“What is with that commoner!”
“Truly! I can’t believe that she’d take such a casual tone with someone of Claire-sama’s stature…”
We were currently in a gazebo within the academy’s grounds.
The academy has gazebos in various locations on campus and they’re set up so that students can use them freely. Pipi, Loretta, and I frequently gathered at the one in the center of the academy’s courtyard for tea.
Pipi is the daughter of the House Barlier, a family with deep-seated connections in Bauer’s business world. She’s a sweet girl with medium-long rose brown hair and fair white skin. Loretta hails from House Cugletto, a family well renowned for their history of military service. Her short black hair gives her a bit of a boyish look. We’ve been friends long before our enrollment, and continue to spend much of our time together now.
For today’s tea party, we were having a black tea that had been imported from a distant western country. Accompanying the tea was a large assortment of confectioneries, all procured from our kingdom’s most prominent diner, Blume. While the two paired and complemented one another splendidly, the true appeal of our regular tea parties was of course―the small talk. Today’s primary topic was none other than that peculiar commoner.
“Claire-sama, is it really okay to leave things the way they are? I mean after all that she said.”
“Yeah, if you leave her be, she’ll certainly cause chaos within the academy!”
I understood what they were trying to say. If the commoner were to make light of me, the heiress to one of the kingdom’s most influential noble households, it would mean that she was making light of nobility in general. That was something that I could not allow.
“Ohーho, ho, ho! Rest at ease, Loretta, Pipi.”
To soothe their worries, I gave a spirited laugh.
“It’s but a commoner, whether there be one or many, I’ll chase them out in no time.”
That’s right. In the end, it’s nothing to fret over. Though she has her oddities, she’s ultimately still human. With a little bit of bullying she’ll surely lose heart and leave the academy. While I do not take pride in bullying the weak, this was for the sake of maintaining public order.
“Claire-sama, you’re always so reliable!”
“So, so? How do you plan to drive her away?”
“Well…”
Even among nobles, I have often heard rumors of bullying from both sides of the spectrum. However, having been born in the François household, I was raised without having experienced any of it directly. While this was generally a positive thing, it also means that I didn’t have anything specific in mind.
“Pipi, Loretta, just for reference, what approach would you two take?”
“Me? If it were me… ah, we could line the insides of her shoes with broken glass.”
“G-glass!?”
Eh, by glass she means… glass, right? Should we go through with that and by the slimmest of chances she were to put them on without noticing… wouldn’t that just be terrible? Surely she spoke in jest. Pipi, you’re not actually the kind of girl that would do something so terrifying… are you?
“I, I see… L-loretta, what about you?”
“Hmm, if it were me… perhaps I’d light her school uniform on fire.”
“Fire!?”
If we did something like that she’d surely suffer large burns! What should I do? Had bullying among nobles really escalated so much? I could only wonder where the public morals committee had been in all of this.
“But Claire-sama, there’s no way that you would stop at something so mild, right?”
“I’m really looking forward to seeing exactly how Claire-sama chooses to corner her prey!”
In a sense I appreciated their enthusiasm and support, but what was this sense of fear? I can’t let these two get carried away, or it could result in a disaster that couldn’t be covered up with the simple label of, “bullying”. I must think of something…
… That’s it.
“Pipi, Loretta, both of you are still much too naive. Bullying isn’t simply about being heinous.”
“Oh? Please go on.”
“Gulp.”
Their eyes suddenly lit up. Again, why were they so enthusiastic about this? Why were they looking at me with faces filled with such expectation? It felt as though I had unearthed a side of them that I’d rather not have, and frankly, I was shell shocked.
“First… I’ll push her from behind.”
“Down a flight of stairs!?”
“No, you mean off of a veranda, right!?”
Hey… you two, let’s calm down just a bit. Perhaps we could discuss the mental image that you both seem to have of me…
“Next… I’ll step on her.”
“With stilettos!?”
“On her face!?”
Don’t they understand that stepping on her face with a stiletto could cause a fracture!? Just one misstep and it’d all be over!
“Then I’ll take her textbook…”
“And tear it to shreds!?”
“No, you’ll burn it, won’t you!?”
Doing that would be a huge waste of precious paper! Shouldn’t they both know that the resources we have are a blessing from The Spirit!?
“After that, once she’s alone…”
“Are you going to lock her up!?”
“Claire-sama, you demonー!”
The demons here were clearly the two of them! Had I mixed in with the wrong crowd…?
