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Chapter 57: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat

Chapter 57


After school, Sylvia returned to her mansion and began sorting through the letters she had received.


The Astra family was meticulous about remembering and repaying favors.


Because of this family motto, many members of the Astra family were involved in the legal field.


However, due to her prestigious title as the heir to Astra, Sylvia occasionally received letters with gifts attached, asking her to put in a good word with influential people.


To put it bluntly, they were illegal solicitations.


‘They call me the heir, but I don’t have any real power in the family business.’


Of course, even if she could influence decisions, she had no intention of looking favorably upon those who sent such requests.


Seeing the schemes of those who committed such dishonorable acts was exhausting for Sylvia.


‘If you’ve committed a crime, you should be prepared to face the consequences.’


Sylvia scoffed internally as she tore up the letter and used her spirit magic to eliminate all traces of it.


“Miss, shall I return the items that arrived today as we’ve handled previous ones?”


“Yes, please do. I’ve noticed an increase in such letters over the past few days. I hope none of the family members receive these and cause embarrassment.”


“Of course. I assure you, there are no fools in the Astra family who would engage in behavior that tarnishes our name.”


The attendant’s words made Sylvia smile and nod.


The Astra family, which once held the world in its grasp, was obsessed with its honor more than anything.


As the attendant said, the Astra name would not be sullied.


Even if someone accepted such solicitations, they would never be caught.


Moreover, if such a thing were to be exposed, the one who received the bribe would disappear overnight, at the hands of none other than the family members.


Sylvia was well aware that if such an event occurred, she would be the last to know.


As the heir, she handled various matters, but the critical decisions were made by the family elders.


She had no choice but to accept this.


Within the family, she was merely a symbol of the lost glory of the past, and the title of heir was just another name for a figurehead.


Feeling tired, Sylvia yawned and stretched unconsciously.


She quickly glanced at the attendant, worried about showing such a relaxed posture.


The attendant merely looked at her with concern.


“Miss, you seem tired. Shall I prepare some tea to help with your fatigue?”


“...Please do. I’ve been quite exhausted lately with everything going on.”


“Fortunately, there are no plans for tonight, so you can rest in the evening. I’ll prepare the tea in the kitchen, so please wait a moment.”


Relieved that today was a rest day, Sylvia laid her head down on her desk.


With so many recent hardships, both physically and mentally, the rest time was precious.


As she lay there, she felt she shouldn’t waste such valuable time.


‘Since I have some time, I might as well read a book.’


With some time to spare until the attendant returned with the tea, Sylvia left her room to get a book from the mansion’s library.


---


The library was a bit far from her room.


On the way, passing by the conference room corridor, Sylvia heard voices conversing.


It was one of the family elders, who essentially held real power, and her uncle, Sator.


An unusual combination.


Curious, Sylvia stopped and listened to their conversation from a place where she couldn’t be seen.


Sator’s voice, filled with frustration, was loud enough to hear from a distance.


“You want to stop now? Do you know how much time and resources we’ve invested in this? With the trial and error behind us, the next time will surely yield proper results!”


“I’ll say it again, Sator. The plan is halted. While we understand your frustration, we’ve decided not to pursue the outcome. Moreover, you said the laboratory was destroyed in a fire. Consider the investments as sunk costs and let go.”


Conflict.


That was the word that came to Sylvia’s mind as she watched the scene.


She had never imagined such a word between those two, so it was a surprising sight.


Sator, always busy with his laboratory, seemed to have little involvement in family matters. What could be so important for him to clash with an elder?


“It wasn’t destroyed! We recently found what we thought was lost! Elder, just give us permission! Are you willing to give up on Astra’s secret wish?”


“Sator, that’s your wish, not Astra’s. Time has passed, and circumstances have changed. Even those elders who once agreed with you have changed their minds. It’s time for you to let go. If you find it again, our decision is to dispose of it.”


Sylvia had no idea what they were talking about, with mentions of plans and Astra’s secret wish.


It seemed Sator was pursuing something against the elders’ wishes.


