Chapter 51
“Oh, I know this one. ‘Draw attention.’”
“That’s right.”
I smiled brightly. Anna’s eyes sparkled beside Mayra.
“Me too! I want to guess too.”
“Okay. This one.”
I mimicked resting my chin and softly traced my jawline with my index finger. Anna’s eyes lit up.
“Oh, I know! It’s that one! Umm… ‘Yell while getting angry!’”
“Ooh, correct.”
It amazed me how easily they were guessing the signs. These were actually secret gestures we made up when I was alive. After seeing something about how society ladies used fans to communicate, Mayra and Anna had suggested we try it too, and we spent days coming up with our own codes.
To be honest, I didn’t expect them to remember. The signs were pretty varied and the hand motions were kind of clumsy. But Anna and Mayra, now children, picked them up surprisingly fast. They even started improvising new gestures and asking each other, “Is it this one?” It was truly impressive growth.
Just then, a noisy commotion erupted. High-pitched voices of young girls echoed through the air.
“Oh my, you’re here early!”
Someone called out cheerfully. As I looked up, I saw two girls walking ahead of the group. They were taller and looked more mature than the others. Even their clothes looked fancier somehow.
Those must be the 7th and 8th princesses.
“Big sisters,” Anna said quietly, quickly bowing her head. I curtsied the moment Anna greeted them.
“I greet Princess Risel, the 7th Princess, and Princess Findelia, the 8th Princess.”
Were those the right names? At that moment—
“Oh my, look at her curtsy. So cute.”
“Stand up, it’s too much! The little ones are curtsying to us—how precious!”
Risel and Findelia beamed brightly as they spoke in their high-pitched voices.
Huh. They seemed much nicer than I expected. They were completely different from the spoiled brats I had imagined. Their faces were soft and their voices sweet. They were both beautiful in distinct ways, catching attention easily. Not that Anna or Mayra weren’t pretty too, of course… Anyway.
“Oh my, you’re both so cute. Lady Mayra Wintel, and Lady Berdette Sylcar, right? Come over here. You’re like little babies. We invited you to become friends today, so let’s have fun together!”
“Huh?”
I tilted my head slightly. They were very friendly… but only toward us? They completely ignored Anna’s greeting. I was shocked by the blatant dismissal. How could they ignore someone so openly? And those bright smiles didn’t seem fake at all. It meant, at the very least, that they liked Mayra and me. Only us. It seemed Anna and Mayra had been right—the tactless princesses wanted to steal us away from Anna.
I glanced at Anna… and my breath caught.
The expression on her face hit me hard. That lonely look—how could I describe it? It wasn’t anger toward those excluding her. Instead, it was like she had accepted and endured the abuse. Learned helplessness, maybe.
“……”
I made up my mind immediately after seeing her face.
I would use everything at my disposal today to bring Anna into the center of this gathering. Just like I did with Mayra, I couldn’t bear to watch these children suffer from even the smallest injustice.
Princess Risel walked directly to the center seat and waved her hand at Mayra and me.
“Come sit over here!”
The seat she pointed at was the one where I’d seen my name earlier. So it wasn’t a mistake—it was planned. They were trying to separate Anna from us and pull Mayra and me into their circle.
How cunning for kids barely in their teens. I forced a smile and shook my head.
“I saw my name over there, so I think I should sit here.”
“…What? That can’t be right. That seat is Anna’s…”
Risel started frowning and speaking but abruptly stopped. I saw it—Findelia had elbowed her in the ribs. If they admitted the seat was Anna’s, it would reveal their intent to isolate her. Risel paused, then forced another smile.
“No… I think someone else is supposed to sit there. Must’ve been a mistake. Shouldn’t you sit with Lady Wintel and Anna?”
The moment she said “someone else should sit there,” all the noble girls who had been hovering nearby froze mid-step. It seemed they had planned for one of them to trade seats if Risel gave the word.
The atmosphere stiffened subtly. It was clear the other noble girls were intensely conscious of Risel and Findelia. Strange, really. The two princesses weren’t even that powerful in the palace hierarchy, yet all these girls seemed completely under their thumb.
Why? Did they have dirt on everyone or something? How badly could a couple of young girls even bully others?
“No, it’s fine. I’ll just sit here. Everyone already has a seat, and switching would be odd too. I’m young, so the end seat suits me.”
I emphasized “end seat” and signaled the attendant. He pulled out the chair for me, and I sat. I was quietly impressed with myself. I’d really become a noble lady—signaling my attendant with just a glance like that. All that etiquette training from Mayra and the etiquette tutor was paying off.
“See you later then.”
“…Okay. Princess Anna, let’s go.”
Mayra’s face grew serious. She tightly clenched her little fist, then grabbed Anna’s hand and led her to their seats. Watching their tiny feet scurry across the floor was kind of adorable.
“Oh… really? You’re sitting there?”
Findelia and Risel’s smiles faltered slightly. Clearly things weren’t going according to plan.
As soon as Risel responded, the noble girls quickly returned to their seats, realizing there would be no changes after all.
What’s with all this tiptoeing?
Are Princess Risel and Princess Findelia really that powerful? Honestly, Anna probably outranks them.
Though… I could kind of understand. Princess Risel was fourteen, which made her a full seven years older than Anna, even though they were grouped in the same under-15 junior class. She already looked like the oldest girl here. She had age, status, and the ability to command attention with her words. That was more than enough to intimidate these younger girls. In this age group, older girls’ words tend to carry immense weight.
So yeah, I get it. I can understand. But that doesn’t mean I accept it…
Wait a second—
