“Mrs. Ferolten. Good morning.”
Whoosh!
With a speed that made an audible sound, Mrs. Ferolten hastily snatched back the key she had just handed to Cecilia, then straightened her back stiffly.
Cecilia looked at Mrs. Ferolten with wide, rabbit-like eyes.
Hmm. There’s really no need to be that secretive.
It was just embarrassing. I already knew about her favoritism, and it’s not like I planned to go around bragging about it.
‘It’s not like I’m planning to be especially nice about it, either.’
When I smiled sweetly, Mrs. Ferolten cleared her throat and nodded.
“What are you standing there for? You’ll be late for class!”
Her outburst had lost all its force and sounded almost funny. Cold sweat was beading on Mrs. Ferolten’s forehead.
The dormitory’s front gate closed at nine. Without a permit and a one-time-use dorm key, you couldn’t get in or out, and you’d receive demerits.
If demerits piled up, your family would be notified. Not only that, your academy grades, community service points, club memberships, and other event-related points would all be penalized. So, students always paid attention to their demerits.
So, in the bigger picture, handing out a key like that wasn’t a huge deal—but if you were sensitive about it, you could make a fuss.
When I silently stared at her, she couldn’t meet my eyes.
‘Push her further and she’ll just hold a grudge later.’
That’s enough.
“Mrs. Ferolten?”
“Wh-what is it?!”
Her sharp voice pricked my ears.
“I’ll get going now. Thanks for the advice.”
“Y-yes. Be careful. There are a lot of sharp grasses out there.”
She glanced at me furtively.
Alright, I said I wasn’t going to make a big deal out of it!
‘A lot of sharp grasses’ was an idiom referring to windy weather.
As I started walking, Cecilia hesitated.
“What’s wrong?”
Ah! She must want to get back the key that was snatched away from her. Well, if getting the key makes her feel better, that’s fine.
“I’ll go ahead. Come when you’re ready.”
“Okay! I’ll be right there!”
Cecilia hurried back to Mrs. Ferolten.
*****
The whispers continued even in the main academy building.
Since there were a lot of first-years in yesterday’s riding demonstration class, the rumor seemed to have spread quickly.
Curious faces peeked at me, their gazes sometimes lingering when they saw my elaborate hairstyle.
Even Cecilia, who’d seemed nervous in the dorm, looked less bothered now that she was out in the open.
“Hello.”
“Hello!”
Even when someone greeted her out of the blue, Cecilia replied cheerfully and ushered them away. Normally, she would have stayed and chatted—maybe Cecilia had changed a little, too?
Our eyes met, and Cecilia smiled bashfully.
“About the riding accident yesterday….”
“They said you were trampled by a horse, but I guess that wasn’t true.”
“You never know! She’s from a Duke’s family, so maybe a priest healed her.”
“That’s true!”
True? How is that true!
Whenever I met the eyes of the chattering students, they all reacted the same way: their faces startled, they inhaled sharply, and clamped their mouths shut.
I passed them with a calm smile.
‘For the academy to be this lively… Don’t tell me my family’s been contacted?’
My Lady—!
Eek! The thought of Ollie bellowing like thunder sent a chill down my spine.
Usually, they’d call in the person before sending any such letter, so it should be fine, right? Besides, it was just a minor accident.
‘Well. There is the problem that I don’t remember exactly what happened before and after.’
“Let’s sit here!”
Cecilia waved to me from the window seat on the far left.
“Liana, over here!”
“Alright.”
With a resigned sigh, I sat down beside Cecilia.
“Liana, you know…”
“Yeah?”
“About our vacation…”
“Vacation? Already?”
I pulled out the course booklet.
The list of majors was written inside.
Magic Studies, Magic Engineering, Magical Creatures, Alchemy, Divination, Geometry, Mathematics, Physics, Mechanics, History, Linguistics—Other Races’ Language, Ancient Language, Theology, Swordsmanship, Spearmanship, Etiquette, Law, Funeral and Equine Studies, Botany, Liberal and Fine Arts, Geography…
So many subjects were listed.
You couldn’t take all of them every term. When the professor was on sabbatical, upperclassmen would teach juniors as part of their own thesis work, but first-years couldn’t attend those classes. I could see a few subjects crossed out.
As expected, no Spirit Studies….
My finger, tracing down the majors, stopped. No matter how many times I looked, nothing related to ‘spirits’ was there.
“Liana~ About vacation.”
Once you picked a major, the other subjects could be taken as electives. Also, majors were later split into sub-majors, usually decided according to one’s future career path.
Below the major subjects, there was a blank space and a description related to the major. You had to fill every blank with the professor’s attendance stamp and submit it to the academy administration.
This was the academy’s clever way to prevent students from choosing out of mere curiosity and to make sure everyone attended each class at least once, helping them pick what suited them best.
So usually, for a month, you could attend any classes you wanted without any special requirements. Required liberal arts classes were also rescheduled after the major was decided, so it wasn’t a big restriction.
I stared at the blank spot for Botany.
‘So I have to take that dreadful Botany at least once, huh.’
I could still hear the screams of all those plants I’d killed!
“It’s good to plan ahead, isn’t it?”
Cecilia pouted.
“It’s too early, things could change, you know?”
“……”
“Cecilia?”
“But still! Can’t we decide in advance?”
