It wasn't often that Maria had lunch with the rest of the student council. Usually she would head to the dining hall, eat quickly and either spend the rest of the time studying or return to the student council chambers to do more paperwork. However, the president had asked her to run an errand to the ministry of magic on the campus, and by the time she'd finished the other members of the student council– or more properly, Lady Claes' harem with her and the president– were only just finishing their own duties and were hurrying to lunch. Since they were all going the same way, it seemed churlish to refuse their company. Insatiable as their mistress was, they were all nevertheless quite pleasant company in their own right with Lady Claes' will and libido guiding their actions.

Well, mostly. Lady Hunt seemed wary of her now. Maria hoped the other girl hadn't changed her stance and suddenly viewed her as yet another competitor for Lady Claes' affections. She did not want to find she'd been drowned in her sleep because Lady Mary had filled her room with water. or possibly just have her lungs filled with water that she couldn't cough out. She wouldn't even be able to use Light magic to heal herself of that.

Still, Lady Hunt didn't seem maliciously aggressive right now, so hopefully Maria could dissuade her from any rash course of action that would force Maria to rip her heartsblood out through her chest.

They entered the dining hall.

The first thing Maria noted was that it was oddly quiet. The second thing she noted as that Lady Claes was surrounded by a circle of women, all of whom looked like they'd just come out of a particularly tarry, smoky fire. Was having lit braziers spewing dark smoke the latest fashion or something?

Oh dear, was she cheating on her harem with another harem? Just how boundless were her hedonistic desires, that one group of beautiful and powerful people weren't enough for her? Shaking her head, Maria headed for the buffet of food, filled with all sorts of delicious, rich noble food on open plates. All around the dining room, people sat close together, the social proximity meant to facilitate what would usually be lively conversation

"What, exactly, is transpiring here?" the Third Prince said, sounding displeased to find his fiancé cheating on them so. He eyed the noble ladies around Lady Claes. Hmm, perhaps she was feeling more into women rather than men right now? Well, not Maria's problem. She looked about, but it appeared the kitchens were still not responding to her gentle notes asking for rare steaks, black puddings and blood sausages. A pity. Well, no need to torture herself. She made her selections of small cakes, various forms of potatoes, meats, and, somewhere in the middle of it all, a few cowering, unwanted vegetables.

Maria tuned out whatever the two groups were discussing as she focused on her meal. While she wasn't the bottomless glutton Lady Claes was, she wasn't about to let the wide variety of food the dining hall offered go to waste. Other nobles might, but after a childhood of occasionally going hungry, Maria knew the value of appreciating her meals, and eventually the nobles who tried to disturb her at meals got the hint that no, they didn't want to be sent home for assaulting a memeber of the student council. Or for a member of the student council to defenestrate them at high speed.

"Miss Campbell, is this true?" suddenly intruded into her consciousness. Maria blinked in surprise as she realized the dining hall had fallen silent again and was now focused on her for some reason.

"What is, your highness?" Maria said, standing up and facing the Third Prince.

Said prince waved a sheaf of papers. "These accusations that the Lady Katarina Claes has subjected you to bullying and intimidation." The prince's face was stony.

Maria blinked. "Er, wouldn't you know, your highness? You were there as well." Why would he need to ask when he was always practically glued to Lady Claes' side, a constant reminder of the political power she wielded, when trying to recruit Maria?

There were murmurs at these words, and if anything, the Prince's face grew stonier. "I would have you speak of them in your own words."

Here? Now? Before these witnesses? What was going on? "Are you sure, your highness?"

"Yes," the third prince snapped.

Well, he asked. "It is true that Lady Claes has directed her attentions towards me since the day we met, despite my attempts to avoid her, and has attempted to intimidate me into submitting to her."

The murmurs became gasps. Lady Claes gave Maria a betrayed stare, which Maria answered with a flat, level gaze. "Maria, how can you say that?!" Lady Hunt exclaimed, looking angry.

"The Third Prince demanded I speak, Lady Hunt," Maria said, trying to be as inoffensive as possible. How had her lunch turned into some kind of political posturing platform? What game was this she had found herself in the middle of suddenly? "As the rest of the student council know and were witness to, Lady Claes has been trying to seduce me into your collective group since the day we met. To that end, she has used her political connections to be allowed admittance into the student council office at all hours, interrogating me as to my romantic preferences and offering her various male compatriots as a honeypot for my allegiance."

Silence. Not even murmurs, just stares. Lady Claes looked confused, or perhaps hungry. Maria saw her mouth the word 'honey'. It figured that even with scandal unfolding literally in front of her, Lady Claes would prioritize her appetites.

