~ Chapter : 8 ~
I watched as the table was set one item at a time with tea and a plate of refreshments. In the end, I was the one who spoke first.
“Miss Erhen, I understand how you came to be here—but may I ask what brings you here today?”
Beatrice, as expected, coldly ignored my question. When I told the maids they could leave, Jena and the others bowed lightly and withdrew.
“Just call me Beatrice, for now.”
“Yes, Lady Beatrice. I hope your mood improves soon.”
Under the table, I raised my middle finger while wearing a polite smile.
It was a social skill one naturally acquired after attending a few social gatherings.
“Haha, well… since the weather is nice, perhaps Lady Beatrice simply came out for a stroll.”
I cautiously tested the waters with Beatrice, but it only backfired.
“The weather is nice?”
Beatrice frowned. The sky, which had been clear just moments ago, had already darkened. A fierce wind began to blow, as if the weather were changing purely to create a dramatic atmosphere—like when enemies appear on a wasteland battlefield.
I deliberately laughed out loud, harmlessly and brightly.
“Oh ho ho, it seems the weather suddenly turned bad just to keep Lady Beatrice staying in the count’s estate! The guest room happens to be empty, too…”
“Tsk.”
At my flattery—utterly devoid of sincerity—Beatrice clicked her tongue lightly.
Moreover, despite the tea not being poisoned, Beatrice didn’t take a single sip, nor did she touch the refreshments.
Maintaining her cold gaze throughout, she finally asked in a chilling voice,
“The carrier pigeon earlier—what exactly did the duke send?”
So this visit really was about Rosio.
Since she had already come knowing that the divine beast was sent by Rosio, pretending ignorance would be pointless. I decided to mix in a reasonable lie.
“I had something to ask about the graduation party.”
That part was true. Rosio had thought I was going to file a complaint.
I tactfully left out any mention of perfume.
“The count’s daughter already had poor academy grades, and now even her excuses are pathetic. You weren’t particularly close, so wouldn’t it have been faster to ask the academy directly?”
My pride took a hit. Had my terrible grades become common knowledge even among underclassmen?
I briefly considered snapping back, but maintaining a harmless persona seemed wiser than stooping to petty provocation.
“Well, you see… I was too lazy to go all the way to the academy.”
I yawned long and wide, pretending I’d thrown propriety out the window.
“What?”
“It’s awkward answering my professor when he asks what I plan to do next. I can’t exactly say I’m going to be unemployed and live off leisure. That would be an embarrassment to the Imperial Academy.”
At my immature response, Beatrice looked at me as if she were staring at a primitive ape.
I understood why. Normally, noble ladies and gentlemen who graduated from the academy either inherited family businesses or secured respectable positions.
But no matter how excellent an institution is, there are always a few useless people.
That would be me.
From the moment I possessed this body, I planned to live comfortably and avoid troublesome entanglements. I’d already worked myself to the bone in my previous life.
“So that’s how you’re going to live? Just yesterday, after the graduation party, you returned home with Duke Agnes, didn’t you?”
Instead of letting it slide, Beatrice pressed further. She clearly suspected there had been something between Rosio and me.
Only Rosio and I were present during the kiss, but there were definitely witnesses who saw us leave the academy together.
“Well, um…”
“You were together last night, and today you’re exchanging carrier pigeons. Even an idiot would know that’s not a normal relationship.”
“Excuse me, Lady Beatrice—did you just call me an idiot?”
“Seems you’re hard of hearing, too.”
Despite the villainess’s venomous words, I forced myself to stay calm, carving patience deep into my heart.
“That’s enough. Anyway, we’re not the kind of relationship you’re imagining. The duke was the student council president—he was simply helping a fellow student until the very last day.”
When faced with pressure, it was best to mix in a bit of truth.
“And my friends all abandoned me, so he just escorted me back to the count’s estate. It was nighttime, so teleportation magic was difficult, and going to a hotel alone together would’ve caused even worse rumors…”
“Then the duke should’ve left immediately. There’s a gate at the count’s estate. I saw earlier—it works just fine.”
“Even so, if we were attacked by bandits outside the estate, that would’ve been disastrous. What if he got hurt because of me, or drew the resentment of people who’re interested in him?”
People like you, for example.
Rosio had a massive fan club at the academy—large enough that a Duke Agnes Research Club sprang up every year.
It was technically fan activity disguised as research, so it was never officially approved.
“What nonsense! Who says I’m interested in the duke?!”
The villainess suddenly raised her voice. Seeing Beatrice—still in her early twenties—show such youthful petulance was, for a fleeting moment, almost cute.
When the wind blew again, she irritably brushed her hair behind her ear. I adopted the serene demeanor of a priest and casually asked,
“Would you like to borrow a hair tie?”
