The rest of the school day had gone on without further incident. In all honesty, Catherine started to wish that something would go wrong just to break up the monotony.
Further cacophony wasn't entirely out of the question either as Catherine had spied on another one of the Suitors from Love and Malice in her and Alice's ethics class.
Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately for Catherine's entertainment, Emil Fairfax was what one might call aloof.
Of course, his loner status was self-inflicted, despite never making time for anyone but himself he remained extremely popular.
It was easy to understand why just by looking at him. Well-groomed flowing blonde hair, handsome face, and impeccable fashion sense would impress anyone. Catherine supposed that his influential and not to mention wealthy family didn't hurt either.
Despite people's best efforts to get closer to him in matters of friendship or even romance, they were all but rejected, but unlike Oscar, Emil maintained a polite attitude about the whole thing.
Still, his intentions were clear. He much preferred his own company over anyone else's.
In the game, Emil only became interested in the player if they displayed enough skill academically, while simultaneously exhibiting somewhat eccentric behavior.
He was only attracted to someone abnormal. That was tough to come by in noble circles, which valued conformity above all else.
However, in the game one's ability to exhibit such behavior on the first day was severely limited. At most, you could say hi to him, he'd then return your greeting before politely excusing himself.
It was an optional encounter, and one that the living and breathing Alice didn't do.
By the time they got to the class with Emil, Alice was far too busy trying to wrap her head around the fact that she shared nearly every period with her new friend.
If she hadn't known better Alice would've suspected that Catherine somehow pulled some strings, but that didn't make any sense. Not only had they met for the first time this morning, Catherine didn't know who she was before Alice had introduced herself.
Ultimately Emil's presence had no bearing on either of the duo and the two left the class to go about their day.
Their perceived lucky streak eventually ended when the two of them split off for their final three periods. The original intention in Love and Malice was to give the player a break from the Villainess.
To further facilitate this, one of these periods wasn't a class, rather it was a block of time meant for study, but studying was largely ignored, to give way to various plot developments.
Now that Catherine was ostensibly Alice's friend there wasn't a need to have "safe havens" away from her.
If she wanted to, Catherine could more than likely abuse her status as a Blackwood to join Alice, at least for the study period, and truthfully that's exactly what she wanted to do.
Catherine was uncomfortable around the "heroine" at first but throughout the day she was starting to enjoy her presence. That feeling of…attraction hadn't gone away per se, but she had a handle on it now.
Catherine was also very bored without anyone else to talk to. This was somewhat her fault, but it still wouldn't have mattered regardless of her perceived reputation.
Even if everyone wasn't afraid of her, any conversation would have likely been avoided. Catherine found that most of what her fellow students had to say was completely insipid.
Still, she figured it'd be best to give Alice some space. Insisting on seeing her, even though they've already spent most of the day together would be more than a little strange.
Regardless they both agreed to meet up after school, anyway so she'd get to see Alice again in about an hour.
Catherine sighed, the prospect of suffering through two more inane speeches wasn't improving her mood. She'd never imagined a day that she would be begging for schoolwork today, but she was.
Soon study hall was dismissed and Catherine rose lethargically, dreading the next hour.
***
The white-haired noble, and the brunette commoner were idly sitting on one of the various benches lining the garden trail.
It had been a particularly idyllic spot, there was an excellent view of the entirety of the garden, while also being well shaded.
Catherine reached into her purse and pulled out her engraved cigarette case. The stressful day had been a wreck on her nerves, and she'd been longing for a cigarette…well, for the entire time.
Her fingers worked swiftly, inserting the pre-rolled tobacco piece into her filter, then striking one of her matches on the case and lighting it. Taking a drag she calmed down almost immediately.
She'd garnered her bench partner's attention, but Alice made no comment. Catherine would've offered one, but she knew it'd be pointless. The girl was the goody two-shoes heroine after all, what sort of message would smoking cigarettes send to the youth?
"Quite the day, huh?" Catherine remarked between drags.
"No kidding," Alice agreed. "I really hope that this isn't the norm."
Catherine didn't comment, she was well aware that things would only get more complicated as the year went on, but she didn't want to burst Alice's bubble while she was exhausted.
She sat there a moment continuing to smoke. Ultimately, she thought it best to change the subject a bit.
"I presume you'll be staying at the school dorms?" Questioned Catherine.
"Oh yes, my parents' home isn't anywhere near here so commuting would be impossible," Alice continued. "Besides, the dorms are probably nicer anyway."
Even if the dorms are fancier, I can't imagine it's that fun being away from friends and family. Thought Catherine.
This was a bit ironic on her end because Catherine did everything in her power to get away from the rest of the Blackwoods, but it could be said that her case was far different from Alice's, whose home life was presumed to be a tad bit nicer.
"Still I can imagine it's a little awkward to be bunking with a stranger." Stated, Catherine.
Alice looked confused for a moment, but quickly she realized her mistake.
"You don't have to worry about me in that department." She said, "I forgot to say so earlier, but I'm bunking with a friend of mine."
This was news to Catherine!
"You have a friend here? How could that be?"
Catherine caught herself, the way she'd phrased the question was…rude. It put forth the idea that it would be impossible for Alice to make friends.
"Sorry I don't mean to be rude," Catherine stated apologetically.
"Don't worry about it, it's my fault for making it sound like I'd never met a noble before today."
Alice set about explaining herself.
"She's a childhood friend of mine, her name's Elsie Wright. Do you know her?
