“Good morning. Caroline. You’re walking today, aren’t you?”
As she entered the school grounds, Caro was greeted. Recently, she had been called by her nickname “Caro” quite often, and for a moment she was slow to realize that the greeting was directed at her.
“Ah, good morning. Prim. When you say today, I think I’ve always walked, haven’t I? Also, as I’ve said before, Caro is fine.”
“Eh? For Caroline, a Baron’s daughter, such a way of addressing you… If you insist… And it’s the first time I’ve seen you commute on foot since you, Caro… sama, entered the school?”
Caro had commuted by carriage for about a month after entering the school, but since then, she had been walking to school. The reason for this was that her house and assets were seized due to that incident, leaving her penniless. However, as she walked slowly, she began to appreciate the benefits of commuting while feeling the flow of people and the scents around her. Even after returning to her normal life, she continued to commute on foot unless there was a particular need. The biggest reason was that she could walk with Kent, but thinking about it made her a little embarrassed, so she decided to stick with the former reason.
“Prim, may I ask you something?”
“Yes, what is it?”
Instead of the distant approach that Marie and Catherine took, Caro felt comfortable with Prim, who recognized her as herself, and decided to ask.
“Today, what year, month, and day is it?”
“Eh?”
Prim replied, looking surprised by Caro’s question. Although surprised, she answered what she was asked.
“Thank you, Prim.”
“You’re welcome.”
If it was the date Prim mentioned, it would be about two weeks after Caro entered school. Naturally, considering that period, it made sense that servants who should have been at the mansion were working, and that Marie and Catherine didn’t know her. However, there was one thing that bothered her.
(I’m sure Kent said he had been working at Marie’s Bakery all along, but Marie said no such person was working there, and that nobody had lived in Kent’s house for over 10 years. I meet Kent about a month from now, so even if Kent started working right away, he wouldn’t be so familiar with Marie and the others as if he had been there for a long time.)
No matter how she thought about it, she could only conclude that Kent’s existence was completely absent.
“Caro-sama, it’s about time Josette-sama arrives. We need to go and meet her.”
“Ah, that’s right. We can’t keep her waiting, so let’s go.”
While lost in thought, Prim called out to her. Recalling her memories, she was reminded of her future actions.
(That’s right. Josette-sama’s carriage is arriving, and I have the job of escorting her to the classroom.)
This was a task her father, Baron Frederick, had assigned her. Baron Frederick, who valued his connections with the Duke’s family, had asked Caro to look after Josette and act as her guard. However, since she had not received any combat training, her role as a guard would be limited to quickly notifying someone in case of an unexpected situation. Prim also seemed to have been told to do the same by her parents. Prim’s family was a major merchant house and placed great importance on their connections with the Duke’s family. Because their social statuses differed, with nobles like Prim and commoners, Prim addressed Caro with the honorific “-sama.” (She thought she had told her to stop using it, but considering the timeline, she decided to let it go as it couldn’t be helped.)
The Duke’s family carriage entered the school grounds and stopped in front of the entrance. As if in sync, Caro and Prim lined up to wait for the carriage door to open. Then, the door opened, and Josette stepped out of the carriage.
“Good morning, Josette-sama.”
“Mornings.”
(It feels so nostalgic. I remember doing this every day until that incident happened.)
“Good morning. Oh, Caro, did something good happen?”
Lost in memories of the past, she had unintentionally smiled, and Josette pointed it out.
“No, it’s nothing. It’s nothing.”
“Is that so? Shall we go then?”
“Yes.”
As Caro replied, Josette seemed to lose interest and started walking towards the school building. In response, Caro and Prim walked alongside her.
“Good day, Josette-sama. And Caroline-sama. Good morning.”
“Good morning, Marc.”
“O-oh, good morning.”
“Good morning, Marc-sama.”
In general, nobles do not greet commoners. Therefore, Marc, who was of noble status as a knight, albeit a lower one, did not include Prim in his greeting. However, commoners must greet nobles, so Prim greeted Marc. Caro, remembering the incident of Marie’s kidnapping, tensed up for a moment.
“Caroline-sama, you seem a bit different today…”
“N-no, it’s nothing. I apologize if I made you feel uncomfortable.”
“I didn’t mean it that way…”
Because she had shown hostility, Marc, who had received knight training, seemed to have sensed it keenly. Marc appeared to be unsure how to proceed.
“I’m sorry. Well, we must be going, so…”
“Yes, see you again then.”
Josette, being considerate, decided to leave the situation.
“That thieving cat is at it again, interfering with Lord Gordon. Let’s go.”
After walking a short distance, Josette seemed to notice something and called out to Caro and Prim. In the distance, Gordon, the country’s Second Prince, and Rachel were talking happily.
(At this point, Josette-sama was only thinking about being with Gordon-sama. I later heard that my older sister, Elnet-sama, had her engagement to the First Prince broken off a few years prior, but since it had been annulled once, I wondered about the family’s stance. I wonder what Josette-sama was thinking when she acted like this?)
Suddenly, Caro found herself curious.
“Caro, what are you spacing out about? Let’s go.”
“Ah, yes. My apologies.”
Caro hurried to catch up with Josette. It seemed that Gordon and Rachel had just finished their conversation, and Gordon was leaving, leaving only Rachel behind.
“Excuse me. How dare you, a commoner, try to speak with Lord Gordon? Are you out of your mind?”
“That’s because Lord Gordon…”
“Oh, really. Are you, a commoner, talking back to me, a Duke’s daughter?”
“Kk”
Rachel’s face contorted in frustration. Seeing that expression made Caro extremely uncomfortable.
“That’s right. Say something!”
Prim followed up with a retort. Normally, Caro should have said something as well, but she couldn’t.
“Caro, say something too.”
“…”
Josette said so, but Caro couldn’t open her mouth.
“That’s enough. We’ll just leave Caro be.”
“Caro-sama?”
Josette, seemingly exasperated by Caro’s silence, turned her gaze towards Rachel. Rachel also looked at Caro’s behavior with curiosity.
“From now on, you are forbidden to speak with Lord Gordon.”
“That’s not something you can decide!”
“Wh-what did you say!”
Enraged by Rachel’s defiance, Josette raised her hand to slap Rachel’s cheek.
*Slap!*
Along with the loud sound, pain shot through Josette’s hand.
“Caro, you…”
“Caro-sama!”
“Josette-sama… Can’t we just stop?”
Caro, whose cheek was bright red and swollen, stepped between Josette and Rachel. The person Josette had slapped was not Rachel, but Caro.
