Chapter 3
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Valentia always kept her handkerchief with her, but it had gotten stuck under that man’s handkerchief after she had hastily shoved it in her bag. Forgetting about it, she had inadvertently and habitually reached for her own, only to grab his instead without her knowledge.
The problem was that the Imperial crest was embroidered onto it, and it was easily recognized by anyone who saw it.
And that certainly didn’t go unnoticed by a group of ladies, sitting relatively close to where Valentia was. One of which was Celine, the daughter of a count.
—Did you see the crest on that handkerchief?
They confirmed the surprise they saw in each other’s expressions, making sure they didn’t see things wrong. In this unbelievable situation, they did not bother taking down notes about the lecture on their papers, but rather notes to each other.
[I can’t believe it, it’s the Imperial crest.]
[Did he give it to her?]
[No way. Everyone knows that handkerchiefs are a sign of favor. There’s no way Lord Lexus would give her that.]
Handkerchiefs were often used as an item to show someone their interest in an attempt to entice or seduce them. It was a classic move, one that had been used for a very long time. That was because it was far easier to find the owner of a handkerchief than a jewelry piece when one’s family or personal name was embroidered upon it.
Decades ago, it was common practice to drop it in the presence of the person one fancied, but nowadays, people simply handed them over to show their interest.
[Exactly. Has anyone who’s met up with Lord Lexus received a handkerchief from him before? It’s even been embroidered with the Imperial crest.]
[He definitely didn’t give it to her. But even if he did, how dare she show it off so proudly. She’s definitely the most venomous and steel-hearted woman in the Academy.]
[I feel so ashamed knowing such a woman was awarded first place in academics.]
Their conversation was animated and filled with gossip, and only ended after the lecture was over.
Valentia concentrated carefully on the professor’s words, and once it was done, unaware of the buzz, she quietly gathered up her notebook and grabbed her bag. But behind her was a group of ladies zeroing in.
[Celine] “You.”
Not knowing they were calling for her, Valentia took a step forward, walking off towards her next lecture. But that was to be expected. Out of everyone in the Academy, there wasn’t a person who would call for her.
[Celine] “You there—Lady Syner.”
The ladies of this group did not want to call Valentia by her first name, so they called her by her surname instead. That was when Valentia realized they were talking to her and she looked back.
But Valentia always got confused when others called out to her.
[Valentia] “Miss Celine.”
[Celine] “You know my name?”
[Valentia] “Of course. And next to you is Miss Hestia and Miss Leah.”
[Celine] “T, that’s right.”
Celine and the other ladies were a little surprised by the fact that she knew their names. Valentia always seemed like someone who didn’t have any interest in other people, so even if she took the same lecture as them, they thought she wouldn’t know their names.
However, Valentia memorized both the faces and the names of those who were in the same studies as her. She wanted to prove that she didn’t gain her academic success through backdoor bribes or other nefarious means. She didn’t have any friends though, so no one was willing to understand that by themselves.
Valentia even knew that they called her by her family name because they did not want to call her by her given name, but even so, she didn’t say that.
[Valentia] “Is something wrong?”
[Celine] “Can I borrow your handkerchief?”
[Valentia] “Handkerchief?”
[Celine] “Yes. A handkerchief.”
Valentia looked at the three women standing in front of her, then took a look around. Based on how Valentia was reacting, they thought she was pretending to be ignorant about what they were talking about.
As if they shared a brain, the ladies all thought, She’s a foxy little vixen who purposefully took out a handkerchief with the Imperial crest in the middle of a lecture, and now she’s pretending to be innocent.
But Valentia was really pondering their question.
[Celine] “I really need a handkerchief.”
[Valentia] “So, all three of you don’t have a single handkerchief between you?”
Valentia calmly looked back at the three women.
The Academy did not allow the accompaniment of maids. In that place of study, they were all equal, so naturally some were forced to endure some level of inconvenience. Therefore, students were required to pack their own necessities—handkerchiefs being no different.
Commoners who were less cultured were fine with settling with ordinary tissues, using them comfortably, but nobles liked to use soft and expensive handkerchiefs.
That was why it was certainly strange how all of them did not carry a handkerchief with them. It was only then that the ladies realized their mistake, but it was too late to take it back, so they asked again.
[Celine] “Yes. It just happened like that.”
Valentia reached into her bag pocket where she remembered her handkerchief being, and there she saw the one with the Imperial crest again. She quickly pushed it aside, taking out her own and handing it over.
[Valentia] “Naturally, you can give it back tomorrow.”
Handing it over, Valentia took another step to leave. Left behind were Celine and the other ladies, frowning at the poorly made and mass-produced handkerchief, whispering to each other.
[Celine] “She’s a cunning woman.”
[Lady] “I know, Miss Celine. During the lecture, she so calmly took out the Imperial handkerchief, but the second we ask to borrow one, she gives us this instead.”
