BXBX NOVEL Chapter 96
Chapter 96
Chapter 96
Slurp—
Selena took a sip of coffee, her mind racing as she contemplated how to give her brother a good beating once she returned to the family estate.
“Lenny. Would you do me a favor?”
“What is it?”
“There’s a veteran I’m helping who needs some academic assistance. I know you’re busy, but in my eyes, you’re the best when it comes to academics, Lenny.”
She hesitated for a moment. The end of vacation meant a hectic schedule, and even now, during the break, her time was limited. This sudden request was unexpected.
However, it was Deonik, her own brother. Moreover, it involved helping a war veteran. When she thought of Cal, she could never refuse such a plea.
But it was Deonik, her brother. And it was about helping a veteran, no less. Remembering Karl, she couldn’t refuse.
Selena agreed, believing she could focus on helping during the vacation and then the veteran could manage on their own.
“But, brother. Can’t you tell me who it is?”
“Ah… well. You’ll find out when you go, Lenny. You’ll find out.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to tell me now? I’ll find out eventually anyway.”
Despite her reasonable argument, Deonik only repeated, ‘You’ll find out when you go.’
A slight suspicion arose, but Selena didn’t dwell on it.
It was her brother, after all. Her beloved family, second only to her parents.
That’s why. For that very reason, she couldn’t help but feel betrayed by that same brother.
Which is why she felt such a profound sense of betrayal.
“…”
“…”
The ‘veteran seeking academic assistance’ sitting before her was none other than Lavrenti.
The very woman with whom she had been engaged in a tense rivalry over Karl.
‘Brother…!’
So that’s why he didn’t tell me. He knew I’d refuse if I knew.
When I get home, I’ll definitely give him a piece of my mind!
While Selena fumed, Lavrenti was equally taken aback.
“You can go to this location tomorrow, Sergeant Lavrenti. The woman there will be able to help you with your concerns. I guarantee it.”
“Thank you, Young Master. But, aren’t you going to tell me who it is?”
“That’s… ahem. You’ll find out when you go.”
“…”
“Don’t worry. It’s someone you can really trust.”
The assurance came from Deonik, the person who had been helping her immensely.
So she didn’t pry further, simply waiting at the appointed place.
But she never imagined it would be Selena Ifrit.
“Haah—”
“Haah—”
The two women sighed almost simultaneously, then pondered the reason behind this arrangement.
‘Could it be? Yes, maybe my brother knows Lavrenti and I are rivals competing over Karl, so he intentionally set this up to give me the upper hand.’
The thought of demonstrating her intellectual superiority and proving that a smart woman was the perfect match for Karl naturally belonged to Selena.
‘Could it be… Young Master. Are you telling me to fight and win even in this situation?’
The idea that this was a chance for a head-to-head competition came from Lavrenti.
If Deonik heard their thoughts, he would probably scream.
He had intended this as an opportunity for his sister to get to know Lavrenti better and find common ground, despite his favoritism towards Selena. He reminded himself that Lavrenti was Karl’s comrade.
As for Lavrenti, he thought, ‘Sergeant, I apologize, but the one closest to Karl is my sister. As her brother, I have to take her side. But if you show her a different side of yourself, it might leave a positive impression.’
This was his intention in arranging this meeting.
But the two of them, oblivious to all that, sat there thinking, ‘Bring it on, bring it on!’, so it would have been strange if Deonik hadn’t screamed.
“Ahem.”
Collecting her thoughts, the one who spoke first was Selena, holding the upper hand.
“I heard from my brother. You need help, Lav.”
“For now, yes.”
“For now? That’s strange. My brother said it was urgent.”
“…”
“You know, right? The Imperial Academy is ruthless when it comes to failing grades, regardless of whether you’re a noble or a commoner. Even a war hero isn’t exempt.”
That’s why Karl was struggling, clinging to his books and studying hard.
If someone with two Medals of Honor was doing that, then a recipient of the Silver Star Medal, a lesser honor, would naturally have to put in the same effort.
