CH 59

Alice’s POV

Eventually, after everything, the test had to be replaced and redone with a regular exam sheet.

“Alice-sama~!”

“Oh…Lady Letitia!”

The morning class was over and it was now time for lunch.

I had just left the classroom for a moment to get some fresh air, when I was stopped by a lovely voice.

When I turned around, Leticia-sama, with her plump and cute form, came running up to me.

“Alice-sama, your appearance just now was very cool!”

I responded with a bitter smile to Leticia-sama, who praised me with proud, shining, eyes.

“No, not really. I’m kind of embarrassed to stand out so much…”

“No, no, I don’t think there’s anything to be embarrassed about! It was very cool…and there are a lot of others around who are sparkling with excitement!”

“Sparkling with excitement…?”

When I raised a question, Laurier-sama, who came in late, translated it for me.

“Just as we are, it seems that many of were impressed by your aristocratic perspective earlier, Alice-sama.”

“Uh, yeah?”

I had thought for a moment that they wouldn’t be impressed by me or anything, but sure enough, when I said something aristocratic earlier, there were kids who were motivated to take all subjects.

As we talked about this, I suddenly looked around and saw that the children in the Aurum Ward, who I thought had scattered to eat lunch long ago, were still in the classrooms and nearby corridors. When I looked closely, they seemed to be listening and observing all of our words and actions.

Uooh…s-scary.

Fearful of the aspect of information warfare that was not typical of an elementary school, I took Letitia-sama and Laurier-sama out to a place some distance away. Fortunately, the time was noon. We headed to the large dining room in search of a meal.

Laurier-sama chuckled when she saw me walking too fast.

“Fufu. Alice-sama is surprisingly not good with attention, is she?”

“…Yes, that may be the case. I’ve lived without ever leaving the mansion for a long time…”

“But Alice’s house is what you call the second highest-ranked, isn’t it? After all, it can’t be helped that you’re looked at by everyone, can it?”

“Ughh…”

I moaned at Letitia-sama’s words.

It’s true. As the daughter of Archelaus, the second largest family of the Heimer faction, it was inevitable that I would attract attention.

With that in mind, it was only natural for the children of the Aurum Ward to observe the people who might stand above them.

…For the sake of my predecessor ‘Alice,’ my parents, and those close to me, I shouldn’t be scared by this level of atmosphere.

Having changed my mind, I talked to the two of them about the test as I walked.

“Speaking of which, how did you do on that test earlier?”

When I said that, Laurier-sama’s cheeks flushed with her cool expression still intact.

“Perhaps because I followed Alice-sama’s example and proceeded with my prep work, I was able to solve a few of the more difficult questions. But it was roughly up to the second year.”

Oh. Unlike me, who’s a grown woman on the inside, she was a genuine young girl. She was really amazing, Laurier-sama. When I honestly complimented her, she made a little flustered face.

……It’s just plain cute. Is this what you call a kuudere***? (***T/N: a kuudere is a character who is often cold, blunt, and cynical. They may seem very emotionless and stoic on the outside, but on the inside they’re very caring—at least when it comes to the ones they love.)

On the contrary, Letitia-sama looked gloomy.

“The normal test I probably answered about half…The more difficult tests I couldn’t answer any at all…”

Leticia-sama slumped her shoulders. It seems that it was not good.

That might be understandable. In the first place, the reason why Leticia-sama, the third child who would not inherit the family legacy, was in the Twilight dormitory, was because the eldest son of the first child died suddenly due to illness, and her elder sister from the Venus dormitory had already decided who she would marry.

A third child would normally be placed in the Venus Dormitory, and in this world, even nobles couldn’t go to school if the family had no money.

That’s why she suddenly decided to join the Twilight Dormitory.

Because the possibility of taking over the reigns of her family came up so suddenly, it was no wonder that she was lacking in preparation.

However, Letitia-sama seemed to be impatient when she saw that the students around her were doing the general tests with no issues.

Seeing this, Laurier-sama and I looked at each other.

“If you don’t mind, would you like to study with me after school?”

I found myself saying that out loud.

Then, Lady Letitia looked up quickly.

“Eh…! Are you sure?!”

“Yes, of course. We’re friends. Let’s do our best together, okay?”

“…! Uohh, Alice-sama, so dazzling…”

Laurier-sama squinted and muttered something in a whisper. I couldn’t hear her very well, but anyway, Laurier-sama also wanted to help Leticia-sama.

“Wow—!! Oh, oh, thank you! I’ll do my best!”

Lady Letitia had a glittering smile.

It’s only natural that those of us who could afford it relatively well should support our friends. I hope I can help.

Well, also…a year’s worth of self-study assignments imposed by Sister Thulite and Brother Will were still at boot camp levels.

It would be hard and lonely to do it alone.

“…………”

Let’s do our best at boot camp together, all of us!!

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T/N: Misery loves company after all ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Let’s get this bootcamp started!!