[Celine] “I suppose she’s not at the top of the Academy for nothing. It’s no joke to say she knows how to use her brain.”
[Lady] “Such a vixen. She’s like a fox.”
[Celine] “What’s her aim?”
[Lady] You mean her purpose?”
[Celine] “Does she really want people to know that she’s already seeing the Prince? Did he really give her the handkerchief?”
[Permat] “What’s so interesting?”
As they were chatting the group suddenly turned to Permat, the daughter of a Marquis, as she approached.
[Celine] “Oh, Miss Permat.”
[Lady] “Hello, Miss Permat.”
[Permat] “Why did you stop talking the moment I came here? Don’t tell me you were talking about me.”
[Celine] “How could we ever dare!”
[Permat] “It’s a little suspicious how surprised you are.”
[Celine] “We really weren’t! Please, do not mistake us!”
[Permat] “It’s just a joke. I’m only kidding.”
Permat answered with a coy and playful voice, but no one thought for even a second she was actually joking. Though the Academy liked to make a show of how it did not pay any attention to status, it was impossible for everyone to simply forget who their fellows were.
The people didn’t care much for those below them, but when a woman with a higher status approached and asked them a question, they couldn’t exactly lie or deflect.
It was an unavoidable truth that the daughter of a Marquis was of a higher status the moment one stepped into society outside of the Academy.
[Permat] “So what are you all whispering so quietly about?”
[Celine] “That…..”
[Permat] “That?”
[Celine] “We were talking about Lady Syner.”
[Permat] “What family is that?”
[Celine] “The woman who earned the top place at the Academy.”
[Permat] “Oh, you mean the Iron Maiden. Was her name Syner?”
Celine and the other ladies flinched at the phrase ‘the Iron Maiden’. Everyone knew the nickname, but it wasn’t a name given in good faith, so they didn’t talk about it so openly like that.
[Celine] “She’s the young miss of the Syner family.”
[Permat] “I see. Did the Iron Maiden cause any trouble?”
[Celine] “Well, truthfully……”
They whispered, telling her what they’d seen and talked about since the start of the lecture. From the perspective of a group of count family daughters, they told her everything without leaving out a single detail.
And Permat could not hide her anger at those words.
[Permat] “Is that true?”
One of the ladies shook her head with a quiet sigh.
[Lady] “That’s just what we saw.”
The daughter of a viscount, closely tied to the one of the ladies of a count, muttered harshly on behalf of her lady who could not say anything herself to save her reputation.
[Lady] “Isn’t it absolutely insane?”
[Lady] “That’s a bridge of status that cannot be crossed.”
[Lady] “Unforgivable! How dare she not know her place!?”
Meanwhile, Permat was really angry.
Lexus was a Prince who was loved within the Empire as well as the Academy. Everyone had no choice but to love him on account of his blinding handsomeness and infectious joy. His fatal flaw was that he played with women frequently, but when he was a man like that, even that part of him seemed cool.
And there was one reason why this particular Marquis’ daughter was intensely angered.
It was because she too loved Lexus.
But all the women he spent time with him knew one thing—they would be the envy of everyone, but would never have him. Although they could feel a momentary pleasure and happiness by being by his side, they could not occupy that seat forever.
Ever since Permat was young, as the daughter of a Marquis, she had the greatest chance of being put forth for a marriage with the Imperial family. It was something far above a simple, casual relationship that those of lesser qualification needed to have in order to stand next to him.
So when she approached Lexus herself, she did not propose a dalliance with him. She didn’t want to be another woman he passed by lightly.
Of course, that didn’t mean Permat’s status was the highest of all women available. She was simply the most sufficient person to stand by him.
He was a man with a handsome appearance, a rich and historic family, and although he was not the top student at the Academy, his academic performance was impeccable.
And yet, a woman with a terrible appearance, a noble family that barely escaped total collapse, and had nothing to offer except that she was smart, was aiming for Lexus. She didn’t know her own place.
Permat even hated the fact that she made such a messy but clever scheme regarding the handkerchief.
[Permat] “There has to be a mistake.”
[Lady] “Exactly. She must have stolen it or something.”
[Permat] “There’s no possible way that Lord Lexus would give a handkerchief to a woman like that.”
[Lady] “That’s right, Miss Permat.”
[Lady] “Such a venomous woman. She pretends to be iron-hearted like the only thing she knows about is studying, but now she’s trying to raise her status by capturing Lord Lexus.”
Every time one of the ladies cursed Valentia, they noticed the anger slowly dissipating from Permat’s face, little by little. Eventually they started saying whatever they could, calling Valentia names that didn’t even exist yet.
In much less than a day, it only took a few hours for the biggest and freshest rumor to start making its way around the Academy grounds—the Iron Maiden of the Academy who dared to misunderstand her place was aiming for the handsome Prince.
But somehow, the most ridiculous thing happened. The exact opposite of those rumors became well known instead.
The next conquest of the handsome Prince was to be the Iron Maiden of the Academy.
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