“Bella… No, I can’t.”
Winnidith’s gaze shifted involuntarily.
She herself wasn’t sure what she meant by “no.”
Was it that they couldn’t do it now, or that they couldn’t do it at all?
Accustomed to staying in the realm of ambiguity, Winnidith was caught off guard by this direct hit and had no idea how to respond.
Fortunately, before she could think of the right answer, a finger pressed against her forehead.
“I’m just joking with you. You didn’t take it seriously, did you?”
Isabella’s eyes held a smile, as if those words were just one of the countless jokes they’d shared over their decade-plus of friendship.
She lifted her finger from Winnidith’s forehead, clasped her hands behind her back, turned around, and sat back down on the sofa.
While rubbing the towel on her head to dry her hair quickly, she explained to Winnidith why she had come to the academy.
“As for me, I have three purposes for coming to the academy this time. One is to establish a rear talent reserve for the Emerald Army; one is to find a combat skills teacher to teach me how to use Douqi; and the last is to get in touch with the noble children in the academy who haven’t yet chosen a side, and try to turn them and their families into my power.”
“I asked Principal Elias for a list of the school’s students. It’s on the table. You can look at it if you want, Wendy.”
Isabella turned her head, only to find Winnidith staring at her with resentful eyes.
‘You’re teasing me again.’
Winnidith let out two snorts, grabbed the list from the table, and sat down next to Isabella with a face full of grievance.
The force was so great that the soft sofa rippled like waves, shaking Isabella along with it as she let out a surprised cry.
‘Hmph~ See if you dare do that again.’
Winnidith raised her head triumphantly and silently stopped controlling the wind element inside the sofa’s padding, then turned her attention to reading the names on the list.
And Elias clearly knew why Isabella had asked for this list, so he specially placed the two most noteworthy students at the very top.
“Duke Vincent’s third son, Duke Kadeweier’s second daughter.”
“We don’t need to worry about these two. They’ve already been taken by my eldest and second brothers. The ones we need to look at are the others.”
Isabella said casually.
Setting aside Trenton, that behemoth who can’t participate in imperial inheritance, Duke Vincent and Duke Kadeweier are the greatest nobles in the entire empire.
Vincent’s ancestor protected fifty thousand people during the War of Divine Fire and was among the first to respond to Robert’s call and return to the empire after its founding.
Thus, he was granted the title of hereditary duke.
Kadeweier’s ancestor, on the other hand, was a meritorious official who kept the empire stable during the reign of the Chaos Evil God, and was enfeoffed as a hereditary duke by the second Emperor Robert.
Both have millennia of heritage and were the targets Rodrigo and Celen had been striving for from the very beginning.
And according to what Isabella knew, Duke Vincent had publicly announced his support for Rodrigo becoming the next emperor.
Although Duke Kadeweier hadn’t stated it openly, he invited Celen to his manor every week, and the meaning was obvious.
“My main targets are those newly appointed counts with little heritage, merchants who have assets but lack corresponding status, or those sons and daughters who disagree with their families and want to prove themselves.”
Isabella suddenly thought of Hiberton.
As the richest family in the empire, the Pers family chose to hedge their bets.
The family head bet on Rodrigo, while his eldest son stayed by Celen’s side, accompanying him in his pleasures.
That way, no matter who ultimately ascended the throne, at least the Pers family’s status wouldn’t decline.
But all this had nothing to do with Hiberton.
A second son with no chance of inheriting the family head position and a princess who had never been valued—that did sound like a good combination.
“That’s still quite a lot, isn’t it? You’re not planning to contact them one by one, are you?”
Winnidith looked at the stack of papers that was nearly as tall as her fist and silently placed them back on the table.
She hadn’t known the empire had so many nobles and wealthy merchants.
“No, that would be too troublesome. I plan to use my authority as honorary principal to create a club called the Mithril Council. And its only club activity will be simulated management and virtual investment.”
Isabella had planned it from the beginning.
The old nobles of the empire valued etiquette and face more.
They regarded gold coins as vulgar, as if mentioning gold in public would ruin their elegance.
But the new nobles and merchants were different.
They couldn’t squeeze into the centuries-old network woven by the old nobles, so they could only rely on throwing money around to maintain their dignity and open doors.
Yet they didn’t have such deep roots, so naturally they cared more about assets.
Relying on the Mithril Council, she could precisely find her targets.
As for how to reason with them and tug at their heartstrings to pull them into her camp, Isabella also had a series of plans ready.
“A club… Can I join?”
Winnidith was eager to try.
In her two lifetimes combined, she had only joined an anime club in her previous life’s university.
Unfortunately, she had social anxiety, so whenever the senior members notified her of offline gatherings, she never dared to go.
In the end, all she got was a QQ group where she could lurk.
Since she was back in campus life now, Winnidith genuinely wanted to see what a real club was like.
“Of course. If I have you as my poster girl, I won’t even need to advertise.”
Isabella suddenly pretended to be worried.
“I just don’t know if the academy’s threshold can withstand the trampling of so many people.”
“It’s not that exaggerated. I’m not a giant panda.”
Winnidith complained, but that piqued Isabella’s curiosity.
“Giant panda? What’s that?”
Hearing her question, Winnidith recalled that she was in another world, where there was no such thing as a panda.
She could only wave her arms and explain to Isabella.
“It’s a very rare and cute creature from another world. Its body is round and chubby, and it often does adorable, clumsy actions that make people laugh. Almost everyone who sees it falls in love with it.”
“Oh~ I see.”
Isabella looked at her and suddenly said something that confused Winnidith.
“That’s just a chubby version of Wendy, isn’t it?”
“Huh???!!!”
Winnidith jumped up from the sofa in shock, staring at Isabella with strange and puzzled eyes, completely unable to figure out how she had connected her to a panda.
But Isabella looked completely serious, even counting on her fingers as she explained point by point.
“Rare—check; cute—that goes without saying; often does adorable, clumsy actions—Wendy, don’t you think your habit of tugging your hair fits that?”
‘It… does?’
Winnidith wanted to tug at the hair by her cheek to vent, but just as her fingers touched the strands, Isabella’s words echoed in her ears again, forcing her to restrain herself.
But Isabella was still counting.
“Almost everyone who sees it falls in love with it—Lady Imperial Moon, do you know just how famous you are in the empire?”
“Uh…”
Winnidith’s eyes began to dart away, but Isabella had one more explosive move waiting for her.
She looked up at Winnidith and suddenly revealed a blooming smile.
“Finally, every moment I spend with Wendy makes me happy.”
“Ugh!”
Winnidith clutched her chest.
How could this woman say such embarrassing things without a shred of shame?
That’s too unfair!
“So, except for not being round and chubby, Wendy is completely a giant panda, isn’t she? Pfft—”
Isabella clapped her hands, giving her explanation a perfect conclusion.
But just at the moment of victory, a crack finally appeared in the smile on her face.
And it was that crack that quickly made Winnidith realize she had been “played” again.
Shyness faded in an instant, and anger filled her heart.
She grabbed the soft pillow on the sofa, raised it high, and then slammed it hard at Isabella, who was already bent over with laughter.
“Fine! Bella, you’re teasing me again, aren’t you? Twice in such a short time! I’m not letting you off this time! Take this!”
“Pfft~ I, I’m sorry, Wendy, I really—mouth—”
“You’re still laughing?”