...

On the way to Emma's room, Leonandra's estate

What did it mean to be brilliant? Having a sense of superiority toward others was undoubtedly part of it—however, such a thing needed to be acknowledged. It was a reflection on oneself, knowing that others couldn't think similarly.

Therefore, it also meant that it needed to be repressed. People, especially in noble circles, didn't like to perceive someone as more intelligent, as it also meant that they were dumber.

It was odd since intelligence always seemed unique as a talent. Others would always brag about their abilities freely regarding art or combat, for example, but felt attacked if one mentioned how smart they were—trying to connect their specific mastery, reflexively, to their overall intelligence.

Because of this perception in noble society, Emma was always ridiculed when she started visiting those balls, proudly announcing her talents, only to be lambasted and pushed away by boys she liked, even though she had no problems with someone being less intelligent. She also accepted that she was weaker or less talented in art, but those apparently mattered little.

Seeing this pattern, she changed herself, playing along and saying what others wanted to hear, trying to isolate her pride. As such, she denied herself in a certain way, only concentrating on others.

Because of this, she developed fantastic abilities in analyzing others, making them reveal their weaknesses or patterns, which she could use to let others do her bidding.

Yet, also because of this, she isolated herself from everyone, always wearing a mask, thinking she would never find someone who could understand and be like her, which drove her, even at such a young age, into despair, thinking she would end up alone.

So, how did she feel when she suddenly found someone who was as intelligent or even more than her? Even though Alexander was different, very aloof and sloppy, not caring about how others perceived him, she felt true happiness after talking with him. She considered them one of a kind, something she was not ready to give up or compromise on—her true kin.

Clank

Closing the door behind her, she went straight to her improvised desk, taking out some matches and igniting the candle on it, 'He is young.'

Emma was even younger than Alexander, but when it came to canine-kin boys, they were usually far more immature than girls, as seen how they needed, on average, much longer to reach their first mating season.

Adding to it, the Lady of the Leonandra estate isolated him harshly. He never really needed to interact appropriately with others. His mindset was never challenged or criticized during all those years, probably only cuddled and shaped into this persona. It was a tragedy as she saw what he could be: a perfect boy, fitting her in every way.

Besides that, she saw his scars and the brutal sparring he did. He followed some weird mindset, which she couldn't understand, but she didn't care. She only saw what he could become with some grooming and education.

'Yet, he doesn't want to...'

This enraged her. She knew that they could be happy together, but no. Someone else stole Alexander's heart, and he wasn't over it. She was at the wrong time, at the wrong place. What would've happened if she had met him years later? Maybe it would've become something, maybe not. It was nonsensical to hang up on hypotheticals.

What was important was that what he said made her angry, and she lost her temper, only for him to see her differently, frustrating her to no end.

'Never mind, I will have him.'

After igniting the candle, she waved out the match, threw it into the trashcan, and sat down, taking her writing wares out of the drawers and the new paper she had to write on.

It would be easy since he was immature. Emma knew he would try to talk tomorrow with her, trying to mend it somehow since friendships were obviously vital to him. He didn't just reject them but wanted to stay on good terms, with a very puppyish mindset and far from real politicking and socializing.

Emma didn't mind. She was a Cold-Snout, where men usually were either way only for their wives there, with some exceptions like the current Lord, her Father.

However, for someone inept regarding social cues, Alexander seemed to have a lot of self-esteem around others, always trying to accommodate everyone in his unique ways. It worked since he was too honest for his own good, even though he tried to be more cunning as if he read too many drama novels, which made her smile since it was adorable. Yet, something seemed wrong with him, something she couldn't pinpoint, but it didn't matter. She knew enough about him to plan her next steps.

She tapped her quill a couple of times against the table while thinking, 'Let's see... what do I write to this crazy fox bitch?'

She needed to write a letter to Patricia, who probably didn't know about this rendezvous and would want to work together since they could both break him down, which sounded worse than it actually was.

Many in her generation loved the concept of romance, loving someone for who they were and being reciprocated similarly. Patricia probably thought the same way, but Emma found it stupid. She would instead concentrate on who they could become, seeing the potential in the person, especially since she and Alexander were so young. Change was inevitable, and rather than hold onto the past, she liked to control how the future would form.

As such, she would rather not oppose Patricia and instead work with her together. Seeing how Alexander reacted to them writing to her, he seemed to see her as only a friend, 'I guess Patricia is as frustrated as me.'

Now came the hard part. Emma wanted Patricia to become her ally so they could seduce and pressure Alexander later on together. The words needed to be sensitive but precise, something a jealous moron could understand.

While Emma didn't think much of Patricia, she was nonetheless thankful that she was there for him. However, she wished she had died, not given him this Outer Circle Alexander described to them in detail.

Could she live with the Nine-Fire girl? Sure. It wasn't the first time she had endured idiots around her, and this time, it would be worth it, with Alexander as her prize.

