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Contrary to my expectations, the guest who visited me was Yulika Brande.
Why did she come to me after returning to her estate? As I entered the room, swallowing the ominous feeling that something troublesome would happen, a more unexpected situation unfolded.
“Lady, then how about this magic? I’ve thought for a long time that this sentence must be an error.”
“I think it’s a kind of variation rather than an error. There are no grammatical errors, so it must have been intentionally inserted.”
“I guess it’s possible. Magic like this will consume a lot of mana, right?”
“I think so. It must be similar to the fire magic recorded in Voltaire’s autobiography.”
“I agree. But if we modify the syntax like this
”
“But this will take too long to cast, so in practicality, it is somewhat
”
Mm.
Where am I?
Which university’s lecture room did I come to?
I quietly closed the door I had opened and tried to leave. But before the door was closed, Yulika found me.
“Ah, Princess!”
“Hey, you’re here!”
Following Yulika, Roman, who was having a heated discussion with her, jumped up from his seat, still showing a sloppy smile.
“Unbelievable! This is my house, right?!” I pretended to be exaggeratedly surprised.
Yulika frowned slightly and smiled bitterly.
“Oh, I’m sorry. It looked like you would be late, so I talked to this lady for a while.”
It doesn’t look like you simply talked to each other, I thought as I looked at the books and papers scattered on the table.
Roman remained in the capital for the purpose of meeting Noe, who was trying to unseal Krusech.
Being a poor scholar without money, the duke’s residence naturally gave him a place to stay, and he was currently living at the duke’s residence.
I approached the two and sat down to continue the conversation.
“Did you two know each other?”
“No, this is our first time seeing each other.”
“It was strange that a magician was in this house, so I spoke to him first.”
“Huh? How did Lady Brande know that Roman was a magician?”
“From his attire.”
I glanced at Roman’s rough and rustic clothes.
Oh, I wondered why he was wearing such cheesy clothes. Is it like the uniform of those involved in magic?
However, Yulika denied my guess with the following words. “Because many people involved in magic have such a shocking fashion sense.”
It wasn’t a uniform; it was just a lack of sense.
Roman laughed and scratched the back of his head.
“Oh, dear. I’m embarrassed to hear that.”

 I wanted to tell him that it was not a compliment.
“Anyway, it’s unexpected that you’d look for me. Didn’t you go back to your estate?”
“Ah
 yes. I did go back,” Yulika avoided my gaze and gave an ambiguous answer. “From now on, please just call me Yulika, Princess.”
“What?”
“I was cut off from my family.”
“What?!”
Wow, I was so surprised that I almost jumped out of my seat.
I mean, could you just mention that in front of a third party?
I looked at Roman in bewilderment. Roman also had a somewhat bewildered expression on the unexpectedly heavy topic.
However, Yulika, who was actually involved, smiled brightly and waved her hand. “Oh, don’t be surprised. Well, getting kicked out and being abandoned by the family is a common thing these days, isn’t it?”
No, it was not!
There was never a time when such things were common, in all times and places, let alone these days!
“No way
 Is it because of the engagement?”
“Yes, because it means I’m useless now. But more than that
”
“
?”
“He must’ve been ashamed that I didn’t protect the empress do- I mean, Marianne,” Yulika said with a bitter smile.
It seemed that the reason why she spoke in a light tone like it was someone else’s business was to barely hold back the tears that were about to explode.
“How could a father do such a thing
!”
This was the woman who had poisoned his daughter to be infertile. What reason did he have to defend that woman?
“Uh
 You two speak. I’ll excuse myself.” Roman, realizing that the atmosphere had become heavy for some reason, quietly tried to get up from his seat. However, Yulika caught him.
“No. You can stay. I don’t have much time to meet people these days, so it’s fun to talk to many people.”
Roman looked at me with an awkward expression. To be exact, his eyes looked like he was seeking help.
“Just stay, Mr. Roman,” I said. Roman failed to escape and sat back down with a gloomy smile.
After letting out a shallow sigh, I asked Yulika, “Then where are you staying now?”
“It may not be much, but I have my share of wealth, so don’t worry about that.”
“You can’t keep going like that. Why don’t you ask for help from your close lady friends?”
“Close lady friends? Who are you talking about?”
“You used to go together often
 The Hector or the Bebinca
”
At my explanation, Yulika smiled bitterly.
“I have already asked. Even though I know it’s useless.”
She hadn’t gotten a good answer.
Well, it was understandable.
I remembered the two young ladies who had changed their attitude a while ago and flattered me.
“Well, of course. Even I have lived my life looking only at the position of the empress, not caring about my own life,” Yulika said in a regretful voice. “They just saw me as the ‘to-be empress’. So I can’t blame them, who rejected me, who is not the ‘to-be empress’ anymore.”
“Young Lady-”
“When I was kicked out of my house, many names came to my mind, but I don’t think anyone could help me. It was that kind of life.”
The life of ‘Brande’.
A life without ‘Yulika’.
“I know it’s shameless. Still, I came to ask for your help.”
“Me?”
“You’re someone who hates ‘Brande’. So could you be merciful to me, who’s not ‘Brande’?”
Yulika’s eyes were desperate. Even though she had said not to worry, it seemed that their e situation was worse than expected. So she came looking for me who was once an enemy.
