— What... What did you say?

I thought I heard her wrong.

To which Rachel said in the same haughty tone:

"You heard what I said. I don't like to say it twice.

At first, I thought it was a joke, but considering that the atmosphere in the room continued to become more tense, I realized that she said it quite seriously.

And from this, the situation became even more absurd.

I was ready to choke with indignation, accepting the fact that Rachel really ordered me to do something so humiliating.

And how did I manage to get into all this...?!

— So what? Rachel summed up impatiently, "You're not going to do that?"

I swallowed.

It looks like she really wants me to do it.

Of course, I didn't expect her to treat me well from the very beginning, but... And I never thought that she would force me to do such things.

If I were an ordinary average noblewoman, everything would be much easier, and I would be able to swallow my pride.

But the situation was aggravated by the fact that the Duchy of Ashford was quite influential, and if I did this, I would literally trample on the pride of our family in front of the Cassius clan.

Rachel naturally knew about this when she ordered me to do it.

And from this, my hatred for her, which I tried with all my might to suppress, was rapidly bursting out.

I clenched my teeth, fighting the inner urge to hit her right now.

— Why should I do this ...? — I asked in the most neutral tone.

Rachel snorted.

"You said you wanted to be my friend, right?" — she said deliberately, — If you do this, I will believe in the sincerity of your intentions.

— But... You do realize that I can't just do this, right? This is the pride of my family.

"Your family?" — the girl smiled icily, — I remember you said that your status does not define you as a person. Or, are these words already an empty sound?

I pursed my lips, silently glaring at her.

— Prove it to me... — she said conspiratorially, — Prove that you are different from them. Prove that you're not like all these rotten bastards.

From her words, the frost rapidly went over my skin, and I could not move from my place.

What was I supposed to do...?!

One part of me consisted mainly of the prejudices of the real Leriana, who would never allow the honor of her family to be hurt by someone like the Cassians.

But different... She said that I had to survive, no matter what. I had to change Rachel to prevent that nightmare from happening in the future. And for that, I had to do everything possible for her to accept me.

Even if I have to pay a very expensive price.

Noticing that I continued to stay in place, Rachel turned away in disappointment.

"I knew it. You're just another dummy. You can fuck off right now. And don't ever catch my eye again.

She was about to leave here when at that moment I suddenly said:

— I'm sorry for making you wait so long.

I obediently knelt down.

***

The next day, I remembered what happened yesterday with shame.

The very thought of letting Rachel do something so humiliating to me made me angry and blush at the same time.

But you can't undo what was done, so I had to accept the fact that this day was the most shameful in all my two lives.

The only thing that calmed me was the thought that after graduating from the academy, I would never see that damn girl again.

I had to grit my teeth and serve Rachel Cassius during this time, hoping that my efforts would somehow affect her fate.

For the future of this country to be peaceful, it is necessary to solve the problem before it arises.

In this case, if Rachel doesn't kill her husband in a few years, and doesn't grow a psychopath out of her son, definitely everyone will be happy.

Especially me, who right now allows himself to be bullied like that, just to earn at least a drop of her trust.

However, thoughts about how to get close to Rachel were not the only ones that were hovering in my head at the moment.

Almost exactly the same, I was also worried about the upcoming banquet, which was to take place soon.

And it wasn't even about Phil's offer to become his dance partner, to which I haven't been able to come up with an answer yet.

The fact is that I realized that I had absolutely nothing to put on him...!

The banquet at the Royal Academy was not at all an ordinary school party, as I thought earlier, but a real social event where everyone tried to present themselves in the best possible light.

Considering the scale of the holiday, I could not lose face, especially as the heiress of the Ashford family.

Therefore, I decided to urgently buy myself a new outfit, especially for this occasion.

And for this purpose, next weekend, I was going to get out to the city to look for a dress in a local boutique.

The Royal Academy was located in one of the oldest cities of Azeroth, Atlas, where it was founded more than a few centuries ago, and has not moved anywhere since.

Despite the fact that the city was relatively small compared to the capital, it was very beautiful, and many historical sights have been preserved here.

So, even without such a reason, I would still like to visit Atlas while I study at the academy.

On weekends, when there were no classes, students were allowed to go out into the city and stay there until the curfew. If someone did not have time to return before that time, then the guards of the academy were sent to search for him.