'Hm, I guess I could play the dumb little girl in love?'

...

At the same time, Alexander's room

Alexander walked around the room, recounting what Vanessa and Matilda had told him for the last twenty minutes, making him panic, "So, Emma, being hyper-intelligent, isolated herself from all of you..." He looked at them, astounded, "...and you accepted it? Letting her be alone?"

Vanessa sat on the bed and rubbed the place between her eyes, annoyed, "You don't understand. She is not only hyper-intelligent in the same way you are. You are also sociable. She is not. She sees anyone who isn't as brilliant as her as underneath her."

Alexander sighed, getting slowly tired from dealing with this situation, "First, thanks for the compliment, and second, she is a damn puppy. Who the fuck cares what she says? You take her, even if needed, forcefully and do everything you do in your estate: play, cuddle, and do stuff that puppies do. Her opinion doesn't matter."

Matilda sat on the chair at the window, smirking at him, "You are a puppy too, Alex."

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

He rolled his eyes, "You know that I can't act as I want, too? I want to visit Wolfsteeth but can't! My siblings dragged me around, played with me, and trained me, making me socialize forcefully with other servants."

Matilda shrugged, "You don't even know the half about her."

"What is there to know? She is only a year younger than me."

Matilda nodded toward Vanessa, "You tell, I think you can bring it over more sensitively."

Vanessa sighed, visibly stressed, "Fine..." In the next ten minutes, Alexander felt like he got fucked over with his rendezvous. Emma was apparently not only hyper-intelligent but also somewhat petty in an evil way.

She constantly manipulated others at balls by spreading rumors, inciting them against each other, with her being triggered by the slightest impudent behavior. Also, she never got in trouble because she didn't use any skills and did everything discreetly and implicitly.

Vanessa shuffled away to the bed end, leaning against it and sighing, "Well, there was also the case with the Iron-Claws once..."

Emma made three brothers fight themselves almost to death because they were wooing some girl Emma hated, who would gossip about how weak she was. This girl, being from the Feather-Paw household, loved one of the brothers who lost. After losing, he stopped trying to get together with her, becoming depressed. This made the Feather-Paw girl despair and not leave her estate anymore.

"Cooool, so my cousin, who is in love with me, is petty to this extent."

Alexander looked at them, judging, but they looked to the side, making him frown, 'I can't fucking believe they sent her... actually, I can totally believe it.'

Emma was the perfect noble Lady, ignoring all the gossip. With her wit and ability to manipulate others, she was the ideal heir for the position of First Lady of the Cold-Snouts. On the other hand, Alexander was everything she wasn't—a perfect pair-up.

So, it was a no-brainer that they agreed to try and pair him up with Emma, trying to see if they would come along. However, after remembering Cecilia's letter, which his Mother showed him, he really doubted she would think this far ahead. She probably only knew that he was intelligent, and that's it, throwing someone comparable into the mix for him to date.

Matilda interrupted his thoughts, "Listen, Alex, Emma is extremely loyal and would never touch you."

Alexander rolled his eyes, "I am not worried about her trying to fuck me over."

Vanessa flinched slightly, "Alex... did you always talk like this, or are you just stressed?"

He raised his eyebrow, looking at her surprised, "Yeah? Well, it depends. I am not trying to woo you, and I guess we will stay good friends, right? So, I don't see any reason to change back into trying to be the perfect nobleman."

Vanessa nodded slightly, "I... I see..." with Matilda interjecting, leaning forward, "...I actually like you much more now."

Alexander rolled his eyes, "Please don't. I already have more than enough problems."

Matilda chuckled slightly, leaning back, "You mean with Patty?"

Alexander shook his head, "Nah, she is my best friend, and we are not in love. Also..." He glared at them, "...please don't forget to write her another letter as she could misunderstand your last one..." He sighed, smiling slightly, "...our friendship is very important to me."

The girls looked at each other and back at Alexander, being a little perplexed, with Vanessa asking carefully, "Are you sure you are not loving each other?"

Alexander sighed again, more heavily, "I am 100% sure. We went through Outer Circle, and she was there for me without making any moves or anything of the sort..." He waved his hand in dismissal, "...now stop this gossip. She is my best friend, and I don't want you to spread weird rumors."

They nodded, acknowledging it, only for Alexander to continue, "So, how do I keep Emma from going crazy?"

"Marry her."

"Just become her husband."

Alexander laughed out loud, becoming sarcastic, "Haha! Great advice, but let's say, hypothetically, I don't want to, you know? What should I do?"

Alexander couldn't disregard Emma because she was just a puppy. She was intelligent and had a certain resolve, a nasty combination in his opinion, which, if not fixed, could bite him in the ass in the future pretty severely. Thus, he liked to patch such things as fast as possible.

For him, her announcing that she would wait for him wasn't a thing he liked to have in the back of his mind, knowing that there was a possibility, should he fall in love, that there would appear someone else suddenly.

