Shomin no Aji - Chapter 598.2 (Patreon)

Extra Edition / Mob Perspective: The Troubled Entourage Life of a Certain Viscount's Daughter 2
“Oh my, how wonderful! I’m sure they will be grateful to you all. Ufufu.”

Trixie-sama picked up a piece of shortbread and took a crisp bite.
Ah, those are delicious.
They’re exclusives from the Mayor Company, so they’re hard to come by.

The young lady from the Mayor Company is a friend of Cristea-sama and has been a topic of interest since she successfully contracted a Sacred Beast shortly after enrolling.
Since moving to the special dormitory right after her Sacred Beast contract, Trixie-sama regretted not being able to bring her into Francine-sama’s faction.

“It’s truly unfortunate that we couldn’t bring the young lady from the Mayor Company to our side. Once Francine-sama is confirmed as the Crown Prince’s fiancée, we must find a way to bring her over.”

Trixie-sama said this as she finished the remaining shortbread.

A few days later, news arrived that Cristea-sama’s tea party was finally happening, and Trixie-sama called us together during lunch.
Lunch was brought to the salon building, and we all ate while paying close attention to Trixie-sama.
To be honest, I was so nervous about what she might say that I couldn’t taste the food.

“This morning, Cristea-sama handed an invitation to Alicia-sama. They’ve notified us that they’ll be using the Ellisfeed’s family’s private room in the salon building from this afternoon. Holding a tea party on such short notice makes the invitation almost pointless, doesn’t it?”

It seemed they had prearranged the event, making the invitation just a formality.
Although Trixie-sama calling us together on such short notice isn’t much different...

“They’re not using any of the salon staff, and all food and drinks are being brought in. It’s completely unexpected that we can’t get our people inside.”

Wait, was she planning to plant spies? How bold...

It seems they intended to bribe the maids working at the salon or the students aspiring to be maids who work part-time there to gather some information.

Despite using only the room, and it being a dedicated space leased by the Ellisfeed family during their schooling, only specific individuals could enter, making eavesdropping impossible.
The servers for this occasion were said to be Cristea-sama’s maid and another maid dispatched from the special dormitory, making bribery futile.
Cristea-sama is thorough…

With so many enemies, she must be on guard even if she doesn’t want to be.
Being born into a good family isn’t all enviable; it comes with its own hardships.

“Even though she claims not to be interested, it’s troubling how cautious she is of her surroundings. We can’t afford to underestimate her…”

As Trixie-sama muttered to herself, I focused on finishing my meal quickly.

I’m so tired of these gatherings.
It’s utterly vile for almost adult ladies to try to undermine younger students.
I need to figure out a way to distance myself from this group subtly and without causing trouble.
Then I can visit the library and indulge in reading as much as I want!

Just as I resolved this in my heart, Trixie-sama finished her meal, stood up, and said, “Oh, right. I had a favor to ask of you,” addressing me and a few others.
She ordered us to observe Cristea-sama and her group from the lobby of the salon building.

Y-you’ve got to be kidding me!

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