explaining.”

“Thank you for helping me.”

Nellusion returned her smile with a dazzling one of his own. Nerys held his gaze, counting two beats in her mind, before pretending to smile shyly and lowering her eyes.

Nerys spread out the student attendance records from the first semester midterm, each page reflecting the unique traits of the teachers who had written them. Slowly, she began sorting the papers.

Nellusion, pacing nearby, casually observed her progress and then gently asked, “Nerys, why are you starting with the upperclassmen’s records?”

In a steady voice, she replied, “The upperclassmen’s records are shorter.”

Nellusion smiled. First-year students generally took similar classes, but upperclassmen were spread across a wide range of difficulty levels based on individual achievements. Nerys’s reasoning was sound, though the more varied courses made the task more complex.

Starting with thickness in mind… Despite her high test scores, she seemed like an inexperienced child.

“You’d find it easier to start with the lowerclassmen since we’re sorting by grade. You’re taking Verlaine Language III too, right?”

“Oh, you’re right.”

Nerys paused for a moment, then flashed a bright smile at Nellusion.

To him, that smile felt even more radiant than before. His younger sibling, Valentin, was quite beautiful but lacked any fresh charm due to his cunning and arrogance.

He couldn’t help but think how nice it would have been to have someone like Nerys as a younger sibling. Her Ja’an heritage would even elevate the family’s prestige.

“I wasn’t thinking. But since I’ve already started this way, I’d like to continue. Otherwise, I might mix things up and lose track of which records I’ve completed. Would that be okay?”

“Of course.”

Nellusion nodded.

“It’s your task, so do it your way. I just didn’t want you to struggle.”

“Thank you for the guidance, Senior Nellusion.”

“Call me Nell Oppa. We’re family, after all. Doesn’t our similar-sounding names make us feel closer?”

Nerys had heard nearly identical words in her previous life.

Back then, she had already become the adopted daughter of the Elandria family, and Valentin and the duchess had openly despised her. Nellusion’s kindness had been a great source of courage for her at the time.

But his kindness had been nothing more than a façade.

When the duchess had punished her for a breach of etiquette by starving her, Nellusion hadn’t intervened.

When the maids neglected her, he hadn’t scolded them.

When she was falsely accused of stealing the duchess’s jewelry and had her hair cut off in disgrace, he hadn’t mediated.

At the time, Nerys had assumed he was unaware of these events. His apologetic expression and words of regret had made her blame herself for being unable to hide her pain.

But looking back now, it was impossible that Nellusion hadn’t known. He had known and simply hadn’t cared.

All that mattered was maintaining his image as a good person.

“Call me Nell Oppa. We’re siblings now, aren’t we? Doesn’t it feel like our similar names make us closer?”

That hollow sentiment echoed in her mind like a blade, stabbing heavily into her gut. Though she sneered internally, she masked it outwardly with a delighted expression.

“Sure, Nell Oppa.”

“Great. Then what should I call you?”

Nellusion’s overly familiar attitude was unsettling. Was it because Nerys had stood out more this time compared to her last life?

What might have thrilled her before now only sickened her.

Feigning innocence, she said, “I’m sorry, Nell Oppa. Just Nerys is fine. My mother used to call me ‘my little baby,’ but I’m not a baby anymore, so it feels strange when others use such names, don’t you think?”

Nellusion’s lips curved upward in apparent satisfaction. To an outsider, it might have looked like he harbored great affection for her.

“You’re right. Then I’ll just call you Nerys. If it were up to me, I’d give you a special name only I could use. But as your older cousin, being too familiar might harm your reputation.”

“That’s a shame,” Nerys said, her words entirely devoid of sincerity, though her tone feigned polite disappointment.

Nellusion, unaware of her thoughts, genuinely believed she was disappointed. He inwardly relished the potential advantages her presence could bring.

