Chapter 66: Becoming Lady Ellie

Chapter 66

Becoming Lady Ellie

The dreary night ended quickly. In the end, Aria couldn’t bring herself to harm someone with such a tragic background. It was also clear that Nara had planned for Wint to see her naked. Thus, Nara was not without fault. Despite feeling unresolved about some decisions, Aria found no better solution for the situation.

The next morning, Wint behaved as usual, acting like a fool and waiting for Ellie outside her tent. This surprised everyone, especially since Lord Aman had clearly declared that Ellie was a woman of the Setter family. Yet, Wint continued to pursue Ellie just as before.

"You...even though I won’t hold last night against you, why are you still following Ellie? Aren’t you afraid Lord Aman will cut your head off?" Aria stepped in to block him, but her words now carried a hint of concern for the young man who shared half her blood. Ellie could sense this slight change in Aria’s attitude as well.

"The more Lord Aman insists on this, the more I must stay by Ellie’s side. I will protect Ellie myself and won’t let her be harmed by any villain. After all, she is my important friend!"

Wint declared earnestly. His demeanor was still that of the foolish man from yesterday, but his words today were clearer. At least he didn’t speak ambiguously, leading people to misunderstand that he was proposing to Ellie. Calling Ellie his "friend" made it clear, and many even apologized to Ellie for their earlier misunderstandings and accusations that she was involved with someone who was already engaged. Of course, this shift was largely due to Aman’s influence.

If Aman hadn’t vouched for her yesterday, would people have easily believed that Ellie and Wint were just friends? In this era, it was widely believed that men and women shouldn’t get too close...

"You don’t need to help. After everyone learned that Ellie is under Lord Aman’s protection, they almost stepped aside for her," Aria grumbled. How could Wint put on that foolish face in front of her? Did he think she didn’t know what kind of person he really was!?

"Lady Aria, even so, Lord Aman has his own duties. A first-year student like me should have more chance to protect Ellie. Besides, even if Ellie wasn’t connected to Lord Aman, I would still protect her. Once, she sacrificed herself to save me and others. So, in the future...I must repay her."

Wint’s gentlemanly words came out again, and Ellie couldn’t help but secretly purse her lips. However, Wint’s handling of the situation today was quite good, or perhaps Ellie’s feelings had slightly changed upon learning about his background. Nevertheless, the demeanor of Aria, Vida, Ellie, and Wint seemed to shift slightly in the eyes of the onlookers.

Wasn’t it typical for Lady Aria to speak only a few words to Wint, usually calling him a "bastard child"? Why were those classic insults missing now!? Moreover, Lady Aria allowed Wint to linger around her group. Ah...given Ellie’s current status, she deserved to be in the same group as Lady Aria and Lady Vida. If she truly became the lady of the Setter family, her status would indeed be equivalent to Lady Vida’s...

Thus, in the eyes of the people, Ellie was now grouped with the high class by default...

Of course, this was how others saw it, but how could Nara see things the same way!? Whether in the past or the future, Ellie would always be beneath her. How could Nara ever view Ellie as someone high and mighty? Whatever the true nature of Ellie’s relationship with Lord Aman, Nara had sworn to herself that she would never let Ellie become the lady she aspired to be!

If Ellie truly became the lady of the Setter family, then even if Nara became a priestess, her status would only be on par with Ellie’s, right? No way, never! While Nara had to struggle so hard, could the other just use her body to marry into nobility? Nara would never allow things to end that way.

"Wint." Seeing all attention was on the 4 people in front of her, Nara couldn’t let herself fade into the background. She needed to assert her presence. Since Wint had clearly stated that Ellie was only a friend, her status as Wint’s lover should remain unchanged.

Even though this status couldn’t compare to that of the future lady of the Setter family, once she graduated and became a priestess, she would be a high-ranking woman. And in that meantime...she would be the one to destroy Ellie’s position as the lady!

"Nara?" Wint looked towards the voice, nodding to Nara casually, as if oblivious to how much disdain their actions might attract from others.

Aria’s previously good mood changed instantly. Last night’s events not only revealed what kind of person Wint truly was but also let Aria knew about Nara’s vile nature.

Ellie, not wanting to interact with the scheming Nara, quickly excused herself.

"Lady Vida, Lady Aria, I must excuse myself to get breakfast." Seeing Ellie walked away as soon as Nara arrived, Vida also decided to distance herself from the troublesome woman like Nara.

"Let’s go," Vida said briefly to Aria, which prevented her from scolding Nara and telling her to stop bothering the man of the Femon family. Aria had to let Wint handle his own affairs, but she was relieved to realize that Wint wasn’t as foolish as she had initially thought.

Seeing the girls walk away, Wint felt quite weary. He looked at Nara with clear eyes, not showing any wariness. When he saw Nara limping towards him, he quickly went to support her, as any gentleman should.

"Are you injured?" Wint pretended not to know, even though he had heard Nara’s cry last night.

"It’s my own carelessness. You don’t need to worry about me..." Nara smiled, looking as pitiful as a delicate flower. If it were any other man, they might want to keep this roadside flower to admire. After all, she was indeed quite cute and attractive. Unfortunately, that man wasn’t Wint. He wasn’t fooled easily due to his past experiences with cunning women.

"In that case, you should ask Professor Regan for a break today. With such an injury, you can’t work hard."

