By lunchtime, the whole school was buzzing with the news that Aidalia Kendal had stolen the exam paper and tried to frame Megara when she got caught.
"What happened last night? You didn't come to class without a word."
"I had a headache and went back to my room."
"Really? I was worried something big had happened to you."
Diane, who was stirring her strawberry compote, let out a deep sigh and put her hand on her chest. She was the only one who had worried about Neris' safety last night.
"Aidalia, she not only stole the exam paper but also tried to frame others. I thought it was just a myth that the second-place student would try to trap the first-place student out of jealousy! How could she do that?"
Aidalia wasn't actually the second-place student, but Neris didn't correct Diane. The words, although not entirely accurate, captured the essence of the situation.
It was Megara, the real second-place student, who had masterminded the whole thing.
"She knew how to get out of trouble."
In her past life, Megara had also faced crises.
No one is immune to crises, especially when acting as the Crown Prince's de facto fiancée and interfering in state affairs with his tacit approval.
When she meddled in big affairs, she naturally had to take responsibility.
"She was good at shifting the blame to others."
Surprisingly, or not surprisingly, Megara had a habit of cleverly deflecting criticism to Neris whenever things went wrong.
Then, Megara, the Rikendros Duke, and even the palace officials who were wary of the Crown Prince would believe that Neris was to blame, as if that had been the case from the start.
Even now, Megara's acting skills were impressive, as seen in the same classroom. If she had tried a bit harder, she could have easily escaped the situation.
Neris had given her a hint when she left, making it even easier.
The Kendal Duke was a respectable high-ranking noble, not as powerful as the Rikendros Duke but still a duke. You don't just become a duke.
So, if it weren't for this situation, Megara would never have turned against Aidalia.
"A situation like this" referred to the need to publicly punish a traitor who dared to defy her.
Megara enjoyed having complete control over people, and at least in the school, the children's world was limited to the classroom.
From Megara's perspective, Aidalia was a traitor who tried to destroy her kingdom.
And... no other words should be spoken about it.
"She'll thoroughly crush Aidalia."
The story that the public believes can become the truth over time, and it even has the power to change the memories of people who know the actual facts.
The student cafeteria, which was already noisy with the sounds of eating and students chatting, became even noisier.
Neris and Diane glanced up to see who had entered the cafeteria. It was Megara, who looked pitifully thin and pale, as if she had been ill.
The 1st-grade students, who seemed to have decided to take sides, surrounded Megara and spoke to her with concern.
"Are you okay, Megara? You must have been really shocked!"
"How could she do that to you? You've always been so kind to her!"
The omitted "she" obviously referred to Aidalia. Megara shook her head, looking distressed, as she went to buy food.
"Don't say that. Aidalia must have had her reasons."
"You're too kind."
"Yeah, you can say that, but not me!"
The students gathered around Megara expressed their emotions, each saying something.
Some were moved by Megara's saintly words, while others were outraged by Aidalia's character. It was a ridiculous sight, considering that these students had been praising Aidalia's kindness just the night before.
Neris glanced at Megara's shameless face. Megara's gaze briefly met hers as she chose her lunch menu.
Their eyes met, as if by chance.
Megara took a moment to smile, but Neris smiled warmly at her without hesitation.
Soon, Megara's fierce glare followed, but Neris simply turned away, ignoring her.
A short while later, the cafeteria entrance became noisy again, and the commotion was soon replaced by an uncomfortable silence.
Diane whispered to Neris.
"Aidalia's here."
"Yeah."
Neris didn't miss Hiss Angerson, a classmate, glancing at Aidalia.
Hiss had liked Aidalia since they were children, and there had been rumors of a potential marriage between them, even after Neris became the Crown Princess.
Aidalia's face was also pale and thin, like Megara's.
Normally, Aidalia wouldn't have entered the student cafeteria alone, and if she did, she would have gone straight to her usual seat with her friends.
However, the group that Aidalia usually hung out with didn't even glance in her direction.
Aidalia herself couldn't have been unaware of the atmosphere. She didn't look around and went straight to the cold food corner of the student cafeteria, buying a sandwich without even looking.
As she finally looked up to find a seat, Hiss seemed about to call out to her.
But he soon caught Megara's eye and closed his mouth, looking uncertain. Megara herself was smiling innocently.
Aidalia quietly walked to an empty table and sat down alone. She took a few bites of her sandwich and then started coughing.
"Cough! Ah, cough!"
