[Chapter 42] So, that's why the kids don't like you

The next day, the first-year students' first class was dance. As Angrad walked to the classroom, she painfully felt that the kids were avoiding her more openly than usual.

"It's better this way."

She tried to steel herself, thinking, "If I can't have a 'good' school life, I'll settle for a 'peaceful' one."

Really, anything was fine. As long as it wasn't a school life where she was constantly getting into trouble and being insulted by passing kids.

Alekto was chatting with the kids, his face much brighter than the day before. Her voice echoed down the hallway as they walked to the dance hall.

"That's his fault. He's really ridiculous. I'll tell you more about it at lunch..."

Alekto wasn't popular in the classical sense, but there was no kid who didn't want to be part of his group. As a result, Alekto knew a lot about many kids' personal lives.

So, even though he was clearly talking about someone else, every time Angrad heard a negative expression, she felt like she was going to suffocate.

"He won't dare do that now."

Even though Alekto had grumbled, he had learned that talking carelessly about other students would result in some kind of punishment.

When the class started, the kids lined up against the walls when the music stopped, and when it started again, they approached each other and kept changing partners.

Angrad felt humiliated when she saw a boy approaching her with a disgusted expression, even though she was the only girl left. That boy had been particularly friendly to her before.

"Hey, don't go with her. She'll call her dad again."

A boy passing by said mockingly to the boy with a scowl, who was holding Neris's hand. The fact that he was holding Neris's hand seemed to make him quite proud.

Angrad couldn't help but look at Neris's face. Neris wasn't laughing at her, but for some reason, that fact made Angrad even more upset.

Anger welled up in her heart. Without any sign of remorse, how shameless! This was all because of that bad girl!

That girl should be the one in this situation!

"Don't hold my hand so tightly."

Angrad's partner complained before they even started dancing. Honestly, Angrad didn't particularly want to hold hands with him either. She was only dancing because she couldn't stand alone.

Neris, who was watching, turned elegantly with her partner's hand. Her partner thought Neris's mood seemed a bit better.

Maybe it's because she's dancing with me? A useless imagination swelled up in the boy's heart.

Whether the boy thought that or not, Neris occasionally glanced secretly at the classroom door.

The reason for her good mood was, of course, not because she had become partners with one of the boys who had bullied her in her previous life.

She was waiting for someone's visit. Since Nellusion had come to her yesterday and warned her, it seemed that 'that incident' would happen today, just like in her previous life.

Although nothing out of the ordinary happened, Angrad seemed upset and left the class in tears. However, the kids' dance class continued without a hitch.

When it was time to change partners, one girl was left without a partner. The boys quickly grabbed the popular girls, and Rianon was left alone after the music started.

Two boys looked at each other with disgusted expressions, knowing that one of them would have to dance with Rianon.

Just then, a tall adult wearing a black coat knocked on the classroom door. Mrs. Lunis approached him, raising an eyebrow.

"Who are you? We're in the middle of class."

The kids didn't miss the fact that the adult had a white ribbon on his chest. Some of them knew what it meant.

It was a death notice.

"I apologize. I've come to take our young lady."

Mrs. Lunis thought that someone in the family had passed away and softened her tone.

"Which family are you from?"

"I'm from the Bert household. I'm the servant of the former Lord Bert, who has just become the new Count Bert."

Bert. At the mention of the name, Rianon's eyes turned towards the classroom entrance. She called out the servant's name in a shrill voice.

"Ollie!"

"Yes, milady."

Ollie bowed, holding his hat to his chest, and greeted Rianon. Rianon pushed through the dancing kids and approached him.

"What's going on?"

"Just a moment."

Mrs. Lunis let Rianon talk to her family's servant and closed the door. The kids pretended to be uninterested and continued dancing, but they perked up their ears.

Soon, the kids with good hearing who were near the classroom door whispered to their partners what they had heard, and the partners shouted it to the kids next to them. Before long, everyone in the classroom knew the purpose of Ollie's visit.

The old Count Bert and his successor, Count Bert, had died in a carriage accident, and the count's second son, Lord Bert, had inherited the title.

Rianon Bert had become the count's daughter, a true noble lady.

***

Since the head of the household and the owner of the title had passed away, Rianon was absent from school for about a week. The school was lenient, as it was a school for noble children. After all, what could be more important than matters related to the title?

And on the day Rianon returned to school and attended her first class, the first-year students whispered to each other as they saw her confident figure.

"Did you come riding in a carriage with a family crest? A carriage with a family crest engraved on it... a gold button with a family crest... a necklace made of diamonds and pearls... Who brings something like that to school? Looking back, it's not like the bracelet from last time was a magic practice tool either...

There was hardly any friendly reaction.

From the beginning, the high-ranking noble children didn't like the fact that Rianon, who was the daughter of a duke, was trying to act like she was of the same status as them.

And the low-ranking noble children also didn't like the fact that Rianon, who was the daughter of a duke, was now trying to act like she was of a different status than them.

Strictly speaking, the granddaughter of a count and the daughter of a count are different in rank. According to the imperial law, only the direct descendants of a title holder are considered 'narrowly defined nobles.' You can't put someone who 'will eventually not be a direct descendant' and someone who 'will always be a direct descendant' in the same category.

