Humans were born unequal. Different social classes had always existed wherever groups of people came together. The children of nobility grew up to be nobles, while the children of the poor remained poor. In such segregated societies, large class differences were almost impossible to overcome simply through one’s own efforts.
Elsa had always deeply felt this disparity as a commoner. Now, there was someone in her immediate life who stood at the top of the school’s… no, perhaps even this kingdom’s hierarchy.
“Salutations, Lady Yvonne! You’re here early, as always!
“Good morning.” It felt like Yvonne was enchanted with a spell that drew everyone’s attention to her. The instant the duke’s daughter walked into the classroom, the other girls crowded around her, buzzing about as so many bees drawn to the most vibrant flower in a garden. She stood in stark contrast to Elsa, whom everyone ignored.
However, Elsa didn’t actually have any particular interest in this noble who she happened to be sharing a desk with. When it came down to it, Lady Yvonne Smollett was the same as the rest: just a noble who bullied her for fun.
Her chosen methods of bullying were rather childish, but it was still bullying, nonetheless. She and Elsa were fundamentally different. She acted a little weird compared to the others, but someone like her would never be friends with Elsa.
“While we’re on the topic, your hair truly is gorgeous, Lady Yvonne. You must spend so much time styling it each day.” Her wavy blonde hair had clearly required painstaking effort to curl.
“The family maid takes care of it for me, so I’ve never gone out of my way to track how long it takes.”
She gave a surprisingly measured response, but the “bees” buzzing around her still began to sing her praises, “Oh my, nothing less than the best for the duke’s daughter!”
“How respectable!”
Still… As Elsa listened to the group of proper young ladies next to her chatter about high-class topics, a sickening envy surfaced in her. So, this is what nobles were like…? She couldn’t even conceptualize just how different their daily lives had to be from hers.
“When I see how amazing you are, Lady Yvonne, it baffles me how a certain piece of peasant scum made its way into our school.”
The conversation suddenly shifted. Elsa’s heart dropped upon hearing the biting comment that was clearly directed at her.
“You’re so right. I truly don’t understand why the administration accepted a pauper who doesn’t have a single title to her name. She’s dragging down our school’s average scores. Why would they let in a third-rate like her?”
“Magic is a favor from the goddess that can only be handled by outstanding, highborn individuals. For her to delude herself into thinking she’s equal to nobles like us… It’s such a shame; does she have no sense of shame?”
“You sure pulled the short end of the stick, Lady Yvonne, having to share a desk with someone like that.”
The mocking and jeering continued as Elsa’s hand shook on the page.
Just as Elsa was deciding between pretending she didn’t hear or getting up and leaving, she heard a sharp rebuke.
“All of you are being remarkably rude!”
…Huh?
Yvonne had unexpectedly raised her voice and stopped the biting remarks. “Without the privileges of being a noble to pave the way, a titleless, commoner student must go through countless evaluations before they can enroll. They have to work doubly hard to sit together with us in this classroom. What right do you have to ridicule someone who’s worked harder than you ever will?”
…Was Yvonne defending her? Elsa blinked in shock, unsure if she could trust what she was hearing.
“Why don’t you lot improve your grades first before badmouthing others? If I remember correctly, you all scored lower than Dorothy on our most recent test, didn’t you?”
“…Urk!” The nobles who had been delightedly tearing into Elsa instantly turned mute. They looked as uncomfortable as if they had swallowed a live frog.
Warmth flowed into Elsa’s chest at Yvonne’s words.
Maybe… she was different from what Elsa had imagined her to be.
▲
“Dorothy,” the young lady sitting next to her suddenly said in between classes, “can you hand me your magical creatures textbook for the next class?”
“I mean, I could… But what do you need two textbooks for?” Elsa said. She was confused because Yvonne’s own textbook was right there on her desk. It wasn’t like she had forgotten it and was borrowing Elsa’s. Then why did she want her textbook? To bully her?
Did this… even count as bullying?
“I’m bullying you,” Yvonne candidly said. Because class was about to start and she didn’t seem to want other people to hear, she uncomfortably leaned in to whisper, “Didn’t I warn you beforehand?”
“Ohhh, that…” Elsa recalled Yvonne did make some sort of announcement about “Since you’re sitting next to me, you better be prepared to be bullied by me”.
Although, acts of bullying were essentially for show. They showcased the difference in power between her and the bully and satisfied the bully’s ego as onlookers oohed and aahed. That’s how it should be.
Up to this point, all of the bullying Elsa had been subjected to was of that nature, at least.
So, what kind of bully asked their target of bullying for permission?
Elsa had many questions, but she still obediently passed Yvonne the textbook for their next class. Yvonne seemed surprised that she just handed over the book without any protest.
“…Thank you,” Yvonne said. As she took the book, relief appeared on her face, as if she had just successfully completed a task.
“You’re welcome?”
