A small smile returned to her mouth after a moment’s hesitation.
“But what does that have to do with anything? Even if Camilla Sorpel is friendly with Laila Hestem, what can Laila do? Do you think that Camilla Sorpel would actually wade into something like this?”
Laughter broke out here and there as if in agreement with Merise.
“You’re overthinking it, Luhis.”
“She calls herself a friend, but she’s basically acting like Camilla Sorpel’s maid—what are you being so careful for?”
But Luhis shook his head and spoke cautiously.
“I’m saying it because I don’t think it’s something to take lightly. She’s changed. She’s not the Camilla Sorpel she used to be.”
“What?”
“You heard how she acted at the Hunting Tournament, right? Her reputation isn’t as bad as before—”
“Luhis.”
Luhis stopped at Merise’s cold voice.
“What are you trying to do right now? Are you saying you care about Camilla Sorpel that much?”
“It’s not that......”
He had been at the Hunting Tournament and Camilla had helped him. When he was nearly injured by the attackers, Camilla had saved him.
The thought that he might end up indebted to her and thus have to act friendly felt unpleasant.
The darker Luhis’s expression grew, the more crooked Merise’s smile became.
After a brief, strange silence, Merise smiled and issued an order.
“Luhis, bring her.”
“What?”
“That girl.”
“......!”
“Bring her here.”
****
“Ha.”
Laila let out a long breath inwardly. She stopped at the gate of her own house.
Clap, clap!
She slapped her own cheeks a few times and hurriedly relaxed the frozen expression on her face. Before she knew it, a bright smile had spread across her mouth.
“I’m home.”
She called out cheerfully and stepped inside. The house wasn’t very large, but the yard was wide.
In that wide yard many vegetables and fruits were growing lushly. Seeing that, a genuine smile spread over Laila’s face.
No matter how hard things got, coming home always made her feel at ease.
“You’re back?”
“Yes.”
When she opened the door her mother greeted her warmly, as always.
“Oh?”
But her mother was not the only one in the house.
“A guest came. Said she’s a friend.”
“A friend?”
No sooner had the words left her mother’s mouth than the man who had been sitting with his back turned slowly rose.
“Hello.”
“Uh......”
He was a familiar face.
Student Council Vice President Luhis.
She had seen him several times going around to deliver Student Council notices.
“How did you—”
“I had something to say.”
Luhis smiled faintly and approached her.
“Could you spare a moment?”
“Ah, yes.”
He glanced at the doorway as if to indicate this was not the place to talk, and Laila nodded.
“Come again later.”
“All right. It would be nice if you stayed for a meal.”
“No. Some good tea is enough.”
He bowed politely and moved ahead. Laila followed him.
“I heard.”
“Heard what?”
Luhis went straight to the point.
“They say things have been hard at school lately?”
“Huh?”
“They’re bullying you, I heard.”
Laila hesitated to answer.
If it looked that way to others... then it must be bullying, right?
She kept telling herself no, it’s not true, but the truth was it had been hard.
As her shoulders sank, Luhis spoke in a gentle voice.
“So our Student Council wants to offer some help.”
“Help?”
“Yes. It’s the Student Council’s job to help with things like this.”
They’re all waiting now—do you want to come with us?
At Luhis’s kind question, Laila finally nodded.
“Come in.”
“This is......”
It was not the Student Council Room. The place they reached following Luhis was an impressive building.
“It’s property owned by the Student Council President. I thought it’d be more comfortable than the Student Council Room.”
“Oh.”
Laila lightly bowed in thanks as Luhis opened the door, then stepped inside.
Splash!
The moment she went in, her head went blank. Trash and cold water poured down from above.
“Ugh.”
“Look at that dumbfounded face.”
“So? Still think this is a mistake?”
Laila slowly lifted her head at the voices close by. The faces there were ones she already knew.
Student Council President Merise and the Student Council officers.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
Frozen for a moment, Laila brushed off the water roughly and asked calmly. Her expression had become composed.
“You’re still peculiar.”
“I told you. This target’s very dull.”
The officers’ gazes turned to the one who had orchestrated all this—Student Council President Merise—asking what to do next.
Merise, who had been watching with her arms folded, met Laila’s eyes and smiled.
“First, let’s go downstairs. We should greet Miss Hestem for coming all the way here.”
She led the giggling officers down the stairs.
A strange thrill flashed across Merise’s face as she walked.
‘At first it was just fun.’
It had been done as a small amusement to break the monotony of a boring routine. There had happened to be someone who annoyed her.
But as it went on, incidental benefits appeared.
‘The students revolve around me.’
Because she had led the play, those who enjoyed it followed her.
The power that formed without her realizing it was intoxicating. Everyone began to tremble at the thought that catching the Student Council President’s ire could make them the next toy—votes or anything else no longer mattered.
Those who might become the next target stopped contradicting her words out of fear.
At the same time, a strange sense of solidarity formed. Watching the ones being victimized, the students felt a new emotion.
Relief.
A strange relief at not being the target.
“First, make her kneel.”
At Merise’s words several students approached Laila.
Thud.
“What, what is—”
But Laila’s movement was a beat quicker than theirs.
Before they could force her, she knelt on her own. Then she smiled gently.