If the old Count Berta had passed away and his eldest son, Count Berta, had inherited the title, Rianon would no longer be a direct descendant.

However, Rianon herself thought she was almost a high-ranking noble and liked to hang out with her father's friends who were counts or higher. Anyway, she was Lady Berta while her grandfather was alive, and she had many high-ranking relatives nearby.

The high-ranking noble children thought her attitude was ridiculous, but they didn't technically criticize her social status because they were distant relatives or had to respect her grandfather's face.

The low-ranking noble children also felt a sense of distance from Rianon, but they didn't openly criticize her.

After the letter incident, Idalia Kendall started to dislike Rianon, and there were no longer any children who wanted to hang out with her. However, even the bravest children didn't dare to openly criticize her social status.

But when Rianon actually became the Countess, the situation changed.

The children felt that she was lucky to be able to act like she was of a higher social status than she actually was. Every single item she brought from home and showed off became a target of gossip.

"What's with that one phrase? If you say something, she won't listen and will just ignore it?"

A partner in the public runes class muttered to Idalia. She just smiled awkwardly and didn't say anything.

"What am I supposed to say...?"

Then Rianon raised her hand.

"Teacher."

Alicia, the teacher of the public runes class, replied kindly.

"Yes, Rianon. What's wrong?"

"Alecto keeps staring at me."

"The first-grade class was always somewhat chaotic, no matter how strict the teacher was. Rianon's words brought an uncomfortable silence that even the most experienced teacher couldn't achieve. The children exchanged glances with each other, looking like they were waiting for something to happen.

Alecto broke the silence with a cold, mocking tone.

"When did I?"

"Right now, you're staring at me."

Rianon didn't look at Alecto and spoke firmly.

Alicia, the teacher, looked at Rianon's unwavering eyes and thought about what to do. Of course, she was also aware of the incident in the cafeteria.

Alecto also raised her hand, but didn't wait for the teacher's permission and started talking.

"I'm not staring at you."

"Look now. You're staring at me. You always stare at me."

The classroom became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Alicia thought for a moment and then put on the most stern expression she could.

"If you two have a problem, settle it during recess. This is a class time with other students present."

"But it can't be resolved. If one student is bullying another student, shouldn't the teacher scold them?"

Rianon tried to say the word 'persistently' but failed to pronounce it correctly. Alecto, who was already upset, didn't miss the opportunity and burst out laughing.

No one said anything out loud, but the matter between the children was ultimately under Megara's jurisdiction. Idalia looked at Megara, and Megara slightly narrowed her eyes.

Megara judged that this was not a situation where she needed to intervene.

Since no one stopped her, Alecto sharply retorted.

"Can't you even speak properly? Who wrote it for you to read? You're stupid. You can't even read properly, so what can you do? That's why everyone hates you."

Rianon's face turned bright red. The elegant and dignified Rianon, who was about to condemn Alecto as a 'bad girl,' eventually lost her temper and shouted loudly.

"What's with that? Did you finish talking?"

"'Did you finish talking?'"

Alecto mockingly imitated Rianon's voice.

"You're always laughing at others, but you're the one who's the most ridiculous."

"That's enough!"

Alicia couldn't take it anymore and sternly intervened. The two girls glared at each other, their eyes blazing with anger.

The class ended in chaos. The students rushed out of the classroom, whispering to each other like thunder. Did you see? Did you see? Rianon crying? That's why it started. I thought I was going to suffocate.

Alecto stormed out of the classroom, her chest heaving with anger. She then approached the students who had the next class with her and muttered angrily.

"Oh, it's ridiculous! Who would like someone like that? Is there anyone who's sweet and kind? I'm so angry I'm hungry!"

"Normally, Alecto would have laughed and handed over the situation to someone in her group, but the children she was talking to were quiet and introverted, so they would have acted in a way that wouldn't offend Alecto's pride.

However, the response she got from them was unexpected.

"Do you have to go that far?"

"What's wrong?"

When Alecto received a cold response to her attempt to elicit sympathy, she became defensive and asked back. The children shrugged their shoulders.

"No, it's fine."

In the jungle-like human relationships of the first grade, there was nothing more frightening than the phrase "it's nothing." It meant that the other person didn't recognize the value of talking to you.

Alecto, who knew this fact well, became angry.

"What's wrong? Why are you like this? What's bothering you?"

"Yeah."

But the response came from a male classmate who was passing by, not from the children in Alecto's group.

"What's with the class atmosphere today? It's really noisy and tiring. I can hear your voice all the way down the hallway when we're in class."

"What?"

Alecto was taken aback.

Wasn't the incident that happened during today's class entirely because of Rianon? It was strange that everyone was suddenly acting like this.

"What did I do wrong? Rianon started it."

"You're always causing trouble. Stop listening to Rianon's gossip. It's annoying."

The boy who poured out his anger left. The children who had the same class as Alecto also glanced at her and left.

Alecto, who was left behind, looked around for someone to share her frustration with, but there was no one who looked at her with kindness.

There was not a single sympathetic gaze.