Valentine did not immediately recognize the impudent blonde girl who approached, familiarly calling her elder brother’s name.

Pale platinum blonde. Violet eyes that unpleasantly matched the color in the portraits hanging in the family mansion’s gallery.

Her physical features made it clear who she was, but the Neris Trude in Valentine’s mind should not have looked ‘like that’.

‘Like that’ dignified and elegant.

The girl Valentine saw last spring was truly contemptible.

Not only did she not know refined manners, but she was also skinny and shabbily dressed. Well, what could you expect from the child of a low-ranking knight from who knows where.

But in the span of a year, she had changed beyond recognition.

Was it because she learned etiquette at school? Ha, not content with sneaking into a school for nobles, she even learned to imitate them?

Strictly speaking, Neris was a noble. And the dignity evident in Neris’s behavior was certainly not something that could be learned in the lower grade classes at the Academy.

However, Valentine was not one to think deeply, and she did not need reasons to be harsh to someone she disliked.

Therefore, Valentine could realize without any difficulty that she really, really disliked Neris Trude.

“Neris Trude?”

Valentine narrowed her eyes as she looked at Neris, who was about the same height as her.

Standing next to Nelrysion, Neris bowed slightly to Abelus and Nelrysion before answering Valentine.

“At school, it’s a rule to call upperclassmen ‘senior’, young lady Elandria.”

Young lady Elandria.

Neris’s words did not convey even a hint of the reverence people usually had when pronouncing ‘Elandria’.

Valentine’s face turned bright red.

“How dare you……”

Who are you to mention rules to?

Just as Valentine was about to lose her temper as she would at home, Nelrysion laughed and prevented his younger sister’s slip of the tongue.

“Neris is right, Valen. What kind of language is that to use with your elder sister? I told you that school rules are to be followed by everyone. Do you want to put your elder brother in an awkward position?”

The school rules were set by the student council. So if Valentine disregarded them in front of the crown prince, it could put Nelrysion in a difficult position as well.

And what good would it do for Valentine to give these numerous young nobles the impression that she was willful? Especially to Abelus.

After glancing at Nelrysion, who had quickly spoken with such calculations in mind, Valentine closed her mouth. She soon spoke with an innocent expression befitting her youthful face.

“I met Senior Neris last year, so I called her name without thinking. You remember me, don’t you, senior?”

The implication was ‘You came to our house to borrow money, remember?’ Only Nelrysion, his sister, and Neris would understand the meaning in this situation.

I wonder if she’s learned her place this time. With that thought, Valentine smiled brightly at Neris, gesturing with her eyes. To those unaware of the situation, it looked purely innocent.

Nelrysion was troubled. He hoped Neris wouldn’t harbor resentment towards the family.

Despite clearly explaining before the semester started, this immature attitude… He had a feeling Valentine would give him a headache.

Neris met Valentine’s energetic gaze with an indifferent look. Then she smiled softly and maturely, like a painting.

“Yes, that’s right. Young lady Elandria is still cute.”

It was an ordinary compliment, but hearing those words still irritated Valentine.

Although Valentine wasn’t known for being particularly clever, that was because there were too many intelligent people around her.

She was of average wit and intelligence, so she could tell when someone was looking down on her.

And the ‘beggar girl’ in front of her was clearly looking down on her.

Even Valentine herself couldn’t understand why she felt that way. Was it her gaze? Her posture? Her tone?

On the surface, there was nothing to fault in Neris’s response. So why did it make her feel so bad? And…

If such an expression were possible, ‘chilling’.

Nelrysion, worried that Valentine might make another slip of the tongue here in the hallway, decided to fill the silence with conversation with Neris. He spoke to Neris in a friendly tone.

“Neris, you call me elder brother too. Call Valentine by her name. Valentine has always wanted an elder sister. I think having an elder sister like you would be a good influence on her.”

What elder sister? Valentine blanched, forgetting all her previous thoughts. But behind Valentine, who was about to protest, Delma whispered.

“That’s exactly right, as young master says, my lady.”

“What?”

Valentine, who was about to ask if she had lost her mind, saw Nelrysion’s face as he looked at Neris. And the faces of the upperclassmen gathered around, watching with interest.

Valentine trusted Delma. To the extent that, in fact, she trusted her more than her blood family.

Family members would sometimes say useless things like ‘mind your manners’ as Nelrysion had just done, but Delma always prioritized Valentine’s wishes above all else.

‘As young master says.’

After momentarily calming her surging emotions, a plan formed in Valentine’s mind.

Yes! Delma was certainly right. It was better to do as Nelrysion said for now.

Valentine smiled coyly. Revealing the composure befitting a high noble.

“Elder brother always treats me like a child. Anyway, now that I hear it, elder brother is right. Feel free to call me casually, Senior Neris. We’re relatives after all. Come visit our dormitory often and have dinner with us too.”

If Valentine’s attitude had seemed merely immature and arrogant until now, with those words, the upperclassmen formed a different impression of her.

Someone who quickly admits her mistakes and even says cute things, just too young still, a likable child.

Sensing that change in their gazes keenly, Nelrysion was satisfied. Neris responded calmly to Valentine’s friendly tone, her expression unchanged.

“Alright, thank you. You can call me elder sister too.”

Abelus had no interest in the Elandria family’s etiquette education.

