A few weeks later.
The ‘Crimson Rose Room’ had a slightly different atmosphere than usual on this day.
“Oh my, Princess Bianca, this tea is so delicious it makes me sigh!”
The tea, brewed with luxurious tea leaves, was the same as always.
“And that ornament on the shelf, could it be a goldwork piece from the Rutsfen workshop?”
As usual, high-end furnishings and jewelry were displayed as if they were changed weekly.
“Oh…! It’s like a dream that we could be invited to this salon!”
The only difference today was that, in addition to noble young ladies, a few female students from commoner backgrounds were invited.
“Oh, don’t say it’s like a dream. And please, I always tell you to just call me Bianca casually.”
Even her wry smile was graceful as Bianca spoke, causing the girls to momentarily hold their breath before tentatively murmuring, “Lady Bianca…”
“What is it, Zophie, Elma, Juliana?”
Bianca called out to each one with a pleased smile, causing Zophie and the others to blush with joy.
Although they were students from commoner backgrounds, they were daughters of business owners or doctors, with the intelligence and financial power to be allowed entry into this academy.
These girls, having a considerable amount of backbone, had often been at odds with the royalty and high-ranking nobles.
But now, all of them looked at Bianca with earnest eyes.
It wasn’t the kind of adoring praise typical of sheltered noble girls, but rather a genuine overflowing affection reserved for someone they saw as an equal.
“Um, Lady Bianca. We are truly grateful.”
“Yes. Not just for inviting us to this salon, but also for—”
Elma’s words trailed off, and Bianca nodded as if to say she understood.
Then, in a dignified tone befitting an empress, she declared,
“There should be no leniency in judging vile crimes. And likewise, no unfairness either.”
That’s right.
All of these girls were victims whose underwear had been stolen by Meinz.
After Natalia had taken Leonora to a ‘safe place,’ Bianca had asked Dominic a ‘few questions.’
Although he had been reluctant to talk at first, and she had to use some ‘persuasive’ methods, he eventually confessed all his crimes.
It turned out that Dominic’s story about having a sister was a lie. In reality, he had been stealing underwear to attract customers to his family’s dry cleaning business.
To make matters worse, he had carefully preserved the stolen underwear and admired it nightly.
Realizing the base desires behind his ever-changing claims, Bianca couldn’t help but unleash a swift kick with her golden right leg.
Dominic let out a squashed frog-like sound, but it was only natural for a creep to make such a sound.
However, the Imperial Academy had an ironclad rule of “absolute autonomy.”
All crimes occurring within the academy had to be judged fairly by the students, not the military or judiciary.
This rule also prohibited any form of vigilante justice by students, meaning Bianca couldn’t take further action against Dominic on her own.
Yet, in this case, Bianca had no intention of leaving Dominic’s punishment to others.
He had not only committed the vile crime of stealing underwear but had also terrified Bianca’s dear friend Leonora to the point where she said she could never marry.
(How can I not tear apart such a despicable person with my own hands?)
Unbeknownst to Leo, who directed all her fearful glances at Albert, Bianca was also a fearsome woman with the blood of a dragon.
Collaborating with Natalia, Bianca swiftly identified the victims and contacted them secretly to take action.
Namely, she forcefully inserted herself and Natalia into the panel judging Dominic, and had the victims submit vivid statements about their experiences.
“Having you put your unpleasant experiences into words must have been hard. Today is partly an apology for that. Please, enjoy as much as you like.”
“Oh, Lady Bianca! Not at all!”
“We are so grateful to you!”
“Indeed! Not only did you include women in the judging panel, but you also strongly protected our privacy and even advised us on how to write our statements…”
Zophie and the others strongly protested because Bianca’s actions had greatly helped them.
A fair trial by students.
Even so, those who had the authority to pass judgment were upper-class students like student council members.
While commoner students were finally being included in recent years, incidents affecting only commoner students were often not taken seriously.
