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At first, she thought hard about rebelling, but she quit. It was a waste of time when faced with these levels of ladies who did what they were told without thinking, because there were so many numbers that it seemed too much to shake off with force

'I'd rather see a conclusion with Avella instead of losing my energy.'

When she thought of Avella, Elena only laughed in vain. The big girl wrapped Avella up like a great hero up high, but she was not enough compared to Veronica. That was the position of Princess Veronica, who was the successor to Grand Duke Friedrich and who Elena was pretending to be.

'… If it was Veronica, I wouldn't have gotten into such an argument in the first place.'

Still, Elena had no reason to feel self-conscious. Lucia was of indeterminate status, but this was an academic institution. School rules would take precedence, making it impossible for her to use her power to pressure her. As it was now, it made sense to gather the female students of the Avella faction and harm Elena.

"I brought her, my lady."

Beside the annex, in the clearing beyond the overgrown trees, she could see Avella. She was laughing as she crossed her arms gracefully, and Mitchell, who had tormented Elena before, was with her. The girls who had forced Elena to come with them pushed her and folded their arms as they threw her in front of Avella. Elena stared at the front, patting her disheveled uniform.

"Is it you?"

"I heard you wanted to see me, Lady Avella?"

"She's so abrupt. She knows who I am, and she insists on talking back."

Avella threw a slanted look, arms crossed, around Elena, then scattered up and down. Her arrogant gaze oozed with mockery of Elena.

"She's ugly to see up close. Even if I wash my eyes and look for it, she's not attractive. It's coming into being."

At Avella's blatant demeanor, the schoolgirls covered their mouths and giggled at what they thought was a good idea. However, when she was finally insulted, Elena didn't react much. She wasn't particularly surprised or shocked. She was well aware of Avella's vulgar vocabulary and standards.

'It's a shame you were good at tricks, or you'd be in big trouble with your tongue.'

Because of her noble bloodline by birth, Avella did not treat people of lower rank or status than me. The only thing that was clear was that there was a distinct difference in attitude between the way she referred to Elena, who was pretending to be Veronica, as "sister" and spoke to her in secret, and the way she treated Elena, who was now disguised as Lucia.

Such standards were not so different when it came to dealing with the girls within the fence of faction. Even Mitchell, who had been her own hands and feet, was coldly dismissed.

With such a devious personality, she competed fiercely with Elena in the social circles, leading the schemes that she inherited from her father, the Duke of Chrome. To what extent, they even competed against each other in the final hearing of the ceremony to elect the queen.

"I heard you had dinner with His Highness? His Highness has a very good character. You must have looked so poor that he must have felt pity for you."

When Avella made insulting remarks, the girls watching from behind laughed in sympathy. It's a way of killing people in society. But Elena is not one who would be discouraged by such a bad method.

"Yes, he did. You know how pitiful I was when he formally invited me to dinner. He must have a deep heart."

"Look at how she's mistaken. That's a pity?"

"What's wrong with you? You act as if you've never been formally invited to a meal by His Highness."

"…!"

For a moment, Avella's face twisted devilishly at Elena's sarcasm. If it had been in front of Veronica, she would have been able to put up with it, but since the other party was Lucia, the daughter of a single merchant, it sounded quite insulting.

"You trust Senior Ren and you don't see anything, do you?"

"No, I can see it well."

"What?"

"And as you know, senior is not an exactly reliable person."

Avella's expression turned red. At the same time, the mouths of the girls watching from behind were wide open with astonishment.

Who is Avella? She was the eldest daughter of Duke Reinhardt, the fourth great family of the Empire. Elena was the first woman in her life to cause such a stir in her nerves.

"You, you! How dare you low-born commoner bitch, bleak to the subject!"

Avella, angered by Elena's retort, raised her hand high in the air. Already paralyzed by anger, she slapped Elena in the cheek without thinking twice.

Thud!

But Avella's palm did not touch Elena's cheek. This is because Elena reached out her hand and grabbed her wrist as soon as she hit hard in the air.

"Are you not letting go?"

Avella gave a shake of her hand and trembled. But Elena was not that intimidated.

"If you were a senior, would you let it go knowing you'd get hit?"

"You're really."

"Why don't you behave yourself?"

"How dare you admonish me? When it's not your place?"

Avella gasped and struggled to move her hand away. But Elena clenched her back teeth and forced her not to move. Then, the female students who were staring at Elena's atrocities tried to step up as if they could no longer tolerate Elena's atrocities.

