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ONCE the class placement test ended, it was time for lunch in the school cafeteria.
“Emma, how do you think you did?”
“Hm… Well enough…probably.”
There was no need for Emma to ask Ian how he fared because his brilliant mind always earned him top marks.
“Frankly, Emma, I’m surprised to see you this tired. You’re so adept at studying.”
“Oh, that’s because…”
She shut herself up when she realized she was about to finish her sentence with, “It’s been some time since I last hit the books.” The piercing stares of other girls in the background as they focused on Ian like he was prey also gave her pause. They were judging the best chance they had to talk to him.
They were free to use their afternoons as they pleased after testing ended. Which was why Emma and Ian were enjoying a leisurely lunch. Ian, who always seemed to be on duty, held a sandwich in one hand. On her plate rested a mountain of various fruits.
Until the day before yesterday, she loathed gorging on her favorite foods, deeming it socially unacceptable. But now that she planned on rejecting the path leading to her being the wife of a future count, she no longer needed to concern herself with a moderate diet. So she would allow herself a measure of impropriety, starting with this plate of fruits.
“May I sit next to you?”
Hearing those words from behind her made her hackles rise. Intense loathing bubbled to the surface. The subtly smarmy voice belonged to none other than Bernard.
“Lord Bernard, you’re looking well since we last saw each other,” she said.
Despite her decision to be true to herself, her pride wouldn’t allow Emma to reveal her real nature to Bernard. He was the only one who didn’t deserve to know her genuine personality. So she deliberately stood up and curtsied courteously at him.
She remembered that she’d done the same thing in her previous life. In seconds, he would loudly declare her to be his fiancée. Which would result in her being labeled a “Vulgar harlot who dallies with other lords despite having a fiancé of her own.”
When everyone would eventually find out about her time affinity, they would also learn of Ian’s appointment by the country as her official escort in relation to her ability. This stigma would disappear at that time, but she still wanted to avoid the unpleasantness of being branded a tramp. The best way to do that would be to prevent Bernard from making his announcement. Setting her plan in motion, she gently encouraged him to sit before playing her move.
“Lord Bernard, have you, by any chance, met with Annette yet?”
“N-N-N-N-No, not yet.”
This suspicious reaction…was undoubtedly a sign of his guilt. But there was no reason for it. Childhood friends could meet without issue by dint of their relationship. His panicked reaction to the unexpected question conveyed he already had a reason to feel guilty.
So they were having an affair this early, hm… Ugh, how deplorable. I feel even more pathetic now. She wouldn’t prolong this fruitless engagement in her second life. The sooner she proposed its end, the better. For her and for the two of them.
Perhaps now was as good a time as any. Emma almost gave into temptation before reason prevailed. She would first need to discuss the matter with His Majesty, either with her father’s help or through Marquess Stephenson, Ian’s father. He was involved in their lives as well, considering Ian’s role as the time traveler’s designated protector. Thinking back to her idiot fiancé’s stupid expression the night of the function in her honor hardened Emma’s resolve to settle the issue quickly.
“Oh, leaving so soon already?”
“Y-Yes, I am. I merely wanted to say hello. I’ll be taking my leave then.”
Bernard promptly spun on his heel, sensing an intangible threat in the atmosphere. To give them some privacy, Ian had considerately moved to a table behind them. He rushed up from his seat and called out to Bernard, but the other boy continued his helter-skelter journey, banging into several chairs on the way. Emma’s escort shifted back to his original seat and spoke.
“Is it just my imagination, or did something seem amiss with him?”
“I’ll…tell you soon enough.”
Highly perceptive, Ian watched Bernard practically flee, his expression perplexed. She knew his keen intuition would eventually hone in on her, seeking to ferret out the truth, but she didn’t plan on keeping her time leap into the past a secret from him forever. Especially because he was her closest confidant.
The only problem was figuring out when to tell him. The Stephenson bloodline is an old and noble one that has guarded time travelers for generations. Ian or his relatives might know of a time traveler whose power activated again after losing it.
For now, though, what mattered was that their classmates in the cafeteria remained blissfully unaware of that dolt being her fiancé. Mission accomplished.