11
When I came out, the entrance that had been empty before was crowded with people. Evie paused for a moment, confused, wondering if she had made a mistake in choosing the room, so she checked the door number.
But she was sure it was room 305, really her room.
“So, who are they all?”
I wondered. If her roommate had arrived, she might have accepted it, but no matter how she looked, there were at least twenty female students standing inside the room.
“Looks like Miss Irene's roommate has arrived.”
“But it looks pretty small, doesn't it?”
Most of the girls standing were around ten years old. While Evie was thinking about how to greet the older girls, one of them laughed sarcastically and said:
“New face, where do you come from?”
One of the girls looked at Evie from head to toe, and asked her in wonder.
“I am Evie Alden, I come from Elram City...”
Evie had barely finished her sentence when one of them shouted in astonishment:
“Ah, I heard about you. You're that girl from the orphanage who joined this year, right?”
The other female students around her took turns commenting:
“Oh my God, did the Gifted Academy really accept a commoner girl?”
“It seems that she was chosen for her academic excellence, but how did they allow her to join the academy?”
“Look, she doesn't even have clothes, she's already wearing a school uniform, and she's in a miserable state!”
Upon hearing the words “dire state,” Evie quickly checked her clothes. It was true that her clothes were a little wrinkled after going in and out of the forest, but they were not in that bad condition.
However, the looks she was examining now were like those of someone who had just returned from rolling in the dirt.
Evie looked at the clothes of the female students standing around her. None of them were wearing academy uniforms yet.
Instead, they were wearing very luxurious clothes. Even the clothes intended for children were decorated with ornaments no less luxurious than the clothes of nobles.
From their clothes and actions, Evie realized the truth: all the girls here belonged to wealthy noble families.
Suddenly, a girl stepped forward from the crowd. “Wow...” Evie almost let out a sigh of admiration, but she could hardly hold it in.
The girl who emerged from the crowd looked to be about thirteen. She was, as expected, much taller than Evie, and had a remarkably mature presence compared to the others.
Her long, curly silver hair reached her waist, and her deep violet eyes were as clear as crystal. She was the most beautiful person Evie had ever seen.
Her slightly raised eyes gave her a slightly edgy look, but even that made her look attractive thanks to her delicate, well-groomed features.
One of the students said to her:
“Miss Irene, something seems wrong. This girl can’t be your roommate!”
Upon hearing this, the girl named Irene frowned. The other girls started commenting:
"What does the Academy think about Miss Irene? It's been said that Miss Isriela shares a room with Miss Lynsey!"
“Exactly! We thought Miss Irene’s roommate would at least be a count or above, but a commoner?!”
The more the girls hummed, the sharper Irene's eyes became.
"Enough."
With one word from Irene, everyone fell silent. In the middle of the quiet hallway, Irene walked up to Evie.
Knock knock.
A luxurious, ornate shoe, the likes of which Evie had never seen before, stopped just a step away from her.
Evie swallowed hard, raising her eyes to meet Irene's gaze from above.
Meanwhile, the other students whispered:
“How insolent! How dare they put her with the heiress of a family called the Kings of the South? Is housing really randomly distributed?”
“Impossible! It is normal for the academy to choose a colleague who matches a person’s status.”
"So, what happened? Do they at the academy think this slang suits Miss Irene?"
“But they say that this girl entered the academy as the second best student after Mr. Arcel.”
“And yet, she's from the orphanage! This is an insult to Miss Irene!”
Under the weight of the voices of the female students talking about her, Evie shrunk. The looks staring at her were harsh.
Epvi looked around for a moment, then returned her gaze to Irene. Irene was still quietly examining her with her eyes.
“Of course...she must be upset, right?”
Evie thought.
She remembered her days in high school at Elram. There, with the exception of a few, all were commoners.
However, whenever Evie entered the classroom, everyone would look at her with disapproving glances.
Her only fault was that she was an orphan and a little poorer, but they classified her as being from a lower class who could not mix with them.
If this was the case with the common people, how would the daughters of the largest noble families in the empire welcome her?
“Maybe she'll ask to change her roommate.”
There was a rule that if there was a big problem, the roommate could be changed with the approval of the academy professors.
As Evie and Irene looked at each other quietly, the female students' murmurs increased.
“Anyway, the Terrence family is no ordinary family. It is said that half of the wealth of the South belongs to them!”
“By the way, I heard that Miss Irene is having a serious disagreement with her half-sister. There is a dispute over who will inherit the family... Could it be that her sister is behind this?”
In the midst of the noise, Irene finally opened her mouth, trembling slightly:
“…Disgraceful.”
"What?"
"Your hair, your skin, your body. Everything is a mess. Were they starving you in the orphanage?"
Maybe it was a southern accent? Her squeaky voice was mixed with a strange accent that Evie had never heard before.
Ebby jumped in shock:
"No, that's not true! Our principal would never do anything like that!"
At her loud voice, the girls nearby covered their mouths in surprise.
“Oh my God, who does she think she is to scream like that?”
“I can't believe it, I thought whoever entered the academy would have at least a minimum of decency, but for you to be this impudent!”
Under the pressure of the stinging words, Evie closed her mouth. She belatedly realized she had made a mistake, but it was too late.
“But I can’t bear for them to talk badly about the principal.”
The principal genuinely loved children. Far from embezzling support funds as other home directors do, she even sold her own property to feed the children.
If another home refused to accept a sick child, she would travel long distances to pick him up and treat him.
If the neighbors brought food, she would give it all to the children but keep nothing for herself.
She spent everything she had to save Eppie, who was worth nothing, and brought her to the orphanage.
Evie couldn't bear to hear anything that denigrated that manager's reputation.
Was Irene surprised by Evie's loud voice?
She looked confused for a moment, but quickly returned to her cold, calm expression and said in a calm tone:
“I apologize for the misunderstanding. I just...”
One of the students interrupted her:
“Miss Irene! Why do you apologize to such a girl?”
“Exactly! What are you doing? Hurry up and apologize for your rudeness!”
While Irene was silent, the female students around her were making more noise. As the room became noisy, Irene raised her hand. In an instant, there was silence.
“Enough. It seems difficult to continue talking here, so please let us go out for a while.”
"naturally!"
“Miss Irene, did you know? There are five cafeterias in the academy...”
After Irene's words, the students started talking about other topics as if they weren't just scolding Evie.
Irene led the girls out of the room. A moment before walking out, her eyes met Evie's, and she nodded slightly.
“…?”
While Evie was confused, the other female students followed Irene and quickly left.
Before she left, the sight of Irene stuck in Evie's mind. It was, without a doubt, a gesture of apology carrying mild remorse.
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