Reincarnated into Two Bodies Chapter 248: Dwelling In Our Heads

So, apparently, the only reason the director was in favor of was because of my ducal status. Regardless if the report was real or not, he would’ve sided with and pulled out of that ss anyway.

I don’t know if I should be glad or sad to hear that.

Regardless, the Director promised that I wouldn’t have to worry about them for the ti being. And boy, does his promise take effect with terrifying efficiency.

When I arrived at the Honors class, I spotted Ravilenna. Normally, she’d be at her desk with a hand mirror in one hand, a makeup brush in the other, complete with a fur-lined coat draped over her shoulders that made her easily stand out.

Today, though, she was sitting in complete silence, head held down, hands tucked on her lap, eyes narrowed, and burrowing into her desk. She had ditched the nouveau riche look for the standard uniform everyone wears.

The mont I passed her by, I could sense her irritated eyes tracking up the steps. But the second I tilted my head toward her, she recoiled, fixing her eyes on her desk again.

Even without Feyt’s ears, I could hear the audible grind of her teeth.

Again, I don’t know if I should find that satisfying or concerning.

Other than that, classes resud as normal, but anyti I paid attention to Ravilenna, she was in a state of complete grumbling, barely lifting her head towards the instructor or even the ones sitting next to her.

I would say that Ravilenna’s present grumbling was the only thing that changed, but on the other side of my vision, sothing else had changed.

For days, I’d been treated as if I were going to die tomorrow. Everyone looked at with either pity or fury, bombarding with advice on how to stand up for myself against my supposed abuser, so even suggested I find ‘better fish in the sea’. I’d expected more of the sa today, perhaps a little less after my 'performance' yesterday.

These reactions were born from the rumor of Carine abusing Feyt, which was amplified the day I arrived in class with a bandage over my head. I expected to hear so of the sa comnts once more, but perhaps a little less after the performance I set up yesterday.

But it seed I underestimated how fast words spread. The mont I entered Class A today, instead of being bombarded by pity and comfort, I was greeted as usual. With warm smiles, invitations to play a ga, and a walk to the cafeteria later.

I didn't fully understand the shift until I sat down next to Attila.

“Morning, Feyt!” she chirped, her smile bright again as she leaned in close. “So, I just heard the news... How did you pull the heist? Must’ve been tough sneaking into a dorm, huh?” she asked in a low, mischievous whisper.

I let out an exasperated sigh. “Please, Attila. I’m not in the mood to discuss that right now.”

“Haha, sorry!” she chuckled, waving a hand dismissively. “I couldn’t help myself. But seriously… Lady Carine didn’t… uh… 'discipline' you after all?”

“Nope.” I let out a long, genuine sigh of relief as I shoved my bag under the desk. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell everyone for a while now.”

“Really?” Attila said, her words trailing off. Then, she flashed a bright smile. “Then, I’m glad! It seems I’ve been worrying over nothing after all, huh?”

“You sure did.”

As I settled into my seat, I let my shoulders drop in relief. Finally, I could put that abuse rumor in the past. Though there were still lingering talks about stealing panties, thankfully, it was only being talked about in teasing or jokes; no one seed to take it seriously.

As the class started to fill up, whispers and gossip began to be exchanged. With my ears, I could hear them all as clear as crystal, so I instinctively leaned in closer to get a better listen… an action that I would soon regret.

“Wait, so the rumors about Lady Carine beating him up were fake?”

“Totally. Didn't you hear? I’ve seen her defending him in broad daylight yesterday. She looked so passionate and angry about the others cornering him, too.”

“Yeah, I even heard one of the directors was moved by her passion in defending him when they were called to the office.”

Slowly, my faces grew pale.

I began to realize that, in the midst of trying to fight my way through two pesky rumors, that being the abuse and the panty rumors… I had completely forgotten about the original rumor. The one that I swore was my sworn nesis.

Not only had I accidentally perated it further with my ‘passionate’ acting in defending myself… I seed to have strengthened it.

