The Villainous Noble Son Wants to Capture His Stepsister! - Chapter 46

“So this is the magic academy… It’s huge!”

Primelia was practically bouncing with excitement.

Ah, how wonderful. Such a healing sight.

It had been about a month since the eventful entrance exam.

Today was the day of the acceptance announcements, so I found myself back at the academy.

The campus grounds were overflowing with people.

Not that I needed to check my results.

My acceptance was guaranteed.

But I still had paperwork to collect, class assignments to check, and a list of other formalities to handle.

I could have come alone, but Primelia had insisted she wanted to see my results.

“I don’t get what’s so exciting about my test scores…”

But since she would be attending next year, I supposed familiarizing herself with the academy now wasn’t a bad idea.

“Oh, Primelia. Here.”

“Huh?”

I offered my arm to her.

She blinked, tilting her head in confusion.

Cute.

But—

“It’s crowded. I’ll escort you.”

“H-Hya?! Y-Yes!”

What an adorably flustered reaction.

Seriously, being a beautiful girl was such an unfair advantage.

Meanwhile, just the other day, I had smiled at someone only to be met with a shriek of terror.

R.I.P. my fragile heart.

Primelia timidly took hold of my left arm.

Such a precious little thing.

…Hmm?

Why is it so noisy all of a sudden?

Déjà vu?

Still escorting Primelia, I headed for the bulletin board where the results were posted.

For some reason, the crowds parted as we approached, making it surprisingly easy to get through.

Absolutely not because people were avoiding me.

Nope. Definitely not.

“This is where the results are posted?”

“Yeah. Class placement is based on ranking, too.”

In this academy, the top three classes were Gold, Silver, and White.

If a noble didn’t make it into one of those, they were thrown into Blue Class—the catch-all for the rest.

Blue Class was infamous for being the worst class to teach.

Gee, I wonder why.

“Oh my, Lord Kraut. Lady Primelia. You two seem just as close as ever.”

“…Huh?”

A familiar voice called out from behind us.

Turning around—

“Princess Lilliane!”

Standing there was Princess Lilliane, the Second Princess of the Blumenkranz Kingdom.

Over the years, she had grown into a stunning young lady.

Her beauty was exactly as described in the game—flawless.

There was an old saying:

“Standing, she is a peony. Seated, she is a tree peony. Walking, she is a lily.”

Lilliane embodied that perfectly.

“It has been a while, Your Highness. Primelia has told me you often invite her to tea parties.”

“Indeed. But Lord Kraut, you never seem to attend.”

“…Huh?”

Wait.

Lilliane was smiling, but…

Her eyes weren’t smiling at all.

Was she… mad at me?

“Father tells me you visit the royal castle quite often.”

“And yet, we haven’t seen each other in ages. How curious.”

“W-Well, my visits to His Majesty are for official business…”

“Oh? So you mean to say, you have absolutely no time to see me?”

“N-No, I just… It wouldn’t be appropriate to see Your Highness casually while on business. That could lead to, um… rumors.”

After all, even during the entrance exam, that golem-loving idiot had already made a fuss about me being around Lilliane.

If that guy was any indication, there were plenty more like him lurking around.

Ever since the Wertheim family scandal, I had been extra careful about information gathering.

The problem was—

Sebastian was the only one capable of handling that information.

I really needed to build a proper intelligence network, but finding the right people was a challenge.

“Oh my. Lord Kraut, do you dislike the idea of being rumored to be involved with me?”

“…What?”

What.

WHAT.

Did she mean what I think she meant?!

No, no, no. I wasn’t that self-absorbed.

Flashbacks from my past life hit me.

That time in high school, when a girl led me on, only for me to end up as a joke in the group chat.

Never again.

To be clear, I don’t think Lilliane is like that.

All the game’s heroines are top-tier, after all.

And Primelia is the best of them all.

As my mind spiraled, Lilié giggled behind her hand.

She truly was a beauty.

“Fufu. My apologies, I got a little carried away.”

“Ah… no, I should apologize for not visiting more often.”

She often teased me like this.

At the very least, she seemed to consider me a friend.

Maybe I should start checking her schedule before my royal visits.

The rumor problem?

…I’ll figure it out later.

“Of course, I was only joking.”

“…Half-joking, that is.”

Wait.

Half?!

“Unexpected Top Rank”

I was already mentally exhausted, but I finally reached the real reason I came here.

“Brother! Look at this!”

“Amazing! Come, quickly!”

Primelia and Lilliane were beaming with excitement as they pointed at the bulletin board.

I stepped forward and read—

“Top-Ranked Student: Kraut von Wertheim.”

“…Huh?”

Top-ranked?!

How did this happen?!

Oh.

Right.

My practical exam had ended up with a perfect score because of that golem incident.

As I stood dumbfounded, my two very excited heroines chattered away.

“Brother, you’re the top student! That’s amazing!”

“I’m disappointed that I only ranked second, but if Lord Kraut is first, then I suppose it can’t be helped.”

In the game, Lilliane had been the top-ranked student and had given the entrance speech.

The protagonist had watched in awe.

…Wait.

Does this mean I have to give the speech?!

“Um… Is there a way to decline?”

“DECLINE?!”

Both Primelia and Lilliane looked at me like I had committed blasphemy.

“That is unthinkable! Being top-ranked is an incredible honor!”

“Brother, you mustn’t decline. Besides…”

“Besides?”

“I want to see you deliver the speech.”

“I won’t decline.”

If Primelia wanted to see it, then there was no choice.

I would give the best entrance speech ever.

“…Lady Heliotrope. Lord Kraut is as predictable as ever.”

“That’s just how he is.”

Oh! If you have something to say, say it outright!