Chapter 19
"How could a disgrace to our family like you become a student council officer!? Now, tell me the truth! Just how did you worm your way into His Highness's favor?"
Lady Isabel Norton, daughter of Count Kelbeck, shouted loudly enough to echo through the corridor, then smashed her teacup against the floor.
At the sharp crash of porcelain shattering, Monica sucked in a frightened breath.
Isabel then picked up the stuffed animal displayed beside the bed, raised it high, and slammed it against the wall. Thump, thump—the blows made a satisfyingly muffled sound.
"Oh my, what is with that defiant look!? You don't seem to understand your place, do you? Then I'll make you learn it the hard way!"
With that, Isabel slammed the stuffed animal against the wall with all her strength, then wiped the sweat from her brow with a bright, refreshed expression. She looked like a craftsman basking in the satisfaction of a job well done.
"How was that for a villainess?"
"Uh, um..."
While Monica struggled to answer, Agatha, Isabel's maid, nodded with a smile as she cleaned up the broken teacup.
"As expected of you, Lady Isabel! You were the very picture of a villainess!"
"Right? Right? Especially the part about 'making you learn it the hard way.' I adapted that from the latest volume."
"Eek! I saw it, I saw it! That's when the count's daughter raises a fork to scar the heroine's face, and the prince comes to rescue her, right!?"
"That's right! That scene was just so wonderful!"
Unable to keep up with Isabel and her maid as they excitedly chattered away, Monica sipped at the tea prepared for her and tentatively cut in.
"Um... smashing the teacup was a bit much, wasn't it...?"
When Monica cast a sidelong glance at the teacup reduced to fragments, Isabel proudly puffed out her chest.
"Not at all! It already had a crack in it! I keep a stock of chipped dishes specifically for this purpose!"
"I-I see..."
"By the way, the trick is to smash it on marble rather than on a carpet, so the sound carries well!"
Agatha clapped her hands with a radiant smile. "As expected of you, my lady! You really understand how to stage things!"
When Monica told Isabel that she had been appointed student council treasurer, Isabel jumped for joy, invited Monica to her room, and prepared tea for her.
The wealthy Isabel had a private room in the dormitory and had brought three maids with her. Agatha was the youngest of them and apparently shared Isabel's love of reading. She gleefully participated in Isabel's villainess role-play.
(Is it really okay for a maid to treat her own young lady like a villainess...?)
Monica secretly held her head in her hands at the sight of Isabel and Agatha having such a wonderful time.
Anyone passing by this room would probably assume that Monica had been dragged inside and was being punished. But wouldn't this damage Isabel's reputation?
Ignoring Monica's concern, Isabel returned the stuffed animal to its original place and sat down again with perfect elegance.
"Now then, once again... Sister Monica, congratulations on becoming student council treasurer. To be chosen as a student council officer just a few days after enrolling... As I thought, as I thought, you really are special, Sister Monicaaa~!"
When Isabel squealed excitedly, pressing her hands to her cheeks, Agatha gestured toward the corridor and placed a finger to her lips.
"My lady, shh. If you speak so loudly, they'll hear you in the corridor."
"Ah, that's right. Then I'll say it quietly... Sister Monica, congratulations. I'm as happy as if it were happening to me."
Fidgeting with her teacup for no particular reason, Monica thanked her in a faint voice. "Thank you..."
Isabel raised her teacup elegantly and smiled at Monica with refined grace.
Her gesture and smile were so polished that it was impossible to believe she was the same person who had been swinging a stuffed animal around moments earlier. It was the perfect smile of a young lady.
"Sister Monica, if you ever have trouble with school life, please tell me anything at all. I... while flamboyantly obstructing you as a villainess in public, I'll support you from the shadows."
Wondering inwardly how she could both obstruct and support someone, Monica gave an ambiguous nod.
Isabel's reaction was enough to give Monica a headache, but her classmates were an even more serious problem.
After all, yesterday Cyril, the vice president of the student council, had dragged Monica away, and she had skipped classes for the entire day. If they found out that she had become a student council officer on top of that... Who knew what they would do to her?
Monica trembled as though chilled, even though it was not cold, and took a tiny sip of tea.
＊ ＊ ＊
The next day, from the moment Monica left her room, she was subjected to the stares of everyone around her—in the dormitory, on the way to school, and in the classroom. Apparently, word had already spread that Monica was a new student council officer.
The contemptuous looks directed at the country bumpkin until yesterday had now changed into malicious stares tinged with envy.
Malice and hostility pricked at her skin.
Hushed whispers colored by irritation and ridicule.
(I want to go home...)
As Monica sat at her desk half on the verge of tears, someone suddenly tapped her on the shoulder from behind.
Monica flinched violently and began trembling all over.
She was afraid to turn around. She had surely been summoned. They would take her behind the school and throw water on her... As she fought back tears, someone gave her braid a sharp tug.
"Hey, you. Is that hairstyle really what you're wearing today, too?"
The person glaring at Monica with a sullen expression was Lana Colette. Today, she had curled her hair beautifully and let it fall to one side. A flower-shaped hair ornament was fastened at the base of the gathered hair.
As for Monica, she had been so dreadfully depressed about going to school that morning that she had not had even the slightest mental energy to practice a new hairstyle.
At times like that, one's grooming naturally became careless, and her braid was messier than usual.
