12
The next morning,
The bells rang: ring! Condemn! Condemn!
Hearing the successive ringing of bells, Evie put down her textbook and glanced outside.
The hands of the clock in the distant tower were pointing to eight in the morning, the wake-up time for the students of the elite academy.
Of course, Evie had already been up early, finished showering and dressed already.
“They said we all had to put on our school uniforms and head to the main entrance by eight-thirty, right?”
From today, Evie's official life at the academy begins.
As I was told, this week will be devoted to introducing the students to the academy and giving a simplified explanation of the lessons, taking into account their need for time to adapt.
Evie stood in front of the mirror, checking her appearance, then opened the door to her room.
In the common hallway she shared with Irene, the morning sun was streaming in its warm light.
Under the gentle glow of the sun, Eppie opened the window, and the slightly cool morning breeze blew in, rushing in.
But the coolness, which drove away the stagnant air, gave Evie a feeling of freshness, and she stretched and smiled.
“I wonder if everyone is okay?”
She remembered her friends at the orphanage, who struggled with sleepiness every morning.
When the house director raised her voice from below, inviting everyone to breakfast, Evie opened the windows wide.
Those cool breezes were enough to wake up the children who were almost asleep again, so they wiped their eyes and left their beds.
Of course, there were people begging her to close the window, but…
Friends.
When that word came to her mind, remembering her orphanage friends, her shoulders slumped and her smile faded.
“I was hoping to make friends here...”
The previous day, Evie was astonished, just as the other students were, when she discovered that her roommate came from an ancient family.
She had heard that female classmates were randomly distributed, but she did not expect that to actually be true.
“I thought I'd share a room with a commoner girl like me...”
Maybe they could have been friends.
To eat together, go to classes together, study together, and maybe have conversations in their rooms sometimes...
Before coming to the capital, Evie read an article in the high school library about the elite academy.
The author wrote about his experience, describing how he spent his days with his friends at the academy in fascinating detail.
Evie dreamed of such a life, but her roommate was such a great person that she felt difficult even to address.
“However... Irene...”
By wandering here and there to perform tasks, Evie has become adept at reading other people's expressions.
So, I realized something.
Unlike the other students who looked at her yesterday, Irene didn't hate her.
There was confusion and anger in her eyes, but the anger dissipated after the principal said something.
Condemn!
Evie was snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of a short bell.
The bells of the tower rang for a long time every hour, according to their number: once for the first hour, twice for the second hour, and so on.
Every fifteen minutes, it rings once briefly.
Evie looked at the tower, the hands were pointing at a quarter past eight.
“It's time to get down...”
But she remained hesitant, unable to leave the room.
The reason was Irene.
“If you go out now, I won’t be late...”
Everyone had been told to head to the entrance by eight-thirty, the academy's first official event.
She had to stick to the appointment, but...
“What if she's still asleep?”
If so, she should wake up Irene immediately.
Evie approached cautiously to knock on the door, but at that moment:
Knock knock knock!
There was a knock on the corridor door. Evie opened the door to find the girls she saw yesterday standing there.
When they saw her, they frowned for a moment, then waved their hands contemptuously.
“You haven't come out yet? Aren't such lowly people supposed to move quickly?”
"Exactly! But, wait, have you been hanging out at Irene's door all this time? You wouldn't have thought to knock and address her first, would you?"
Their gazes were intense, as if they were about to raise their hands if she said yes. Evie took a step back.
“I warn you, lest you be impudent. Irene is not someone like you that you can easily address. If you want to avoid angering her, be invisible!”
“True. She is from a great noble family from the south. The academy may have made a mistake by assigning you two together, but she will be moved to another room soon, so don’t bother her in vain. Understood?”
“She chooses her friends carefully. Those below the level of our families have no place around her. If you understand, get out now!”
They waved their hands at her as if they were repelling an insect, then slammed the door shut.
Evie, who had been kicked out of her room, stood looking at the door for a moment, then turned away.
“Well, she already has a lot of friends...”
That was expected. I heard that nobles from a young age start attending informal social parties to make friends.
Even if Irene was from the far south, she must have made many friends this way.
“However...”
Evie remembered Irene bowing her head slightly in greeting.
“If I could at least greet her...”
* * *
After Evie left, the students standing inside the room looked at each other.
“Have you seen that girl?”
“Yes, she was about to knock on Irene’s door.”
“If we were a little late, it would have been a disaster!”
Breathe a sigh of relief.
It was announced just a week ago that Irene Terrence would be joining the Academy.
Upon hearing that, the eyes of the girls of the noble families lit up.
It would have been normal to make friends with Arcel or Lusca, but they were boys, lived in different wards, and had separate lessons in sword or sports.
But Irene was different.
She was the girl who could be called the “Queen” among the new students at the academy.
Because of her independent nature and Southern origins, she rarely participated in D.C. social circles.
The only time she appeared was almost a year ago, during the Protector Saint Festival.
On that day, Irene caught the eye with her charming beauty and gorgeous dress.
Despite her young age, her beauty heralded a promising future, lighting up the eyes of boys and girls alike.
It is not yet known who the Emperor's heir will be, but everyone expects it to be either Arcel or Lusca.
Thus, Irene Terence was an ideal candidate to be the wife of the future Crown Prince.
“So, we have to win her over now!”
Just being the daughter of the wealthy Terrence family was enough to make friendship with her worthwhile.
So what if you become the wife of the Crown Prince?
Her affection had to be won at all costs.
So, the girls rushed to Irene as soon as she arrived in the capital.
They introduced themselves, mentioned that they had corresponded with her by letter many times, and wished to become close friends, talking non-stop.
Fortunately, Irene did not distance herself from them.
But she didn't show any special affection either.
Yesterday, she suggested going to the cafeteria first, but there she didn't talk much, just quietly listening to their chatter.
“She must be nervous. No matter how much she is from a southern noble family, she ultimately came here alone.”
“She definitely feels weird and lonely in D.C. This is the perfect time to become her best friend!”
Each of them carried a special ambition as she knocked on Irene's door.
The door opened, and Irene appeared elegantly dressed in her school uniform, bowing her head slightly to greet the students.
"Hello, Irene! Bright morning!"
“It must have been tiring preparing the morning alone...Are you thinking of secretly using one of the commoner girls as a servant? I heard that Izriela brought in the daughter of one of her followers to be her servant.”
"Oh my god, I should have done that too! Am I looking for one now? By the way, that commoner we just fired, she's probably good at service work."
At that moment, Irene's eyes, who had been listening to their chatter expressionlessly, narrowed.
“You fired her?”
“Yes, she was rude enough to think of knocking on your door! It seems she wanted to say hello first.”
“So, we scolded her severely and sent her out. If she had an ounce of decency, she wouldn’t bother you again.”
They spoke proudly, as if they had accomplished a great accomplishment.
Therefore, they did not notice that Irene's gaze towards them became more intense.
Irene muttered coldly:
“If I hadn’t promised my sister, you would have…”
One of the girls heard her muttering, and she smiled with a completely different face than the one she had faced with Evie, and said:
“What did you say, Irene?”
Irene did not look at her, but took a step forward and said:
“Let's go, there's not much time left.”
Then she quickly passed them, coming down alone.
Her demeanor was clearly cold, and the girls exchanged glances.
“Did...did we do something wrong?”
“Well, I don't know?”
Without any idea what happened, they ran after Irene, confused.
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