PERSONAL

Chapter 2: Introduction

I stood at Holfort Academy's entrance. It felt bittersweet to be here again. While I looked forward to what may come, the memories of my mistakes still weighed heavily on my mind. I had been at the top of the social hierarchy at this school, and it was only after all was said and done did I truly realize how hollow the position was. I learned of my followers' fickleness in my moment of need.

As a result of their betrayal, I had abstained from meeting with any of my previous followers. This course of action led to me entering the school alone, which spared my ears from some of the students' screeching fanfare. I found my newfound solitude surprisingly soothing. I still wished to be with others, but I had learned my lesson. I wanted to be surrounded by people that cared for Angelica, not people that cared about the Redgrave reputation.

My musings were broken by the sound of girls squealing. Looking up, I noticed His Highness was strutting through the courtyard with his entourage. I clicked my teeth over the girls' behavior. Was that how I had appeared when I tried to 'save' His Highness? It was incredibly embarrassing to watch from a third-person perspective.

I soon heard a trio and a personal slave bickering behind me. I only took notice of the conversation because they weren't gushing over His Highness.

"Leon, you need to watch yourself around them. It's one thing for you to have snubbed Zola, but you can not afford to antagonize those five," the girl in the group said harshly to the younger boy.

"You've certainly improved your acting skills, dear sister. I almost believed that you were concerned about my well-being."

The girl puffed her cheeks and stormed off with her slave. The older male looked at Leon with concern.

"While Jenna probably does care more about how she will be affected, she does care for you. Can you at least keep yourself in check for the family's sake? The Bartfort name doesn't have any connections to handle the aftermath of any scandal."

Bartfort? That was the family name of the newly promoted Baron. So that would mean Leon was Leon Fou Bartfort. I had recently heard of him due to his successes in adventuring. It was something unseen since the early years of Holfort's expansion. His success was actually considered an impossible feat in the modern era.

Thinking back on it, how had I not heard of him the last time around? I could not recall his name at all in my prior life. Not getting to know him must have been a mistake on my part. I had missed out on meeting someone who was living my childhood dream. This time around, I'll make sure to introduce myself to him. I'll send him a letter through the dorm system later so that he won't be inconvenienced.

Since I had missed out on such a find on my first run, I wonder who and what else I had missed.

....

Despite my reclusive behavior, I was still considered at the top of the hierarchy for my class. After experiencing the decline of my family's status for three years, I had forgotten how much power my family name still held during my first year at the academy. It sickened me how quickly the other noble girls toadied up to me once they realized who I was. They were the same people that would leave me high and dry.

The only person who didn't try to gain my favor was the scholarship student.

I didn't know how to feel about her. Even though I would like to think I had properly moved on, she still represented everything that had gone wrong in my past life. No, that was inaccurate. She was the catalyst, but she had tried to spare me. I couldn't be certain if that was true since it was His Highness who had told me that.

Thinking about it any further wasn't going to make me feel any better about it. I'll just leave her be, though I'll keep an ear out for whether she is being bullied or not. It would be my way of paying her back. Admittedly doing so would be more beneficial for me in the long run. Those bullies would undoubtedly invoke my name again, and I would not tolerate the Redgrave name being besmirched. Protecting my family was far more important to me than repaying a debt.

In any case, my classroom was only filled with sycophants and the scholarship student. I wasn't going to find anyone particularly interesting here.

....

After a few weeks at the school, I became concerned with the future of the kingdom. Of all the first years that I had scoped out, there was almost no one of value. There were certainly people worth networking with, but there was almost no one of real substance. Almost all of the women cared only for material wealth and status, and almost all of the men were already broken down by said women. The people that didn't exhibit these traits typically melted into the background. The only people of note were Bartfort, the scholarship student, and the royal entourage, and of those, I was only willing to interact with Bartfort.

Speaking of Bartfort, I looked at the letter in my hands again for the meeting location. After a few letter exchanges, I was going to meet him in person. I felt positively giddy for some reason. It was odd since it was just a meeting and not something as grand as a romantic affair. We hadn't even discussed what we would be talking about, so I wasn't even sure his adventures would be on the table. I had only mentioned that I wished to meet the kingdom's newest Baron. Based on his responses, it seemed he was anticipating a more formal meeting. This thought sobered my emotions.

