Help! I'm just an extra yet the Heroines and Villainesses want me!-Chapter 86: Jealous Seraphine

William barely had time to catch his breath before the nobles descended.

Lady Vexmore was first, approaching with Elara beside her. "Master William, that was an impressive display. Multi-elemental control at your age is quite rare."

"Thank you, Lady Vexmore."

"My daughter tells me you’re in House Ascendant at the academy. That’s an interesting placement for someone with such versatile abilities." Her eyes were sharp and calculating as she continued. "I’d like to discuss potential collaboration between our houses. Perhaps later this afternoon when you’ve had time to rest?"

"Of course."

She moved away smoothly, making space for the next approach.

Lord Aldric appeared with his three daughters in tow. "Master Cross, excellent technique. My daughters were most impressed, weren’t you girls?"

The three young women murmured agreement, all of them were watching William with obvious interest that had nothing to do with his combat skills.

"Your control over multiple elements simultaneously shows remarkable training," the oldest daughter said. "Did you develop those techniques at the academy or through family instruction?"

"Combination of both," William said, keeping his answer vague.

"Fascinating. Perhaps we could discuss your training methods over tea sometime? I’ve been studying elemental theory myself and would love to hear your perspective." Her smile was practiced and political.

William recognized this for what it was, House Aldric positioning their daughters as potential marriage candidates now that he had proven himself worth the investment. Before he could formulate a polite deflection, another noble approached.

The conversations continued like this for nearly an hour. Every noble family that had stayed to watch wanted to speak with him, each with their own agenda. Some were genuinely interested in his techniques, others clearly evaluating him for political alliances, a few were just inserting themselves to maintain social connections.

Lady Ashford cornered him eventually, her expression unreadable.

"Master William. That was quite a performance. My daughter Mira mentioned you were skilled, but I didn’t realize the extent." She studied him carefully. "Mira has spoken well of you in her letters home. She values your partnership on the Inter-Academy team."

"Lady Mira is an excellent teammate. Her shadow manipulation techniques are exceptional."

"She’ll be pleased to hear you think so." Lady Ashford paused. "I hope you’ll continue to work well together. Strong partnerships at the academy often develop into more significant relationships after graduation."

The meaning behind what she said was clear. William maintained his neutral expression.

"I’m focused on the upcoming competition currently. Everything beyond that is uncertain."

"Of course. Though I hope you’ll keep House Ashford in mind when considering future... arrangements." She smiled politely and moved away.

William felt exhausted and he hadn’t even fought that hard. Social combat was proving more draining than actual combat.

His mother appeared at his elbow like she had been waiting for a break in the conversations.

"Well done. You’ve impressed them without overselling yourself." She kept her voice low. "Lady Vexmore wants a private meeting this afternoon. Accept it, she’s politically influential and an alliance with House Vexmore would benefit you personally. Lord Aldric is going to push his daughters at you aggressively. Be polite but give them nothing concrete. Lady Ashford is now convinced you’re worth serious consideration for Mira, which complicates your academy dynamics but opens political opportunities."

"This is exhausting."

"This is necessary. Every relationship you build now becomes leverage you can use later." She glanced around at the lingering nobles. "Go clean up and rest for an hour. I’ll manage the social niceties and schedule your afternoon appropriately."

William escaped gratefully back to the manor. He made it to his room and collapsed into a chair, finally alone.

A knock on the door interrupted his peace almost immediately.

"It’s me!" Seraphine’s voice.

William opened the door and his sister burst in, practically glowing with excitement.

"That was amazing! You completely destroyed him!" She grabbed William’s arm. "The way you moved around his attacks like they weren’t even there, and then that final technique with the fire and wind together — everyone was talking about how impressive it was!"

"It was just a sparring match."

"It was not just a sparring match! Half those nobles are now trying to figure out how to connect their families to ours because of you!" Seraphine pulled him toward the sitting area. "I heard Lady Aldric telling her daughters to try harder to get your attention, and Lady Vexmore was telling someone that House Cross might be more valuable as an ally than she’d previously thought."

William sat down while his sister continued chattering about everything she’d overheard from the noble observers. Despite his exhaustion, he found himself genuinely interested in her intelligence gathering.

"And that Elara girl from House Vexmore kept watching you even after the match ended," Seraphine added, her tone shifting to something more critical. "She approached you first thing, like she had priority or something."

"She was just being friendly."

"She was being strategic. I’m not stupid, William. These noble girls are all trying to position themselves now that you’ve proven you’re worth their attention." Seraphine crossed her arms. "It’s annoying."

William looked at his thirteen-year-old sister who was clearly experiencing jealousy she didn’t quite understand yet.

"Seraphine—"

"I know, I know. Noble family politics and alliance building and all that boring stuff Mother always talks about." She stood up and moved to the window. "But you’re my brother. I don’t like watching all these people suddenly care about you just because you won a fight."