As soon as class ended and our breaks began, the talk didn’t stop either. Heck, I even started hearing it through Carine’s ears, too.

“Did you see how Lady Carine protects her man? If only I had a knight like that,” sighed a female noble.

“I heard she’s only cold to us because she’s saving all her warmth for him,” whispered a male student.

“The director told her speech moved him during the office visit. That’s why he dismissed the claims,” said an instructor.

My steps grew colder and slower by the second. I had beco the talk of this pseudo-town. Sure, they would go quiet whenever I walked by, but that didn’t help at all when Feyt’s ears were still tacked onto the side of my head!

I could only pray for this to blow over sooner or later. I could no longer trust myself to handle rumors without accidentally tripping over romance flags all over.

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Why did this have to happen now?

I have a tournant to prepare for, can you give a break?!

—

Royal Knights’ Cafeteria

Lunch Break

It was a rowdy day in the cafeteria as usual. Lionne had managed to reserve a seat for all of us once more, and I still wondered how she did it.

On the table, there were Eveliana, Lionne, Kyro, Villius, Clarissa, and . The whole gang’s together for a quick lunch. It should've been a fun ti.

The only unsavory thing about this gathering is the fact that all the gossip I kept hearing about echoing through the cafeteria, even without Feyt’s ears, was clearly all about .

Can’t let the rumor rest, huh?

We were eating in relative calmness, and that was when Clarissa brought up another topic.

“Still, it’s really warming to see Lady Carine caring for Sir Feyt that much,” she said softly with a gentle smile.

“I wish I could’ve seen it myself,” Kyro added before taking another bite of his lunch. “Nothing beats a speech from Lady Carine.”

When have I ever given a speech?

“, as well,” Eve added. “If ti permits, I would love to hear more about it from you, Lady Carine.”

“I will not be doing that.”

I had accepted the fact that even my friends had heard of the rumors, considering two of them were at the cri scene. Clarissa continued on about what she saw that day, about how I arrived at the nick of ti, talked down Markus and Ravilenna, etc.

Villius just flashed a wry smile as the story went on, eating his food in silence. At least soone respected my privacy.

That was when I noticed that Lionne, who sat beside , barely touched her food. Her spoon pattered on top of the mashed potatoes like she was playing with sand.

“Lionne?” I muttered, voice low enough to catch her attention but not the others. “Is sothing wrong?”

Despite everyone returning to their usual moods, at the cost of throwing myself under the bus of rumors, Lionne was the only person who was still in a relatively gloomy mood compared to the others.

She barely reacted to my question, rely stopping her spoon mid-air before setting it gently on her plate. She didn’t wear her usual smile. Her eyes stared into nothing as she rested her hand on the table.

I didn’t press her more for an answer, as it looked like she was building up her courage to say sothing, so I let her. Then…

“Lady Carine… I…” her words trailed off. Her head lowered for a mont, as if she was contemplating her choice of words. Then, she raised her head, staring at her barely touched food. “Lady Carine, I would like to apologize…”

I blinked. “What for?”

“I… am a terrible friend, aren’t I?” She flashed a wry smile. She raised her gaze slightly, scanning over the faces of everyone seated at the table.

I followed her gaze. Everyone was smiling and laughing, enjoying Clarissa’s retelling of the events.

I turned back to see Lionne wearing a weary smile as she turned her gaze back onto the food.

“When the rumors first spread, I… I believed it to be real,” she said.

Her voice was barely above a whisper, unheard by everyone else but . “I heard what people were saying about how you treated Feyt, and never once did I defend you. Not even in my own head. I actually thought, ‘Of course. She’s a Sareid. This is just how they are.’”

Is that how people view my family?

She let out a short, self-deprecating breath. “When I heard the cause of the ‘discipline’, I was so scared of becoming ‘useless’ that I spent the past few days looking at you like you were a tyrant. And then, I talked to Eve and the others… Only then did I learn that they never doubted you. They all knew it was a lie from the start.”

They all… knew?