I stopped tapping the course booklet.
“Alright.”
There’s no harm in it.
Wait, how did I spend my first vacation after entering the academy? Now that I think about it, I remember traveling to the eastern region with Cecilia… and getting really sick.
What did I eat to get so ill? It’s all fuzzy.
“…Should we go? What do you think?”
“I’ll keep my schedule free. We can decide in detail before vacation.”
“Yeah. Promise!”
Hmm. Avoiding trouble when you can… should be fine, right?
“Um, can I sit here?”
“Who…?”
“Ah, please call me Bans. We met the other day.”
“Bans Odeor!”
Cecilia called his name cheerfully.
A slender man with deep navy hair. He looked fragile, but the practiced smile on his face made me think he was probably tougher than he appeared.
Cecilia was amazing at remembering names. I admired her, purely and simply.
“Hello.”
“Yes, hello.”
“Please just call me Cecilia.”
“Pleased to meet you, Cecilia. Please call me Bans.”
Even as he replied to Cecilia, Bans kept sneaking glances at me.
‘Wow. Have I ever been treated this politely before…?’
“Mr. Bans!”
“Ha ha. Just call me by my name, please. No need to be so formal.”
“Hehe, I just feel more comfortable using honorifics… Is that alright?”
“Really, just call me Bans. Ha ha.”
“Mr. Bans, you’re so kind! Your voice sounds so gentle.”
“Huh? That’s the first time I’ve heard that. I usually get scolded for being too soft.”
“Oh, really? I think that’s a strength! I’m so scatterbrained, I can’t speak so calmly or gently. I’ve always been scolded for it.”
“No way! Your voice is very gentle, too!”
Cecilia looked down and gave a bitter smile, which seemed to startle Bans. He immediately shook his head and called her name.
“…So this is how nobles make friends.”
“Watch your mouth. We got in here thanks to their donations.”
“Tch, so annoying.”
“Why is the classroom so noisy… Oh, there’s that group again. Cecilia Mentheson and Lady Liana Credere.”
“Look at that hairdo, trying to intimidate everyone with those fancy curls… Tsk. As if nobody else could pull it off?”
“Seriously. It’s just like Lady Margareta.”
“Guess it’s because they’re both from ducal families. People like us wouldn’t even dare to say hi, huh? Well, it’s easy to talk here at the academy, but once they debut…”
“Shh. They’re looking.”
“See? I’m not making this up… Seriously. Am I the only one who feels left out?”
“Of course not.”
“Lady Margareta’s always been like that, but… why’s Lady Liana suddenly acting like this? And Mentheson is so plain beside her.”
“Maybe she’s trying to outshine her because Mentheson’s so pretty, even if she’s plain?”
“Well, she is top of the class. Still, I think Mentheson’s prettier.”
“Not everything fancy is better, after all.”
Wow. My head is spinning….
People have always talked a lot, but to hear this right from the start…
I suppressed the urge to touch my hair and carefully studied the faces of everyone who’d been whispering. Each time my gaze passed over them, one or two more mouths snapped shut like clams.
‘Unfortunately for you, I’m used to this kind of talk!’
I don’t know if I should laugh or cry. Anyway!
In my experience, if you just listen calmly and let it pass, people start saying, ‘She’s not even trying to explain herself?’ or, ‘If she’s not responding, maybe it’s true?’ and the rumors pile up.
So it’s better to at least give them a warning glare.
But really, who cares that much about a hairstyle.
As if I’m trying to intimidate someone! And people are comparing me to Cecilia even more than before.
“Lady Liana?”
“Oh, Bans.”
‘Ugh, so awkward!’
Calling someone by name made me want to run away. Cecilia, who could do it so naturally and warmly, was amazing.
Both Bans and Cecilia’s eyes widened a little.
“Liana, that’s unlike you. You always forget names.”
“I decided to try a bit harder.”
“Really? You could have told me, I’m hurt.”
Cecilia’s voice was as clear as glass, with no emotion in it at all.
“Sorry, Liana.”
Bans and I both looked at Cecilia in surprise at her sudden apology.
“I did Liana’s hair. After ‘that incident’ yesterday….”
Pausing, Cecilia caught her breath and raised her head again. Her eyes were wet, as if damp with mist, as she looked at Bans.
“Sorry, Liana. I just wanted you to look pretty, so I did your hair… I shouldn’t have. I didn’t understand how others would feel.”
“Don’t cry, it’s fine with me.”
It really didn’t bother me!
If anything, I almost preferred it. I smiled, hiding my feelings.
Before, Cecilia and Liana felt like a single, neatly wrapped gift set—now, it felt like we were completely separate, and people were talking about each of us individually.
‘I don’t like all the gossip, but this might be better.’
There’s hope for me, maybe I can escape my supporting role!
Come to think of it, did Bans want to say something to me, too? For some reason, he glanced at me while awkwardly patting Cecilia’s shoulder.
“Miss Cecilia, don’t cry.”
‘Eek.’
Boys and girls alike were glaring daggers at us.
“A real gentleman.”
“Don’t be like that, everyone.”
“What? You were all gossiping too just now.”
Their eyes were sharp with jealousy and envy, no doubt about it.
The classroom, which had quieted at my glance, started to buzz again.
‘I want to get out of here!’
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