Chapter 96

"Hey, don't cry!"

The boy who was swinging the wooden sword was flustered, and the other children also tried to comfort Sarah.

"Here, stay here!"

"Yes!"

"Yes, yes. You must be very upset!"

As the boys hurried to comfort her, Sarah wiped away the tears streaming down her face with the back of her hand.

"You're really kind... I'm so happy."

"R-really...?"

"Of course! I've never met such kind gentlemen... It's been a bit tough since I came to the Imperial Capital..."

"Huh? Why?"

"The people in the Imperial Capital, how should I put it, are a bit... well, hard to get along with, but the gentlemen are so kind, it's really touching."

"R-really?"

"Yes! Handsome and kind... Are you from a distinguished family, by any chance?"

Hehe, the boys' eyes widened at Sarah's smile.

'Is that so?'

'Was I handsome?'

The boys laughed and said, "Ha ha!"

"Stay here. Ah, I should get a chair."

"Yeah, yeah. You there, bring a chair."

A servant hurriedly brought a chair, and Sarah said with a shy face,

"Then I'll be a bother...?"

"Take it easy! The chair is this way—"

"No. Um... the shade of the tree looks nice..."

Bazak, who had been standing in the shade looking bored, frowned.

'What, troublesome.'

Bazak scowled.

Then tears welled up in Sarah's eyes again.

"Ah, do you... dislike it?"

Tears seemed ready to fall from her big eyes.

The boys hurriedly said,

"No, no! Sit down!"

"Yes!"

"We didn't write your name on the tree!"

Then they quickly moved the chair to the shade.

Sarah, who smiled broadly, sat down.

"Hello."

The child who greeted the three brothers of the Astra 2nd Marquess family smiled sweetly.

"I thought you were all so handsome from a distance, but up close, you're really dazzlingly... beautiful."

Bazak looked at Joshua.

"Shall we go?"

"We haven't been out for 20 minutes."

"How long do we have to stay? We should also ask how many hours we'll have to spend with Eryl from now on."

"Or that."

"Should I go and ask now?"

"They're gathered with the young ladies; it might be a bother."

"Ugh..."

They ignored the person who spoke.

Tears welled up in Sarah's eyes again. The boys, who were watching, were flustered.

"The Astra family is famous for their striking appearances!"

"Yes!"

Sarah wiped her tears with her palm and laughed.

"Is that so, Richmond?"

Richmond, who had been leaning against the tree, let out a small sigh.

"There are people who think so."

"Ah!"

Sarah's face brightened immediately.

"It doesn't seem to be just a thought. You're really beautiful. Isn't that right?"

Sarah looked at the other boys.

"Ah, yes..."

"Erylott is also very beautiful."

At the mention of "Erylott," Bazak looked at Sarah.

"You call her by her name? Are you close?"

"Bazak."

Joshua narrowed his eyes, and Bazak said, "Ah," and changed his words.

"Are you close?"

"She said she wants to build a good relationship with me!"

"Erylott did?"

"Yes. I actually made a mistake with Erylott. She said I was rude... But—"

The boys said, "Huh?"

The young lord of the Oshuron family, who was among the boys, said,

"From what I heard from my younger brother, the Astra Marquess' young lady is considerate. Did you make a big mistake?"

"Ah... well..."

Sarah, looking troubled, stroked her hair.

"I've heard a lot about Erylott. Mostly... not good things..."

"Huh?"

"She's not well-liked among the young ladies..."

"Her reputation isn't good?"

"Yes. But in reality, she seems to be a very good person, doesn't she? I think she's so beautiful that the young ladies, well, what can I say..."

"Jealousy?"

"Sort of, but not exactly..."

"Well, it's jealousy."

The boys clicked their tongues.

"To talk like that without knowing is a bit much."

Joshua let out a silent chuckle.

They seem to have forgotten all the rumors they spread about the Astra Marquess' three brothers.

One of the boys frowned.

He was known for having a bad relationship with his younger sister.

"It's because of jealousy. My younger sister is the same. If my mother buys me a sword, she has to have one too. Anyway, so?"

