The air smelled of damp earth and fresh grass, heavy with the sweet scent of flowers growing wild in this forgotten corner of the garden.
In front of me, half-hidden in the undergrowth and low branches of a bush, was a girl sitting on the ground, as if she were part of the landscape.
It was a surreal, almost dreamlike image, and the most absurd part was that she kept eating calmly from her bento even as we stared at each other, as if my presence were as normal as a bird's or a butterfly's.
She was incredibly beautiful, with a beauty that seemed to shine with its own light even in the green gloom of the undergrowth.
But it wasn't her hair, shiny blue like the sky on a clear day, nor her delicate features that drew the most attention. It was her… enormous breasts. They were as big as Mary's, maybe even bigger, and they were impossible to ignore.
(No, don't think about that now, I mentally scolded myself. Make casual conversation. Don't stare at them.)
"Erm, sorry to bother you while you're eating," I said, trying to sound kind and not like a busybody. "But… what are you doing here? You know there's a cafeteria, right?"
She swallowed what was in her mouth naturally and answered with the same calmness someone might use to tell the time:
"I'm eating here because there's no space in the cafeteria. There are no free tables."
"I get that, but… why here specifically?" I insisted, confused.
"I have a little garden here," she explained, pointing with her spoon towards a corner where cherry tomatoes and some herbs were growing. "And sometimes I get fruits or vegetables for my meal."
"I see…" I nodded, processing the information. "Wait!" I exclaimed suddenly, realizing the implications. "You say you have a garden here? Did the school give you permission for that?"
She picked up a piece of tomato wrapped with meat and brought it to her mouth, chewing calmly before answering:
"Of course not. But as long as they don't find out…"
"Uwahh!" I exclaimed, almost involuntarily. It was too risky.
She seemed to understand my concern immediately. Her eyes, a deep blue full of nuance, opened slightly.
"Please, I beg you, don't report me!" her voice sounded genuinely alarmed. "The academy will punish me if they see I made a garden for my food!" She paused and added, with a tone of desperate negotiation: "I-I'll pay you with food if you don't say anything."
(Is she trying to bribe me with food? I thought, feeling a mix of disbelief and tenderness. She's as naive as she is charming. Can you be both at the same time?)
"Don't worry, I won't say anything," I assured her, softening my tone. "I just found it curious."
"Really? Thank you so much!" her eyes shone with a touching intensity, as if I had granted her the greatest favor. Her smile was so radiant it seemed to light up the entire dark corner.
"Well, goodbye," I said, feeling it was time to leave.
"See you!" she waved her hand enthusiastically, as if saying goodbye to a close family member rather than a stranger who had just discovered her secret.
It was all very weird. Too weird.
But that wasn't the only day I ran into her. From then on, I started seeing her from time to time, always in equally peculiar situations.
Sometimes she was eating in the same spot, other times I found her sitting on a back staircase of the gym, reading in peace, or carrying a stack of books so high she could barely see over them for other advanced class girls.
Once, I saw her trip over a root, fall flat on her face, get up as if nothing happened—though with her hair full of dry leaves—and keep carrying those books unfazed, as if tripping was just a natural part of her day.
Everything about her was so strange, so out of place, that it was fascinating. It was like watching a surreal reality show where she was the involuntary protagonist.
I couldn't help but watch her, wondering who this blue-haired, large-breasted girl who grew illegal tomatoes and literally tripped over the world really was.
◇
The night air was cold and sharp, heavy with the smell of wet grass and earth. The academy courtyard, usually bustling and full of life during the day, was plunged into an almost supernatural silence, broken only by the soft whisper of the wind through the stone columns and the distant hoot of an owl.
I had just finished my training—my muscles burned from the effort of wielding the wooden sword again after so long—and was heading towards the exit when I saw her.
There she was. The blue-haired girl. The same one who did such strange things they were impossible to ignore.
She was sweeping the courtyard with a broom whose bristles looked more like a bundle of sharp blades than a cleaning tool. She dragged them over the cobblestones with clumsy but persistent movements, creating a harsh sound that tore through the silence of the night. She wore a thick sweater but in terrible condition—full of holes and torn at the elbows—that clearly didn't protect her from the cold.
"What are you doing?" I asked, approaching carefully so as not to startle her.
She gave a little jump, startled, and turned towards me. Her face lit up with recognition.
"Kya! Ah, it's you… you scared me."