Since I have never been to this city, this problem arose very acutely.

It would be nice if I knew someone who could give me a tour of the Atlas, and at the same time help me navigate the local shops.

But the bad thing was that I still didn't know many people here...

Due to the fact that the status of the Duchy of Ashford was one of the highest in the academy, most students were simply afraid to get to know me. Although initially, when I first arrived at this place, I thought that everything would be completely the opposite.

Probably, everyone just thought that if I didn't like something, then I could easily expel all the objectionable from the academy by complaining to my father. Although, I wasn't even going to do that.

After all, the fact that I had almost no acquaintances here was my main problem.

I didn't even know who I could ask to go to town with me this weekend.

Phil was the exception, but I wasn't going to bother him with such a case. Especially since the last time we saw each other, he seemed rather tired to me.

Most likely, he seriously leaned on his studies, I decided then.

At the very least, I still have to go alone. Although it didn't sound too optimistic.

On the day when I was thinking about it again, it was Friday, and tomorrow my supposed trip to the city was supposed to take place.

I was walking down the corridor, heading to the classroom where the next lesson was taking place, and I didn't pay too much attention to others.

The reaction to me among other students was almost always the same: some shuddered, recognizing me as the heiress of the Ashford family, while others stared at my beauty with fascination, and sometimes some brave souls offered to meet me. However, I always politely refused, because the relationship was absolutely not included in my future plans for life.

After a while, I got used to it, and already ignored them all, purposefully heading to my destination.

But this time, an unusual scene in the middle of the corridor caught my attention.

Three big men surrounded an ordinary-looking guy, and interested onlookers had already begun to gather around them.

— ...Hey, why the fuck did you push me, and didn't even apologize...?! — one of them was loudly indignant.

— I have already said that it happened by accident, — said the guy, — And you yourself stood in my way.

"You dare to accuse us?! Do you even know who my father is?

It looked like a normal skirmish that happens in any school, regardless of its status.

And I was about to pass by, but my gaze caught on the dark back of this guy's head, which seemed very familiar to me. Exactly the same as his voice.

— ...Most likely, not too educated, since he did not teach his son to treat people with respect," he arrogantly retorted.

— You...!

Choking with anger, the senior grabbed the guy by the collar, and was about to punch him, when at that moment I managed to jump out in front of them.

— How dare you make a mess in the middle of the school day? I said in such a stern tone, as if I were some kind of class head.

— What...? Who else are you?!

All three were terribly indignant at my sudden intervention, but before they could do anything, the crowd around us began to whisper.

My name sounded from all sides, and they finally realized who they were dealing with.

— You... The Duke of Ashford's daughter? — the same big guy who first started the conflict, obviously worried.

"Exactly," I replied calmly, "Did you know about it when you wanted to raise your hand against me?"

The upperclassman turned white as chalk.

Naturally, everyone knew how much the Duke of Ashford cherished his only daughter, and what influence their family had in the kingdom. Anyone who crosses their path will certainly expect the worst consequences.

"I... I'm sorry!" — having completely changed in the manner of his behavior, the guy and his two choruses threw themselves on their knees, — Please spare us, Lady Ashford!

Seeing how these big guys were instantly scared of me, just hearing the name of my family, I experienced inner satisfaction.

Still, sometimes it's good to use your position.

However, the real Leriana was a very kind person, and in this I was going to imitate her. To punish the wrong, and to help the weak, that's what I would like to do in my second life.

And therefore, the remorse in their eyes, although not entirely sincere, was quite enough for me to get rid of this situation.

"I forgive you," I said nobly, "but I hope you've learned your lesson and won't do it again?"

—H-of course!

— good. Then go ahead.

- thanks... Thank you so much for your kindness, Lady Ashford!

Falling to their knees again and almost kissing the soles of my shoes with happiness, all three of them hurried away as quickly as possible.

After all the fun was over, the crowd quickly began to disperse, and soon this guy and I were left alone in a half-empty corridor.

"It looks like we've met again," the same student I recently rescued from the lake smiled at me, "and you saved me again.

— Yeah... — I wanted to smile at the awkwardness of these coincidences.

"Why didn't you say you were Lady Ashford right away?"