When I had arrived, the door had been slightly open which made me think that someone was inside the room. However, when I had arrived, the room was already like this and I hadn't seen anyone suspicious.

I explained what had happened from the beginning to the end to the contestants that had gathered in the waiting room, as well as to a teacher that someone had called over.

I wasn't very good at explaining things, but I did my best. I tried to be as thorough as possible.

"So…"

"I understand your claim very well."

It wasn't a claim, it was the truth! It wasn't a lie but what had really happened, so please don't look at me like that.

"You were the culprit, right? Don't lie." Was written all over her face.

However, there wasn't any evidence that I was the culprit. Of course, because I didn't do it. They might not have agreed with my statement, but there wasn't anything else they could say.

"Chris-sama, are you okay?"

"It's impossible to make another outfit now…"

Oh yeah, it seemed like the garment that was in tatters was Christine-sama's. That was why she was so passionately suspicious of me.

It was pretty much decided that I would be second after Christine-sama in the contest. So, if Christine-sama's outfit was completely ruined, then of course people would be suspicious of the person in second. Which in this case, was me.

Furthermore, my clothes and accessories were still clean and untouched. Not a scratch or even a piece of dust on them. My things weren't order made, so they could have been anyone's, and yet they didn't have a mark on them.

Objectively speaking, I was very suspicious. This might get bad.

Though I said that, I couldn't afford to become flustered. I could imagine the situation escalating and becoming unbearably bothersome but, honestly, their doubts didn't bother me much. Sharp glares had been poking at me for a while, but I could ignore them.

Getting caught on a false accusation, I could see that happening at this rate. It was annoying that it could happen just because of suspicious, but it was such a situation. To summarize, it was a mess.

"If you're fine with mine, shall I lend you one?"

"Eh…?"

"They are things I owned previously, but they are clothes that are suitable for wearing to high society events. I had many sent over so that I could choose from them."

Uwaaa, she was really glaring… I was trying to be careful though. Since she thought I was the culprit, everything I said probably sounded like a snide comment to her.

If I were the culprit, I would've attacked everyone's clothes. Doing only one person's clothes, furthermore, only my rival's, was a stupid way to get caught. If you're going to mess up the place, at least attack other people's clothes at random! As a former villainess, whoever did this gets negative points.

Well, I also didn't have a reason to do this and I couldn't have aimed for Christine-sama's dress in the first place.

Because, today was the first time I had seen Christine-sama's dress. I didn't even know what color it was, let alone what it looked like before it was ruined.

I didn't say that since it sounded like a pathetic excuse… The clothes were probably labeled somehow.

"They were made for me so all we have to do is adjust the size."

"… I guess that's my only hope."

With a sour expression on her face, Christine-sama reluctantly accepted. She really didn't want to borrow from someone who she thought was the culprit, but it was impossible for her to have an appropriate outfit finished for the day of the contest. She could have clothes sent from her house, but neither she nor the school wanted to blow this incident out of proportion. If it went poorly, the contest could be cancelled.

となると、クリスティン様の衣装が無い事になってしまう。制服で出る事が禁止されている訳ではないが、オーダーメイドのドレスが犇めく中では確実に浮く、悪い意味で。素材がどれ程よくとも、着飾った姿の華やかさに勝るのは難しい。

If the fact that Christine-sama didn't have an outfit anymore got out, though it wasn't forbidden to wear our uniform to the contest, custom dresses could float around in droves, in a bad way. No matter how high quality the raw material was, it would be difficult to rival her flower appearance.

Even a readymade dress, was much better than a uniform, even if it was borrowed.

"… Then, please. I will alter the size to a certain degree."

"I have plenty, so please choose one you like."

I had three dresses besides the one I would wear. None of them were particularly flashy, and their designs were tidy—er, plain.

They didn't suit me but… They would match Christine-sama perfectly. She was the neat and tidy type of beauty after all. What's with my clothes suiting someone else more than their owner?

This probably looked like I was trying to look better. If I really were the culprit, wouldn't that mean I was dumb? That should be enough to prove my innocence, right? Though, if I said it, it would create unnecessary suspicious, so I won't.

"Everyone, please keep today's incident a secret," the teacher said, just before the meeting was dissolved. Christine-sama also emphasized that afterwards. Neither wanted to escalate the situation. It could create more groundless suspicions and it would be dangerous if the culprit was provoked further.

There were many reasons, but it was better for them if rumors didn't spread.

The next day, rumors that I had sabotaged Christine-sama had spread all around the school.

… Of course. People always talk.