"No, it’s nothing. I’ve only got a minor injury. Compared to the patients, this is nothing," Nara performed the image of a kind-hearted person, but it only made the surrounding people sneer.

"Playing the good girl today, huh? Even though she stole someone else’s fiancé and slept with another man who’s not her lover. What kind of woman is that?"

"She says it’s nothing, just a small injury, but look at the way she walks, acting like she’s going to die today or tomorrow."

"Her wound really doesn’t seem that bad. Isn’t she supposed to be the next priestess? Then why doesn’t she use her healing power on herself? Why left the wound uncured?”

"Exactly. In fact, she doesn’t need to be a priestess. She could just ask the apothecary for some wound healing potions. But no, she must act all frail. I can’t believe it." Many students criticized her without thinking of keeping their voices down. They couldn’t stand watching Nara’s performance over such a minor injury. If she didn’t want to be a burden, she should just heal herself quickly.

Interestingly, most people didn’t notice that Wint was also behaving unusually. Even though he was a member of the Femon family, who should have carried some healing ointments, he didn’t offer any to Nara. Instead, he just suggested she ask Professor Regan for a break.

From this point, it became clear that Wint didn’t have Nara’s best interests at heart either...

"What everyone said...is it true that there’s medicine for healing wounds? I’m just a girl from the countryside. I don’t even have money for food, so how would I know about any miraculous potion?" Nara played a pitiful role. If the recent events hadn’t happened, her pitiful act might have garnered some sympathy, just like in the novel.

Unfortunately for her, she had a reputation not just as a thief who dared to steal from her friend in the same village, but also as a liar who tricked everyone into thinking she was a priestess when she wasn’t. And here at the aid camp, she had shamelessly meddled with an engaged man. She refused to sleep in a communal tent and instead requested to sleep in a tent with an engaged man...With all these incidents, there was no way Nara could garner any sympathy.

"Why don’t you go steal from your friend again? Or are you afraid she’ll catch you this time, too?"

"Ha! How pathetic! Acting all pitiful now, weren’t you the one who begged to join the church? And now someone so clever and cunning like you are pretending not to know about healing potions? Well...who would believe this? I won’t.”

“Only a fool would. Look at this—when she appeared, Lady Vida, Lady Aria, and Lady Ellie all left immediately. No one wants to deal with her."

"Lady Ellie was the first to excuse herself. Haha, actually, Lady Ellie is really kind. If it were me...I would ask Lord Aman to get rid of this woman from my sight."

"That’s why you don’t get Lord Aman’s attention. Lady Ellie is amazing, not just because of her rare botanic powers but also because of her admirable personality. I’ve been observing...since there was a news that the Setter family showed interest in Lady Ellie, if it were anyone else, they might have become arrogant. Like some people who act high and mighty just because they might become a priestess. But Lady Ellie isn’t like that. I saw that Lady Ellie remained the same."

"Yeah, it’s too bad Lady Ellie doesn’t talk much. I’d like to be friends with her too."

"Better not. Don’t you see that Lady Ellie and the two ladies are good friends? If you interfere, you’ll just end up looking odd."

"That’s right. Seeing Lady Vida and Lady Aria with Lady Ellie, I think they make a really fitting group of friends." The surrounding people’s conversation shifted from criticizing Nara to praising Ellie. The small, fair-faced girl felt a bit lost, but above all, she felt growing discontent.

These people, just after one day of Lord Aman declaring that Ellie was under his protection, were now flattering her excessively. They even went so far as to say that damn Ellie was on the same level as the ladies from the Jarlon and Femon families?

"Lord Wint, could you help me? If there’s really a healing potion, I’d like to use it, so as not to disturb today’s work." Nara leaned into Wint, resting her head on his chest. Her coquettish behavior only fueled the onlookers’ disdain, but Nara didn’t care. All she cared about was Wint. As long as she could make this man focus solely on her, that was enough.

"Alright, I’ll take you," Wint said resolutely, maintaining his image as a gentlemanly fool from start to finish. This gave Nara a false sense of security. But little did she know...She hoped to rely on him to be a main force in completing missions and earning points. However, this man she thought she could easily manipulate would ultimately abandon her and never share even a single point, something she would come to understand in the future...

After Ellie separated herself from all the bothersome people, she found that today’s breakfast was still the same unsatisfying fare. So, instead of waiting in line, she chose to spend her time boiling fragrant, delicious corn by her tent.

Even though many students saw Ellie cooking for herself, no one questioned it anymore. After Lord Aman’s declaration, it wasn’t surprising that Ellie would have a lot of food supplies brought along.

But the girl’s meal that was supposed to be peaceful, it was suddenly disrupted!

Who would have thought that so early in the morning, there would be a loud "Boom!" at the front of the camp? The military alarm signal blared loudly, causing many students to scream and rush to gather. Ellie had to stop what she was doing, quickly storing all her equipment into her dimensional ring. She used her purple mushroom’s observation skill while running to join the others.

"A horde of over 200 beasts is heading this way!! All soldiers prepare for battle. Students from the institute, provide immediate support!!"

"This is an urgent situation. Implement emergency combat protocols! Those who can fight, step forward and engage now!!"

The soldiers’ announcement echoed, and all the professors appeared simultaneously to protect their students. The sky, which was just beginning to lighten, was suddenly darkened by the swarm of winged beasts, which looked to be well over 100.