When Monica recalled her memories about her father, the only thing she could remember was his back figure.
His figure who was facing the table throughout the days as a researcher.
Dad… Dad…
Hoping that he could turn his gaze to her, the young Monica could only reach out her hand toward his back figure… only to pull her hand back.
She understood her father was doing an important job, that's why she didn't want to bother him.
But, as if he heard Monica's inner voice, he stopped his writing hand, then turned his gaze at Monica.
Behind his glasses put on his face full of beard were the calm eyes of an intelligent person. Her father always has a calm demeanor.
Her father reached out the hand she was pulling back, and wrapped it around with both of his hands. That made Monica happy, to unable to hold her voices.
"…Ehe… Dad…"
"Hmm? Am I really that old?"
"Your Highness, there's no need to listen to this little girl's nonsense."
"Oh, I thought you're going to wake her up with a slap?"
"W-Well… I mean… this girl is sick…"
A familiar voice came from just above her.
Monica groaned softly before opening her eyes.
Apparently, she was on a bed in the infirmary. It was the same place she had been taken to before.
Monica found two figures standing beside her sleeping bed. Sparkling in the slightest light, it's honey blonde and platinum blonde.
"Your Highness and… Lord Ashley…?"
Felix Ark Ridill, the student council president, and Cyril Ashley, the vice president.
The one that grasping Monica's hand was Felix.
Why are these two people here? Why is Felix holding onto Monica's hand?
Monica's mind, which had begun to slowly awaken, vaguely recalled the events that had led her to this point.
If I recall correctly, my head felt dizzy after drank that bitter tea…
From that point on, the rest of her memory was very vague. She felt like having a nightmare.
"You were drugged by the daughter of Count Norn at the tea party. Being poisoned, you were in a terrible stupor."
"!!!"
Monica paled quickly and pulled her own hand out of Felix's. She then rolled off the bed and forced her still weak body to place her forehead against the floor.
"Hey, little girl, what are you doing!?"
Cyril sounded surprised and tried to get Monica to stand up.
But Monica remained to prostrate on the floor, her motionless lips quivering as she squeezed out the words.
"…I apologize… for any inconvenience… I may… have caused you."
As soon as she said the word, she felt nauseated by it. Her head was spinning and she felt dizzy.
Still, she felt she had to apologize. Because Monica had ruined the tea party and caused a commotion, that's all.
"I apologize… for not able to live up as the student council members…"
Tears welled up in her eyes as she apologized. Somehow, the back of her eyes was extremely hot. Tears spilled from her tear glands, which had become even looser than usual.
"Miss Norton, please raise your head."
Felix dropped to his knees and stroked Monica's hair. But Monica couldn't raise her head.
They must be so disappointed in her, thinking she's an ignorant person who can't even behave properly at a tea party.
There were so many things she could think of to blame herself for. As she was grinding her own heart out, thinking of endless words to blame herself with, a hand plunged into Monica's armpit.
That hand lifted Monica like lifting a kitten.
"Hey! How dare you make His Highness kneel before you!"
It was Cyril who lifted Monica up.
Ah, because of her inability to conduct herself, Lord Ashley got mad at her again… thought Monica sobbingly, only responded with a grunt by Cyril.
"You were a victim! Why would a victim apologizing?"
"B-But…"
"A sick person with a deathly complexion shouldn't talk nonsense! Next time you get out of bed without permission, I'll tie you to the bed with a rope!"
Cyril raised his eyebrows as he made a rather frightening declaration.
"My, what are you raving about in the infirmary? …My.Dear.Bro.Ther?"
The curtain dividing the bed swung, revealing nothing but a beautiful face.
Straight black hair and lapis lazuli eyes. A young lady with beautiful looks and a gloomy atmosphere, she was Claudia.
Brother?
Cyril stared at Claudia with a startled look on his face, then bent his lips into a frown and fell silent.
Felix, on the other hand, gave Claudia a beaming smile.
"Miss Claudia Ashley, thanks to your excellent first aid, a student was saved. As student council president, I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you."
"…it's my pleasure to help."
