The children’s gazes now turned and fixed on Neris. Neris smiled faintly.

“Of course, I was actually wondering when to bring it up.”

“That’s a relief.”

Megara became prim and proper.

Diane narrowed her eyes in disbelief. What misunderstanding? The intention was obvious.

It was true that Neris had left her seat during the basic magic class, but she said she had gone to the restroom.

Everyone was busy with practice, so who would have paid attention to what Neris was doing?

Lady Graham quietly observed Neris. In Lady Graham’s view, Angarad, who had already caused trouble with theft once, was indeed more suspicious than the always mature Neris.

Moreover, if Neris were the culprit, it seemed unlikely she would remain so calm after being accused like this.

But it couldn’t go unchecked. An extremely valuable item had disappeared, so if it didn’t turn up, they might have to search everyone’s belongings.

Lady Graham first made eye contact with Angarad. Angarad, who had been staring at Neris with a wet face, blinked when her eyes met Lady Graham’s. She looked genuinely wronged.

Considering the social status of the two girls, it was clear who to interview first. Lady Graham spoke gently to Neris.

“Bring all your belongings to the front, Neris. Everyone else, close your eyes.”

Neris did as instructed. Lady Graham was newly impressed by how neatly the small, thin girl walked, clutching her practice uniform and bag.

This child had outstanding innate magical power and good application skills. Above all, she was exceptionally brilliant in theory. Her comprehension was better than not only lower grades but also most graduating students.

There was occasional talk among teachers that if she faced difficulties entering high society due to her humble background, it might be good to keep her at the school as a teacher.

“Here, Lady Graham.”

Lady Graham checked all of Neris’s belongings. The bag contained only textbooks for advanced courses and writing materials, nothing else.

Having seen her empty her desk drawer cleanly, Lady Graham smiled without suspicion.

“Alright, you may go back.”

“Yes, Lady Graham.”

Neris gathered her things and returned to her seat. Lady Graham called Angarad with a noticeably heavier voice.

“Angarad, bring all your belongings to the front too. Everyone else, keep your eyes closed.”

Even with their eyes closed, the children could understand the situation just from the sounds they heard. The atmosphere became chilly.

Megara’s lips trembled slightly, but no one saw it. The other children had their eyes closed, and those with open eyes paid her no attention.

Angarad tried to come forward with just her bag. Lady Graham, careful to not sound too frightening to the child, said:

“Everything. Bring everything from your drawer too.”

Angarad’s round eyes continued to sparkle with tears. She came forward weakly and mumbled while holding out her belongings.

“I… It wasn’t me.”

It wasn’t her? It wasn’t impossible, but the possibility was low.

First, when the class bell rang, students without a teacher’s pass couldn’t wander the corridors. The reason this system was maintained was, of course, because supervisors patrolled each building to catch students without passes. So it couldn’t be a student from another classroom.

A servant? Servants employed by the school or hired by students had more freedom of movement and could certainly roam the corridors, but how would they dispose of a large emerald?

During practice time, everyone was instructed to remove their accessories, so if they were to take something, it would be far more profitable and less risky to take trivial gold rings or silver buttons.

Moreover, even if they wanted to make a lot of money, how would they know whose drawer contained such a treasure?

“Well, teacher believes in you, Angarad. Whatever happened, it’s all a mistake, so don’t be nervous.”

“No, I… I really didn’t do it.”

Angarad started to whimper again. Lady Graham inspected Angarad’s miscellaneous possessions, which were much more varied compared to Neris’s belongings earlier.

Most of the items revealed that while Baron Nine wasn’t very wealthy, he had put his heart into sending his only child, his daughter, far away.

Among those items, near the bottom of the bag, a bright golden light sparkled.

Lady Graham sighed as she pulled out the emerald bracelet from Angarad’s bag, just as Rhiannon had described. Angarad’s eyes widened like saucers.

“Ah, no, no, I really didn’t steal it, teacher. Why is that in there? It wasn’t me!”

To the children who had their ears perked up, those words were as good as a confession.

Even before Lady Graham could give instructions, Rhiannon, who had opened her eyes wide, gritted her teeth. Lady Graham sighed once again.

Who else could it be? Neris couldn’t have stolen it and put it in Angarad’s belongings, could she?

“For now… return this to Rhiannon, and Angarad, don’t go to the next class, stay behind.”

All the children already had their eyes open. Angarad froze like a statue, receiving cold and piercing gazes.

Neris narrowed her eyes as she watched Angarad.

What happened in the freshman classroom spread throughout the school in an instant, and all day long, students gossipped about what Angarad Nine had done. It seemed unlikely that Angarad would recover for at least a few years.

Neris felt elation at this fact, and then felt disgusted with herself for feeling that way.

This was the result of a gloomy and petty trick played on a child. Inciting others to attack a single disliked person, how was she any different from them?

But Angarad had started this first.

Neris had been contemplating lately. Not just about Cledwin’s words, but also about what to do with Angarad from now on.

In her previous life, Angarad’s actions had hurt Neris, but there was no evidence about the gold coin incident. Maybe it was just a misunderstanding?

