Translator: Cryus

Usually during lunch break, I walk down the middle of a busy hallway.

There are always a lot of students, but the crowd doesn’t stop me.

That’s because people look at me as I’m walking, and they give me a lot of space. I can hear their whispers and squeals as I walk by.

I’ve been surrounded by people like that.

“……Hmph!”

I end up scaring them off with a loud snort. Today, I’m heading straight to the dining hall as I skipped classes, so there’s no one around me. Now that I’m alone, I’m probably going to stand out more.

This situation is surprisingly enjoyable.

For better or worse, it’s nice to be looked at. The faces of fear and awe are equally satisfying to me.

Squandering money downtown and keeping low company are actually fun to me, even though they’re actions unbecoming of a lady. My main hobbies now are buying and eating things from various places.

These types of behavior are unimaginable for a good student. I’ve built up to that image, so people are currently gossiping about me. Christina Noir, the daughter of the Duke, doing such things.

Of course, I’ve had to work towards building such a reputation, but it hasn’t been difficult. I might have had the personality befitting a villainess after all.

And I’ve been behaving very much like a villainess. My reputation as a person has been ruined, so only a few dare to stick around with me. I always take these few people with me around the school.

Although they’ve approached me because of my status as the Duke’s daughter, they’ve done no wrong at all. The reason they’re following me is probably because they want a share of the power I would eventually possess. I’m not so childish to deny that people sometimes form connections based on gain and benefit. When the time comes for my ruin, I’ll try to spare them from sharing my fate.

My objective right now is to meet Michelie.

Then, I’ll hurl some abuse at her. I’ll make it clear that she’s not my sister, and that a member of the Noir family leans on no one for support. I’ll say that in a sarcastic way, and set the event for Michelie’s bad start in school.

“……”

Hm.

My stomach hurts.

I’ve lost my appetite all of a sudden. I really want to leave early, but I can’t today. I can’t run off. If I do, then I will have wasted my efforts these past two years. Namely, bearing the pain of not seeing her at all, and also cutting off my ties with Surfania, Leon, and Charles.

It’s alright. Right now, I’m the top delinquent of the Academy, but I’m still a genius deep down. I can do it. I can’t turn back, not now.

“Alright. Come on, Christina. I’m a genius……!”

I mumble to myself and look up with renewed determination.

It’s the beginning of fate. The glorious stage of my ruin, and most of all, Michelie’s bright future. I proudly enter the dining hall to announce the opening act.

I start searching for Michelie by looking for the light of my beloved archangel. I notice that something’s different.

“Hm?”

I’m in the dining hall, but no one responds. Usually, someone would have spotted me, and everyone’s attention would gather on me like a ripple. There’s none of that now.

Instead, they seem to be focused on some kind of commotion in a corner of the dining hall.

“……What’s going on?”

I’m heading towards the center of attention. A few students notice me and look at me with astonishment, but that’s all.

I’m approaching the cause of the commotion, not as an onlooker, but as a furious person. This is the supposed to be the event that decides her future, and yet there’s something else going on and taking the spotlight away. I have to punish the people involved.

But the crowd is so dense that I can’t even make my way through to see what exactly is going on.

“Tch.”

I click my tongue.

From what I can hear, it’s more one-sided than an actual argument. I can only hear a grating angry voice.

It’s irritating.

“Hey, let me through.”

I announce my presence just loud enough for the crowd.

The students look at me first with suspicion, then with a shocked expression. Whether each of them noticed me or not, they hurriedly make way for me. This happens a few times before I manage to make my way in.

It’s tough, but my role here is to cruelly announce to Michelie who has just enrolled, “You’re not a member of the Noir family, and you’re not my sister at all.” I have to make that loud and clear in front of all the students here.

So I prepare myself to take care of this stupid mess.

“Michelie Noir! I will never acknowledge you as the sister of Lady Christina!”

“?!”

Someone stole my line of abuse towards Michelie. At least now I know what the commotion is about, but I feel the urge to cough out loud.