"That's my question," I said, pointing to the broom. "What are you doing sweeping at night? Cleaning duties are done during the day."
"Ah, that's simple," she replied with disconcerting naturalness, as if I had asked her the time. "The girls from my class told me I have to do it since, being a scholarship student, I must 'earn the favor of the class'."
Her words fell on me like a bucket of ice water. But something else caught my attention.
"Scholarship, you say?"
"Yes, I got a scholarship. I didn't expect it, but thanks to that I was able to join the advanced class."
Then I remembered. There was a girl who had won the royal scholarship this year—something very rare—and that's why she was in the advanced class despite being a commoner.
"Were you the one who won the scholarship?"
"Yes… is something wrong?"
"No, it's nothing. It's just… I won it too."
She was as surprised as I was. Her blue eyes widened like saucers.
"Really? Wow! It's amazing that we're both scholarship students."
"Yes, but… your name is Lillie, right? Just to be sure."
"Yes, actually Lillie is a nickname. My real name is Lilliane."
At that moment, the cloud covering the moon faded, and a beam of silver light bathed us both, illuminating our faces with ghostly clarity. I could see her well: her delicate features, her pale skin, those blue eyes that seemed to hold an ocean of secrets. And then, something about her felt deeply familiar.
"Sorry, but… your face looks familiar," I said, frowning.
"Now that you mention it, you look familiar to me too…" she murmured, observing me with sudden intensity.
Suddenly, she reached out her hand towards my face. With a soft but sure gesture, she pushed my bangs back—as if she were looking for something—and then brought her hand to her mouth, surprised.
"Butler-san… is that you?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
"Butler?" I repeated, confused.
And then, as if someone had turned on a light in a forgotten corner of my memory, I remembered.
Years ago, when I was still serving in the principality as a low-ranking butler, I had stepped in to help a girl—blonde, skinny, and tearful—who was being bullied by a fat, arrogant boy at a social gathering dance.
To calm her down, I invited her to dance—her first dance—and gave her an horchata…
"Are you by any chance… the girl I danced with years ago and saved from a fat boy?"
"Y-yes," she confirmed, and a shy but genuine smile illuminated her face. "And you invited me to have my first dance."
It seemed taken from one of those cheesy romantic comedies where the protagonists reunite after years of separation. The world is sometimes very small.
"Oh! It's been a long time… I really didn't recognize you," I admitted, feeling a mix of embarrassment and amazement. "Wait, weren't you blonde? Why is your hair blue now?"
"Oh, about that…" she touched her hair shyly. "I think it would be better to talk in a private place. Since I'm getting very cold…"
She was right. The wind was blowing stronger, and her tattered sweater offered no protection. Without thinking, I took off my jacket and placed it over her shoulders.
"You're right. Let's go eat something hot and reminisce, what do you think?"
"Yes, please!"
"Here, it's very cold," I said, adjusting the jacket on her.
"T-thank you… but what about you?"
"I'll be fine. I've been through worse nights with almost no clothes when I was a child," I replied with a smile.
And so, the two scholarship students—two ghosts from the past—headed together to the same bar I had gone to with the guys, leaving behind the cold and loneliness of the night, with the promise of warmth and stories to share.
◇
The restaurant was as lively as the capital's streets, but that night there were fewer people, which allowed us to get a quiet table where even our own thoughts seemed to resonate clearly. The smell of grilled meat and beer, though present, was faint, drowned out by the low murmur of conversations and the crackling of firewood in the fireplace.
The waitress brought us two steaming plates and a couple of glasses of fruit juice. I missed the beer—bitter and bubbly—but that was a luxury reserved for nobles. The working class had to make do with homemade brews of dubious healthiness.
"Well… can you explain to me why you dyed your hair?" I asked, watching how the electric blue of her mane contrasted with her pale skin. "I didn't recognize you. It's… very blue."
She was devouring her steak with an almost animal hunger, but somehow managed to maintain an aura of delicacy. At least she didn't burp to ruin the moment.
"Well… one day, two years ago, I woke up as usual to help my mother—" she began, her voice a bit pasty from the food. "Ever since my father passed away, it was just us. She was the first to be surprised. When I saw myself in the mirror… there it was. All my hair had turned blue. It was super weird. I had no idea why."