So maybe she should just stop here. She’s just a child. In this life, so far, she had only done trivial things like secretly putting a few spiders in her bag while trembling much more than Angarad herself.

That’s why Neris paid more attention to Angarad. That’s why Neris didn’t miss Angarad staring at Rhiannon’s bracelet today when everyone was removing their jewelry for practice.

Although she seemed to be trying to hide it, to Neris, who had dealt with all sorts of cunning people as an adult, it was pitifully obvious.

Just in case, after Angarad left her seat and returned, Neris made an excuse to go to the restroom and stopped by the classroom.

And she discovered the emerald bracelet boldly placed in her own bag.

This time, it couldn’t be a misunderstanding or misconception. Neris stuffed the bracelet near the bottom of Angarad’s bag.

In a way that Angarad herself, having no reason to suspect her own bag, wouldn’t notice due to other items covering it, but someone inspecting her belongings could easily find.

The rest unfolded on its own. Megara trying hard to hide her unpleasant expression, Angarad sending pleading glances her way with a pale face, the class children showing their contempt, it was all as expected.

Was it really Angarad who had put the gold coin in Neris’s belongings in her previous life?

That could never be known now, but the method was similar.

Was it in that child’s nature to eventually resort to wrongdoing despite being timid?

But this was far from over. There were still plenty of people who had done worse things.

‘The other kids need to suffer too, to balance things out. Otherwise, you’d feel wronged, wouldn’t you, Angarad?’

Chewing on those words, Neris, more than anything, tired of herself, returned to her dormitory room. Ren, passing by in the student cafeteria, casually remarked that Neris was lucky to have “nearly been falsely accused,” but Neris didn’t want to hear it, though it was meant as words of comfort from someone who didn’t know the situation.

The room she reached after climbing the long, narrow stairs was bathed in a quiet sunset. This small space with just one bed, one desk, and one wardrobe was the only place where Neris could feel free to be sad. Before, there was a secret place, but now it seemed she couldn’t go there anymore.

Neris put down her bag full of books and sat on the bed, hugging her knees. The silence embraced her trembling shoulders.

Ren’s words were right. Neris was really lucky today. If she hadn’t deliberately stopped by the classroom to check today, it would have been over.

When she put Rhiannon’s bracelet in Angarad’s bag instead of returning it to its original owner, Neris Trude, who had died once and lived again, crossed a line.

The line of resolve to take revenge, even if it was dangerous, even if it was wrong.

“Bad girl.”

Neris spoke words directed at no one in particular. Those words were aimed at too many people. Angarad Nine, Megara Likeandros, Rhiannon Berta… and more than anyone else, Neris Trude herself.

There was a large lake to the northeast of Caten.

In spring when flowers bloomed, in summer when it was hot, in autumn when the leaves turned color, in winter when the water froze, students visited the lakeside to engage in activities suited to each season.

The lake, with its clear water and beautiful surroundings, became a source of pride for students even after graduation. When the weather was suitable, teachers would sometimes take the initiative to hold outdoor classes with students.

Today was one such day.

Students attending the social etiquette class by the lake had rosy cheeks like flower petals and were wearing woolen overcoats. Some brave boys had already picked flowers to give to the girls they liked.

“This flower resembles your eyes.”

As was customary when coming to the lakeside, Megara was already holding more than three flowers.

The boy who had picked a cornflower for her had truly tried to find a flower most similar to Megara’s eye color, but when the surroundings didn’t cooperate, he inevitably became dejected.

Megara accepted the flower that looked more or less purple and greeted him with her beautifully curved eyes.

“Thank you, Albert. Are my eyes this pretty color?”

“Y-yes!”

Albert Lishem stuttered with joy as Megara accepted the cornflower.

“Actually, your eyes are even prettier than this. You’re really… really…”

His voice was so passionate that mischievous smiles appeared on the faces of the children watching.

Megara was popular among both boys and girls, and perhaps because of this, no one showed signs of jealousy. Even though there were already several girls who thought well of Albert for being thoughtful and kind, it was still the same.

Idalia, standing next to Megara, smiled serenely.

As daughters of viscount families, the two often spent time together. In Idalia’s view, while Megara could be stubborn and willful at times, she had enough good qualities to make up for it.

When she smiled happily with her doll-like face, it seemed to brighten everything around her, and she had many relatives in high society. Megara could become anything in the future. She could even marry a duke’s son.

Suddenly, Idalia’s face darkened slightly.

Idalia didn’t care whether the trivial boys their age liked Megara or not. Those boys weren’t a match for either Megara or Idalia anyway. Great nobles associated with other great nobles.

But people who were a match for Megara would naturally like her too. That was the problem.

At the forefront of the great nobles of the Bista Empire stood the Grand Duke Maindlant family, but in reality, people preferred the Elandria ducal family. The Maindlants were too distant and lived among themselves. And they weren’t descendants of the three heroes.

So, excluding the somewhat frightening Crown Prince Abelus, currently the highest-ranking and most splendid nobleman of Megara’s age was Nelrysion Elandria.

Idalia was afraid that Nelrysion might like Megara.