Chapter 295: Past Stories

Chapter 295

Past Stories

In the mansion of the Setter family, the key members of the family were no longer present, having moved their meetings to the city of Erel following Ellie. However, if Ellie needed to see anyone, they could come to her. Even the eldest young lord of the Setter family was already waiting since he heard Ellie would be arriving in Set city.

Numerous servants diligently attended to Ellie, and she met several of the family’s young ladies. They seemed to be doing well. Initially, Sara was supposed to start studying at the Ares Institute this year, being only slightly younger than Zoey. However, the Setter family, being very alert, decided to delay the enrollment of any children, who were supposed to be first-year students, for another year to avoid the risk of them getting caught up in the war before they had learned enough.

While it might seem like a disadvantage, it wasn’t the case at all. Staying in the Setter family could provide more knowledge. They had many strong instructors with real experiences in various fields teaching the children personally. The learning environment was initially tense, but as Aya and Athena grew stronger, they managed to get along and conduct themselves properly.

Even Sara, who led the girls, became more amiable with the two children, creating a very pleasant atmosphere within the Setter family.

After some brief greetings, Ellie went to her office, followed by Eldest Young Lord Owen, who seemed to sense that Ellie wanted to see him. They were alone in the office, and Ellie, trying to relax, poured tea for herself and the eldest young lord in front of her.

Owen wasn’t in a hurry to ask questions, allowing Ellie to gather her thoughts at her own pace because he could wait for her indefinitely...

“Young Lord Owen, you probably already know about Nara, right?”

“Yes.” Hearing this confirmation, Ellie realized she didn’t need to go into too much detail. Her small hand touched the side of the steaming teacup, looking deeply troubled and confused. Owen had never seen her this way, so he took the situation more seriously.

“In that case...Have you seen the young lady from the Fronda family?”

“Yes, I have.”

“Ah...What do you think of her?”

“Huh?” Owen was a bit surprised by this question. Ellie, who had been looking down, raised her head, biting her lip uncertainly. Deep down, no one knew that Ellie was deeply disturbed by the appearance of someone who resembled her “best friend” from her past life.

Back in her previous life, Ellie attended high school where she consistently had excellent grades. Her family had a middle-class status—neither wealthy nor poor. She grew up with the mindset that she had to study hard to get a comfortable job in a nice office, rather than end up working exhaustedly on a farm with little pay. This was why she always focus on academics.

Because she was so smart, many friends approached her, mostly to copy homework, get summaries, and tips for guessing exam questions. Ellie didn’t talk much at the time, and many began to dislike her, thinking she was arrogant because of her intelligence. Luckily, she had a “best friend” named “Grace,” who looked exactly like the young lady in question.

The other girl was bright, cheerful, genuine, and easy to get along with, often acting as a mediator with their classmates. Many times, Ellie benefited from her assistance. Everything seemed worry-free until Ellie experienced her first crush, which was just innocent puppy love, on a male classmate.

He was a tall athlete with a decent face, popular among the girls. Even Ellie, who was a dedicated student, couldn’t resist watching his games, using the excuse of cheering for her classmates. Nobody suspected that Ellie had such feelings like any other people, except for her closest friend.

After some conversations, Ellie shyly admitted that she liked this boy a lot. At first, she thought Grace was very nice and supportive, trying to create opportunities for her to talk to him, essentially playing matchmaker. Ellie remembered how happy she was with this innocent love until just a month before graduation.

One day, Ellie, who usually went home early, had to return to school to retrieve something she had forgotten. It was then she overheard a strange words from her best friend.

"So, what now? I’m tired of pretending to befriend your friend just to get close to you. Why don’t you just date me already? Don’t you like me at all?"

"I-It’s...it’s not like that."

"Then what is it? When I asked you out, you said you didn’t want the teachers to notice you had a boyfriend. You told me to get close to you through your friend, who the teachers would never suspect as being her boyfriend. I did exactly that. Every time I confessed my feelings, even though it seemed like I was telling your friend, you knew I was actually telling you. We’re about to graduate, there’s only one month left, and it won’t affect our grades. So, can’t we be a couple now?"

"I can’t, I’m still scared."

"Sigh, what do you want me to do? I’m tired of trying to date you. If you weren’t so cute, I would’ve moved on already."

"Of course, I’m not worth that much to you."

"Ha ha, what’s this? Sulking now? So you do have feelings for me, don’t you?"

"So what if I do? If my friend likes you, it’s..."

"Oh, I see. Your friend does look at me strangely. Sometimes, it’s even creeped me out. So, she she’s into me. So what? Are you going to step aside for her? You’re too nice. But if you want to do that, go ahead. Teasing your friend is fun anyway. It’s new and exciting. When everyone sees that your friend is shy because of me, they even admire me for making the nerd fall for me. But still...can’t we date? When she’s not around, I want to hold hands and kiss your cheeks like a real couple."

"W-What? You’re so improper. I’m not an easy girl."

"Haha, I know. That’s why I want to date you."

"Alright then, we’ll date in secret."

"Good. Finally, after knowing how much your friend likes me, I’ll give her a good show. But you better reciprocate too. If I do something, you do it back, understand?"

"But...don’t hurt my friend too much. I still..."