"We went to the only doctor in the village—" she continued, pushing a piece of potato with her fork. "He charged a lot. My mother used her savings to see if I didn't have some illness like dad. He said no, that there was no explanation, but that it wasn't dangerous as long as I didn't feel sick. He said it was a 'natural phenomenon'."
(That doctor should be sued for malpractice.)
"That's clearly a lie," I said, frowning. "It's impossible for someone's hair to just turn blue for no reason."
"I thought that too," she admitted. "But I've been fine since then. Nothing hurts me. As a child, my dad gave me lots of blueberries. Maybe eating so many dyed me from the inside!"
"No… that's not how the human body works. Well…"
(This is a fantasy world where a girl will have several boyfriends and marry all of them. Asking for logic is stupid in the first place.)
"Forget it. The important thing is that you're okay."
"I am," she smiled, and it was as if the sun had illuminated our corner. "Thank you very much for worrying."
She reminded me of a playful puppy. She had a spot of sauce at the corner of her lips. I handed her a napkin without saying anything, and she accepted it with embarrassment.
"What if you go to a doctor here in the capital? They could check you out better."
"I thought about that," she sighed. "But just seeing the prices almost made me faint."
Her smile faded slowly as she spoke.
"Everything is so expensive… The strawberries we grew at home and sold for 3 copper coins a kilo, cost 30 silver here. Not just fruits and vegetables… meat, fish, housing… I have to use the scholarship money to pay for everything, and the semester just started. I'm already broke."
"Broke? But how?"
"Even though I have the scholarship, the academy charged me for the uniform, the books… everything, albeit with a 20% discount. I had to work at an inn when I arrived because I couldn't afford a room. I slept with the owner's dog. It was big, so I never got cold, and sometimes it brought me fish that I secretly grilled to eat."
I dropped my forehead onto the table with a dull thud. When I lifted it, I felt burning anger behind my eyes.
(This place is a damn scam. I'm surprised the common people don't revolt against such absurd prices.)
"I thought I was the only one suffering like this," I confessed, my voice hoarse. "This place is horrible. Everything is too expensive for what they offer. It's much better to live in the countryside."
"I know, right?" she nodded, her eyes shining with empathy. "There's a lot of insecurity here, especially for women."
"I'm glad to have someone to talk to," she said, toying with her glass. "The girls in my class, when they include me in their conversations, it's only to make fun of me for coming from the countryside."
Suddenly, she became shy. She moved her hands awkwardly, as if she didn't know what to do with them.
"Butler-san… you haven't told me your name yet."
"Oh, that's right, I'm so sorry. My name is Alex Ford Lyones, but my acquaintances call me Rex."
"Rex-san, then," she smiled. "My name is Lilliane Lillium. My father, before he died, left me a surname… although if I have children, they won't be able to inherit it. He was an honorary knight, and that only passes to a son."
"Now that we formally know each other… can you tell me about your life? Are you still a butler?"
"Actually… I never was," I admitted, feeling the weight of the memory. "I just accompanied a friend…"
I suddenly fell silent. The image of Ellie—her angry face, the sound of the slap—appeared vividly in my mind.
"Is something wrong?" asked Lillie, with genuine concern.
"Nothing's wrong," I lied, softening my tone. "It's just that, for various reasons, I ended up at the academy. Being a butler was never in my plans."
I quickly changed the subject.
"By the way… would you like to earn some money? I know a place that pays a pittance, but you'll have guaranteed work."
"Really!" her eyes lit up like lanterns. "Any job works! Just with this dinner I spent my last silver coins."
"Please, don't go on… I'm going to cry."
Before we knew it, the owner started turning off the lights. Closing time had arrived. I paid—using my own scarce coins—and we went out into the cold night.
The streets were deserted. The moon, high and cold, was our only companion. I decided to walk her to where she lived. Even the female dormitory wasn't free for scholarship girls.
(How despicable they really are.)
It was then that we saw it.
A crowd was swirling in the middle of the street, forming a tight circle around something we couldn't see. The voices were an anxious murmur, laden with horror.
We passed nearby, trying not to draw attention, and the words reached us like knives.
"I can't believe it… it happened again."
"Lately the streets aren't safe at night."
"What is the Knight Corps doing? They do nothing!"
Then, someone said a name that froze my blood.
"This is undoubtedly the work of Zadu the Cannibal. Only that monster could devour a human being and leave them in the middle of the street like this, as if nothing happened."
(Zadu, huh?)