"I can't say that I do," Catherine lied.
The truth was she had heard of her. Saying she'd technically heard of Elise would be more accurate.
Catherine hadn't heard of her through normal means, it was only through Love and Malice that she had any sort of clue as to who this person was.
Elise's role in the game was to act as support for the player character, but overall hers was a minor inclusion. So minor that Catherine had forgotten all about it. Even remembering her existence didn't rouse any idea as to what Elise's backstory was.
Given this, Catherine listened attentively to Alice's explanations.
"We've known each other since we were little kids. My mother cleaned and did laundry every other day for the Wright family."
It appeared that Alice recalled these memories fondly.
"There wasn't anyone else to watch me, so I'd accompany Mom while she worked. Normally I would be helping her too, but me and Elise were the same age so she'd let me play with her."
"I'm surprised that the Wrights let you," Catherine interjected.
This made Alice pause. She never considered that the daughter of the hired help playing with the child of the nobles was in any way odd.
"Ah, well the household was that of a baron, and not a very wealthy one. It's why my mother worked for them in the first place, they didn't have the money to hire a full-time staff."
Alice shrugged.
"I guess that made them less stringent on the divide between nobility and the working class, whatever the reason, Elise and I have been friends ever since. "
Catherine supposed this all added up. Some aspects of the story did ring a bell but it was all very hazy. She wasn't entirely sure if this backstory was in the game. Maybe some of it was? The fact that it was so detailed made her suspect that the world was filling in things again.
Regardless, Catherine wasn't done prying. There was one aspect of the story that still didn't make sense.
"If they can't even afford full-time staff, how could the Wright house possibly send their daughter to the academy? I'm somewhat aware of everyone who's passed the exam, and I don't recall anyone with the name Wright coming up.
Alice shook her head.
"Elise attempted the exam, but she didn't pass. I guess her family needs her to chip in a lot when it comes to "household affairs."
Alice looked down slightly in embarrassment mumbling the next part of the explanation.
"She's explained her duties to me a few times, but it was all in one ear and out the other," She shrugged slightly.
"At any rate, it doesn't matter what she's doing, the important thing is that it seriously eats into her study time."
"Well, how did she get in then?" Catherine asked again.
"Oh right! Well, her great-uncle passed away. At least I think it was a great uncle, maybe it was-,"
She trailed off for a moment before snapping back to reality.
"Well, it doesn't matter who." Alice eventually concluded
"Go on please," Catherine prompted.
She's a bit of an airhead huh? But it's kinda cute. Thought Catherine
Alice looked slightly embarrassed, but she continued with her explanation.
"Right. Sorry about that," She paused a moment to gather her thoughts.
"The family members, whoever they were. Left Elise's family with everything they had."
"Quite generous." Surmised Catherine. "Was there no extended family with a claim to the estate?
"I believe the rest of the Wright family seldom visited him. Elise's parents were the only ones to make the effort, so in the end they got everything." Alice answered.
"So is your friend's family rich now?" Catherine asked.
"No, not really," Alice stated bluntly.
"Still they're a fairly frugal bunch, and I'm sure they've invested it wisely, but I guess one of their top priorities was to send Elise to the academy.
Catherine hazarded a guess that the Wrights probably weren't solely concerned with their daughter's future.
After all, a large part of coming to the Academy in the first place was to make connections, and that would be a very desirable prospect to a poorer noble family.
It sounded cynical, and in a way it was, but Catherine understood where they were coming from. It was also undeniable that improvements to the household would only benefit Elise.
Plus she was getting a top-notch education out of it. Which was a nice bonus regardless if it was used for any practical purpose or not.
"I see," Catherine said. "That all makes sense I suppose, but why isn't she here today?"
Alice looked a little forlorn at the question.
"There was a family emergency apparently, and Elise couldn't break away from it. Thankfully it's nothing to do with her direct family, but I don't know much beyond that."
Alice fiddled with her hands, upset at the idea of the whole ordeal.
"She won't arrive until the middle of the week, it's a little upsetting but there is nothing to be done about it," Alice explained.
"I'll share my notes with Elise when she gets here, but it's only a few days, I'm sure she'll be able to make up for lost time easily."
"With your help, she's as good as caught up." Said Catherine warmly.
Alice perked up at this, she'd been extremely nervous about navigating the first couple of days without any help. Thankfully the spirited Blackwood girl had taken up the mantle, and Alice was eternally grateful.
Catherine lit up another cigarette, it was a good thing Alice didn't know her smoking habits otherwise she'd immediately clock that something was bothering the noble.
The introduction of the childhood friend could spell trouble. Elise would undoubtedly know of Catherine's reputation, and there was a good possibility that she would try to steer Alice clear of the troublesome noble.
There was something else too. Something Catherine wouldn't admit to anyone, she was barely admitting it to herself. But there was a distinct tinge of jealousy at the idea of someone spending time with Alice every evening…alone.
Catherine was aware of how petty this was. She was deeply embarrassed just thinking about it. It wasn't as if Elise was going to make a move on Alice, nothing of the sort ever happened in the game, and the idea was absurd on the face of it.
It's not like I'm worried about who she dates anyway. Catherine lied to herself.
These thoughts preoccupied Catherine, to the extent that the trim young man approaching the pair went unnoticed.
"Good afternoon, Catherine Blackwood." the man said sternly.
It was Isiah Andsor, the crown prince.