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Episode 87

The tea party was held at the townhouse of the Kinsel family.

At a time when nobles were just beginning to show interest in business, the Kinsel family had jumped in faster than anyone and amassed enormous wealth.

Owning such a grand townhouse in the capital was itself proof of their financial power.

Several tables were set across the well-landscaped garden. Beneath the fluttering awnings overhead, students who had arrived early gathered in small groups, chatting.

"I never thought they'd actually come."

"Exactly. Honestly, I thought they'd decline."

"I was also surprised Theo said he'd come. He's incredibly good-looking, but he keeps his walls up—only hanging out with Janet and Lady Julietta."

"Maybe he's coming because they are?"

"I suppose. Where the needle goes, the thread follows. But none of the three have arrived yet?"

The students' biggest topic of conversation was naturally whether Janet, Julietta, and Theo would attend.

Normally, it was considered polite to arrive about thirty minutes early.

With only ten minutes left until the appointed time, the three were still absent.

"Maybe they said they'd come but aren't going to show?"

The one who said that was Kelvin.

He was the most pretentious and know-it-all boy in the class, and for some reason, he had a one-sided rivalry with Theo.

"Come on, that can't be. If they said they'd come, they'll come."

"Hmph. You people don't understand. She's Julietta—known for her bad temper and selfish behavior. That personality isn't going to just—"

"It seems like it did, though?"

Startled.

At the voice that cut in from behind, Kelvin froze.

"Where do you think Julietta's personality went?"

"Th-that's not……"

At the trembling boy's stammering, Janet let out a scoff.

He couldn't even speak properly in front of the person himself, yet he had plenty to say behind her back.

'If Julietta had heard that……'

Pretending not to care, she would have been deeply hurt.

Hoo. As Janet let out a sigh mixed with relief and frustration, Kelvin's shoulders flinched again.

The students at the same table watched Janet nervously.

She was said to be Lady Julietta's only friend—it seemed she'd inherited that intimidating presence as well.

But the next moment—

"Janet, what are you doing over there?"

"Ah, Julietta."

At Julietta's call, a smile bloomed on Janet's cold face.

It was the same smile she always wore when beside Julietta.

The students, who had been frightened just moments ago, couldn't believe their eyes.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"No, I just heard something interesting."

"Interesting?"

As Julietta blinked, Janet shook her head.

"But I must have misheard."

Janet replied brightly and met the eyes of the students behind Kelvin.

Only Kelvin had said something bad—the others hadn't.

Offering an awkward smile, she bowed her head slightly and excused herself.

"Sorry for interrupting."

"Oh, no! No! You're not interrupting."

"R-right. And we didn't think that way."

"Me neither."

At their quick distancing from Kelvin, Janet laughed.

Then—

"You should be more careful with your words from now on. You never know who might hear you."

"……."

After glancing pityingly at his silent nodding, she turned to Julietta.

"What was that about? What did you guys talk about?"

"Secret."

"What? A secret?"

"Yeah. A secret."

"Huh!"

Though Julietta pretended to be incredulous, she couldn't hide her disappointment—Janet laughed at that.

Not long after they sat down, Theo also appeared.

Julietta's brow furrowed upon seeing Kendrick strolling over casually.

"Ugh, look at him walking all fancy."

"Huh? You mean Theo?"

"Yeah. Look at him—hands in his pockets, pretending to be all relaxed."

Janet tilted her head and looked at Theo.

'He just looks like he's walking normally to me……'

Sensing her gaze, Theo raised his head and met Janet's eyes. A smile spread across his otherwise expressionless face.

"Oh?"

Having witnessed the change in expression firsthand, Julietta couldn't suppress her contempt for her own blood.

'Well, come to think of it, he likes Janet, doesn't he?'

Whether he was aware of it himself or not.

One thing was certain—Janet had no idea.

'Of course, I did want Janet and Kendrick to end up together……'

That feeling remained.