Moreover, the judging panel had previously consisted solely of male members.
Given the academy’s gender ratio, this was somewhat unavoidable, but it hindered the judgment of such sexual crimes.
However, with Natalia and Bianca joining the panel, the situation changed drastically.
Additionally, with the help of powerful and emotionally stirring statements supervised by Natalia, Dominic’s minor sexual offenses were treated as if they were serious, malicious crimes, resulting in his expulsion and a hefty compensation order.
“We felt so creepy and unpleasant, but we thought no one would take us seriously. We were so relieved!”
“Thank you so much, Lady Bianca!”
Hearing Zophie and the others speak so clearly, Bianca smiled wryly and said,
“If you want to thank someone, thank Leonora. She was the first to see through Dominic’s deception.”
She shrugged and gave credit to her protégé.
In reality, Bianca and the others had almost been fooled by Dominic, and it was Leonora who had stopped them and brought them back to reality.
Zophie and the others, impressed by Bianca’s humility, looked at her with admiration before softly saying, “Leonora…”
“She really sees the truth with those eyes of hers…”
“And yet, she never once boasted about it to us…”
“We were truly surprised to learn from Lady Bianca that it was Leonora who saw through that vile criminal.”
Their expressions, full of reverence like those directed at a spirit, were unmistakable.
Leonora von Hakenberg.
A girl so beautiful she could take your breath away, yet unpretentious and kind to everyone.
Delicate enough to seem breakable at a touch, yet standing firm no matter where she was.
Her beautiful amethyst-like eyes always discerned the truth without being clouded by worldly emotions.
“But… I feel sorry for making her see through such a filthy crime.”
“Really. She must not have understood such base urges.”
“Oh, if only we could stay by her side and protect her from such filth…”
Thinking of Leonora as someone to be protected, they voiced such sentiments.
“Um, excuse me.”
At that moment, someone who had remained silent so far spoke up.
It was Elsa.
She clenched both fists tightly and stood up with a determined expression.
“Your desire to protect Leonora from base emotions is understandable, but I believe that everyone has their own roles to play,” Elsa declared.
“Lady Elsa?” Zophie and her companions asked, looking puzzled.
Elsa, gathering her thoughts, began speaking rapidly. “You all frequently express your wish to protect Leonora, to be by her side, or even to serve her as maids. However, I believe that such roles should be filled by individuals who possess the appropriate education and values suited for a noble educator. While I acknowledge your intelligence, I question your values. Without misunderstanding, I must say that the maids of noble ladies should be of noble birth. That is what I believe.”
Her forceful words left the room in silence. Elsa, listening to the crackling of the fireplace, began to realize that her outburst might have been a mistake. She had spoken out of a desire to prevent them from becoming Leonora’s unofficial maids, but such statements also carried condescension. Bianca had recently admonished her against discriminating based on noble or commoner status.
(I’m aware, but changing my perspective isn’t easy…)
She still believed that noble ladies had qualities unique to their upbringing. True, their education couldn’t be compared to that of commoners who had fought their way through fierce competition. Yet, the manners and conversational skills she and her peers had painstakingly learned were something she took pride in. It was frustrating to be told to recognize others without considering these differences.
(Yes, it frustrates me…)
If a commoner student were to become Leonora’s maid, it would feel like a direct affront to the value of what she had learned. She needed to apologize, but she didn’t want to. As these thoughts swirled in her mind, she tightly shut her lips.
“Well,” Zophie finally spoke, “I suppose you’re right.”
“Huh?” Elsa couldn’t help but respond.
Zophie, sharing a light-hearted glance with Elma and Juliana, turned a slightly embarrassed gaze towards Elsa. “We did declare that we would make Leonora more ladylike and serve her as maids in a burst of enthusiasm, but when we actually discussed what we could do, we realized we had no proper plans.”
“Of course, we can handle her daily needs, but when it comes to making her ‘ladylike,’ all we could think of was dressing her in sexy lingerie,” Elma added.
