CHAPTER 8: The Star Villainess’s High-Pitched Laugh

CHAPTER 8: The Star Villainess’s High-Pitched Laugh

CHAPTER 8

The Star Villainess’s High-Pitched Laugh

Caroline Simmons, the daughter of Count Norn, took her seat on the reception room sofa, where she’d been ordered to wait. She fiddled with the tassel on her folding fan, irritated. Her irritation was partly due to the bitter looks she was receiving from her two friends seated next to her. You were all for this plan, remember?! she thought to herself.

All she’d wanted to do was put Monica Norton back in her place—the girl had been showing off recently. Her seedy looks were a far cry from what was expected of a noble young lady, and her behavior was simply disgraceful. And yet, for some reason, she’d been appointed to the student council.

And to make matters worse, she’d received dancing instruction from Felix and Cyril—the two most popular boys at the academy. During last year’s school festival ball, Caroline had done her best to try and get close to them, but to no avail. They were always surrounded. Not only had she been unable to get them to dance with her, she hadn’t even been able to talk to them. All she could do was watch them from a distance.

…And yet… That little girl—why?! Caroline clenched her fan hard enough to make the spokes creak. Everything was Monica Norton’s fault. All Caroline had done was offer her some slightly bitter tea. But she’d made such a huge display of things and shamed Caroline in the process. What an awful, terrible girl!

Yes. She’s to blame for everything. Everything!

Caroline heard a snap from her hands. She’d cracked her fan. Oh, and now I’ve broken my favorite fan. I’ll have to get my father to buy me a new one. She knew he would—he’d help her. He adored her, and he’d donated a lot of money to the academy. She’d never be expelled over this.

There was a knock at the door. “Excuse us,” came a voice as two students entered the room.

One had softly swaying blond hair and mysterious sky-blue eyes with just a hint of green mixed in. The second prince, Felix Arc Ridill, always maintained a gentle, mild demeanor.

The other had silver hair tinged with a tiny bit of brown, like a drop of honey on winter snow. His eyes were a deep-blue color. Cyril Ashley, the son of Marquess Highown, was well known as the Icy Scion.

As the student council president and vice president, respectively, they stood at the very top of the academy’s social hierarchy.

Felix took a seat across from Caroline, then folded his hands on his lap. Cyril remained standing behind him, his cold eyes glaring down at the three girls. His expression was one of clear rage, while Felix retained his usual gentle smile.

Oh, I just know the prince will understand! thought Caroline, breathing a sigh of relief. He’ll know I’m not to blame!

Felix turned his soft smile on her. “Lady Caroline Simmons, do you have anything to say about your attempted assassination of Lady Monica Norton via poisoning?”

The words assassination and via poisoning were enough to make Caroline and her friends’ faces go white. Murder was severely punished even in noble circles, and attempting such a crime warranted a suitable penalty, even if the murder didn’t actually come to pass.

“You misunderstand, Your Royal Highness! It was just a little prank! Monica Norton made a big show out of it… She obviously wanted to shame me!”

“You would poison a classmate’s cup as a prank?” asked Felix. His voice was as calm as ever—and yet his words were chillingly merciless.

Tears formed at the corners of Caroline’s eyes as she began to plead. “That wasn’t poison! It was just eye medicine! It’s very bitter, and I heard it could work as a restorative… That’s it! I thought it might snap her out of all that trembling…”

She’d made up that last part on the spot. The peddler who had sold her the medicine had joked that it was very bitter, but that didn’t mean it made a good restorative. At the time, she’d scoffed at the absurd notion of putting eye medicine in your mouth. But she’d say anything now if it would get her out of this.

As she wove her frantic excuses, Cyril removed a small bottle wrapped in a handkerchief from his pocket. It was the bottle of eye drops they’d confiscated from her earlier when she was brought to this room.

“According to my younger sister, Claudia, the medicine you had is manufactured for use during eye surgery. Without a doctor’s license or a state-approved certification to practice medicine, you are not allowed to possess it.” There was a glaring light deep in his blue eyes as he glowered at Caroline. “Not only were you in possession of an illegal, dangerous drug, you fed it to someone else. If you won’t call that attempted murder, then what would you call it?”

Cyril’s sister, Claudia Ashley, was a direct descendant of the Lineage of the Wise. Her vast knowledge had earned her the nickname the Walking Library and outstripped even that of adults. If she had said that, it was most likely true.

The color drained from Caroline’s face, but she continued her desperate search for a way out. “Well, that’s… I had no idea the eye drops were so dangerous. I was only told that they were medicine for your eyes… Ah, Prince, please believe me!” she begged, tears rolling down her face.

Felix smiled softly. “Then you claim that you knew nothing, and put the eye drops in Lady Monica Norton’s cup as a simple prank.”

“Yes! That’s right!”

“To shame Lady Norton,” added Felix quietly.

Caroline immediately bit her lip and fell silent.

The prince leaned an elbow on the armrest of his chair and placed his chin in his palm. His blue eyes narrowed. “Then it’s defamation of character in addition to the rest.”

