Chapter 80
I wanted to quickly end this situation and go on with what I needed to do, but Marinef was taking far too long.
“And after all that waiting, that’s all the words I get?”
Estelle felt that every second wasted was precious.
“Oh my! You mean she’s not a noble lady hiding her identity on purpose?”
“Good heavens, how could such a thing be!”
Unlike the calm and collected Estelle, Robel and Baritas were in an uproar.
Their eyes were wide enough that it seemed their eyeballs might pop out, and their mouths were open so far that you could see their throats.
Even the two who always followed Marinef around seemed to be hearing this story for the first time.
But it only lasted a moment.
Estelle noticed a sly expression creep across their faces.
It was the thrill of being able to tear down someone who had annoyed them all this time, now that they had the opportunity.
“That’s exactly right. Turns out she’s just a commoner. And yet she walks around with her head held so high, as if she were a noble.”
Tsk, tsk.
Marinef shook her head and clicked her tongue.
Then, with a bitter expression, she looked at Estelle.
Even her arched eyebrows betrayed a mix of pity and disdain for Estelle, as if disappointed that she had lied.
Meanwhile, Robel and Baritas reacted in sharp contrast, as if they were hunting dogs waiting for their master’s command.
Their brows were furrowed high, eyes glaring at Estelle.
“Shouldn’t we report this immediately? A noble shouldn’t have their reputation tarnished because of something like this. Who knows what she’s capable of!”
“Exactly. I agree. How could she even think to impersonate a noble!”
Marinef seemed satisfied with their reaction.
Even while pretending to be composed, the corners of her mouth betrayed her excitement.
She patted Robel and Baritas on the shoulder, signaling them to calm down.
“This is why environment matters so much. We were raised in a distinguished family, learning only the best. But she? She wasn’t. Growing up in such an environment, under such guardians, isn’t that enough to explain her thinking?”
Marinef stared at Estelle, speaking as if looking down on someone clearly beneath her.
From her tone, it was clear she wanted to reverse the humiliation: to make Estelle, who had dared to oppose her, kneel before her, to break her pride that had always been a thorn in her side.
“How strange. A noble imposter, huh.”
But Estelle had no intention of doing so.
“I’ve never once claimed to be a noble.”
Not even once.
She had initially ignored Marinef because it was boring, but now that feeling had vanished.
“Huh. Interesting.”
Marinef said that Estelle must have thought to impersonate a noble because of her “environment” and “guardians.”
Emphasis included.
It was impossible not to hear.
“Hah. How dare she ignore Reina, and the things Reina made?”
Estelle’s anger boiled, and she could no longer hold back.
“What did you just say? Hah! How shameless! And you boldly blocked my way before!”
As Estelle denied everything Marinef and her group had said, Marinef finally removed her mask of composure.
Pushing Robel and Baritas aside, she strode toward Estelle.
“Eek—!”
A small shriek came from beside Estelle—it was Shial, who had been with her all along.
Though no longer restrained, Shial’s past experiences of harassment by them had clearly left a mark.
His face was pale, and he fidgeted anxiously, unable to stand still.
Estelle stepped forward to shield him from view, as if protecting him.
Marinef soon reached Estelle, standing face-to-face.
She looked down at Estelle and said,
“You blocked my way, didn’t you? Why? Are you trying to pass this off as a lie too?”
“….”
“Oh my, you’re silent. Perhaps I’ve already figured out what you’re thinking. Let’s see… what kind of lie would you have told? That you didn’t block me? Or that the one who blocked me last time wasn’t you but someone else?”
Marinef pretended to ponder seriously, crossing her arms and furrowing her brows.
Then she snapped her fingers and began mocking Estelle.
“Yes, yes. You’re someone who could even impersonate a noble. Instead of denying it, it makes more sense to say it was someone else, right?”
Marinef turned to her group behind her, then back to Estelle, lightly tapping her shoulder with her finger.
“That’s your specialty, isn’t it? Creating imaginary characters.”
Marinef sized Estelle up from head to toe.
A sardonic smirk curled at one corner of her lips.
Estelle crossed her arms, humming thoughtfully.
“Creating imaginary characters, huh…”
Trailing off, Estelle rolled her eyes as if in thought.
Then, frowning, she pointed at Marinef, sensing something odd.
“That seems more like you and your friends than me.”
“What… did you just say?”
Marinef yelled, as if Estelle had called her mentally unstable.
Her body trembled with rage, furious at being humiliated.
But Estelle didn’t care.
Instead, she planned to humiliate Marinef in front of everyone, just as Marinef had intended to shame her and Reina.
Exactly the way Marinef had tried.
“If you attended the entrance ceremony, everyone would have seen it. I entered as the top student.”
Estelle gestured to the surrounding people.
They nodded in affirmation, confirming her words.
“See? Everyone witnessed it.”
Estelle indicated Marinef should check for herself.
Marinef followed Estelle’s gesture, scanning the crowd.
Realizing her mistake, she bit her lip and glared at Estelle.
“And yet you still thought I was a noble. If I were, I wouldn’t have had to take the exam like everyone else.”
Seeing that Marinef no longer moved to interfere, Estelle lowered her hands.
Most people already knew she had entered as the top student. There was no need to repeat it for Marinef.
What mattered was how Marinef had been perceived and reconstructed in the minds of the people around them.
Estelle shrugged.
Then she spoke toward Marinef, who glared at her.
“The academy checks whether a student is suitable for the institution.”
Her gaze was full of a mix of pity and calm, not anger.
A faint, enigmatic smile.
Marinef’s face flushed red and blue.
Her breathing quickened, lips trembling.
She realized Estelle had implied that she was unsuitable for the academy.
Estelle found this amusing.
Like pouring water on a boiling kettle, steam seemed about to burst out.
Her efforts to hide her anger were comical.
Moreover, the way she tried to control herself, taking deep breaths and moving her hands up and down as she exhaled, looked utterly ridiculous.
Meanwhile, Marinef seemed unable to care how Estelle viewed her.
All she thought about was not showing anger here.
Getting angry at a commoner would be shameful for a noble.
Instead of anger, she had to make others realize her mistakes elegantly.
Marinef’s trembling lips opened to retort.
“Right now, you’re—”
“And what else did you say? Oh, that me blocking your way was also evidence of my impersonating a noble, right?”
But Estelle was quicker.
As if expecting it, she cut off Marinef mid-sentence.
Marinef had no choice but to close her mouth.
Estelle snapped her fingers and repeated exactly what Marinef had said a moment ago.
Then, raising an eyebrow, she asked,
“You’re not seriously using that as evidence, are you?”
Her expression clearly challenging the logic—or lack thereof—behind Marinef’s words.