Lilliane—Lillie, as she asked me to call her—clung to my arm, trembling. For a moment, between the bodies of the onlookers, we caught a glimpse of what lay on the ground: the unrecognizable remains of what was once a person. Torn flesh, exposed bones, a dark stain spreading over the cobblestones.
"How horrible… it really was a person," whispered Lillie, her voice breaking.
"I know," I replied, squeezing her hand against my arm. "I can't imagine the monster that did this."
(Zadu started moving ahead of time, it seems.)
◇
The next morning dawned gray and cold, with heavy rain falling like a blanket of needles on the stone roofs of the academy.
Students ran desperately towards the buildings, their uniforms soaked and their faces gloomy from the weather. Donny, Patrick, and I arrived at the classroom soaked to the bone, the cold seeping into our skin as we waited for the teacher.
It was then that my eyes fell on a solitary figure approaching from the main path. Lillie was struggling forward under a clearly improvised umbrella—sewn with patches from other umbrellas, a mosaic of faded colors and torn fabrics that barely protected her from the rain.
A group of advanced class girls, sheltered under a wide lace umbrella, stopped her at the entrance. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but suddenly, one of them—a blonde with a cruel gaze—slapped her so hard the sound was heard even over the roar of the rain. Lillie fell to the ground, her umbrella broke in two, and water from a nearby puddle splashed onto her uniform, staining it with mud.
Without thinking, I ran towards her with my own umbrella. Something inside me—an instinctive urgency I couldn't explain—drove me to protect her. It wasn't love, I knew; I had the twins behind me, but with Lillie I felt that if I didn't intervene, something terrible would happen.
"What happened? Why did they do that to you?" I asked, covering her with my umbrella as I helped her up.
She smiled, as if nothing had happened, although a red mark burned on her cheek and her clothes were soaked with mud.
"It was my fault. Yesterday I stopped cleaning because… we went to eat together. If I had done it after my supervisor ordered me to, there wouldn't have been a problem."
"Supervisor?" I repeated, confused.
"Yes, a girl from my class watches me from time to time. Yesterday she couldn't find me, that's why they lectured me today."
She tried to stand up, but stopped with a groan of pain—she had been hit on the ankle.
"Ow, it hurts… but I have to go to class."
Seeing her like that—submissive, hurt, and still smiling—I couldn't contain myself any longer.
"That's enough! You don't have to pretend anymore. Don't you remember what you said yesterday? That you were grateful to have someone to share your problems with. Tell me what's wrong so I can help you! This is bullying!"
A tear escaped her eyes, tracing a path through the dirt on her face. Even so, she was still radiant.
"Even if it is as you say… what can I do? They are nobles, and I'm just a commoner. I can't do anything. You also said yesterday you were a baronet, which is almost like a commoner to them. If you get involved, they could do horrible things to you. Their leader once threatened me with a knife."
"With a knife?" I asked, feeling the cold rain turn to ice inside me.
(What is this? Now that I think about it, Lillie's situation is a lot like what the heroine experienced in the game. The bullying event happened when she interacted with the capture targets.)
She was right. We were insignificant in the academy's hierarchy. But I remembered someone—someone whose name alone was enough to stop even the most entrenched cruelty.
"Come on," I said, taking her by the hand. "I know someone who can help you. But first, we need to clean you up."
"Who do you know?" she asked, with a mix of hope and skepticism.
(The most powerful person among the first-year students, according to the game's logic. The one who could solve problems with just her name.)
"The daughter of Duke Rysburg," I said, and saw her eyes widen. "Eliza."
◇
After changing into our gym clothes—a simple, loose uniform that smelled of lavender and dampness—we headed to the center of the academy, where various administrative departments and meeting rooms were located.
This place was like a mini-university within the campus, with labyrinthine corridors and doors hiding everything from dusty archives to luxurious offices.
In the game, this sector was where Ellie, the villainess, would secretly meet with the heroine to intimidate her or set traps.
We arrived at a double door of carved oak, with golden fittings that shone under the dim light of the wall lamps. I knocked determinedly, and after a few seconds, the door opened just enough to reveal a girl shorter than Lillie, with black hair tied in two buns that looked like panda ears and thin-rimmed glasses that made her critical eyes look smaller.
"What do you want?" she asked, her voice more a sharp whisper than a question.
