Idalia Kendall stealing the exam papers and then trying to pin the blame on Megara spread throughout the school during lunch that day.

“So, what happened last night? You didn’t come to class without a word.”

“I had a headache, so I went back to my room.”

“I see. I thought something big had happened, so I was surprised.”

Diane, stirring strawberry compote, sighed deeply, placing her hand on her chest. She was the only one who worried about Neris’s safety last night.

“That Idalia, not only did she steal the test papers, but she also tried to frame others. The second-place student who is trying to trap me out of jealousy, I thought that only happened in ghost stories! How can that be?”

Although Idalia wasn’t the second-place student, Neris didn’t correct Diane’s statement. The ambiguous words contained the essence.

The real second-place student, Megara, was the mastermind behind this incident.

‘I knew how to escape.’

Even in Megara’s past life, there were no shortage of crises.

No one is without difficulties, especially when acting as a stand-in for the crown prince, like a temporary princess. Under Abelus’s tacit approval, Megara confidently interfered in state affairs.

With great responsibility comes accountability, a natural consequence.

‘In the past, I was good at shifting the blame to others.’

Surprisingly, or not at all, when Megara made a mistake, she skillfully shifted the blame onto Neris.

So, Megara, Marquis Ricciandro, and even the palace officials who were cautious of the prince, believed that the fault lay with Neris from the beginning.

Even now, in the same classroom, Megara’s performance was always top-notch. So, with a little effort, escaping from this situation would not have been difficult.

Especially since Neris provided a hint for Megara to escape by leaving.

Viscount Kendall, though not as high-ranking as Marquis Ricciandro, was still a proud aristocrat. Not just anyone could receive a viscount title.

So, if the circumstances were different, Megara would never have sided with Idalia.

‘In a situation like this one.’

Megara meant a situation where there was a need to publicly retaliate against a betrayer who dared to defy her.

Megara liked having complete control over people, and at least during her school days, the classroom was the entire world of the children.

From Megara’s perspective, Idalia was a rebel trying to destroy Megara’s kingdom.

Also… it shouldn’t be said out loud in the future.

‘I will thoroughly crush Idalia.’

The stories that the public believes become truths over time, and even the memories of those who know the actual facts can be changed.

Rumble, rumble. The student cafeteria, already noisy with the sounds of meals and students chatting, became a bit louder.

Neris and Diane looked up to see who had entered the cafeteria. Megara, looking pitiful as if she had been ill, entered.

The first-year students, as if on cue, surrounded Megara, expressing their concerns. They had seemingly made up their minds about their attitudes.

“Megi, are you okay? You must have been so surprised!”

“How could she do such a thing? You treated her so well in the first place!”

The omitted ‘she’ referred to Idalia, of course. Megara awkwardly shook her head as she went to buy food.

“Don’t say that. Dali could have had a reason. After all, there must have been a reason for her to do that.”

“You’re too kind.”

“Right. Shame on you! You can be like that!”

The students gathered around Megara, each expressing their emotions with a word or two.

Overwhelmed by Megara’s saintly words, a grateful child, an angry child contrasting Idalia’s character, each expressed their own feelings.
It was amusing. Until last night, those kids were probably praising Idalia, saying, ‘You’re really nice.’

Neris briefly glanced at Megara’s cheeky face. Megara, choosing her lunch menu, briefly looked in this direction.

As if by chance, the eyes of the two met.

It took only a very short time for Megara to recall a smile. However, Neris looked at Megara with a calm smile.

Soon, Megara’s fierce gaze followed, but Neris ignored it by turning her gaze away.

A little later, the entrance to the cafeteria became noisy for a different reason this time. And that noise was soon replaced by an awkward silence.

Diane whispered to Neris.

“Idalia is here.”

“I see.”

Neris didn’t miss that Heath Angerson, from the same grade, was avoiding Idalia.

Since becoming an adult, Heath had always liked Idalia. There were rumors of secret meetings between them after Neris became the crown princess, but whether it happened or not, it ended.

Idalia’s face, like Megara’s, became pale and yawning.

If it were the usual Idalia, she wouldn’t have entered the student cafeteria alone, or if she did, she would have immediately gone to her group’s table.

However, the group that Idalia usually fit in with was not looking in her direction.

Idalia herself couldn’t be unaware of the atmosphere. Without looking around, she went straight to the cold food corner of the student cafeteria. And she randomly bought any sandwich she saw.