The Price Is Your Everything

"Is there a Lianon Vertha in this class?"

Natasha Gruenhals, known for her bright orange hair, was looking around the classroom, and the students naturally turned to Lianon.

Lianon was taken aback, unsure why a student council member was looking for her.

Natasha smiled at Lianon, who felt overwhelmed by her beauty and confidence. Lianon stood up, and Natasha chuckled.

"Why are you so nervous? You're the one who sent the letter."

Letter? Lianon was confused and blinked blankly. Natasha held up a letter and showed it to the whole class.

"Is this the one you sent?"

"Yes? No, that's not me."

Natasha's question was absurd. Why would Lianon send her a letter? Besides, the letter looked unfamiliar. Lianon shook her head, and Natasha frowned.

"You're not Nona?"

There was no one else in their class with that nickname. Lianon's voice trembled as she replied.

"I-I am..."

"Then it must be you. There's no other Nona among the new students."

Lianon thought Natasha looked displeased. She was afraid of offending the noble and hot-tempered Natasha, and her voice grew even quieter.

Natasha's orders were simply to bring Lianon to the student council, but she could use a slightly rougher method if needed.

Anyway, acknowledging one's mistakes was the start of reflection, wasn't it?

Natasha read the letter aloud in a slightly raised voice.

"Dear Nellucian Elantria, I want to be friends with you. You were so kind and gentle during our first class, explaining the upcoming test to us. I'll never forget how you looked that day. I'm still young, but I'll grow up to be beautiful..."

The whole class listened intently to Natasha's voice. Megara frowned, Alekto burst out laughing, and Iadalia's face turned pale.

Did Lianon Vertha really write this? She usually acted so innocent.

Lianon's face turned bright red with embarrassment as she shook her head vigorously.

"That's not my letter. I've never seen this before."

"You're Nona, aren't you?"

"But I didn't write this letter."

"Your signature is here. Who can confirm this? Who's friends with her?"

Natasha looked around the class with a bored expression, and Iadalia immediately stood up. Megara tried to stop her, but everyone's attention was already focused on Iadalia.

Iadalia, who would normally be intimidated by such attention, spoke boldly.

"I'm friends with her. I know Lianon's handwriting."

"Really? Then take a look."

The letter's content and spelling suggested that the writer was a new student, which the student council was also convinced of. However, the signature could be fake, so they needed to verify the handwriting.

Natasha handed the letter to Iadalia, and Lianon looked at her, claiming her innocence.

As Iadalia read the letter, her face turned red and white. After finishing, she spoke in a voice that seemed to be holding back something.

"That's Lianon's handwriting."

"What?"

Lianon was shocked. Natasha crossed her arms, watching the two new students.

"It's not me, I swear."

"Look for yourself. If it's not yours, whose handwriting is it?"

Iadalia showed Lianon the signature at the bottom of the letter. Lianon's eyes widened as she saw the familiar handwriting and the signature "Nona."

"This is ridiculous!"

"You're a liar! This is the part where you always make mistakes in spelling."

The students had never seen Iadalia so angry before.

Lianon was confused and bewildered. She had written the letter, but she had never written such absurd content, especially not to someone as high-ranking and popular as Nellucian.

"See, the dots above the letters are similar, but my handwriting is worse..."

"Enough, I'm a busy person, girls," Natasha interrupted, sensing that the argument between the two was getting out of hand.

Megara couldn't help but think about how strange it was for Lianon, a shy girl, to send a letter to a man she didn't even know. But Iadalia seemed so sure, claiming that the handwriting and grammar were both Lianon's.

"Fine, come with me, Lianon. Nellucian 'miss' wants to talk to you," Natasha said, trying to defuse the situation.

Lianon felt embarrassed and humiliated, but she couldn't refuse the student council's request. She reluctantly followed Natasha, and Neris watched her go with a sense of satisfaction.

Neris knew why Natasha had intervened. Nellucian had a secret drawer in the student council room where she kept documents that she wanted to hide from Abellus. Neris had secretly disposed of some of Nellucian's old papers from her school days.