"Good afternoon. We came to ask for help from the leader of the first-year girls. It's… help for her," I said, stepping aside to show Lillie, who was hiding behind me, terrified.
The girl with glasses scrutinized us with a gaze that seemed to weigh our worth in grams.
"Your names for presentation."
"Alex Ford Lyones."
"Lilliane Lillium," murmured Lillie, almost breathlessly.
"Wait there."
The door closed with a soft but definitive click. Almost three minutes passed—counted by the rapid beating of my heart—until it opened again. This time it was another girl, taller, with chestnut hair tied in an impeccable ponytail.
"Come in, please. Wipe your feet before entering," she instructed, in a voice that left no room for replies.
We entered. The interior was surprising: an office worthy of a head of state. Shelves filled with leather-bound books, porcelain vases with fresh flowers, a marble statue of an ancient goddess, and a red velvet carpet that absorbed our footsteps. At the back, near an arched window showing the rain hitting the panes, was a solid mahogany desk. Behind it, four girls stared at us fixedly. The one who had opened the door joined them, and now there were five. In the center, with an expression that chilled the blood, was Ellie. She looked at me as if I were a particularly annoying insect.
"So, scholarship student Lyones," she said, in a tone that cut the air like a blade. "Can you tell me what business you have with me? I don't recall ever exchanging a word with you before."
Her hostility was palpable. (Was she still that angry about what happened at that dance years ago?) I swallowed and began to explain.
"We've never met, but in my classroom I heard that the first and second year girls, when they have problems, come to you, daughter of Duke Rysburg. That's why we've come… for you to help us, please. Lillie…"
I moved aside so Lillie could introduce herself.
"Nice to meet you. I am the scholarship student Lil—"
"I'm not interested in hearing what I already know," Ellie interrupted impatiently. "Tell me your problems."
Lillie began to recount everything she had experienced since her arrival: how after classes she was taken to a secluded place where a girl with blonde hair and braids intimidated her. The description felt strangely familiar to me. Ellie showed the same interest I had and asked:
"Who is the girl who intimidates you?"
Lillie uttered the name with a trembling voice:
"Her name is Heidi Ford Wright."
"Wright?!" we all exclaimed in unison, except Lillie, who was startled.
"This is bad. Very bad," I murmured to myself.
Ellie visibly paled.
"You say her name is Heidi, from the Wright family? You didn't get the name wrong?"
"That's right. That's her name. The first thing she did was introduce herself."
We brought our hands to our foreheads, overwhelmed by the magnitude of the problem.
"Of all the possible noble daughters, it had to be her," Ellie sighed. "If it had been a Rosebrayer, it would have been manageable. But that girl, of all of them…"
Lillie was terrified, not understanding why everyone was reacting as if they had touched something forbidden. I didn't blame her.
(The Wright family, and especially their only daughter, were enemies in the game—a central part of the nobility's corruption. In the commoner rebellion event, they were the pillar that triggered a civil war in the capital. But here, the real problem was that Heidi only appeared to bother the heroine after Ellie's arc. What is she doing intimidating Lillie? It's true that in the game it was because the heroine was a scholarship student, and here she isn't. Wait a minute! That's it! How did I not notice before? Lillie took the scholarship! Therefore, in some forced way, the game's events are targeting her, while the heroine is with the capture targets. At this rate, the royal family's assassination attempt on the heroine will happen, but with Lillie as the target! There must be a way to avoid it. But, just like with Jason, this could be some kind of bug that doesn't follow the game's story.)
I looked at Ellie for answers. For some reason, she quickly averted her gaze.
(Now is not the time for problems from the past, Ellie, I thought, frustrated.)
"Listen well, scholarship student," said Ellie, regaining her composure. "You've gotten yourself, or rather, you've been put into a very, very big problem. This is something even I can't solve directly."
"Really? Is it that terrible?" asked Lillie, trembling like a cornered rabbit.
I took her shoulder to calm her, but as I did, I felt Ellie shoot me a murderous look. She returned to her usual seriousness and continued:
"That girl's family is a count's family. Mine is a ducal one. If I interfere with her, it could provoke her father to retaliate against mine. There are nobles like them who use any excuse to cause conflicts. That's why I don't think I can help you directly, but I will make sure the academy gets involved, since it's their obligation to prevent this from happening. I give you my word: I will do everything in my power without getting directly involved with her to help you. Just give me time and I ask you to endure it."
