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Chapter 217
Esmeralda Comes Up with a Good Idea
The Clair de Lune, a tea party meant to bring together the families of the Four Dukes of Tearmoon, wasn’t getting as many people as it should.
Esmeralda sat alone at a table with a piece of cake in front of her and drank tea black as her mood. This was a scene that was happening more and more often lately.
With each push of the fork, her frown got worse.
“Huh. “No Sapphias again today?” Ruby asked as she walked in with a smile. She took a quick look around. “There’s also no Little Miss Yellowmoon, which is nothing new.”
She looked over at Esmeralda.
“So, did that cake somehow kill your dog?”
That made her look angry.
“Hey, I’m just kidding. So, what’s making you so angry today?”
“Nothing. I’m not angry. Do I look angry? No, I don’t.”
Esmeralda had to make herself laugh before she took another sip of tea.
“Ugh, this tea is awful. I don’t know where they came up with this, but it’s awful… I need to get them to change companies.”
“Really? I like the way it smells,” Ruby said with a knowing smile as she sat down in front of her. “Again, why so angry?”
“Hmph. Sapphias, who is always getting into trouble, is at the library studying with Miss Mia. Can you believe it?” Esmeralda said, fuming.
“Well, it’s exam time. He is also a member of the student council. You sure it’s not one of their study groups? Also, you haven’t answered my questions yet.”
Ruby’s words trailed off, and she shook her head when she saw that Esmeralda was too busy thinking to have heard a word she had said.
“What on earth does he find so interesting about that group of people? I can’t think of a single reason why he would want to hang out with them… Some of them are just regular people, for heaven’s sake! The Rudolvon girl is also there.”
She spat out the last few words like bile and ground her teeth for a moment before going on.
“It drives me crazy that Her Highness favours commoners. I can’t stand how Sapphias just hangs out with her and goes along with it. I hate it, it makes me crazy.”
She put a few cubes of sugar in her tea and stirred it very hard, making a lot of noise as the spoon hit the cup. It was not at all what a refined lady of high nobility should do.
Ruby changed the subject by reaching for her own teacup and saying, “On a different note, it looks like your plan didn’t work, did it?”
“…Plan? What’s the plan? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Esmeralda raised an eyebrow in surprise. Her act of not knowing was perfect.
“We all know the rule that isn’t said. What goes on in the Clair de Lune stays in the Clair de Lune. Still…”
Ruby made a sign of agreement.
“I can see why you wouldn’t want to talk about a possible political foe.”
“Maybe the problem isn’t that my lips are safe, but that I don’t need to open them,” she said, keeping her lips closed as she smiled sweetly.
Then she said, “If anything, I thought you would have already done something. Didn’t you talk about that the last time?”
“Ha ha, it turns out that I’m not into back room shenanigans. I’m waiting for a chance to go head to head with Her Highness. No dodgy stuff. Just the two of us.”
“Challenge? What a brave word! Very masculine. It almost makes me think that you want to fight her and win.”
“Oh, so you and Her Highness are going to fight… To be honest, I wouldn’t mind at all. It does sounds cool.”
Ruby’s upbringing was shaped by the fact that the House of Redmoon had close ties to the military. She spent a lot more time on the training grounds than on the dance floor, so she was very good with the sword. Even though she wasn’t Sion, the average male student wouldn’t have stood a chance against her in a fight.
“But now that I think about it again, I think I’ll pass. It will be too hard on me to have to hold back all the time. I don’t want to accidentally hurt her and start a war between my house and the Crown,” she said with a laugh.
“But enough about me. Lady of Greenmoon, what about you? Don’t tell me you’re giving up on trying to stop the Academy City project after your one failed attempted sabotage.”
“Excuse me? ‘Sabotage’? Please, I’m not that barbaric.” She laughed off the accusation in a proud way.
“I will say that letting such an insult go unanswered would be a very bad example to set. There needs to be some punishment…”
Ruby sighed and leaned back as Esmeralda fell into quiet thought.
“Again, don’t make too much noise, okay? If the House of Greenmoon turns against His Majesty, we Redmoons will have no choice but to put you under our control.”
“How heartless of you to say that! Aren’t we all part of the same Etoile?”
Esmeralda asked with a clear act of surprise, then let out one of her trademark “Oho hos.” Ruby gave her a funny look.
“Huh. Do I understand this correctly? Because that sounds like an offer to join forces to me, Lady Esmeralda. And you can’t make friends if you don’t have someone to fight. Do you want to make a divide in the empire? Bring on civil war?”
“A civil war?”
Esmeralda was angry and huffed to show it.
“Language, Ruby, language. You people are so eager for war. I don’t know what kind of barbaric plans you have, but please don’t involve the Greenmoons.”
Ruby’s wry smile didn’t show that she was upset, even if she was.
“You can say whatever you want, but we all know what’s happening. But I’ll give you one thing. I really like a good fight. That much is true. A full-scale battle between the two sides of the empire’s army would be a great show, but I’d rather it didn’t happen right now. It would be…not fun to fight the Princess Guard. For reasons of my own.”
“Oh, I see. Personal reasons.”
“In any case, if you want to do something, you should do it quickly. Summer break is almost here. They say it’s going to be a cool summer, but I’m guessing you’d still rather not have to do much work in the summer.”
“Oh, yes, you are right. Isn’t it almost time for summer break? How terrible. Summer is such a bad time of year. The heat is just too much to handle. Shouldn’t I go to the beach? Wait. The word “beach” means 'sea,” and 'sea” means…”
Her eyes suddenly glittered.
“I just had the best thought. All done! This is how I’ll get to hang out with— Oops. As payment, I can humiliate Mia-sama. Oh, yeah! I can’t wait! Now, which boat should we use?”
Ruby rolled her eyes in frustration at her sneaky smile.
“If you want to spend time with the Princess so badly, why don’t you just say so.”
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Author’s Note:
Next week will be the start of the Turbulent Summer Vacation Arc. Esmeralda will settle things and new facts will come to light.
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