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Posted by Zoe, Released on July 16, 2025

– Chapter 2 –

Ever since that incident, even her mother had begun to look at Linea with disdain. The young girl had to endure whispers and gossip echoing throughout the house.

“So it was all true, huh?”

“They say she really was right about the madam digging up the ground and the missing earring. And the young duke…”

“Shh!”

“Ahem. Anyway, they say the third young lady used to laugh at nothing when she was a baby, so she must be possessed.”

“If she were some village brat, they’d have abandoned her in the mountains. Who would want to live with someone so ominous and creepy?”

“Poor young master and madam, that’s all I can say.”

As if everything was her fault, Linea shrank under their murmured words, though she’d done nothing wrong.

Her parents, seizing this opportunity to “correct her behavior,” replaced the dismissed nanny with a strict etiquette teacher.

“Ouch!”

“You mustn’t hold the fork like that.”

Linea rubbed her small hand where she had been struck with a cane and glanced nervously at the teacher. It was already three o’clock, but she hadn’t even finished the salad served as the appetizer for lunch.

“Let’s start again from the beginning.”

But here, no one could help her. The voices of the spirits might side with her and insult the teacher, but they couldn’t block the cane. With tears brimming in her eyes, Linea picked up the fork again.

By the time she finally managed to finish her lessons without being struck, Linea had turned twelve.

By then, she had become a quiet child who never spoke first to anyone. She had realized that whenever she opened her mouth at the family dinner table, everyone would freeze and look at her in alarm.

No one was pleased when she spoke. No one was happy she was there.

So she preferred being alone, quietly whispering with her “friends.” After her lessons, she would shut herself in her room or stroll through the garden, speaking with the spirits.

At the time, Evan and Brigitte were so busy with their entrance exams at Delata Academy that they couldn’t return home even during holidays.

Though most nobles began preparing for entrance to Delata Academy—a school one typically entered at twelve and graduated from at eighteen—as early as age ten, or even eight or nine, Linea’s parents made no such preparations for her.

Feeling anxious that she was being left behind, Linea finally gathered the courage to speak up in front of her parents, expressing her desire to attend the academy. It was the first time she had ever asked them for anything.

“Do you really think you need to go through that?”

Her mother’s tone was gentle on the surface, but her words carried the assumption that Linea would fail anyway. Her father didn’t even look at her as he spoke.

“I already have enough to worry about. Don’t add to the trouble.”

He dismissed her coldly. Linea lowered her head and said nothing. Recently, life had become slightly more bearable without her older siblings taking their stress out on her—but her self-esteem had plummeted to the point where even this kind of humiliation barely registered.

“We called you today because there’s something we need you to do. It will bring honor to the family, so listen well.”

What is it they want from me? Linea clenched her fists without realizing it.

“Have you heard there’s a crown prince around your age at the Imperial Palace?”

“Yes.”

“His name is Yuricien. Memorize it. …The royal family has been inviting many noble children to serve as playmates for the crown prince. This time, you’ve been honorably selected to go.”

Linea’s eyes widened, her head still bowed.

“Don’t you dare act foolishly in front of His Highness. I won’t tolerate it.”

“…”

“That’s all. Go and get ready.”

Linea had never stepped outside the ducal estate in her life. Her parents didn’t even consider how sudden and thoughtless this decision was for her.

They were simply embarrassed to present their “defective” child under the royal family’s command and worried she might babble nonsense like she used to when she was little. That was the extent of their concern. They gave no thought to the fact that she was only twelve.

“Are you the brat from House Scheveres?”

The palace, which Linea visited for the first time, was as magnificent and luxurious as the ducal estate.

There, she met Yuricien—Yurik. He already carried the air of an emperor. Standing in front of Linea, surrounded by countless noble children, Yurik immediately frowned.

“I told you I hate girls. You can’t even play properly in a skirt. Hey, take her away and teach her.”

“I greet His Highn—”

When Linea bowed properly in greeting, the other children burst into laughter.

“What an idiot! Can’t even read the room?”

“They say the third Scheveres girl is a halfwit—guess it’s true!”

Why are they laughing? What did I do wrong? Linea was confused.

“Hey, stop standing around and follow me.”

