Before, I was called to the student council because I was a ‘Crown Princess,’ but now it seems it’s because I’m a ‘Noble.’
In the Empire, where the ranks are simply divided into Duke, Count, Baron, and other ranks, if we exclude the royal family, the number of people who can truly be called Nobles is extremely small, mostly clustered around Dukes and Counts. There are a dozen Duke families alone. Naturally, there are even more Counts, and Barons are as common as dirt.
So, for a Baron to become a ‘Noble’ means they might actually be more of a hot topic than the average kids from Counts.
Well, there might be some who think, “Who does a Baron think they are?” but considering there are two Crown Princesses hanging around me, I really have nothing to worry about, right?
“Ah, Lady Grace!”
The student council president greeted me oddly.
“I think you’ve become even more beautiful since we last met. Did you not read the letters I sent?”
“……”
Oh.
Did we actually meet?
At the banquets, I just mingled due to the endless stream of men pestering me, usually only exchanging cursory greetings and hanging out with Leo. I often talked to older women or haughty high nobles. They seemed to enjoy simply having me listen to their stories and nod along, talking proudly about me in front of other nobility.
Sure, there were some male nobles who looked at me with certain eyes, but I always held my ground, knowing they couldn’t just mess with a Baroness. Plus, the fact that I had already chatted with two Crown Princesses spread like wildfire.
To be honest, Alice and Claire aren’t that social either, right? Just my conversing with them at the ball must have been quite the talking point.
Maybe that’s the decisive reason I ended up here, or perhaps it’s just the president’s personal favoritism.
One thing’s for sure: I don’t carry that harmful image I had before.
“It’s an honor for us all to have the Crown Princesses visit. And Princess Velbur, too.”
Cough cough, the president said, seemingly flustered.
Yeah, it’s kind of rude, isn’t it? Especially considering there are a few people above my rank here, yet he reacted to me first.
In reality, Alice, Claire, and Charlotte do not look worse than me. However, since it was the first time those three had met the president, it’s understandable that the greeting didn’t just jump out immediately.
It was a rather unrefined reaction for someone from a supposedly esteemed family.
*
“We would all like to be invited to the student council.”
Charlotte calmly asked.
“That’s right. At the Rondarium Academy, there’s no distinction between foreigners and locals. Our goal is to learn together and reach higher places, so I believe nationality or rank isn’t that important.”
Lie.
To be honest, there are barely any foreign students, and those that do apply are mostly from high-ranking families.
Even though I’m a Baroness, I’m kind of here as an exception. Rather than ‘Grace’s Estate,’ it’s ‘Sylvia Grace,’ so… that, ‘from the Grace family—’ anyway, it’s the title they’re referring to me with.
In truth, some of the female students in the student council had been casting not-so-friendly glances at me. Rumors can spread quickly, especially since most of the nobility I mingled with were much older. They might have thought I was just chasing them around aimlessly.
On the contrary, the male students looked kind of affectionate. It was quite different from the days when simply making eye contact would send them shaking.
I once again assured myself; those carrying the ‘previous image’ of me are probably only the people around us. Surely, only those who were in the Papal State at that time could be affected by the ruins and devices.
“And… there was supposed to be one more person coming—ah.”
The student council president murmured while checking his pocket watch when suddenly the door of the student council room opened, and he gasped.
“Lady Crowfield!”
At the president’s words, Alice, Claire, and I all turned to the door.
There stood Mia, her image even more gloomy than when I first met her—no, rather than gloomy, maybe it seemed more timid? Anyway, her atmosphere was like that.
Moreover, the only one greeting Mia was the president. The moment she walked in, the student council room became eerily quiet. Even the few girls who had been whispering after I entered suddenly shut their mouths.
There’s a reason for that.
Unlike when I was one of the Emperor’s children, this time, Lucas apparently picked someone well.
It seems Claire’s proactive personality, along with her ability to rewind time, led her to rescue others, catching Lucas’s eye.
I heard a brief update, but it seems the Emperor in this timeline is just as cautious as he was when I was his daughter.
… Whether it’s because he remembers or because he feels something like Leo, I can’t say. Claire becoming the Emperor’s daughter is the same as the ‘original,’ but everything else is rolling in a direction I don’t know.
Perhaps it’s because Claire and Alice’s relationship is different from mine.
“……”
And thanks to that, Mia’s father… survived. He probably continued that life after that point.
And that life would have influenced Mia as well.
He was said to be a kind father in front of Mia. I think that’s probably true. He wouldn’t have shown any dark feelings; he must have acted like a really competent Count.
But even if Mia respects her father, could his wife do the same?
No matter how high-nosed aristocrats treat commoners like bugs, I still can’t imagine someone treating them like mere ‘toys’ for their enjoyment.
No, that’s it. I’m not speaking from a man’s perspective; rather from that of a woman watching her husband indulge with commoners.
How many women would like a man who goes out every day to embrace other women?
Moreover, there must have been some affection between the two. In fact, after the husband’s death, the Countess Crowfield plotted her revenge almost immediately.
Love and hatred can coexist. And all those feelings, tangled together, would usually negatively influence a child raised in such a home.
And among the nobility, such negative rumors spread incredibly quickly. Especially if a character becomes addicted to drugs and begins to ruin themselves.
“Ah, hello….”
Seeing Mia looking more at a loss for words than when I first met her, I didn’t feel great.
The last memory I had of Mia was of her overcoming all that.
“Lady Crowfield.”
Even the president was slightly flustered by the heavy atmosphere in the student council room, so I immediately called out to Mia.
Mia raised her head slightly to look at me.
I could see glimmering eyes under her bangs.
Despite the overall somber feeling and her weak voice making her seem at a loss for words, looking into those eyes gave me the certainty that this was the Mia I knew.
She had already once overcome it all.
I… couldn’t tell if this world was an illusion created by the Goddess, or if it was a world where time had truly turned back. Yet, regardless of which world, I believed Mia could overcome it once more.
I decided to believe that.
“Since there’s an open seat here, why don’t you come and sit?”
I said while giving Mia a slight smile. Leo and Claire were sitting next to me, but there was an empty seat next to Alice.
And Alice naturally didn’t refuse Mia. Charlotte, who sat opposite her, was the same.
Claire’s expression was one of open delight.
Seeing us, Mia’s expression transformed for a moment. To put it in one word: ‘bewildered.’
If two Crown Princesses and a popularly known Baroness suddenly acted friendly, I would probably react the same way.
Charlotte looked intrigued, as if she found our reaction interesting. Perhaps it was because of ‘our reaction’ that she felt a bit curious about Mia.
… Oh, wait.
Wasn’t there a manga I read before coming over here where a shy protagonist suddenly had a popular group approach them, and they became friends?
Isn’t this the same situation?
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