For some reason, Claudia looked uncomfortable even though she was being thanked by the prince of this country.
At this attitude, which could be taken as disrespectful, Cyril raised his eyebrows.
"His Highness has honored you with his compliments. You should show a little more appreciation."
"Oh my, you want me to wag my tail like a praised, stupid dog like someone did?"
Claudia managed to pull off a clever move of snickering with a blank expression on her face.
As expected, the attitude that struck a nerve in most people made Cyril popped his veins.
"Who are you calling a dog!?"
"No one said anything about you, my dear brother. My, what's wrong with your face? I had tried to carry the sick Monica Norton in my arms, but because of my lack of strength, after halfway through, I ran out of energy, so I asked the president to take over, that is. My.Dear.Bro.Ther."
At the words spoken in an indifferent voice, Cyril turned red, then pale, and finally, his face turned completely white. He simply felt so pathetic.
"…I'm sorry… if I'm heavy…"
As Monica did her best to follow up, Cyril crunched and gnashed his teeth. But he didn't say anything.
What should I do? thought Monica in fluster, and Felix stroked Monica's cheek.
"You're not heavy. In fact, I'm surprised you're so light. You need to eat a little more."
"Y-Yes…"
After Felix put Monica's blanket back on, he turned his attention to Cyril.
"Well, I guess we shouldn't stay too long in a woman's infirmary. We'll be leaving soon."
Cyril's expression, which had been drawn out by Claudia, returned and he nodded "yes" to Felix's words.
Then he glanced at Monica and told her.
"Monica Norton. You don't have to come to the student council room today. If you do, consider that you have no work to do there."
"You should go back to your dormitory and get a good rest."
With that, Cyril and Felix turned their backs on Monica.
Claudia took a handkerchief out of her pocket and fluttered it around to show him off. With a blank expression, of course.
This blatant attitude of Claudia's made Cyril's temples tighten.
"Claudia. Keep an eye on that little girl to make sure she doesn't slip out of infirmary to come to the student council room."
"…Oh my, if you're worried, why didn't you just say so? You looked at Monica Norton's sleeping face with great concern, My.Dear.Bro.Ther."
Cyril was shaking all over and Felix was chuckling at the interaction between the two siblings as they walked out of the infirmary.
After they left, the infirmary instantly became quiet. Monica gathered her courage and spoke to Claudia.
"Um… T-Thank you very much for your help with the first aid…"
"…how far do you remember?"
"Up to the point where I drank the tea…"
After that, all she could remember was that she was having a nightmare. The next thing she knew, she was on a bed in the infirmary.
Claudia sat down in a nearby chair and brushed back her long black hair.
"The tea was laced with a pupil enlarging eye drop."
"…an eye drop? …ah, that's why, even though it's a bright place, Their pupils were…"
Monica had felt uncomfortable with Caroline ever since she had confronted her at the tea party in the courtyard.
Normally, when someone was in a brightly lit place, their pupils become smaller in order to regulate the amount of light entering your eyes. However, Caroline's pupils were wide open.
"Um, did Lady Caroline have an eye disease?"
"Those eye drops are for cosmetic purposes. The idiots who blindly believe that the bigger your pupils are, the more beautiful you are, will get involved with those eye drops without knowing their side effects."
The eye drops Caroline was carrying were originally intended to be used for eye diseases. As long as they are used in the proper dosage, they are not a problem, but if used in the wrong way, they can be poisonous.
And, she put it into Monica's teacup.
"Those eye drops were laced with a mixture of ingredients that made them very bitter. They were planning to make you a laughing stock by making you choke from drinking the tea laced with it…"
That's why Caroline had chosen the more crowded courtyard.
The whole idea was to ridicule Monica in front of the crowd as she choked uncomfortably as she drank her tea.
However, what Caroline miscalculated was the fact that Monica drank it down.
"That… uh… was bitter, but it wasn't undrinkable."
"What do you think the creature's sense of taste is for? It's not for savoring delicious food. It's to distinguish between flavors and avoid the dangers of toxins."
Monica was scolded in a roundabout way for not being able to avoid danger, and she fell silent.
