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A month had passed since Emma declared to the king she had no need for or interest in another engagement. That morning, she received a letter from her father.
“‘I went to the palace for a meeting with the king and former Count Sagden. Along with the annulment of the engagement between the Sagden and Seagrove families, Count Sagden was demoted to Viscount Sagden…’”
She tossed the three-page letter on top of her bed. The pages rustled as they landed. Blast… There was no need to strip the count of his title! The downgrade might seem natural in light of Bernard’s actions. But it was still a harsh judgment, considering the relations between the two families as well as the gossip at school.
“Blast him. Despite his constant avoidance of me, he had no issue whatsoever shrewdly telling others about our betrothal.”
Frankly speaking, Emma already stood out in school because of how strongly she resembled her grandmother, who’d been known as the Captivating Siren. It would have been one thing if it were her looks that always attracted attention. But her friends were Duke Eslan’s daughter, Rashida; Marquess Stephenson’s son, Ian; and the handsome exchange student from the Olano Kingdom, Glen. Not to mention Prince Victor, who occasionally joined them. Keeping such illustrious company only made her more fodder for gossip.
Incidentally, Emma and Ian cared not a whit about their appearance and acted accordingly. But Glen and Rashida were fully aware of their beauty, and their behavior conveyed that self-knowledge. The marked contrast in their attitudes and carriage intrigued other students, so the four friends often found themselves the center of attention.
The result of all that, then? Bernard’s need to feel superior to the so-called masses led him to use Emma’s existence for his own self-aggrandizement. She should have expected it because it was exactly something he’d do.
I hope the rumors don’t twist into something strange… Events like this spread through the grapevine in the blink of an eye. Along the way, hearsay and other falsehoods would be slipped in, eventually transforming an incident into something outrageous. By then, should the people involved from the start learn of the gossip, they would find the final form unrecognizable from the original truth.
“I think he went to the meeting yesterday, so… This means Bernard should have received a similar letter from his father.”
Though Emma was excited to head to school every morning, dread consumed her today.
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LATER the same day, Emma went to the cafeteria with Rashida, Ian, and Glen for lunch. But the atmosphere felt abnormal. Other students whispered to each other, pointing constantly at Emma. This is Bernard’s doing, isn’t it? She didn’t want to know what rumors had already spread, yet it was clear that whatever was being said about her was far from the truth.
“Are you all right…?”
That morning, she told Rashida everything so her friend would be prepared. Now, though her words were calm, her tone was anything but as her anger leaked through.
“I am. Don’t let this bother you.”
In truth, Emma seethed, too. But the target and source of her rage was nowhere to be found. She predicted she wouldn’t be seeing him anytime soon, anyway. Not when he always took care to make sure his lunches didn’t line up with hers.
“Emma. I don’t think we should stay here. You’ll only be hurt,” Ian said.
“…No. I refuse to surrender to this nonsense.”
Emma shook her head at Ian’s suggestion. She had done nothing wrong, so why did she have to retreat? Unfortunately, she couldn’t find a place or person to vent her anger on.
She bet the students here titillated themselves at her expense after listening to whatever lies and slander Bernard had said about her. They probably held no malice, but as far as they were concerned, they believed Bernard since she had yet to comment. There was nothing she could do about his conspicuous absence, either.
“Let’s have lunch at the cafe by the dormitory. I’ve been itching to try their limited-time seasonal menu. You’ll join me, won’t you?” Rashida took Emma’s hand in hers and stood up. Ian nodded in agreement.
“Lady Rashida, please look after Emma. Glen and I have some business to take care of.”
“All…right.”
Knowing she was outwitted, Emma gave in to her friends’ kindness.
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AFTER Emma and Rashida left the cafeteria, Ian asked Glen.
“So… What’s the plan?”
“We have no choice but to wait here.”
Glen hadn’t said a word since they arrived in the cafeteria earlier. Now his eyes burned with fury.
