The rose courtyard at noon was always a little quiet. The bustle of the main hall Luxhall didn't reach here, nor did the liveliness of the great dining hall Mirabelle. This place, surrounded by school buildings where over fifty varieties of roses bloomed in profusion, was famous as a confession spot and should have attracted crowds during lunch break, but today no one came. Probably because Alice was here. Alice Von Claire sat on a stone bench, her hands folded in her lap. For a week, she had avoided all three of them. When Lucas tried to talk to her, she brushed him off. She ignored Edward's offer to escort her. Every time Sebastian's light blue eyes seemed about to meet hers, she quickly turned the corner of the hallway. As a result of building walls herself, she now sat alone in this courtyard. The rumor that the Vilmont family was gathering supporters for the banishment decree had been whispered about in the hallway this morning. The Fairvaltung—the advisory body composed of the kingdom's twelve highest noble families—needed just a few more houses for the resolution, or so people said. The activation condition for the social banishment decree required the approval of one member of the royal family and three or more great nobles. Alice had no way of knowing how many had been gathered so far. (If the banishment decree is issued, even attending tomorrow's ball will be over.) She thought vaguely about this, but couldn't come up with any concrete plan of action. Then. She heard footsteps. Unhesitating, straightforward footsteps. When Alice looked up, a blonde ponytail swayed smoothly. Deep green eyes. An upright posture. At 165 centimeters tall, with a face that always looked serious—the moment Alice realized this was the young lady of the Vilmont family, her entire body went rigid. The game knowledge deployed instantly. Belinda Vilmont. Daughter of the Vilmont family, which was pushing for the banishment decree. A declaration of war? Or an ultimatum? Alice tried to stand up without changing her expression. Before she could, her visitor spoke. "[serious]Are you the notorious venomous young lady everyone's talking about?" It was neither a declaration of war nor an ultimatum. "[serious]I just wanted to meet you directly and see if the rumors match reality." Alice stood there blankly for three seconds. Then slowly her expression returned to normal. (…This development wasn't in the game.) "[sarcastic]So you came all this way to check? That means you're curious about me too. How dishonest of you." Belinda's eyebrow twitched. "[angry]I'm not curious—I just needed to confirm something! The story about the crown prince being infatuated with you makes no sense whatsoever. Are your eyes broken?" "[sarcastic]Whether someone's eyes are broken is for them to judge, not for me to decide. Besides, even if the crown prince likes someone, why would that be a problem for the Vilmont family?" "That's—" "[cold]So there is a problem. Then let's talk about that instead. I don't dislike people who take roundabout approaches, but you're not one of them, are you?" Belinda fell silent. Anger and a hint of surprise showed on her face. Alice thought that this was someone whose emotions showed easily on her face. Before she knew it, a student had stopped at the entrance to the courtyard. They must have tried to pass through but stopped in their tracks. "[serious]What I'm trying to say isn't that—it's that someone like you shouldn't be standing next to the crown prince! You hurt people with your sharp tongue, you don't read the room, and you call yourself a noble lady?" "[sarcastic]By the way, is that criticism of me? Or criticism of noble ladies in general? If it's the latter, you're in the same position, aren't you?" "[angry]That's exactly why people call you venomous!!" "[cold]Am I wrong?" "…You're not wrong." It was a word wrung out with effort. More people had gathered at the courtyard entrance. Two, three, five people. Students who had passed by were stopping and forming a circle. Someone whispered, "Isn't this like a comedy routine?" The verbal sparring continued. When Belinda threw logic at her, Alice countered with sharp wit from an unexpected angle. When Alice made sarcastic remarks, Belinda responded with direct refutation. Neither was lying. Neither's logic was flawed. That's why the conversation wouldn't stop. Five minutes passed, then ten. The crowd of onlookers had grown to over a dozen without anyone noticing. "I wonder who'll win," someone said from the back. Alice thought to herself. (This girl, she's just as bad at hiding her true feelings as I am.) She properly followed through even with people she disliked. When she was angry, it showed on her face. She said what she wanted to say directly. Alice didn't know if the Vilmont family allowed their young lady to do such things, but at least Belinda herself wasn't stopping it. The verbal sparring paused for a moment. Belinda's tone softened. "[sad]…I'll be honest." The onlookers fell silent. "[sad]I was envious of you. Of how you could say whatever you thought directly." Her voice had become quieter. Her green eyes looked straight at Alice. It was something deeper than the anger from before. "Because I'm a Vilmont lady, I've lived swallowing my words. Choosing my words carefully, reading the room, behaving as expected. …I thought that was natural. But—" She stopped there. Silence spread. The sound of roses swaying in the wind filled the courtyard. Alice watched Belinda. One beat, two beats. Then her mouth moved. Words she hadn't meant to say came out. "[sad]…I didn't choose to be venomous because I wanted to either." She was surprised hearing her own voice. "It's the only weapon I have, so I'm desperately clinging to it. I wasn't suited to smiling prettily and smoothing things over with beautiful words, so—" The sharp tongue she'd chosen to avoid a bad ending. Within the framework given