Caroline Simons, the daughter of Count Norn, was sitting in a chair in the salon, irritably playing with the tassel on her fan.
The two friends sitting next to her were looking at her resentfully, which was also annoying.
Weren't you all totally into it?!
She was just reminding Monica Norton, who had been carried away lately, of her place in the academy.
Her appearance was too shabby and her behavior was so unbecoming to be considered a girl. For some reason, the girl who was not worthy of this academy was elected to the student council.
To top it all off, she was taught how to dance by Felix and Cyril.
Those two were the stars of the academy. When she saw them at a party early this summer, Caroline attempted to get close to them somehow, but her attempt was a failure.
As people always gathered around Felix and Cyril, Caroline could only watch from afar, unable to talk to them, let alone ask them to dance.
And yet… how could that girl dance with them!?
The fan in her grip creaked and squeaked.
Everything was Monica Norton's fault. All she did was serve a slightly bitter tea.
And yet, she made such a big deal out of it and brought shame to Caroline. What a hateful girl!
Everything was her fault! Everything!
A small crack appears on her fan. It was her favorite fan, but now it's broken. She has to beg her father for a new one.
It will be fine. She believed that her father will help her. He doted on Caroline and donated a lot of money to the school. There was no way she would be expelled.
"Please excuse us."
There was a knock at the door and two students entered the room.
A softly swaying honey blonde with mysterious blue eyes tinted with green color, the always calm atmosphere of the second prince, Felix Ark Ridill.
And platinum blond hair mixed with a little honey and dark blue eyes resemble winter snow, the renowned ice prince, and also the eldest son of Marquis Highon, Cyril Ashley
They were the student council president and vice-president of this academy, representing the pinnacle among the students.
Felix took a seat across from Caroline and crossed his legs. Cyril stood behind him, glaring at Caroline and the others with cold eyes.
Cyril wore a rigid face, but Felix was smiling as softly as ever.
I knew it! His Highness would understand my action! I'm not at fault!
As Caroline patted her chest in relief, Felix spoke up in a gentle voice.
"Caroline Simons, the daughter, of Count Norn. Shall we hear your side of the story in the attempt of poisoning Miss Monica Norton?"
Poisoning. At that word, Caroline and her friends' faces quickly changed.
Even if you were a noble, murder is a serious crime. Even if it's merely an attempt, you will be punished with that equivalent crime.
"It was a misunderstanding, Your Highness! It was just a prank! And yet, Monica Norton has taken it upon herself to make a big deal out of it. That girl… must have been trying to embarrass me!"
"By a prank, you mean putting poison into your classmate's cup?"
Felix's calm voice remained unchanged.
And yet, the words that thrust to her were utterly cold and merciless.
Caroline pleaded with teary eyes.
"That thing's not poisonous! It's just an eye drop! I've heard that it's very bitter and can be used as medicine to calm down… That's why I thought it would be good to bring her frightful manner to her senses…"
The latter part was just random nonsense.
The eyedrops bought from the merchant were said to be very bitter and should not be consumed. At the time, she just laughed at the idea of consuming eye drops. But now, she will bring any excuse as long as she could get away with it.
As she was rattling off her excuses, Cyril pulled a small bottle wrapped in a handkerchief out of his pocket.
It was Caroline's eye drop that was confiscated when she was taken into this salon.
"My younger sister, Claudia, told me that the eye drop you were carrying were regulated by law. You need to be a doctor or a certified pharmacist to be eligible to possess this item."
Cyril's dark blue pupils glinted as he glared coldly at Caroline.
"Possessing such a dangerous drug illegally and then giving it to someone else… is if not attempted murder, then what?"
Cyril's younger sister, Claudia Ashley, was a true descendant of the "Intelligent Family."
Also known as a "walking library," she has a vast amount of knowledge that surpasses that of adults. If she declares so, then her words must be true.
Caroline grew pale, but still desperately tried to find a way out.
"I didn't know that this eye drop was such a dreadful thing. I was told that it was just an eye drop… Oh, Your Highness, please believe me!"
As she pleaded with tears streaming down her face, Felix smiled softly.
"Right, without prior knowledge, you dripped that eye drop into Miss Monica Norton's cup, out of mischief."
"T-That's right."
"And you did that to humiliate Miss Norton."
In response to the words dropped calmly, Caroline bit her lip tightly and fell silent.
Felix put his hand over his mouth and chuckled.
"I guess we can add libel to the list."
"!!!"
She was sure her excuses were pretty good. But why has Felix not said anything to help Caroline? Why won't Felix defend her?
At this moment, Caroline still really thought that she could get away with it if she passed it off as ignorance.
Then, a knock came on the door. After Felix gave permission, a female student stepped into the salon and bowed gracefully.
It was an orange-haired freshman styled into ringlets. She's a beautiful girl with a slightly stern face and a dignified air about her.
"My name is Isabelle Norton, the daughter of Count Kerbeck. I am very grateful to you for allowing me to be present here."
Monica Norton was said to be under the care of Count Kerbeck's household. Then it would be natural for Isabelle, the daughter of Count Kerbeck, to be present here to hear the situation.
It will be fine… the daughter of Count Kerbeck loathes and harasses Monica Norton. If something happened to Monica Norton, the disgrace of Count Kerbeck's household, she probably wouldn't condemn me strongly.
As Isabelle sat down in the chair that Cyril had suggested, she cast her eyes down with a very apologetic look on her face.
"I have heard that our troublesome family member has caused trouble for you. Please accept my deepest apology on behalf of Count Kerbeck's household."
Neither Felix nor Cyril said a word. But Caroline was secretly cheering in her heart.
See, I knew it! The daughter of Count Kerbeck has no qualms about cutting off Monica Norton!
