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Chapter 56
“Wow, really?”
“Yeah. I heard Arellin nitpicked Nadelli’s words when she slipped up.”
“They say Nadelli cried and she didn’t even bat an eye.”
That voice…
There had been barely six young ladies at the mini tea party. This was someone who hadn’t even been there, gossiping away.
“I heard she scolded her, saying if they’d met anywhere else she wouldn’t have dared speak to her because she’s the daughter of a duke.”
“Wow, what a strange personality.”
“What does His Highness the Crown Prince even see in her to dote on her like that? I really don’t get it.”
“Harunnniiiim…”
The details were twisted and exaggerated into rumors only someone who hadn’t been there could spread.
Wow, this rumor spread that fast?
The answer was obvious. Someone had spread it deliberately.
Which meant my reputation was going to tank in an instant.
“…How am I supposed to make friends now?”
Farewell, <Friend Shield>.
I neatly folded away the dream of making my debut in the social world without even opening it.
“Seems like the little lady is pretty hated.”
Ah, right. I wasn’t alone here.
I glanced up at the face that had been smiling brightly at me all this time and shrugged.
“I’m not exactly the type to be well-loved.”
“Really? That’s unexpected.”
“What is?”
“You’re cute.”
The man poked my cheek with a grin.
“I’ll pass.”
“Pass on what?”
“On anything you’re offering. I feel like if I get caught by you, I’ll end up as some lab experiment.”
“…What?”
His eyes widened in surprise, then suddenly he burst out laughing like a lunatic. Was it that funny?
“Ahahaha, a lab experiment, huh?”
Wiping tears of laughter from his eyes, he gave me a gleam that set my nerves on edge.
“I could never do that to my cute little lady.”
Yeah right, like you wouldn’t.
Even now, my “world’s weakest” danger sensor was still blaring at me to run away.
“Doesn’t hearing stuff like that upset you?”
“I’m human too, so of course it does.”
“Really? You don’t look like it at all.”
That was probably because I’d gotten too used to it. In my past life, and in this one too.
Still…
I knew not having friends would make me vulnerable to rumors, but I didn’t think they’d be twisted so maliciously and one-sidedly.
Is it because of the prejudice they already had?
Anyway, damn Pesion! Being popular for no reason!
“I guess she thinks she’s somebody now that His Highness is looking after her?”
“That’s Halbern talking.”
“Gasp. What if Halbern requested the imperial family to look after Arellin?”
“That’s probably the most likely.”
“Must be nice, being born into a good family and getting whatever you want.”
Their voices were getting bolder and nastier by the minute.
While I debated whether to ignore them or respond, the man who had been watching with interest spoke up.
“Want me to help?”
“How exactly?”
“Why not just kill them all?”
He suggested it in a flat, casual tone.
“Quiet, and clean.”
“That’s not clean at all.”
Does this man even know the definition of “clean”?
Looking at his ever-smiling face, I felt like I was sitting on a landmine that could go off any second. I was just about to ignore him and leave—
“…So what? I heard she’s sick.”
“Oh right, they said she’s terminal.”
“What’s terminal?”
“Dunno, but it means she won’t live long. They say she’s gonna die soon.”
“When’s she dying?”
“Hopefully soon.”
“Hey, that’s a bit much.”
“What? You don’t hate her too?”
Their laughter rang out—and I found myself turning on my heel without even realizing it.
I wasn’t generous enough to let that slide.
“Sounds like there’s an interesting story here?”
“…!”
Their faces instantly drained of color.
“What’s with those expressions? Did you see a ghost?”
Describe how you’d feel if the very person you were happily badmouthing suddenly showed up.
Dorothy and her two or three friends felt like they were dying inside when Arellin appeared.
“A-Arellin.”
“H-hi?”
“W-what are you doing here?”
They had never imagined they’d run into her here, so they had no idea how to handle it. They exchanged panicked glances.
What do we do?
I don’t know!
Deny it. Maybe she didn’t hear.
Any hope they had was shattered by Arellin’s next words.