I briefly glanced over to the rest of the crew. The way they laughed lightly, the way they smiled over my story… They looked almost relieved today… Relieved that a lie was finally set straight.

They really did know, didn’t they?

I turned back to Lionne. She let out a shaky breath, her fingers tracing the rim of her glass with a slight tremor.

“What kind of friend does that make ? I’ve been following you around, enjoying your protection and your status, yet the mont talks of your abuse spread, I’m the first one to turn away and believe it wholeheartedly…” She took a short, deep breath.

“At the ti… I only thought of that side of you as a con, sothing I would have to bear with if I ever want to stay in touch with your circle… I didn’t even consider whether the rumors were fabricated or not… That’s why… I don’t deserve to be called your friend.”

“Lionne,” I said, my voice steady despite the awkwardness of the situation.

She didn't look up. In fact, it looked like she was accepting her fate. She looked like she was waiting for to cast her aside, to finally fulfill the role of the cold, heartless noble she’d been imagining all week.

I took a deep breath… and let out an exasperated sigh.

“How mistaken you are, Lionne. I thought you were better than this.”

She flinched, her shoulders tightening as if bracing for a blow.

“I am well aware of why you approached in the beginning,” I said, my voice calm and devoid of judgnt. “You’re the heir to a rcantile family. It’s your job to find powerful connections, and the daughter of a Duke is as powerful as they co, besides the Royal Family, of course.”

Lionne’s breath hitched. “So you knew…”

“But, amidst that transactional motive you had… I believe there’s more to it,” I continued, shifting my gaze to the clear skies beyond the windows for a mont before turning back to her. “Aside from all the aid and services you have provided for … We’ve shared countless als together, talked about various things, and we even jogged together not too long ago. If you were just a 'leech,' you would have stopped at the polite pleasantries.”

I let out a soft, almost imperceptible huff.

“Even if you believed the rumors about . You still remained by my side, afraid as you may be. Sure, perhaps you saw it as purely transactional, a ‘con you have to bear with’ perhaps. But the fact that I still relied on you, the fact that you were still there for …” I flashed a small, faint smile. “If that’s not called being friends… I don’t know what is.”

The silence that followed wasn't heavy like before; it was thoughtful. Lionne stared at , her eyes shimring with sothing that looked like a mix of shock and relief.

“Lady Carine… I…”

Slowly, the tension drained from her fra. She let out a long, shaky exhale and wiped a stray tear from the corner of her eye with a quick, embarrassed flick of her wrist.

“Goodness ,” she whispered, her voice finally regaining its usual light lilt. “Why am I being so emotional today?”

She sat up straighter, a familiar, sparky grin finally breaking through the gloom as she adjusted her hair.

“You’re right, Lady Carine. I suppose I’ve just been spending too much ti in my own head lately,” she said with a light chuckle. “Alright… as your friend… I hope you can continue to rely on , Lady Carine. I won’t let you misplace your trust!” she said with bright eyes, her voice finally regaining that usual spunk.

“I’ll hold you to that,” I replied.

And with that, our lunch break continued. Before long, Lionne began joining in the discussion with the others, her smile returning.

For a brief mont, I took notice of Eve, who sat across from . She was resting her head on her palm, a gentle smirk plastered on her face.

She was listening in on us, wasn’t she?

The mont she noticed my gaze, she gracefully returned to focusing on her food.

I did the sa as well, picking up my spoon once more.

Even though the rumors were still circulating about, echoing into my ears all the sa, I felt a heavy weight lifted from my chest. But perhaps it was ti for to stop dwelling in my heads as well.

The tournant was going to happen soon. Though no exact date was given yet, I had noticed how rushed the construction team in charge of fixing up the arena was. I could tell from the looks on their faces that they were workers under a tight deadline.

If I remained stagnant just because of a couple of rumors… I was going to be demolished at the tournant. I needed to put my heads in the ga once more.

Thankfully, combat class was set for tomorrow. First thing in the morning. It was ti to get back to work and finally reunite with the single most reliable instructor I had t so far.