And he was even less interested in the issue of how Neris and Valentine addressed each other. As the conversation dragged on, he showed signs of boredom and said,

“I’m sorry, but I have business to attend to now. Young lady Valentine, have fun with your elder brother. Listen well in class and study hard.”

“Yes, Your Highness Crown Prince. Thank you for your kind words!”

Valentine responded to Abelus sweetly and cheerfully. Abelus left Nelrysion behind and went to his next class.

In fact, it was time for everyone to disperse for their next classes. Realizing this, Nelrysion quickly spoke to Neris.

“Neris, I actually had something to tell you. Of course, I should have gotten your consent in advance, but I thought you might feel unnecessarily sorry, so I took the liberty of doing something on my own.”

“What is it, Elder Brother Nell?”

Neris blinked as if surprised. Nelrysion felt a pang of regret at that calm and gentle demeanor, in contrast to his own sister who had nearly embarrassed him just moments ago.

How nice it would be if Valentine were this well-behaved? Of course, in terms of true value, the two were incomparable.

“I thought it might be difficult for you to manage school life alone at such a young age. So I wanted to send a maid to attend to you.”

“A maid?”

Neris wore a troubled expression. She hesitated, then whispered as if unsure how to convey this.

“I… There’s not really room for a maid in my room. My room is very small and has only one bed.”

He had thought of all that. Nelrysion smiled reassuringly.

“If that’s the problem, don’t worry. Isabel can sleep in my and Valentine’s dormitory at night, and look after you during the day from morning to evening.”

Nelrysion had even considered changing Neris’s dormitory room entirely. However, there was no need to spoil her habits from the start, so that option was rejected.

How much sweeter would the life of a high noble, tasted only occasionally through him, feel to that young girl who usually lived according to her circumstances?

Valentine, who had been listening beside them, chimed in.

“That’s a good suggestion. Don’t refuse, elder sister. What would people say if they heard that someone from the Elandria family was living without even one maid?”

Valentine’s last sentence carried a subtle contempt, perceptible only to those standing close by.

Nelrysion didn’t scold her because he knew his sister was trying to provide support in her own way. Neris finally smiled and bowed.

“Thank you, Elder Brother Nell.”

Isabel.

Nelrysion’s proposal was transparent. Slipping in one’s own person under the guise of consideration for others to use as a spy was not an uncommon method in noble society.

Neris, who had been about to refuse naturally, changed her plans upon hearing that name. There was no need to miss an opportunity, after all.

It was from her past life, when Neris was adopted into the Elandria family. Though she was nominally a daughter, her treatment was worse than even some of the maids, which the servants couldn’t help but notice.

Some who believed that not only observing the master’s mood but also fulfilling their wishes in advance was the clever thing to do, reached out to Neris.

At first, it was just bringing her cold water for washing in the morning after all the servants had used it.

Neris, intimidated by long-term bullying, didn’t know how to demand the treatment she deserved from others.

After she wandered around the mansion once and drew water directly from the well to wash, the water stopped coming altogether.

Late meals became no meals at all.

Clothes with holes that weren’t mended became clothes that disappeared entirely.

A fireplace with little firewood became a fireplace with no fire at all.

Neris’s living conditions gradually worsened. If Nelrysion hadn’t made even a superficial comment when he visited her room on some whim one day, Neris would have starved or frozen to death.

Of course, Valentine and the Duchess were behind such insolent behavior from the servants. But among the servants, Isabel, Neris’s dedicated maid, was particularly proactive in mistreating Neris.

Isabel’s father was a low-ranking knight like Neris’s father, but for economic reasons, she couldn’t attend the Academy. However, Isabel was an ambitious woman.

She thought that while Neris was also a low-ranking knight’s daughter, she had the good fortune to become a duke’s adopted daughter, and she couldn’t stand that fact.

Partly to please Valentine, and partly due to her own personal feelings, Isabel spared no effort in making Neris miserable whenever she had the chance.

“Tea? What tea, young lady, do you even know how to drink it? Just fetch some water yourself. Really, troubling people like this.”

“Holes in your clothes? I don’t see any. Stop talking nonsense and just wear them. They’re much better than what you were wearing when you first came to this house anyway.”

“I heard you were smart, but I guess that was all lies. If you’re cold, you should say you’re cold, not make a show of having no firewood in front of Young Master Nelrysion.”

“Do you know what we lowly ones call that? We call it stupid. Don’t get angry, did I say you were stupid, young lady?”

Contempt for her background, sarcasm, slander. Isabel was so diligent that she soon caught Valentine’s eye.

‘Yes, probably…’

After the day the Duchess’s jewels were found in Neris’s room.

Given her long-standing reputation as a thief at school, no one believed Neris when she said, “I don’t know why that item is in my room.”

The Duchess said she would cure Neris’s deeply ingrained habit of stealing, and brought scissors to cut Neris’s hair.

Like the gold coin incident in her first year, Neris didn’t know exactly who had placed the jewels in her room. But she knew that Isabel began to receive Valentine’s favor at precisely that time.

It was another maid who brought Neris a comb on that first day when her hair was cut haphazardly and she didn’t know what to do in her room. Soon after, Isabel was seen accompanying Valentine several times.

Isabel needed to learn how to serve her masters faithfully. Even Valentine, whose favor Isabel had eagerly curried, didn’t acknowledge Neris’s loyalty, did she?

She called her a ‘raised dog’ until the very end.

So what harm was there in Neris teaching Isabel a little about how to serve one’s masters?