With those last muttered words, silence settled over the table. Milly couldn’t pretend she didn’t understand Ike’s feelings. There was no familial love between her and her father, but she had once had her beloved mother. When her mother died of illness, Milly had known grief as deep as the sea. The circumstances might differ, but Ike must have felt something similar, and so his hatred of Kyle—his loathing of the grand ducal house—was something she could comprehend.
But what am I supposed to do about that?
Because she had been through it herself, Milly knew: there was no way Ike would ever accept the grand ducal house, or her. But it couldn’t stay like this forever.
Her chest tight with frustration, she clenched her fist. It was just then, as the weight hung over the table, that the mood abruptly shifted.
“Honestly, this is why I hate dining on the first floor! Where is that commoner’s house? I’ll be sending them the bill for the cleaning!”
At the voice ringing suddenly through the second floor, Milly raised her head. The one ascending the spiral staircase and finally coming into view was someone she knew all too well.
Angelina, Brima...and Angelina’s attendants.
It had been only a day since Milly had last seen the self-proclaimed “villainess,” Angelina Grey. As for Brima Bickel, ever since the confrontation in Class A, she hadn’t spoken a word in class. She wore a troubled look now. Perhaps she wasn’t feeling well.
Milly found herself idly thinking this as she watched the group drift into the dining hall. As she stared absentmindedly, her eyes happened to meet Angelina’s.
At once, Angelina’s eyes went wide in shock. For several seconds she stood frozen, staring at them. Then, in a thin voice, the so-called villainess whispered, “Gilbert...and Lucius?”
Milly’s sharp ears caught the words, quiet as they were. She frowned, and Gilbert, noticing her look, followed her gaze. Spotting the familiar figure of their classmate, he spoke up. “Lady Grey. Here for lunch?”
“Ah, y-yes. But...why are you...?”
“I see. Well, the hour is short, so you’d best hurry. Come now, Lucius, finish up.”
Pressed by Gilbert, Lucius muttered under his breath but wound his fork around the pasta anyway.
Milly, watching in silence, felt a faint sense of wrongness. I didn’t notice before, but she looks worn down. Her hair seems duller, and the lines in her brow look deeper.
Yes, Angelina looked haggard. At the very least, when Milly had faced Angelina in the garden, the girl had still maintained the basic appearance expected of a count’s daughter. Now, though, with a fresh stain marring her uniform, the overall impression was oddly comical.
“Lady Grey? Aren’t you having lunch?” Perhaps noticing that she hadn’t moved an inch, Gilbert addressed her curiously.
Angelina started as though waking from a daze. “Oh, forgive me. Yes, of course. I should find a seat.”
“Our next class is Magical Biology, isn’t it? Don’t be late.”
With that, Gilbert looked away from her and returned to chiding Lucius, who was still dragging his fork idly through his pasta.
She’s rattled. Far too rattled. It’s as if she’s hiding something.
Milly also turned her gaze aside, fixing a deliberately bored look on her face so as not to draw suspicion.
From her new seat, Angelina murmured something under her breath. “Why is she sitting with two of the love interests? She was never supposed to have anything to do with Lucius.”
Love interests? Thanks to her especially sharp hearing, Milly was likely the only one to catch those words. Even Brima and the other attendants, standing close at hand, seemed too nervous in the presence of the prince and the grand duke’s daughter to pay attention.
Glancing sidelong at Angelina, Milly’s expression tightened. Something about her feels off. She blinks far too often, is completely flustered, and whenever her eyes meet mine, she looks away almost instantly. That thought gave rise to a hypothesis in Milly’s mind. It was unlikely, but worth testing all the same.
After a few seconds of consideration, Milly said, “Gilbert, about next week...”
“Hm?”
She had said his name deliberately, and out of the corner of her eye saw Angelina’s shoulders jolt. So she was listening. Good.
“There’s another council meeting then, isn’t there? About the tea party.”
“Oh, yes.”
“Would you come and fetch me from my classroom that day? It’s been so long since we’ve spent time together like this. I’d like to walk there with you.”
Gilbert froze, at a loss for words, just as Lucius choked on his pasta and sprayed it across the table.
“Lucius, that’s disgusting! Get a hold of yourself!”
“How is this my fault?! She’s the one who just went off the deep end!”
“Of course it’s your fault! Wipe it up this instant!”
“I am wiping it! But it was Lady Milly who...”
While Lucius scrambled with a napkin and Gilbert sat flustered, his face red to the ears, Milly alone kept her attention fixed squarely on Angelina’s table.
As I thought. Ninety-nine percent certain now.
When Milly had said to Gilbert, “I’d like to walk there with you,” Angelina had visibly stiffened, her shocked gaze snapping toward their table.
Between childhood friends, there was nothing unnatural about such words.
If anything, the more natural reaction would have been to focus on Lucius spitting pasta everywhere. Yet Angelina hadn’t looked at him once. Her eyes had locked on Milly and refused to move.
Piecing all of this together, Milly reached her conclusion. She’s sweating, and her breathing’s all uneven. Angelina, you still have your memories from before, don’t you?
Angelina Grey almost certainly retained her memories from before time had rewound. Everything in her behavior made that plain. And yet she clearly hasn’t realized I remember too. Otherwise, she would never be reacting so blatantly. All the better for Milly.
If that was the case, then as the “final boss” who must defeat her, Milly needed to begin planning her moves. Rising quickly, she gathered her dishes with brisk efficiency. “Oh my, look at the time. I’ll head back now.”
“Eh? M-Milly?” Gilbert stammered.
“And don’t forget to come get me next week. All right? I’ll be waiting.”
“Ah...”
“And Lucius...” After leaving Gilbert thoroughly flustered with her parting request, Milly turned back toward Lucius, who still had a cloth in hand. She met his eyes squarely, her voice ringing clear. “I’ll face your childhood friend properly. I can’t say what will come of it, but I’ll do my best to meet him halfway.”
“Hmm.”
Yes, she had been sidetracked by Angelina’s appearance, but the original issue was Ike, and what lay ahead between them.
As Ike’s childhood friend, Lucius surely didn’t think highly of the grand ducal house either. He might even harbor resentment, though he kept it to himself. Even so, he had spoken to Milly without reserve. She owed it to him to repay that kindness.
“I’ll see you later. And try not to fall asleep in Magical History again, even if it’s boring.”
With that, Milly left the lavishly decorated dining hall.
For a moment, the two boys left behind simply stared after her, then looked at one another in mutual agreement.
“She’s out of our league,” Gilbert said with a wry smile, and Lucius nodded.
“No. This won’t do. I have to stop this, before it’s too late,” the self-proclaimed “villainess,” Angelina Grey muttered under her breath, unnoticed by either of the boys.