Seeing Lana frown unhappily, Monica hurriedly apologized.
"I-I'm sorry. I couldn't practice properly... Um..."
"Does that have anything to do with you being taken to the student council yesterday?"
"..."
"I heard a rumor that you became a student council officer. That's a joke, right?"
The decorative badge indicating that she was a student council officer had been removed and placed in Monica's pocket.
When Monica unconsciously pressed a hand over the pocket, Lana pouted sulkily.
"What, you don't even want to talk to me?"
"N-no... That's not it... Um... I..."
As Monica lowered her head and mumbled, Lana muttered one short word: "Hand."
What did she mean by "hand"? As Monica looked back and forth between her own hand and Lana, Lana grabbed her arm and rolled up her sleeve without asking permission. Monica sucked in a frightened breath.
What was Lana going to do to her arm? Was she going to hurt her? As Monica trembled at the terrifying possibilities, Lana peered closely at her wrist and let out a small sigh of relief.
"...Oh. So you didn't injure your hand."
"Huh?"
"Yesterday, Vice President Ashley used ice magic on you, right? The one that binds you with ice manacles. I thought you might have gotten frostbite..."
Monica felt as though scales had fallen from her eyes.
When Cyril had put the ice manacles on her yesterday, Monica had instinctively cast defensive magic, so she had not suffered frostbite. But Lana did not know that, and had been worried that Monica might have been injured.
Monica felt one of the fears she had been carrying dissolve and slip away. Before she knew it, her face had taken on an expression halfway between tears and laughter.
"...Thank you."
Lana snorted. Her cheek was slightly red.
As though to hide it, Lana brushed back her flaxen hair and took out a comb.
"It can't be helped. I'll braid your hair again today."
"...Hehe."
"What are you grinning about!? Make sure you learn it properly this time!?"
"...Yeah. Okay."
Just as Monica nodded, feeling strangely happy, someone spoke.
"Oh, so a friend did your hair yesterday? How skillful."
The soft, sweet voice belonged to someone Monica had heard far too much of yesterday.
Lana looked startled. And it was not just Lana—everyone in the classroom was focused on that person.
When Monica turned around with a deathly expression, she found herself looking into the eyes of Felix, who was smiling brightly at her.
His soft golden hair glittered in the morning sunlight, his mystical blue eyes shone, and his finely sculpted features drew shrill squeals from the female students.
The more self-controlled girls did not cry out, but they still gazed at Felix with dreamy, feverish eyes. Lana, too, was astonished and captivated by Felix's beauty.
"Hey, good morning."
"G-g-g-good... m-morning..."
"Sorry for dropping by unannounced first thing in the morning. I thought I'd give you the student council officers' schedule."
Felix's words caused a stir around them. Even Lana's eyes widened as she stared at Monica.
(I want to disappear right now.)
Felix handed the paper with the schedule to Monica, whose face had gone deathly pale, then traced a finger along her collar.
"Oh? Where's your officer's badge? You're not wearing it?"
"Ah, um, uh..."
When Monica tried to evade the question by turning her head away, Felix grasped her chin and forced her to face forward.
"Let me see it?"
When Monica fearfully took out the badge, Felix plucked it up and fastened it to her collar himself.
"Don't take it off on your own, all right? You are an honored member of the student council. You need to look the part."
Ah, Monica did not want to be a student council officer. She did not want to, but she had no choice if she was going to carry out her guard duty.
Even so, the eyes of everyone around her hurt.
(I'm scared...)
Most of all, Felix was standing close to her. Far too close.
As an escape from reality, Monica began counting Felix's eyelashes.
One, two, three, four... His eyelashes, the same color as his hair, were astonishingly long. How many matchsticks could they hold? Two... No, perhaps even three.
As she counted the eyelashes, Monica also considered how many would be needed to support a matchstick. The strength of each eyelash, the density of their growth, and the angle of the lashes were all important.
While Monica was escaping into such thoughts, the long eyelashes before her lifted, and the blue eyes beneath them gleamed mischievously as they looked up at her.
"Why are you staring so intently?"
"...M-m-m-m-matchsticks..."
"Hmm?"
"I was thinking about the optimal angle of your eyelashes for balancing matchsticks on them!"
The classmates who had been holding their breath and watching the scene froze. Lana, for her part, went pale. "Hey, you idiot...!"
But Felix merely chuckled, his shoulders shaking, and withdrew his hand from Monica's collar.
"Have your friend make your hair look cute. Yesterday's hairstyle was cute, and the ribbon suited you, too."
Felix ran his fingers lightly through Monica's hair, then gave her a wink.
"Well then, see you after school. In the student council room."
With that, Felix left the classroom.
Monica sank limply into her chair and slowly exhaled.
She was exhausted. It was still morning, and she was already utterly worn out.
She was thinking that she wanted to return to her room and crawl into bed right then and there when Lana gave her shoulders a firm push, forcing her to sit properly in her chair. Her eyes were shining brightly.
"Um..."
When Monica timidly looked up at Lana, Lana breathed heavily through her nose and brandished her comb.
"His Highness recognized my skills... I can't send you off with some half-hearted hairstyle... Prepare yourself. I'll give you an incredibly fashionable, cutting-edge cute hairstyle."
"Yesterday's is fineeeeeee!"