As I calmed down, I began to wonder if my sudden bout of happiness was a result of my self-imposed isolation. I should consider looking through the students in upper years soon for my mental health. I really should contact Clarice again. She was someone I could get along with. She was a very pleasant and affectionate woman. How Mamoria couldn't love her was beyond me.

In any case, I need to focus on Bartfort.

Walking into the room we had set aside, I was greeted with an oddly familiar aroma.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Redgrave," Bartfort said with a bow.

"A tea party? I'm flattered, but this is much too forward," I stammered out as heat crept on my face. Had my letters come across as a sign of romantic interest?

"As beautiful as you are, I'm not willing to steal the crown prince's intended. My fascination with tea was something I picked up recently, and I thought that you would enjoy some refreshments while we talked," Bartfort said as he politely offered me a seat. Though I could tell he was trying to play it off as nothing, there was a rigidness in his movement.

After taking a moment to calm my beating heart, I said, "That is rather thoughtful of you," and took the offered seat. Bartfort then brought a cup brimming with tea. After taking a small sip, I realized that the tea tasted quite similar to my favorite.

"Is the tea not to your liking?"

Looking up, I saw that Bartfort was fidgeting. He must have taken my silence as displeasure. Oddly, I felt that his nervousness wasn't because he thought he had displeased me. It seemed as though he wanted his efforts to be acknowledged. I guess he was serious about picking up tea as a hobby. It was refreshing to see someone passionately pursue their hobby.

It was also nice to be pampered by someone for once.

"I found the tea quite pleasant. I was just surprised how much it tastes like my favorite."

"I'm glad to hear that, Ms. Redgrave. I'm sorry that I couldn't brew your favorite. I'm happy that my mentor was able to suggest a suitable substitute."

"You've certainly done your research if you prepared such fine tea for me. Most people would have simply brewed whatever tea that they had on hand."

"I would think that this would be the very least one should do for a lady such as yourself, daughter of a Duke or not."

"You would be surprised," I grumbled.

"Ostentatious gifts with no connection to your interests or displays of empty fealty?"

"The latter mostly. The gifts of confectionary were quite tame surprisingly, though I suppose inappropriately meager considering they were meant to curry favor with the Redgrave family."

"Does my meager offering of tea fall under that?"

"That depends. Is it an offering for me or my family?"

We both laughed at that. We soon fell into a relaxed conversation about the school and stories about his adventure. It was pleasant to talk and joke freely. I was initially worried that Bartfort had set up this tea party to buy my favor like the others in our year, but his honest attempts to accommodate my tastes set my heart at ease. It was such a small gesture, but it meant more than what all the others had tried. What's more, he had done it to be hospitable and not for gain as far as I could tell.

Though if he had done all of this out of a sense of hospitality, I wonder what he would do if he was courting a lady. I had initially mistaken what he had considered meager to be romantic, though I suppose I was biased. I was using His Highness's lack of effort as a frame of reference.

After a substantial amount of time, it was time for us to part.

"I quite enjoyed our talk today, Bartfort."

"I did too," he said gently before he looked away nervously. He then continued softly saying, "I would love to do this again in the future, Ms. Redgrave."

"I would like that, though if we are to make this a regular occurrence, I must insist that you call me Angie."

"Then please call me Leon."

....

As I was walking back to my room, I noticed that one of the doors was covered in graffiti. It must be the scholarship student's room. Regardless of how I felt about her, it was displeasing to see such open and juvenile acts of hostility. I sought out one of the staff and berated them for allowing such harassment to progress to the point that they would allow the facilities to be defaced so openly.

After extracting a vow that the staff would be stricter in the future, I turned around and saw the scholarship student staring at me. It looked like she wanted to say something, but couldn't bring herself to speak.

Not having the patience nor wanting to have a protracted conversation with her, I said, "I didn't do it for you. I just can't tolerate such contemptible behavior."

I left without waiting for a response. She remained silent as well.