One of the boys spoke rudely, without any respect for etiquette. When Linea hesitated, he grew angry and grabbed her arm. Such conduct was unthinkable.

“Hurry up! Don’t be so annoying.”

Even the attendants behind her, carrying her things, did nothing to stop him. Confused, Linea followed the boy.

“This room’s empty. You’ll live here.”

“Um…”

Linea gathered her courage and asked him,

“What am I supposed to do?”

“Do you know how to play any instruments?”

The question came out of nowhere. Linea shook her head.

“Then just be the Crown Prince’s toy.”

He said it flatly.

“Play along with whatever he does. If he hits you, take it. That’s it.”

“…Okay.”

“And don’t try to act smart to get on his good side. The upper-class kids won’t tolerate that. And don’t bother sending letters home. They won’t help us nobodies.”

Linea didn’t quite understand what he meant. The boy gave her a sidelong glance and left.

Alone in the room designated as hers, Linea looked around. The attendants had finished unpacking and left.

There were no bookshelves. Apparently, she wouldn’t be allowed to read in her room. If she met that boy again, she would ask where to read.

She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself.

“What? Books?”

At lunch, the same boy from earlier looked annoyed when Linea sat beside him. At the mention of books, he looked outright disgusted.

“Are you crazy? Trying to slack off already?”

“Slack off…?”

“Books are for upper-class kids. People like you and me don’t get to read.”

Linea couldn’t understand. Even at home, no one had stopped her from reading. The boy, eyeing her, added:

“You’re from a ducal house, so they might go easy on you, but since you’re a girl, you’ll never make it to the top here. Just forget it.”

“…”

Then what am I supposed to do? As Linea pondered, Yurik stood up, having finished his meal.

“What are you doing today, Your Highness?”

“Let’s play soccer or something.”

One boy, who clung closely to Yurik, jumped up despite not having finished his food. As he followed Yurik out, his gaze met Linea’s—and he suddenly returned, smiling wickedly.

Before she could react, he dumped his half-eaten food onto Linea’s plate.

“You must be really hungry if you’re still eating after His Highness finished. Eat up!”

Not even at home had she ever been treated like this during meals.

Linea froze in shock at the unprecedented humiliation. Other boys followed, dumping their leftovers onto her plate.

Her complexion turned pale. One boy beside her hesitated, then simply pushed his plate toward her.

Leftover food overflowed from her plate, dripping onto her napkin-covered lap. No one stopped them. Yurik had already left the dining room.

I have to do something.

When Linea looked up, only she and the attendants remained.

That was the beginning of the bullying.

It had started over something trivial—being slow to eat on the first day—but quickly escalated. Balls were always aimed at her head during games. Her laundry went missing. Gloves, handkerchiefs, shoes—always gone.

But Linea never cried. Even as her face paled and she withered from lack of food, she never shed a tear.

“Ugh, the ball went flying.”

They were playing cricket. Linea stood in the shade, watching. A noble boy, annoyed, turned to her.

“You haven’t done anything yet, right? Go fetch the ball.”

“Why should I? That’s a servant’s job.”

Linea protested, but the boy scoffed.

“It’s a game. You should be thankful we’re letting you participate.”

They always tried to justify using her. Her status was too high to boss around without an excuse. But their reasons were anything but reasonable.

“Then why not let me actually play?”

“How can you play in a skirt?”

“If I change into pants…”

“Ugh, shut up! Just go get the ball!”

Linea closed her mouth. She was used to being in situations where communication was impossible—even if they never got better.

So she went into the bushes to find the ball. The boy who had shown her to her room came too, and spoke quietly.

“You’re tough. Most kids who got bullied cried and screamed. You haven’t.”

“…Why should I act like them?”

Her tone was curt. The confusion of her first day was long gone.

But that didn’t mean she had adapted. She was merely enduring. Without her secret nightly chats with the spirits, she might have gone mad.

“Why are you here? I’m here ‘cause I’m the fourth kid.”

“…What does being the fourth have to do with this?”

“Well, the kids here…”

He explained as they searched.

The children here weren’t heirs or prodigies. Their families deemed them not worth the expense of the academy, so they were sent here to serve the Crown Prince.