Altina von Rudel Seryas was a woman not particularly driven by greed.
As a noble daughter from a prestigious family representing the Empire, Altina had never once worried about material possessions since her birth. Even if she had grown up in less fortunate circumstances, her nature would not have changed.
After all, the essence of Altina as a warrior meant that she was someone who did not concern herself with what others valued, focusing solely on her own path.
Up until now, the only thing Altina had ever been interested in throughout her life was the sword. She had never cared for anything else and had certainly never indulged in greed.
In any case, she was not the type to show affection toward others, nor was she someone capable of smiling at others; she was simply too rigid a woman.
Given that she believed she could never like someone, nor could anyone like her, she had vaguely anticipated living this way and then dying without any change.
…That is, until she met a certain man standing before her now.
“Jin.”
This was indeed a magical occurrence.
Simply meeting someone, spending time with them, and building memories together could invoke such warm feelings.
The feelings directed at you had now grown so large that even she herself could not contain them, and like a moth drawn to a flame, she found herself looking only at him.
At this moment, the mere fact that she was gazing at this man made her heart race uncontrollably.
Yes, Altina von Rudel Seryas liked that man. No, she loved him to a degree that she could not even contain her feelings.
That being said, Altina was indeed the one who had confessed her feelings to Jin while he slept.
Although it was a secret confession made while he was entranced like a princess from a fairy tale, a confession is still a confession.
Altina had surely proclaimed with her own words that she loved him. She had promised firmly before him that she would love only him from now on.
Thus, Altina could not simply overlook the current situation and let it pass by.
Although she did not outwardly show it, she had clearly heard the noblewoman address Jin as “son-in-law” right before her.
Of course, whether it was due to her awareness or because she could not bring herself to make such expressions in front of Count Seryas and Altina, she had refrained from using that term, but it was already too late.
After all, both Count Seryas and Altina were extraordinary individuals who had reached the level of a master.
Even if they were at a distance, there was no way they couldn’t hear something they had made up their minds to listen to.
If they wished, they could enhance their hearing with aura, easily picking up the sound of ants crawling hundreds of meters away.
“Claire.”
Suddenly, the image of a certain woman, who was blissfully clinging to Jin without knowing her place, popped into Altina’s mind.
To be honest, Altina could not understand why Jin was allowing that woman to linger by his side.
After all, Claire had never been of any help to Jin from beginning to end; she was truly a nuisance by any measure, wasn’t she?
Of course, in terms of being unhelpful, Altina herself was hardly in a position to speak loudly either.
Up until now, Altina had steadfastly vowed to be of help to him, yet instead found herself in a position where she was always the one receiving assistance from him.
However, Claire was different. If Altina had only failed to help Jin, that woman had actually inflicted wounds on him directly in the past; she was truly a bothersome presence.
Altina had known Claire since they were quite young, and one could say they were childhood friends, but in Altina’s current state of mind, such a trivial friendship held no value whatsoever.
In fact, if there were no public affairs involved, could a couple of casual exchanges even be referred to as ‘friendship’?
If it were Kaya, she might have hesitated to act boldly out of the nostalgia of their past or perhaps due to pride, but when it came to Claire Delphine Mascarena, Altina did not feel the need to uphold even that level of loyalty.
Therefore, there would be no retreat. It had to be a direct confrontation. This was because she felt an instinctive fear that if she stepped back now, she might lose something that she could never afford to lose.
And in the end, she would demonstrate that clearly.
Despite the fact that the subject could not even muster the courage to voice her thoughts in front of the principal party, she absolutely could not be outdone by a hyena who could only hide behind parental backs, reaping benefits.
“Altina, please let me handle this first—”
“Father, just stay quiet. I’ll take care of everything here.”
“…Alright.”
Seeing Altina, whose eyes were glistening with emotion, the Count, who had stepped forward to offer assistance, found himself chastised by his daughter and fell back, retreating in a daze.
