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“Rosia looks so pathetic. Thanks to her, Ayla has been proven to be the rightful top student.”
“I know, right? She would have been better off staying quiet, but why did she make a fool of herself?”
“Was she too jealous? She’s the real daughter of the Duke, but her Magic skills are inferior to Ayla’s.”
Attending the academy amidst the mocking gazes was grueling.
The reaction from her family was also the worst.
They seemed greatly disappointed, as they had high expectations for Rosia.
“What on earth were you thinking?”
Calios’s voice was extremely cold.
“Didn’t you know that even if Ayla was expelled from the Noble house, we should still take responsibility for her while she attends the academy?”
“F-Father…!”
“To tarnish the Noble house with such a thing, I am utterly disappointed. What will people say when they look at you now? Won’t they call you a pathetic Princess Consort who is jealous of a fake?”
After speaking, Calios took a sip of tea to calm his displeased mood.
However, the expression on his face hardened even more as he brought the teacup to his lips.
The Duke frowned at the tea and muttered.
“The tea tastes awful too. How is it that your skills in managing the Noble house haven’t improved at all?”
“……”
“Don’t act rashly for the time being, and stay confined to your room during the vacation!”
Rosia felt a stinging pain at Calios’s sudden change.
A cold face she had never seen before, a cynical attitude, and a gaze that looked at her as if she were useless.
It was clear that the Emotion Manipulation Magic had faltered, and the Duke had returned to his original self.
A self who valued the Noble house’s honor more than his own family.
But Rosia felt nothing but injustice.
‘It’s not my fault that I haven’t managed the Noble house well.’
Ayla had lived as the Princess Consort of the Blanche Noble house for many years and had perfectly handled the Noble house’s affairs, large and small, in place of the frail Duchess.
But Rosia had only been in the Noble house for a short time and hadn’t even received a proper handover.
Irene had merely watched her predicament.
How could she possibly handle the Noble house’s affairs perfectly on her own in such a situation?
‘Would he have been this angry if I had taken the top spot?’
The position of Princess Consort of the Blanche Noble house, which had seemed so comfortable and peaceful, demanded more responsibility than she had expected.
Just not meeting those expectations made her feel like she was slowly withering away.
Gerard, too, turned cold after hearing the news.
“Even if Ayla did something wrong, there was no need to give testimony that was so disadvantageous to her, was there?”
“Brother, but…”
“Were you so upset that Ayla took the top spot from you? So much so that you had to snitch behind her back in such a despicable way?”
Rosia bit her lip in humiliation, recalling his sharp criticism.
‘Perhaps all of this is because of Cedric. He must have said something about me behind my back.’
He was the one who had directly witnessed Rosia slapping Ayla’s cheek.
But he hadn’t said a single word about it in front of her.
Instead, he simply ignored her completely.
Irene also treated her as if she didn’t exist.
This was proof that her Magic was gradually losing its effectiveness.
‘I only tried to corner Ayla, but I never thought things would turn out like this.’
If time passed like this, it would only be a matter of time before she was expelled from the Blanche Dukedom.
‘I have to do something… I can’t just sit here and take it.’
Just as she was anxiously biting her nails, someone stopped in front of Rosia, who was sitting alone in the lecture hall.
“Rosia, can I sit next to you?”
At the familiar voice, Rosia erased her complicated expression and forced a smile.
“Freya…”
The only fortunate thing was that Freya was still on her side.
Even though the academy students were ridiculing her, Freya didn’t seem to care at all and spoke to her without hesitation.
“Of course, sit comfortably.”
Freya smiled contentedly at Rosia’s answer.
But the smile was so fleeting that Rosia didn’t notice her true intentions.
Soon, Freya sat next to her and whispered.
“You look so gloomy. Is it because of the rumors? Are you okay?”
“…I’m not okay, but what can I do? It’s all my fault for being so careless.”
“But even the professors mistook it for a Monster egg, right? You acted according to your conscience, so shouldn’t you be praised for it?”
Freya burst into anger as if it were her own experience.
“So don’t be discouraged. It’s not your fault. The kids will just gossip for a while and then stop anyway.”
Rosia was momentarily touched by her enthusiastic consolation.
“Thank you, Freya. You’re a really good friend.”
Freya smiled once more, but her expression soon turned serious.
“By the way, have you heard the rumor?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Well… there’s a rumor going around that whoever obtains the owner of the Black Dragon will become the next Emperor.”
At Freya’s words, Rosia’s expression hardened unpleasantly.
“There’s such a rumor going around?”
“Yeah, there’s always been a saying that the owner of the Black Dragon will become the next Emperor. But Ayla isn’t royalty, so…”
As she said that, Freya frowned as if she was displeased.
This was because Ayla had suddenly become a hot topic at the tea party she had been invited to a few days ago.
“It’s funny that a commoner became the owner of the Black Dragon.”
“Tell me about it. And she’s not even an ordinary commoner. Who would have thought that the fake daughter who was recently expelled from the Blanche Noble house would become the owner of the Black Dragon?”
“How can that be when she has commoner blood? Isn’t Ayla actually the real daughter?”
“Hey, they even did a DNA test, so that can’t be true. Anyway, it doesn’t seem like a bad idea to build a relationship with her in advance. Even the Magic Tower with its heavy bottom is showing interest.”
They were all influential nobles who were trying to get on the good side of the First Prince.
“…That’s why the Empress and the Empress Consort seem to be trying so hard to win Ayla over these days.”
Freya bit her lip to suppress her emotions and continued.
“As you know, my goal was to be with Prince Darian. But if the Empress takes this opportunity to make Ayla the Crown Princess…”
As soon as she heard those words, Rosia’s face hardened coldly.
“That’s ridiculous.”
Swallowing her rising emotions, Rosia tried her best to comfort Freya.
“Ayla is just a commoner who has nothing but the fact that she’s the owner of the Black Dragon. The Empress wouldn’t want to do something that would be such a loss for her.”
“Thank you, I think so too. But Prince Darian might think differently. He’s someone who values talent above all else.”
Freya took out a handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes.
“He showed so much interest in Ayla at the last ball, I can’t sleep at night just thinking about it.”
“Freya…”
Rosia wore a look of pity.
Freya smiled sadly and looked around for a moment.
Fortunately, the lecture hall was still noisy as the professor hadn’t arrived yet.
She met Rosia’s eyes again and whispered in a low voice.
“That’s why, Rosia… can you help me?”
“Help you?”
“Yeah, the Subjugation Contest is coming up in a few months at the academy.”
Freya smiled with an unreadable expression and leaned in even closer.
Rosia’s eyes gradually widened as she listened to her whisper.
After speaking, Freya smiled playfully.
“You remember when I helped you before, right? It’s your turn to lend me a hand this time.”
Her eyes were filled with the conviction that the other person would never be able to refuse.
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