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She merely pressed her lips together as if showing her displeasure, pushing the ruined teacup far away.
'Hoo... Let's be patient. It'll be troublesome if I'm the only one getting worked up and end up being the bad guy.'
It was when her friends, noticing her mood, hurriedly changed the subject to something else.
Rustle.
Suddenly, the noble Young Ladies' gazes turned towards the entrance of the garden at the sound of someone approaching.
There stood Rosia, looking more disheveled than usual.
She, who usually exuded a lovely and cheerful aura, now seemed to have lost all her color.
Her small and petite body was endlessly shrunken, and the tears welling up in her eyes seemed ready to spill at any moment.
"Freya..."
At Rosia's unusual appearance, Freya widened her eyes in what seemed like embarrassment.
The other noble Young Ladies were the same.
"Rosia, what's wrong, what happened?"
As if Freya's words were the trigger, tears poured from her eyes like a flood.
"I'm so upset."
Rosia barely managed to open her mouth with a trembling voice.
Looking so pitiful, Freya quickly got up, approached her, and offered her a handkerchief.
"Upset? What on earth happened?"
Rosia took the handkerchief, wiped away her tears, and continued in a trembling voice.
"I'm supposed to be the one engaged to Kadin... I don't know why he fought with a commoner because of Ayla. And recently, he even postponed our engagement."
As soon as she finished speaking, Freya's expression turned cold.
Rosia lowered her head and added in a weak voice.
"It seems Kadin still has Ayla in his heart. Judging by how he keeps his distance from me."
"That can't be, Rosia. Kadin is just confused right now."
Freya retorted in a firm voice, but there was an uncontrollable anger hidden within.
Recently, the rumors circulating in the academy had been making Freya uncomfortable.
Rumors that Kadin hadn't forgotten Ayla, that he still had lingering feelings for her.
What she disliked even more was that the speculation spreading among the students didn't seem far off.
'I don't know what he's thinking, but Kadin's attitude last time was a bit suspicious.'
At that time, Kadin frowned as soon as Rosia was mentioned.
Freya couldn't understand his behavior at all.
'Has he forgotten that he needs to treat Rosia well? Why does he still have lingering feelings for Ayla? What if Rosia really wants to break off the engagement?'
Fortunately, Rosia was currently showing affection for Kadin.
But if Rosia's heart changed and she decided to break off the engagement, the situation would become even more complicated.
'What if that girl breaks off her engagement with Kadin and becomes a candidate for the First Prince's political marriage?'
That should never happen.
Regrettably, she was of lower status than Rosia, the Princess Consort of the Blanche Family.
If Rosia became a candidate for the First Prince's marriage, Freya's dreams and plans could fall apart.
'That position has been mine for a long time, I can't give it to someone who just rolled in.'
Afraid that the situation would go awry, Freya quickly comforted her with a friendly attitude.
"Kadin is just not sure what to do yet. He was tied to Ayla in an engagement for a long time."
"But..."
Freya shook her head firmly, preventing Rosia from continuing with her negative thoughts.
"It's okay. Trust me. This is something that will naturally resolve itself over time. But apart from that, I understand that you're upset."
Freya patted Rosia's shoulder and looked at her friends around her.
Everyone noticed Freya's gaze and quickly nodded.
Fortunately, the story Rosia had shared provided everyone with a perfect opportunity.
They had all been inwardly annoyed by Ayla, and now they had a reason to criticize her as much as they wanted.
"If she's become a commoner, she should be careful how she acts. Ayla is so mean."
"I know, right? Flirting with someone else's man."
With each word her friends uttered, the conversation quickly heated up.
"It's only natural that Rosia is upset. A marriage between Noble houses might be ruined because of a lowly commoner."
"Right, and in the meantime, she's shamelessly playing around with a trivial commoner."
If Ayla heard all of this, she would be very dumbfounded.
She had clearly expressed her firm refusal to Kadin, and it was impossible to do anything more than that.
Those here knew that fact all too well, but they deliberately ignored it.
People were originally beings who wanted to say whatever they pleased.
They looked down on Ayla, the commoner, and wanted to please Rosia, who had become a Princess Consort in her place.
And to please her, tormenting one commoner was not a difficult task.
Freya, sensing the changed atmosphere, wore a satisfied smile.
'At this rate, Ayla won't be able to stand tall anymore.'
Although the commoner Felix had become a well-regarded figure, that was only within the Swordsmanship Department.
He wouldn't be able to deeply interfere with what was happening in the Faculty of Magic.
Soon, Freya looked at Rosia and whispered in a sweet voice.
"If a commoner commits a sin, they should be punished. I'm so upset that you're being harmed because of someone like that."
Rosia didn't deny her words.
She just lowered her head, her eyes filled with tears.
But among those present, no one was unaware that this was tacit consent.
Ayla frowned as she reached into the drawer. She felt an ominous energy.
Her gaze turned to the inside of the drawer. Sure enough, a dead rat was placed inside.
The corners of Ayla's lips lifted slightly. It was one of the familiar forms of bullying that had appeared in the original story.
Ayla turned around.
Then she saw several students observing her reaction.
She could grasp the situation at once.
'Is the bullying starting already?'
In the original story, she had screamed and gotten angry at the sight of the dead rat.
The students who saw this ridiculed and mocked her.
"Ayla, now that you've become a commoner, you're screaming so vulgarly."
"It seems that position really does make the person."
"It's so funny, really. The rat went in on its own. Surely no one put it there?"
At their words, Ayla only gasped, clutching her head.
"Why, why are you doing this to me?"
One of the students stared at Ayla and said sarcastically.
"It's your fault for not knowing that."
Their words weren't exactly wrong.
In the original story, she had no idea why the bullying had started.
Rosia had shed pitiful tears at the time, gaining the sympathy of her friends, and maliciously accused Ayla of ignoring and disliking her.
If Ayla had done anything wrong at the time, it was only that she didn't know the truth.
'I thought I had bought some time thanks to Felix's efforts, but it seems that leeway is over now.'
Ayla could easily guess why the situation had turned out this way.
A bitter smile formed on her lips.
'Honestly, Cedric really has no consideration.'
In fact, Ayla had already noticed that Rosia had witnessed her and Cedric talking that day.
Even knowing that, she had no choice but to be blatantly targeted. The students' bullying was bound to happen sooner or later.
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