Reincarnated As The Only Son (18 years old) Of The Arrogant And Wicked Marquis Family.

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Getting Acquainted.

Just as we moved into the classroom where the first period class was being held, holding our stationery and arithmetic materials.

“Come on, sit down over here. You’re looking for a seat, right?”

“What? Ah… yes.”

As I was looking for an empty seat, I was suddenly beckoned by Elena, who was sitting in the very back seat.

“What’s with that nonchalant response? You’re not happy to have me in class next to you?”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just that it’s so unusual.”

No wonder I was so taken aback.

I had never had a memory of her saying this to me before.

“You know what? I don’t want to hear that from you who suddenly changed your attitude toward Shea.”

“Haha, that’s for sure.”

I was very happy to be invited to sit with her, as I had been wondering where to sit.

I took her at her word and sat down next to her, and I could smell the jasmine perfume that Elena was wearing.

“You know, Elena, I don’t know why I’m asking you this now, but…”

“What?”

“Don’t you have any friends?”

“!?”

Elena’s shoulders immediately jerked up and down, and her purple eyes widened.

“Thinking back… well, I didn’t pay much attention to it, but it’s like you always took classes alone, and you even walked to this classroom alone.”

“~~~”

Perhaps I hit the bull’s eye. She was embarrassed and her white cheeks began to turn pink as she let her voice escape her mouth.

“W–what is it you are trying to say after all?”

She turned her face to me and gave me a look of annoyance and pressure.

“It’s a genuine question. All sorts of people are approaching you every day, and it’s not like they hate you like they do to me.”

“T-That’s…. not sarcasm, is it…?

Of course not.

To begin with, I knew that Elena was a popular girl.

She had been asked for many marriage proposals and had been nicknamed “Princess Benihana” because of her beautiful red hair and beautiful appearance.

“I mean, I… am in no position to be sarcastic about this.”

“Oh! Fufufu~ You’re right, you are not.”

“You laugh too much.”

“I’m sorry. Maybe it’s because it’s the first time I’ve heard it. Your self-deprecation is funny.”

“Thank you.”

It was a not-so-pleasant compliment.

I made half-lidded eyes at her and asked her to continue. Elena let out a small breath and returned to her story with a serious expression on her face.

“…Well, if I’m being honest, there aren’t many people I’d call friends. Many people are afraid of the Count’s name, and here at the school I can count them on one hand. But then again, I don’t have many close friends who aren’t privileged.”

“Ehhh?”

Not having privilege meant not being a member of the nobility.

“Unusual for an aristocrat, isn’t it?”

“I guess so. Well, the flip side of being an aristocrat is that you can’t make one, or maybe you don’t want to make one.”

“You’re really smart, aren’t you?”

She smiled as if I answered correctly.

“That’s right. I don’t want to make friends. I don’t fit in with this school because it’s full of people who don’t agree with the school’s motto. I didn’t want to tell you because you’re one of them.”

“Really? What’s the school motto?”

“You’d be surprised. All students are on equal footing.”

“Oh, I see. I see.”

“…Ahh- What? I-I mean! I’m a countess, and you’re a marquis, and they’re common students.”

“Well, that’s what happens, isn’t it?”

“…”

The reaction was different from what she had imagined, and Elena fell silent.

A few seconds passed and then….

“W-waait. That’s it? That’s it? You have a p-problem with that, don’t you? You should be repulsed like everyone else.”

“No, and why?”

“N-nothing… In a negative way… it’s like being stripped of your high rank, isn’t it?　Does that mean the public is allowed to call you ‘Beret’?”

“At the school, right? Then there’s no problem.”

“Wha….”

“It’s our parents who are the authority, not us, and the only people who are against it in the school are those who don’t want to admit it. In any case.”

“Wh.. Wha… W… ha.. Wha…Why do you agree with me?!” she said, sounding cute and squishy and puzzled.

Oh, I see… I was Beret. With all the bad press I’ve been getting, it’s not surprising that she’d be surprised if I said something like this.

I was just expressing my own thoughts and forgot about it.

“Y-you …you… You’re lying just because you want to be friends with me. I won’t fall for such an obvious lie.”

“No, no, you don’t need a hierarchical relationship between nobles in a normal school. It will only interfere with your studies.”

“T-that’s… true, but…”

Elena’s pupils were shaking as she blurted out the words. She was speechless as if she was upset.

“No, what you say is a lie, because it is contradictory. You’re contradicting yourself.”

“Contradictory?”

“Yes. Because you used to use Shea at school. You made her pick up lunch every day.”

“Oh, that’s…” That’s true.

I thought that I was just taking my time at the beginning. I was so impatient that I had to think hard to find an answer and an excuse that was consistent.

“Because there are a lot of aristocrats in this academy, aren’t there? There are also many students like Shea who are both attendants and servants of the school, and there are many who deny the school motto of ‘all students are equal’. How would people look at her if I let Shea go free in such a situation?”

“Ah…”

Yes, Shea would receive cold stares from others.

Especially if they were in the same servants’ position, they might turn from jealousy to resentment.

“Well, I’ve set Shea free today, but that’s because everyone knows I’ve been hard on her so far. Of course, they’ll just say, ‘Good for her,’ and if she has this foundation and that personality, then they’ll just love her. I don’t think I’ll have any more enemies.”

How can I chatter about such an instantaneous idea…

I was surprised to hear myself say it. I was grateful that Beret was so smart.

“Oh, you think that much… If we knew that, there wouldn’t be any bad rumors.”

“Rumors are sometimes exaggerated about things that never happened. Maybe that’s it.”

Actually, it’s not true. Beret was wrong about everything he didn’t like.

What a frustrating feeling to complete in my mind.

“Certainly… You do have a point. But you are the one who started all the rumors, and you have attacked people for things you don’t like, so I don’t blame them.”

She was right, I couldn’t put the story together in a way that made it beautiful. This was something that worked because we were talking one-on-one.

“And did you believe me that I wasn’t lying here?”

“Ehh, yeah… , Right. I don’t believe it.”

“Confusing answer.”

I was relieved that she was a classmate and that she didn’t make a mess of the conversation.

“Well, what can I say, it’s just like you, Elena. Not caring about your position. No wonder you don’t have many friends from the nobility.”

“I can’t say I’m surprised. I was not aware that you have the same mindset as me. I thought you would be absolutely furious…”

That was when Elena finished, touching the choker around her neck as if restless.

*Ring Ring Ring Ring*

Just in time, the school chime rang and the classroom door was opened. And then.

“Good morning, everyone. Please turn to page 129.”

The teacher, who was probably waiting in the hallway, entered and gave the order.