He had recently been struggling due to the trouble Rhiannon Berta had caused. Knowing that Rhiannon was being subtly ostracized under Aidalia Kendall’s lead didn’t upset him—in fact, it was a relief. To Nellusion, the blind emotions of young people were only valuable when they served his purpose.

If Nerys’s feelings could align with his, it would be truly, truly beneficial.

‘Clack.’ Without warning, the door to the student council room opened. Nellusion’s head turned faster than he had anticipated, while Nerys’s gaze lifted more slowly.

“What’s this?”

Standing alone in the doorway was Abelus, his expression a mixture of confusion and surprise.

He had left the card game Nellusion had quietly arranged earlier that day, wandering into the student council room out of habit. Finding anyone there at this hour caught him off guard.

Abelus’s gaze quickly took in the sight of Nellusion standing close to Nerys, and though not particularly sharp, his mind quickly pieced together the situation. Smirking, he let out a weak laugh.

“So, Nellusion. You told me not to use the student council room as a meeting spot with Taesi, and yet here you are.”

Though briefly flustered, Nellusion soon composed himself, offering a sheepish smile as if to dismiss the accusation.

“A meeting spot? Your Highness, I’m simply supervising punishment duties as a member of the student council.”

“Of course. Alone, with the prettiest freshman.”

Abelus glanced briefly at Nerys, clearly recognizing her.

Hearing him use such a word left Nerys feeling bitter. Despite their years of marriage, Abelus had often grumbled about her being unattractive. Naturally, she wasn’t the prettiest freshman by any stretch of the imagination. His words were clearly intended to tease Nellusion.

From Nerys’s perspective, Abelus wasn’t a figure of hatred like Nellusion. Both had married for the benefit of their families, and Abelus had treated her coldly until she’d learned not to expect anything from him.

Even the memory of being struck by Abelus upon hearing that the Elandria family had seized the crown felt unremarkable to her.

She would repay him in kind someday—but not yet. Quietly, with a burning resolve smoldering in her chest, she lowered her eyes.

Meanwhile, Abelus, though he’d meant his earlier remark as a jest, found himself unconsciously examining Nerys.

‘Genius?’ It was a word he had once used to describe her, but he knew what true genius was.

True geniuses were people like Cledwyn Maindulante—monsters who couldn’t be defeated no matter how hard one tried and who always left others looking up from the bottom.

Compared to them, Nerys was an unremarkable lowborn girl. Her linguistic talents were only useful for translators at best.

It seemed to him that Nellusion intended to use Nerys as a card to play, but the Ja’an heritage she represented was ultimately symbolic. She had utility, but not enough to command the crown prince’s attention. Watching the Elandria family’s moves would be better spent focusing on Valentin, the only daughter of the main family.

“It’s just work,” Nellusion said smoothly, already aware of what Abelus was likely thinking. He wasn’t particularly tense.

He smiled faintly and approached the council president’s chair, pulling it out politely.

“Would you like to sit? If you’ve got something to do, we’ll be here for hours—join us.”

“No, I’m fine.”

Abelus had no real reason to be in the student council room. Most council tasks were already handled by Nellusion, though Abelus knew he’d have to take on more responsibility going forward.

Even the documents he’d found in Nellusion’s secret drawer hadn’t been particularly significant. His anger had stemmed more from the audacity of Nellusion scheming right under his nose. But, in hindsight, it hadn’t been surprising.

The Elandria family, after all, was the imperial family’s long-standing ally. Not a loyal dog, but a cunning hyena, ready to bare its teeth at any moment.

Losing interest, Abelus turned to leave.

“I’ll join the next game. Do your best.”

Nerys didn’t know what “next game” he was referring to, but Nellusion understood perfectly that the crown prince intended to rejoin the card-playing group.

As the room fell quiet again, Nellusion smiled warmly at Nerys, as if to reassure her.

“Let’s get back to work. Don’t mind him; the crown prince was only joking.”

No one knew that better than Nerys. Few people had less appeal to Abelus than she did. She smiled innocently.

“Yes, Nell Oppa.”