"Don’t pretend to be all innocent. You don’t care about your friend that much, do you? If you did, you wouldn’t be doing this behind her back. Don’t treat me like I’m stupid. Besides...I’ve heard you gossip about her with others."

"Don’t you understand “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”? Those friends don’t like my friend. If I want to fit in, I have to join their talks. If I didn’t join their group, I wouldn’t be the school’s drum major. Building a portfolio for a good university isn’t just about grades."

"Oh, I see. Whose girlfriend is this...so talented."

At that final exchange, Ellie could listen no more. The girl who had foolishly trusted that she had a genuine, sincere friend realized it was a delusion. After hearing everything, Ellie walked away like a fool. Unfortunately, they heard her steps, so they came out and saw that Ellie was there. This incident created an unbridgeable rift between her and her friend.

For the next month, Ellie and her friend avoided each other, making Ellie realize that her friend had not made others see her in a good light. She had only told everyone to tolerate Ellie for their benefit. That 1 month taught Ellie many lessons. Fortunately, it was just 1 month, but the experience left Ellie wary of this friend forever.

During that 1 month, her former friend tormented her relentlessly, provoking their peers to make snide remarks endlessly. Whenever a teacher was absent, the criticisms would become especially harsh, often making vague, hurtful comments with no end in sight. Ellie could only take deep breaths and sit alone, isolated from everyone.

Luckily, her face became her weapon. Every time she maintained a blank expression, people would eventually tire of taunting her. Though she wasn’t severely attacked, she was treated like a ghost, invisible to everyone. The pressure of that 1 month was immense for a high school student, but Ellie had her studies to focus on. She had to prepare for entrance exam, so she spent her mornings, afternoons, and evenings in the library. In the end, she managed to get through it.

It might seem like a small issue from a high school perspective, but during that time, Ellie couldn’t handle her emotions well, making it a significant event in her life. Even after moving past that period, Ellie always remembered her friend. Just seeing that person again made her anxious and scared...

Ellie knew how uniquely charming her friend could be and understood how to speak. Her ability to manipulate emotions was far superior to Nara’s, Ellie also knew this well. Even when her friend realized Ellie had discovered the truth, she knew exactly what to do.

If her friend ever met Owen, her golden leg, Ellie couldn’t predict what her friend might thought. Even now, it seemed like both Professor Lucien and Wint were gradually getting drawn to her friend’s side.

Owen noticed the shifting expressions on his beloved’s face and felt a pang of worry. Not being able to understand what was troubling her was genuinely concerning. Perhaps he needed to find a magical tome to read her memories...

"I’m unsure about your question, but I find her quite dangerous. Her appearance is so sudden. Although it was claimed she was sent by the institute to join the mission, no normal person would rush into danger immediately upon arrival. But she did. Another interesting aspect is her use of powers...Even now, Nara’s spirit remains in the dimension she keeps. Perhaps she plans to create what is called a spiritual “weapon” from it."

"Dimensional magic users do have the ability to create spiritual weapons. Some manuals I obtained from the 6th-floor city detail that certain dimensional magicians are considered dangerous. They become astray and misuse their powers, often trying to kill children to acquire purer spirits or interfering in others’ killings."

"That’s why creating spiritual weapons is forbidden, though not all dimensional magic users are evil. Therefore, some spiritual weapons still exist today."

Owen’s response wasn’t exactly what Ellie wanted to hear, but the information he provided was still quite valuable. The young girl’s small brows furrowed in thought.

It appeared that Nara’s spirit hadn’t disappeared but had instead been pulled into the dimension of that young lady? So, Nara might end up being embedded in a spiritual weapon? Ellie was genuinely confused by the situation.

"Don’t worry too much. If she poses any danger to you, I won’t keep her around."

"And if she’s useful to you? Maybe..." Ellie stopped herself, realizing she was acting like one of those annoying girls who fret about future problems that haven’t even happened yet, and hurriedly caused trouble with the person who hadn’t done anything wrong yet. Often, such behavior only caused unnecessary issues.

However, Owen seemed to catch the true concern behind her words. He smiled slightly. Although he didn’t fully understand why Ellie was more worried about this particular girl than anyone else, his job was simply to ease her mind.

"Do you think I need to rely on others for anything? If I want something, I’ll achieve it myself."

“.............” Ellie looked up and met Young Lord Owen’s serious gaze that seemed to convey something for Ellie. Feeling slightly embarrassed under his intense stare, she took a sip of her tea, but Owen wasn’t satisfied with just that response. He continued speaking.

"You don’t need to worry about this. I’m not like others who can’t recognize what’s truly important to me. Once I’ve declared you as my future wife, I won’t go back on my word. And anyone you dislike won’t be part of my circle. Everyone in the Setter family will certainly not do that as well."

"If anyone dares to make you unhappy, I’ll personally deal with them... Even if this person were a rare dimensional magic user in ten thousands of years, if I wanted a dimensional ring, I’d conquer another city. If I needed those items, I’d ascend to the higher floor of the tower and find their creators. I don’t need to rely on a child who can’t even control herself yet."Owen spoke seriously. However, Ellie seemed to miss the latter part of his statement. The moment he called her his "future wife," it was as if her ears and eyes were completely shut off. Just breathing felt like her small heart was rebelling against the calm it once knew.