The Price Is Your Everything - Chapter 5: Where is the Truydd Family?

Nerys, like everyone else, was watching the silver-haired boy. She muttered under her breath, just loud enough for Diane to hear.

“That’s right. The young duke himself.”

The very man responsible for her hatred of the name “Nell.”

The man who had killed her mother to lure in the bearer of Ja’an.

The man who had used her throughout her life and cruelly discarded her when she was no longer useful.

“Why did you have to go that far?”

Nerys wanted to march over to him and ask that question right now. She wanted to lay bare her anguished heart. She wanted to ensure that the sixteen-year-old standing before her would never again experience the cruel satisfaction he once derived.

She wanted to grab the dagger from his waist and stab him right in the neck.

She would die too, but it didn’t matter. She had already died once.

But would that be enough punishment?

“No. I need to wait,” she whispered to herself.

Was it a coincidence that their eyes met just then?

This version of Nellusion had met her before—just a few months ago, by the current timeline.

When her mother had begged the Elandria family for money for Nerys’s academy tuition, they had invited the mother and daughter to the estate for dinner. The atmosphere then had seemed pleasant enough.

Back then, Nerys, naïve and straightforward, had thought, ‘If a relative would go as far as to host us for dinner, I should grow up to repay such kindness.’

“They were probably just curious to see if the rumors about a child of Ja’an were true.”

They had confirmed it and lent the money. It was likely they had been planning to use the mother and daughter thoroughly since then.

That version of Nellusion probably remembered the innocent, guileless child Nerys had been back then.

“But you were the one who destroyed that, Nellusion.”

So when the time came, Nerys intended to shatter that smiling face of his into pieces.

Having volunteered to deliver something to the girls’ classroom, Nellusion felt satisfied with his clever decision.

Nellusion Elandria lacked nothing. He was the eldest son of one of the highest-ranking families in the Bistor Empire, surpassed only by the imperial family and one ducal household. He was trusted by Crown Prince Abelus.

He had repeatedly skipped grades to study alongside older students in the political division, and everyone admired his fairness and good looks.

Fair and kind.

Those two words brought a smile to his face. That was how people described him.

But Nellusion had no intention of using his exceptional talents to become a great duke and serve the emperor. A man as brilliant as he was deserved far greater ambitions.

And what lay within this freshmen classroom could help him achieve those ambitions.

The faces of the new students, a mix of awe and curiosity, were ones he had seen for years. Just before reaching the center of the room, he casually scanned the freshmen.

He found the face he was looking for easily enough. Her piercing Ja’an and mysterious platinum blonde hair drew his gaze like a magnet.

Nerys Truydd.

The child of a relative so distant that her family had fallen to the level of marrying minor knights—a matter entirely irrelevant to the Elandria family.

But that relative’s child had been born with the rare Ja’an, and upon confirming it, the duke had decided to invest in her. A young lady with Ja’an could be a profitable asset in noble society.

Nellusion knew it had been over a century since a Ja’an had been born in the Elandria family. This absence was a troubling sign for the family’s standing.

One of the reasons the Elandria family was respected, alongside the imperial family, was their shared descent from the legendary three warriors.

Young Valentin had sulked about it, but Nellusion thought his parents had made an excellent decision. Symbolism was paramount in a society that valued nobility.

Thus, when the mother and daughter had thanked him for lending them tuition money, Nellusion had responded with kind encouragement, leaving a favorable impression.

“Hmm?”

But was this the same girl?

The Nerys he remembered had been sweet and innocent. The girl meeting his gaze now was anything but. Her sharp, piercing eyes made her seem like a seasoned politician, scrutinizing him with unnerving precision.

Even someone as composed as Nellusion couldn’t help but feel startled.

Fortunately, Nerys smiled after a moment. It was a pretty, soft smile.

Relieved, Nellusion reassured himself and stepped into the center of the classroom.

It had to be a misunderstanding. People couldn’t change that much in just a few months. Besides, she was only twelve.

Still, his smile wavered slightly, betraying his unease. Realizing this, Nellusion quickly restored his usual kind expression.

If the girl was more clever than he’d anticipated, all the better. She was just a child; she could easily be manipulated. After all, the privileges of a knight’s daughter were vastly different from those of a duke’s relative.

“Everyone, Madam Alix will soon arrive to supervise a test assessing your academic skills. Before that, my role is to explain the test and by the way my name is Nellusion Elandria.”

Even the students who hadn’t known his name gasped quietly. Nellusion swept his gaze across the room.

He already knew the names and faces of the students worth paying attention to, but he made sure to appear fair and impartial. After all, it was impossible to predict who might prove useful.

—

“My division, Kartak Institute, has departments for swordsmanship, magic, politics, and theology, just as your division, Aine Institute, has departments for general education and theology. Since you are students of the general education department, that is why you are here.”

While classes were open to all genders, most boys traditionally chose swordsmanship, magic, or politics at Kartak Institute, while most girls focused on social graces and culture in the general education department at Aine Institute.

This separation reflected remnants of the old conservative traditions that once prevented students of different genders from even seeing each other.

