A strange expression that was neither a smile nor a frown. Diane raised her eyebrows and Neris calmly looked at Alecto’s face on the verge of exploding. Rhiannon gritted her teeth and shouted.

“What’s so great about you? Do you know why the kids like you so much?”

Alecto raised one corner of her lips crookedly and picked up her tray, turning it upside down over Rhiannon’s head.

Clang, dingalanglang. Alecto’s cup rolled on the stone floor for a long time, making a clear sound.

Rhiannon wiped the food falling down her eyes with venomous eyes.

“How annoying. I have more friends than you, you know?”

Diane marveled at Neris’s foresight in choosing this seat. The place where they were sitting now was a position where they could comfortably view this precious scene without food splashing on them.

Usually, she tends to sit a bit away from the kids, but how did she manage to pick such an amazing spot today?

“Y-You… Hey!”

Rhiannon seemed to have wanted to refute something logically, but unfortunately lacked both vocabulary and logic.

An enraged scream echoed through the hall. Alecto sneered with a face full of contempt.

“Are you out of your mind? What, are you so relieved that I’m going to the reflection room? Do you think I’ll be too scared to say anything now? What a shame. Your father is just a second son anyway, and I’m the daughter of a count. Do you think you’re really an upper-class noble just because we let you in?”

That sounded plausible to the children’s ears. Even to Rhiannon herself.

Lord Berta, Rhiannon’s father, would never inherit the title of Count Berta. Because he was the second son.

But Alecto’s father was already a count.

“How can you spill food on someone? I don’t understand.”

“What, that’s scary…”

The noble children knew well whose side they should take. The fact that Rhiannon had ‘first’ picked a fight with Alecto who was ‘just sitting there’ was also taken into account.

Rhiannon left her seat, huffing and puffing, after seeing the accusing eyes of her classmates. Alecto’s mocking voice stabbed her in the back as she left.

“Where are you going, fool! You should finish what you were eating!”

Of course, it was a joke to eat what was spilled on someone else’s hair, clothes, and the floor.

The children burst into laughter and handed handkerchiefs to Alecto one after another. Among them was a handkerchief from a boy who was quite popular among the first-year girls, causing some to whistle.

Alecto proudly selected a few handkerchiefs and wiped her face first. An employee hired by the cafeteria came over to clean the floor, and Rina, Alecto’s maid, also came running, probably having heard the news. Judging by the food on her collar, Rina seemed to have been eating as well.

“Ugh, disgusting.”

Diane put down her fork, nauseated by the sight of the mixed food. Neris replied indifferently as she stood up.

“Then let’s go. I’m done eating too.”

“Okay! Then shall we go to my room to do homework together… Oh right, you have to go to Mrs. Hoffman?”

“Yeah. Let’s do it together next time.”

“Okay!”

Diane stood up cheerfully, looking like she had fun. As she walked towards the tray return area with her, Neris suddenly looked back.

It was a good thing that she had properly provoked Alecto’s pride on the way from the counseling room to the classroom today. It was also good that Angarad’s father came exactly today, on the first day of school.

Still, just in case, she sat close to Alecto, but there was no need to do more as Alecto alone talked until she crossed the line on her own.

After all, there’s nothing like resentment to amplify a person’s negative emotions.

“You’re the daughter of a count, but a baron came and acted so high-handedly, that was too much. Your father must feel hurt in his pride too.”

“You just did it for fun, but you have to be locked up for 3 days? That’s a bit much. Honestly, what did you do so wrong?”

“Of course, you might have done a little wrong, because we all make mistakes. But did you do something so wrong as to deserve this kind of punishment? Didn’t they cause it first?”

Alecto looked down on Neris, but she faithfully felt the resentment. And she made Rhiannon unable to bear it.

Even if the meal had ended safely in the cafeteria, Alecto would have taken out her anger on Rhiannon somewhere. Both Angarad and Rhiannon were easy targets for Alecto to shake to relieve her inferiority complex, and right now she couldn’t touch Angarad.

Alecto had just started excitedly telling the children something again. Neris briefly made eye contact with Megara, who was sitting nearby, and naturally gave her a smile.

Then she turned around and left the cafeteria completely with Diane.

“Neris.”

It was late at night. Neris, who had escaped from the reflection room, raised one eyebrow at the voice calling her name.

However, on that small face that turned to where the voice came from, an innocently delighted expression had already appeared.

“Elder brother Nelrysion.”

“Are you done?”

Nelrysion asked as if he had been waiting all this time, peeling himself off the tree. Neris knew that he would have come at exactly the right time, but for now, she responded as her counterpart wanted.

“Yes. Why are you there, elder brother? Are you waiting for someone?”

“I was waiting for you.”

“Really?”

The area near Mrs. Hoffman’s residence was quiet at this late hour, and the sky was full of stars. Nelrysion’s silver hair sparkled beautifully in the moonlight. The affectionate smile that appeared on his face was clearly directed at Neris, as anyone could see.

No one would not be happy to receive such treatment. For a normal twelve-year-old, that is.

Neris shyly lowered her eyes and then approached him with a bright smile.

“Are you going to take me back?”

“Of course I should. Our family tradition isn’t so lax as to let a lady of our house wander alone at such a late hour.”

