Chapter 16: Recruitment Gone Wrong

"Better than Ephraim? Now you’ve really piqued my interest, Senior Zachary. Mention your offer."

"Lydia, don’t."

Lydia’s face lit up with a bright smile as she slipped out of Ephraim’s hold and turned toward Zachary.

"How about a lucrative business partnership with the Ludenbergs?"

"Ludenberg?" Lydia’s eyes sparkled.

"Now you’re speaking my language!"

Everyone and their dogs knew the Ludenbergs.

Rumors said that the Ludenbergs were even wealthier than the royal family, and no nobles were foolish enough to provoke them.

They might only hold the title of Count, but their influence was far greater than their rank suggested. Even the Emperor himself was said to be careful when dealing with their family.

The Ludenbergs held more patents for machines and advanced technologies than any other family on the continent. Their inventions had changed transportation, communication, manufacturing, and even military equipment

Their stellar fleet was also considered one of the strongest in the entire continent, making their family an important force far beyond the borders of their territory.

Thus, House Ludenberg and House Valendorf had stronger ties to each other than to the Empire itself, despite the Valendorfs serving as the Empire’s Sword.

So this shameless playboy was actually the heir of Ludenberg? This might be a great investment for my future.

"Ahem. As a Lady of House Valendorf, it would be wise to strengthen our family ties, Senior Zach."

"That was fast. But I could totally see your ulterior motives, Lydia," Ephraim scoffed.

Lydia paid him no mind. Having connections with the Ludenbergs could be a huge benefit to her future.

The Crown Prince was no more than a bystander by now. Lydia nodded without hesitation.

"All right. I’ll join. Student Committee, isn’t it?"

"Excellent choice, my lady!"

Instead of shaking Lydia’s hand, Zachary casually slung an arm around her shoulders.

"See? I knew we’d get along just fine."

At 6’4" (194 cm), Zachary towered over Lydia. His arm practically swallowed her shoulders, making the height difference even more ridiculous.

Lydia glanced at the arm draped around her before tilting her head back to look at him.

Is this what they call a hostile takeover?

They had known each other for approximately five minutes. But Zachary had already turned her into his personal armrest, much to Ephraim’s displeasure.

Still, Lydia didn’t bother pushing him away. If joining the Student Committee could give her access to useful resources and influential connections, there was no reason to refuse.

In her previous life, Lydia’s engagement had been annulled, and as an F-Rank Guide without a Spirit Animal, she was no longer considered worth keeping by her own family.

Duke Valendorf had sent her to the Imperial Authority, where she would live and work in exchange for food, housing, and other basic necessities.

It wasn’t exactly cruel. She had a roof over her head and meals to eat. But those were only the basics.

After being cast out by her own family, Lydia had to struggle to make ends meet, learning the hard way how difficult life could be without the wealth and privileges she’d once taken for granted.

If her family could throw her away once, they could do it again.

So, in this life, Lydia had a simple goal:

Hoard enough money, investments, and valuables to live comfortably for the rest of her life without ever having to worry about going broke again.

Still, money wasn’t everything. After spending years surrounded by people who treated her like an inconvenience, Lydia found Zachary’s shameless friendliness surprisingly refreshing.

"So, Lydia," he said casually, ignoring the faint twitch in Ephraim’s expression, "what do you usually do after class? We have plenty of interesting people in the Student Committee. I’m sure you’ll fit right in."

"Nothing special. I usually return to the dorm after class."

"Not even dating?" His eyes darted to the insignia on Lydia’s uniform. "We can fix that, deerling."

Behind them, Ephraim maintained his usual charming smile. Only the slight tightening around his eyes betrayed his irritation.

Zachary noticed. Of course he noticed.

"I’ll introduce you to everyone properly. I’m sure they’ll be thrilled to meet the Crown Prince’s beautiful fiancée."

He finally removed his arm from Lydia and reached for her hand instead. His movements were smooth and surprisingly gentlemanly this time.

Before Lydia could respond, Zachary lifted her hand and pressed a light kiss to the back of it.

"I know you’re engaged to Ephraim," he said, his voice warm with amusement. "But if things ever go south, you know where to find me, my lady. Zachary will always be at your beck and call."

A shameless grin plastered on Zachary’s lips as she smirked at Ephraim.

He was doing that on purpose. Only a Ludenberg would dare to pull a stunt like that in front of the Crown Prince.

Without saying a word, Ephraim gently took Lydia’s hand from Zachary. His smile never faltered. Not even when he kept smiling as he wiped the back of Lydia’s hand with a silk handkerchief from his pocket.

"Ephraim?"

"Just in case." He tapped his bracelet, producing a small disinfectant spray from its built-in compartment. After spraying the handkerchief, he gave her hand another careful wipe.

"Hygiene reasons."

Someone is getting jealous, I see.

Zachary stared at him for half a second before bursting into laughter.

"Golden boy, you’re much more possessive than the rumors say."

"I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"Hahaha! Seriously? Even the freshmen in our Committee knew how you were always singing praises for—"

"Senior Zachary Ludenberg."

Ephraim folded the handkerchief and returned it to his pocket. His smile was still perfectly polite. But Lydia could feel his Resonance pressure even from a few feet away.

Zachary shook his head, clearly delighted by his reaction. That devilish smirk sure reminded Lydia of a Cheshire cat.

These two are going to give me a headache.

Fortunately, Zachary seemed to remember why they had come to the garden in the first place. He reached for his bracelet and popped open its storage compartment, retrieving a thin stack of neatly prepared documents.

"Anyway, before you officially join the Student Committee, you’ll need to fill these out."

Lydia accepted them and quickly skimmed through the forms.

Most of them were ordinary membership information, including her name, rank, Spirit Animal status, class, and basic academic information.

"There’s one more thing," Zachary said.

"Since the Student Committee is an official university organization, students under legal guardianship need their guardian’s approval to join."

"Guardian’s approval? Wait, don’t tell me..."

"Yep." Zachary pointed toward the bottom of the page.

"You’ll need a signature."

There was a designated space for the legal guardian’s signature.

For Lydia, that meant her older brother, Sylvain Valendorf, the current head of House Valendorf.

Of all the people in the Empire, why did it have to be him? Things would have been much easier if Father hadn’t passed the ducal title to Sylvain two years ago.

"Why do I have to get my brother’s signature to join?!"