As expected.

Before finding Charlotte, Sophia had already guessed this outcome might occur.

With Charlotte's temperament, once she got fixated on something, even Sophia couldn't persuade her.

If Sophia had gone along with Charlotte, saying things she wanted to hear—like lying that she would distance herself from Celitia in the future—it would have been easy to make Charlotte accept.

Then, presenting different faces to both of them, using different tactics to appease them, playing both sides, mastering the art of balance...

But Sophia knew she couldn't do such a thing.

Thinking of this, Sophia let out a long sigh.

Celitia's words echoed in Sophia's ears.

Choosing one might mean giving up the other...

Sophia didn't want to give up Charlotte.

But she was even more unwilling to give up Celitia.

She remembered those eyes, those lonely and desolate eyes that had grown accustomed to being abandoned.

Having held her hand, Sophia didn't want her to be abandoned again.

She never wanted to see that gentle yet sorrowful look in those eyes again.

Make a choice, Sophia.

She silently told herself.

Gazing at Charlotte, Sophia's expression changed from anxious to disappointed, and gradually became resolute.

"Since you're still angry and unable to calmly view everything that's happened, we'll have to discuss this later. When you're willing to communicate properly with me, we can talk it through slowly."

With that, Sophia hesitated no more, turned around, and walked back in the opposite direction.

Charlotte stood rooted to the spot, staring blankly at Sophia's departing figure, her expression revealing a hint of disbelief.

She just left like that, without even trying to persuade her?

Her mouth slightly open, Charlotte wanted to call out Sophia's name, to chase after her as she had done so many times before.

But Charlotte ultimately restrained herself.

Tears involuntarily welled up in the corners of her eyes as Charlotte bit her lip and turned, intending to rush forward blindly.

She wasn't watching where she was going, almost bumping into someone.

Margaret had somehow appeared behind Charlotte, blocking her path, staring at her with an expression that suggested she was enjoying the show.

"Little follower, did you quarrel with Sophia over that woman called Celitia?"

"What's it to you!"

As Sophia's die-hard fan, Charlotte had had many conflicts with Margaret.

Now seeing her come to kick her when she was down, a flame immediately rose in Charlotte's heart.

"Don't be so harsh. You know, I don't like Celitia either."

Margaret smiled, beckoning to Charlotte.

"There's a saying: 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend.' How about it? Want to consider working together?"

Charlotte was stunned.

She suddenly felt that Margaret's proposal was actually somewhat tempting.

At the same moment, on the other side.

Celitia and the others arrived at the designated classroom. Looking inside, they found that quite a few people were already seated.

The first class was Magic Theory. As long as one had chosen Magic courses, this was a compulsory course, so the majority of students would attend this class, making good seats highly sought after.

"The front is almost full. Let's go to the back," Celitia said.

Shanie and Benita had no objections and followed her to the back.

Celitia walked to the rear and sat down in an empty seat. Whether it was her imagination or not, people sitting nearby seemed to simultaneously shift away from her.

Celitia raised her eyes, scanning around, taking in everyone's reactions, confirming it wasn't her imagination.

Those people thought she couldn't hear them, whispering to each other:

"That's Celitia Herbert, right?"

"Definitely her, look at her eyes. Few people have that color."

"Wow, it's her, the one whose reputation spread throughout the entire academy in just three days."

"She looks very pretty, with a cold demeanor. It's hard to imagine she's that kind of person behind that facade..."

Celitia rubbed her temples, feeling a slight headache.

She had only wanted to attend school quietly, to find an opportunity to completely leave the Herbert family in the future, but things went against her wishes, and she had become the academy's "talk of the town."

By the way, this "talk of the town" was probably in a negative sense.

Fortunately, Celitia didn't care how others viewed her.

The classroom door opened again, and two more girls entered.

Seeing them, Shanie's eyes lit up, and she waved at them repeatedly: "Rebecca, Linda! Come sit over here!!"

Those two were Shanie's roommate Rebecca and friend Linda. Hearing Shanie's call, they happily walked over.

However, when they approached the three, seeing Celitia beside Shanie, their expressions immediately changed.

They looked at each other, showing hesitant expressions.

Seeing Rebecca and Linda not moving, Shanie asked in confusion: "What's wrong?"

Rebecca glanced at Celitia again, then pulled Shanie aside, whispering in her ear:

"Shanie, why are you still hanging out with her?"

Shanie was stunned: "Did something happen?"

"We've all heard," Rebecca lowered her voice further, "this morning before the opening ceremony, Celitia barged into the Queen's presence, offending Her Majesty!"

"And during the attribute test just now, she spoke disrespectfully to Dean Colton, causing the Dean to be very displeased.

"Shanie, think about it. Such a person isn't someone good to associate with. She might even harm you by association. It's better to draw the line between you two early."

Rebecca spoke with increasing earnestness, while Linda beside her couldn't help but raise her voice slightly:

"From the moment rumors spread about her and Princess Sophia, I felt she wasn't an easy character, and now it's proven true.

"Commoners like us might still have a chance to rise based on our talents, but a waste like her without any adaptability can only climb up through devious means, right?"

Shanie opened her mouth in shock, waving her hands repeatedly, trying to explain to them:

"It's not like that, Rebecca, Linda, you've misunderstood—"

"There's no misunderstanding."

Before Shanie could finish, Celitia interrupted her, saying calmly, "Go somewhere else with them, Shanie."

"And you too, Benita, you don't need to keep following me."

Celitia had given Sophia a choice, but she didn't particularly want Shanie and Benita to choose.

There was no need for them to distance themselves from other friends for her sake.

Those who enjoyed liveliness should be allowed to associate with liveliness.

And for Celitia, being alone wasn't bad at all.

Realizing that Celitia had heard everything they said, Rebecca and Linda both showed embarrassed expressions, wishing they could escape from Celitia's presence immediately.

Rebecca tugged at Shanie again: "She's said it herself, Shanie. Shall we go?"