Chapter 47
“…Ah, Lady Enzhe!”
As Acrea had predicted, Enzhe arrived before homeroom. Sue’s face brightened the moment Enzhe opened the classroom door. The other students in the Golden Lion Class had been giving her increasingly annoyed looks, making her feel uncomfortable.
“Good morning, Lady En…! …L-Lady Enzhe?”
She had thought she could finally escape back to her own classroom. But Sue was speechless. So was Melaine, and all the other students in the Golden Lion Class.
Strange things were happening, one after another, from the very first day of school.
“Is that… really Lady Lopetrefer…?”
One girl’s bewildered whisper wasn’t a joke.
Standing before them was someone they were all familiar with, yet completely different.
Sue looked at Enzhe. Her hair was dry and frizzy, like parched land, and her signature sharp bob was messy and unkempt, with strands sticking out in all directions. Her neatly ironed uniform, which had always been the envy of the other girls, was wrinkled.
Even her deep-set black eyes, which had always intimidated Sue, were now vacant and lifeless.
Enzhe, oblivious to her own state, plopped down in her seat, ignoring the murmurs around her.
“She’s… She looks really bad.”
Melaine was too shocked to even speak properly.
“…Sue, go talk to her.”
“Y-yes.”
I don’t want to go either.
But Sue was pushed towards Enzhe. Even among fellow lackeys, there was a clear hierarchy.
“Lady Enzhe, are you alright?”
Enzhe lifted her head at Sue’s concerned voice. Her vacant eyes met Sue’s. A suffocating silence followed. Enzhe finally smiled faintly.
“What do you mean?”
“Huh? No… You were a little late today. I was wondering if something had happened…”
She didn’t have the courage to say that Enzhe looked like a mess.
“Really? I just… overslept.”
Her delicate voice was weak. It wasn’t her usual fake sweet voice, nor was it the malicious voice she used with Sue. It was a lifeless voice, as if her soul had left her body.
Enzhe lost interest in Sue and stared blankly at something. Her gaze settled on Fritz’s empty seat. For a long time, she stared at the empty seat, her expression obsessive and unsettling. Sue couldn’t bring herself to speak.
‘Why don’t they just get together?’
It would make everyone happy.
Sue clutched her waist and bit her lip, frustrated. But she knew it was an impossible wish.
She had thought Enzhe would be back to normal before school started, but she was in a worse state than she had imagined. It was troubling. She didn’t know how to deal with Enzhe like this. She couldn’t find the answer in ‘Sue’s’ memories or in the novel.
“Lady Byron, how long are you planning to stay in our classroom?”
“I-I’m leaving.”
Sue hurriedly returned to her own classroom after Ains, who had been glaring at her, spoke up.
“Hey, Clot. You’re quite late today. How long were you wagging your tail at your master?”
Hanjee taunted her the moment she returned to the classroom. He hasn’t changed either. Noel’s seat was empty. Sue, unable to clear her mind, couldn’t focus on the homeroom teacher’s lecture.
***
“Good morning, Sue.”
The next day, fortunately, Enzhe’s disheveled appearance was back to normal.
Her hair was shiny and smooth, her bob was sharp and neat, her uniform was perfectly ironed, and she seemed to have arrived at the academy first, as usual. Her voice, as she greeted Sue, was back to her usual charming tone.
But her eyes were the same as yesterday. Vacant, lifeless black eyes. She had always maintained an imposing aura despite her petite frame because of those eyes.
And then, Enzhe suddenly stood up. Sue, startled, instinctively stepped back.
“Shina.”
The classroom fell silent at the mention of his name. Sue turned her gaze towards the door as Enzhe started walking. Fritz was entering the classroom. Enzhe had recognized him just from his shadow.
“Good morning, Shina.”
Fritz looked down at Enzhe, who had greeted him in a trembling voice, his expression neither happy nor angry. His emerald green eyes held a complex mix of emotions.
“Yes, Enzhe.”
Fritz averted his gaze and walked past her. It was a clear sign of discomfort.
But was Enzhe satisfied with that? She smiled like a child and returned to her seat. Then, just like yesterday, she stared at Fritz’s seat. But today, the seat wasn’t empty.
