Chapter 69: [Chapter 69] Neris's Tea Party of Death
"Is it really not Neris?"
Isabelle passionately defended Neris. Although it wasn't her intention, if Neris was found to be the culprit of today's chicken incident, Isabelle would be the first to be blamed, so she had no choice.
"No, my lady. It's impossible. I've been keeping an eye on her all the time. She didn't even glance at the 1st-grade classroom, and when she left her seat for a moment, I followed her."
After hearing that, Valentin fell into thought. A moment later, her eyes blazed with anger.
"Then the culprit is obvious. That wicked Megara, what did I say to her? It's infuriating."
Delma, who had been trying to frame Neris as the culprit from the beginning, was disappointed, while Isabelle felt relieved. Valentin applied rose perfume to her hand, deep in thought.
How could she take revenge?
No method to shock Megara immediately came to mind. So, Valentin decided to shift her focus slightly. There was no need to take revenge in the same way.
"Is there a party for the noble families this weekend?"
A party for the lower-grade students, where only the children of families with a high enough social status were invited, was scheduled to take place soon. Megara would naturally attend.
Delma nodded.
"Yes, my lady."
"Contact the host. Tell them that if Megara comes, I won't attend."
Delma and Isabelle both gasped.
In the social circle, that statement was equivalent to declaring war on each other publicly.
The two girls could fight, but revealing it in front of people from other families was a different story. Delma quickly tried to adjust the situation.
"My lady, the party is just a few days away. How can we adjust it now? If you don't want to attend, just make an excuse and skip it."
"Delma, how can you say that to me? Don't you have to be on my side, Delma?"
Valentin showed disappointment at Delma's attempt to avoid a direct confrontation. Delma quickly withdrew her statement, as her power came from Valentin.
"My lady, of course, I'm always on your side. Yes, I'll do as you say."
Delma began to think of a way to explain the situation to her direct employers, the Duke and Duchess. Valentin proudly lifted her chin and said...
The high-ranking nobles of the Empire of Vesta created their own personal crests when they entered school. They would use these crests to sign their own letters, imitating adults.
Having a personal crest different from the family crest required a small territory of one's own, so these personal crests were a symbol of status.
Neris, of course, knew Valentin's personal crest. It was a silly and cute design.
It seemed that Valentin wanted to humiliate her by having her turned away at the entrance, saying that the invitation was fake.
Neris, in her past life, had experienced far more miserable situations than being turned away from a party. In fact, she had ways to make even the attendees of a party feel terrible.
Smiling, Neris folded the invitation again and said to Isabelle,
"Thank you for thinking of me, Valentin. Then I'll definitely attend."
Isabelle smiled inwardly, satisfied.
As expected, even if Neris was cunning, she wouldn't know the personal crest of the Duke's daughter. And even if she did, she wouldn't suspect the invitation that Isabelle had brought.
"Then I'll go back to doing what you told me to do, my lady."
"Go ahead."
Neris had been keeping Isabelle by her side for a while, so she wouldn't get caught up in the trouble that Megara had caused for Valentin. But now, she was giving Isabelle a suitable task to do, so she could leave.
As Isabelle walked away, Diane looked at her with a clearly displeased expression.
"Don't worry about it," Neris said with a smile.
Diane frowned.
"It's weird, Liz. All the other people invited are from families that are over 200 years old, or at least have a viscount as a relative. Why did they invite us?"
Diane had also received Valentin's invitation, but she had kept it a secret as Neris had instructed.
Neris spoke softly.
"Your family's influence in the Empire is not insignificant, Diane. It's just that those people are trying to ignore it."
The hyenas that had gathered at the McKenna estate in the winter. What did it matter if their ancestors had been nobles for generations?
Without money, they would have to go to a family they despised and beg to be received as guests.
However, Diane's face did not show any understanding.
"Hmm... but your cousin's family doesn't need ours, anyway."
That was true. In fact, the Ellandria family was one of the few that didn't have to curry favor with others. Valentin was exceptionally arrogant, even among her own family.
"It's reasonable to invite you."
Neris thought that Valentin's purpose was one of two things: either to take Diane away from her or to humiliate them both together at the party.
However, Diane didn't need to know that. After all, Neris had a way to end the situation before Valentin could even make a move.
"I'll head to Kartak One now. Attend your classes well, Diane."
The two girls, who were on their way to their next class, parted ways at the intersection. Diane waved goodbye, looking a bit sulky, and Neris waved back.
As Neris walked across the large courtyard of Kartak One, her eyes darkened.
In her past life, Neris had hated social gatherings. The way Angarad had flaunted the invitation in front of her was just the tip of the iceberg.
As she grew older, all sorts of things happened. Especially because of Megara.
In her past life, Megara had always ruled like a queen among her peers. Her power was so absolute that even when she insulted people to their faces, the image of Megara in the children's minds remained kind and gentle.
That image was as solid as a diamond. No matter what bad things she did, ordered, or orchestrated, everyone except Neris saw Megara as flawless.
This devotion, bordering on worship, had led to a warped moral compass in the children.
" Megara was right. Why? Because Megara can't be wrong." was a common argument that no one dared to refute, just like the claim "Neris is wrong. Why? Because Neris can't be right."
This blatant double standard had led to the other children behaving even worse.
One day, when Neris was around sixteen, she had received a strange invitation to a tea party.
By that time, she had realized that no one invited her out of kindness, but she was too afraid to decline the invitation because of the sender's name.
So, she reluctantly attended the party.
And soon regretted it.
Megara's tea party by the lake on a beautiful spring day was flawless. The round tables were adorned with colorful finger foods and rose-patterned ceramics.
The children, dressed in their finest clothes and wearing jewelry, were served fragrant tea. Everything seemed perfect, except for one thing: Neris's seat.
When Neris arrived at the party, she wasn't surprised to find that there was no chair for her to sit in. This wasn't the first time something like this had happened.
But when Megara pretended not to know about it, Neris was taken aback.
"Neris, don't stand in the corner. Is it because you don't have a chair?"
"Yes."
Neris nodded cautiously, wary of Megara's intentions. Megara, already radiant with beauty, spoke calmly.
"Your seat is over there. Bring the lady over, Hainman."
Megara's servant, Hainman, picked up Neris and threw her into a coffin that was placed by the lake, before she could even react.
No matter how much she screamed, it was no use. He firmly threw Neris's small, thin body into the coffin and pushed it into the lake before she could escape.
To be fair, the coffin was quite sturdy and probably waterproof. It carried the pale, frozen fifteen-year-old girl quite far without incident.
Neris didn't try to escape quickly because of fear. When the coffin first floated to the surface of the water, Megara pointed out.
"You're dead, so you can't move."
Their classmates were too busy laughing to notice.
Neris remembered it clearly. Valentin was sitting next to Megara at the time.
The two of them, being around the same age and from high-ranking noble families, often invited each other to their social gatherings. Valentin had enjoyed herself immensely that day.
So, something like this now would be meaningless.
Neris, who had barely managed to crawl out of the lake and onto the shore, was later forced to eat a dead mouse that had been served as finger food.
After that, she found even the sound of mice scurrying across the ceiling to be terrifying.
But surely Valentin wouldn't bring mice to her own party?
Lost in thought, Neris found herself standing in front of the senior students' classroom. Her next class was "International Resources and Trade". The direction that Nellurion had walked out of last time Valentin visited...
Neris's feet had stopped in front of the classroom without her realizing it.
"Neris."
A very friendly voice, without any reserve. Neris turned her head with a pleased expression at the sound of the voice.
Nellurion was standing there, smiling as usual.
"Are you here for class?"
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