“If it’s not urgent, I’ll leave. I’m quite busy myself. You might have heard, but I’m in grad school for my master’s degree.”
“grad school…”
“Yes. It’s balanced and good, isn’t it? For the child, a father in the martial arts, a mother in the literary arts.”
They both knew why she mentioned a child and who she meant by ‘father’ and ‘mother.’
Lavrenti, listening to Selena, nodded.
“You’re right, Selena. A balance of martial and literary arts is certainly a good thing.”
“Right?”
“Yes. So, I’ll work hard too. For the child, just as you said.”
I can do it too. I’ll do it and show them.
Lavrenti declared her strong will.
For a moment, Selena was tempted to abandon the whole helping endeavor, but she couldn’t bring herself to do so, considering her brother’s request and Lavrenti’s connection to Karl.
‘This is better, actually. I’ll show Lav my clear superiority this time and make her realize it’s better to compete with someone else than with me.’
At first, she had considered Lavrenti a formidable rival. After all, Lavrenti had shared a space, albeit briefly, that Selena knew nothing about. The battlefield.
And from their first meeting, Lavrenti had called Karl ‘Master’ and treated him as someone special, making it seem like she could easily win his heart.
But she was wrong. In focusing too much on Lavrenti, she had overlooked an even greater rival.
‘Eloise. That woman… she’s dangerous!’
Even Selena or Lavrenti, wouldn’t dare to enter the men’s bathhouse openly. Yet, Eloise had done it without a second thought.
If there was one thing she gained from this hot spring trip, it was the realization that continuing to clash with Lavrenti would only benefit someone else.
“That’s a good attitude, Lav. Just keep up that effort in your studies at the academy.”
“…Thank you.”
“Unfortunately, I can only help intensively until the break. I’ll be busy with personal matters once the semester starts. So, let’s do our best during the break.”
Doing their best during the break meant showing her absolute superiority during that time.
Lavrenti sensed this vaguely but didn’t argue or object.
‘I’m at a disadvantage here. At least, for now.’
She wouldn’t let her pride get in the way and clash unnecessarily. If she lacked something, she would accept and acknowledge it.
Instead, she would learn from it, make it her own, and eventually deliver the perfect finishing blow.
That’s why Lavrenti was confident. Confident that she wouldn’t be outdone by Selena.
“Now, shall we delve into the specifics of what you’re struggling with?”
“Yes.”
The fierce psychological battle between two women over one man began.
Ah, to be precise, it ‘would have begun’ if not for a piece of news the two women received 30 minutes later.
“…What did you just say, Wilhelm?”
“Huh? Uh… well, it’s like…”
“Speak clearly. What did you just say?”
Wilhelm, happy to see Selena, had been chatting away and ended up sharing the news.
Now, sweating profusely, he had to repeat what he’d just said.
“Well, the Fifth Princess of the Lasker Kingdom entered the Empire today as an exchange student. There was almost an unfortunate incident, but Karl stopped it. That’s it.”
“And then? There was something more after that, wasn’t there.”
Selena’s menacing aura, something he’d never seen before, combined with the sharp gaze of Lavrenti, the former sharpshooter, was too much.
Even Wilhelm, the heir to a Marquis, couldn’t withstand the combined fury of these two women.
“Well… Karl, he held the Fifth Princess in a princess carry and saved her…”
[PR/N: I genuinely want to know how tf he got this info]
Immediately after, seeing the flames of fury in Selena’s and Lavrenti’s eyes, Wilhelm thought.
‘I’m going to get yelled at by Karl again for saying unnecessary things.’
Suddenly, Wilhelm desperately hoped that his friends, especially Shulifen, hadn’t made the same mistake as him.
* * *
“Say that again, Young Master. What did you just say?”
Shulifen, facing Eloise who was giggling but with a chilling glint in her eyes, gulped and cautiously replied.
“Karl held the Fifth Princess of the Lasker Kingdom in a princess carry…”
“Hehehe. I see. Ah, I see. Hehehe.”
“…”
Uh, oh. This looks bad.