Chapter 140 - Seri Fixes Her Mistake

After my revenge was successfully taken, I figured I would be proud of myself. However, it didn't feel very satisfying for some reason.

Lucius was now a total outcast in the school. He was already disliked by many men before, but now the women seemed to not want to talk to him either. Lucius was the kind of person who thrived when he was being fawned over.

Now that no one wanted to fawn over him, he was like a completely different person. He didn't arrive late to the student council room anymore, but while he was here he just laid his head face down on the table and would refuse to move.

He wouldn't ever eat his lunch, and he didn't even try yelling at me when I took his cake. He acted like a person who had given up on the world.

It was a bit sad really.

Whenever I saw him like that, I couldn't help but feel a strange pressure in my chest. It was a strange and nagging feeling that made me fidget uncomfortably.

Artie rubbed his back and glanced at me, "Really Seri... I can't believe you had to be so harsh. You know you've always done your own thing, but this time I really think you went too far."

"Guh." I looked down unable to meet his accusatory eyes.

Millie joined in protectively, "Seri didn't do anything wrong. Her actions were totally justifiable. Plus, he did that to himself. It's not like Seri forced him to be such a womanizer."

Artie frowned and crossed his arms, "So what if he's a womanizer? Seri still told lies about him. Reputation means everything to a person in high society and Seri just casually destroyed his overnight."

I covered my face. Millie clicked her tongue, "Well then he should learn not to be so disrespectful."

Arties face twisted, "So if I were to say something in a fit of rage, she would do the same to me?"

I looked up with bulging eyes. I wanted to shout my innocence, but I couldn't say anything under his hateful look.

Ack. Why do I feel so bad?

Mary noticed the tension and gave a weak smile, "Now, let's not argue. We are all friends here."

Artie glanced at her, "Be careful Mary. If you make Seri mad she may ruin your reputation too."

Mary blinked, "Huh? What reputation?"

The room went silent. I couldn't help but hang my head. Did they really think I just ruined reputations in my spare time?

Why did I even want to ruin Lucius's reputation in the first place?

Sure, we fought a lot. And yes, I did find him extremely annoying. But I didn't hate him as much as I had hated Ilene. In fact, all he ever did was be rude. At least he was rude to my face instead of doing it behind my back.

I never really cared much about his insults until now. So what made me so angry in the first place?

I roamed the halls after the meeting concluded trying to recall. I sighed, "Bertram."

Bertram hung upside down from the ceiling, "Yes?"

I shifted uncomfortably, "I think I'm getting sick."

He frowned, "Why's that?"

"Because my stomach keeps churning and I feel really uncomfortable. I feel like screaming and hitting my head on the wall."

"Let me guess... It gets worse when you're around the others in the student council room?"

My eyes widened, "Yeah! How'd you know?"

"That's called guilt."

"Guilt?"

He sighed, "Don't tell me you have never felt guilt before?"

I frowned, "I have... Just in other contexts."

Of course I've felt guilty. But the guilt I had felt was always soul crushing. This feeling wasn't as strong, but it did make me want to hit myself for being so idiotic.

I looked back up at Bertram, "How can I make it go away?"

Bertram looked at me thoughtfully, "An apology would be a good start."

Me? Apologizing?

I stuck my tongue out at the thought, "I can't... It's too embarrassing..."

Bertram sighed, "Then nothing will get better."

I thought for a moment and snapped my fingers, "Nonsense! I have an idea."

He frowned at this, "Is it a Seri idea?"

"Of course it is a Seri idea."

He sighed and muttered under his breath, "I don't get paid enough for this..."

I looked at him in surprise, "Wait. You get paid?!"

"..."

I started walking off, "Come on Bertram! There's no time like the present!"

He dropped down from the ceiling and walked after me, "Where are we going?"

I turned to him and grinned, "To the red light district of course."

I can't completely fix everything, mostly because Lucius wasn't entirely innocent. He did sleep with other women. His father investigated into his sons affairs after he had encountered the letter. When he confronted Lucius about the women, Lucius was a fool and answered truthfully.

I can change the lies and rumors, but I can't change the truth. Luckily for Lucius, the truth can be silenced if one has enough money and power.

All I had to do was meet with my little birdies in the red light district and have them go off and look into Lucius's father. Then I waited in the cemetery for them to return with information.

One approached me and handed me a letter. I opened it and read it. He looked at me behind his mask, "Is it enough?"

I smiled ear to ear, "It's more than enough. Thank you." After the little birdie left, I turned to Bertram with a wicked smile. "Bertram, do you have any nice clothes? We have to pay the Duke a visit."

The next day off I had, I decided to pay the Duke a visit. I stood at the gate wearing one of my more formal looking attires. A long black dress with red trim and a hat to match. Bertram stood behind me wearing a nice suit. However on him it looked less nice and more threatening.

The man at the gate frowned, "You don't have an appointment to see the Duke. We can't let you in."

I continued to smile, "Oh, but I really do think the Duke ought to let me in." I pulled out a letter and held it out through the bars, "Tell the Duke I'd like to talk to him about Corals little friend."

He frowned, "We don't have to tell the Duke anything. You're just a nameless noble. Do you really think you're qualified to speak with our master? Leave."

I giggled, "I'm afraid I can't do that. I won't leave until I speak with the Duke."

The guard smirked, "A frail girl like you won't last long."

The guard was wrong. I could last long. I've spent many lifetimes out in the cold struggling to stay warm. So much so, that this didn't even phase me in the slightest. As for standing, well thanks to Dante I wouldn't get tired doing that either.

Seeing that I would never leave, they finally relented. What could be the harm in mentioning it to the Duke? One guard took the letter and left to find the Duke because of my insistence.

When the Duke heard the message, he nearly fell over in fright. "What?!? And you're keeping them waiting!? Show them in! Quickly!"