“I’m sorry. I must have done something wrong, right? I don’t know what, but I’ll apologize. If kneeling will get forgiveness, I’ll kneel.”
Everyone wore expressions of disbelief at the unexpected response. What is she even? Still hasn’t realized what’s going on?
Merise was just as stunned.
“Wow, Laila Hestem, you’re really amusing.”
Merise clicked her tongue softly at Laila’s eyes, which looked at her without any trace of fear.
It wasn’t ignorance. Those steady eyes, plainly showing ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ resolve, were very unpleasant.
“I don’t like that hairstyle.”
If you don’t like it, change it.
“Cut her hair. Really short.”
Like it was routine, a student nearby quickly retrieved a pair of scissors and stepped toward Laila.
Seeing the scissors, Laila’s eyes wavered for the first time.
“...Why are you doing this?”
No matter how much she thought, she couldn’t find a reason.
If there was a misunderstanding, they could clear it up. She had already apologized in advance for whatever vague wrong she might have committed.
So why? Why crush her so completely like this......?
“Just because.”
“What?”
“Does there have to be a reason?”
Merise’s smile deepened.
“It’s just a game. Do games have to have a reason?”
“A ga—me?”
“Yes. A game.”
Do it—cut.
Laila squeezed her eyes shut.
It’ll be okay. Hair grows back. Don’t cry. You decided not to cry easily.
This isn’t that bad.
Slash.
She felt the scissors nearing.
“......?”
But even as time passed, she didn’t feel her hair being cut.
Slowly lifting her head, Laila widened her eyes.
Another hand had stopped the hand holding the scissors.
“You know you’ve crossed the line, right?”
‘Be well. Okay?’
The voice was warm, as always, just like long ago.
Camilla.
Camilla clicked her tongue as she surveyed the gathered group. They’d learned nothing but nastiness from somewhere.
“Going to keep holding those scissors?”
Clatter!
At the sudden appearance someone flinched and unwittingly dropped the scissors.
Only then did Camilla drop the hand she had been holding.
“Ha.”
A short sigh escaped her.
As expected, Arsian and Petro had not reacted to this incident at all.
‘Good thing I had Zeno stick close.’
Just in case, she had kept Zeno near Laila. She’d told him to alert her immediately if anything happened.
No surprise—Zeno had hurried to find her a little while ago saying the Student Council Vice President had taken Laila somewhere.
After hearing the rough address, Camilla immediately realized it was a building owned by Merise, the place where the perpetrator videos were made.
It wasn’t hard to find; anyone who needed to know already knew where it was.
“Tch.”
Camilla clicked her tongue softly at Laila, who looked at her in a daze.
Seeing her soaked and covered with trash, Camilla couldn’t help but sigh.
Should I have helped sooner?
Still, she asked one last time.
“You still okay?”
All this time Laila had always said not to worry and had bravely insisted she was fine.
“Do you still not want help?”
Laila’s eyes reddened as she looked at Camilla.
“Help me......”
Tears finally fell from her eyes.
At the same moment Camilla’s body began to move.
“Help me, Camilla......”
Camilla met the eyes of each of the frozen students one by one after her arrival.
Then, turning her back to Laila, her red eyes fixed on Student Council President Merise.
A chilling smile formed on the face that regarded the bristling, wary Merise.
Side story. The Princess and the Witch
“Uh?”
I first saw that girl when I was six.
“Wow, she’s pretty!”
A girl who had come to the village not long before.
Her clothes were scruffier than mine, an orphan’s clothes, but her face looked just like a princess’s.
“Let’s play with her too.”
At my suggestion the other children froze.
“No.”
“I don’t want to.”
“I don’t like her.”
“Yeah, I don’t want to play with her.”
They all shook their heads at once.
“Why? She’s pretty.”
“I don’t know.”
“I just don’t like her.”
“Hmm......”
I looked at the girl again. Didn’t she want to play with us too? She kept looking this way.
But when our eyes met she turned away sharply.
‘Her eyes are pretty.’
Her red eyes, glittering like jewels, were especially beautiful.
After that I saw her often. She would always watch us playing but never came up to talk.
“What’s your name?”
Finally I approached first.
“......Camilla.”
“Wow! That’s a pretty name.”
She opened her mouth blankly at my words, as if she’d never heard anything like that before.
“Will you play with me?”
“......Really?”
“Yes!”
Her faint smile made me marvel again. A princess-like pretty girl smiling made her even prettier.
That’s how I found a new friend.
****
“You’re a beggar, right?”
“No, I’m not!”
“My mom said so. Orphans are all beggars.”
“Yeah. My mom said the same.”
“No! We’re not beggars!”
Until yesterday the children who had played with me suddenly began teasing me, as if they’d heard something.
“They said you wear the clothes we threw away.”
“They said you stole fruit from our orchard.”
“Huh? Isn’t that stealing?”
“Right. She’s a thief.”
“No! We don’t steal fruit!”
“She said ‘she’s a thief~ she’s a thief~’”
“No!”
I clenched my fists and ran at the children.
Smack.
“Ouch!”
But being small, I was shoved and fell over by the other children.
“She’s a beggar~”
“She’s a thief~”
“Ugh... ugh......”
Tears finally spilled out. I was so wronged and hurt. But the children teased me even more for crying.
Then—