She had deliberately placed a fake letter, written in Lianon's handwriting and signature, in a noticeable spot near the entrance of the secret drawer. It seemed that Abellus had found the letter, as Natasha had come instead of Nellucian.

The student council room was supposed to be a public space that all students could access freely. Neris remembered that many girls had tried to approach Nellucian and Abellus in the past.

The most plausible explanation was that Lianon had visited the student council room to meet Nellucian and had accidentally seen her open the secret drawer, mistaking it for her personal locker.

Neris had carefully chosen the timing of her actions. Whether Nellucian or Abellus found the letter first, Lianon would be in trouble either way. But Neris had hoped that Nellucian would be inconvenienced as well, and it seemed that her plan had worked.

***

The rumor that Lianon Vertha had sent a love letter to Nellucian Elantria, and had even secretly left it on his desk in the student council room, had spread to the upperclassmen by the next day.

"Nellucian was furious, I heard. This year's new students are quite something."

Ren, who had become Neris's partner in Berlen language class, said this with a curious tone. Neris didn't react.

Ren eventually showed his true concern, asking Neris with a worried expression.

"Are you okay? There seem to be a lot of weird people around."

"What's not okay?"

Neris replied nonchalantly. Ren smiled, his large eyes and short lower jaw making him look younger than he was.

"You're a meddler, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not."

Ren seemed to have misunderstood Neris from their first meeting. She knew she was cold, mean, and selfish. She wouldn't bat an eye if someone died in front of her, and she had used and discarded people for the sake of the Elantria family and the Vistal royal family.

Ren, who didn't know this, just chuckled at Neris's reaction.

The class was quiet for a while, with the students writing essays based on a given text. However, they soon started chatting, and it wasn't until Bolter asked a question that they quieted down again.

Neris submitted her essay quietly. Mahradi muttered under his breath.

"Trying to act smart."

Neris didn't react to Mahradi's blatant provocation. Since the first class's translation incident, he had been clinging to Neris, but as long as he didn't affect the class atmosphere, it wasn't worth responding to.

Besides, to counterattack, one needed a valid argument, and Mahradi's words were nonsensical.

Instead, Ren spoke up.

"What's wrong, Mahradi? Why are you picking on someone who's just minding their own business?"

"What am I doing?"

Mahradi raised an eyebrow. Neris sighed inwardly.

There was no need to deal with fools, but Ren couldn't even tolerate minor annoyances. Was this his natural personality, or was it due to his circumstances?

Either way, when speaking, one should have the confidence to steer the situation in their favor. But Ren was still too young.

"Look, you've been picking on someone who's been quiet this whole time. Is that your thing, Ren? You're six years younger than me?"

Mahradi sneered, thinking he had the upper hand.

Bolter looked displeased but didn't immediately intervene. This was partly because the school rules gave students a lot of freedom, and partly because Bolter was a teacher who enjoyed testing his students.

Neris, who had expected this, finally looked up at Mahradi. If she stayed quiet any longer, it would be an insult to herself. Ren didn't seem capable of handling the situation.

Mahradi flinched, meeting Neris's calm, purple eyes. He realized what had happened and his face turned bright red.

His opponent was a low-ranking noble, much younger than him, yet Neris's attitude was so carefree. It was as if she was looking down on him from a higher position.

Neris's small, plump lips slowly opened.

"I find it funny that Mahradi is saying that. How many years older is Mahradi than Megara? Five years?"

Arthur Pendleton, who had seen Mahradi get coldly ignored by Megara, couldn't help but laugh. Mahradi's face turned red and white.

"Don't speak out of turn, new student. You're being rude."

"You were the one who spoke out of turn first, senior. Does 'don't pick on someone who's quiet' mean you like it? Why? Is it because it's common sense?"

This time, more people laughed. Mahradi glared at Neris.

"You're really annoying. Are you always like this?"

"I'm always annoying, and I have a bad personality. So, I'll say it straight out. If you have something to say, come and say it directly. Don't mutter to yourself like a coward."