“W-water…”
“You’re going to deprive her!?”
“Then, as if that weren’t enough, we’ll elegantly enjoy our tea right in front of her!”
I don’t even want to think about such a cruel tea party! Pipi and Loretta… you both suddenly seem as though you’re from some faraway country…
“I’ll put a vase on her desk…”
“You’ll take a broken vase and her faceー!?”
“You’ll slam her face into the shards!?”
Just what kind of violence!? Though she may be a commoner, what do these two think a maiden’s face is!?
“… It’s too perfect, Claire-sama…”
“… We’re not worthy…”
“R-really now…”
Personally I was starting to feel that these two were a bit scary. They had calmed down a little now, but there was something about their strange enthusiasm earlier that reminded me of that commoner. There wasn’t anything strange mixed into our tea and sweets, was there? Come to think of it, it seemed that some of the sweets did contain trace amounts of alcohol but… could it be?
“W-well… putting the details aside for now, I’d ask that you leave it to me. I’m certain that it won’t be long before the commoner disappears from the academy.”
While pulling the reins on the conversation, I took a sip from my cup.
“We’ll help you!”
“Yes, of course!”
In spite of their generous offer,
“I won’t allow it!”
“Claire-sama…”
“Why not…?”
I promptly declined.
“I won’t allow the two of you to dirty your hands. I will see to it that I bring that commoner into submission with my own two hands!”
Yes. So long as she confronts me on her own, I will respond in kind. I’ll settle the matter personally, without relying on anyone else.
“That’s just what I’d expect of you, Claire-sama.”
“I, Pipi, have found an even deeper respect for you, Claire-sama.”
The two looked directly at me, their gazes filled with admiration. I was worried what exactly they were thinking, as it seemed they both had a way of jumping to conclusions.
“Pipi, Loretta, I’ll say it once again. Neither of you are to lift a finger! Understood?”
“Yes!”
“I will devote myself to observing Claire-sama’s every move!”
And so, my plans to bully that cheeky commoner were set into motion. However, I would later come to realize that all of the ideas I had come up with over the course of that evening would be nothing more than a reward to her.
Translator Comment: Pipi and Loretta really just riding the wave there. I’m honestly a little scared too! I’m suddenly really curious if there was something in either their tea or their snacks…
“What is with that commoner!”
“Truly! I can’t believe that she’d take such a casual tone with someone of Claire-sama’s stature…”
We were currently in a gazebo within the academy’s grounds.
The academy has gazebos in various locations on campus and they’re set up so that students can use them freely. Pipi, Loretta, and I frequently gathered at the one in the center of the academy’s courtyard for tea.
Pipi is the daughter of the House Barlier, a family with deep-seated connections in Bauer’s business world. She’s a sweet girl with medium-long rose brown hair and fair white skin. Loretta hails from House Cugletto, a family well renowned for their history of military service. Her short black hair gives her a bit of a boyish look. We’ve been friends long before our enrollment, and continue to spend much of our time together now.
For today’s tea party, we were having a black tea that had been imported from a distant western country. Accompanying the tea was a large assortment of confectioneries, all procured from our kingdom’s most prominent diner, Blume. While the two paired and complemented one another splendidly, the true appeal of our regular tea parties was of course―the small talk. Today’s primary topic was none other than that peculiar commoner.
“Claire-sama, is it really okay to leave things the way they are? I mean after all that she said.”
“Yeah, if you leave her be, she’ll certainly cause chaos within the academy!”
I understood what they were trying to say. If the commoner were to make light of me, the heiress to one of the kingdom’s most influential noble households, it would mean that she was making light of nobility in general. That was something that I could not allow.
“Ohーho, ho, ho! Rest at ease, Loretta, Pipi.”
To soothe their worries, I gave a spirited laugh.
“It’s but a commoner, whether there be one or many, I’ll chase them out in no time.”
That’s right. In the end, it’s nothing to fret over. Though she has her oddities, she’s ultimately still human. With a little bit of bullying she’ll surely lose heart and leave the academy. While I do not take pride in bullying the weak, this was for the sake of maintaining public order.
“Claire-sama, you’re always so reliable!”
“So, so? How do you plan to drive her away?”
“Well…”
Even among nobles, I have often heard rumors of bullying from both sides of the spectrum. However, having been born in the François household, I was raised without having experienced any of it directly. While this was generally a positive thing, it also means that I didn’t have anything specific in mind.
“Pipi, Loretta, just for reference, what approach would you two take?”
