As soon as Diane was seated on a nearby bench, Nualan and Joyce left to entertain the upper-class guests. Neris also got up, saying she needed to go to the restroom.

Diane didn’t want to be left alone with Heather, but she couldn’t tell Neris not to go to the restroom, so she just stayed put.

“Lady Diane, the mansion felt lonely without you.”

When Diane kept her mouth shut and only stared at the lake, Heather hesitated a bit before kindly starting a conversation. Diane frowned.

“I guess you visited our house a lot while I was away?”

“I came a few times. My father is greatly indebted to the Viscount.”

Heather’s voice as she said that was truly humble and gentle. Diane stared at Heather for a moment, then looked away again.

When Diane didn’t answer, Heather spoke again after a while.

“Lady Diane, how is your academy life? Have you made many friends?”

“You saw my friend.”

“Other than Lady Neris?”

“I’m closest with Liz.”

Probably. Diane smiled faintly, recalling how Neris had introduced her as a ‘friend’ yesterday. Heather stammered with an awkward expression.

“Um, my lady… It may be presumptuous of me to say this, but when the Viscount sent you to the academy, didn’t he mean for you to make many diverse friends of appropriate status for the family? Lady Neris is certainly very smart, but, um…”

“What?”

Diane whipped her head around and glared at Heather.

Heather’s delicate face trembled as if frightened. It was a pitiful expression that would evoke sympathy from anyone, but Diane didn’t soften her gaze. Just then, three noble ladies passing by saw the situation and approached.

“Oh my, what’s the matter?”

“Isn’t that Railing’s daughter? Why did she upset Diane?”

As the noble ladies made a fuss, people’s attention became increasingly focused on them. Diane was inwardly flustered, and Heather explained with an embarrassed expression.

“Uh, I dared to mention Lady Diane’s friend and she got angry. It’s my fault.”

The noble lady who first asked what was going on chuckled.

“Heather has been close to Diane since childhood, so it’s understandable that she’s worried.”

“Diane is still young and doesn’t know better, but you have to be careful in choosing friends.”

Diane’s eyes widened. She couldn’t understand the situation. Why on earth did Neris deserve to hear such things? What do they know about her!

After blinking a few times, Diane retorted, her lips trembling with anger.

“My friend is smarter and more dignified than anyone at school. I have been sufficiently discerning in choosing my friends.”

“Oh, well then…”

The noble ladies exchanged glances and gave wry smiles. Diane tried to assert her thoughts again, but just then Neris returned.

“Diane.”

“Liz!”

Although the person she was waiting for had returned, Diane examined Neris’ face before feeling happy. Had she heard the conversation that was going on?

Neris’ expression was as calm as ever. The noble ladies covered their mouths and glanced at Neris sideways, and Neris politely held up her skirt and greeted them.

“Madams.”

That form of address couldn’t be used so naturally just by attending a few etiquette classes at the academy.

The noble ladies, who had just heard rumors that this child named Neris was of low status, not even close to nobility, and was clinging to the naive Diane to swindle money from her, wondered inwardly. The atmosphere didn’t seem like that?

“What’s wrong, Diane? You look like you’re in a worse mood than before I left.”

“No, I’m not.”

That observation was true, but Diane didn’t want to give an explanation that might hurt Neris, so she just brushed it off. The noble ladies soon left, and only the three girls remained on the bench.

“How’s the place where you fell? Does it hurt?”

“I’m fine.”

It wasn’t a serious fall. At Diane’s answer, Heather spoke with a concerned expression.

“Lady Diane, there are dance classes at the academy, right? How are you participating in them? I’m worried since you fell again today.”

“It’s nothing.”

Diane just spat out, grumbling. The more she thought about it, the more annoyed she became.

Heather had always been like this since childhood. She would say things that upset people, and then, like earlier, she would make a pitiful face as if she had done nothing wrong, and the adults would take Heather’s side.

She would emphasize that the topic she brought up was no big deal, and then add something like, “I’m sorry if it upset you,” making Diane the odd one out.

Why do adults believe Heather so much? Does she not say unpleasant things in front of other people?

While Diane was puzzled, Heather spoke to Neris in a friendly manner.

“Lady Neris, does our Lady Diane actively participate in classes?”

“Of course.”

Neris smiled faintly. Under her piercing gaze, Heather blinked her round eyes several times and smiled back.

“Lady Neris, you seem very capable. Lady Diane was praising you, saying you’re smart and dignified.”

“Really? Diane always sees me better than I actually am. I heard about you too, Heather. You played together since childhood? How old are you, Heather?”

“I’m sixteen years old. The same age as Lady Muriel.”

“No wonder Muriel has been hanging out with you constantly. I guess you’re close because you’re of similar age and have many occasions to meet.”

“Oh, we’re not close. With my status, how could I dare to pretend to be a friend of the young lady?”

“Is that so? You know your place well?”

Neris’ last words flowed out as calmly as her other words. Heather blinked, unable to judge if she had heard correctly.

“Pardon?”

“I didn’t mean anything special, just expressing admiration. I’ve also heard praise about how smart you are. Diane really knows how to judge people.”

After saying that, Neris covered her mouth and laughed.

Heather’s face turned red. Diane blinked and looked back and forth between Neris and Heather. After a while, Heather began to cry.

“Lady Diane… I’m sorry. I’m not sure what I did wrong, but…”

“What wrong? I said it was just admiration.”

There weren’t many people at the party who didn’t know Heather. Even if they didn’t know her before attending the party, they now recognized her face since she had been constantly accompanying Muriel, the cousin of the host family.

