This Novel is not my Novel

After finishing the meal, I headed for the carriage station.

Even from a distance, one carriage stood out for being exceptionally large and ornate.

Naturally, the Austri family crest was emblazoned prominently on its side.

"We have been waiting for you, Third Young Master. Young Master Baltraus instructed me to bring you to him."

The coachman bowed deeply as he spoke upon spotting me.

His manners were perfectly courteous, yet the conspicuous difference in how he addressed us created a subtle sense of discord.

I expected one of Baltraus's people to come since he was the one who sent the carriage. Still, this man must officially be employed by the ducal family. I didn't think he would discriminate so openly between the duke's children.

Was he acting this way because he personally disliked Karvaldr?

Or because he knew Baltraus disliked Karvaldr?

And had Baltraus deliberately sent someone like this to the academy?

Various questions surfaced in my mind, but I quickly dismissed them.

I had no desire to waste time and energy reprimanding a mere extra over his choice of address.

Besides, "Third Young Master" was one of the official titles used for this body.

And this extra coachman would not even appear in 《NaSE》, which Senna was currently writing.

How someone like him regarded Karvaldr was hardly worth caring about.

As long as he isn't calling me by some derogatory name, well...

I gave the coachman a slight nod to show that I understood, then climbed into the carriage and pulled my baby dragon into my arms.

Unlike me, who felt no resentment toward the coachman's attitude, Yor frowned and let out an irritated "Myaaow."

Her tail repeatedly smacked against the seat.

As I stroked her back to calm her, the coachman closed the door with a respectfully composed manner.

Two or three minutes later, the carriage gave a brief jolt and began moving smoothly forward.

"Do not concern yourself with it. It does not bother me at all. And the reason for that... you understand it well enough, do you not?"

The carriage itself was equipped with soundproofing technology that prevented voices from leaking out, and even if any sound escaped, it would be drowned out by the pounding of hooves.

Still, caution never hurt, so I chose both my words and tone carefully as I soothed the baby dragon.

"Hmph, meow meow."

Yor heaved a deep sigh, shook her head, and stopped striking the seat with her tail.

That did not mean her mood had completely recovered.

Knowing this, I conveyed my feelings by placing light kisses all over her face.

"Thank you. For becoming angry on my behalf, for understanding what I meant... I am simply grateful that you exist."

"Myaaow~!"

Fortunately, that seemed to cheer her up.

Yor made an unbearably adorable sound, as if determined to melt my heart completely, and rubbed her face against my cheek.

I felt the smooth touch of scales and the soft, ticklish brush of fur at the same time.

That, too, was utterly lovable.

Yor and I spent the rest of the journey happily deepening our bond until the carriage reached its destination and came to a stop.

I almost regretted having to get out.

"So we are not going to the main estate."

We had arrived not at the gate transit facility that could take us directly to the Austri duchy, but at some café.

I had assumed Baltraus considered coming to see me personally a waste of time and intended to summon me to wherever he happened to be.

This was somewhat unexpected.

"Young Master Baltraus is waiting for you inside."

The coachman stated the painfully obvious.

He was probably telling me not to keep the young master he served waiting and to hurry inside.

I passed him and entered the building.

The interior had been lavishly decorated to suit aristocratic tastes.

Rather than the usual open seating arrangement, the entire café consisted of private rooms.

The fact that Baltraus had chosen a place like this suggested that he understood at least one thing.

He was not even fighting me over the position of heir, so treating a much younger brother harshly in public would hardly look good.

That was what I thought at first...

Only after entering the room to which a café employee guided me did I realize there might be another reason.

Baltraus was not the only person waiting for me.

The confession villain... and his older brother.

I recognized them immediately because the two men sitting side by side bore a strong resemblance to one another.

The villain was watching both his brother and Baltraus with an aggrieved expression, while his brother anxiously studied my face and Baltraus's.

Their expressions were not identical, but even those looked remarkably alike.

"Come and sit."

The seat Baltraus indicated was beside him.

I already disliked having to sit directly next to him, but once I took my seat, the villain's face was positioned squarely before mine, doubling my displeasure.

Still, I could hardly switch places with Yor, so I had no choice but to endure it.

Once Yor and I settled at the table, the café employee removed the glasses of water that had been placed before those who had arrived earlier.

Then he set an elegant teacup before each of us and poured black tea.

He was about to arrange the snacks he had brought on the table as well, but Baltraus ordered him to leave, so he quietly withdrew.

