In front of there is a ginger-haired girl, seemingly one year older than . Her skin tone is whiter than any person I’ve t from Wesgoth, and she speaks with a weird accent.
But, most importantly, her uniform is the sa as mine. Which ans that she is royalty.
"So, you’re the princess slave everyone has been talking about lately. I’m Urraca Sahagun, legitimate crown princess of the kingdom of Castro, and I have a real father."
And I hate her already.
Well, at least she was very open about her prejudices and isn’t trying to sugarcoat insults to appear friendly. That makes things a lot easier for .
But I have to play my part of a well-educated little princess, so I smile as if nothing bad has been said.
"I’m pleased to et you, Lady Urraca. I’m Aurea Annes, princess of the kingdom of Wesgoth."
Smile and wave is my motto right now. Just smile and wave.
"Humpf. Don’t go thinking too much of yourself just because of your scores on the entrance exam. Inside this place, they don’t an anything."
"Of course, Lady Urraca. You are very wise."
I’m doing my best to hold back the venom that is coming to my tongue. I swear I am.
"It’s good that you acknowledge it. I am your senior now, so I’m above you."
"Yes, Lady Urraca. I’ll be sure to respect the elders."
"Humpf. It seems that you know your place, after all, little slave."
"So, what matter would an old woman like you want to talk about with ?"
"Hey, I’m not an old woman."
"You are older than , after all. An elder."
"That’s not what I ant! I’m your senior, but I’m only one year older than you."
"Still an older woman."
"We are practically the sa age!"
I’m laughing inside. Not the sharpest knife in the drawer, are you?
But I maintain the sa facade of calm and respect.
"Very well, practically-the-sa-age-as- princess. Did you have sothing to discuss with ?"
"Oh. Right. I ca to invite you to a soirée in my quarters this evening. You are a princess, after all, even if you are still a runaway slave."
You could easily cut the ’slave’ part of the phrase out, you know? There’s no need or reason to bring it up every ti.
"I’m sorry, but I have my study routine in the evening."
"Study routine? In the evening? Why would anyone want to study during evenings?"
Not everyone is a good-for-nothing that spends their life resting over the result of the gacha pull of birthright.
"To learn, maybe? I think that it’s a good reason for anyone to study, no matter the ti."
"But we already study during classes. There’s no need to study more than that."
"For you, maybe. I fear I might not be as talented as you, so I need to put in the extra effort."
"Oh, so you are a bit dumb, then. It makes sense; you were a slave, after all. You have a lot to catch up to. But it’s better for you to not get too much into it. Co to my next soirée, then."
She then just turns around and leaves, without waiting for my answer.
Ugh, what a nuisance she is. I’ll make sure to stay as far away from her as possible.
:::
The following day, I’m having lunch at the cafeteria when she appears again.
"Hello, Lady Aurea. I will be having another soirée this evening. I’m waiting for you at my quarters."
Again??
Why are you hunting down like this? You don’t even like .
"If I refuse again, will you keep pestering every day until I give up?"
"Exactly."
"Why are you so keen on having in your soirée?"
"Because we are in Wesgoth right now, and you are the only royalty of this kingdom that is present in this school. We royals should stick together and create networks; that’s what my mother always taught ."
Oh, networking.
It makes sense, considering that the children of all prominent families are sent to study in this school. Those sa children would then be told to use the ti to form ties to other important families.
My own mothers weren’t so invested in that, though Mother Lillian’s ’learn more about the world’ thing might include this kind of stuff.
"Who else is participating?"
"Why, all my friends, of course. The girls are all from my class, so you probably don’t know them yet, but I will do the proper introductions. Are you coming, then?"
"I will go."
"Perfect. I’ll wait for you at my quarters right after dinner."
I think that what we’ll have is akin to what would be called a ’tea party’ on Earth, with the biggest difference being that we don’t have tea.
Without tea or coffee, the drink for these evening parties is cider with honey, diluted in water. Yes, alcoholic, exactly like the middle ages of our world.
Urraca simply went her way without saying goodbye, exactly like yesterday. She’s not one with good manners, is she?
Well, actually, I just rembered sothing from my etiquette classes.
When talking to soone of the sa social standing, you say farewell. When talking to soone of lower social standing, you are expected to end the conversation whenever you feel like it, without notice.
So, she’s treating as soone with a lower social standing than herself, even though we are both royals. Could it be because of the ’slave’ part of my past that she loves so much to bring up?
That’s a quite subtle way of throwing so shade. I like it.
Princess Urraca Sahagun, you might be a worthy opponent, after all. Tonight’s soirée suddenly beca a lot more interesting.
I get back to my food with a smile that is a bit bigger than it was before I got interrupted.
Another good thing is that there don’t seem to be any male students in the soirée. Only girls.
So of those noble children are on the lookout for marriage prospects, after all. And boys tend to be a bit too pushy in those monts.
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