After all, they were precious family and precious friends. It would be wonderful if people they liked ended up together.

But—

'Why is it that I can't stand the idea of her with Theo?'

Even knowing they were the same person, she still felt that way.

Maybe it was because their first meeting had been so adversarial? The smug, teasing Theo was quite annoying.

'And he knew the whole time that I was being fooled.'

No—the more she thought about it, the more infuriating it became.

Grinning. With a crooked smile, Julietta linked her arm through Janet's.

"Hm?"

Janet, who had been about to greet Theo, turned her head to look at Julietta.

"What's wrong, Julietta? Did you want to say something?"

"Janet."

"Yeah."

"Janet. I'm your number one friend, right?"

"Of course. Why are you asking something so obvious?"

Janet replied with genuine disbelief.

"Just suddenly curious."

Thoroughly pleased, Julietta smiled with her lips curled up.

She didn't forget to stick her tongue out at Kendrick over Janet's shoulder.

Her sibling's flustered expression was well worth seeing.

---

Once everyone had arrived, the tea party began in earnest.

"Thank you all for coming. Before we start, let's give a round of applause to Barbara, who provided the venue."

Following the class officer's opening remarks, the students applauded Barbara.

Blushing, Barbara bowed shyly.

Since many had attended and the group included both nobles and commoners, today's tea party was structured differently from typical ones.

Instead of sitting in one place and conversing elegantly, people carried their teacups and moved around, mingling freely.

Quite a few also stood by the communal tables, chatting.

'It's just like a banquet hall.'

In fact, the teacups were probably a substitute for champagne.

Given that the Academy admitted students as young as thirteen, serving champagne could be problematic—so tea was used instead.

As Janet surveyed the surroundings, someone approached her.

"Hi, Janet."

"Yeah. Hi, Sylvia."

"Oh my. You know…… my name?"

"Of course. I've memorized everyone's names in our class."

At Janet's words, Sylvia looked surprised.

After all, Julietta and Janet had been like isolated islands in the class.

Whether by choice or circumstance.

But to think she'd memorized everyone's names.

'That's really unexpected.'

In truth, Sylvia had come to this table hoping to talk to Theo.

Unlike Janet and Julietta, Theo occasionally interacted with classmates—Sylvia included.

But Sylvia wasn't satisfied with that. She wanted to get closer to Theo, and she'd thought she shouldn't miss this opportunity.

Yes, that was the intention that had brought her here……

But facing Janet, who had remembered her name, she found herself more interested in her than in Theo.

Glancing. Sylvia's gaze turned to Julietta.

"Um, uh, h-hi, Julietta!"

Julietta, who had been stirring her tea while resting her chin on her hand, looked up at Sylvia.

Just as she thought she was being ignored—

"Yeah. Hi."

At Julietta's reply, Sylvia's eyes sparkled.

'What? This is really unexpected……?'

There's a word—'created fear.'

The fear of imagining what might be lurking in the dark, terrifying oneself with nothing but imagination.

What the students felt toward Julietta was close to 'created fear.'

That meant that actually facing her directly made that fear disappear.

Once Sylvia broke the ice, one by one, students began to gather around them.

Before long, the two were surrounded by people.

"Hey, I heard Ludwig has over ten villas. Is that true?"

"I don't know. If you count everything, maybe."

"Wow! Could you invite me sometime?"

"……If possible."

At Julietta's answer, voices erupted around them—"Me too! Me too!"

'What is this situation.'

Experiencing this for the first time, Julietta felt dizzy.

What was funny was that she didn't dislike it.

Perhaps because it wasn't one of those stiff noble events where everyone pretends to be elegant and refined, she felt less uncomfortable and awkward.

But—

'Where did those two disappear to?'

When she came to her senses, both Janet and Theo were gone.

Just as she considered looking around—

"Julietta, I also have a question—"

"Me too, actually—"

Overwhelmed by the flood of questions, Julietta had to give up looking for them.

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