Chapter 36 – You're Too Baby!
I silently clenched the hem of my skirt. I had thought all this would be enough to make that green-tea b*tch bastard lose her temper, rush over and accuse me, and shout that it was all my doing.
If Teresa had really done that, it would’ve played right into my hands. I would have put on an innocent face and said, “Teresa, you're really hurting me by jumping to conclusions like that. Don’t tell me you’re pinning every little misfortune on me just because we’ve had a few issues?”
Then the people around us would definitely chime in: “Yeah, you're accusing Irene of doing this—do you have proof? Did anyone actually see Irene do it?”
At that point, Teresa would be at a total loss for words. She would look around helplessly, clench her fists, and grind her teeth in silence.
Exactly. I never bothered to hide the fact that it was me. In fact, I wanted Teresa to know it was me. But I’d never admit it.
Every Divine Princess in the class was my “accomplice.” None of them would take the side of a Wild Divine Princess. No one would risk offending me—the second daughter of a noble Divine Princess family in the Empire—just for her.
But to my disappointment, Teresa didn’t react at all.
This kind of prank had been going on for several days now, and yet Teresa acted completely oblivious.
If her desk was dirty, she just cleaned it. If there were tacks on her chair, she simply removed them. She wiped down her desk and chair with a cloth every day anyway, so she treated it like part of her routine.
As for the insects stuffed into her desk—those were courtesy of a few boys I ordered around.
There’s hardly a girl who isn’t afraid of bugs.
But Teresa’s reaction made my jaw drop.
When she found her desk drawer full of dead bugs, her expression didn’t even change. She just sighed softly, reached in with her hand to take out the insect corpses, and left the classroom.
I followed her and saw that instead of turning left and dumping them in the trash, she headed to a grove and buried the bugs under an old tree.
Was this woman insane? Was her brain broken?
She actually held a burial for those disgusting insects. This girl was definitely messed up in the head.
I couldn’t understand it no matter how I thought about it. What part of my “revenge” plan had failed to faze this little nobody?
“Teresa, doesn’t it bother you to touch bug corpses with your bare hands? Don’t you find it dirty or disgusting?” I walked up to her, feigning casualness, after she’d finished dealing with the bugs.
“Dirty?” Teresa held her book, not even glancing at me. “Insects are also living beings, spirits of nature. The forest thrives with their help. Why would they be dirty?”
“Besides, there are far dirtier things in this world—so dirty you can't even bear to look at them.”
“Oh? Like what?”
“The human heart.” Teresa calmly uttered the words, still not looking up, as if I wasn’t even there.
“You...” I was stunned, and in that moment, I understood the hidden meaning behind her words.
My hand that was halfway raised slowly dropped. I knew I couldn’t lose my temper now—otherwise, wouldn’t that be admitting I was the wicked one she was talking about?
I stared at her for a long while, but Teresa didn’t seem to notice. She kept reading, as if I wasn’t even worth the effort of glancing away from her book.
That damn expression...
The school rules at Coleman were strict. No one got special treatment. Even if Teresa was clearly insulting me in a roundabout way, I couldn’t do anything to her openly.
The reason I could get away with bullying her in the first place was because practically no one in the class stood on her side. In their eyes, she was a stain—unworthy of standing shoulder to shoulder with us “real” Divine Princesses. They supported what I did. Even if they didn’t, at least they didn’t object.
And since the teachers never noticed, and Teresa had no evidence to report us, I could do as I pleased.
But if it escalated to a personal fight—or worse, a physical altercation—then forget it. I’d be expelled and sent home for sure. For a Wild Divine Princess? Not worth it.
“Heh...” I let out a cold laugh and walked away.
Just you wait, you ugly duckling. You’ll get what’s coming to you soon enough.
Class started. The teacher came in. Teresa, as usual, was serious and attentive, even asking a few questions after class before quietly sitting back down.
The day’s lessons ended.
“See you tomorrow, Irene.”
“See you to—huh?” I glanced at Teresa as she brushed past me, and my expression turned strange.
That ugly duckling actually greeted me and said “see you tomorrow”?
I didn’t get it. What was she up to? Usually, she wouldn’t even spare me a glance.
Heh. No matter. Let’s see how long you can keep this up.
The next day, I repeated the same tricks—but worse. This time, I smeared her desk with all kinds of vulgar insults.
Instead of putting tacks on her chair again, I swapped it out completely with a broken one I found in the storage room.
One of the chair’s legs was already snapped. With just a bit of pressure, it would collapse. If you propped it up just right, it looked exactly like the original chair.
The thought of Teresa sitting down unsuspectingly, then crashing to the floor in front of the teacher and the whole class, made me giddy with anticipation.
Finally, I could humiliate that smug little mutt.
After everything was set, I returned to my seat, smirking as I waited for Teresa to arrive.
A minute passed. Then three. Then ten...
As the classroom filled up, confusion crept into my face.
This wasn’t right. Class was starting in just three minutes. Teresa always arrived twenty minutes early. Why was she late today?
Something felt off...
A chill crawled up my spine.
No way... She’s not coming today? Then everything I did would’ve been for nothing?
Tch...
That thought gave me a twinge of unease—but I couldn’t even say where it came from.
It wasn’t until the bell rang and Carlis entered the classroom with his textbooks that I suddenly snapped to my senses.
Oh no!
Normally, Teresa would’ve cleaned up the graffiti on her desk. But today, she wasn’t here!
Her desk was right at the front of the room. If she didn’t clean it...
“Class star—hmm?” Carlis pushed up his glasses just as he was about to start class. he glanced at Teresa’s usual seat and noticed her absence, then—
Once he confirmed what he was seeing, Carlis furrowed his brows, set down his books, and slowly walked to the front of the class to closely examine the vulgar writing on the desk.
It was over...
I slumped in my seat, a chill washing over me. I shrank into my chair like a turtle retreating into its shell.
Then, out of nowhere, a memory popped into my head.
“See you tomorrow, Irene.”
That was what Teresa had said to me when she left class yesterday.
...That b*tch! She set me up?!
You’re too baby!
I finally realized it—Teresa had played me.
She’d casually dropped a hint that she’d be here the next day, luring me into “getting ready”... and then didn’t show up at all!
And her desk? Front row.
Which meant...
“Who did this?” Carlis scanned the room, his voice sharp and deliberate. “Step forward.”