"T-that's it!"

"How dare you behave rudely to the lady!"

It was when a few of the girls, who adored Avella like a limb, were getting worked up about what they felt was a chance to score points.

"Can't you see we're talking?"

Elena turned her head and glared at them.

Pause.

With indifferent eyes, the girls could not come any closer and hesitated. Elena's unfeeling eyes to emotional ladies were of a low and unaffordable nature. Elena turned her eyes back to Avella.

That's why His Highness isn't looking at you, senior."

"What?"

"Rather, look back at yourself first at a time like this. Why doesn't His Highness ever pay attention to senior."

Avella's face heated up. Her hands trembled with shame and insult that she had never felt before.

"If His Highness still doesn't take an interest, blame the family that you were blessed and born to, senior."

Elena gave sincere advice as if she was talking to herself in the past, who longed for Sian's affection. Because she knew that Avella's love for Sian was as sincere as she was. She wanted to say this even though she knew Avella had nothing to listen to. With a small wish that she doesn't repeat the same mistakes as Elena in the past.

"T-this bitch really wants to die!"

Avella shouted out in anger. Then she shifted her body to Elena and released her wrists from the pressure.

"What are you looking at! I want you to crush her. I'll take responsibility for it, so break that arrogant mouth again!"

As Avella, who had been on the edge of her anger, threatened, the girls, who hesitated under Elena's spirit, came to their senses and came threatening. Rather than being scared, Elena looked at the girls with an icy look.

"You know this is an expulsion?"

"What?"

"Lady Avella always asks seniors to stand up. Why is that?"

The questions Elena threw confused the girls' eyes.

"That is unfortunate. Do you think that Lady Avella will take charge of your affairs if you violate the school rules to be loyal to her?"

"…"

"I'm sure you've seen how she's been acting. Do you think she will protect you if the seniors are expelled for this? No, she would turn her back on them. I don't think she's going to take any responsibility in the first place."

Elena had ignited the fear and distrust of Avella that sat in the corner of their minds. The majority of the people gathered here often followed Avella because of her background of the Duke. However, she was not popular because of her arrogance and disregard for others.

In her past life, Elena succeeded in digging into Avella's weaknesses and creating a rift in her faction, and conciliated her followers. The difference was that back then, she had done things under a meticulous plan, but now, the situation was such that she had no choice but to appeal to them through the art of speech.

"If you think about it, it must be clear. There was a senior who followed her, covered all her mistakes, and was kicked out of the academy."

"…!"

When Elena threw the embers, the girls hesitated, not coming any closer. She could feel the agitation in the way they exchanged glances with shaky eyes. Avella must have sensed such an unusual sign, too, because she urged them in a more intimidating and coercive manner

"What are you doing? I'm Avella. There's Duke Reinhardt behind me, and you forgot that if I could see you well, your family would change!"

"Don't believe it. You've already experienced what she was like."

Elena spoke calmly. She was well aware that maintaining calm and not being excited at times like this made her more trustworthy.

"Leaving school? What does a diploma mean? I'm in charge. You know that my trust is more valuable."

"Yes, that's right. When did Lady Avella say something wrong?"

In every case, the large girl who disapproved of Elena came out in sympathy. She encouraged other female students to be swayed as if Avella's trust was more beneficial to her and her family than to her diploma.

Elena's brow slightly frowned at the sight. If you're ignorant, you're brave. At the last meeting, Mitchell showed signs of shaking, but that big girl blindly followed Avella as if she didn't care about being abandoned.

"I believe in her trust."

"Me too."

Several schoolgirls joined in and threatened Elena. Then the hesitant girls moved reluctantly and surrounded Elena.

"Foolish girl. You need to get your head on yourself."

"Let go of this, shall we?"

Elena resisted harshly, but it was impossible to even stretch her body as the big girl pressed her shoulders and some joined her arms.

"Kneel."

Avella, who felt that she had completely taken the initiative, smiled in victory. The girls bent Elena's knees and squeezed her shoulders. When her knees touched the ground, Avella continued.

"Take off her glasses, too."

When they forced off Elena's horn-rimmed glasses, Avella's smile became stronger. She walked with her arms crossed and clasped Elena's chin.

"For the rest of your life, you'll never forget what it costs to insult me."

Avella raised her white hand over her shoulder again. She was unexpectedly blocked by Elena a while ago, but now that she was firmly trapped, there seemed to be no way to stop her hand.