Transmigrated Into A Tragic Romance Fantasy-Chapter 26: It’s Not So Easy

[ Academy Classmate ].

After introducing herself, Lumia stood by the window of Ariel’s drawing room, looking outside.

Her hood had been removed, making her snow-white hair and gem-like blue eyes visible.

After all, in a few days, she was scheduled to reveal her real face to their official audience. By the end of the Betrothal Contest, she would take the winner’s hand and walk through the city of Winterfell, receiving the cheers of the Northerners.

Not as the red-haired Erenscia Velroc, but as Lumia Winterfell. On that day, she would proudly reveal herself to the world.

As such, when the guards beyond this room searched her, she didn’t object to it.

After all, for this night, she was just Erenscia, a poor noble girl from a borderland family.

...I hope the advisor delivered my message.

Tomorrow, one last event will take place before the official audience.

Because of this, Lumia made arrangements to guarantee Elden’s participation.

While Gelwood would handle him, Lumia herself would make the last touches of her plan by talking to Ariel.

An irresistible temptation, an unmistakable encouragement. And then, she would fan the flames for a bit more.

Moreover, this wasn’t the subtle favoritism she had shown before.

[I fell for you at first sight.]

It was an ultimatum, a clear confession.

Her ‘rage’ upon hearing of his withdrawal, the conflicts following, her cold treatment towards the other participants...Would be because of her ‘love’.

Of course, this was nothing but a fake confession.

Nevertheless, she would make use of a force strong enough to even mix water and oil together, securing the withdrawer, with both her feelings and privileged information about tomorrow’s trial.

A heaven-sent opportunity to save his declining house, becoming part of the Grand Ducal Family, and enjoy all the power and influence he could dream of.

Who in their right mind would let go of such an opportunity?

With such love-filled encouragement, even the one who believed himself unworthy would surely rethink his decision.

If it weren’t for Ariel’s feelings, that was strong enough to blur her rationalism, making her attempt something beyond her standing,

Lumia would have never moved to confirm her newly discovered Hypothesis.

If.

If Ariel and Elden were indeed having a secret affair, that alone would guarantee that Elden would be heavily punished.

Violating the Betrothal Contest rules in such a blatant manner would be akin to scorning the Grand Duke’s prestige.

Should this ‘secret affair’ not be the reason for his withdrawal, then the hypothesis of Elden truly ‘repenting’ would still be reasonable.

However, should the ‘affair’ be the reason, then Lumia could make use of this to encourage his participation.

After all, participating and repenting for his past mistakes would certainly be more desirable than making an enemy of the Grand Duchy.

Indeed,

[Love].

Once this hypothesis was proven to be correct, everything would fall into place.

This content is taken from freёnovelkiss.com.

Though Lumia herself had never fallen in love, it’s often said that lovers come to resemble each other.

And only such a thing would make Elden, that despicable wastrel, be interested in books.

The pursuit of trying to win a beloved’s favor.

This could be the only reason as to why Elden was doing the things he previously abhorred.

It must be love.

Only then, she would be able to find an answer to such an unsolvable problem.

With such thoughts, Lumia patiently awaited Ariel.

After a moment, the doors opened and she heard it,

“Elden?”

The voice of Ariel Elrond and her words only strengthened her hypothesis towards [Love].

“Fufu-. It has been a long time, hasn’t it? Lady Ariel Elrond.”

With a bright smile, Erenscia Velroc, the lady of a humble baronial family from the borderland, greeted Ariel.

**

“I never expected to meet you again, but it’s nice to see you, Erenscia.”

“Fufu-. I also had no idea we would meet like this. Have you been well?”

“Mostly fine, for the time being, and you?”

“I’ve been well too.”

A few pleasantries were exchanged.

And that was it.

Since she had never expected such a meeting, the topics of conversation were understandably limited.

She had nothing to ask about since they never were interested in each other.

Having a warm and lively conversation would be something too fake and awkward.

Therefore, after a few words of greeting, an intense silence befell the drawing room.

Fortunately, Ariel managed to find a way out of this stifling situation.

“What happened to your hair? I remember them being rather red before.”

“Oh, actually, I had changed my hair color with a mana dye. Many people think us northerners are a barbaric bunch, you know?”