Male nobles who aspired to become knights studied swordsmanship, those who wanted to be mages studied magic, and everyone else chose politics.

For the women, it was simpler: anyone not entering the Theology Department belonged to the General Department.

This was why the Political Department in Kartak Institute and the General Department in Aine Institute were essentially similar.

—

“The General Department includes the Departments of Music, Linguistics, and Literature. Since you are all first-years, you will take the basic courses together. However, some of you may have already studied certain subjects with private tutors. It would go against our academy’s core value of self-improvement to waste time on material you already know. Therefore, depending on your test results, some of you may join advanced classes with upperclassmen instead of staying with your fellow freshmen.”

In the midst of the classroom, Megara Lykeandros’s eyes sparkled with interest. Nellusion understood her reaction, knowing she had shown remarkable talent in various fields from a young age.

Students taught by renowned private tutors from an early age naturally outperformed those who had only just learned to read and write. Nerys Truydd likely fell into the latter category, having received little to no proper education.

Nellusion hoped she would struggle enough to come to him for help.

That would make it easier to win her favor. He found Nerys oddly fascinating, a curiosity he justified by her potential usefulness.

Initially, he had intended to observe her just once alongside the other students in the class.

But with her striking appearance and apparent ability to make friends already, she warranted closer attention.

—

The results of the math placement test were posted near the entrance to the auditorium before the first shared social class began.

The list, organized by rank, displayed each student’s name, family, and scored marks for everyone to see. The stark transparency left the students speechless.

Eyes wide with expectation or trepidation, they scanned the rankings. Shorter students, eager to see both their scores and those of others, jumped up and down to get a better view.

For administrative convenience, Kartak Institute and Aine Institute students took separate tests, but the content was identical. Thus, the abilities of all thirty or so first-years were laid bare for comparison.

Male students visiting Aine Institute’s central auditorium for the social class orientation couldn’t help but talk among themselves, pride wounded.

“Where is the Truydd family?”

“Nerys Truydd? Never heard of her.”

At the very top of the list, as the first-year overall top scorer and the only student with a perfect score, was Nerys’s name.

Standing at the back of the group, Nerys remained silent, her gaze icy. Even among the chubby-cheeked boys, some had already bullied her before.

A few of them had continued to openly mock her in front of the entire school, even after most students outgrew blatant harassment.

The boys who particularly targeted her fell into one of two categories: those whose poor performance at Kartak Institute made them lash out at others or those who thought bullying someone would make them look tough in front of girls they liked.

Sure enough, the names of the former were already listed in the bottom ranks.

Nerys had never needed to work hard to achieve top scores, so she hadn’t paid attention to others’ rankings before. Now she noticed that some of her most relentless tormentors hadn’t even been able to read properly at this stage, as their scores were abysmal.

Fortunately, she would no longer have to see their faces in advanced classes, where promotion depended on performance.

“You’re first, you know? That’s amazing.”

A few timid girls approached Nerys, attempting to start a conversation. She hesitated.

During the worst of her ostracism, anything she said had been criticized, leaving her unsure of how to respond to such remarks.

“…I was just lucky,” she finally said.

“You must have studied really hard. So, where is the Truydd family from? Are you from the Truydd family in Rocaster?”

“Rocaster has the Truss family. I’m a Truydd. My father isn’t a lord, so there’s no region to claim.”

The nearby students, eager to hear her answer, leaned in closer with murmurs of “Wow.” This was new for Nerys, and she felt slightly overwhelmed.

Then, the crowd suddenly parted as someone approached.

The girls speaking with Nerys quickly retreated when Megara appeared with her graceful steps.

“You’re quite something,” Megara said. “You must have had excellent tutors.”

“Not really,” Nerys replied.

Beside Megara, a black-haired girl glared. Nerys recognized Rhiannon Berta’s expression—it was one she had seen countless times.

Rhiannon always looked as though she was offended by Nerys’s very existence.

As if to say, ‘How dare someone like you breathe the same air as me?’

How dare someone like you excel in grades, lift your head, or even look at me.

Predictably, Rhiannon immediately snapped at Nerys with a sharp tone.

“You’re so full of yourself.”

“What’s so funny?” Nerys asked calmly.

Even at this point, Rhiannon was already trailing Megara like a shadow. That thought amused Nerys, as it made her behavior easier to deal with. Unlike the uncertain girls earlier, Rhiannon’s hostility was straightforward because Nerys understood its source.

Rhiannon had one reason to criticize Nerys:

‘Because others agreed when she did.’

As a child, Nerys hadn’t understood that. She had tried to become less “laughable” to fit in.

But no matter how helpful, polite, or accommodating she was, it hadn’t changed how others judged her. Her efforts had been in vain.

Still, Rhiannon was just a child, and aside from Megara, no one seemed eager to agree with her now.

Annoyed by Nerys’s composed response, Rhiannon lashed out further.

“You did so well on the test. There’s no way you didn’t have great tutors. Why are you lying? You just don’t want to share your tutors with anyone, do you?”