Chapter 11

This is the second part of today's story.

It had been a week since Noelle was disowned by the Vionne family.

She immediately told Liza about it. After hearing the details, Liza was exasperated.

"The Vionne family is really done with you.

I'll report this to my family too.

I don't think we had much of a relationship anyway."

"Zeraphi might become a princess?"

"Such a blind prince...

But, Saliel Prince is said to be very weak-willed and always follows the queen's orders, so he might not have chosen her himself.

Either way, the queen is unpopular in the palace, so it doesn't matter much."

Liza shrugged.

"Being weak-willed and becoming engaged to Zeraphi, who is as strong-willed as a fire dragon, must be tough."

Noelle said it as if it were someone else's problem. In fact, it was someone else's problem.

She could only see a future where the poor prince would be dominated by his fiancée.

---But, it's his own fault. He should have investigated more.

Thinking that her life wouldn't change much was naive. The Vionne family wouldn't just let their insolent second daughter go unpunished.

Many students at the Royal Academy have friends.

Rumors about Noelle started to spread.

They said:

'She was disowned for bad behavior.'

'She ran away from home, and no one knows what kind of life she was leading.'

'She was abandoned because she was promiscuous.'

And so on.

These were ridiculous and full of holes.

Liza was spreading the truth through her network, but it was easy to imagine how Noelle was perceived at the Royal Academy.

During lunch break.

To avoid being gossiped about, Liza accompanied Noelle to a corner of the courtyard to finish her bread lunch.

"The girls in our class know these are ridiculous rumors," Liza comforted her.

She had been concerned about Noelle, who was slightly depressed. Noelle truly appreciated having a friend.

"Thank you, Liza."

"The Vionne family is really evil. I knew a bit from your story, but still..."

Noelle had told Liza a little about her situation.

Just a fraction of the brutal abuse. Like being sent on errands alone, carrying heavy loads, and being a target for her sister's fire attacks, which made her skilled at barriers.

---Huh? When did I end up talking so much?

Well, it's fine.

"Liza. About the rumors.

I appreciate your help. I don't intend to take it seriously, but it's a bit annoying."

"I know.

But, the girls in our class, and even the boys, knew these were ridiculous from the start.

After all, Noelle, you're at the top of the class.

You assist Professor Michelle and even help with administrative tasks."

Being at the top was true. In the middle school, she had studied hard for the scholarship.

Noelle's name had never fallen from the top of the exam results.

It was impossible for the top student in the national academy to be lazy, have bad behavior, and be promiscuous.

In fact, everyone knew that Noelle practiced magic, studied in the library, and asked professors questions after class.

Moreover, the academy publicly announced Noelle's assistance to Professor Michelle and her help with administrative tasks to avoid misunderstandings.

Professor Michelle didn't hide it either.

No one would fall for such strange rumors.

However, there were still people who didn't know Noelle. Students from different grades or those who had entered the national academy from the high school.

Some even looked at her with disdain just because of the rumors and the fact that she was disowned.

Even if they knew the rumors were false. Most of them were boys.

"But, I didn't expect Dian, who was my friend, to act like that."

Noelle muttered while tearing her bread.

Dian was openly avoiding Noelle.

Even when she greeted him, he ignored her.

"Ah, boys..." Liza shrugged.

"Why are they like that?

Well, it doesn't matter, so it's fine."

"Is it fine? It doesn't matter?

Noelle, is there no boy you liked?"

"No.

After all, we only talked occasionally."

"Occasionally? Didn't you talk more than that?"

"Because we were classmates. Maybe we talked?

But I didn't think much about it.

I just answered if it was interesting when they talked to me."

"...You were quite a seductress, Noelle...

I think the boys considered you as a potential wife or concubine.

You're cute and seem to be good at magic, so they thought you could earn money if they married you.

Plus, you're a countess, even if fallen.

But, being disowned and becoming a commoner took you off the list."

"Wow, really? A concubine?

Are they crazy?

Me, a concubine? Do I not need to be sexy?"

"...Well, you are at the bottom of the class in terms of sex appeal..."

Liza said, slightly awkwardly.