“Well, I’m not doing so great. Someone said they wished I’d die soon.”
“…Ugh.”
All four faces went pale.
Arellin had no intention of letting it slide. Even as a joke, wishing someone dead? That was far too malicious to dismiss as childishness.
“What’s your name?”
“W-why do you want to know?”
“So I can remember it.”
Two sentences were all it took.
Dorothy went dead white and couldn’t say a word.
As the daughter of a prestigious count’s family, Dorothy had feared nothing in the world—until now.
Halbern was a name that could make even her beloved father tremble.
Only now did she realize the weight of what she’d said.
“You want to tell me yourself, or should I ask someone else and make sure I remember it that way? I think the second one would stick better.”
“Hiiik.”
If she gave her name, she’d probably suffer for it, but she couldn’t exactly refuse either.
Dorothy trembled as she looked at Arellin.
It was her first time seeing her up close. She’d known she was pretty, but she hadn’t realized she was this pretty. For a moment, she’d thought a doll had come to life.
So that’s why His Highness follows her around…
A strange sort of understanding bloomed in her chest.
And there was something else—an odd atmosphere you could only sense when you met her in person.
Calm, quiet, but somehow shadowed.
Sorry, Leslie, but Dorothy thought it was only natural to lose to her.
I shouldn’t have fallen for Leslie’s story so easily!
Regret always comes too late, no matter how early.
Dorothy cursed the disaster she had brought upon herself.
Maybe if she got down on her knees right now, Arellin would forgive her?
Just as Dorothy was steeling herself to kneel—
“What’s going on?”
“What’s happening?”
The Sperom twins, notorious for rushing to watch anything interesting with metaphorical popcorn, arrived.
“Something fun?”
“Something interesting?”
“Nothing much.”
Arellin dismissed them curtly, but the twins weren’t the type to back off so easily.
“I heard Dorothy said she hoped Arellin would die soon.”
“H-how could you say something like that!”
“Especially since Arellin has a serious illness that’s hard to treat. You can’t say that to a patient.”
“That’s awful. Did you hate her that much, Dorothy?”
“N-no, it’s not like that. I-I just… in the heat of the moment…”
Ciel stepped toward Dorothy.
His face looked like it had just stepped out of a painting, and Dorothy flinched instinctively.
“What could you possibly be mad at Arellin for?”
“B-because I heard she made Nadelli cry…”
“Huh. That’s strange. Nadelli was the one who wronged Arellin first. Right, Ciel?”
“That’s what I heard too. Why does everyone have it backwards? Funny, isn’t it, Noel?”
R-really?
Dorothy tilted her head in confusion.
Ciel didn’t miss the opening.
“She did, didn’t she, Dorothy?”
“Y-yeah…”
“You can’t just take one side’s word and start saying things like that.”
“That’s right, that’s right.”
“Now, apologize to Arellin!”
“Tell her you were wrong!”
“…I’m sorry. I was wrong.”
Arellin pressed a hand to her forehead.
Her expression wasn’t one of forgiveness, but of resigned defeat.
“Case closed!”
The Sperom twins clapped their palms together lightly.
Clap!
In the end, the matter was resolved with a half-hearted “forgiveness.”
“Why’d you help me?”
At her question, the Sperom twins glanced at each other.
“Did we help?”
“We just stated the facts.”
It might have looked like they were helping Dorothy, but Arellin knew better.
The ones they’d ultimately helped were her.
“Arelilirin.”
“Arellellel.”
“You’re calling me weird names again.”
“What do you mean weird? What’s wrong with our nickname?”
“What kind of nickname is longer than the actual name?”
Arellin stayed quiet, unable to describe the strange, ticklish feeling in her chest.
With that light conversation, the twins had also corrected the false rumors.
They probably didn’t mean much by it—they just acted on curiosity. But the problem was her.
Arellin didn’t have many memories of receiving even small acts of kindness like this.
Maybe I’ve been looking for friends too far away.
She might have given up on the <Friend Shield>, but—
“Twins.”
“?”
“?”
“Want to be friends with me?”
