The white pavilion by the lake was, of course, the one often used by students during social classes.

The pavilion, wet and reddened by the sunset, was peaceful and beautiful with no other students around.

The last summer rose, barely clinging to its stem, drooped its head like a painting. From the surrounding bushes came the cries of the first autumn insects that had matured early.

Valentine was sitting leaning against a railing on one side of the pavilion. Her aloof face brightened as she saw Neris approaching.

“Elder sister!”

“Valentine.”

Neris called that name familiarly, just like before. No hatred was revealed. There was no point in showing such emotions now anyway.

“You came.”

Valentine gracefully stepped down from the pavilion, holding her skirt. Then she smiled brightly at Neris. Neris smiled back.

“You asked to meet, so I had to come.”

“I was worried you might not come because you were angry at how rudely I acted towards you earlier.”

Neris laughed dryly at that coquettish voice. As if she would have thought such a thing.

“No way. You’re young, so you might have just acted like you do at home.”

That meant, in other words, how rude must Valentine act at home to behave like that outside.

Valentine’s face, not one to miss implications, stiffened slightly before relaxing. She hugged Neris’s right arm lovingly and said:

“I’m not that much younger. Didn’t you skip grades to take upper-class courses right after enrolling last year? How can you be so smart? My elder brother praised you a lot too.”

“Thank you. It’s not a big deal. You’re the smart one, Valentine.”

“Oh, how would you know that?”

“I know well.”

That cunning. Patience. Thoroughness.

Neris only realized just before dying that Valentine had those aspects since childhood.

How could she not have known Valentine was vicious? Even in Neris’s previous life, Valentine disliked Neris from the moment she enrolled, and quite successfully tormented her even before the adoption.

However, Neris had never once thought Valentine was smart. She was a child who fully showed her emotions after all.

But anyone could have new sides when you got to know them. Even Valentine, who seemed to live without hiding anything, actually concealed her intention to discard Neris once everything was over.

For a moment, Neris’s gaze towards Valentine almost turned hostile. But Neris quickly reined in her own emotions and put on an innocent and kind expression.

“So where are we eating dinner? If you’d told me to come to your dormitory, I would have gone.”

Indeed, Valentine was walking in a specific direction while holding Neris’s arm. Valentine blinked her round sky-blue eyes cutely and said:

“You can’t see the lake from the dormitory. I’ve borrowed a nice place. Today, let’s have dinner just the two of us to celebrate us becoming close.”

“Alright, sounds good. Come to think of it, you’re alone. Where’s your maid? It’s not good to be out alone at this late hour.”

Neris mentioned something she had known all along as if she had just realized it. Valentine smiled broadly. The sunset dyed all her silver hair beautifully red. The sun seemed about to set soon.

“Don’t worry. They’re all preparing the meal. I came out to welcome you.”

“How kind of you.”

Neris responded seemingly sincerely, but indifference seeped through her short words. Valentine’s eyes rose for a moment before returning to normal.

The two arrived at a small wooden house in a corner by the lake. Lights were on inside, but no particular sounds could be heard, and there was no smell of food.

The front door was tightly closed, but the door to a storage room that seemed to connect directly to the house interior was slightly ajar.

It was something that had happened once before. So when Valentine smiled and opened her mouth, Neris could predict what would come next.

“Everyone must be busy preparing. We should go in through that door over there.”

“Is it proper for a noble young lady to enter through such a place?”

“Oh well, we have no choice. Once we’re inside, I’ll have to scold Delma.”

Valentine’s eyes truly sparkled innocently. The sky was rapidly turning a dark blue as the sun was setting.

Neris smiled warmly.

“Alright.”

“Let’s go, elder sister.”

Valentine subtly let go of Neris’s arm.

Neris hesitated at the entrance of the unlit storage room, glancing briefly at the front door. As she seemed unsure whether to enter or not, an impatient Valentine took a step towards the storage room as if to show her.

“Elder sister, even I, a duke’s daughter, am entering this way, so what are you afraid of? See, the world doesn’t end, right?”

Perhaps due to nervousness, her true colors showed a bit, but Valentine didn’t seem to realize it. Neris’s expression was exactly the same as before, and that fact reassured Valentine.

And finally, just after Neris followed Valentine and took one step into the dark storage room.

“I see.”

Bang.

Neris reached out her arm, grabbed the handle of the storage room door that opened inwards, and quickly stepped back while shutting it tightly from the outside.

Then she firmly locked the door.

For a moment, Valentine couldn’t comprehend what had happened to her. It felt like a dream.

However, the faint sound of mice scurrying about, audible even in the darkness without a speck of light, awakened her to reality.

She was trapped. And in the very place she had specially prepared to confine Neris all night long!

“Hey!”

Valentine shouted angrily, her temper flaring to the tips of her hair.

“What are you doing! Open the door!”

“What kind of language is that to use with your elder sister? Valentine.”

Neris spoke leisurely from outside the door. Just hearing her voice, it sounded as if the two were having a conversation at some social party with just a fan between them.