“Allow me to formally introduce myself. As you just mentioned, I am Altina of the Seryas family, a friend of Claire.”
“Indeed, it’s been a while. Altina.”
As Claire’s mother nodded and accepted her introduction, Altina turned her head to look at a certain man who, for some reason, wore a dazed expression on his face.
And in that moment, Altina’s previously frozen demeanor melted away like ice under the sun, akin to a stream thawing in the warm spring breeze.
“…Jin, it’s been a while.”
“Uh? Uh… yeah, it’s been a while.”
Though only a few hours had passed since they had sparred together at the training grounds until late last night, it was unclear why he chose to use the word ‘a while’, but Jin nodded in agreement regardless.
“By the way, Jin. Seeing you working hard even during the festival makes me realize just how much you’re burdened with work.”
“…You think I’m burdened with work?”
What a bizarre statement. Until he had met Claire’s mother, he had been in such a state of idle boredom that he couldn’t help but sit quietly on a bench, spacing out.
“Isn’t it true? Right now, you’re ‘guiding’ a guest who took a wrong turn in Nineveh, aren’t you?”
Altina pouted slightly as she continued her sentence.
“I do understand, though. I know that during the academy festival, one of the duties of the student council members is guiding guests.”
“But it’s a bit disappointing. I knew you’d be busy, but the very fact that you didn’t have time to come see me is quite sad.”
Making a face that genuinely seemed forlorn, much like an abandoned puppy, Altina approached Jin, causing Count Seryas to recoil in shock at the sight of his daughter acting that way around another man. No matter how much time passed, he felt he would never get used to seeing his daughter behave like that with someone else.
“I was looking for you. Ever since the academy festival started, I’ve been searching non-stop.”
“…Who?”
“You.”
With that, Altina flashed a smile that was much brighter than before.
“This is your first academy festival, right? Sure, it’s pretty dull and there’s not much to see, but there are still some enjoyable aspects to it.”
Suddenly, she reached out and firmly grasped Jin’s hand.
He could have easily pulled away, but in that moment, he found himself unable to reject Altina’s approach.
“…Jin.”
That touch from Altina reminded him of a former lover who once held a special place in his life.
“So let’s go. I’ll guide you. I may not have enjoyed the academy festival much myself, so I might not be of much help, but experiencing those mishaps can be part of the fun, right?”
Seeing Altina so proactive and lively, which reminded him of her from another time, Jin unknowingly nodded in agreement.
“…Wait a moment, Altina. I’m sorry, but Jin promised to guide me to the meeting place with Claire. I think it’s not right to borrow him like this—”
“Well, you don’t have to worry about that.”
Altina’s eyebrows lowered slightly. Her gaze was fixed not on Claire’s mother, but on another woman, who appeared to be pale and was staring over in their direction.
“It seems Claire has come out to meet us instead of you needing to go find her.”
“…Jin.”
With Altina holding his hand and Claire wearing a truly bewildered expression at the sight of her mother appearing distressed, the atmosphere grew tense.
“So now it’s fine for me to borrow Jin, right? After all, it seems like Jin has nothing else to do now, and you’ve accomplished your goal, Madam, and most importantly—”
“Currently, Claire and Jin have no prior commitments to each other, right?”
Though she spoke in a small voice, Altina made sure to make it clear enough for Claire to hear, then nodded respectfully towards Count Seryas.
“So, Father, I’ll greet you here. It seems I might be quite late today since I’ll be busy going around with Jin.”
“…Very well.”
Though he was reluctant at heart, with his daughter looking so enamored, what could a parent say?
Once Count Seryas gave his permission, Altina took Jin’s hand even more firmly and started walking forward.
She put extra effort into walking in the direction where Claire stood, almost as if to show off.
While he fully understood that it was a petty and disgusting act, it only deepened the feeling of satisfaction blossoming within her.
At this moment, as she stole happiness away from Claire, she reveled in the joy it brought her.
Altina von Rudel Seryas hoped to be greedy in front of the man known as Jin.
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