Maybe he could fall in love with her in the future, but maybe he wouldn't. It didn't matter because such things weren't only annoying to him but also cruel to Emma.

Alexander would have problems rejecting her, just like now, when she was crying and begging him, breaking his heart. He couldn't have this in the future, with her becoming even more sophisticated than she was now, planning it all out or worse, using skills.

'I fucking hate rendezvous.'

Vanessa and Matilda had some suggestions for what he could do, but they were useless. He decided on something he should've done from the start.

"I have a plan. For you..." Alexander pointed at them, "...meet me tomorrow afternoon at the entrance hall, and please tell Emma to meet me in the morning there, okay?"

...

The next day, Morning

"Good morning, Alex. Did you sleep well?"

"Wow, you really are playing it off, huh?"

Emma forced a smile, looking at him amiably, "You mean what happened yesterday? Don't worry. I will wait for you. I don't know what my sisters said to you, but I will not cause you any problems as I like you too much."

Alexander sighed, scratching his head, which made her slightly cringe, "Follow me. I want to give you a present and talk with you."

Emma nodded and walked beside him, "Oh, what might it be? Is it about the play you mentioned to Vanessa?"

He shook his head, "Nope, something much better."

While they walked through the estate in silence, he broke it after thinking through what he could say, "Emma, can I be honest?"

"Of course, Alex."

He looked at her, seeing how perfect she looked, not giving off even the slightest sign of what he had seen the day before, "Tell me, what do you think is love?"

She flinched slightly, "What do you mean? Can you elaborate?"

He nodded, "We are both pretty young, aren't we?"

"Hm, that we are."

"..."

After much silence, Emma looked perplexed at him, "Is... that all?"

Alexander suddenly chuckled, "I'm Sorry. I tried to make some grand speech, but I have no idea what to say."

She smiled at him, also chuckling, "It's fine..." He interrupted her, deciding to be honestly brutal since he had no idea how to express his emotions eloquently, "You see, you are making me very uncomfortable. Do you know this?"

Her smile became even more forced while she squeezed her hands slightly, "I don't understand?"

Alexander shrugged, "I am not one for schemes, excessive planning, or the like, so I don't know how I can make you give up on me, but to tell you honestly that it feels terrible."

She shook her head, "It's fine. I will wait until you get over the lost love you mentioned."

"This is what I mean..." He sighed, "...imagine you in my position, the pressure I would feel. Do you think I could relax or be myself, knowing there is a crazy girl out there who is ready to jump into my life?"

Her voice broke slightly, "Crazy?"

"Your sisters told me what you did at those balls."

She clenched her hands harder, "I see."

Alexander rolled his eyes, "Relax, they actually calmed me down since I expected worse."

She turned her head suddenly to him, looking astounded, "Worse?! How? I only want to wait for you! Those scum doesn't matter who gossiped about me!"

He nodded, "Good point, fuck them..." she flinched, evidently not liking him speaking more thuggish and casually, "...however, what do you want to wait for? What if I marry someone who doesn't like you? Someone who didn't want me to have other wives? What would you do? Tell me."

"I... will give up."

"Will you, though?"

"Y..." Alexander interrupted her, "...you are lying, but it doesn't matter because the only reason you are so focused on me is that you feel like the world is in your hands, and you look for someone similar since you are bored to no end."

Her tone became more honest, "Excuse me?! Bored?"

"Isn't that the case, though? The only reason you are so hung up on me is that I am the only one who isn't a moron in your mind."

"I..." Alexander suddenly turned toward her, looking at her more intensely, smiling cheekily, "Trust me, I can see it in your eyes. You are overly arrogant, and because others can't understand you well, you are too focused on finding someone special, am I right?"

"I... I guess?"

"Thus, I have a present for you so you can focus on something else, giving your talents an outlet, which is much better than just waiting for some guy who looks like Frankenstein."

She frowned, "First, you probably mean Frankenstein's Monster..." This made his smile widen, as it was a shortened story in the fairy tale book he wrote.

She continued, becoming louder, seeing how he drifted away slightly, "...and second, I am already learning so fast that my teachers can barely keep up, and my socializing is excellent. I know I can't fight..." She looked at her hands, "...my body isn't the strongest, and I have no talent for sword arts. This I tried..." Her tone became slightly distressed, "...what is there to focus for me but you? But I promised you not to wait anymore, so don't worry."

His heart clenched, seeing her like this, smiling sadly, 'I will not believe that this is an act, fuck it.'

Alexander wanted to believe that she was actually just a girl who was too intelligent for her own good and saw in him an outlet for her energy and talent since nothing different was available to her. So what if she gossiped at some ball? Who didn't talk with their friends about others?

"Sword arts? Combat? Physical training? Trust me, there is something much better..." They went up the stairs, with him opening the door to the room attic, "...now, let me introduce you to a brand new world."