Just as I expected, the guard ran out to me huffing and spoke, "P-Please come in. I am terribly sorry for keeping you waiting."

I nodded elegantly, "Thank you."

I followed a servant into the house where she brought me to a room. They served me tea which I sipped on calmly. The Duke walked in not too long after and sat across from me.

He looked at me wearily, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

I smiled at him, "I came here because there was something I'd like to request from you."

He crossed his arms, "Pah! Request? Why should I listen to you? You're just a nameless brat. I merely let you in because of the nonsense you were spouting about my wife. I decided that I ought to teach you a lesson. If you even think about badmouthing my wife again, you'll be sorry."

My smile grew larger, "You're a pretty good actor. But you're still no pro. If we were playing poker, I could easily call your bluff."

He sneered, "Oh?"

I nodded, "Yes. When you lie the muscle in your left eye twitches. It's quite miniscule, but it doesn't escape my watchful eye." Seeing him frown, I continued. "As for nonsense, I assure you it's not. I have more than enough evidence to show you that your wife is sending servants to the red light district to get her drugs."

Thank goodness I'm acquaintances with that no good drug dealer Charles.

The Duke's face grew darker, "What do you want? Hush money? Land?"

I only smiled, "I have no need for any of that. No, I want you to stop trying to find a marriage candidate for Lucius."

The Duke almost fell out of his chair, "What?!"

"I want you to lay off of Lucius. Allow him to choose who his marriage partner should be."

The Duke's face twitched, "You can't be serious. That no good son of mine was off frolicking with women and acting completely shameless. He needs to settle down with a wife of my choosing."

"I'm afraid even if that's true, you'll find it hard to find good marriage candidates for him right now. Surely the higher status ones have also heard the rumors and wouldn't want to lower themselves to your son's level."

The Duke grinded his teeth in irritation. I knew that I had guessed the situation correctly.

I continued, "As for his reputation, I will fix it. I guarantee everything will be solved in a matter of weeks. All you need to do is cease looking for his marriage candidate and allow him to find his own marriage partner."

He raised an eyebrow, "And the matter with my wife?"

"You won't have to worry. I won't say a thing. I will even go as far as to help you keep it a secret."

"And how can I trust you?"

I smirked, "I suppose you can't. It'll be a gamble on your part, but I think you know that you would be losing more if you denied my offer than if you accept it."

The Duke knew that this was true. If his wife's habit was revealed, he would lose everything. He sighed, "Fine. I will do as you ask. But my wife's habit will stay a secret. If anyone finds out, I will have your head."

I nodded in agreement, "You won't need to worry. I'm good at what I do."

The Duke shook his head, "Honestly. That son of mine gives me such a headache sometimes."

I shook my head, "You can't blame him too much. It's clear that he's a product of his childhood. He had a mother who's not mentally or physically there for him as a child and a father who was too busy at work to pay any attention to him. Of course he would run into the arms of many women to fill the void of having never felt his mother's love. Young children who didn't get their parents love would naturally seek it out elsewhere."

The Duke clenched his fists, "Are you trying to say there is a fault in my parenting?"

I stood up ignoring his anger, "I merely meant you shouldn't blame him for his actions. However, you shouldn't excuse it either." I bowed, "Now, if you'll excuse me. I will be taking my leave."

The Duke nodded, "Very well. I will have someone show you out."

I tossed him one last glance, "Also, if you tell anyone it was me who paid you a visit, or if you tell anyone what we talked about here, then the agreement is off. It's better if we pretended this meeting never happened."

The Duke stood up and looked at me carefully. He spoke, "Would you consider marrying my son? If my son was with someone as sensible as you, I would feel rest assured that my dukedom was in capable hands."

I held back to the urge to vomit. My smile twitched, "Please don't joke around. It doesn't suit you."

And with that I rushed out of the Duke's house. As I walked back to the academy, I noticed a group of girls gossiping. I caught one of the girl's words, "I heard Lucius has slept with so many women. Even prostitutes!!!"

"I can't believe Lucius is so vile."

I stepped in, "You know, you really shouldn't believe baseless rumors. What are you, brainless idiots?"

They looked completely shocked. One spoke, "But I heard-"

I cut in, "It doesn't matter what you heard. To believe something so easily, you ought to be ashamed."

They looked down guiltily as I walked away. One spoke, "Ah... Do you think the rumors are a lie?"

"Well for Seri to defend Lucius, they must be. I mean, it's no secret that she hates Lucius. She wouldn't defend him unless the rumors weren't true."

They all nodded. After that, the group of girls chastised others spreading rumors. In no time, the rumors surrounding Lucius stopped completely. It was as if everything returned back to normal.

A few days later, we were all in the student council room when Lucius suddenly burst in with a grin on his face.

"GUESS WHAT?!"

Everyone except for me looked at him in surprise. No one expected him to be in such high spirits. Artie spoke, "What is it?"

He grinned from ear to ear, "My father is allowing me to choose my own marriage partner!!! He said he won't force me into marriage against my approval."

Everyone's eyes bulged. I continued to look at my documents uninterested. William spoke in disbelief, "He did!? But that's unheard of!!! It's quite common for dukes to assign marriages to their children. What caused him to change his thinking?!"

Lucius scratched his cheek, "Well, my father did say someone talked some sense into him. But he wouldn't tell me any details..."

Everyone paused, then turned to me. My face twitched under their stares. Artie smirked, "Seri... You don't seem too surprised."

I forced a blank expression, "I just don't care enough to react. That's all."

Lucius had a faint grin on his face, "Well... If I had a chance to meet that sensible person, I would tell them that I accept their apology. Even if they were too much of a wimp to apologize in person."

God d*mnit. I hate rich kids.