Her jaw tightened. The thought snagged against her ribs, ugly and raw. Status? Do I even… have one?
Her mind stuttered on that single truth, like hitting a wall she couldn't move past. She stopped glaring, stopped pretending, and for a fleeting moment her face fell into something else—something softer, lonelier. Her lips parted just slightly, the bite gone from her eyes, replaced with an almost imperceptible tremor.
What am I, really?
The question lingered, looping in her chest like an echo she couldn't silence. She barely noticed the others anymore, the sound of clinking cups, Mika's breathy laugh, Rei's concerned glance—it all blurred. She sat still, staring at the table, caught in that endless loop of thought, spiraling further down.
The silence stretched long enough for it to feel strange.
Then, a sharp crack shattered it—Yuki's fingers snapping loudly, dragging Yuxin's mind back into the room like a whip. Her head jerked up, eyes narrowing, her heart kicking as the trance dissolved. Yuki leaned back in her chair, one brow arched, her grin annoyingly relaxed but her tone cutting through the space with deliberate sharpness.
"Daydreaming? That's no good. Don't space out like that in public, Yuxin. People will start thinking you're sulking—or worse, plotting."
Her eyes glittered with that same teasing edge, but beneath it lay the faint trace of a warning. Fuuka, ever composed, gave a subtle nod beside him, her voice level but no less firm.
"She's right. A blank face like that will read poorly in a room like this."
Rei's voice came next, softer, more concerned, as though she could see something none of the others quite could.
"Yuxin… are you alright? Did something happen?"
The question hung heavy, the sincerity in Rei's tone threatening to pry deeper into the cracks Yuxin tried to hide. But Yuxin shook her head quickly, brushing it off, her tone forced and clipped.
"Ahh… it's nothing. I just drifted for a moment. That's all."
Mika, however, would not let it go so easily. She tapped her cup with the tip of her nail, her expression bright but her words sharpened with the same edge of etiquette she always wielded like a blade.
"No, no, Yuxin. That won't do. In social settings, a noble never drifts away. To fall into silence is to abandon the stage—and the stage is always watching. A true aristocrat does not let their mind wander when eyes are upon them."
Her smile widened, almost too polished, as though daring Yuxin to argue back.
"Remember, darling… in society, every glance, every movement, every expression is a weapon or a shield. And right now, yours looks far too much like surrender."
The words stung. Yuxin's teeth clenched, the flicker of sadness buried quickly beneath irritation once again, but deep inside, that quiet whisper of what am I? still gnawed at her ribs, no matter how straight she sat or how sharp her glare became.