Nelrysion’s words were true. But at the same time, they were not true.

Valentine would never be out alone at this hour—she would have brought her maid with her, and at this hour, she would have had a manservant as well—. But Nelrysion wouldn’t have come to meet Neris for such a reason.

Neris felt like she could grasp his thoughts.

How sweet is the sound of ‘the tradition of the duke’s family’. Once that word stimulates vanity, it will be difficult to refute Nelrysion’s words even while enduring all sorts of nonsensical meddling in the future.

‘This is how noble families are.’ How would a poor country girl know whether noble families are really like that or not?

‘Even at this age, you’re diligent in using people.’

Really, he unnecessarily makes people uncomfortable. Neris was a person who wanted to minimize the time spent with Nelrysion in her newly acquired life, even by 1 second.

But what to do?

“Thank you. I was scared of the night road anyway.”

If he came to use her, she might as well use him back. As an easily accessible source of information.

Nelrysion was momentarily captivated by Neris’s calm smile that hid her shyness.

Since she was still a child, he wasn’t attracted to her in any other sense. But besides her pretty face, she had a strangely eye-catching feeling.

A feeling that she was mature and calm, and could understand even sufficiently difficult stories.

A feeling that she…

‘Seems to know all about our circumstances?’

But it must be an illusion. Nelrysion told himself so. Doesn’t it not make sense?

There was no way a twelve-year-old child could even imagine what was in his heart.

The two walked for a while along the pretty brick road where the teachers’ residences and administrative buildings were located, then turned onto the path leading to Neris’s dormitory.

Light was leaking from quite a few buildings due to students enjoying their homework or review, or pajama parties with friends after dinner. Thanks to this, the road was not dark.

“Elder brother, did you have a good trip home? Are the Duke and Duchess well?”

As it was obvious that Nelrysion was looking for an opportunity to speak to her, Neris opened the conversation first.

Walking with him without making excuses not to go together was because there was news to be gained from him. If so, there was no need to waste time.

Sure enough, Nelrysion replied affectionately with a rather calm face.

“Thank you. They’re both well. Do you remember Valentine? My younger sister. She’s about your age. I had a hard time persuading her because she wanted to come along.”

There was no way Neris wouldn’t remember Valentine. People usually remember the person who killed them. Of course, that’s if the head still moves after death.

She answered docilely.

“Of course I remember. She must be looking forward to it since she’ll be enrolling soon anyway.”

“She always wanted a female sibling to play with, but all she has is an older brother with a big age gap. Neris, when Valentine enrolls, I hope you’ll play with her a lot. She was always lonely.”

As if.

It was true that Valentine was interested in Neris. After all, there was no better toy for Valentine than Neris. Both before and after the adoption into the Elandria family.

Neris felt like snorting, but she answered with a smile.

“That would be nice. I wanted a younger sister too.”

Nothing appeals to the other person more emotionally than a voice speaking the truth.

Neris certainly had expectations of having a younger sister. Even after being hurt over and over again, she believed that there would be a special place for herself in Valentine’s heart ‘because we’re family after all’.

That was until she died miserably.

Strictly speaking, there was a special place that Neris occupied in Valentine’s heart.

A target to be killed.

An object to be used.

An object of dislike.

A mongrel dog ready to be laughed at as soon as it becomes useless.

But what’s the use of showing that she knows this?

“That’s great.”

Nelrysion smiled brightly. And he carefully opened his mouth, recalling the news he had heard this evening.

“By the way, Neris. Since I’m an upperclassman, some news might be incorrectly transmitted, so I’m asking you directly. Is it true that Rhiannon Berta from your grade is being bullied after sending me a letter?”

Neris almost burst out laughing at his tone, which seemed as if he had just heard this brand new information. While he’s probably one of the people who finds out about school news earlier than anyone else?

Suppressing the urge, she squeezed out a worried and innocent voice.

“Um, is that so? I don’t know much about Rhiannon’s friendships. But it did seem like there were a few kids she didn’t get along with. Even today in the cafeteria… Ah, never mind.”

Intentionally trailing off, Nelrysion put on a worried expression. After hesitating sufficiently as if it was difficult to say such words, he muttered.

“Well, of course I was embarrassed then, but… if she can’t get along well with her friends because of that, it’s pitiful, and it’s also awkward for me as an upperclassman. If it’s okay, could you look after her a bit? If you see her alone, maybe take care of her a bit, okay?”

The words Neris had been waiting for came out.

Nelrysion’s words were truly disguised as pure concern. But there’s no way he would really be worried about Rhiannon.

She was certain. Tomorrow, the long-awaited news would come. The final puzzle piece to fit Alecto.

So even this disgusting time spent with Nelrysion had value.

“Is that so? If it’s troubling for you, elder brother, I guess I have no choice. Actually, I didn’t think Rhiannon was that bad of a person.”

Neris answered calmly. Nelrysion, who already knew that Rhiannon had quite looked down on Neris, burst into a light laugh and praised her.

“Neris is really kind.”

He wouldn’t know. How kind she had been to him alone, to the very end, in her previous life. How she had believed in him even while being naively deceived, used, and finally abandoned.

She would have to tell that story someday. Neris smiled with her eyes.

“I feel shy when you say that, elder brother.”