Valentine was dumbfounded. How did she know?

When she had to call Neris “elder sister” in the hallway today, Valentine felt an unspeakable humiliation.

But upon Delma’s restraint, thinking again, this seemed rather an opportunity. A chance to slowly entice that girl who acted so arrogantly as if she were really someone great.

So when Valentine returned to her dormitory after her memorable first class at the academy ended, she tipped off Isabel, who was just about to go attend to Neris. To send her to the white pavilion by the lake.

Valentine named the only place she knew because Nelrysion had dined with her there on the day of the entrance ceremony.

After that, things progressed quickly. As always, Delma swiftly took care of everything Valentine needed.

Securing an empty house, turning on the lights inside, locking the front door.

This place was even conveniently isolated enough that no one in the surrounding houses would hear even if someone shouted quite loudly.

Wouldn’t she become a bit more docile after being locked up alone in this dirty storage room all night? Wouldn’t she be brought to tears? Neris completely ruined Valentine’s pleasant imagination. And thoroughly at that!

“You, you lowborn thing! Open the door! Won’t you open it? What kind of prank is this!”

“You played the prank first. How long were you planning to keep me locked up? Until tomorrow morning?”

Valentine, who had been banging on the door, paused. How did this fox-like girl know?

No, there’s no evidence anyway! She quickly denied it outright.

“When did I ever plan to do that!”

“Seeing you came alone, you really didn’t want your brother to find out, huh? You even left Delma behind so she wouldn’t notice you were gone? You thought pretty hard for that head of yours. Your elder sister will give you credit for that. But what will you do now? When people have bad thoughts, they tend to get them back in return.”

Since there was no lighting at all in the storage room, Valentine was plunged into complete darkness as soon as the sun set. The voice coming from outside the door was irritatingly monotonous to her.

Because of that, Valentine forgot her momentary thought of trying to coax Neris and burst out shouting.

“You bad girl! I won’t let you off easy when I get out of here! Nell brother won’t let you off either! I’m the duke’s daughter!”

“And I’m a knight’s daughter. I don’t know what pride you have as a duke’s daughter, but as a knight’s daughter, I have the pride to always fight back when challenged.”

Valentine couldn’t see it, but bitterness welled up on Neris’s face as she stood in front of the storage room door.

Pride as a knight’s daughter. Hadn’t that already been tarnished in her past life? She died without even resisting once, after being a pawn for those dirty bastards.

‘At least, in this life.’

She would not be fooled so stupidly again.

The Valentine in her previous life had done the same thing. It wasn’t on the first day of school, but a few days later.

At that time, Neris spent the night locked in a dirty, dark storage room without knowing why. Since she had a room to herself and no friends, no one would come looking for her even if she disappeared. There were even terribly rats in the storage room.

Fortunately, a Katen resident who came fishing by the lake the next morning discovered Neris, otherwise it could have been a big problem.

Neris didn’t even dare go to Valentine to protest, as she was the young lady of the family who had lent her tuition.

A few days after that incident, when Valentine encountered Neris in the area where the lower grade classrooms were clustered, she said without batting an eye:

“Oh right, you existed.”

And the cruel bullying continued.

The Neris of that time couldn’t understand. If she was so uninterested as to forget, why did she go to such lengths to torment someone?

Now she had a rough idea of the answer to that question.

The position Neris occupied in Valentine’s heart was always low. But nevertheless, Valentine couldn’t stand even the slightest annoyance.

If something bothered her even a little, it had to be thoroughly eliminated.

Didn’t she say she would kill even Megara, whom she had known since childhood, if she became the crown prince’s wife?

So this side had no choice but to be thorough as well.

“You won’t be here for long anyway. Your precious Delma will come looking for you soon. Just stay quiet for a bit, Valen.”

At the nickname deliberately drawn out at the end, Valentine shouted as if having a fit, just as Neris had expected.

“How dare you! To casually use my nickname! You beggar girl who can’t even receive charity! You low and vile thing! You’re a rotten apple! You know? You don’t belong in this school or in noble society! Even a passing dog would be more valuable than you! Don’t think our father will keep paying your tuition after you’ve done this to me!”

Dog. Valentine’s metaphors were the same now as before. Neris almost fell into contemplation.

Rotten apple, low and vile thing, passing dog.

The most vulgar and harsh insults known to the young ducal lady.

The words Valentine used could no longer affect Neris. They were just the words of a helplessly trapped child. Besides, tuition?

“You didn’t know, Valen.”

Neris deliberately called Valentine’s nickname once more.

“I received a scholarship last year, so I’ve returned everything I borrowed from your father. And because of my good grades last year, this year’s tuition will also be covered by a scholarship. I’ve returned the dormitory fees too. …I haven’t received anything, so why do you think your words would mean anything to me?”

Valentine finally kicked the door once. Whether she couldn’t control her own anger or not, a scream like that of a beast was also heard. Neris left her place, laughing.