"Thank you for your words. I hope the academy can solve this," said Lillie, her voice so weak it was barely audible.
"For everyone's sake, I hope so too."
When Lillie turned to leave, I couldn't contain myself any longer.
"Is that really all you're going to say?" I exploded, with an anger that surprised even me. "Can you really do nothing? You're the daughter of a duke, and she's the daughter of a count! You could crush her family if you wanted, and you say you won't do anything!"
A strange anger invaded me—intense, irrational. Lillie took my arm, trying to calm me down.
"Rex-san, you heard her. She can't get involved because it would bring problems to her family."
"That's nonsense!" I shouted, not caring who heard me. "She's the daughter of a duke, and the other side is a count of dubious reputation. The palace could investigate them, but they do nothing, that bunch of useless!"
I had gone too far. I knew it, but something inside me refused to be silent. Ellie's entourage reprimanded me:
"You have no idea what you're talking about!"
"You came asking for help, but you demand it as if it were her obligation!"
Then Ellie stood up. Her blue eyes pierced through me with a coldness that made the air heavy.
"Do you think it's that easy? You're not from this country. You have no idea what the political situation is like here. The palace is like a small fuse; any spark can set off an internal conflict. No one wants a crisis. I want to help that girl, but I can't risk my family's neck for a student."
Hearing those words, I finally understood why she had stopped talking to me years ago. It wasn't just pride; it was fear. Fear of consequences. Fear of failure.
"I thought you had changed," I said, bitterly. "But you're still the same girl with that stupid pride. I just hope nothing bad happens… because otherwise, I'll have to get involved."
"Eh? Involved? Wait, Rex-san, what do you mean by that?" asked Lillie, alarmed.
I left the room without looking back, with Lillie following closely. My heart was pounding, and I felt a strange liberation, as if I had emptied something that had been filling up in silence for years. The rain kept falling outside, but now, instead of cold, I felt the heat of determination. If Ellie wouldn't act, I would. And the consequences… well, let them be what they may.
◇◇◇
When Rex left, Ellie let out a long, heavy sigh, as if she had been holding her breath for hours. She sank into her leather chair, her back straight but her shoulders slightly slumped by the weight of the decision she had just made. Her entourage—four girls with sharp gazes and impeccable postures—grouped in a semicircle in front of her, waiting in silence.
"What are your opinions on this situation?" asked Ellie, without looking up from the desk.
They all responded in unison, as if they had practiced the choreography of obedience:
"Very bad for you if you decide to interfere."
"The Wright family will use any opportunity to cause problems for the Duke."
"It's better to leave it to the academy, since it's supposed to be a neutral place."
"I feel sorry for that girl, but causing an internal war brings nothing good for the palace."
Ellie nodded slowly, but her mind was already elsewhere. She changed the question with an abrupt turn in the conversation:
"What are your opinions on the scholarship student? I told all of you to investigate him when you were free."
The first to speak was the short girl with black hair and glasses, whose voice was as precise as her notes:
"According to palace information, he was exiled from his home in the Principality for stopping a corrupt official. There are no details, but it's rumored to have been an act of insubordination."
Next was the girl with chestnut hair in a ponytail, crossing her arms:
"Are the rumors true that years ago he defeated the son of Count Zackley? There are no official records of any duel, but the Zackley family servants mention it in their conversations."
Then came a girl with a calm appearance, closed eyes, and long blonde hair that looked like silk:
"Teacher information catalogs him as average, like all regular class students. There's nothing noteworthy about him academically."
And finally, a girl with an intense gaze and short black hair:
"Is all his information true? Could he be some ex-noble who deceived the palace? Everything about him is very doubtful. His record is… convenient."
They continued discussing, but Ellie was no longer listening. She murmured to herself, so low that only her lips moved:
"You haven't changed at all, Rex-chan. But I have changed."
"If you were in my shoes, you would understand that growing up as the daughter of a duke is the worst thing that could have happened to me. Until I met you…"
Her current problem wasn't fighting that Wright bitch, but another—one who was making her life impossible in a much more personal and dangerous way. (When Her Majesty the Queen finds out about this, there will be a huge problem in the palace, she thought with bitterness.)
Ellie remembered what had happened yesterday afternoon, like an open wound.
