Chapter 99: The Promise of Crimea
Melaine leaned against the wall, feeling refreshed.
“Well, the announcement just came a little earlier than planned. Lady Enzhe didn’t do anything wrong. I’m actually relieved.”
She muttered to herself, then clapped her hands together, a good idea coming to mind.
“Right, we should have a tea party.”
“A tea party?”
“Yes! Since it’s already out in the open, it would be better to have an official event. Don’t you think?”
She was talking about having an official event for all the flatterers who were flocking to her.
“That’s a great idea! Lady Chainpeld will definitely come, even if we don’t send her an invitation.”
Chainpeld was the leader of Melaine’s followers.
The original group of girls who had followed Melaine had become less important after the engagement announcement, so they were secretly unhappy. Sue thought it would be quite an interesting social gathering if they invited a few more promising young ladies.
As she was thinking about that, Melaine held out her hand to Sue.
“I’ll invite you too, Sue.”
“What?”
Sue blinked, wondering if she had misheard. She was rarely invited to these kinds of events. Even Enzhe and Melaine had to shake their heads, remembering the many times Sue had ruined tea parties.
Melaine repeated herself, her voice confident,
“We’re allied families. It’s almost debutante season. We’ll be adults soon. As the second daughter of the Vava family, I want to interact more with the eldest daughter of the Byron family, and I think the girls who dislike you will also try to befriend you now. You’re a Skia.”
“…That’s true.”
Melaine’s words made sense, but there was also a hint of delusion.
Sue was indeed a Skia, and Skias were people the Full Bloom students, who would be officially entering noble society, had to befriend, but wouldn’t they have already done so if that was their reason?
Sue swallowed her self-deprecation, but Melaine, oblivious, continued enthusiastically,
“Lady Enzhe will become the Duchess of Fritz, and I will become the Duchess of Acrea. And you’ll find a marriage partner soon too. I’m looking forward to it. That’s our position, the life that befits us. Sue, you have to come to the tea party.”
“Yes, Lady Melaine. It would be an honor to attend.”
“Good.”
Melaine smiled with satisfaction. Her brilliant golden eyes were filled with a burning ambition.
“I can finally help my family, my sister.”
***
Sue arrived at the academy early and was the second person to enter the Golden Lion Class.
The curse mark on her body had acted up last night, perhaps because of Enzhe’s stress about her new class. Sue hadn’t been able to sleep a wink and had come to the academy exhausted.
Nine had suggested she take the day off, but Sue, who still had things to do, had no choice but to refuse her concern.
Just as she had been the second person to enter the classroom, there was someone who had arrived even earlier. The reason Sue had had to drag her tired body into the carriage: Soran Halo.
“Good morning, Lady Byron. Blessings upon the empire.”
Halo, who had been by the window, stiffened and greeted her politely the moment she saw her.
“Good morning, Miss Halo.”
A tired face greeted another tired face. Halo smiled brightly, her joy evident at Sue’s friendly response. But her dark circles made Sue feel a pang of pity.
Sue organized her desk and sat down, resting her head on her hand. Halo returned to her seat after enjoying the morning breeze. The classroom, with only the two of them, was quiet, every little movement amplified.
Halo placed her notebooks on her desk and started studying, her lips pressed together.
How much time had passed since she had become a seventh year?
Sue had been vigilantly monitoring Halo every day, but nothing significant had happened yet. And that made her even more anxious. She was waiting for the first incident to occur.
Sue Byron, who usually saw Halo as a thorn in her side, would have already started picking on her, but the current Sue was trying to stay invisible, so the academy was peaceful.
But the part where the story truly began would definitely happen. And she had a vague belief that if she could successfully prevent the first incident, she would be safe for the next six months.
Sue glanced at Halo, pretending to be absorbed in her book. She wondered what Halo was studying so diligently, and she saw that she was reviewing the sheet music for today’s music class.
Soran Halo, as Sue had observed her from her seat diagonally behind her, was exactly like the Halo in the novel. She was kind and cheerful, but she was also serious about everything. She had to be, for her dream. But sometimes, she would rub her tired eyes, cough as if she couldn’t breathe, or wear a weary expression.
