The Main Heroine Falls for the Extra

Just yesterday evening.

On the way back to the dormitory, I saw Riel’s expression that seemed to claim she was worrying about something.

When I asked her if she had something on her mind, she was startled and waved her hands saying it was nothing.

…It definitely didn’t seem like nothing.

She usually doesn’t show her emotions easily when expressionless, but the moment that guard breaks down, it seems to become easier to read her.

“Young Master Kyo, do you have something troubling you?”

“…Huh?”

“It shows on your face.”

And it seems I’m just as easy to read when it comes to emotions.

I told my personal maid, Phyllis, who read my expression, about the duel.

And in the process, Allen’s name came up, and Riel’s name.

It wasn’t difficult to notice that Phyllis’s expression changed ominously.

Phyllis Barnoa.

She has been my personal maid since she was a young girl years ago, but I don’t actually know much about her in detail.

First of all, she’s a character who doesn’t appear in the original story at all, so the only information I have about her is what I’ve gained through interacting with her.

…To begin with, Kyo Wentos didn’t have a personal maid or anything like that in the original story.

Well, what I do know is first that she comes from a noble family.

Though even so, it’s a family with over a dozen children, so they’re closer to being nobles in name only.

And before coming to our house, she had served another family.

When she talked about this in the past, she had such a sad expression that I didn’t ask in detail.

And this time, when Riel’s name came up and I saw the change in her expression, I could roughly guess.

That Phyllis was a maid who had served the Duke Ignis family.

And when I asked her about it, her answer was quite a sight.

“That household was going mad.”

Phyllis Barnoa is a child of the Viscount Barnoa family.

Even so, Viscount Barnoa has five wives and over ten children, and she belongs to a very delicate position as the daughter of the third concubine and the eighth daughter.

So, she left home at a young age. To find her own way to survive.

And where she settled was none other than the Duke Ignis family, one of the three duke families of the kingdom.

But that place was strange.

A strange space where the common sense of this world didn’t apply.

People controlled by just one word, one action of a mere ‘commoner boy’.

People who accepted this naturally.

The Duke Ignis family was a strange place.

This tendency became even more severe when Duke and Duchess Ignis started to frequently be away with their heir, the legitimate son.

The people of the duke’s family, who were merely ‘kind’ to the ‘commoner boy’, began to almost ‘idolize’ him.

When he showed interest in the ‘duke’s second daughter’, it began to manifest as ‘jealousy of followers’.

Malicious bullying began, such as subtly slandering her or isolating her.

Phyllis, who became the second daughter’s personal maid because of their similar age, found this atmosphere very scary and disgusting.

‘Is this really acceptable?’

Excluding the duke couple and the legitimate son who were away, there were three people who couldn’t follow the atmosphere of this house.

The duke family’s eldest daughter, Eve Ignis.

The duke family’s second daughter, Riel Ignis.

And Phyllis Barnoa.

Eve Ignis left the duke’s family as soon as she was old enough to go to the academy, almost as if escaping.

Riel Ignis just endured silently without saying anything.

Phyllis Barnoa concentrated on protecting Riel Ignis.

As a result, Phyllis Barnoa was expelled from the Duke Ignis family.

During the duke couple’s absence, the butler in charge of servant personnel applied the charge that Phyllis was trying to manipulate the second daughter.

Saying it was absurd, Phyllis expressed her thoughts.

That Lady Riel was uncomfortable with Allen Ludwig, that she disliked even being in front of him.

But no one believed her.

No, it wasn’t a matter of believing or not. No one forgave anyone who spoke ill of Allen Ludwig.

This mansion was insane.

‘I can’t leave the young lady in a place like this!’

Phyllis even thought of running away in the middle of the night with the young lady.

If it were the first young lady…

If it were Lady Eve, who was studying at the academy, wouldn’t she protect Lady Riel?

She vaguely thought so and carried it out.

But Phyllis’s plan, still at a young age, failed.

“You! You’re finally making trouble!”

Where could the information have leaked from? Phyllis had no choice but to flee, barely saving her life while being chased by knights and sustaining major injuries.

If Count Wentos, who was returning to the north, hadn’t found Phyllis, she probably wouldn’t have been alive.

Leaving the still young girl Riel Ignis in that hell was a lingering regret that remained in a corner of Phyllis’s heart for her entire life.