She might not have been careful enough, that was for sure. But the fact that Caroline and the others had bad intentions toward her was quite obvious, so she shouldn't have said anything at all.
Claudia mentioned that Monica couldn't vomit the poison properly, so they forced her to drink diluted saltwater to make her vomit the poison. When she had emptied her stomach, she was given milk to protect the mucous membrane of her stomach.
"The contents of your stomach were almost empty when I made you vomit. Judging by your appearance, you're underweight for your age, and I don't feel you're trying to maintain your health."
"Ugh…"
She couldn't eat her lunch today was because she running away from Claudia. Still, the way Claudia pointed out Monica's lack nutrition has similarity to Rosalie's was painful to hear.
Looking Monica's hanging down her head downheartedly, Claudia spoke to her in the same indifference tone.
"The smaller figure of that person, the less poison the dose to be lethal… Poisons that are not lethal to a normal adult figure person can be lethal to a child figure person… You've almost lost your life."
"…a child figure person…"
Laying back on the bed, Monica fixed her gaze at Claudia.
She was a slender, but tall, beautiful woman who showed off her curves. It was hard to believe that she was the same age as Monica.
Although she had never had much of a complex about her figure, since befriending Lana and Casey, Monica had grown concerned about her childish appearance, if only slightly.
As Monica was getting secretly stricken with defeat, Claudia leaned forward to look into Monica's face.
"…Oh my, what's the matter, Child Girl. You're staring at me so intensely, Child Girl. Just so you know, don't take any solid food today. You're going to throw up, Child Girl."
"Y-You don't have keep saying ‘Child Girl' ‘Child Girl' to me…"
"Because I don't want you to thank me for saving your life…"
Hearing Claudia's words, Monica widened her eyes.
Come to think of it, she also looked disgusted when Felix thanked her.
Monica felt grateful to Claudia, of course, she want give her thanks to her. But, her response was not that of a person who hide their embarrassment, but unpleasant.
"Um… Is it because you don't like me… that you don't want to be thanked…?"
Being asked in a shaky voice, Claudia straightened her posture.
Her doll-like expression remained unchanged. However, there was a dark emotion, slightly different from malice, that swayed slightly in the depths of her lapis lazuli eyes.
"It's not that I dislike you… neither do I like you."
When Claudia exhaled wearily, Monica boldly asked her.
"T-Then… Why… do you keep following me… for the past week…?"
Monica had always thought that it was because Claudia suspected her of identity as the [Silent Witch].
But Claudia—slitered like a snake—closed the distance soundlessly, looked into Monica's face and whispered faintly.
"…It's because you seduced my fiance."
"………….huh?"
As Monica's mouth agape, Claudia continued her words without hesitation.
"If it were just a matter of being on the same student council, that wouldn't matter to me, but how could I allow anyone to even practice dancing with him? Even I've never had him dance with me."
A student council member, dancing practice.
From these two keywords, the first thing that came to Monica's mind was Felix and Cyril.
But since she and Cyril were siblings, the answer was obviously narrowed.
Don't tell me, His Highness is her…
It was reassuring to know that Claudia hadn't discovered her true identity.
But never did she think that Felix's fiancee would misunderstand her for trying to seduce him!!
This misunderstanding had to be settled as soon as possible. The only thing Monica thought about Felix was that he had a body with a golden ratio.
As Monica was pondering how to hide the fact that she was on an escort mission and clear up Claudia's misunderstanding, she heard the door to the infirmary open.
"Monicaaaa! I've come to visiiit!"
"Ssh! Ssh! Don't shout in the infirmary!"
Those familiar, buzzing voices were from Glenn and Neil.
Without asking, Glenn opened the curtains and approached the bed with his big toe.
"Monica, are you okay? Your face look so pale! Oh, I came to visit you. Is it okay if I bring you some meat?"
"You can't give meat to someone who just been poisoned."
Neil, who chided Glenn, smiled somewhat awkwardly when he noticed Claudia sitting there on the side of the bed.
"Oh, Miss Claudia, good day to you."
"…….."
