Chapter 8

For about a week, time flowed peacefully.

I don’t know what happened to the maid who displeased Helena, but since I haven’t heard any rumors of her execution, she probably survived.

Since that incident, the attitude of the maids who had previously looked down on Cecilia seems to have changed a bit.

It was quite a shock for them to see Cecilia, who had always been timid and submissive, start to firmly refuse things.

It’s a good thing that the maids have started to work more seriously than before.

“Good morning, Lady Cecilia.”

“Good morning, Lady Monica.”

At the academy, Cecilia has gradually become friendlier with her classmates.

As she greets them by name with a smile, she notices that there is still a wall between her and her classmates, but this was also the case with Adeline. Perhaps it’s inevitable to some extent.

“Good morning, Lady Cecilia. How did you find yesterday’s history quiz?”

“I’m confident in history. If you’d like, I can help you with it.”

In a sense, the ones who have no walls are her so-called friends, Cynthia and Isabella.

While they speak kindly, their voices are tinged with a sense of superiority.

They seem to have already decided that Cecilia’s grades are not good, even before the results are out.

“I think I did reasonably well. I’ll take your offer to heart.”

Cecilia smiles and brushes them off.

History wasn’t much different from what she learned in her previous life’s academy, and Adeline, who was supposed to marry into the royal family, had studied it in much greater depth.

“Oh... You’re just being stubborn…”

The two of them whisper mockingly and leave with a look of superiority.

Then, the class begins, and the results of yesterday’s quiz are announced.

“One perfect score: Cecilia Ortiz. Even though it included material not yet covered in class, you did well with your preparation. Everyone should take a lesson from her.”

When the teacher says this, a modest cheer rises in the classroom.

Most of it was well-intentioned, but when Cecilia discreetly observes, Cynthia and Isabella are muttering in shock.

It’s a bit of a headache to see how much they underestimate her.

After the class ends, Cynthia and Isabella leave the classroom awkwardly, as if fleeing from Cecilia.

“Lady Cecilia, a perfect score is wonderful. I neglected my preparation and couldn’t solve a few problems. I’ll take you as an example.”

Classmate Monica approaches Cecilia with a smile.

She was the first girl to speak to Cecilia on the morning she met Elvis, and she doesn’t seem to be easily intimidated, often coming to talk to her.

This has led to more conversations with other classmates.

“It was just luck that the questions were on topics I happened to know. I was fortunate.”

Cecilia smiles and responds, then they chat about the class content and other topics in a peaceful manner.

Through these conversations with classmates, she has been able to hear gossip about the relationships among the nobility and minor incidents.

While the overall power dynamics among the nobility haven’t changed much from her previous life, there are many subtle changes.

The Roseblade Duke’s family, for example, had fallen out of favor for a while but is now recovering, as she recently heard.

However, when she tried to ask a classmate for more details about Adeline, who is portrayed as a villain but is actually different from the rumors, the classmate evaded the question.

“...It’s not something I should be telling Lady Cecilia. I apologize for speaking out of turn.”

The classmate became flustered and fell silent, and Cecilia couldn’t get any more information.

Perhaps they thought that revealing the truth about Adeline, who is a villain to protect the Crown Prince and his wife, would upset Cecilia, the Crown Prince’s daughter.

In reality, it would make her happy, but she can’t control that.

However, the fact that there are stories suggesting Adeline is not the villain she is portrayed as is a small comfort.

“Speaking of the Crown Prince and his wife, they are famous for their passionate love that defies all. It’s so romantic.”

Cecilia could only smile wryly at the girl who sighed dreamily.

She had lived in a provincial domain and came to the capital for the first time to attend the academy.

The story of the Crown Prince and his wife is a romantic tale that has spread throughout the country.

However, among the other girls, some smiled dryly. A quick glance showed that they were originally from the capital.

This suggests that the reality of their passionate love is known in the capital.

After enjoying a bit of chatter with her classmates after class, Cecilia set off for home.

Although it’s only just begun, her academy life can be considered smooth.

While there are classmates who are confrontational, it’s not to the point of being a problem.

“Lady Cecilia! Please help!”

However, as soon as she returned, a maid rushed in.

Cecilia stops, feeling a bit exasperated, as something similar had happened before.

She sighs, thinking it’s probably Helena causing trouble again.

“Prince Gilbert’s engagement has been decided, and the Crown Prince has stormed into Prince James’s place! He’s thinking of breaking off the engagement with Lady Cecilia!”

However, the maid’s words were unexpected.

Gilbert is the son of Prince James, the second prince. Logan, the Crown Prince, is the next king, but Gilbert is considered the one after that.

And Logan had always told Cecilia that Gilbert would be her husband.

The thought of another broken engagement made Cecilia feel dizzy.