"At the bottom of the class...

Is that bad?

I'm even behind Annie and Linda?"

Noelle thought she was better than those two.

"Linda has a cleavage.

Annie is manipulative.

She's obviously avoided by Professor Argan, but she's popular with the boys."

"I'm shocked.

Well, it's fine...

I plan to develop my sex appeal in the future."

"Sure, in the future."

Liza's encouragement sounded forced.

◇◇◇

Noelle's busyness, in a sense, was her own doing.

For Liza's 16th birthday, Noelle gave her a cup enchanted with ice magic.

The cup, which cooled drinks instantly, was convenient.

Noelle chose a stylish and cute design.

Theo and Arnaud were hesitant about Noelle giving enchanted items to friends, but she managed to get their reluctant approval by passing it off as a magical device invented by Professor Michelle.

In reality, enchanted items and magical devices were quite different.

Enchanted items didn't require a magic stone for power.

The biggest difference in performance was that enchanted items didn't need to be activated.

A sword would ignite when it cut a target, and the cup would cool drinks as soon as they were poured.

Thus, they could be used without any conscious effort.

This difference was particularly noticeable with weapons.

For the "eavesdropping bracelet" used for communication, a small amount of magic was needed to connect the paired bracelets, but the communication function used the magic Noelle had infused.

After that, the Merisson family inquired if Noelle could make about 100 of the same cups.

During the commotion over Noelle's disownment, the wind magic enchanted bracelets and lightning magic enchanted throwing knives she had given to Robert and others became known to the prime minister and the knights, leading to orders.

Noelle worked hard to fulfill the orders.

She managed to get 20 cups from Liza's order.

For the knights, who had heard that the western forest was infested with monsters, she prioritized and worked hard.

She also managed to deliver the five sets ordered by the prime minister.

Additionally, she was making more rapiers.

It seemed the knights used them roughly, leading to high consumption.

Low-rank enchanted rapiers were priced similarly to long swords and were highly valued for their ability to easily cut through monsters.

Arnaud regretted not setting a higher price, but he thought it was neither too cheap nor too expensive compared to enchanted rapiers sold in other countries.

Arnaud was worried about Noelle's busyness.

Braed told her, "I think they consume a lot because there are few mages in our country's knights."

Noelle also started making barrier-enchanted leather armor for the front-line knights.

Her enchantment skills had improved significantly.

Her studies were also demanding, making her life very busy.

Still, she managed to maintain her top position in the first half of the high school year.

The competition was intense, so she was prepared to drop to second place next time.

She didn't need the scholarship, so she wasn't too concerned about her ranking.

Looking at the posted rankings, a buzz filled the hallways of the national academy, unlike anything seen before.

Liza laughed, "Hehe. It's quite a commotion."

Noelle and Liza tried to keep their distance, but the hallways were crowded with students, and she felt like they were being watched.

"Liza, you have a mischievous smile."

"Hehe, do I?"

"I did it because you said to keep it a secret."

"Because it's more fun that way."

Eliza, who always appeared at such times, came again.

"Noelle!

What's going on? 'Noelle Michelle'!"

"It's nothing. There's no big deal.

Professor Michelle thought it was bad for me to be without a guardian since I'm a minor..."

"That's not the issue!"

"Why are you making a fuss...

That's the issue.

I'm still 16, right? I need a guardian.

So, Professor Michelle's son adopted me as a foster daughter..."

"Huh? Her son?

Not Professor Michelle?"

"Professor Michelle lost her wife to illness.

'She thought it would be better to have a mother.'

So, I became the foster daughter of her son.

But, her son is currently running a large business in the Alres Empire..."

"Alres Empire?

A large business?"

"He's incredibly wealthy.

I was surprised."

"I'm the one who's surprised!"

"Why are you surprised, Eliza?"

The conversation wasn't making much sense.

---Well, it doesn't matter if it doesn't make sense.

It's typical of Eliza.

Feeling resentful towards Liza, who was laughing nearby, Noelle ended the conversation casually.

Thank you as always.

I'll post again tomorrow. Please look forward to it.