Maria sighed. She was committed now. "This campaign was pervasive, and I suspect my own mother was inducted into being one for her pawns by exercising her lady's right upon my mother's person–"

"That's not what he meant!" Lord Claes exclaimed, grabbing the sheaf of papers from the prince's hand and rushing towards Maria to hand them to her. "He means these things, the accusations mentioned here! Weren't you paying attention to what was happening?"

Maria gave him a bland look. "I was lunch time, so I was having lunch. And as a peasant, as many people in this hall have interrupted some of my meals to emphasize, I try to avoid noble politics, as they make no sense to me anyway." Still, she took the sheaf and, flipped through them with student council-practiced ease. "Hmm, Lady Claes was not involved in that… or that… or that… no, that certainly didn't happen…"

Murmurs began to rise again as Maria quickly read through the sheaf. "While some of these incidents did happen, Lady Claes was nowhere near when they did. They are also clearly misreported, as they make no mention of the bodily harm I inflicted upon my assailants for interfering with a member of the student council… and the rest are complete fabrications."

"Whatever are you talking about, Maria Campbell! We are doing this for you! We are exposing Katarina Claes' wrongdoings out of consideration for you!"

"That's right! These aren't lies or slander! We have written testimony, evidence, and even a witness! You are the one who is being deceived by that evil woman!"

"Exactly! To be tricked by such a detestable woman... how pitiful, how sad! Maria Campbell... WE are your allies," the noble ladies surrounding Lady Claes said boldly.

"Be silent," Maria said sternly. "And cease trying to seduce me. I get enough of that from Lady Claes as it is."

For some reason, Prince Alan burst out laughing suddenly, bending over in his mirth. Maria ignored it. Prince Alan seemed to find the strangest things funny.

"Complete fabrications," Lord Ascart said, as pretty and expressionless as ever. "You are certain?"

Maria nodded. "I am. Lady Claes is a shrewd, cunning mind possessed of great power and influence. If nothing else, the fact that these so-called accusations could even be traced back to her is proof of her non-involvement, when she has such power to draw on and exert her influence at such a remove no one would even know it was her."

Why was Prince Alan collapsed to the floor holding his stomach? Had he laughed too hard he'd done himself an injury? Well, serves him right, taking this all so lightly.

"S-so, you are denying the validity of these accusations being leveled at Lady Katarina?" Lord Ascart said after covering his mouth to cough. Was he getting sick? Perhaps it was from all that black smoke those girls were wafting.

Maria nodded again. "Lady Claes is a subtle and manipulative seductress without compare. While the accusations and details are partly true, I can definitively say that Lady Claes would not have been the perpetrator. If she was, she could have capitalized on the very first such incident by attempting to draw me into her bosom while I was disoriented by the experience and stake her claim upon me… is Prince Alan all right? I don't think he's getting enough air."

Lady Hunt sent a withering look down at her wheezing fiancé. "He's fine," she declared, sounding disgusted he was taking things so lightly.

Maria took her word for it. "However, if those papers are indeed accusing people in my name, I can of course name other to be included into that list."

"Please don't break my arm again!" someone hidden at the back shouted.

…

Eventually, in addition to her harem (which Maria was happy to say she was not part of), other students began defending Lady Claes in this mockery of a public trial. Maria was able to return to her lunch as students began to declare Lady Claes was incapable of bullying another student. It was lies of course, since she was perfectly capable, she just had no need to do so. Still, they could read where the political winds were blowing, and so sided with the clear victor. Her accusers fled the dining hall. As if that would do any good. After having slandered his mistress before him, the Third Prince and the rest of her harem would show them no mercy.

Maria didn't wait that long. She left the dining hall as soon as expedient, heading for the student council chambers.

The president was still there, still doing paperwork, looking more harried than when they had left. "Lord President Dieke," Maria greeted. "Did you miss lunch? I thought you went to the dining hall with us?"

"Ah hah ha," the council president said, laughing sheepishly. "Sorry. I remembered something and had to come back, and before I knew it time had passed."

Maria nodded. The battle against paperwork was never ending. In some ways she thought it was that, rather than the patients suffering in the research hall, that had broken her spirits. Whether success or failure, the paperwork had been never ending! "I see. Anything I can help you with?"

"Ah, that would be a big help, thank you Maria," the council president said, handing some papers over.

For a moment, they worked in companionable silence.

"By the way Lord President, I've been meaning to ask, can you explain this fashion of having dark smoke wafting from one's clothes?" Maria asked. "I've seen people all over the academy doing it, but I've never really understood noble fashion, and since you seem to be subscribing to the fad, I was wondering if you could explain it to me…"