But she was real. Ariana awkwardly smiled as she approached me.

“Ma’am, Her Royal Highness is calling for you.”

“I’ll be there shortly. Thank you.”

I grumbled as I hurriedly wrapped up the tea I had brought.

“Isn’t a deadlock broken when one side initiates combat?”

“You seem to know more than just medicine, ma’am.”

His laughter that resonated within his throat was pleasant to hear, but I couldn’t join him.

I turned to him and said solemnly,

“Pray for my luck.”

I stepped into Her Royal Highness’s reception room and abruptly stopped.

Starting with Ceril, the tea party members were seated on the sofa as before, but now there was a new face.

A very familiar new face.

Misha was chatting happily with them.

What is she doing here?

The ladies deliberately ignored my presence and continued their animated chatter.

“Despite being frequently absent from class to serve the Second Prince, Duke Kaidel still remains the top student, doesn’t he?”

“I’m really surprised too.”

“I saw the Duke from a distance in the central garden; he looked so majestic!”

“And Misha lives in the academy with such a person!”

Giggles erupted, and Ceril glanced at me as if to make me listen.

“Misha must have had it hard, living with a bastard. She needs some compensation.”

Then they exchanged smirks. Misha, aware of the atmosphere, smiled.

What are they saying, these wretches?

I stared at them, filled with indignation.

This was an unexpectedly clever plan. Her Royal Highness brought Misha, who knows my weaknesses best, to chew me up and enjoy it with the tea party members.

Misha had ranted endlessly about how I stole her maid position; she would say anything without thinking about the family’s reputation.

This was truly perplexing. I could neither torment Misha in front of them nor be tormented.

‘I’m going to lose it.’

Noticing my hesitation, the ladies seemed delighted.

Just as Ceril was about to continue, another lady interjected.

“Lady Roar, what do you do for fun at the academy after class? Do you often run into Duke Kaidel?”

Every time the name ‘Duke Kaidel’ came up, their eyes sparkled.

They had yet to realize what a persistent and creepy person he was, climbing into girls’ windows.

Well, even if he had, their reactions would probably be the same.

One lesson I never managed to master from the Countess was this:

She had explained it like so, ‘In social settings, you play a character, not yourself. You feel only the emotions needed for the time and situation, and reveal them externally.’

I wondered if Misha had mastered this skill. Though I didn’t want to find out.

Misha clenched her mouth, glanced at me, and spoke smugly,

“I don’t have time for such things. Even if I studied every waking hour during the semester, it still wouldn’t be enough.”

“Oh my!”

“The academy’s reputation wasn’t built for nothing.”

“Truly the daughter of the Third Lion.”

“You flatter me.”

“If I had known Duke Kaidel would join the academy upon returning from the war, I would have prepared for the entrance exam more diligently.”

“I regret the same! How enviable you are, Misha!”

Then Misha blushed and replied,

“Yes, it’s a precious time.”

I felt a bit deflated. Misha was visibly calmed, realizing how much people envied her.
And the girls had forgotten, so absorbed were they in the gossip about Duke Kaidel, that they had to disparage me.

The princess’s scheme seemed plausible, but in the end, it was her mistake.

They seemed to care for nothing more than tea and small talk all day long.

Except for macarons and pointlessly handsome men, of course!

Keril was the only one focused at the table. She was constantly seeking an opportunity to attack me with her eyes.

But Duke Kaidel’s popularity far outstripped the princess’s malice, so watching Keril try was somewhat pitiful.

Then Keril made her move.

“If Miss Misha had entered the academy a bit earlier, you would have been Her Highness’s lady-in-waiting now. What a shame.”

“…”

At Keril’s words, Misha silently looked at me.

The resentment in her eyes was deep and palpable. While I had grown tired of feeling wronged, Misha showed no signs of fatigue.

‘Misha…’

She gracefully smiled at the young ladies and said,

“I wish I could graduate quickly as well. So that everything can fall into place.”

“Indeed. We can’t let people misunderstand that a bastard could take the place of a lady-in-waiting. You must feel a great sense of responsibility, Miss Misha.”

Keril seemed to regret her last statement, and Misha’s eyes immediately narrowed.

Keril’s insinuation about Roarga’s failure to control bastards was exactly as the countess had said. I couldn’t help but smirk.

“What responsibility are you talking about, Miss Keril?”

Faced with Misha’s question, Keril pretended to sip her tea, avoiding the issue. The atmosphere instantly turned icy.

Though flustered by her slip of the tongue, Keril wasn’t one to lose easily.

“I mean, if being a lady-in-waiting was difficult for Miss Misha, Roarga shouldn’t have sent one. Unless, of course, you had other sisters.”