“Dressing her in…!”
Elsa blushed deeply at their bold and straightforward ideas. Seeing her reaction, Zophie and the others laughed softly.
“Leonora would be terrified by such actions, wouldn’t she? We realized that we might be too crude or have our limitations,” Zophie continued. “Of course, we’re confident in our ability to teach academics,” Juliana said mischievously.
It seemed they were more self-aware and practical than Elsa had assumed.
“Well…the intention of ‘for Leonora’ is what’s important, more than the method,” Bianca added with an awkward smile, stepping in to mediate. As Zophie and the others nodded, Bianca turned a kind smile to Elsa.
“How about this? The desire to protect a dear friend is shared by everyone. We can unite under that single goal, with each of us contributing what we can.”
“Each of us, contributing…” Elsa echoed thoughtfully. Bianca elaborated, “To nurture Leonora’s femininity, those with financial means could gift dresses, those with romantic experience could share stories of noble courtship. Someone knowledgeable about books could collect romantic tales or princess fairy tales, and Elsa, with your expressive storytelling, you could read them to her.”
“Reading fairy tales…?” Elsa was taken aback by the suggestion.
“I know it seems childish, but don’t underestimate Leonora’s naivety,” Bianca stated firmly. “She’s the kind of girl who would tear up just from being touched by a man, thinking she can’t marry anymore. We need to instill in her the joy of being a woman slowly and gently.”
Just weeks ago, Bianca had been scolding Natalia and Albert for being slow, but witnessing Leonora’s tears had drastically changed her approach. Bianca now saw herself as the protector who must safeguard Leonora’s innocence at all costs.
(I must proceed carefully to protect her heart… I’m her ‘sister,’ after all.)
In truth, the sight of Leonora’s vulnerable tears had simply softened Bianca’s resolve. She reasoned that delaying Leonora’s maturation plans wouldn’t cause any real issues—only her brother might be inconvenienced.
(She can stay unmarried longer, giving me more time with her before she becomes a crown princess…)
Convincing herself it was for Leonora’s benefit, Bianca reassured herself and looked around again.
“Lady Bianca…” Elsa murmured, moved by her words. She had initially thought of Bianca as overbearing, but now she saw her as compassionate and dedicated to caring for Leonora. Resolving to shake off her earlier misconceptions, Elsa raised her voice with determination.
“That’s a wonderful idea. I understand. I’ll travel across the country to gather the best princess fairy tales!”
“Oh, Lady Elsa, we can assist with that,” Zophie interjected.
“My father is a writer and has connections with bookstores and publishers,” Zophie explained.
“My father is a traveling merchant, so I can collect fairy tales from foreign lands,” added Elma.
“My mother compiles town histories, so she can transcribe oral fairy tales,” Juliana chimed in.
“Well!” Elsa exclaimed, surprised by the unexpected skills of her classmates’ families.
“We’ll be able to gather stories from all over the world,” Zophie confirmed.
“Indeed. It would help if you could specify the type of stories you’re looking for,” Elma suggested.
“Of course. Stories that every noble lady should know, focused on romance and princesses…” Elsa, knowledgeable about romantic tales, began discussing seriously.
As they engaged in passionate debate, even Bianca joined in, nodding with interest. They moved to the classroom, bringing out a blackboard for their discussions. This marked the moment the Red Rose Society transformed into the “Team to Nurture Leonora’s Femininity.”
Within an hour, they had bonded over their plans, calling each other by their first names.
***
Bianca von Weizsacker, though often overshadowed by her brother Prince Albert, was a princess of the empire, loved by spirits and known for her fairness and ability to judge impartially. During her tenure as the head of the lower school and later as the student council president, many of the unspoken class barriers were dismantled, making the academy a place where all could pursue their studies equally.
Interestingly, during this time, there was a surge in the discovery and compilation of fairy tales and romance novels favored by girls. The true reason behind this remains a topic of debate among historians.