And to Phyllis, who was working at the count’s family, a familiar name reached her ears.

Riel Ignis

…and Allen Ludwig.

The year when the legitimate son of the count’s family she served, Kyo Wentos, was to enter the academy.

When collecting information about the individuals who would be entering the academy that year, she saw Riel Ignis’s name.

As a lady of the duke’s family, her name was bound to appear.

And as if it was natural, she could also discover Allen Ludwig’s name.

…Persistent bastard, following all the way to the academy.

Grinding her teeth inwardly, Phyllis headed to the academy following Kyo Wentos.

Phyllis, who came to the academy, was able to find Riel soon.

But she couldn’t move rashly.

To begin with, her current self was a maid serving the Count Wentos family, and the time she could move freely was limited.

Additionally, Allen was always following Riel, and in the dormitory where Allen wasn’t present, the maid Illia stuck by her side.

Phyllis knew Illia. She remembered taking good care of her as a junior who had entered the duke’s family at a slightly younger age than herself.

And when the mansion people framed her, Illia was also one of the most active participants.

After that, when she heard that Illia had secured the position of Riel’s personal maid, she thought, so that’s how it was.

After some time, Riel began to avoid Allen and hide at the academy.

However, her movements at that time were so difficult to follow that even Phyllis had trouble.

It was unreasonable to try to contact her with limited time.

One day, while looking for an opportunity to contact Riel.

From the mouth of the young master she served, two names were mentioned.

…She knew to some extent that her master had a hostile relationship with Allen Ludwig.

Above all, his fiancée, Liliana Edwin, fell for Allen and abandoned her master.

At that time, she vaguely felt that another victim had fallen to Allen’s spell, and that was unfortunate.

And anger towards him for harming even her new master.

But after that, she was really surprised to hear that Riel and her young master had become friends.

The girl called Riel Ignis that she knew was a girl who had been broken by her surroundings, unable to act on her own and had closed her heart.

Phyllis, who had noticed that her reaction was unusual, told her young master all about her relationship with Riel Ignis, and with his cooperation, she was finally able to get an opportunity to contact Riel Ignis.

Phyllis entered the Aurum Hall women’s dormitory by disguising herself as a messenger and passing through the alarm magic.

No, she was actually a messenger. Just a messenger with a pretext to be able to contact Riel.

But Illia was still there.

She didn’t know if Illia would remember her, but if she happened to remember her face, things would get troublesome.

Phyllis, who was waiting for an opportunity outside, confirmed that Illia was coming out of the room, and immediately climbed the wall and headed for the windowsill.

When she knocked on the window, Riel Ignis slightly opened the window and looked outside.

When she quietly called her name, Riel turned her head in her direction, startled.

Her eyes were very wide.

“Phi…Phiphil…Phyllis…!”

“Lady Riel.”

Despite it being a reunion after nearly ten years, Phyllis smiled as she saw Riel immediately recognizing her.

“Is… is it really you, Phyllis…?”

“Yes, it’s been a really long time.”

Riel traced Phyllis’s face with trembling hands.

Eventually, when Riel removed her hands from Phyllis’s face, Phyllis’s two hands enveloped Riel’s.

“It really… really took a long time.”

“Phy…Phyllis…”

“This time… I can truly help you.”

Tears slightly welled up even in Phyllis’s eyes, who had been trying to maintain her composure somehow.

“So, young lady, please tell me if there’s anything I can help with.”

She had secured an unwavering position.

She had cultivated skills that wouldn’t yield to ordinary power.

She had gained reliable backing.

Phyllis had set out to save Riel this time for sure.

“She is waiting for you here.”

The place Phyllis guided me and Riel to was a tea house.

…The same tea house that Riel had previously guided me to, saying it was a good place with few people.

Here, she is waiting.

The person who will be an opportunity to overcome the second crisis that Allen Ludwig brought.

As Phyllis opened the door for us and we entered the tea house, red hair came into view.

The same fiery red hair as Phyllis.

She seemed to be in her early twenties, a beautiful woman dressed in an elegant uniform.

“……”

When Riel looked at her, her gaze turned towards Riel.

“Riel.”

She looked at Riel.

“…It’s been a very long time.”

“…Sis…ter…”

Riel called her with difficulty.

The eldest daughter of the Duke Ignis family and a magician affiliated with the kingdom’s magic corps.

Her name was Eve Ignis.