Fritz, seemingly oblivious to her gaze, rested his chin on his hand and stared down at his book.
…No, he wasn’t oblivious. He was deliberately ignoring her.
And so began a silent tug-of-war between them. The problem was that it was so obvious that everyone else could see it.
“Sigh.”
Acrea’s short sigh came from nearby. Even he, who was known for his emotional detachment, was exasperated. It couldn’t be helped, considering he had been mediating between those two for years. Sue felt a twinge of sympathy for him.
The awkward tug-of-war continued for days, and rumors of Enzhe’s strange behavior spread beyond the Golden Lion Class.
Even in the Black Eagle Class, there were baseless rumors about Enzhe and Fritz breaking off their engagement and someone cheating. Hanjee even demanded an explanation from Sue. But she didn’t know any more than the other students.
Another unsettling fact was that Enzhe’s treatment of Sue had become noticeably gentler. It wasn’t just Sue, she was also gentler with Melaine and everyone else.
“…So my sister was joking about that…”
“Haha, Marquess Vava has a good sense of humor.”
“Right? Hahaha…”
Even as her two lackeys were having a lively conversation on the terrace, Enzhe just smiled faintly, her face lifeless and devoid of malice.
Melaine and Sue were laughing and acting like they had no worries, but they were both exhausted from constantly watching their surroundings.
In the end, there was nothing they could do directly. The only thing they could do was to chatter mindlessly beside Enzhe, providing white noise so she could observe Fritz without being noticed.
Sue’s anxiety grew with each passing day. She didn’t know how long she had been living in this state of tension. Or rather, she had always been living in tension, but now she had to constantly clutch her waist as if she had a stomachache, fearing the snake curse would activate at any moment. She almost wanted to be bossed around by Enzhe, because that way, at least she would know what to expect. The thought made her feel like she was becoming a masochist.
As she entered the classroom, her face gloomy, she saw a familiar face.
“Byron, where have you been?”
“…Noel, you’re here?”
She hadn’t seen Noel since school started, perhaps because of his Knights duties.
“Why the long face? Are you sick?”
Noel asked, looking at her gloomy expression with concern.
“No, I’m… fine.”
Sue averted her gaze and glanced at him nervously. His voice and his expression weren’t as dark as they had been when they met in Emnon. His clear voice and the smile on his lips were the same as always.
‘I was worried that he would be acting strange too.’
Sue smiled, relieved. But she was also a little concerned for him. Ironically, the person Noel liked was Enzhe. How would he react if he knew that the academy was in turmoil because of her?
“By the way, did something happen? The atmosphere is strange.”
It seemed like Noel had also noticed the strange atmosphere at the academy.
“…Lady Enzhe and Master Fritz had a fight.”
“Lopetrefer and Fritz?”
Sue briefly explained what had happened over the past few days.
“Hmm… I see.”
Noel rested his chin on his hand and looked out the window. His indifferent tone suggested that he wasn’t particularly bothered.
It was Sue who was disappointed by his lack of reaction. She was surprised by her own feelings.
“…In novels, this is when the person with the unrequited love steps up…”
“Huh?”
Sue coughed, peeking at him. Noel turned to look at her, as if he hadn’t heard her properly. He stared at her blankly, then burst out laughing.
“Byron, are you trying to push me towards her?”
“No, I’m… not.”
Sue denied it, flustered. Noel chuckled and looked back out the window.
“It’s fine. Lopetrefer wouldn’t look at me anyway, considering she has such a wonderful fiancé like Fritz.”
Sue, who had been silent for a moment, muttered,
“…You never know what might happen in life.”
“Ah, that’s true.”
He agreed simply.
Sue was a little troubled.
I’m actually encouraging his love life?
She couldn’t even figure out what was going on with Enzhe, let alone give advice to someone else. But beneath her tangled emotions, her feelings were actually quite simple.
It wasn’t so much that she wanted her ‘friend’ to find love, but his resigned expression was making her feel suffocated.
“Byron, I read all the letters you sent.”
“Huh?”
“The letters. You said you sent them.”
Sue’s face brightened at the unexpected words.