Whatever the plan was, the elders who held real power in Astra telling him to stop meant he had no choice but to comply.


Yet, Sator shouted back.


“That’s not possible!”


“Sator, are you defying the elders’ decision?”


The elder’s pressing question made Sator stare at him without answering.


Scratching his neck with his gloved hand, his eyes gleamed ominously.


Seeing his eyes, Sylvia had a hunch that if left alone, something bad would happen.


“Elder, Uncle, what is going on here?”


She walked towards them as if she had just noticed them.


Sylvia didn’t miss the momentary flash of surprise on the elder’s face.


Clearly, they were discussing something they didn’t want her to hear.


“It’s nothing, Miss Sylvia. Just some work-related matters.”


The elder spoke calmly, but Sator’s expression remained hardened.


As if rebuking him, the elder gave Sator a pointed look.


“Isn’t that right, Sator?”


“...Yes, that’s correct.”


Thankfully, Sator seemed to calm down.


It was unbelievable that they were about to fight.


It was ridiculous, but since the atmosphere had calmed, she decided to play along.


“That’s a relief. I was worried you two might be arguing.”


Sylvia smiled, and the elder laughed lightly, turning to Sator.


“Haha, no way. Sator, I trust you understand our decision.”


His words implied that the decision was final and Sator should comply.


Worried they might raise their voices again, Sylvia was relieved when Sator slowly nodded.


“...I understand.”


“It’s a relief. I’ll be on my way now. I get tired so easily now that I’m older. Haha.”


As the elder left, Sator turned to Sylvia, his expression still holding some lingering discontent.


“...Sylvia, did you know that the Astra family once had a position called the Patriarch, which everyone in the family followed?”


Sylvia responded to Sator’s sudden remark.


“I’ve read about it in storybooks. That was over 500 years ago.”


It was a story that had become a legend.


The World Tree itself chose the Patriarch to lead the great Astra family.


But the last Patriarch of Astra struck the final blow against the Witch of Fury, burning with her, and died.


Naturally, with the World Tree burned, the position of Patriarch disappeared from Astra.


“Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have a leader we could believe in and follow, like those Patriarchs in the stories. Someone like you, Sylvia, would be someone I could follow wholeheartedly…”


“Uncle, please keep such thoughts to yourself. If the elders hear of it, you could be in big trouble.”


Sator’s words implied dissatisfaction with the current elders leading Astra.


Such thoughts were dangerous, so Sylvia warned him, and Sator laughed heartily.


“Haha, just joking, just joking. By the way, Sylvia, where were you headed?”


“I wanted to read, so I was going to the library to get a book.”


“Reading, a fine hobby. Since I’m here, shall we go together?”


It was an unexpected companion, but with no reason to refuse, Sylvia and Sator headed to the library.


Upon entering the library filled with bookshelves, Sylvia slowly browsed the shelves and found a familiar title.


It was a book she had read numerous times as a child, titled [Stories for Growing Heroes].


It was one of the books that heavily influenced her desire to attend Aegis Academy.


Looking back, some stories might have been a bit scary for a child, but since they were slightly adapted true stories for children, they felt more realistic and thrilling.


Deciding to revisit the book after a long time, Sylvia picked it up, and Sator, noticing, spoke with delight.


“Oh, that book. I read it a lot when I was young too. It’s been a steady seller for years. Isn’t there a story about the last Patriarch of Astra in there too?”


Indeed, the story of the last Patriarch of Astra, who sacrificed himself to defeat the Witch of Fury, was in the book.


“When I read that book as a child, I imagined a lot about the forest where elves lived when the World Tree was still alive and the appearance of the Patriarch leading Astra. And I was very angry at the Witch of Fury for taking all that away.”


As an Astra member, Sylvia could relate to his words and nodded.


She too had thought the Witch of Fury was evil when she first read it.


Sator smiled at her and then pulled out an old book with a plain cover from a corner shelf.


Dust flew as he pulled it out, making Sator grimace, his meticulous nature evident.


