The next day, the weather was clear enough to have a party by the waterside.

Even in midwinter, it was fairly warm during the day. A brilliant gleam spread across the placid lake.

Neris had borrowed clothes from Diane again today. Diane was dressed in a brown velvet dress and a cute green coat, but she seemed more pleased with the black dress Neris wore than with her own.

It was a dress with small wingshaped black frills on the shoulders, and a red tiered skirt that spread out like a bell from below the waist.

In fact, Neris, wearing that dress, attracted the attention of those around her. Of course, Diane received the most blatant interest and flattery, but objectively among the children, Neris was the one who stood out.

“Who is that little lady? The one with the purple eyes.”

“She’s a friend from Lady Diane’s academy.”

“I thought she seemed aristocratic. She must be a descendant of a very fine family, but why haven’t we seen her before?”

“That’s what I’m saying. Madame, have you seen her before?”

Whenever a compliment about Neris was heard, Diane’s face grew happier, and Muriel, who was also attending the party, became upset. Heather, who was next to Muriel, looked increasingly uneasy.

“Lady McKinnon, who is that young lady?”

“Earl, it seems Lady Diane has made a good friend. Why haven’t we seen her at previous parties?”

Questions about Neris’s family were also directed to Diane’s parents.

The Earl and Countess McKinnon, who had taken to Neris upon introduction the day before, dodged the questions with smiles. A few guests who thought the McKinnons were hiding important connections felt unnecessarily heated.

Angelo Railing was one of them. Being originally from abroad, he wanted to know everything about Vista’s important figures.

But he had a faster and more reliable source of information than talking out of turn to Earl and Countess McKinnon.

“Heather.”

Heather, who was next to Muriel, looked up at her father’s call. The mother and daughter whispered to each other. Angelo’s expression changed as if he understood.

“What did you talk about?”

Their voices were soft and the surroundings were noisy, so Muriel didn’t hear what Heather and Angelo had discussed. Heather looked at Muriel and answered with a bow of her head.

“It was nothing, Miss Muriel. My father asked about Miss Neris, so I answered as best I knew.”

Muriel scoffed.

“Miss? From what I heard, she doesn’t seem to be in a position to hear such words. She’s barely not a commoner; what’s so great about her? Isn’t it funny that a knight’s daughter is attending the academy so presumptuously?”

Heather fidgeted with her fingers, looking awkward as Muriel spoke loudly without lowering her voice. A man who had been whispering with Angelo glanced strangely at Neris.

Muriel continued haughtily.

“She came wearing borrowed clothes because she doesn’t even have her own. A fine family? I’ve never even heard of the Trued family. Well, that’s why she hangs out with Diane, right?”

Muriel’s last words crossed the line. Heather quickly warned her.

“Miss.”

“What? ……Okay.”

Although Muriel did not seem like someone who would listen to others because of her arrogant attitude, she did trust Heather in her own way. Grumbling, she closed her mouth and left, dragging Heather away to have a drink.

Neris had a rough grasp of what was going on around her. The trend of people approaching her with smiling faces dwindling was clear. There were people who looked at her clothes and murmured.

Since she had no intention of hiding anything anyway, she didn’t mind. She knew that since her hosts were friendly, they couldn’t blatantly shun her either.

Sitting on a white bench set closer to the building than the lake, Diane and Neris were chatting about school when Joyce and Nuallan approached. Their relationship seemed definitely better than that between Diane and Muriel.

“Di. Lady Neris.”

“Our ladies.”
Joyce greeted them expressionlessly, while Nuallan greeted them with a smile. Diane and Neris received rather lukewarm greetings.

“Welcome.”

“Gentlemen.”

“Diane has certainly become a lady.”

Nuallan burst into laughter. Neris raised one eyebrow.

“What do you mean? What was it like before?”

“Before, she was chubby no matter who greeted her. Seeing this, I think my uncle did really well to send her to the academy.”

“Diane is a noble, so she has to go anyway.”

Nuallan shrugged at Neris’s blunt response.

“But it wouldn’t have been impossible to quit if it was really inconvenient for health reasons, right? Honestly, we were very worried.”

“Why?”

Asking that, a smile hung on Neris’s lips. But there was no laughter in her eyes at all.

Nuallan sat on a bench, feigning a serious contemplation, and whispered to Neris.

“Our Diane may seem temperamental, but she’s tenderhearted. Always grown up receiving only love, you see. What if she gets hurt in a place without family protection? Joyce and I were really worried.”

Neris was still smiling, and as soon as Nuallan finished speaking, she blinked her eyes. Nuallan straightened her shoulders and chuckled.