After a hectic day, she had gone to rest in the academy's private garden—a place only advanced class students could enter. There, among the rose bushes and fountains, she found the prince lovingly embracing the heroine, Lydia. Her heart shrank with rage and pain. She approached, shouting:
"What are you doing, Your Highness? She is a…!"
The prince turned to her with a look of such intense repulsion that Ellie felt the ground give way beneath her feet. Before she could finish, he did the unthinkable: he slapped her. The dry sound echoed in the silent garden.
In this country, raising a hand to a noblewoman was forbidden—not by written law, but by a social and moral rule as old as the nobility itself. What the prince did was witnessed by several interns and servants, whose eyes widened.
Before leaving with Lydia, the prince said to Ellie in a cold voice:
"What I do with her is my problem. What you do with her is my problem. So don't mess with her, or I won't be so generous next time."
As they walked away, Ellie overheard Lydia say:
"Y-Your Highness, why did you slap her? That's wrong…"
"Lydia, don't worry. She is a bad woman, unlike you. That's why there's nothing wrong with what I did."
Ellie stood there, touching her burning cheek. She noticed the students and servants looking at her with a mix of pity and morbid curiosity. She ran away, her pride shattered.
Now, after remembering yesterday and seeing Rex—so different and yet so like the boy she once knew—Ellie smiled grimly.
◇
"So that's what happened," I said, gesturing towards Lillie, who was hiding shyly behind me. "Everyone, welcome Lillie."
I introduced her to my friends. I told them her story—the scholarship, the bullying, the desperation—and, to my surprise, they didn't take it indifferently. Patrick took off his glasses to clean them, preventing us from seeing his moist eyes. Donny clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white.
"You must have had a hard time until now," murmured Patrick, his voice softer than usual.
"Damn it! Those noble girls are trash," growled Donny, hitting the table so hard the cutlery jumped.
Lillie laughed, a fragile but genuine sound.
"Thank you very much. But… is it okay for me to be with you?"
We answered in unison, like a discordant but sincere chorus:
"No problem. After all, we're in the same situation."
"We're outcasts in our own classroom."
"These idiots see us as trash. We're at the bottom of the hierarchy."
"Hahaha, I see."
Donny raised his fist to the sky, with a smile that seemed to defy the entire world.
"Alright! To celebrate our new comrade, let's eat a lot."
"It's lunchtime, Donny-kun. We can only eat what's on the menu," Patrick reminded him pragmatically.
"Then let's go for dinner tonight!" insisted Donny, completely ignoring him.
Lillie nodded, with a smile that for the first time reached her blue eyes.
"I agree. It will be fun."
"Alright, let's go—!"
Suddenly, we were surrounded.
A group of advanced class girls, flanked by butlers with impassive expressions, closed the circle around our table. From among them, one stepped forward. She had blonde hair tied in two perfect braids that coiled like donuts on either side of her head. It was Heidi Ford Wright.
"Hey, scholarship student," she said, in a voice sweet as poison, "what do you think you're doing?"
"Yesterday we saw you going to that Rysburg bitch… did you rat me out?"
Her calm expression faded, replaced by the cold mask of a killer.
"You piece of shit, you dare rat me out? Do you want to die?"
Immediately, Lillie prostrated herself on the floor, shouting with all her might:
"That's not it! It was a mistake. I went to ask for advice about a problem I have with my subjects, that's all. I didn't tell her anything about you!"
The fear in her voice was palpable. Heidi laughed, a hollow and cruel sound, as if she had just heard the funniest joke in the world.
"Good. Go buy our lunch."
Suddenly, Donny stepped between them.
"Who do you think you are to order her like that?"
Before he could say more, one of the butlers struck him in the throat with brutal precision. Donny fell to the floor, coughing and choking.
Heidi only glanced at him.
"What is trash like you, an ex-marquis, doing daring to speak to me? You should be thankful I didn't leave you in the shit, where you belong."
I decided to protect him. I stood in front of Donny, with my hands raised in a peace gesture.
"I apologize for my friend's offense. Please, allow me to make it up to you."
But Heidi didn't want apologies. She suddenly became enraged and threw a punch straight to my stomach. The air escaped my lungs. Then, blow after blow, while she ordered her servants to kick me.
"Why is a piece of shit like you disrespecting me? Trash shouldn't talk to humans! You only serve to be stepped on!"
