Chapter 24

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 24

Chapter Title: A Desperate Scheme

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Among her friends, Arista fidgeted the most restlessly, stealing glances at Lucia.

Arista whispered softly to Herwin, low enough for only him to hear.

"...Is it because of me, by any chance?"

Before Herwin had gone to find Lucia, Arista had asked him to put in a good word for her. That request now weighed on her mind.

'Because of Arista...'

To be fair, she wasn't entirely uninvolved. But he couldn't exactly say it was her fault either.

"It's not like that, so don't worry about it."

His tone was so gentle, especially compared to how he'd snapped at Lucia during their fight.

Lucia seemed to notice it too. She flinched and buried her head even deeper between his arms.

"Alright, everyone take your seats."

Just as everyone was watching Lucia nervously, the professor walked in at the perfect moment. The friends reluctantly returned to their places.

Ethan and Christine, seated up front, kept sneaking glances back at Lucia.

"You there, the one slumped over the desk—who is it?"

When the professor pointed out Lucia, she slowly lifted herself up. Her eyes were even more swollen now.

Even with her hair draped over her face like a ghost, Herwin sitting right beside her could see her features all too clearly.

His chest tightened.

"Haa..."

Hearing that deep sigh, Lucia clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white.

Sniff, sniff.

The sound of her sniffling echoed through the dusty storage room.

This was the secret spot where Bianca and Lucia shared their private talks.

Lucia had poured out the story of her fight with Herwin to Bianca.

Bianca, who hadn't imagined such a thing happening, covered her gaping mouth in shock.

"What if Herwin... starts hating me now?"

The emotions she'd barely calmed surged back up. The image of Herwin treating her so coldly for the first time replayed vividly in her mind.

The look in his eyes as he gazed down at her had been pure contempt.

Lucia knew she was in the wrong. The words she'd spat out were ones she couldn't even justify herself.

Arista wasn't some irredeemable person, nor was she a fox chasing after men.

Yet she'd badmouthed her anyway. Was it really because she wished Arista was that kind of person?

'Ah, this is the worst.'

She was truly the worst kind of person.

Blinded by jealousy, blurting out unforgivable things without restraint.

She'd always despised—hated, even—people who judged others so freely, yet here she was no different.

How must Herwin feel seeing her like that? Lucia's insides burned black with shame.

Guilt and regret toward Arista tormented her. And yet, her petty resentment toward the girl refused to fade.

She didn't want to feel this way, but she couldn't control it. All she wanted was to wash away these filthy emotions staining her heart.

"Herwin's such a disappointment. Even after you've confessed to him over sixty times, he still doesn't accept you. I thought he knew you weren't a pushover... but how could he treat you like that?"

Bianca vented on Lucia's behalf.

"Does he value some girl he's known for a mere three months more than his childhood friend? You're not the type to say stuff like that normally, so he should listen even more carefully."

Lucia showed no reaction to Bianca's words.

"I thought he had good taste in people, but what a miss. How could anyone think highly of Duchess's Daughter Lydia? No, really—what do guys even see in her? Her looks? Status? Personality? I just don't get it."

Lucia, who had been listening silently, finally looked up. A faint furrow creased her brow.

"Her status? Fine, she was born into that famous Lydia Ducal House, so whatever. But her looks? Hmph, pretty faces like that are a dime a dozen anywhere. And her personality doesn't even seem that great. She acts all carefree and big-hearted around boys, pretending to be different from other girls, but when she's with us girls, she barely joins the conversation. What, is she saying we're not on her level or something?"

Once the complaints started spilling out, they snowballed. These weren't words to comfort Lucia anymore—they were Bianca's own pent-up grudges against Arista.

'Something's off...'

The more she heard, the more Lucia instinctively sensed something wrong with Bianca.

She couldn't quite grasp how the situation was unfolding. Or rather, she felt like she shouldn't try to.

"Lucia, are you just going to sit back and do nothing?"

Bianca, having vented freely, now gleamed with excitement. Lucia shrank back involuntarily.

"What...?"

"Are you going to let Herwin get stolen by Duchess's Daughter Lydia just like that?"

"...But I don't have any way to stop it."

She didn't want to lose Herwin to Arista, but she had no clever plan to push the girl away from him either.

"What do you mean no way? Just remind Herwin that she's not worth his time."

"...How?"

Arista seemed wonderful and charming to anyone who saw her. How on earth could she tear her down? And how would she even prove it? Lucia had no idea.

Seeing Lucia's bewilderment, Bianca grinned wickedly.

"Listen, do it like this..."

Even though they were alone in the storage room, Bianca leaned in and whispered into Lucia's ear.

After listening for a while, Lucia's eyes widened in horror.

"Bianca, that's...!"

"Shh, if we're quiet, no one will know. You just have to reveal in front of everyone that Arista has a kleptomania problem."

"But that's not true. I can't do it."

Lucia's face paled as she shook her head furiously. If she followed Bianca's plan, Herwin might lose interest in Arista, but this sneaky method didn't sit right with her.

At Lucia's refusal, Bianca's expression hardened coldly.