And she was even thanking her? For what? For going along with her bullying?
But by doing this, was she trying to leave Elsa without a textbook during the next class, so she would get yelled at by the teacher? Elsa silently appraised this instance of bullying.
Hm… She guessed it would count as proper bullying just based on the probable results. This instructor was a real terror, after all. If someone didn’t bring their book to his class, they’d probably get three times the homework and be forced to stand for the entire day as a punishment.
Even so, Elsa didn’t plan on resisting. She couldn’t afford to turn down a noble’s request as a commoner with no real social say. Besides, this was honestly nothing compared to the worst instances of bullying she’d been through.
But she could never predict what this duke’s daughter who was unlike the rest would do. “Miss Yvonne, what are you…?”
After putting away Elsa’s book into her desk drawer, Yvonne placed her own book between their desks. “Isn’t it obvious? We’re sharing this book.” She then scooted her chair over to sit next to Elsa.
“But… In that case, why did you just…”
“Understand here,” Yvonne said, while also placing her own notebook between them, “my ‘bullying’ only extended to taking away your textbook. I’ll return it to you after class, by the way.”
???
That was practically no time at all. Elsa was becoming more and more bewildered. She had no idea what any of this meant…
“Don’t just stare at me. Scoot closer. That geezer talks super fast, and there’s no way you can keep up without the textbook.”
Since Yvonne was persisting with this, Elsa could only move her chair closer to her. At once, the distance between them shrunk to almost nothing. Were they… too close right now? Elsa was nervous, because they were so close that she could smell the fragrance coming from Yvonne.
Golden hair cascaded over Yvonne’s shoulders like a waterfall, and some strands tickled the back of Elsa’s hand. Her hair brushed against Elsa whenever Yvonne made the slightest movement, but for some reason, Elsa didn’t want to pull away. When Yvonne’s hair covered her hand like this, it felt like she was touching sunlight. Elsa’s heart prickled.
Yvonne’s blonde hair truly was beautiful. It was like a field of ripe wheat rippling under the sunlight. That commoner analogy might not suit her noble status, but it was the most beautiful thing Elsa had ever seen when she was younger.
An image of a personal servant brushing Yvonne’s hair came to Elsa’s mind. She didn’t know why, but in that scene, it seemed only natural that she was the maid touching Yvonne’s hair.
Unable to concentrate, she didn’t hear a single word of the lecture.
She- She touched Yvonne!
Elsa only had to move her writing hand a little to come in contact with Yvonne’s hand. Her heart sped up each time it happened.
Yvonne, however, seemed to not notice a thing, concentrated as she was on furiously scribbling down the torrent of information the instructor was spitting out. She was unexpectedly studious…
“I’m turning the page.”
“Ah! Okay…!” At some point, Elsa had become completely focused on Yvonne. She was startled at suddenly being talked to and hurriedly looked back down.
“I changed my mind,” Yvonne abruptly said in the middle of class. “It’s probably best if I take your book for some time.” She didn’t look at Elsa, almost as if she were talking to herself.
“…Huh?” Elsa didn’t understand. Was she “bullying” her more?
But what Yvonne wanted to do was different from what Elsa thought. “Those girls with nothing better to do just love to pick a fight with you, don’t they?”
Yvonne had noticed the moment she received the textbook. The textbook had only recently been distributed to Elsa, and its pages were already torn and tattered. Although its owner had carefully pasted together all the damaged parts, the abuse the book had suffered was obvious.
“In the future, you should leave all of your stuff in my desk. They won’t dare mess with me.”
So, she’d noticed…
“What is it? Your face’s red.”
“I-It’s nothing!”
Was she trying to help her? But why…? And for what reason? No matter how much she tried, Elsa couldn’t think of why Yvonne would help her. A distinguished person like her shouldn’t want to associate with a lowly commoner like Elsa, right? She should be more disdainful, more stuck-up…
But she…
Why?
“Don’t get the wrong idea, you hear?” Yvonne never stopped looking at the podium, but as she tucked her hair behind her ear, crimson visibly colored the tips of her ears. “It makes life harder for me if someone’s getting in the way of me bullying you!”
As if trying to emphasize something, the noble then added, “That’s all there is to it! Got it?”
Elsa never knew that “bullying” could be done with such compassion.
“Dorothy! Answer me!”
“Oh, yeah! Sounds good!” Realizing she’d been distracted for too long, Elsa hurriedly nodded. As she sat next to Yvonne, watching Yvonne’s cheeks turn red in her peripheral vision, Elsa suddenly felt that this noble who never said what she actually thought was absolutely adorable.
…What should she do? Her heart was beating so quickly, and it wouldn’t slow down. Yvonne was a girl too, so why was Elsa having these feelings?
And how was she going to bully her tomorrow? Elsa felt like she was beginning to look forward to it.
riverFlower 
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