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"...Gerard?"
Someone who shouldn't be at the academy was calling out to her.
"If you're not busy, could you spare some time to talk?"
Ayla frowned slightly.
"I suppose I don't have the option to refuse?"
Gerard's face subtly hardened at her use of formal language.
He had heard it from Cedric, but he hadn't expected her to treat him so coldly.
"...I would really like to talk if possible."
Ayla sighed at Gerard's roundabout request. She realized it was a proposal she couldn't refuse anyway.
Resigned, she started walking first.
Before long, they arrived at a relatively deserted garden in the academy.
"So, what brings you here?"
As Ayla asked calmly, Gerard cut straight to the chase.
"I heard you topped the exam recently, congratulations. The family is very proud of you."
It seemed like he meant it in a good way, but his face was coldly set.
It was clear that he wouldn't let it go easily, no matter how Ayla responded.
He remembered Rosia's gloomy face and complaints from the night before.
"It feels like Cedric Oppa has been cold to me ever since he met Ayla. When I mention Ayla, he suddenly treats me like a bad kid and looks at me with cold eyes..."
So, she had asked him not to do that either, and he remembered Rosia's small hand carefully clutching at his sleeve.
He was bothered by the unusually rough fingertips that didn't seem like those of a Young Lady.
He wanted to grant Rosia's request, if only because of her pitiful appearance.
Moreover, what she wanted was very simple.
"The other day, the Oppas were wondering if they should bring Ayla in as Father's aide. What if we moved that up a bit?"
"I want to live in the same house as Ayla and become close like the other family members. If that happens, we can clear up misunderstandings, study Magic together, and have a positive influence on each other."
She wanted to become close to Ayla; what a commendable thought.
Perhaps Rosia knew that her mother missed Ayla and made such a proposal out of consideration.
'So, if Ayla comes back to the Noble house, let's act in a way that gives Rosia more confidence.'
So that she wouldn't tremble with the anxiety that she was no longer family.
Gerard suppressed the feelings of ease he felt in front of Ayla, which he found strange, and opened his mouth in a deliberately stiff tone.
"But it's strange, isn't it? That it happened to be in the first exam Rosia took after returning to the Noble house."
His gaze pierced through Ayla as if asking for an explanation.
Ayla didn't immediately understand his intention and raised an eyebrow.
'...Huh?'
What was he talking about?
Could it be that he was unhappy that she had scored better than his own sister?
'Even with the results of an exam that was fairly taken?'
She almost gaped in disbelief, but barely managed to hold it back.
She had to stay calm, especially at times like this. If she couldn't hold back and argued back, she might end up digging her own grave.
'Seriously... why do the heroines of regression novels always have to live with hearing things like this?'
Ayla swallowed a sigh and asked back with the calmest face she could muster.
"What do you mean by that? Surely you don't think I deliberately tried to make things difficult for Rosia, do you?"
"Of course, I don't think you acted with that intention."
Gerard said firmly.
"But it's undeniable that you unintentionally caused us a lot of damage when you left the Noble house."
While Ayla kept her mouth shut, Gerard's words poured out like a torrent.
"Disgracing the Rate Noble house's son, and then associating with a lowly commoner, even creating shameful rumors..."
"Felix is not a lowly commoner."
Ayla retorted sharply, feeling a surge of anger.
"He's a friend who works hard for his dreams. No matter who you are, Gerard, you can't arbitrarily criticize others without knowing the full story."
Gerard blinked blankly for a moment at Ayla's sharp tone.
But he soon swallowed a sigh inwardly.
'Have they already become so close that she's defending him like that?'
Only now did he realize that Rosia's proposal was appropriate.
He realized that bringing Ayla back to the Noble house as soon as possible was actually the way to go for her future.
Gerard slowly closed and opened his eyes, speaking quietly as if trying to persuade her.
"Stop living in the dorms and come back to the Noble house."
"...What are you talking about?"
"It seems right for you to stop causing trouble for everyone and return to the Noble house to reflect on your actions."
Ha.
Ayla barely suppressed the laughter that threatened to escape.
'How on earth did Ayla in the original story put up with this treatment?'
Even in the original story, Gerard was quickly dominated by Rosia.
Cedric had a gullible personality and was easily swayed by others, but he also had a somewhat rebellious side, so he wasn't easily subjugated by Rosia's brainwashing.
On the other hand, Gerard's rigid personality meant that he pitied Ayla's situation for a while, but he was soon consumed by Rosia's Magic.
'So, I know that hearing these unfair words is unavoidable.'
But actually dealing with it in person was incredibly exhausting.
She took a deep breath in her mind and opened her mouth calmly.
"I've only just managed to overcome my Mana insensitivity, and now you're suddenly telling me to quit my studies?"
Ayla continued, her voice trembling.
"Is it that wrong for me to have done better on the exam than Rosia?"
"...It's not that it's wrong. But don't you know what kind of rumors are circulating in the academy because of you? And how much it's tarnishing Rosia's reputation?"
"..."
"And, the things you've been doing so far make it seem like you're deliberately trying to make things difficult for us."
Ayla's lips trembled at his cold tone.
Gerard flinched, but soon frowned.
After talking with Rosia, he knew that Ayla's actions were all an act.
He remembered every single thing Ayla had done to Rosia.
"You ignored Rosia, who wanted to befriend you at the academy, the whole time. And I don't know how you managed to do it, but you even drove a wedge between Cedric and Rosia."
"..."
"I can understand with a generous heart that you declared the annulment of your engagement to Kadin in the past. I'm sure you judged that you couldn't maintain that engagement any longer."
Ayla listened to him in silence.
"But I can't understand how you could not only associate with that commoner, but even become lovers. Cedric clearly warned you not to act rashly anymore, didn't he?"
"I did hear something like that."
"I repeatedly told you to protect the Noble house's honor, but you ultimately refused. And I heard that Kadin and that commoner fought because of you. Didn't you think about how Rosia would feel when she heard those rumors?"
Gerard felt genuine pity.
Especially when he saw Ayla's expression, which seemed to be devoid of emotion and noticeably calmer.
"We were once family. Is it really right to keep hurting each other like this? Ayla, I don't want to ruin our relationship. I fully understand that you resent and hate us, but let's stop here and come home."
Ayla stared intently at Gerard.
She was indeed upset by his harsh words.
If she hadn't known anything, like Ayla in the original story, she would have lashed out at Gerard with sharp criticism.
But she tried to calm herself down.
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