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SOMETHING’S strange. The afternoon class was a combined lesson with Ian and Glen’s class. Rashida’s suggestion provided Emma with a much-needed refuge. Once they finished lunch, they headed back to the lecture hall, but inside, the atmosphere felt off.
She was fully prepared to receive other students’ reproachful stares. Despite not knowing the details of whatever that thing had said about her, she knew it wouldn’t have been anything good. Instead of censure, curiosity permeated the room. Like she was a celebrity, and they were dying to know her secrets. They kept sneaking glances at her as if expecting something, but no one spoke to her. It was as though if someone did approach her, they would all stampede. That was how charged the atmosphere felt.
What…is…even…happening? Emma glanced at Rashida, who seemed just as baffled. It was entirely different from what they had been anticipating. Then one of their classmates walked up to them. Her name was Gina, and she was also in their applied life magic class.
“Lady Emma, how calamitous all this must have been for you. Please accept my well wishes.”
“Oh, thank you. But the truth is…”
Realizing that everyone’s attention was on them, Emma mustered up her courage and decided to reveal everything, to clear up any misunderstanding. She spoke loudly and clearly, her voice projecting to the farthest reaches of the lecture hall. But before she could get another word in, Gina continued. Never in her wildest dreams could she have imagined the words that spilled next from her classmate’s mouth.
“I must say, though, I was quite jealous of you. To have Lord Glen defend you so fiercely. I’ve never seen such an expression on his face.”
“D-Defend me…? Glen’s expression…?”
Emma had no idea what she was talking about. What on earth happened after she left the cafeteria? She thought hard about what Gina had said, but she couldn’t make heads or tails of it. So she turned to inspect her classmates’ faces, especially the girls, to aid her own understanding of what might have transpired.
She realized now that what she had pegged as curiosity were eyes sparkling with envy, though not necessarily angry. She was right about her analogy of fans waiting for their favorite celebrity to reveal their secrets. Her classmates’ rapt, excited faces told her they waited impatiently for her reaction like they were excited for the next development in a romance novel. Incidentally, romance novels provided the greatest source of entertainment for both girls and women with their depictions of unattainable dreams.
“Lord Glen was enraged by Lord Bernard spreading such nasty rumors about you, Lady Emma.”
“I… He… What…”
Without even knowing his exact words, Emma realized Glen was responsible for making these young ladies’ eyes sparkle. It was no longer suspicion on her part but a fact. While she repeatedly opened and closed her mouth as thoughts came and went rapidly, Gina blushed slightly.
“You don’t understand how infuriated Lord Glen was by Lord Bernard’s besmirching of your honor, Lady Emma. He declared in front of everyone that you were special to him.”
“Wha—”
Emma unwittingly shrieked at the words that exceeded her imagination.
“My favorite part of his lambasting was when he said, ‘I’d like nothing more than to bundle her in the finest silk and protect her from everyone and everything. So to hell with an imbecile like you.’ Many of Lord Glen’s fans screamed in excitement at that point.”
“S…s…silk?!”
“Hm, what else, what else…”
“Miss Gina, I think you can stop there.”
A voice came from above. Turning around, Emma found Glen and Ian. It seemed they had also just returned from lunch.
“I’ll take that as my cue to make myself scarce.”
Gina giggled, beamed at Glen, then went back to her seat. Standing in front of the hall entrance, Emma remained frozen, staring at him. No doubt her face was scarlet. Her whole body felt hot, from her earlobes down to the tips of her toes. No one said anything to refute Gina’s remarks, which meant they were almost 100 percent true.
“You should be fine now. But if anything happens again, just tell me, all right?”
Saying his piece so smoothly and matter-of-factly, Glen found an empty seat and headed toward it, leaving her behind. His devil-may-care attitude made it hard for her to believe that ten, maybe fifteen minutes ago, he had uttered anything Gina had so happily related to her.
I-I don’t think I’ll be fine at all, good sir. With her head so full of Glen, Emma completely forgot about her anger at Bernard.