Chapter 14: Is resolved just like that?
Liliane quickly changed into the impeccable uniform symbolizing St. Freya’s highest honor.
She stepped out of her room, followed by a timid Ailiya, who trailed behind like a small animal caught misbehaving.
Finding Prince Leon required no effort.
Just follow the loudest, most frenzied screams of the academy’s girls, and he’d be there.
Sure enough, in the courtyard’s meticulously trimmed lawn, resembling a work of art, Leon was swarmed by a throng of noble girls.
When Liliane appeared, the crowd’s clamor paused briefly. Then, like the Red Sea before Moses, the girls parted in awe, creating a clear path.
One was St. Freya’s undisputed queen; the other, St. Ross’s celebrated prince.
They faced each other across the distance, under countless gazes.
“Miss Winter.”
Leon’s smile was gentle and refined, but his blue eyes held no warmth, his tone laced with subtle mockery.
“I don’t recall you having the leisure to pay me a special visit.”
“If it weren’t necessary, I wouldn’t be here.”
Liliane’s reply was curt, direct, and icy.
“Oh? Something important enough to make a busy person like you stoop to my level?”
“Just dealing with trouble caused by a disobedient servant.”
Without closing the distance, their mere eye contact across a few meters crackled with tension, the air between them charged and sharp.
So… terrifying…
Ailiya, cowed by their auras, didn’t dare speak, shrinking back to the crowd’s edge.
She sidled up to Isabella, who was gazing at Liliane with fervor, and whispered:
“Um… are Lady Liliane and His Highness close?”
Isabella snorted, giving her an exasperated look:
“They’re engaged! You don’t even know that and call yourself Lady Liliane’s personal maid?”
Engaged?!
Ailiya’s mind reeled.
I’ve only been here a few days! Who’d tell me such a major backstory detail?!
“Honestly, I can’t stand your type,” Leon said, shaking his head as if lamenting his fate. “I don’t know what Father was thinking with this engagement.”
Liliane tucked a wind-blown silver strand behind her ear, her movement graceful, her expression unyielding:
“I’m not here to discuss pointless matters.”
She raised a hand, beckoning Ailiya from the crowd.
“Ailiya, come.”
Ailiya felt like a condemned prisoner, reluctantly stepping forward under everyone’s stares.
“Who’s that girl?”
“Why’s Lady Liliane calling her out?”
“I know her! She’s that new maid!”
“Gods, being noticed by both Lady Liliane and the prince—I’m so jealous…”
Amid the whispers, Ailiya shuffled to Liliane’s side.
Head down, she nervously fidgeted with her apron’s hem, too scared to meet Leon’s eyes.
I mean, I just beat him up yesterday—how could I look at him now…
Then, a soft but unyielding hand gently grasped her chin.
Liliane’s cool, slightly calloused fingertips pressed against her cheeks, forcing her to slowly lift her head with a gentle yet commanding strength.
Through Liliane’s fathomless violet eyes, Ailiya saw her own small, panicked reflection.
“Leon,” Liliane’s voice was as cool as ever, “do you recognize this face?”
Leon was visibly startled by Liliane’s intimate, possessive gesture.
Following her prompt, he studied Ailiya’s nervous, twitching face.
The bizarre memory from last night’s training field surfaced.
His eyes widened: “It’s you?!”
I’m done for! He really remembers my face!
Ailiya’s face went pale, tears welling up.
But the next moment, Liliane subtly pulled her back, shielding her completely behind her.
“And?” Liliane met Leon’s shocked gaze, her tone flat. “Anything to say?”
She paused, her violet eyes narrowing slightly as she added:
“For the record, she’s mine.”
In that moment, Ailiya found Liliane’s not-so-tall figure impossibly dashing, almost blindingly so.
She wanted to cling to her like a kitten seeking shelter.
But before she could sneak closer, a merciless hand clamped onto the back of her head.
“Ow, ow, ow!”
The same move as Miss Clara?! Is the Winter family’s iron grip a hereditary technique?!
Leon, snapping out of it, looked at Ailiya grimacing in pain and sneered:
“This girl attacked me, a royal, last night. Liliane, that’s a serious crime. Are you covering for her?”
“I heard,” Liliane countered without flinching, “that last night, Your Highness entered the girls’ academy training field without permission. You know St. Freya’s rules, don’t you?”
She paused, her voice soft but ringing clear across the courtyard.
“St. Freya is the noblest of noble academies. Rule thirty-seven states clearly: no male, even royalty, may enter the academic or residential areas without the council’s highest approval. Violators may be treated as intruders, and the academy is entitled to take all necessary countermeasures.”
Liliane’s gaze was sharp as a blade.
“If I report Your Highness’s actions last night, along with this ‘intruder’s’ testimony, to His Majesty, what do you think will happen?”
Leon’s expression flickered, but he maintained his princely composure, scoffing:
“Just a misunderstanding. Since you brought her, I’ll let it go.”
Yes! Victory!
Ailiya made a sneaky V-sign behind Liliane.
Leon, eager to end the exchange, bypassed Liliane and smiled at Ailiya:
“Miss, misunderstanding aside, did you try fixing your mana circuit as I suggested?”
Before Ailiya could answer, Liliane grabbed her arm.
“I have matters to discuss with my maid.”
With that, she dragged the stumbling Ailiya out of the courtyard.
Ailiya stared blankly at Liliane’s upright back, her mind slow to catch up.
So… it’s over, just like that?
In the dispersing crowd, a pair of eyes fixed on Ailiya’s retreating figure, dragged away by Liliane.
Then, one, two, three… countless pairs of jealous, venomous eyes lit up in the quiet shade of the trees.