No one would blame me if I swore at her and sprayed her with water and drove her away. But she must have been so determined.
Even so, did she have no choice but to come to me?
Was I the only one who came to mind?
“What do you want me to help you with? Do you want some money?”
“Please find me a place to work.”
“
 Work?”
“It doesn’t matter if it’s chores. I can even become an attendant to the duke’s family.”
In the imperial family or the duke’s family, people of lower aristocrats are sometimes used as butlers or chief ladies-in-waiting.
However, the count’s family is a high-ranking aristocrat. No matter how cut off she was from the family; she couldn’t be an attendant. Not to mention, she had once been the fiancĂ©e of the emperor.
Everyone would surely mock her.
“I can see you’re determined, but
 You won’t be able to hold out. It’s not easy, working for someone else.” I persuaded her with anxiety. But she was stubborn.
“But there’s no other way to live.”
“I understand your impatience. I know that commitment. But this isn’t possible.”
“Still
” Perhaps thinking that she was not able to achieve her goal in the end, Yulika bit her lower lip hard and bowed her head.
At that time, Roman, who had been quietly listening to the conversation by the side, raised his hand.
“Well
 Excuse me, may I speak for a moment?”
Yulika and I looked at Roman at the same time.
After Roman inhaled and cleared his throat, he opened his mouth. “Actually, the guild is looking for a librarian who knows a lot about magic.”
“
 A librarian?”
“We have to classify and organize books, but the data is so vast and old that no one dares to touch it. But we can’t entrust it to someone who knows nothing about magic.” Roman smiled shyly and looked at Yulika and said, “It’s not that the young lady has no knowledge of magic at all
 No, I think you’re rather rich in conversation.”
“Then
 Perhaps
”
“Yes. If you don’t mind, how about working as a librarian for our guild?”
Yulika’s eyes lit up, like someone who had finally found hope.
“Actually, we’re not financially well-funded, and the salary is not high. The work is also very difficult.”
“That’s fine!” Yulika said urgently.
Roman laughed at that refreshing answer. “Good. Then I will contact Liun. I will also write a letter of recommendation for you.”
“Ah, then how can I repay you-!”
“Ahaha, the princess feeds me and gives me a place to sleep, so I’m just helping her in return.”
Roman scratched his cheek shyly.
I was dumbfounded, so I argued with Roman. “No, wait a minute. Why are you giving Lady Brande the grace you received from me?”
“Ahh. Aren’t good things good?”
So what’s good for me in this situation?!
‘But well
 I’m glad it eased my feelings.’
I sighed lightly as I looked at Yulika, who was delighted.
***
After having dinner, Yulika left the duke’s residence.
I gave a carriage to Yulika. She stubbornly refused, but I didn’t want to treat her badly for some reason.
Walking side by side in the corridor, Yulika hesitated for a long time before opening her mouth. “Actually, I came here with the intention of being criticized.”
“I guess so. Asking me for help, to be honest is a little shameless.”
“Whoa
 Yes.” Yulika asserted in my cold answer. “But somehow, I thought that if it were you, you would help me even if you cursed at me.”
“Why? Is it because I sympathize with you?”
“No. Because I know you’re a princess who knows how to make the right choices.”
I turned my head to Yulika at the unexpected reply. But she was staring straight ahead, not at me.
Since she didn’t bother to make eye contact, I looked straight ahead again.
“Honestly, I’m impressed.”
“What do you mean?”
“In the sense that you’re someone who can honestly ask for help. I am not good at things like that.”
For a very long time, I had never depended on others.
Little by little, I was learning to trust and depend on people and ask for help, but I was still clumsy. It was more familiar and comfortable to make decisions alone and work hard alone.
I realized now that it took a lot of courage and effort to seek help.
“Is that so? You were weak in the strange part.”
When we arrived at the entrance, I handed Yulika the package of papers I had prepared.
“Take this.”
“What is this?”
“It’s tea leaves. Didn’t you go to this store often, too? I just bought something.”
Yulika looked somewhat bewildered. Then she took out the tin case inside the paper package.
On the outside of the tin case, along with the seal attached only to the limited edition, the name of the tea leaf was written in gold leaf.
“Oh, it’s not poisoned, so don’t worry,” I laughed and joked. Yulika looked at me with a mysterious expression. Well, maybe this joke wasn’t very good.
“Why
 is it tea?”
Yulika’s expression was complicated.
I shrugged one shoulder and answered lightly, “You are a noble lady.”
A tea is a luxury item.
In particular, high-quality tea leaves sometimes represent the dignity or discernment of the family.
She was abandoned by Brande. Separated from an aristocratic family, she could no longer be called an aristocrat.
But.
“You’re still a strong and wonderful noble lady. You know how to raise your own honor, right?”
“Ah
 That’s
 T-Thank you.”
Yulika laughed awkwardly with an ‘ahaha’. Even as she laughed, she couldn’t hold back her thick tears.
She held the tin case in her hands and held it to her forehead, while she wept. Her shoulders trembled.
Her cries, which had only been sobs, were soon swallowed up by sounds that shook the air.
You’ll be fine.
Because you know how to make the right choice.
With that in mind, I waited by her side for her to stop crying. For a very long time, silently.