“……” Caroline knew she’d skillfully excused herself. And yet, Felix offered no words in her defense. Why didn’t he? Why wasn’t he helping her? At the moment, she still earnestly believed she could escape by claiming total ignorance.

And then there came a knock at the door.

“Enter,” Felix called out.

A female student walked into the reception room and curtseyed gracefully. She was a first-year student with curled orange hair, slightly stern yet beautiful features, and a dignified presence.

“I am Isabelle Norton of House Kerbeck. Your Royal Highness, I sincerely thank you for allowing me to meet with you today.”

Monica Norton had apparently been taken in by House Kerbeck. In which case, Isabelle, Count Kerbeck’s daughter, would naturally come to ask about the situation.

…But I should be fine , thought Caroline. Count Kerbeck’s daughter has a vehement hatred for Monica. She torments her. In fact, she’d actually witnessed Isabelle scolding her on one or two occasions. She won’t criticize me too much for something that happened to Monica.

The prince gestured to a chair, and Isabelle took a seat, then lowered her eyes apologetically. “I have heard that our problem child has caused everyone a great deal of distress. As a member of House Kerbeck, allow me to extend my heartfelt apologies.”

Felix and Cyril remained silent. Caroline, on the other hand, privately cheered. See? I knew it! Someone could outright kill Monica Norton and House Kerbeck wouldn’t bat an eyelash! She chuckled to herself. If Isabelle hated Monica, then that would make her Caroline’s ally.

Isabelle glanced over at her and offered a cute smile. “I know it won’t do for an apology…but my maid has prepared some tea for everyone. I’m sure you’re all thirsty from talking for so long. Please have some.”

She called out through the door. Her maid quietly entered the room and placed a cup-laden tray in front of Isabelle. She didn’t immediately distribute the tea, though, which struck Caroline as strange.

Isabelle then took a small bottle out of her pocket, pinching it and lifting it up so that Caroline and the others could see it.

And when they did, all three of them cowered. It looked exactly like the bottle of eye drops Caroline had possessed.

“Oh yes, I know. Since we’re all here anyway, I wanted to have you try this out. I bought it from a peddler recently… It’s a very effective beauty product,” she said, putting drops of the liquid into three of the cups. Her maid handed those without the drops to Isabelle, Felix, and Cyril—and the rest of them to Caroline and her friends.

When Caroline grimaced at her cup, Isabelle hid her mouth with her fan and tittered. Despite being hidden, her laughter was very clearly full of scorn and malice. Eventually, she said, “…Drink up, would you?”

Caroline stared at her cup. She couldn’t smell anything in it aside from the black tea. But her eye drops had been odorless, too. Is that bottle the same as mine? Why would the daughter of Count Kerbeck have something like that? It would be odd for her to conveniently have the same eye drops. This had to be a coincidence.

Caroline’s friends watched from beside her, waiting to see what she did. Neither of them made a move to touch their cups.

Stop this! thought Caroline. You’re basically admitting that the eye drops I had were poisonous!

It couldn’t have been the same bottle. Isabelle was bluffing. Caroline glared at her tea, then made up her mind and took a sip.

The bright flavor of the tea filled her mouth and nostrils. But moments later, an intense bitterness assaulted her tongue.

Caroline choked on it, then immediately spat it all out. She continued spitting, her saliva dripping everywhere, until she was sure that not even a drop of it remained in her mouth. Afterward, she leveled a murderous glare at Isabelle.

“This is poison! This woman just tried to poison me!”

“…Oh?” Isabelle chuckled, opening the lid of the bottle and pouring it into her own cup. Then, with a cool look, she downed the whole thing and smiled. “As I said, this medicine is a kind of beauty treatment. It is a little bitter, though, so I’m sure it must have surprised you.”

“Wh-why, you…!”

“Hee-hee,” she giggled. “At any rate, I’m quite certain it wasn’t so bitter that you needed to make that unsightly display of spitting it everywhere… And that girl drank all the bitter tea you provided, didn’t she?”

“That girl” obviously referred to Monica Norton.

Isabelle heaved a melancholy sigh. “She had such a pitiful upbringing—our family’s shame. However, I’ll admit she does at least know how to behave herself as a guest, considering she tried to finish her tea, no matter how poorly it tasted. However, it seems you can’t even manage that. What a shameless thing to do in front of a prince,” she finished, tilting her fan to cover her mouth again and letting out a nasal laugh.

Caroline had tried to embarrass Monica in front of everyone—and now Isabelle had successfully embarrassed Caroline in front of Felix.

What is going on? I hate this, I hate this!

Felix maintained his silence. He did, however, watch the exchange with an almost amused expression.

Isabelle started on her second cup of tea, relishing it. “Oh, and another thing,” she said casually. “I’ve taken the liberty of informing my father of this matter. She does still possess the Norton family name, and you have attempted to poison her. I assumed you wouldn’t mind.”

Only then did Caroline’s eyes go wide as she realized the full extent of what she’d done.

Isabelle might have hated Monica, but they still shared the same last name. Caroline had essentially just picked a fight with House Kerbeck.