"......"

"......"

"......"

"......"

Even after the employees closed the door and left, a considerable amount of time passed without anyone speaking.

That was likely because Baltraus, the one who had arranged this meeting, silently did nothing but drink his tea.

I had no desire to speak first either, so I drank my own tea and sank into thought.

According to what Pret casually mentioned during lunch, the confession villain regained consciousness late Thursday evening, left the academy for his family estate immediately afterward, and never returned... That was why he was absent from Friday's classes, wasn't it?

Judging by the expression of the man seated across from me, coming here had not been his own choice either.

His brother had clearly dragged him here by force.

I had just reached that conclusion and clicked my tongue inwardly when—

"Um... Young Master Karvaldr...?"

Unexpectedly, the villain's brother spoke the name of my possessed body.

I had naturally assumed he would speak to Baltraus.

No, wait. He must have had plenty of time while they were waiting for me. Perhaps he already said everything he needed to Baltraus then.

It seemed the long silence just now had arisen not because Baltraus remained quiet, but because I had not spoken.

In that case, it would be better to act as though I had deliberately maintained the silence.

Putting the meaning If you have an excuse, let's hear it into my voice, I said,

"If you have something to say, then say it."

The man was around Baltraus's age and therefore considerably older than Karvaldr.

Even so, he was younger than I had been before possessing this body, so I felt no hesitation speaking down to him.

Besides, I had grown thoroughly accustomed to Karvaldr's distinctive manner of speech.

The condescension came naturally.

This body possessed a far higher status and bloodline than the other man anyway, so no one could object.

Still, as briefly mentioned in Chapter 88, this novel's world did generally value respect for one's elders.

The confession villain visibly flinched.

"I heard about the situation from Young Master Baltraus. My brother spoke carelessly regarding His Grace the Duke of Austri's marital affairs...?"

The villain's brother nudged him several times with an elbow, apparently warning him to stay quiet, as he spoke.

His tone was so cautious and so blatantly servile that he seemed lower in station than the extra coachman I had seen earlier.

Despite that being absolutely impossible in terms of actual rank.

"You cannot imagine how shocked I was when I heard."

"Do I need to know anything about that?"

"No! You do not. I merely meant that I could not believe my brother had said such a thing. I did not raise him that way..."

It was fortunate that he was lowering himself and taking such a submissive stance, since that made the issue seem easier to resolve.

But he was saying far too many pointless things, and it was beginning to irritate me.

"I have no interest in how you raised your brother, so get to the point. Quickly, before my patience runs out."

"Ah, my apologies!"

Only after I frowned and openly displayed my displeasure did he finally say what he had intended to say.

"When I demanded to know why he had said such a thing, my brother insisted that he never did. As his brother, I cannot simply refuse to believe him... So I wished to ask whether you personally heard my brother make that remark."

Apparently, these brothers intended to claim that Helga had lied.

"I did not hear it myself. A girl named Helga told me."

"Helga...! Is that not the {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} girl who gathered a crowd several days ago, screamed at the top of her lungs about how much she hated my brother, humiliated him, and even challenged him to a duel?! She must have fabricated the entire story to frame him!"

The words that poured from his mouth matched my prediction without the slightest deviation.

"Do you truly believe that?"

"Yes! Why would my brother ever disparage His Grace the Duke in front of a baron's daughter in the first place? That alone makes no sense!"

Could it be that this man had not heard the full truth from his brother, but only a distorted version of it?

The question briefly crossed my mind.

To correct this, I first needed to fix the information he had misunderstood.

"According to what I was told, your brother did not directly mention my father. He criticized Baron Vitnir for failing to remarry."

"Then why..."

For the first time, dissatisfaction appeared on the man's face.

He probably wanted to ask why I, a complete outsider, was making an issue of something said to Professor Dyuf.

"Even if he did not directly mention my father, I heard him treat a family head's failure to remarry as a flaw and connect it to the worth of the family. Are you saying I should simply have ignored that?"

"N-No... That is not what I meant... But even that may have been invented by Lady Helga. She might have used one of the few things she has in common with you as a weapon to frame my brother."

Did this man truly trust his brother completely?

Or did he know perfectly well that his brother was rotten and had nevertheless decided to pin the blame on Helga to bury the issue?

Either way, he was making an effort to defend his brother.

Compared with the man sitting quietly beside me, doing nothing but drinking tea, he seemed at least far superior as an older brother.