45
Magic stones imbued with magical power were always considered rare treasures and treated with the utmost appreciation.
Therefore, when nobles acquired a new magic stone, they would deliberately throw parties to show off it in a subtle way.
But for someone to send such a stone as a gift! Especially as a gift to congratulate a child under seven years old on entering the Gifted Academy.
“Isn’t the magic stone very expensive?”
“Indeed, a few days ago, when I accompanied my father to the auction house, I saw a magic stone smaller than this, and its price was astronomical.”
“What? So, does this little girl have a very powerful guardian?”
The atmosphere of the people gathered was transformed, whispering. Amidst the crowd, Evie stared at the warm stone she held in her hands.
“Magic stone?” She knew it existed, but didn't realize how important it was. In the city of Elram, no one could even see such a stone up close.
“Whew!” How can a stone be so warm and even emit light? As Eppie held the stone to her chest, other students approached her excitedly.
“Um, can I touch him just once?”
"I'll just look! Oh, I'm Emil, right? We took a foreign language class together."
“Hello, I'm Julia, I live on the same floor as you. I've been meaning to get to know you for a while...”
Everyone looked at Eppie and the stone with looks sparkling with curiosity. In the back, someone was whispering:
“Isn’t she Irene’s roommate?”
“I heard that they appointed a commoner girl, so I made fun of it, but there seems to be a reason for that. Isn’t it remarkable that she had a guardian to give her a magic stone like this?”
Suddenly, Ezriela shouted angrily: “What nonsense? This can’t be a magic stone!”
This wasn't what she wanted.
Everyone was supposed to make fun of this humble common girl's gift, so it became easy to mock Irene, who shared the room with her, and consider her to be of a lower class.
But instead, everyone looked at this common girl in amazement, and even approached her to court her.
They even started whispering that there was a reason she was Irene's roommate.
Ezriela knew very well how rare and valuable magic stones were.
Her father kept a display cabinet in his office containing magic stones he had bought at auctions.
He even prevented her from touching it, assuring her of its importance and value.
But for someone to give a stone larger than those to a common girl? impossible.
Ezriela looked at Evie, standing in the crowd, and felt that her puzzled expression, which betrayed her lack of understanding of what was happening, was fake and exasperating.
“Come on, give it to me. I will examine it and tell you whether it is real or fake. My father has a lot of magic stones, so I can easily tell.”
Ezriela emphasized the word “a lot” intentionally.
“You know, there are a lot of fake stones. In the capital's bad markets, they sell decorative stones as magic stones.”
Hearing Ezriela's words, the children gathered around Eppie gradually fell silent. Her words were true.
Due to the scarcity of magic stones, there were scammers selling fake stones that looked like them.
“It might sparkle a few times and then fade.”
Scammers often placed simple charms on ordinary stones to make people think they were magical.
The children, who were excited to hear the word “magic stone,” remembered this fact, so they quietly retreated.
“Now that I think about it…it seems different from the magic stones I know.”
“True, when I got closer, it looked like those stones that are sold in the markets.”
Those who had been silent until that moment began to speak out now, seizing the opportunity.
Like Ezriela, they doubted that a commoner girl would receive a magic stone of that size.
When Izriela came forward and said it was fake, they felt their prior suspicions confirmed. “It's fake.”
The glances directed at Evie began to turn sharp.
“I thought she was poor because she was young, but she lies like that.”
“I heard it's from an orphanage. Isn't it clear about the behavior of children in places like this?”
“Last time, wasn’t she the one who lied and said that she was receiving special treatment because of her relationship with the Emperor?”
The words they spoke became harsher. And Eppie, who was listening to them, held the stone tighter to her chest.
“Even if it's fake, I don't care.” This was sent as a gift to her from someone. This feeling alone made her happy to tears.
"What are you doing? Give it to me!" Ezriela suddenly approached and extended her hand towards Evie.
From experience, Ebby knew that the best thing in such situations was to hand over the item without argument. But, despite knowing this, Eppie did not want to hand over her gift to her.
“He's mine.”
Evie remembered Professor Sian. That man who was crying alone in front of a quiet grave.
Not only did he become her guardian without any connection between them, but he sent her this warm, luminous stone as a gift in return for a simple handkerchief.
It didn't matter if this was a real magic stone or not. Eppie wanted to keep her first gift as a precious treasure.
“Come on, give it to me!” When Evie didn't respond easily, Ezriela grabbed her slender wrist.
Eppie tried with all her might to hold the stone in her arms. When Izriela saw that Evie was not giving up, she shouted at her: "Where did you learn this stubbornness? That's why your parents abandoned you!"
At that moment, Evie's hands that were holding the stone relaxed. Ezriela took advantage and pushed Evie hard. At the moment when little Eppie almost fell to the ground, someone grabbed her from behind.
"Enough, Azriela. What is this disgraceful behaviour?"
It was Irene's voice. Irene snatched the stone from Ezriela's astonished hand and returned it to Evie, who was standing in front of her.
“This is a real magic stone.”
“Lie! Who would give a magic stone of this size to a commoner?”
“You don't seem to trust me. Have you forgotten that I'm a Terrence?”
No one was unaware of the Terrence family, the family that controlled the wealth of the South.
“Our family trades everything in this world, including magic stones. Most of the magic stones offered at the empire’s auctions are brought by us. Don’t you know that?”
Ezriela bit her lip at Irene's gushing confidence.
“So, I can tell the real thing from the fake without even touching it. So, Miss Ezriela...”
Irene crossed her arms and raised her chin defiantly.
“I apologize for your rude behavior.”
"What?"
“You searched someone else's gift without permission, and accused a wonderful magic stone of being fake without understanding anything. How shallow is your sight? And what did you say about her parents? Is there nothing else to say?”
Irene paused for a moment, swallowing her exasperated breath. Her words were filled with anger.
Ezriela's face reddened in shock at Irene's harsh tone.
If it had been something else, I would have secretly mocked her as a mere merchant.
But magic stones are not just an ordinary thing; It is part of the core curriculum at the Gifted Academy, and is considered basic knowledge for the nobility.
Isn't this why nobles invite others to show off their new magic stones? But to accuse her of being fake is to insult her insight.
“Miss Irene, are you saying I should apologize to Amiya?”
Hearing Ezriela's words, the other students nodded in agreement. Ezriela might make a mistake, and she might apologize to Irene, but to apologize to a commoner girl? This is unbelievable.
Ezriela bit her lip. She couldn't back down now. She decided to face Irene to the end.
“If you keep showing up in social circles like this...”
If Irene continued to pressure Nabila like her in this way, she would not gain the support of the other students.
Indeed, some students began to look at Irene with uncomfortable looks. From their point of view, Nabil cannot bow down to Ami, no matter what the reason.
But, contrary to Ezriela's expectations, Irene stepped up to Evie, who was holding the stone, and said loudly for all to hear:
“Whether commoner or noble, you'd better apologize for the offense you committed against my roommate, Ezriela.”
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