Reborn After Betrayal: The Frail True Princess Decides to Give Up-Chapter 30 : Let's Go Eat Dessert Together

After bidding farewell to Colton and Meilan, the three young ladies walked out of the jewelry store together.
The crowd of onlookers outside hadn't completely dispersed. Seeing Celitia and the others appear, they instantly surged forward:
"Is the result out? Did the girl with light gray hair win?"
"I just saw the young lady of the Williams family run out crying!"
Finally getting to the exciting conclusion, the crowd was somewhat overly excited, each pushing toward the three.
Sophia walked at the front and was accidentally bumped on the arm by the excited crowd, wincing slightly in pain.
Seeing this, Celitia inconspicuously squeezed forward, blocking the onlookers and sheltering Sophia behind her.
She spoke calmly: "I won the bet. Miss Charlotte Williams has apologized to Miss Shanie Brown. Everyone can disperse now."
"Huh?" Someone looked disappointed. "Wasn't she supposed to apologize publicly in front of everyone?"
Celitia smiled: "With Dean Colton and Master Meilan as witnesses, our agreement wasn't violated. Please understand."
Shanie, sticking close behind Sophia, also called out loudly:
"I've accepted her apology; the matter is over! Please make way and don't block Princess Sophia's path!"
After some discussion, the crowd finally cleared a path.
Celitia walked at the front, and as they moved outward, she saw people giving her thumbs up:
"Well done!"
"Finally, someone to curb the Williams family's arrogance!"
"Exactly!!"
Hearing this, Sophia felt a mixture of emotions and quietly asked Celitia:
"Does Charlotte's family really have such a bad reputation?"
"Your Highness, as you know, I rarely go out. I'm not clear on such matters."
Celitia remained noncommittal.
Sophia fell silent with some disappointment.
"But I think," looking at Sophia's expression, Celitia finally added, "it's better to go out more often to hear the opinions of the people, rather than believing just one perspective from those around you… Your Highness, I believe that if you observe carefully, you will certainly see the most authentic truth."
Hearing Celitia's words, Sophia nodded silently.
Sophia thought that despite being a girl about her own age, Celitia somehow gave people a sense of calmness and rationality beyond her years.
Making her involuntarily want to trust her.
Finally escaping from the crowd of onlookers, the three collectively let out a sigh of relief.
"Quickly, quickly! Otherwise, the popular pastries might sell out!!"
Shanie, who had been walking at the back, now pounced forward like a hungry tiger, grabbing Celitia's hand and rushing ahead.
"...Slow down..."
Celitia could hardly run, and after being forcibly dragged along for a few steps by Shanie, she began gasping for breath.
"I think Colton is right," Sophia's voice sounded in her ear. "When you're young, you should exercise more!"
Sophia laughingly took Celitia's arm from the other side, almost lifting her body off the ground, matching pace with Shanie, as they carried Celitia forward on both sides.
"...That's enough... like hungry ghosts reincarnated... nothing more than that..."
Celitia's complaints were drowned in the sound of the wind. Her nostrils filled with the salty smell of the sea, her body light as a bird, being carried forward with them.
For a moment, all her miscellaneous thoughts floated away from her mind. Celitia thought, this feeling wasn't bad at all.
Soon, the three arrived at the dessert shop Shanie had been yearning for. After sitting down, Shanie quickly received devastating news:
The egg tarts she had been looking forward to for so long had just sold out, with the last one being sold moments ago!
Shanie burst into tears: "Wuuu... why is this happening... my egg tarts... just one step too late..."
Sophia could only comfort her: "Let's come back tomorrow to eat them. I'll treat you again."
"Tomorrow is the start of school... according to the rules, we can't leave school casually during non-holiday periods..."
Shanie was extremely dejected.
"This..."
Sophia was somewhat embarrassed, as for her, this restriction applied to others but not to herself.
"Then—"
Before Sophia could finish, a haughty voice suddenly came from nearby, interrupting her: "Oh, isn't this Sophia?"
"Margaret? So you're here too." Sophia quickly recognized the person.
The girl named Margaret was tall with wavy auburn hair, fair skin, but quite a few freckles on her face.
She was holding a plate, staring at Sophia not very amicably.
"It's a 'Colonia Egg Tart'!" Shanie's eyes were fixed only on the plate in Margaret's hand, almost drooling.
"So you wanted this?" Margaret said with amusement.
Despite facing the princess, Margaret didn't show any deference. Instead, she carefully picked up the egg tart and deliberately took a bite in front of the three.
She held up the egg tart with a small piece missing, waving it in front of the three, the pink lipstick mark clearly visible.
"What a pity, this is the last piece. No matter what, you can't buy one today, right, Sophia?"
Celitia slightly frowned, looking at Sophia beside her.
To her surprise, Sophia didn't get angry.
Sophia directly ignored Margaret and turned back to Shanie to continue:
"Don't worry, I'll send someone to buy it tomorrow and have it delivered to your dormitory."
"Really?!"
Shanie, who had been like a frost-bitten eggplant, immediately perked up at Sophia's words.
"That's wonderful, thank you, Your Highness!!"
"No need for thanks; this is what I promised you," Sophia shook her head. "Let's eat something else this time."
"Hey! Sophia!!"
Having been deliberately ignored, Margaret was furious.
"What is it, Margaret? If you want to sit together, I'm sorry, but our table is already full."
A table for four clearly had only three people seated; Sophia was blatantly lying.
"Who wants to sit with you!"
Sophia deliberately played dumb, leaving Margaret at a loss for words.
"Is that so? That's good then."
Sophia shrugged, pretending not to see, and continued ordering.
Margaret stood frozen at the table, already feeling several curious gazes directed at her.
Realizing that continuing to stand there would only bring embarrassment upon herself, Margaret angrily ate the egg tart in one bite and strode away with the plate.
"I thought you would get angry."
Looking at Margaret's retreating figure, Celitia lowered her voice, a faint smile appearing at the corner of her lips.
"Am I someone who gets provoked so easily..." Sophia muttered.
Sophia was indeed not very happy about Margaret's deliberate provocation but felt there was no need to fuss over it.
A bit of passive-aggressive behavior was enough; ignoring her made Margaret even angrier.
She felt this approach wasn't her usual style, yet somehow it seemed familiar...
Had she been influenced by someone?
Sophia couldn't help lifting her head to look at Celitia, who was calmly lifting her teacup.
Celitia: "?"