The Radiant Young Lady of the Dark Family - Chapter 22
After reading that far, Hartbisa smiled softly. Having finally managed to get him to call her sister, his letter was full of grumbling concerns, making it hard to tell who was the younger sibling.
While pleasantly continuing to read the letter, Hartbisa’s expression froze.
[It’s nothing much, but thanks to your help, I got a good score on the ancient language interpretation assignment. Because of that, I was selected as a presenter for next week’s presentation.
So, would you like to come and watch?]
That Dayan wrote to her first was a welcome thing. The reason Hartbisa’s expression turned grim was for a different reason.
The Academy Dayan belonged to. Its full name was Preju Radant Academy. Established independently by the Radant Grand Duchy, it was the only institution in the Empire that selected students based on ability rather than social status. An entrance exam was mandatory for admission, and even that exam was famous for its difficulty.
And this prestigious place was the main setting of the original story. Wolfgang Lamberth also belonged to Preju Academy, and Sabrina, the female protagonist who would later come to the capital after the Cellie family’s extinction, would also attend this academy.
In other words, for Hartbisa, Preju Academy was like a minefield.
Chronologically, there was still considerable time until the original story began. Therefore, there would be about a year left until she met Wolfgang.
Hartbisa met Wolfgang at a charity party held by the Lamberth family, where she was forcibly dragged by her aunt. By then, she had already been worn down by her aunt’s harsh treatment, almost like a puppet, and her aunt wanted to build connections with the wealthy Lamberth family, who owned several gem mines.
Perhaps from that time, her aunt had already marked Lamberth as a potential son-in-law for her own daughter Sabrina.
But there, Lamberth fell in love with Hartbisa at first sight and made a public confession.
That incident became the catalyst for her enraged aunt to arrange Hartbisa’s marriage to a count from Yursia.
So for Hartbisa, who didn’t want to meet Wolfgang, the academy where he was likely to be was a place she didn’t want to visit.
‘However.’
Hartbisa scanned the letter again with her eyes. This was the first time Dayan had asked her for something.
First time?
Hartbisa suddenly felt she might have had a similar conversation before. Come to think of it, in her previous life, she had incomparably fewer conversations with Dayan than now. Dayan, who rarely returned from the academy, and Hartbisa, who was dragged to Helena’s gatherings. There were no points of contact.
Then, on the day she finally had to leave the family to marry the count of Yursia, before dawn broke, while she was preparing like someone about to run away despite being a young lady, Dayan came to visit.
Dayan showed his sword to her attendants who were standing guard under her aunt’s orders and warned them to get out. Only then did the room contain just Hartbisa, who looked ill-suited in her wedding dress due to her withered appearance, and Dayan.
Having grown more than now, Dayan’s eye level was higher than hers at that time. In the awkward silence, while Hartbisa weakly stared at the hem of her dress, her brother spoke first.
‘I heard you’re leaving for Yursia right away.’
‘Y-yes…’
‘He seems at least ten years older than you, do you like someone like that? You don’t even know what he looks like.’
Dayan questioned her frustratedly, and Hartbisa, who was used to agreeing with everything Helena said, answered briefly.
‘Y-yes.’
‘Is that all you can say?’
And Dayan sharply questioned back, seemingly frustrated by her behavior. When Hartbisa, intimidated, could only fidget with her fingernails without saying anything, Dayan eventually brushed back his fallen bangs and muttered as if talking to himself.
‘Haa, well, how could you be considered a Cellie anyway? Maybe it’s better for you to leave than stay here.’
Though it was almost a self-mutter, the sigh about how she couldn’t be considered a Cellie was clearly audible, and at this familiar criticism, Hartbisa looked at her brother with lifeless red eyes.
But when their eyes met, Dayan stepped closer and handed her a note.
‘Hide this in your sleeve when you get in the carriage, try to memorize it inside the carriage and throw it away.’
When she opened the note, there was an address written on it. Looking back up at Dayan with the unfamiliar address, he continued in a low voice.
‘That’s the address of my private mailbox. You know what that means? Helena won’t be able to check it. So if any problems arise, write to me.’
That was all. After those words, Helena, who had heard from the maids about Dayan’s visit, came, and Hartbisa was practically dragged into the carriage.
Hartbisa memorized the address as Dayan had said. And even after arriving in the kingdom, she considered writing letters many times, but.
‘I’ll take care of the family, so you just focus on your behavior there.’
Her aunt’s words were branded in her mind like an imprint, and in the end, she never wrote a single letter. What came to her instead was news of her brother’s and father’s deaths.
“….”
At the time, she hadn’t thought deeply about it, believing that both her brother and father wanted someone so un-Cellie-like to leave the family quickly, but looking back, Dayan had been worried about her in his own way.
After a brief contemplation, Hartbisa lifted the corners of her mouth.
“Tar, I need to write a reply. Could you prepare some writing paper?”
Of course, in the letter she sent to Dayan, she wrote that she would visit the academy. Worried that Helena’s people might tamper with the letter, Tar personally delivered it to the postal service.
Now that the letter was sent, the next task was deciding what dress to wear.
***
“You’re asking about the Empire’s impression of the Cellie family?”
Tar repeated Hartbisa’s question word for word. Hartbisa nodded, indicating she understood well. But Tar hadn’t asked again because she didn’t understand her words.
If she had asked about the Cellie family’s position or status within the Empire, she could have easily talked about their greatness as one of the few ducal families and their business mandated by the Emperor, but their impression?
Tar felt at a loss about how to answer this.
Hartbisa felt like an interviewer asking about company weaknesses, seeing Tar, who usually answered everything confidently, deep in thought.
Hartbisa’s reason for asking was simple. Since her regression, Hartbisa hadn’t ventured outside the territory. Being naturally reserved in character, combined with Chelsea territory’s remote location, visitors were few and far between. She had even stopped attending the social gatherings that her aunt used to forcibly drag her to before her regression.
So visiting her brother’s academy would be her first outing since her regression.
While Hartbisa’s memories were overflowing with people’s perceptions of the Cellie family, those were memories from her previous life, and having spent a long time in the kingdom, she needed an update on the current impression of the Cellie family within the Empire.
For what was meant to be a casual question, Tar replied carefully with quite a serious face.
“Should I be completely honest?”
“Of course.”
Tar cleared her throat slightly and spoke with a tone of resolution.
“Honestly, even as flattery, it’s not a soft or friendly image.”
Tar’s brows furrowed as she whispered.
“Considering that villages where the head of the family visits are known to experience bloodshed, to the point where he’s called the Grim Reaper, you can imagine.”
Grim Reaper, now that’s an interesting term.
Hartbisa imagined Vanwilhelm in Grim Reaper attire and smiled slightly, thinking it suited him well.
“Then, tell me. Do the young nobles at the academy think the same about the Cellie family?”
“…They probably think worse. In aristocratic society, Cellie is the only family whose main business is taking lives. While the family carries strong prestige, they’re simultaneously criticized for not having clean honor.”
She thought perhaps the reasons for Dayan’s frequent fights with his peers at school might have been more about their preconceptions than she had realized.
After speaking honestly, Tar seemed worried and watched Hartbisa’s reaction.
“So, how should we prepare your dress?”
Most of the dresses in Hartbisa’s dressing room were old, outdated gray ones. With no suitable clothes, they planned to order from a dressmaker.
She had been asking various questions to decide what style to order. Still undecided, Hartbisa decided to ask one more question.
“Tar, then which family has the most benevolent image in the Empire?”
The family that stands opposite to Cellie, is universally praised by all.
And as soon as she asked, Tar answered confidently.
“That would definitely be the Radant Grand Duchy.”
