The next day, as I was organizing the items being delivered one by one, I let out a small sigh. A few sets of clothes, some shoes to wear out, items needed for escort duty, and self-defense items for Lilian. Even though I had finished preparing gifts for the gift exchange ceremony, one of the biggest events during the outing, there were still items left.
Recently, I ordered a new tea set because a teacup had chipped, and I had some good tea shipped from the southern Galactia region. There was also an ivory corset and a handbag made from Lizardman leather. Honestly, the Lizardman leather was a bit… questionable.
I knew intellectually that Lizardman leather was considered a luxury item among nobles. But the idea of a high-end product made from monster skin? It was something I’d never want to use. Not that I could afford it anyway.
After finishing the last of the organizing, I glanced at the time as usual. It was already time to prepare lunch. At first, Lilian had looked at me with apologetic eyes when I prepared meals, but now she accepted lunch as if it were her due, like a proper young lady.
Had she gotten used to it? Well, it was only natural. I’d been preparing meals for over a month now. As the eldest daughter of House Portus, she had to be cautious about her meals to guard against political enemies. She seemed to be aware of this, as she no longer snacked as much as she did at the beginning of the semester.
Lately, she’d been losing weight. Should I increase her meal portions? With that thought, I added more carbs to the lunchbox and hurriedly prepared it before lunchtime.
I quickly crossed the campus. Today was definitely the day for management studies. Standing in front of the Management Building, I waited for Lilian and Yulia to come out. After waiting for a while, I saw Yulia storming out, looking agitated. Just as I was about to greet her cheerfully, Yulia spotted me and darted behind me like a squirrel.
At the same time, Lilian approached me with quick steps. I should be grateful she wasn’t running, but her brisk walk still lacked grace.
“Young Lady, that kind of walking lacks dignity.”
“That’s not important right now. Yulia, do you think hiding behind Catherine will help? Come here!”
“Ugh, no!”
Had they been fighting? I sighed softly as the two women circled around me. I grabbed Lilian’s shoulders and made eye contact with her. She stared at me blankly for a moment, then stopped.
“Calm down.”
“…Oh, okay.”
“Yulia, can you tell me what happened?”
“Um…”
Yulia nodded slightly and began to speak hesitantly.
#
“The day after tomorrow is the outing.”
“Indeed.”
Life at Apatem Academy was busy yet leisurely. After all, nobles didn’t work by default, and they didn’t study much either. They believed it was more beneficial to hire smart administrators than to spend time studying.
The reason nobles came to the academy was, as always, for connections. Mid-to-lower-ranking nobles saved on labor costs by learning things themselves, but the main reason was still networking. Apatem Academy attracted high-ranking nobles from other countries and the empire, so building relationships with them would be helpful in the future.
In that sense, Lilian, the eldest daughter of House Portus, was at the top of the social ladder at Apatem Academy. She was almost certain to inherit the empire’s prime minister’s family, and she was beautiful. Though she had a notoriously bad temper, it seemed to have improved somewhat recently.
Even though she hung around with a commoner, that commoner was said to possess the now-lost “Eclipse” ability, which made her choice somewhat understandable. Of course, that didn’t mean the commoner’s lowly behavior would change.
Nobles, while upholding noblesse oblige, tended to look down on commoners. To them, commoners were no different from unruly five-year-olds. How could they look up to such people? Even this was a moderate view; more extreme nobles saw commoners as livestock.
To them, Lilian was a strange human who hung around with livestock. For the pinnacle of nobility to cling to mere livestock was an eyesore. But until now, few had picked fights with her. They’d been busy with enrollment, midterms, and so on.
But now, with the outing approaching—though it wasn’t particularly taxing—the nobles had more free time, and their attention turned to Yulia, the commoner. And the leader of the extremists was approaching the two.
“Hey, Lilian.”
“Huh? Charles. Long time no see. Was it after the last banquet?”
“…You’ve really changed.”
“Yeah, I’ve been hearing that a lot lately.”
Charles was baffled by her casual, mocking tone. Did she not realize she was being sarcastic? Or was she just calmly deflecting it? Charles, who had initially only intended to warn her, began to feel anger rising.
“If it were the old you, you wouldn’t even talk to such livestock.”
“…Livestock? You’re not talking about Yulia, are you?”
“Yulia, was it? That livestock’s name?”
As Charles sneered, Lilian muttered under her breath.
“Crazy bastard.”
“What?”
For a moment, Charles thought he’d misheard. But Lilian’s smirk confirmed it.
“I said, you’re a crazy bastard. Who do you think you’re talking to…!”
“Li-Lilian, stop…!”
As their conversation grew heated, Yulia, who had been quietly standing by, grabbed Lilian’s arm to stop her.
“Are you really going to fight me over some livestock?”
“Livestock? You bastard, Yulia is a person!”
“Commoners are livestock. Lilian, as the eldest daughter of House Portus, you should know that.”
Damn extremists. Lilian recalled information about the extremists in the game. Radical commoner discriminators in the empire. The ones Princess Chloe was desperately trying to expel. She’d even given up her claim to the throne to get rid of them.
Gritting her teeth, Lilian glared at Charles. He smirked arrogantly, looking down at her. As Lilian raised her hand, Yulia quickly grabbed it.
“Let go…! Yulia, aren’t you angry hearing that?!”
“W-well, it’s true that I’m a commoner…”
“So what… Ugh!”
“That’s enough. Lady Portus, calm down.”
As Yulia desperately tried to stop Lilian, Princess Chloe emerged from the crowd. Her calm demeanor made Charles click his tongue. He could act tough in front of Lilian, but not in front of the princess.
Apatem Academy pursued equality—though in Charles’s mind, commoners were excluded—but the imperial family was inherently different. While the princess couldn’t outright dismiss him, she could handle things differently than Lilian.
“Is this… a spectacle?”
The princess’s commanding presence silenced the crowd. No noble could ignore her charisma. She slowly approached Charles.
“Charles. You’re the eldest son of Baron Garington, correct?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Hmm, I see. You may leave now. I’ll calm Lady Portus.”
As the princess smiled, Charles realized he’d made a mistake. She couldn’t directly punish him—this wasn’t an official setting, and the only punishable offense here was insulting the royal family.
But Princess Chloe could use her power to slowly tighten the noose. That was the power of the imperial family. Charles bit his lip and quickly left under the princess’s cold gaze.
“Yulia, let go of Lilian.”
“Y-yes.”
As soon as Yulia let go, she quickly ran off. Lilian stared blankly at her retreating figure, about to chase after her.
“…Comfort her.”
“I know.”
Lilian sharply replied and disappeared like the wind. The princess watched them go, then slowly turned in the direction they had left.
#