“Me? If it were me… ah, we could line the insides of her shoes with broken glass.”
“G-glass!?”
Eh, by glass she means… glass, right? Should we go through with that and by the slimmest of chances she were to put them on without noticing… wouldn’t that just be terrible? Surely she spoke in jest. Pipi, you’re not actually the kind of girl that would do something so terrifying… are you?
“I, I see… L-loretta, what about you?”
“Hmm, if it were me… perhaps I’d light her school uniform on fire.”
“Fire!?”
If we did something like that she’d surely suffer large burns! What should I do? Had bullying among nobles really escalated so much? I could only wonder where the public morals committee had been in all of this.
“But Claire-sama, there’s no way that you would stop at something so mild, right?”
“I’m really looking forward to seeing exactly how Claire-sama chooses to corner her prey!”
In a sense I appreciated their enthusiasm and support, but what was this sense of fear? I can’t let these two get carried away, or it could result in a disaster that couldn’t be covered up with the simple label of, “bullying”. I must think of something…
… That’s it.
“Pipi, Loretta, both of you are still much too naive. Bullying isn’t simply about being heinous.”
“Oh? Please go on.”
“Gulp.”
Their eyes suddenly lit up. Again, why were they so enthusiastic about this? Why were they looking at me with faces filled with such expectation? It felt as though I had unearthed a side of them that I’d rather not have, and frankly, I was shell shocked.
“First… I’ll push her from behind.”
“Down a flight of stairs!?”
“No, you mean off of a veranda, right!?”
Hey… you two, let’s calm down just a bit. Perhaps we could discuss the mental image that you both seem to have of me…
“Next… I’ll step on her.”
“With stilettos!?”
“On her face!?”
Don’t they understand that stepping on her face with a stiletto could cause a fracture!? Just one misstep and it’d all be over!
“Then I’ll take her textbook…”
“And tear it to shreds!?”
“No, you’ll burn it, won’t you!?”
Doing that would be a huge waste of precious paper! Shouldn’t they both know that the resources we have are a blessing from The Spirit!?
“After that, once she’s alone…”
“Are you going to lock her up!?”
“Claire-sama, you demonー!”
The demons here were clearly the two of them! Had I mixed in with the wrong crowd…?
“W-water…”
“You’re going to deprive her!?”
“Then, as if that weren’t enough, we’ll elegantly enjoy our tea right in front of her!”
I don’t even want to think about such a cruel tea party! Pipi and Loretta… you both suddenly seem as though you’re from some faraway country…
“I’ll put a vase on her desk…”
“You’ll take a broken vase and her faceー!?”
“You’ll slam her face into the shards!?”
Just what kind of violence!? Though she may be a commoner, what do these two think a maiden’s face is!?
“… It’s too perfect, Claire-sama…”
“… We’re not worthy…”
“R-really now…”
Personally I was starting to feel that these two were a bit scary. They had calmed down a little now, but there was something about their strange enthusiasm earlier that reminded me of that commoner. There wasn’t anything strange mixed into our tea and sweets, was there? Come to think of it, it seemed that some of the sweets did contain trace amounts of alcohol but… could it be?
“W-well… putting the details aside for now, I’d ask that you leave it to me. I’m certain that it won’t be long before the commoner disappears from the academy.”
While pulling the reins on the conversation, I took a sip from my cup.
“We’ll help you!”
“Yes, of course!”
In spite of their generous offer,
“I won’t allow it!”
“Claire-sama…”
“Why not…?”
I promptly declined.
“I won’t allow the two of you to dirty your hands. I will see to it that I bring that commoner into submission with my own two hands!”
Yes. So long as she confronts me on her own, I will respond in kind. I’ll settle the matter personally, without relying on anyone else.
“That’s just what I’d expect of you, Claire-sama.”
“I, Pipi, have found an even deeper respect for you, Claire-sama.”
The two looked directly at me, their gazes filled with admiration. I was worried what exactly they were thinking, as it seemed they both had a way of jumping to conclusions.
“Pipi, Loretta, I’ll say it once again. Neither of you are to lift a finger! Understood?”
“Yes!”
“I will devote myself to observing Claire-sama’s every move!”
And so, my plans to bully that cheeky commoner were set into motion. However, I would later come to realize that all of the ideas I had come up with over the course of that evening would be nothing more than a reward to her.
Translator Comment: Pipi and Loretta really just riding the wave there. I’m honestly a little scared too! I’m suddenly really curious if there was something in either their tea or their snacks…