“Ah, that’s true. So the Land of the Bitter Cold is your birthplace? That’s nice to know. This color suits you best, Erenscia. You’re incredibly beautiful.”

“Oh my. Thank you, Lady Ariel, you are also gorgeous.”

Once again, they only exchanged some formal words.

However, their compliments were sincere.

Both Lumia with her snow-white hair and blue eyes, and Ariel with her blonde hair and auburn eyes were incredibly beautiful women.

Unfortunately, the awkward mood was something Ariel didn’t know how to clear, since she had never interacted with Lumia before, preferring to spend her time with a good novel.

“What brings you here?”

Thankfully, Lumia didn’t wish to drag this conversation out.

Her objective here was to simply confirm the credibility of her [Love] hypothesis.

She wanted to be certain that such foolish emotion had been the cause of her plans going awry.

If so, then Lumia would need to formulate a new strategy.

For a researcher like Lumia, there were no unsolvable problems. She would pursue something till the ends of the earth, should it be necessary for her to know.

Moreover,

Such drive and perseverance had served Lumia well thus far.

Sip-.

After taking a sip of the winter flower tea she had been served, Lumia started talking about more serious matters.

“Actually, I have come here to ask you something.”

“Oh? What is it?”

“I was asked to find an answer.”

“And for whom are you speaking...?”

At such a late hour,

Where darkness had already covered the land.

A strange visitor appeared at Ariel’s door with a message they intended to convey on another’s behalf.

Everything about this situation exuded a fishy, ominous aura, and while Ariel awaited answers, she found herself slightly afraid.

However, when such an answer was delivered, Ariel’s eyes widened comically.

“It’s a message from the Third Northern Duchess.”

“......!”

Her mouth gaped in shock.

Meeting another classmate in these lands was something unimaginable.

However, the ‘name’ such a classmate uttered had been beyond Ariel’s wildest dreams.

“...T-The, The Third Northern Duchess?!”

Ariel’s reaction was natural.

After hearing such a name, her ears perked up, her eyes widened and her mouth was left agape.

And then, a moment later.

“Amaz—ing!”

All her previous fears were swept away, replaced by a vibrant joy that seemed to drive back the darkness of the night.

The response of an avid reader who had sobbed and snotted her way through the fanfiction - The Secret Snowflake of the North - Featuring none other than the enigmatic [ Third Northern Duchess ] as its protagonist.

“...What?”

“Wow-! So you work for the Duchess?”

Bursting from her seat, Ariel leaned forward, supporting herself on the table with both hands.

Her auburn eyes sparkled like a starry sky.

In response to her energetic reaction, Lumia shrunk back.

“Y-Yes...That’s correct...?”

“So you must know a lot about the Duchess, right?!”

“W-Well...I suppose I do.”

Because of her scholarly disposition, Lumia had only read textbooks or research papers.

So, the existence of a fanfiction featuring her was something beyond Lumia’s awareness.

Moreover, such a thing was not the type of romance novels her maid, Marien liked to read, but a piece of exotic literature with the intent of exploring the identity of a well-known person.

Thus,

It was natural that Lumia, a researcher, couldn’t understand the reason why Ariel’s eyes sparkled.

As an avid reader, it was simply natural for Ariel to be excited since the novel ‘The Secret Snowflake of the North’ moved her so much that she read it five times.

Then, a barrage of questions commenced.

“What kind of a person is the Duchess?”

“...?”

“Is it true that she always has a veil because of a curse?”

“......”

“Ahh~ I wish I could meet her-!”

“......”

“I heard rumors that the Grand Duke hides her because of her beauty that surpasses even the princess! Is it true?!”

“N-No...”

“The book says her martial skills are enough to even defeat a seasoned warrior, is that true too?”

“W-Wait...”

“Ah-. Wait, do you have to go back soon? Can you tell me more about the Duchess, pretty please~?”

“......”

On this night, Lumia experienced the terror an excited bookworm could become as they gushed over their favorite protagonist.

It took a long time for Ariel’s excitement to subside.

“Tehe-...Sorry~. It’s just that the novel featuring the Duchess as the protagonist really moved me.”

“....Pardon? T-There’s...a...Novel about her...?”

“Yes-!”

Lumia felt dizzy with such revelations.

It took her...A long time to regain her composure.