The only person who had a proper conversation with Halo so far was her friend, Julia Ains. No one was bullying the talentless transfer student, but no one was trying to befriend her either.
There were definitely students who were unhappy about being in the same class as a transfer student, but no one dared to confront her directly, especially with Ains, a Skia, looking after her. As long as Sue Byron, who didn’t know her place, stayed quiet.
“Lady Byron.”
Sue’s eyes met Halo’s as she suddenly turned around. Sue, flustered, blurted out what she had been thinking,
“You can just call me Byron.”
“Oh, really? Thank you.”
Halo was touched by Sue’s offer, as she had always used honorifics with the other students.
“Byron, have you memorized the sheet music?”
Halo, having immediately switched to a casual tone, asked excitedly.
“Yes.”
Sue nodded and answered simply.
Halo frowned and slumped her shoulders. Her dark circles seemed even darker today.
“Everyone is so good… I need to do well too.”
Her last words were almost a whisper. This was her first time having a proper conversation with Halo, and Sue chewed on her lip, speechless. She had never imagined that Halo would confide in her, so this situation was unfamiliar.
Anyone who was born and raised in noble society knew how to play at least one or two instruments. It wasn’t about actually playing the instrument well, but about understanding music. It was a cultural education, to understand music in order to appreciate it more broadly.
So even Sue could play simple piano pieces. She had been worried about whether she would be able to play properly with this body, but she had been able to manage, following ‘Sue’s’ memories.
But Halo, who had never even lived in an ordinary town, let alone noble society, couldn’t possibly have received a proper ‘cultural’ education.
Halo excelled in magic and academics, but she always struggled with noble etiquette. There had been only two times when she hadn’t been ranked first in the evaluations since entering the academy, and both times, it had been because of etiquette.
“Miss Halo, you’re a specially recruited student, so the teacher will understand if you’re not good at etiquette.”
Sue offered words of comfort, or rather, non-comfort, to the anxious Halo. She chuckled inwardly, wondering who was comforting whom.
“Thank you, Byron.”
Her beautiful violet eyes sparkled.
This was the first time Halo had received such comfort from someone other than Ains.
“I would love to hear you play the piano.”
“…You can hear it in class.”
“Haha, that’s true.”
***
She ran into Halo again at the dining hall during lunch.
Enzhe was spending time with Fritz at the glass garden, and Melaine was with Acrea, so Sue had come to the dining hall alone. And then, Halo, who was looking for an empty seat, suddenly raised her hand and called out, “Byron!”
“It’s crowded today. Let’s eat together.”
It was strange. She had occasionally greeted Halo, but this was the first time they had interacted more than once in a day.
“Julia went to the glass garden today. I’m alone too.”
Halo was sitting alone at a table for three.
It was awkward, but Halo was right, the dining hall was unusually crowded today. And Ains, who made her uncomfortable, wasn’t there, and her head was pounding, so Sue sat down with Halo.
“Have you ever been to Crimea, Byron?”
Halo asked cheerfully, perhaps feeling more comfortable after their earlier interaction.
“I’ve been there a few times with my father.”
“Really? What’s it like?”
Her voice was filled with anticipation.
Crimea was an island with ancient ruins. The reason Halo was suddenly asking about Crimea was because the academy was going on a field trip there in a few days.
“It’s an island with ruins, as you said. There are old temples… and walls.”
“Wow, really?”
Halo giggled and hummed, even though Sue hadn’t said anything particularly interesting.
Crimea was a place that all capital nobles took their children to, a must-see for anyone who wanted to learn about noble culture.
Sue hadn’t been interested in the ruins, so she had just gone along with it, but it seemed like Halo was excited about it.
‘That thing has to happen before we go to Crimea.’
Halo was chattering about how much she was looking forward to Crimea and how she couldn’t wait to see the ruins, but Sue’s mind was elsewhere.
“Ancient ruins… I can’t wait to go to Crimea.”
“Yes, me too.”
Sue replied, her face masked with her usual smile.
Right, that thing would definitely happen before then.
She wanted to get rid of at least one of the hundreds of problems that were weighing her down. She felt a nausea in her ears, her head spinning.