When Heather sobbed, wiping her cheeks in front of Diane, as much attention as before was drawn to them. No, even more gazes gathered since they had already been the center of attention.

“Why are you crying all of a sudden?”

She must be crazy. Diane asked, dumbfounded. Neris quickly signaled with her eyes for her not to say more.

“No, darling!”

A man approached, squeezing through the gazes. He was a middle-aged man with a shiny bald spot on the top of his head, but his remaining hair was tied handsomely and he was wearing luxurious clothes.

He approached Heather and held her hand in both of his.

“Darling, why are you crying? What’s the matter?”

Neris recognized him as being about twelve years younger than in her memory.

Angelo Railing. His real name was Angelo Riley, a man who had come to Vista in his youth to start a business and changed his surname to the Vista style.

A person who would resort to any means to achieve his goals and betray others as often as he ate meals.

In Angelo’s heart, there was no loyalty or fairness, only skillfulness. He greedily devoured the people who had helped him with good intentions and nurtured him with trust.

If he tried to maintain a close relationship with the McKinnon family at this time, there could only be one reason.

The McKinnon Company was his next target.

If she gently prodded Heather, she knew Angelo would appear like this. He doted on his only daughter. Neris watched with interest to see how Heather would respond to her father.

“Father, it’s nothing… I just…”

Even as she trembled, Heather quickly wiped her tears and smiled gracefully.

Diane’s jaw dropped, getting goosebumps. Neris smiled and observed Heather.

As Neris had guessed, Heather was looking down on them. She had already established an image among people that she was a kind child who only suffered, and Neris had been branded as a child who had a bad influence on Diane.

So she probably thought that if she just pushed a little, she could prevent Neris from setting foot in the McKinnon household in the future.

Unfortunately, Neris had a long history of dealing with someone who acted very similarly to Heather but at a much higher level. Compared to the adult Megara who had drained the crown prince’s soul, Heather was still an immature novice at controlling her emotions.

“When I complimented her, she complimented me back, but suddenly started crying. Could it be that dust got in her eyes? Instead of just holding her hand, take a closer look at her eyes.”

People who had just arrived and only saw the scene of Heather smiling and saying she was fine lost interest in the current situation upon hearing Neris’ words.

Heather glanced at Neris’ face, which showed no sign of being flustered, and had no choice but to agree.

If Neris or Diane had played along and said, “What did I say to make you react like that?” and escalated the situation a bit, she could have become the victim right then and there. That opportunity was immediately blocked. But if she started complaining now, her image of being purely kind would be ruined.

She was quite displeased and signaled directly to her father with her eyes underneath the handkerchief she used to wipe her tears.

Angelo, who had been flustered, received his daughter’s sharp gaze and quickly asked in a loud voice.

“No, darling. Who cries like this just because some dust got in their eyes? If something is upsetting you, tell me everything. This father will solve it for you!”

As the party’s attention was focused on one spot, Viscount and Viscountess McKinnon finally pushed through the crowd and approached. The Viscountess McKinnon was startled to see her daughter sitting at the center of attention and asked.

“Di, is something wrong? Did you fight with Heather?”

If the daughter of Viscount McKinnon and the daughter of a foreign merchant had ‘fought,’ the power imbalance was clear. Noticing people’s strange looks at Diane, Neris clicked her tongue inwardly. She also caught a glimpse of Joan Morrie peering at them from behind.

“No, Neris was complimenting Heather, but she suddenly cried. I think her eyes hurt.”

Diane didn’t understand her favorite friend’s way of acting, but she trusted her. As Diane recited exactly what Neris had said earlier, the Viscount and Viscountess McKinnon looked relieved with a completely believing expression.

They thought their daughter wasn’t the type to lie about such a thing. And in fact, it wasn’t a lie either.

Angelo also keenly noticed the reaction of the Viscount and his wife.

He also knew his own child. There was no way Heather would have been wronged to the point of tears by none other than the simple-minded Diane.

“Heather is such a kind person that she even told Diane to stop dancing and rest when she fell earlier. Poor thing.”

“Di, did you fall?”

The Viscountess McKinnon was startled by Neris’ words and widened her eyes, which resembled Diane’s cute ones. Diane lifted her chin.

“It was just a momentary mistake. I’m not hurt.”

“She was dancing with Nualan and fell while spinning. But Diane didn’t cry, so she’s mature, right?”

Everyone’s attention instantly shifted to Diane.

Heather’s face turned bright red with anger and bewilderment. It was the first time someone had so blatantly brushed off her setup like this.

Dust got in her eyes? The nerve of her to say that when she clearly knows it’s not true!

The Viscount and Viscountess McKinnon decided to take Diane inside the building to check if her knees were injured. Neris said she would follow them and got up from the bench.

And she left a casual remark to Heather, who was at a loss for what to do due to her ambiguous position.

“Let’s talk in detail later.”

It was clear to both Heather and Angelo that those words didn’t mean taking a closer look at her eyes.

As Neris disappeared, Angelo asked his daughter in a low voice.

“What happened?”

Since the people around had dispersed again, Heather revealed her fierce face and hissed.

“That bitch is being so annoying. Acting all high and mighty when she’s not even a real noble! Saying Muriel and I can’t be friends because of our status difference, how ridiculous.”

“Shh, lower your voice.”

Angelo was startled and warned Heather. The reason Heather was somewhat welcomed in this area’s social gatherings was because she had built a good image in the McKinnon household. Losing that would lead to many difficulties in the future.

Heather shut her mouth and glared at the spot where Neris had disappeared. Joan Morrie watched the scene from a distance.