42
The force of self-control I had so painstakingly cultivated suppressed the words that nearly escaped my mouth.
How I wished I could hug her right away and rub my cheek with hers, but the other person was not an animal, but a human being, my roommate.
“I can't ruin my image from the first meeting!”
So, Irene calmed her heart and studied Evie with her eyes. She saw her small stature, her thin body, and her weak wrists that looked like they could break easily.
The youngest age at the Gifted Academy is seven years old, but Evie, without a doubt, looked like she was no older than five.
At that moment, Irene felt dizzy overtaking her.
What is this? What's going on? Where did this little girl come from to be so skinny?
Are these the effects of the abuse we heard about? She almost ran to hug her and take her to the authorities immediately.
Rather, why don't I take it down south where I live and take care of it until it's full and healthy?
However, this was by no means normal.
Then I heard the neighboring students talking: She is from the common people, from an orphanage.
Irene knew very well what orphanages were.
There are said to be well-run homes, but many of their managers were embezzling financial support and treating children cruelly.
Especially after the war, when the number of orphans doubled, the situation got worse.
So, Erin assumed that Evie was from one of those fateful roles.
“Your hair, your skin, your body… everything is in a state of disrepair. Are the children in the orphanage you were in starving?”
Grinding her teeth inwardly, threatening those places with punishment, she asked Evie, and the latter vehemently denied it.
She confirmed that the place she was in was not like that.
When Irene examined her again, she noticed that, although she was small and thin, she had no signs of cuts or bruises on her face or body.
Erin quickly realized her mistake.
As she was about to apologize for her assumptions, she was interrupted by the other students scolding Evie.
Irene almost shouted at them: “Shut up! Don’t you see that Evie can’t talk?”
But she remembered the promises she made to her sister before she left.
Whatever it was, she had to live here quietly for at least a few years, she couldn't act like in the south.
So, she took the girls and left the room, thinking it would be best for Evie.
“I should confront her later and apologize properly.”
But that night, she never saw Evie again, and the next morning, she discovered that other students had expelled Evie without her permission.
Erin felt tears almost falling.
"This is not what I wanted! How could you have said something like that? Maybe my sister was right, I should change the way I talk!"
She shouldn't have spoken casually in the first place. But regret came too late.
She kept waiting for a chance to apologize, but a visit to the museum caused the team to disperse, and Evie missed it.
Until that night, she couldn't find her, and chaos ensued.
Irene felt guilty for not being able to take care of her roommate properly, so she couldn't raise her face in shame.
From the next day, she clung to Evie, but she couldn't find the courage to talk to her.
“Damn that loxa ragslip!”
Whenever Eren tried to approach Evie calmly, Luxa would interfere.
She couldn't find the opportunity to speak, and felt that Evie feared her for some reason.
Even from a distance, the situation was similar.
She saw Evie eating alone, and almost ran over to her, but the students next to her noticed Evie and frowned with disdain.
Erin couldn't get close, for fear she would cause Evie to get bullied again.
“Maybe after time, you will at least greet me inside the room...”
So, she decided to wait until Evie calmed down and was off guard.
But…
“Luxa and Arcel are playing with her now?”
When the students came to tell her that Evie had become close to Arcel and Luxa, Eren felt her patience wearing thin.
"Those thieves! She's my roommate!"
How do they beat her to Evie?
In the end, Irene couldn't stand the day, so she followed Evie early in the morning.
It was still early, and the sky was barely starting to light up.
She looked into the dormitory, but did not find any light burning.
Erin felt drowsiness come over her, but she continued to follow Evie.
“Where are you going so early?”
Suddenly, Evie headed towards the garden. Irene wondered why she would go in there at this hour, but Ei entered the greenhouse and came out carrying flowers from the gardeners.
At that moment, Irene remembered the flower pot in the common entrance.
She did not see a vase when she first arrived, but later, a small vase appeared whose flower content changed daily.
I assumed the academy was doing this.
The arrangement lacked some taste, but the scent of the morning flowers was enough to satisfy her.
But now she realized that it was Evie who was changing the flowers every day.
Erin continued to follow Evie. She expected to go back to the dormitory, but she headed to the dining hall.
“At this time?”
Some students might eat breakfast early, but this was very early.
I followed her inside, and as she expected, Evie was the only student there.
She saw Evie holding a tray full of food, so Erin quickly took her food and deliberately sat down in front of Evie.
As I expected, Evie looked confused and confused.
The meal began, but the only sound Irene heard was the sound of the fork and knife occasionally hitting the plate.
“…”
“…”
The food continued in awkward silence.
Evie wanted to cry.
“Why are you doing this?”
Since she received warnings from Erin's friends, she tried to be careful.
She would leave early and come back late to avoid attention.
If she saw Irene from afar at the academy, she would take another route.
Then Irene opened her mouth:
“Flowers in the entrance, are you the one who puts them every day?”
“Yes, yes!”
Her answer came out loudly out of nervousness.
“Should I not have done that?”
She had brought flowers to decorate Professor Mallis's classroom, but since there were so many left, she got a vase and placed it in the room.
At first, she planned to put out the flowers just once, but the gardeners gave her more beautiful flowers, and she started changing them daily.
“If it bothers you, I will stop tomorrow.”
When Erin saw Evie's embarrassed expression, she quickly shook her head.
"No, it's not! I only asked because she's pretty!"
Evie breathed a sigh of relief, and so did Erin.
“The situation cannot continue like this.”
If she remains hesitant, misunderstandings will accumulate.
“First, I want to apologize.”
"On what?"
“I apologize for my misunderstanding about the orphanage you were in. I heard bad talk before, so I assumed things on my own. I never meant to insult those who raised you.”
Erin spoke openly about her mistake and apologized.
Evie looked surprised.
In Ilarm, this sometimes happened.
People looked at the children of orphanages with pity, and even if the director made a great effort, they insisted on seeing them as “miserable children.”
How upset I felt about that!
But Irene was the first to apologize for that assumption.
“I just… you looked so small… ah, that's not what I meant!”
Irene realized she had made a mistake again, so she covered her face with her hands.
Evie laughed softly.
She had always seen Irene as a fairytale princess: charming beauty, cold demeanor, and perfect manners.
But the Irene in front of her now was different, comfortable and natural, far from that image.
The table's tension eased a little.
* * *
Breakfast ended in a relaxed atmosphere. They didn't have a deep conversation, but the initial awkwardness dissipated.
Then…
“So, can I greet you in the morning?”
"Of course! You're my roommate. You can do that even at night."
Erin nodded as if it was obvious.
Evie's face lit up.
Then Irene added, as if remembering something:
“But you better not talk to me in front of others.”
Her expression was one of regret.
“No way.”
She knew that the students around her would continue gossiping if Evie talked to her.
But she couldn't get rid of them all.
Her goal at the academy was to build successful relationships in high society.
So, even if she didn't like it, she had to keep them and pretend to be friendly.
These were her duties as the daughter of the Terrence family.
“So, when they're around, we pretend we don't know each other, but in the room, we can be ourselves.”
“That would be good for you and me.”
“Okay, I'll be careful.”
Evie replied in a regretful tone, and Erin thought.
She wanted to get closer to Evie, but she had to build relationships with the nobles as well.
What if she had to choose between the two?
Suddenly, she saw several vehicles arriving in front of the dormitory.
Because of the noise, the children, who were usually asleep at this time, opened their windows to see what was happening.
Someone shouted:
“The Guardians’ gifts have arrived!”
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