I Will Quit the Entourage of the Villainess

Lady Cosette Edelweiss was very famous even before she entered school.

She was a designer from Signora, and with her well-trained and perfect style, she was very noticeable at the tea parties she occasionally attended.

It’s hard to imagine what she was now, but as a child, she was quite fat and introverted.

My impression of her was that she was a poor kid who was always being dragged around by Remias-sama.

Many of the ladies, including myself, who knew of her past, were impressed by her efforts and respected her.

And there was no end to the number of people who tried to approach her and asked about her diet in detail.

However, she was constantly surrounded by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the Duke’s son, Remias-sama, and the Knight Commander’s son, Georg-sama, so none of the boys that were in love with her could approach her as well as the girls that wanted to get to know her as friends.

Even if His Highness was the obvious choice, who would be able to push away a duke’s son or the son of the leader of the Order to talk to her?

Although there were a few fierce people who had entered the academy and were in the same class as her and were brave enough to talk to her, they miserably cowered under the silent pressure of the super high-spec members around her.

For some reason, even when she spoke to me, they always get in the way.

There have been two occasions when she has spoken to me.

That was my secret pride.

That was during the one-on-one match between Catherine-sama and Angela-sama.

It was a total coincidence that I was seated near her in a slightly dimly lit room.

Seeing her up close and personal was even more beautiful.

Her neck was thin, visible through her well-groomed, lustrous hair, and her profile was exquisite, with a slender jawline.

She was seated alone, her lips trembling uneasily as the men who always surrounded her were in the judges’ seats.

I was desperately thinking of something to say to her, but as I was about to open my mouth, she spoke to me.

“I wonder who will win this game. If I lose, I’ll have to go to the convent… who am I going to root for?”

Her voice quivered like a little bird as I heard her voice almost for the first time.

Excited to be able to talk to her, I returned the words politely and reassured her.

“The details of this game are hidden from you, right? But I’m sure Lady Catherine will win. Besides, going to the convent is just them scaring you, it will never happen.”

The last time a battle took place was when the previous king was at school.

We hadn’t even been born yet.

Even at the time of the battle, we never heard of a young lady going to the convent.

If a noblewoman was defeated by the common people in terms of manners and culture, she would be frowned upon by the noblemen. It’s not impossible that the girl, Angela, who was now a baronet to be defeated by common people.

It could be said that Angela-sama’s reputation has fallen to the ground, she was a newcomer to the school, and yet she was an unscrupulous person who always pretended to be of noble blood for whatever reason.

I was surprised that Cosette-sama didn’t know about such rumors that even I knew about, but with the guards around her, it was easy to imagine that the bad rumors shouldn’t have fallen on deaf ears.

Moreover, Catherine-sama had formed a fan club for the Crown Prince and was widely considered as the president of that club.

Whether she even has any intention of marrying another man was a mystery.

But just as she was about to say more to reassure the still-anxious girl, a loud voice rang out in the hall.

“Ladies and gentlemen gathered today! I’m Sandy, and I’m your host for this one-on-one match! Now let me introduce you to our commentator for today! Miss Cosette Edelweiss! Come to the commentary table over here!”

“What?”

Cosette-sama froze when her name was suddenly called.

Apparently, her role as the commentator came out of nowhere.

She was taken to the commentary table with her eyes white and face, having a similar color. I silently watched her go.

I conversed with Miss Cosette, even if it was only a few words, and I was the envy of the other students. I kept getting asked for tips! I was sometimes pressed for time.

The second time I was able to talk to her was during a one-on-one match.

I had never dug up bamboo shoots before, so my friends and I were hanging around Marietta, one of my opponents.

That’s when Cosette-sama came over and taught me how to dig for bamboo shoots with Marietta-sama at the center.

At that time!

“Oh, you have some mud on your face. Hmm.”

Oh my God, she wiped my face! She, herself!

She grabbed the handkerchief as I was shaking with emotion and left in search of new bamboo shoots…

I always carry the handkerchief with me as she gently wiped the mud from my cheeks. I’m going to wash it and return it to you, but I couldn’t possibly talk to you afterwards.

I have a goal…

At the ball tomorrow, I must speak to Cosette-sama and give her handkerchief back to her. And make friends with her!

For some reason, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Remias-sama’s guards have been off lately, and this was the perfect opportunity.

I carefully steeled my resolve for the umpteenth time over returning a handkerchief before tucking that handkerchief safely into my clothes.