Lucy’s family, the Favi clan, was a renowned noble house in the Saint Luo Empire, holding considerable influence both at court and in the shadows, and they were also longstanding rivals of the Leites family.
When she was very young, the elders had already dragged her along to meet various powerful figures.
Among them had been Stella, the Ninth Princess of the Saint Luo imperial family.
“I don’t feel like going to afternoon classes. The lessons are all boring anyway. Getting high marks on the exams isn’t hard.”
Stella turned another page of her book and spoke carelessly.
This imperial princess frequently skipped class and came to the library to read all sorts of books.
The one in her hands right now was History of the Teya Continent, something so dry that Lucy would never touch it even if she needed to kill time.
“Don’t the teachers say anything to you?”
“They do, but they don’t dare say it directly.”
“Because your father is the Emperor, after all.”
“…” Stella’s expression didn’t change, as if she hadn’t heard.
“Ignoring me again?”
“I’m not. I’m listening.”
Stella finally raised her head, her emerald eyes fixing on Lucy.
“Shouldn’t you be out flirting with girls? Why did you come looking for me?”
“Well…”
“The weather’s nice today. Normally you’d already be tearing through the streets with a gaggle of girls in tow. It’s rare for you to be free enough to visit me.”
“Ugh, don’t remind me!”
Lucy’s mood instantly soured.
Stella knew perfectly well what kind of person she was.
Lucy had once lent her some books, ah, very special novels about relationships between girls.
After reading them, Stella had been genuinely surprised. So girls could do that kind of thing with other girls?
“You actually struck out? Is there really a girl at Avalon you can’t handle?”
“There’s this pink-haired one.”
“Pink-haired?”
“Via Shirleyford.”
“Oh, the daughter of the Perfect Saintess, the younger of the twins,” Stella recalled. “She goes to our academy?”
“You really pay zero attention to what happens here, huh. You didn’t even notice.”
Lucy said it, but she wasn’t surprised.
Stella was just that kind of person: strange and elusive. Even after knowing her for years, Lucy still felt she didn’t truly understand her.
The Ninth Princess of the Saint Luo Empire rarely interacted with others and always moved alone. No one knew what she did when she wasn’t in the library. She was impossible to read.
Lucy remembered Stella once casually mentioning that she’d found a “fun place”: the underground black market in Doff City.
A sweet, beautiful girl of noble birth wrapped in an aura of mystery; she was the type anyone would be drawn to.
Too bad.
Lucy herself had no particular designs on Stella. She only liked girls weaker than her, girls she could control and keep beneath her.
An imperial princess like Stella was completely outside her strike zone. Still, because of family expectations, Lucy had worked to become “best friends.”
The most suitable target was still someone soft and pliable like Via.
“Here, look.”
Lucy pulled out a photograph. It was Via.
“Via Shirleyford…” Stella read the name aloud, her eyes widening slightly.
“Cute, right?”
“You really like her?”
“Of course. Being pretty is her only redeeming quality. Besides looks, she’s got nothing,” Lucy said, tapping Via’s face in the photo. “Well? Doesn’t she look exactly like Sylvia? Put a wig on her and she’d be the spitting image.”
“She really does.”
“But let me say this upfront: she’s mine. Don’t get any ideas,” Lucy warned.
Stella replied indifferently, “My future is to be married off for politics to some foreign country. It’s not like I can choose whoever I want the way you can.”
“Good.”
Hearing that, Lucy relaxed.
“I’ve had my eye on her for ages. I tried inviting her out, and she actually turned me down. Can you believe it? She’s constantly bullied here, on the verge of a mental breakdown, yet she still has the nerve to act tough and say she won’t stay weak forever.”
“That’s rare, Lucy actually meeting a girl she can’t figure out.”
“It’s only temporary,” Lucy shot back. “Soon the academy is holding a big off-campus expedition event. I’ll use that chance to make some trouble and force Via will finally understand: I’m the only one who can protect her.”
“Good luck then, Lucy.”
“Speaking of which, did you ever go back to the underground black market? Something huge happened there a while ago,” Lucy frowned. “Apparently a near-fallen demonized being appeared. The Holy Knight Order and Enforcement Guard mobilized together, purged heretics, arrested tons of criminals, even executed some in the streets. It was chaos. Everyone was terrified.”
“Really? Something like that happened?” Stella seemed mildly surprised.
“You didn’t know?”
Lucy was a little shocked.
“Didn’t you say you used to go there all the time?”
“I did, a few times. But it felt too dangerous, too many shady people, so I stopped.”
“Oh, that’s good. It really is dangerous. You made the right call.”
Lucy had been worried Stella might have gotten caught up in the incident. Now she felt relieved.
“Will you join the upcoming academy expedition?”
“Probably. Classes are boring, but staying in the library all the time gets old too,” Stella answered.
“Want me to arrange a few guards for you?”
“No need. I don’t like traveling with others.”
“You’re still as free-spirited as ever.”
Lucy sighed.
After that, the two chatted idly.
Even though her reading had been interrupted, Stella didn’t get angry. She simply gave bland, perfunctory replies.
When it was almost time, Lucy decided to leave. She still needed to plan for the expedition event.
She said goodbye to Stella, but just before leaving, she glanced back at the blue-haired girl engrossed in her book once more.
She felt a little fortunate.
After all, Stella was far too outstanding, even more so than herself.
If this Ninth Princess ever decided to become a player, who knows how many people would fall.
Thank goodness best friends don’t poach from best friends.
…
“…”
Once Lucy was gone, the hidden floor was quiet again, leaving only Stella.
She quickly flipped forward through the book and stopped at a certain page.
A single pink strand of hair had been pressed between those pages.
Looking at that pink strand, the blue-haired girl recalled what happened in the underground black market a few days ago, and the moment she brushed past someone in the corridor today.
The corners of her mouth curved into a faint smile.
“Via Shirleyford… an interesting girl.”