to her as a great noble's daughter, she'd simply chosen the sharpest tool available to her. Whether she'd chosen it because she wanted to or because she was forced to, she still didn't know. But this was the first time she'd ever said this to another person. Belinda was looking at Alice. The anger had left her face. A strange silence flowed between them. From within the circle of onlookers, one student whispered softly, "…Don't they seem like they could become friends?" Quietly, those around them nodded. --- That evening. Belinda returned to the Vilmont mansion by carriage. In the Adelshheim district on the high ground, the mansion of a great house even equipped with a private training ground. Before asking a servant for directions, she knocked on her father's study door herself. The Vilmont Marquis was in the process of gathering supporters for the banishment decree in the great noble council. He looked somewhat surprised that his daughter had requested a meeting. Belinda spoke directly. "[serious]I've confirmed it with my own eyes. Alice Von Claire is not the villainess the rumors claim." The Marquis raised his eyebrows. "[serious]She's sharp-tongued but doesn't lie. Pushing for the banishment decree based on false rumors goes against the Vilmont family's sense of justice." The Marquis looked at his daughter's face for a while. Perhaps he sensed something in the fact that she had gone to meet her directly and in the way she spoke with logic rather than emotion. After a long silence, he sighed. That night, the Vilmont family withdrew their name from the list of supporters for the banishment decree. --- The next morning. As Alice walked through the hallway of the main hall Luxhall, an unfamiliar young lady ran up to her. She was a messenger from the Vilmont family. Alice received a short note. Written in Belinda's handwriting, it contained only one line. 'The Vilmont family has withdrawn from the supporters' list. The activation condition for the banishment decree can no longer be met.' Alice leaned against a pillar in the hallway. Her mind went completely blank. It took about three seconds to understand the meaning of the words. (…It stopped.) Her hand was trembling slightly. She was surprised to notice it. She'd thought she was being strong, but her body was too honest. She remained leaning against the pillar for several seconds, unable to move. Then footsteps came from another direction. It was Sebastian. Silver-white short hair, transparent light blue eyes. Walking with his usual quiet gait, but hurrying slightly today. "[serious]Miss Alice. I have a report." He spoke in his quiet voice and pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket. "[serious]I've been investigating the source of the rumors at Neumarkt Square since last week." Neumarkt Square—the commoners' market in the royal capital Kronstadt. Alice remembered hearing in the hallway that it was where rumors spread fastest. "[serious]I've identified the source. It's connected to a family with this crest." Sebastian unfolded the paper. The family crest written there was the same one carved into the stone monument in the rose courtyard. "[serious]House Bernhardt. A house whose ties were severed by the Claire family eighty years ago after the Northern Border War, with lingering enmity over the distribution of mining rights. The spread of these rumors is not accidental but a calculated move with the intention of removing you from society." Alice stared at the paper without moving for a while. Then Edward came hurrying down the hallway from the other direction. Black hair with red streaks, a black eye patch over one eye. His usually serious face looked a bit stern today. "[serious]Miss Alice. I have a report." He stopped and looked straight at Alice. "[serious]Yesterday, I visited Captain Viktor of the Knights of Rosengarde directly. I appealed to him that the rumors forming the basis of the banishment decree are unjust. The captain listened to me." The man who had dropped his wooden sword in the training ground Gladius had gone to the knight captain on his own. Something tightened in Alice's chest. And another letter arrived right after that. It was from Lucas. Written simply, it said he had used his position as royalty to work behind the scenes with influential members of the great noble council. All three of them had been moving separately, without coordination or consultation. Alice leaned her back against the pillar. Why. She had tried to keep her distance. She had tried to make them hate her. She hadn't wanted to involve any of them. Tears came. Without a sound, tears simply fell. Edward's face went blank. Sebastian paused for a moment, then quietly looked away. "[sad]…Why is everyone—" Her voice wouldn't come. Only her lips trembled. She understood in her head that this was the result of her plan to avoid the villainess's bad ending failing in every direction. Every time she tried to distance herself, they chased after her. Every time she tried to make them hate her, they trusted her. Every plan backfired. But. All of it came back to her in the form of four people who had moved with genuine intent. --- In the evening, Alice passed through the rose courtyard with tear-swollen eyes. Belinda was sitting alone on the bench. When Alice approached, Belinda stood up and spoke curtly. "[cold]The banishment decree has been stopped. I came to report it." Even as she said this, her face was slightly flushed. Alice was silent for a second. "[gentle]…Thank you." She was surprised the moment the words left her mouth. Belinda's eyes widened. "[surprised]I didn't expect to be thanked." "[sarcastic]I can say thank you too. Sometimes." "Sometimes, what's that supposed to mean?" Strange laughter came out. From both of them at the same time. Not a comedy routine, not complete honesty, but laughter from somewhere in between. Right after that, Sebastian appeared in th