I pulled out a red ribbon hair tie from my pocket and held it out to her.
Lending someone something they need—one of the classic ways to make friends at the start of a new academy term.
It was meant as a gesture of reconciliation, but the villainess reacted as if a bug had landed on my hand, slapping it away hard.
“Ah…!”
The red ribbon slipped from my hand and fluttered away in the wind.
My hand stung, but more than that, I stared blankly at Beatrice, overwhelmed by the sheer hostility.
“Saint lady.”
“Y-Yes?”
For a moment, her eyes seemed so bloodshot they looked redder than rubies.
“You were invisible until now, but you’ve mastered deception in all sorts of ways. How dare you try to brush this off like this?”
She pressed me aggressively, brows furrowed. She was even scarier when she scowled. I truly wanted to resolve this peacefully.
“…I have no intention of getting involved with Duke Agnes any further. My goal is to live a long, quiet life.”
“Until yesterday, I thought so too.”
“If I quietly move down to a villa in a small city and never even go near the ducal territory, would you believe me?”
“So you plan to take Duke Agnes to a small city? Alone?”
The misunderstanding only deepened.
Grinding her teeth, the villainess declared boldly,
“Saint lady. I must have what I want to be satisfied. And Duke Agnes—I will have him.”
“Then take him! Take everything!”
Just not my life.
I fully intended to pair Rosio with Camilla, but for now, I was willing to appease the villainess.
“I’ll be watching you closely. Behave yourself. If you catch my eye again, I’ll put everything I have on the line to deal with you.”
She didn’t listen to a single word I said—only delivered her own.
“W-Wait, Lady Beatrice! I’m not your rival—”
No matter how much I wanted to deliver a cathartic comeback, now that Camilla’s situation had become my own, all I could do was break out in cold sweat.
She didn’t need to stake everything. One spell from her, and I’d be finished.
I grabbed her again, insisting it was a misunderstanding, but she shook me off and strode out, navigating the castle as if she knew its layout by heart.
I’d lived my life knowing my place well. And yet, after sleeping with Rosio once and exchanging just one message, I’d been issued a declaration of war by the villainess.
I sighed deeply, mulling over her threat.
Then—
“I must have what I want?”
Come to think of it, there was something Beatrice had always desperately wanted.
But it was something beyond my power now. Even the original Rosio or Camilla couldn’t give it to her.
If it were something money could buy, I’d give it to her gladly—but Beatrice’s ambitions ran far deeper.
“Well, what am I supposed to do about that?”
I picked up the fallen ribbon, slumped into a chair for a while longer, then dragged myself back into the castle.
***
A full hour had passed since Beatrice left. As soon as she exited the count’s estate, the sky cleared as if nothing had happened.
But my scattered soul refused to return.
The conclusion was clear.
What have I even been doing for the past five years? It’s all come to nothing.
As I lay face-down on the bed, Countess Saint entered.
She had gone to the imperial palace on business and looked slightly tired, but her eyes shone with joy.
“Esmeralda!”
She pulled me into a tight embrace. For a long while, I was wrapped in my mother’s arms, gently rocked. Held in her solid embrace, I nearly broke down, wanting to spill everything and cry.
But how could I tell her I’d spent a night with the male lead, planned an artificial meeting with the female lead, and just confronted a future darkened villainess?
Deciding that the villainess wouldn’t act against me immediately, I chose to focus on today’s schedule instead.
“My dear, congratulations on your graduation. Iris and Lipt are coming over for dinner.”
Iris and Lipt were my older sister and brother.
Iris, now a knight commander, was often away on campaigns, and Lipt, an imperial court mage, was buried in research. It had been a long time since I’d seen either of them.
Since I’d graduated, it seemed they were making time to visit.
“What about Father?”
“He’ll be coming later. Oh, that reminds me…”
My mother slowly loosened her arms and smiled proudly.
“I heard from Jena that Duke Agnes visited last night. It seems he left early.”
“Ah, yes. He escorted me home. He was very kind.”
“Nothing happened, right? And today, even a young lady from the Erhen marquisate came to visit. It seems my daughter made many good friends at the academy.”
She was deeply moved, saying it had been the right decision to send me there.
To her, even the Duke Agnes—who had stayed the night at the count’s estate—was simply proof of my excellent social skills.
That was likely because neither my sister nor brother had ever brought home friends, colleagues, or even lovers.
Neither of them are friends. I went all the way with Rosio, and I fought with Beatrice…
Given how busy she already was, I had no choice but to say nothing was wrong. Besides, I didn’t have the heart to ruin her pride in my “friendships.”
Unaware of my thoughts, my mother suddenly clapped her hands, as if something had just occurred to her.
