Chapter 19

As time flowed on, the day of the Ball drew near. Meanwhile, the relationship between Lilian and Catherine was becoming increasingly awkward as the days went by.

‘If only I knew the reason, maybe I could resolve this somehow.’

Lilian sighed inwardly while stealing a glance at Catherine. With a blank face, Catherine was folding laundry. It looked like any other usual day, but Lilian was certain that recently, Catherine had been avoiding her. For some reason unknown to Lilian, Catherine frequently claimed to be busy and hardly returned to the room.

What if—though it was an unwanted thought—this was somehow related to Yulia? A suspicion began to brew. Had they become lovers? No way, that couldn’t be. Upon reflection, it seemed Catherine spent more time wandering outside than meeting with Yulia. Of course, they could have met outside, but Yulia had mostly been visiting Catherine’s room when Catherine wasn’t around, making the likelihood of them meeting alone very low.

Lilian recalled Yulia’s smiling face when she asked if Catherine was visiting to keep Lilian from feeling lonely. She sighed again inwardly, feeling frustrated by the unresolved mystery.

“Miss, a letter has arrived.”

“Hmm? For the Academy? Oh, it’s probably a letter from the tailor. Yes, that’s it. It’s a request for me to come pick up the dress. Could you go and fetch it?”

“Yes, Miss.”

As Lilian thought of the surprise gift she had prepared for Catherine, she glanced at her once more. Catherine just nodded, ready to head out immediately. Watching her, Lilian sighed outwardly and muttered, “Alright, have a safe trip.”

“…Thank you. I’ll be back shortly.”

Typically, Catherine would have commented on Lilian’s sighs, but today, looking a bit flustered, she left without a word. As Lilian watched her go, she lay back on the bed. What was she supposed to do? This hellish atmosphere.

For a while, she pondered, pulling at her hair, but since there was no solution at the moment, Lilian began to contemplate the subsequent events while staring blankly at the ceiling. The game had six major chapters, and the upcoming Ball was the first chapter—a secret club called the “Animal Party” making its debut to dismantle the Student Council in the hidden depths of Apatem Academy, sparking a student uprising that would undermine the authority of the Princess attending the academy.

Apatem Academy was the place where the powerful scions of the Empire gathered to build connections throughout the continent, including those who opposed the Empire and the royal family. The Animal Party was a secret club formed by such individuals.

The name “Animal Party” was utterly ridiculous and laughable, but each member was a child of influential figures wielding power at the heart of the nation. Primarily leading the noble faction that stood against the royal family was the son of Duke Elfeltain and the princess of the Kingdom of Salaman—the largest dissatisfied nation against the Empire. To top it off, there was also the prince of the Endain Principality, who had recently become engaged to the House of Portus and had successfully gained military independence from the royal family for the first time.

These rebellious students, who had not even armed themselves, were creating quite the storm at the academy. Even the members of the Student Council couldn’t readily fend them off, resulting in the Princess’s authority—usually above reproach—taking a significant hit.

Many were already disgruntled that a mere commoner—one who wasn’t even a member of the Student Council—was overseeing the student policies, and this incident forced the Princess to step back from her role. Thankfully, Yulia’s rising reputation through her healing talents provided some aid to the royal family.

Come to think of it… Lilian herself was originally one of those lured into joining the Animal Party by Prince Bellus.

‘So, who’s involved now?’

Such a question briefly crossed her mind, but honestly, it wasn’t something she needed to concern herself with. Yulia and the Princess would likely manage that storyline just fine. With the House of Portus out of the picture, the opponents would surely be easier to handle.

Besides, since the incident with those knights, Prince Bellus had failed to make any contact with Lilian. Had he given up? It seemed unlikely since the House of Portus was such a prime target for his ambitions.

‘A rebellion… a rebellion.’

It was clear that “rebellion” wouldn’t be a peaceful protest in the least. Adding to the troublemakers crowded in was the fact that the so-called noble cause presented was shallow and frivolous. However, the issue lay in the Student Council’s ignorance of this.

If they were aware, they could easily dismantle the rebellion under that pretext. Naturally, Lilian had no intention of alerting them to this cause, not wishing to be dragged into the story of the game in any way.

She intended to avoid any incidents as much as possible during the first chapter’s uprising and keep her involvement in the Ball as minimal as possible. With her plans perfectly laid out, she rolled around on her bed with a satisfied smile.

#

Clatter, clatter, clatter. The bumpy carriage ride rattled my bottom. It was uncomfortable. It wasn’t like I had rented a fancy carriage like when I took Lilian and Yulia, but the discomfort was also rooted in my own feelings. I sighed heavily. Normally, I wouldn’t do something like this, but no one was around now, so I thought it would be fine.

Normally, I wouldn’t be this at ease just because no one was around, but at that moment, I felt anything but relaxed. No, I thought I wasn’t relaxed at all. To be honest, I had somewhat figured things out from my conversations with Yulia, but right now, it felt incredibly awkward dealing with Lilian. So, um… how do I even put this? I had procured materials to pave the unpaved road, but right now, I was feeling the discomfort of the road not being laid down yet.

Let’s drop that analogy; I remembered I had never really been good at figurative speech, so I sighed again. I felt like I had been sighing more often lately. To be exact, it was since this body of “Lilian” had begun to take over.

Honestly… my initial feelings of disgust and anger had long since faded. Outwardly, I was portraying myself flawlessly as “Lilian,” while treating the maids and others around me considerately. Much to the surprise of many who used to know her.

Especially becoming friends with Yulia was something even I found quite surprising. It wasn’t just someone from another class; I was getting close to Yulia, who was a commoner right now. Of course, Yulia was an incredibly great person when it came to ignoring class barriers, but given the situation, it was still a bit strange.

Well, an Earthling—especially a South Korean like “Lilian”—wouldn’t have any reason to clash with Yulia. Yet, I couldn’t shake off the somewhat scripted feeling of it all. It felt like the world revolved around Yulia, like she was the main character. Is she the main character? She definitely is, being the only one with a unique power in this world.

Until now, her powers had hardly manifested, but if they ever did, it would make for quite a spectacle, wouldn’t it? It would be the first time in 3000 years since Mana had disappeared from this land that someone bore such wonder. Of course, while it would be different in nature, it was still magical.

I kind of wished to witness her wielding magic at least once. But I hadn’t expressed that desire because I didn’t want to impose.

“We’ve arrived, Miss.”

“Oh, yes.”

After paying the carriage driver, I surveyed the bustling northern plaza of the free city where the tailor was located. Known as the “Merchant Plaza,” it was filled with all sorts of shops. The sight of even a nearly defunct alchemy shop reminded me once more that this place truly lived up to its name of a “free city.”

The tailor’s shop was located deeper in the plaza. I had to hurry as I still had laundry to fold at home. By the way, I thought taking a shortcut through a nearby alley might save some time. Though it was a bit secluded, I didn’t think I was weak enough to get beaten up by street thugs…

Although I wouldn’t be able to enter that alley with Lilian and Yulia, being a rogue by upbringing, I wasn’t too worried about those kinds of places. After a brief moment of contemplation, I stepped boldly into the dark alleyway.