Chapter 9: Chapter 9

"What... What did you say?"

I thought I heard her wrong.

To which Rachel said in the same haughty tone:

"You heard what I said. I don't like to say it twice."

At first, I thought it was a joke, but as the atmosphere in the room continued to get more tense, I realized that she meant it quite seriously.

And that made the situation even more absurd.

I was ready to choke with indignation at the fact that Rachel had actually ordered me to do something so humiliating.

And how did I get involved in all this...?!

"So what?" Rachel said impatiently, "You're not going to do that?"

I swallowed hard.

It looked like she really wanted me to do this.

Of course, I didn't expect her to treat me well in the first place, but... I never thought she'd make me do such a thing.

If I were just an average noble, things would be much easier, and I would be able to swallow my pride.

But the situation was made worse by the fact that the Ashford Duchy was quite powerful, and if I did that, I would literally trample on our family's pride in front of the Cassius family.

Rachel naturally knew this when she ordered me to do it.

And from this, my hatred for her, which I tried my best to suppress, quickly burst out.

I gritted my teeth, fighting the urge to hit her right now.

"Why do I have to do this...?" I asked, keeping my voice as neutral as possible.

Rachel snorted.

"You said you wanted to be my friend, right? If you do this, I'll believe you're sincere," she said deliberately.

"But... You know I can't just do this, right? This is the pride of my family."

"Your family?" the girl asked, smiling icily. "I remember you said that your status does not define you as a person. Or are these words just empty words?"

I pursed my lips, glaring at her in silence.

"Prove it to me. Prove that you're different from them," she said conspiratorially. "Prove that you're not like all those rotten bastards."

Her words sent shivers down my spine and I couldn't move.

What was I supposed to do...?!

One part of me was mostly made up of the prejudices of the real Leriana, who would never allow her family's honor to be harmed by someone like the Cassias.

But I was different... I already said I had to survive, no matter what. I had to change Rachel so that I wouldn't have the nightmare that would happen in the future. And for that, I had to do everything I could to get her to accept me, even if I had to pay a high price.

Noticing that I was still standing there, Rachel turned away in frustration.

"I knew it. You're just another dummy. You can get lost right now. And don't ever let me see you again."

She was about to leave when I suddenly said, "I'm not sure what you're talking about. I'm sorry to keep you waiting so long."

I obediently got to my knees.

---

The next day, I remembered what happened yesterday with shame.

The very thought of letting Rachel do something so humiliating to me made me both angry and blush.

But you couldn't undo what you've done, so I had to accept that this was the most shameful day of my two lives.

The only thing that calmed me was the thought that after I graduated from the academy, I would never see that damned girl again.

I had to grit my teeth and serve Rachel Cassius during this time, hoping that my efforts would somehow affect her fate.

For the future of this country to be peaceful, it was necessary to solve the problem even before it occurred.

In this case, if Rachel didn't kill her husband in a few years and raise her son to be a psychopath, everyone would definitely be happy.

Especially me, who was allowing myself to be bullied like this right now just to earn a little bit of her trust.

However, the idea of getting close to Rachel wasn't the only one on my mind at the moment.

I was also worried about the upcoming banquet, which was going to take place soon.

And it wasn't even about Phil's offer to be his dance partner, which I couldn't think of an answer to yet.

The fact is that I realized that I have absolutely nothing to wear...!

The Royal Academy banquet was not a normal school party, as I had previously thought, but a real social event where everyone tried to present themselves in the best possible light.

Given the scale of the holiday, I couldn't stand to lose face, especially as the Ashford heiress.

Therefore, I decided to urgently buy myself a new outfit, especially for this occasion.

And for that purpose, I was planning to go out into the city next weekend to look for a dress at a local boutique.

The Royal Academy was located in one of the oldest cities in Zeroth, Atlas, where it was founded more than a few centuries ago, and has not moved since.

Although the city was relatively small compared to the capital, it was very beautiful, and there were many historical landmarks preserved here.

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So even if I didn't have the opportunity, I'd still like to visit Atlas while I was at the academy.

On weekends, when there were no classes, students were allowed to go out into the city and stay there until curfew. If someone did not have time to return before that time, then the academy guards were sent to search for them.