"Ah! I was rude to Erylott based on rumors."

"What kind of rudeness?"

"My expression when I saw Erylott wasn't good, I guess..."

"Huh?"

The boys looked at each other.

'Is a bad expression considered rude?'

'Is her personality a bit like that?'

'There might be other reasons for the bad expression.'

It seems she wasn't as considerate as they had heard.

"So I apologized, and she said she wants to build a good relationship from now on!"

"Ah..."

It seems Erylott Astra finally got an apology.

'Does she have some kind of inferiority complex?'

Bazak, with an indifferent expression, said to Sarah,

"Being rude with a bad expression based on rumors is rude. Eryl has a broad heart for accepting your apology."

Sarah clapped her hands and said,

"Right? Erylott is really broad-minded. Beautiful, considerate... She's just amazing."

Bazak said with a smug look,

"You're right!"

Sarah smiled.

"I felt that there are many good people in the Imperial Capital, from the Eclipse Ling. Erylott is one of them, and so are the gentlemen."

Hearing this, the boys laughed.

"I'm glad you think so."

"Yes!"

Sarah was the center of attention.

While the boys and Sarah were chatting, Richmond and Joshua's expressions became subtle.

* * *

The next day.

I was climbing the stairs with the young ladies to return to my room.

But the upper floor was noisy.

"Are you going to be so selfish? You, the younger brother, should make a concession!"

"The swordsmanship tournament is something I was looking forward to too! The older brother should make a concession to the younger brother!"

"Anyway... You're so selfish, that's why people avoid you."

"Another lie! When have I ever avoided people! That's what the older brother did at the academy!"

The sound of their quarreling voices was heard.

Then came the loud footsteps as they ended their argument and turned away from each other.

The one who came down grumbling was the Oshuron young lady.

"Ah..."

She was flustered to see us.

"It must have been noisy. I'm sorry."

Lumelissa, who was with us, said,

"Are you okay?"

"No. In my next life, I want to be the older brother of that brat... and beat him up until he dies."

The young ladies burst into laughter.

Lumelissa chuckled and said,

"How about we go to the greenhouse to cool off?"

"That sounds good. Ah, but have you found Lady Fog?"

"No. I don't know where she is."

Sarah Fog hasn't been seen since yesterday.

With all the young ladies gathered, the fact that only she was missing seemed to be bothering everyone.

Catherine frowned.

"She's very shy, so maybe we should have taken better care of her. Is she hiding because she's upset?"

"We can find her and take care of her now."

A young lady in a pink dress said cheerfully,

"Go on up. I'll find her!"

She was from Catherine's group and took care of the timid Sarah like an older sister.

Catherine nodded.

"We can't just make the young lady do all the work. Let's all—"

At that moment,

"Really? Wow, that's amazing. I also like watching sword practice."

Sarah was entering the courtyard with the young lords.

The young lady in the pink dress, who claimed to take care of Sarah like an older sister, called out,

"Flower Star!"

At the nickname, Sarah flinched.

The young lords' expressions twisted.

'Why is her expression like that?'

The young lady in the pink dress quickly approached Sarah.

"Where were you? We've been looking for you—"

"Have a servant do it if you need something."

A young lord, shielding Sarah with one arm, said coldly.

The young lady in the pink dress was flustered.

"Huh? What do you mean...?"

"That damn Flower Star. It's really embarrassing to hear."

It's a bit embarrassing, but it's not something to say outright.

The expressions of the young ladies from Catherine's group hardened.

The most aggressive of Catherine's group, the Oshuron young lady, stepped forward.

"Whether we call each other what is none of the prince's business."

"I already said it's embarrassing. If you're going to call her something, give her a better name."

"What did you say?"

"The most common star in the most common constellation. Are you that stupid that you don't understand what I'm saying?"

"What nonsense are you talking?"

"Hey? Did you just speak informally to me?"

"Save the nonsense for your sleep."

"Oshuron young lady!"

The conversation between the two became hostile.

Sarah quickly stopped the young lord.

"Prince... You're so scary..."