In the student cafeteria, there were designated seats for the servants and the students. Simon, who had been watching Aidalia from afar, quickly got up and gave her water.
After drinking the water and calming down her cough, Aidalia was met with silent stares. No one asked if she was okay, but instead, they gave her sharp, piercing glances.
If it were Alekto, he would have teased her, asking what was wrong. If it were Rianon, she would have turned bright red and glared at each person.
But Aidalia simply handed her barely eaten sandwich to Simon and stood up, leaving the cafeteria without a word.
Neris didn't take her eyes off Aidalia's back for a long time.
Aidalia Kendal was kind, at least as long as it didn't harm her. So, she only participated in evil deeds when someone else took the lead, pretending to be reluctant.
She was awkwardly getting involved in the villains' plans, and when the real villain changed their stance, she didn't even know how to defend herself.
The words Neris had said to Aidalia, "Thanks to your concern, everything is resolved. Thank you," were, of course, meant to make Megara suspect Aidalia.
Megara had done it to make Aidalia doubt herself and throw her under the bus to clear her own suspicions.
However, there was a hint of sincerity in those words.
If Aidalia hadn't moved Simon last night or brought him to the student council room this morning, Neris would have been in a lot of trouble.
Did Megara really think that Aidalia had betrayed her and told Neris about the exam paper theft in advance?
It was impossible to know, and it didn't matter.
The important thing was that Megara had the power to subtly isolate Aidalia.
Megara went to her usual table with her friends, laughing and chatting, and started eating.
***
After the midterms, assignments poured in. It seemed like the teachers wanted to make sure the students didn't forget what they had learned over the summer break.
Diane was overwhelmed by the assignments for her 1st-grade subjects, while Neris had about five times as much work to do. And on top of that, it was time to apply for 2nd-grade courses.
"The rumor" spread through the students, and everyone heard it.
"Aidalia Kendal transferred to the theology department."
Even Clewin, who wasn't a 1st-grader, mentioned the rumor with a straight face.
The 5th floor of the Zacharia library was quiet, as quiet as it could be during this time of year.
Thanks to the silence, Neris was able to focus on her assignments, piling up books and searching for the necessary parts.
"Are you bored?"
That was the only thing Clewin said, with a hint of a smile on his handsome face.
"Not now."
"You're going to inherit the title of Grand Duke soon. You should read at least one more line when you have time."
Neris hadn't planned to meet Clewin today. She had simply come to the library to study in a quiet place.
Clewin's expression didn't change, even with Neris' casual response.
"You'll be bored if you keep looking at me."
"Then I'll stay bored."
Neris was really busy. She needed to get excellent grades to take different courses with the other 1st-graders next year.
If she took the same classes as the upperclassmen, even if she got average grades, the teachers might say, "Well, she's still young, so let's focus on the basics."
Moreover, the courses Neris had chosen were all taught by enthusiastic teachers who were passionate about their subjects, but that meant the students had to work extremely hard to keep up.
Neris, who spent most of her time studying in the library, was different from Clewin, who seemed to be able to get top grades without much effort. (Although Neris didn't have any classes with Clewin, she had seen his grades posted on the bulletin board in the upperclassmen's classroom.)
"It's cold."
This time, Neris didn't even bother to respond. She thought that her initial impression of Clewin was slightly shattered. She had thought he only spoke when necessary.
A short while later, Clewin got up from his seat, which was across from Neris, and walked away.
Neris didn't pay attention, thinking he was just going to waste time again.
However, just after Clewin hid behind a pillar, Neris heard a whispering sound coming from that direction and froze.
The whisper was so quiet that if the reading room hadn't been so silent, Neris wouldn't have noticed it. The sound was like a bee buzzing in the distance, not even annoying.
However, Neris finally understood why Clewin kept coming to the library, despite it being an unusual place for him to be.
It turned out that her secret spot was also his secret spot, albeit for more practical reasons.
It seemed that he had a meeting with his subordinate today. He must have hidden some kind of communication device near the chair.
Given the chair's design, which didn't quite fit in with the library, Neris suspected that it was originally used for meetings in a different location.
Using the medical library as a secret meeting spot might seem like an odd choice, but upon further thought, it made sense. The library was quiet, and there were areas that were hard to see from the outside.
"Ah, I see."
Neris realized that she had unknowingly sat in the same chair, and it was no wonder that Clewin had drawn a sword.
Neris felt a bit silly, realizing that she had been so comfortable in a spot that was clearly used by an assassin.
"So, that's why he was here today."
Clewin had intentionally revealed his important secret to her.