One of the girls in her entourage, with emerald green hair, approached with a steaming cup of coffee. She handed it to Heidi, who, with a sadistic smile, poured it over me. It was hot—not boiling, but enough to make my skin burn instantly. I screamed in pain, but more than the physical, it was the humiliation that burned inside me. I had never experienced such deep shame before. I wished the earth would swallow me.
When they finished, Heidi and her group walked away as if nothing had happened.
"For today I'm satisfied," she said, without turning around. "But I don't know if I will be tomorrow."
As soon as they left, Lillie hurried to clean me with her own shirt, her hands trembling.
"Why did you do that? Now they'll target you too."
"It was personal," I replied, as Patrick and Donny helped me up. "Let's go to the infirmary."
There, after the nurse treated my wounds and applied ointment to the superficial burns, they let me rest. The guys left, promising to return later. Lillie stayed for a moment, but also left at my insistence.
"They're gone," I whispered to myself, knowing it was time to face my reasons.
I got into that trouble for two reasons. First, Heidi and her family are enemies in the game. They will become a future problem for the heroine, but now they have Lillie in their sights. By intervening, I've become their target. Kirchner, Heidi… they will all become my enemies sooner or later. Now I have the excuse to act. That's why I said it was personal. What that bitch did to me will not go unpunished. I will make sure she begs for mercy when I'm done with her.
For some reason, the anger inside me surged with an intensity that scared me. These kinds of thoughts weren't normal for me.
Then, the second reason: the infirmary door opened. A familiar face appeared—Prince Ethan. He asked the nurse not to let anyone in and approached my bed.
Our eyes met.
"Finally we can talk after a long time."
"Please tell me you didn't cause a scene just to talk to me. That would be the dumbest thing in the world."
"Hahaha, sorry."
"Heavens, you're still as weird as ever."
It had been a long time. Ethan was that lonely child who was always reading in the corners of the palace. When he started hanging out with me, Ellie, and his older sister, he began to smile and be more expressive. When I stopped seeing Ellie, I lost him too—not because he rejected me, but because she was my entry point to the palace.
"Now tell me, why did you cause this problem?"
"Well, I knew it was the only way for you to come. It's impossible to do it normally, since you're the prince and I'm a commoner in this country."
Ethan added:
"Also because my brother's friends would use this meeting to mock me. So I'm grateful you didn't seek me out openly."
Thanks to that, Ethan relaxed. We talked about our lives since that day. The reason for seeking out this problem was simple: I wanted to know if we were still friends. It seems we were.
I took the opportunity to ask him two questions.
"Hey, do you know any rumors about the prince and Ellie?"
Ethan's cheerful expression faded.
"The palace will find out sooner or later. The academy hasn't let it leak, but I'll tell you: that first-year student—Lydia—is causing not only a problem for the palace, but also for the fiancées of those five. They haven't found out yet, but when they do during the holidays, the palace will explode like never before."
"Is it really that serious?"
"Yesterday several students saw how my brother slapped Eliza. The fiancés of those girls get just as aggressive over Lydia. None of their families will like this. Even Matthias's family will be involved, since they belong to the ministers. It's all a pressure cooker about to explode, and that girl is the trigger."
I couldn't believe it. Unlike the game, this problem—the capture targets causing conflicts with their fiancées—hadn't occurred. I knew it was possible, but not this serious.
After that, I said:
"I have one last question."
"Tell me, what is it? I hope it's something good."
Before telling him, I blushed. This was private, but I really wanted to know.
"Tell me, is Queen Sophie still as beautiful as ever?"
I haven't been able to get the Queen out of my head since I saw her. I've thought about her beauty and her sensual body ever since. I've even had to… relieve myself… just by thinking about her.
I looked at Ethan. He had an empty expression in his eyes.
"Marie onee-chan was right when she told me you would ask that. Also, for asking that, you could be executed."
"I know… but for a woman so beautiful, if I could kiss her, I would die gladly. Especially with those enormous breasts… if I could put my face between them, I would gladly accept torture."
"If I saw her again, I would lay down a path of roses for her to walk on and admire her beauty. Especially because now I can see her cleavage from above and no longer from below… back then I didn't know how lucky I was."
Ethan stood up and left the room, not without saying to me:
"Eliza doesn't hate you. That's all I'll say."
I was surprised by that unexpected declaration. What did he mean? Could it be that Ellie still…?
I didn't have time to process it. The door closed, and I was left alone with my bruises, my questions, and the echo of an anger that promised to change everything.