Since I had never been to this city, this problem was very acute.

It would be nice if I knew someone who could take me on a tour of the Atlas and help me navigate the local shops.

But the bad part was that I didn't know many people here until now...

Due to the Ashford Duchy's status being one of the highest in the academy, most of the students were simply afraid to meet me. Although initially, when I first arrived in this place, I believed that everything would be completely the opposite.

I guess everyone just thought that if I didn't like something, I could easily kick everyone out of the academy by complaining to my father. I wasn't even going to do that, though.

After all, the fact that I didn't have many acquaintances here was my main problem.

I didn't even know who I could ask to go into town with me this weekend.

Phil was the exception, but I wasn't going to bother him about this. Especially since the last time I saw him, he seemed pretty tired.

Most likely, I decided at the time, he was really pushing hard for his studies.

At the very least, I would have to go alone after all. It didn't sound too optimistic, though.

When I thought about it again, it was Friday, and I was supposed to be out in the city tomorrow.

I walked down the hall, heading for the classroom where the next class was taking place, and didn't pay too much attention to the people around me.

The reaction to me among the other students was almost always the same: some flinched when they recognized me as the Ashford heiress, while others stared in fascination at my beauty, and sometimes some brave people offered to meet me. However, I always politely refused, because relationships were absolutely not part of my future plans for life.

After a while, I got used to it, and already ignored them all, purposefully heading to my destination.

But this time, an unusual scene in the middle of the hallway caught my attention.

Three big men surrounded an ordinary-looking guy, and interested onlookers were already beginning to gather around them.

"...Hey, why the fuck did you push me and not even apologize...?!" one of them complained loudly.

"As I said, it was an accident," the young man said, "and you were standing in my way."

"You dare accuse us?! Do you even know who my father is?"

It looked like a normal exchange that happened in any school, regardless of its status.

And I was about to walk past him, but my eyes caught on the dark back of this guy's head, which I thought was very familiar. Just like his voice.

"...Probably not very well educated, since he didn't teach his son to respect people," he retorted arrogantly.

"You...!"

Choking with anger, the upperclassman grabbed the young man by the collar and was about to punch him when I jumped out in front of them.

"How dare you make a mess in the middle of a school day?" I said sternly, as if I were some kind of class leader.

"What...? Who the hell are you?!"

All three of them were extremely indignant at my sudden intervention, but before they could do anything, the crowd around us began to whisper.

My name rang out on all sides, and they finally realized who they were dealing with.

"You... The Duke of Ashford's daughter?" the big guy who started the conflict first said in obvious excitement.

"Exactly," I said calmly, "did you know that when you wanted to raise your hand against me?"

The upperclassman turned white.

Naturally, everyone knew how much the Duke of Ashford valued his only daughter, and how much influence their bloodline had in the kingdom. Anyone who crossed their path were bound to suffer the worst consequences.

"I-I'm sorry!" With a complete change in demeanor, the boy and his two chorus members threw themselves to their knees, "Please spare us, Lady Ashford!"

Seeing how these big guys were instantly afraid of me, just hearing my family's last name gave me an inner sense of satisfaction.

Still, sometimes it was a good idea to use your position.

However, the real Leriana was a very kind person, and in this, I was going to imitate her. Punishing the wrong and helping the weak was what I'd like to do in my second life.

And so, the remorse in their eyes, although not entirely sincere, was enough for me to stop this situation.

"I forgive you," I said nobly, "but I hope you've learned your lesson and won't do it again?"

"O-of course!"

"Good. Then go ahead."

"Thanks... Thank you so much for your kindness, Lady Ashford."

Dropping to their knees again and almost kissing the soles of my shoes with happiness, the three of them hurried away as quickly as possible.

After all the fun was over, the crowd quickly began to disperse, and soon the young man and I were alone in the half-empty hallway.

"It looks like we've met again," the same student I'd rescued from the lake earlier said, smiling at me, "and you've saved me again."

"Yeah..." I wanted to smile at the awkwardness of these coincidences.

"Why didn't you tell me you were Lady Ashford?"

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