She’s so Cheeky for a Commoner!

my past life―cough, hack, forget I said that.”
“Is that so…”

With a complex expression on her face, Misha lifted her spoon, filled with red ginger, to her mouth.

“What are your thoughts on this, Misha? You were once a noble, haven’t you ever thought that you might like to return to that lifestyle?”
“…”

Misha didn’t offer an immediate response.
Whether that was because the red ginger did not suit her tastes, or because she wanted time to collect her thoughts, I could not tell.

“Well, it’s not a thought that often crosses my mind.”
“Then you mean to say that it sometimes does?”
“Yes, well, only in very rare, fleeting moments.”
“What might those moments be?”
“My apologies, Claire-sama, it’s a personal matter so I’m unable to say.”
“… I see.”

Despite Misha’s non-answer, I had some suspicions of my own.
The rare, fleeting moments that Misha mentioned were likely when she was unable to suppress her thoughts about a potential relationship with Yuu-sama.
The commoner had a tendency to state it in a vulgar way, but it appeared that Misha’s affections for Yuu-sama were genuine.
Now that she had lost her status as a noble, it was impossible for her love to bear fruit, but love wasn’t so easily thrown away.

“Returning to the matter at hand, Claire-sama, are there any tenets of the commoner’s movement that you can agree with?”
“None, absolutely none.
Their words are but senseless prattle.”

I instantly cut down the question.
After hearing Catherine’s words, I tried to imagine a variety of scenarios, but my conclusions didn’t change.

“In that case, what are your thoughts on the impoverished commoners?”
“If one is poor, one simply needs to earn their wage.
Isn’t that obvious?”
“But it’s not like all work is made equally available to all people…”

Misha maintained a difficult expression as she fed her red ginger to Relaire.

“Obviously.
It’s not as though nobles are able to do what they like and chase their dreams either.
Birth, bloodline, ability, connections―wouldn’t you say reality is but a struggle for survival where all of those factors come into play?”
“So, Claire-sama, you mean to say that the notion of equality is…”
“But lip service.”

I paused for a spoonful of stew before continuing.

“It would of course be for the best if the gap between the rich and poor were smaller, and I believe that striving for such a reality is the hallmark of a truly great ruler, but in the end, it is but a lofty ideal.”
“Claire-sama.”
“What is it, Lene?”
“… Do you recall the words that Miria-sama once said?”

Did my mother ever once comment on the commoner’s movement?

“Which words do you mean?”
“The ones about ideals and reality.”
“!”

I suddenly recalled my mother’s words.

『Claire? Listen closely.
Especially as a noble, one must not forsake their ideals and find contentment in reality.
As a member of House François, you must hold your ideals high and put them to practice.』

Those were the words that my mother often said to me, long ago, when she was still with me.
I only now realized that I had forgotten those words somewhere along the way.

“Lene, is there something more specific you intend to say?”
“… No, Claire-sama, it’s nothing.”

With her gaze now downcast, Lene finished her beef bowl.

“I’ll go on ahead and prepare for your return later tonight.
Take care, Misha-sama.
Claire-sama, Rei-chan, I’ll see you two later.”

With that, Lene gathered her tableware and quickly returned them to the kitchen.
It appeared that I had somehow upset Lene, and that made me quite uncomfortable.

“Don’t worry, Claire-sama.”

At that moment, it was the commoner who called out to me.
With no heed to table etiquette, she continued to speak even as her mouth was stuffed full.

“It’s not like Lene means to criticize you, Claire-sama.
It’s the opposite, she’s expecting something.”
“She expects something? Just what could she be expecting?”
“That you might be able to do something about the current situation, Claire-sama.”

I was unable to grasp what the commoner was trying to say.
No, I mean, she was always difficult for me to understand, but this was different.

“What exactly is it that you want me to do?”
“That’s something that you have to think about for yourself, Claire-sama.”
“… Didn’t we have a similar exchange before?”
“Who knows, did we?”

The commoner again played the fool, leaving me with no options.

Lene is expecting something from me? That I might change the current situation? What exactly did they mean by the current situation in the first place?

It would be a long time before I could understand the current issues society was facing in the same way that Lene, Misha, and even the commoner, understood them on that day.