If Isabelle hated Monica, she would surely be on her side… Caroline secretly laughed.
Isabelle then glanced at Caroline and said.
"I know it's not much for an apology, but I've actually had my maids prepare some tea. I'm sure everybody is thirsty from all the talking. I do hope you will enjoy it."
Isabelle called out across the door, and her maid quietly entered the room, placing a tray on the table.
As Caroline wondered why they weren't handing them out earlier, Isabelle smiled and pulled a small bottle out of her pocket.
Seeing the small bottle, Caroline and her cronies shrieked inwardly then cowered.
The bottle was so similar to the bottle of eye drop that Caroline possessed.
"Right, since you are here, I hope you could try this medicine, Lady Caroline. I recently bought it from a merchant… I heard this beauty medicine has a very great effect."
With that, Isabelle dripped the liquid from the small bottle into the three cups.
Isabelle's chambermaid then handed out cups to everyone. Isabelle, Felix, and Cyril were given cups without any medicine in them.
While Caroline and her friend, the young ladies, were given cups dripped with medicine.
As Caroline stared at the cup with a strained face, Isabelle covered her mouth with a fan and chuckled.
Despite the fact that her mouth was hidden, her smile was malevolent, clearly showing that she was mocking her.
"…Please help yourself."
Caroline stared at the cup. As that eye drop was odorless, she could not smell anything other than tea.
Is that small bottle the same as my eye drops? Why would the daughter of Count Kerbeck have that in her possession?
The fact that the daughter of Count Kerbeck just happened to possess the same eye drops as Caroline seems quite unnatural. But she believed it must be just a coincidence.
Her companions, sitting next to her, looked at Caroline inquiringly. Neither of them even tried to touch the cup.
Stop it! If you act like that, it's like admitting that the eye drop I possess was poison!
There's no way it was the same eye drop. It must be a bluff.
Caroline stared at the cup of tea, preparing herself, and took a sip.
"…pfft! Ugheee!"
The strong bitter taste made Caroline spit out her tea. Salivating as she tried to avoid leaving a single drop in her mouth, she spat out the tea and glared at Isabelle with eyes full of murderous intent.
"It was poison! This woman tried to poison me!"
"My…"
Isabelle was chuckling as she opened the lid of the small bottle and dripped it into her cup. She then drank the contents of the cup.
"I told you earlier, didn't I? It is good medicine for beauty. Well, perhaps you were surprised to find it a little bitter?"
"Y-You…"
"Fufu, is there a need for you to spew it out in such a disgraceful manner? I mean, that girl drank all the bitter tea you served her, didn't she?"
That girl—it goes without saying that she was referring to Monica Norton.
Isabelle huffed out a languid sigh and muttered.
"Indeed, that woman grew up in a bad environment and is the embarrassment of my household, but I appreciate the way she behaved as a guest, trying to drink all the tea, no matter how bad it was… but would that make you are less than that? And of all people, it's happening in the presence of His Highness, how vulgar."
Isabelle then inclined her fan to show her mouth and snickered.
Caroline, who had tried to humiliate Monica in front of the crowd, was now, of all people, being humiliated by spewing tea in front of Felix.
What is this? What is this? What is this?
Felix didn't say anything. He just watched the exchange between Isabelle and Caroline with a somewhat amused look on his face.
Isabelle was sipping her tea calmly and said, "Oh right," in a tone as if she was having a little chat.
"Regarding this matter, I will notify my father as soon as possible. I mean, a person with the surname of Norton was almost poisoned to death. It's only natural, isn't it?"
"!!!"
It was only now that Caroline realized the magnitude of what she had done.
Even though Isabelle dislikes Monica, it didn't change the fact that Monica was the one bearing Norton's name.
…Caroline had picked a fight with Count Kerbeck's household.
"I believe our Count Kerbeck's household has a close relationship with your hometown, Count Norn's household. It's shame it had become like this."
Count Kerbeck's domain was the widest domain in the eastern part of the Kingdom of Ridill. Its scale was not something that could be mocked as rural nobles.
Above all, the mountainous areas in the east were home to many dragons, so those who had territories in the east were always suffering from dragon attacks. Although the dragon knights would come to the rescue if a request for help was sent to the royal capital, it would take a long time to reach the eastern part of the kingdom from the royal capital, so all the nobles who had territories in the eastern part usually had their own soldiers.
And the biggest of them all was the Count of Kerbeck.
For this reason, when a dragon attacked a noble household in the east and the dragon knights couldn't get there in time, they often turned to the neighboring the Count of Kerbeck… and Caroline's own family, Count Norn's household, were no exception.
Count Norn's household has been saved by the soldiers of Count Kerbeck's household many times whenever his territory was threatened by the dragon.
However, what would happen if her daughter returned the favor with malicious intent?
What if Count Kelbeck is not aiding the Norn Countdom anymore?
The weak military power of Count Norn would not be able to endure the dragon attacks, and at worst they could be destroyed.
"W-Wait… Y-You've got the wrong idea… I didn't mean it… to be like that…"
As Caroline making excuses in a desperate manner, Isabelle gave her a cold look.
Isabelle was younger than Caroline by a year. However, her intimidation was so overwhelming that even Caroline can't hold a candle.
Isabelle only narrowed her eyes slightly, shattering Caroline's pride as she sneered at her.
"Because of your thoughtlessness, it brings ruin to your homeland… such things do often happen in high society, isn't it?"
Isabelle brushed back her orange ringlets as she smiled haughtily, lifting her chin.
"Now, when you get back to your dormitory, make sure you tell your dear friends… what will happen if they make an enemy of my Count Kerbeck's household!"
As if she were speaking in a play, Isabelle was laughed "O-ho-ho-ho-ho!" in a high-pitched cheerful tone.