"Ah."

The prince sighed and glared at the Oshuron young lady.

"Enough. Maintain the dignity of a noble."

Amid the incredulous looks of the young ladies, Sarah, looking flustered, stepped forward.

"The atmosphere is too tense. Let's not argue and have some tea together instead?"

"..."

"..."

The expressions of the Oshuron young lady and the prince were not good.

Sarah gently grabbed the prince's sleeve and looked up at him.

"We'll see each other often in the Imperial Capital. It will be awkward every time we meet if we keep getting emotional like this...?"

"..."

"Oshuron young lady, too. Right?"

"...Alright, then."

Because of this, the young ladies and young lords gathered to have tea.

Sarah clapped her hands happily.

Then she said to a servant,

"I want to have a tea party together. Can you give us a room?"

"I'll inform the marquess."

"Thanks."

After that, Sarah looked at the young lords.

"Let's wait in the greenhouse until the tea is ready?"

"Yes."

"Yes!"

Sarah was completely at the center of the group.

She went to the greenhouse with the young lords.

"Lady Erylott, I'll wait for you?"

—she said to me.

The young ladies were all stunned.

"What's going on?"

"My younger brother was also talking nonsense."

"What does it matter what we call each other!"

"Lady Sarah liked being called Flower Star the most. She was so happy, her eyes welled up with tears!"

While they were grumbling, Mishaar young lady, who had been looking for Sarah all morning, ran over.

"Did something happen?"

"The princes are talking nonsense!"

The Oshuron young lady burst out.

Mishaar young lady narrowed her eyes.

"Are you treating us like servants and isolating us?"

"Yes."

"Unbelievable..."

Mishaar young lady chuckled and crossed her arms.

"My younger brother also said that. He said we were isolating Lady Sarah and treating her like a servant."

"What?!"

"Lady Sarah herself said that. She said she was Catherine's servant and cried!"

The young ladies were speechless.

I and Lumelissa looked at Catherine.

Catherine was like the leader of the group.

In the social circle, when there's a problem, the leader usually takes the hit.

"Lady Sarah seems to be different from what I thought."

The young ladies in Catherine's group had pale faces.

Catherine said,

"I'm done with tea today. I'm tired."

"Me too."

"Same here."

"Me too."

Catherine's group went up together.

The ones left were Lumelissa's group and me.

The other young ladies looked at Lumelissa, the leader of the group.

"What will you do, Lumelissa?"

"I don't particularly like Lady Trang... but..."

Lumelissa's expression turned cold.

"I can't just let someone take the blame for nothing."

"I agree."

"How much did Lady Catherine and the other young ladies take care of Lady Fog? It's really too much."

"I don't like the young lords who spread rumors without knowing anything either."

"Agreed."

"I won't go to tea time either."

The other young ladies dispersed.

I groaned, "Hmm..."

'Sarah Fog is something else.'

She seemed to want to be the leader from the start...

But I didn't want to get involved, so I shrugged.

'I have my own things to do.'

Finding Dalia was more important than the squabbles in the social circle for minors.

* * *

At the Eclipse banquet hall.

The marquess provided a huge banquet hall for the young lords and ladies' tea party.

Sarah, who was sitting at the most prestigious seat, had a progressively darker expression.

30 minutes into the tea party.

Not a single young lady had shown up.

"Sniff..."

Tears fell from Sarah's eyes onto the table.

"It's really too much..."

"Let's at least enjoy ourselves...!"

"Does Lady Erylott dislike me?"

Suddenly, Erylott?

The young lords looked at Sarah, flustered.

"Why... Lady Erylott?"

"While we were going to the greenhouse, I asked Lady Erylott. I asked her to bring the young ladies... I thought it would be awkward for everyone if our relationship became distant, so I asked Lady Erylott, who has a better relationship with the young ladies, to help make the atmosphere warm again. But..."

"Ah..."

"The three brothers of the Astra Marquess family didn't come either... Those three don't seem to like me much, do they?"

Sarah buried her face in her hands and sniffled.

"Is it because Lady Erylott said something bad about me?"