When Milly finally returned and slid open the classroom door, Lucius, chatting with classmates nearby, looked over and nearly jumped.
“What’s with that face? You look absolutely ghastly.”
There was no hiding it now. Milly averted her eyes, pressing her forefingers together guiltily.
“Good day, Lucius.”
“‘Good day’? That’s all you’ve got? Don’t tell me you’ve caught something.”
“N-No...”
It wasn’t an illness, of course. But somehow she couldn’t bring herself to explain, and the silence stretched. Lucius, apparently piecing things together, fixed her with a look that brimmed with exasperation. Milly thought her cheeks might start steaming from embarrassment.
“Well? Out with it,” he insisted.
“Erm...”
“Quickly, now. Or I’ll report you to His Grace.”
That would be a disaster. After all, she’d spent household funds on all those cakes without permission. Resigned, Milly forced herself to begin. “I-I...”
She confessed everything: that she’d heard the student council would be holding a meeting to decide on cakes for the tea party, that she’d ordered Bibi to procure mountains of them the day before, and that she hadn’t been able to finish them. Rather than throw them away, she had eaten far too many, leaving her in her current miserable state.
After hearing Milly’s explanation laid out so plainly, Lucius let out a long sigh. Exactly the reaction she had expected. “Are you daft, milady?”
That was the final blow. Milly, flustered, scrambled to defend herself. “That’s not it! I don’t usually eat cake, so I wanted to make sure the tea party would have something truly delicious...”
“Which changes nothing. The end result is you made yourself ill by stuffing yourself with cake.”
“Mmm...”
“Honestly, why do you always turn into a complete mess at the strangest times?”
She had no retort. Not when she had, in fact, made herself sick in precisely that way. Lowering her gaze, Milly brooded. No wonder that girl ran off the moment I spoke to her. Her thoughts circled back to what had happened earlier. The girl—the one in Class A being shouted at by Angelina—had yet to return to Class C.
She was probably still over in Class A. Hopefully the absurd demand for compensation had been smoothed over, but knowing Angelina, she might very well try to press for those ten gold coins in earnest.
If only there were something I could do to help...
When it came to Angelina, Milly couldn’t remain indifferent.
“Lucius.”
“Yes?”
“That girl from yesterday, the one I bumped into. Do you know her name?”
Lucius gave her a curious look. “The one who ran off the moment she saw your face?”
“You phrased that rather maliciously.”
“It’s true, though.”
“I suppose it is.”
The truth could cut like a blade. At her silence, Lucius sighed. “Her name’s Brima Bickel, from Baron Bickel’s house. I think her family does farming and runs a little shop. You’ve never heard of them?”
“Brima Bickel...” Milly repeated the name under her breath, and then a memory surfaced. “The Bickel lands... I’ve heard of them. That’s where cotton is grown, isn’t it?”
“No idea. Is that true?”
“Yes. I overheard father talking about it once.” In truth, she had only eavesdropped on his conversation with the steward.
As she mulled it over, Lucius frowned and said, “Anyway, what about you? Are you sure you’re all right? Maybe you should skip the council meeting today.”
“What? Absolutely not!” Milly shook her head so hard it nearly brought something back up. Lucius gave her a look that said I told you so, but her ailment was about as serious as hiccups—so not particularly. Certainly not worth skipping a council meeting over. “I’ll be fine. If I take it easy until lunch, I’ll recover.”
“Hmph. Forgive me if I remain unconvinced.”
“I mean it!”
“Really?”
Milly met his skeptical gaze with determined resolve. Perhaps it was that earnestness that made him relent. Lucius reached out, lightly brushing her bangs back into place after her vigorous head-shaking had left them a mess. “Then at least don’t go making a spectacle of yourself.”
“Of course not. I would never be so unseemly.”
“First period is flight training, you know.”
“Oh...yes. That won’t be a problem.” Though her pause betrayed her, she steeled herself all the same.
If it was for the sake of attending the council gathering, then this too was a trial to endure. Nodding firmly, Milly set off toward her seat, her expression that of iron determination.