"Lucia, are you really going to trail after Herwin forever like this?"

Her emotionless tawny eyes felt chilling.

As Lucia froze in fear, Bianca smiled warmly as if nothing had happened. She pulled Lucia closer by the shoulder and patted her comfortingly.

"The priority is getting Herwin to lose interest in Arista first. Once that's done, he'll surely drop his feelings for her and look at you again."

"...But."

"You've confessed over sixty times already. At this point, shouldn't he accept you out of sheer appreciation for your persistence? And once her true colors are exposed, Herwin will feel sorry toward you for sure."

For a moment, Lucia's ears perked up despite herself.

"He believed her over you today, so when he finds out it was all lies, he'll apologize for sure. 'Ah, I misjudged her. Will you forgive me, Lucia?'"

It was a temptation so sweet it made her want to give in right away. But the spot where Bianca touched her felt increasingly repulsive, like bugs crawling on her skin.

"So just trust me and do it. I'll help you."

Unable to respond at first, Lucia eventually nodded slowly.

The classroom was quiet, empty during individual lesson time.

Lucia swallowed hard as she stepped into the silent room.

"Put this in Arista's bag..."

In her hand was a wallet—her own.

Yet here she was, hovering not at her own seat, but Arista's.

Lucia bit her lower lip hard and gripped the wallet tightly.

'Put your wallet in Arista's seat or bag. Then make a fuss about it being missing, and "discover" it in her spot.'

It was Bianca's scheme to drive Arista away from Herwin.

A week had passed since she'd suggested it. Bianca had urged her to do it the very next day, but Lucia had kept putting it off—until a whole week had slipped by.

In other words, a week had passed since her fight with Herwin.

In that time, Lucia and Herwin hadn't exchanged a single proper word.

Neither had made the effort to break the ice, so the awkwardness dragged on.

This was the first time their relationship had grown so distant, and Lucia had no idea how to fix it.

She wanted to talk to him, but she feared he'd say, 'You're not even reflecting on your mistake and now you're talking to me?' It paralyzed her.

On top of that, here she was, not reflecting at all but plotting to tarnish Arista's reputation.

Lucia's head throbbed.

One side of her screamed that this was wrong, while the other urged her to claim Herwin by any means necessary. The two voices clashed endlessly in her mind.

For ten agonizing minutes, she paced back and forth, unable to decide. Finally, she squeezed her eyes shut and slipped the wallet into Arista's bag.

Then, fearing someone might see, she hurried out of the classroom.

"It's done. This has to work..."

She'd resolved to make Arista suffer without regrets, but Lucia's face crumpled in torment regardless.

Her quick steps down the hallway slowed... then stopped entirely.

She stood alone in the empty corridor for a long while.

Then, she turned and walked back.

Hmm~ Hm-hm-hmm~

Christine turned at the sound of humming beside her.

"Bianca, something good happen?"

"Huh? Me?"

"Yeah, you've been smiling and humming non-stop."

"Oh... was I?"

"What's got you in such a good mood?"

"Mm... it's a secret."

Bianca pondered playfully, then grinned mischievously and pressed a finger to her lips.

Even as Christine pressed curiously, Bianca kept dodging with "secret, secret."

"Lucia's late, though. Think something happened?"

Lucia had gone to the bathroom twenty minutes ago and still hadn't returned. As time ticked by, Christine grew worried.

"She's not a kid; she'll be fine. She probably just stopped somewhere on the way back from the bathroom."

"You think?"

Despite Bianca's reassurance, Christine kept glancing toward where Lucia had disappeared, still concerned.

Bianca, unperturbed, resumed watching Herwin swing his sword vigorously while humming through her nose.

A satisfied smile curved her lips.

"Um, Miss Bianca."

A dark shadow fell over Bianca's head. She scowled at the familiar voice.

"C-Could we talk for a sec?"

A boy from their grade, face flushed, waited eagerly for her response.

He wasn't strikingly handsome compared to her usual crowd, but he had an appealing, boy-next-door charm.

Anyone could tell he was about to confess. Christine covered her mouth, cooing in delight.

But Bianca looked thoroughly displeased, making no effort to hide it.

She nearly yelled at him to scram but noticed Christine and a few others watching, so she glared at the boy instead.

"Haa... let's talk somewhere else."

Despite her obvious reluctance, the boy's face lit up.

As Bianca and the boy left, Christine's eyes widened like glass marbles, sparkling with light.

"...Christine, what're you doing?"

"Lucia!"

Lucia had arrived. She caught Christine's excited expression.

"Why are you so hyped? Something good happen?"

"Lucia, did you see? Some guy was just about to confess to Bianca!"

"What? For real?"

Lucia's face brightened as much as Christine's. The two girls buzzed with excitement, as if they were the ones receiving confessions.

"Wow, a confession. Bianca's amazing."

"See? She's secretly pretty popular. Remember last time, some other guy confessed to her too."

"Yeah, now that you mention it, she gets a lot of confessions."

"Wonder if she'll accept this one. He seemed nice enough."

As Christine and Lucia spun their fantasies, Bianca returned just in time.

The two pounced on her like they'd been waiting.