On the cover of the book, it simply said [Fury].


“So I found this book while researching the Witch of Fury. Have you seen it before?”


Sylvia shook her head, and Sator continued, slightly shaking the book.


“This book was written by an Astra member hundreds of years ago. There are very few copies, so not many know about it. It contains lesser-known stories about the Witch of Fury.”


Flipping through the pages, he spoke again.


“It’s said that no one knew what the Witch of Fury looked like because she was always engulfed in flames, but this book describes her appearance and name when she lived as a human. It’s based on the testimony of a survivor from her village. It felt quite plausible, though it might not be entirely accurate.”


Sator handed the book to Sylvia.


“You mentioned that you were angry at the Witch of Fury while reading about the great Astra. I recommend you read this book too. It had a significant impact on me.”


“Then I’ll read it tonight.”


Sator smiled and said,


“By the way, Sylvia, I recently saw a red-haired girl wearing a ring like yours. She’s your friend, right?”


Did he see Scarlet?


Sylvia nodded, and Sator, scratching his reddened neck, smiled deeply.


“I believe you will understand my decision.”


With those cryptic words, Sator left the mansion.


Sylvia found his smile unsettling.


---


Sylvia took the book to her room, and shortly after, the attendant brought tea.


“Miss, you’re still reading these storybooks…”


Noticing the storybook on the desk, the attendant commented.


‘It’s not a crime to read children’s books when you’re older.’


Sylvia tried to keep a neutral expression but felt annoyed by the attendant’s twitching smile.


“I’d like to be alone, please.”


“As you wish.”


Ah, the attendant definitely smirked before leaving.


Even though the attendant had been with her for over a decade, it felt too much.


Feeling a bit rebellious, Sylvia took a sip of tea and opened [Fury] instead of the storybook.


Within five minutes, she closed the book again.


Just skimming through it, she felt the intense anger of the writer towards the Witch of Fury seeping into her.


‘What is this book? It’s totally unpleasant.’


Feeling slightly nauseous, she drank more tea.


Thinking her uncle must be abnormal to be deeply moved by such a book, Sylvia opened [Stories for Growing Heroes] instead.


The stories, although likely grim in reality, were adapted for children with a bit of gentleness.


They were filled with thrilling adventures and fateful encounters.


This was more to her taste.


That night, Sylvia dreamed of a silver-haired elf and a red-haired girl fighting against a witch.


---


One day, a girl with black hair and red eyes came to the village.


The only thing she seemed to know was her name, Evangeline.


At that time, no one knew.


That the cursed witch would burn our entire village.



Comments

  1. Her maid is so damn irritating lmao

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is too much foreshadowing wow wth, at the end of the book scarlet will pull a johan move, she'll burn an entire town and herself too, just like in her dream. If this was a visual novel game it would probably have multiple endings, quite interesting now that I think of it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. That last part is probably introducing a new character or at least something that happened in the past

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  4. Uhm, well, it was obvious alread that the original body of MC was that witch.
    That's why MC had that illusion of a ruin before, probably, as it must be an image of the past as a witch or a future when going berserk.
    Honestly, i'm more concerned of another thing, that being, what will happen to their friendship when Sylvia learns about MC's circumstances, also what this crazy guy has been doing.
    After all, it's bound to wreck her mentally/emotionally.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The ruin was more likely to be connected to the mc himself rather than eva the original owner of the body (as MC is yet to regain the original owner's memories. But it still impacted her). There is also there is the consideration of the og owner's memory suggesting thatshe was a child interacting with the creepy elf and her guardian. Leading me to believe that she is likely to be a child and experimental subject who was forced into becoming the witch of wrath

      Delete
  5. I swear that there wil be war if he does something to scarlet

    ReplyDelete
  6. "To put it bluntly, they were illegal solicitations."

    Noooooo, that's called 'Lobbying'

    Also, I just realized that an elve is friend with a fire user, very funny. Fate is really relentless and mischievous in this story, it would seem.

    ReplyDelete

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