"They don’t care about me. They care about what I represent politically."

"Exactly! Which is worse!" She turned to face him. "At least I actually care about you as a person, not as some political piece."

William felt that uncomfortable tightness in his chest again. His sister’s attachment was becoming more obvious and he still didn’t know how to handle it appropriately.

"I know you do," he said carefully. "And I appreciate that. But you also need to understand that this is how noble family relationships work. Everything is calculated."

"That’s depressing."

"That’s reality."

They sat in silence for a moment before Seraphine moved back toward the door.

"Mother says you have meetings all afternoon with various nobles. I’ll see you at dinner." She paused at the door. "Try not to let them all convince you to marry their daughters or whatever they’re planning."

She left before William could respond.

He had maybe fifteen minutes of peace before a servant appeared to inform him that Lady Vexmore requested his presence in the east parlor at his earliest convenience.

William changed into more appropriate afternoon attire and made his way to the parlor where Lady Vexmore waited with Elara.

"Master William, thank you for making time," Lady Vexmore said. "Please, sit. I wanted to discuss something that benefits both our families."

William sat, immediately on guard. Private meetings that "benefited both families" were never simple.

"House Vexmore has significant commercial interests in the eastern territories," Lady Vexmore began. "We also maintain strong political connections with several military families. What we lack is direct connection to traditional nobility with military command structure."

"House Cross provides that."

"Exactly. Your family has military influence through your father and brothers. A formal alliance between our houses would be mutually advantageous." She paused. "I’m proposing a structured partnership. House Vexmore provides commercial support and political backing for your endeavors after academy graduation. In exchange, House Cross provides military consultation and family prestige."

"That sounds reasonable in theory," William said carefully. "But I’m eighteen and haven’t graduated yet. I’m not in a position to commit House Cross to formal alliances."

"Of course not. This would be a personal arrangement initially, one that could develop into family alignment over time." Lady Vexmore smiled. "I’m not asking for immediate commitments. I’m simply establishing that House Vexmore views you as worth investing in, and we’d like to maintain strong relations as your career progresses."

Elara spoke up for the first time. "What my mother means is that we’d like to support you at the Inter-Academy competition and beyond, without demanding anything in return immediately. Think of it as... building goodwill."

"Goodwill that you hope pays dividends later."

"Naturally," Lady Vexmore said without pretense. "But goodwill nonetheless. We’re not asking you to marry into our family or swear loyalty to House Vexmore. Just keep us in mind as you make future decisions."

It was a soft sell, which somehow made it more dangerous than the hard approaches from families like Aldric. Lady Vexmore was playing a longer game.

"I appreciate House Vexmore’s interest," William said. "I can’t make commitments that affect House Cross without my parents’ involvement, but I’m willing to maintain positive relations."

"That’s all I ask." Lady Vexmore stood, indicating the meeting was concluded. "Elara, why don’t you show Master William the gardens? I believe his mother mentioned they’re particularly lovely this time of year."

It was clearly a setup to give William and Elara time alone. His mother and Lady Vexmore had probably coordinated this.

Elara gestured toward the door with an amused expression. "Come on. The gardens actually are nice, and it gets us away from the political performance for a bit."

They walked through the manor and out into the extensive grounds. The gardens were indeed well-maintained, with late autumn flowers still blooming in organized beds.

"Sorry about my mother’s sketchy approach," Elara said once they were away from the manor. "She’s always working angles. It’s exhausting to watch sometimes."

"Your family isn’t unique in that."

"True. Though at least she’s honest about it instead of pretending it’s all genuine friendship." Elara stopped to examine a flower bed. "Can I ask you something directly?"

"Sure."

"Do you actually enjoy any of this? The politics, the social maneuvering, the constant evaluation?" She looked at him curiously. "Or are you just good at pretending?"

William considered how to answer that honestly.

"I’m learning to navigate it because it’s necessary. Enjoyment doesn’t factor into it."

"That’s what I thought." Elara smiled slightly. "You’re better at the performance than most people our age, but you look tired whenever you think no one’s watching. Like you’d rather be literally anywhere else."

"Is it that obvious?"

"To me, yes. I’ve spent my whole life watching people perform at these gatherings. You’re competent at it, but your heart’s not in it the way true political players are." She started walking again. "That’s not a criticism, by the way. It’s actually somewhat refreshing."

They walked through the gardens for another twenty minutes, and William found himself genuinely relaxing slightly. Elara was sharp and observant, but she didn’t push or probe beyond what he was willing to discuss.

When they returned to the manor, more nobles were waiting to speak with him.

The afternoon disappeared into a blur of careful conversations, political positioning, and navigating requests that ranged from reasonable to absurd.

By the time dinner arrived, William felt more exhausted than after any combat training session.

And he still had one more full day of this before he could return to the academy.

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