Claudia's face was expressionless. However, the air she wore had clearly changed. The depressed and languid air has disappeared completely.
Neil looked slightly troubled at Claudia, who was staring at him with a blank expression.
"Well, I heard from the student council president. He told me that you gave first aid to Miss Norton, Miss Claudia."
"………"
As expected, Claudia was silent and expressionless. She didn't even have a single word to say.
Neil lowered his eyebrows in trouble, but tried his best to continue speaking.
"You are indeed a remarkable woman, Miss Claudia! That's amazing!"
"…right."
At that moment, Monica was sure she saw it.
Muttering in a faint voice, the corners of Claudia's mouth lifted up… only slightly.
Even though she looked uncomfortable when Felix praised her, Claudia now showed a slight hint of happiness.
Could it be, her fiance is…
When Monica finally realized this fact, Glenn said, "Aah!" and stared at Claudia with a loud voice.
"This woman! She has been following Monica around before…"
"Eh? Following around?"
At Glenn's comment, Neil windener his eyes in surprise.
Then Claudia—quieter than a snake—stood up, and slid over to Monica's bed.
"That's a misunderstanding. We're friends, after all."
This was news to her. If anything, Claudia just told her that she neither dislikes nor likes her, or that she has a child figure.
But Claudia nimbly grabbed Monica's hand who had dumbfounded expression and said.
"…right? We're friends, right? Mo.Ni.Ca?"
What a brilliant change of heart.
As Monica stunned, Claudia stared at her with lapis lazuli eyes. Monica was overwhelmed by the pressure of her silence.
"Y-Yes…"
Monica nodded stiffedly, and Claudia said, "See?" then looked at Glenn and Neil.
"…besides, I'm Neil's fiancée. Are you questioning your friend's fiancee?"
"What!? Fiancee!? You're Neil's fiancee!?"
Neil vaguely laughs at Glenn's loud yelling.
"Well, the engagement was just something that our parents decided on their own…"
"Oh, are you not pleased being engaged with me?"
Claudia turned her doll-like face to Neil. The fact that her face was so well-defined gave her a strange sense of intimidation, even without an expression.
Neil's face tensed up and he shook his head.
"No, no, it's not like that. If anything, I feel like I'm not good enough for you, Miss Claudia, but… well…"
Neil's eyes kept glancing at the top of Claudia's head.
At that moment, the inner voices of Monica and Glenn overlapped.
Ah their height…
Neil was slightly smaller than most boys his age. Claudia, on the other hand, was considered tall for a woman… their height difference was apparent to everyone.
＊ ＊ ＊
Walking down the corridor, Felix retracted his unusually soft smile. Doing so made his brilliant and extremely beautiful face stand out even more.
Having felt a quiet irritation from Felix, Cyril, who was walking behind him, also wore a quiet expression on his face.
As Felix walked, he silently confronted the frustration within himself.
Oh, what a mess. I am someone who prefers not to lose my temper.
The emotion of anger inside of him was supposed to be directed at the right person at the right time. It's not something that should be vented here.
Still, the image of Monica from earlier clawed back into Felix's mind.
—I apologize… for not able to live up as the student council members…
The figure of the girl, who was trembling a little with tears in her eyes, overlapped with that of the young boy.
—I apologize for not able to live up as the royal family…
Really, the figure of that girl is similar to me…
Quietly confirming this, Felix spoke up.
"This whole thing is making me a little angry."
Cyril's expression tightened at Felix's unusually cold words.
"I have the ringleader, the daughter of Count Norn, and the other two waiting in the reception room for questioning. And…"
Cyril trailed off and looked around, whispering to Felix.
"…the daughter of Count Kerbeck came into the student council room. She wants to talk to the daughter of Count Norn."
"The daughter of Count Kerbeck? Oh, little squirel's little sister?"
"She's her niece without blood relation."
Muttering a hmmm, the edge of Felix's lips raised.
"Good. Then have the daughter of Count Kerbeck be present as well."
Smiling chillingly at his beautifully formed face, Felix declared.
"Now, let's have a nice tea party."
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