12 - Can I Cry Now?
Chapter 12
The next day, morning.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
At the continuous ringing, Ibi put down the textbook she was reading and looked outside.
The hands of the clock tower in the distance pointed to 8 o'clock.
It was the wake-up time for the Academy for the Gifted. Of course, Ibi had woken up much earlier and was already washed and dressed.
'They said everyone should wear their uniforms and come down to the entrance by 8:30.'
From today, the official life at the Academy for the Gifted begins.
Considering it would take time to get used to, they said this week would be spent on introductions to the Academy and light explanations about the classes.
Ibi stood in front of the mirror to check her appearance and opened the door to her room.
The morning sunlight was pouring into the entrance she shared with Irene.
Basking in the warm sunlight, Ibi opened the window. The still slightly chilly morning air rushed in.
Still, Ibi stretched and smiled at the refreshing feeling of driving out the stale air.
'I wonder how everyone is doing?'
All the friends at the Poorhouse had a hard time waking up in the morning.
When Headmaster's voice grew louder from downstairs, telling them to come down for breakfast, Ibi would throw the window wide open.
That was because the cold wind would make the children, who were about to fall back asleep, rub their eyes and get out of bed.
Of course, there were friends who would beg Ibi to close the window again.
Friends.
Thinking of her friends at the Poorhouse, Ibi's shoulders slumped.
'I wanted to make friends here.'
Ibi was just as surprised as the other students were yesterday that her roommate was from such a prestigious family.
She had heard that roommates were assigned randomly, but she didn't expect it to be true.
'So I thought there would be a commoner roommate similar to me.'
Then maybe she could become a little closer.
Eating together, going to classes together, studying together, and sometimes talking in each other's rooms...
Before coming to the capital, she had read an essay about the Academy for the Gifted in the upper school's library.
The author of the book wrote in detail about life at the Academy for the Gifted, saying that they spent time with their friends like this.
She had dreamed of that, but her roommate was such an amazing person that she couldn't dare to talk to her.
'Still, Lady Irene...'
Thanks to running errands here and there, she was quite good at reading people's expressions.
So she could tell.
Unlike the other students who looked at her yesterday, Irene didn't dislike her.
What was in her eyes was embarrassment and anger.
Even the anger that was visible disappeared after Headmaster said otherwise.
Ding!
Lost in thought, Ibi snapped back to her senses at the short ring of the bell.
The clock tower bell rings long according to the number at the hour.
Once for one o'clock.
Twice for two o'clock.
And in between, it makes a short bell sound every 15 minutes.
Ibi turned her head and looked at the clock tower. The hands were now pointing to 8:15.
'I should go down soon.'
Even as she thought that, Ibi couldn't bring herself to leave the room.
The reason was Irene.
'If I leave now, I won't be late.'
Everyone was told to come down to the entrance by 8:30.
It was the first official schedule of the Academy for the Gifted. So she had to go on time...
'Could she still be asleep?'
If so, she had to wake Irene up quickly.
Just as Ibi was about to carefully knock on the door,
Knock, knock, knock!
Someone knocked on the door from the hallway. When Ibi opened the door, the female students she had seen yesterday were standing there.
They frowned at Ibi and waved their hands.
"I can't believe you're still not out. Shouldn't the lower class move faster?"
"I know, right? By the way, have you been loitering in front of Lady Irene's room this whole time? You weren't thinking of daring to knock on the door and talk to her first, were you?"
At the fierce look that seemed like they would raise their hands at any moment if she said yes, Ibi had no choice but to step back.
"I'm telling you in advance because you seem like you're going to be rude, but Lady Irene is someone you can't just talk to. So don't bother her and stay out of sight."
"That's right. She's from a great noble family in the South. The Academy for the Gifted must have made a mistake in assigning you to the same room, but she'll definitely be moving to a new room. So don't bother her. Got it?"
"She picks her friends. Unless you're from a family like ours, you can't be next to her. If you understand, get out of here!"
They waved their hands at Ibi as if chasing away a bug. Then they slammed the door shut.
Ibi, who had been kicked out of her room, stared at the door for a moment before turning around.
'I guess she already has a lot of friends.'
It was only natural. Nobles were said to hold unofficial social gatherings from a young age to make close friends.
Even though she was from the South, Irene must have already made many close friends in that way.
'Still...'
Ibi recalled Irene's figure, who had slightly bowed her head to her.
'I wish I could at least say hello.'
\ \ *
After Ibi left, the students standing inside the door looked at each other.
"Did you see that child?"
"Yes. She was trying to knock on Lady Irene's door."
"What would have happened if we were even a little late?"
They breathed a sigh of relief.
The fact that Irene Terrence was entering the Academy for the Gifted was only announced a week ago.
At that news, all the female students from noble families had their eyes shining.
Becoming close to Arcel or Ruska was a natural thing to do.
But because they were male students, their dormitories were different, and in cases where there were classes that involved using the body, such as swordsmanship or martial arts, they often had to take separate classes.
But Irene was different.
She was a student who could be called the queen among the female students who entered the Academy for the Gifted this year.
Due to her independent atmosphere and personal nature as someone from the South, she hardly attended imperial social circles.
The only time she had attended was a year ago, during the Patron Saint's festival.
That day, Irene captivated everyone's attention with her beautiful appearance and splendid dress.
Her beautiful appearance, which already showed promise despite her young age, made not only boys of her age but also girls shine even more.
It was still unknown who would become the Emperor's successor, but everyone was saying that it would be either Arcel or Ruska.
In that case, Irene Terrence was a very perfect candidate for the Crown Princess.
'So I have to become close to her now.'
Just being the daughter of the wealthy Terrence family would bring many benefits if they became close.
But the future Crown Princess?
They had to become close no matter what.
So as soon as Irene came to the capital, they went to find her.
They kept talking non-stop, saying that they were so-and-so who had contacted her several times by letter, saying that they were pleased to meet her for the first time, and that they should get along in the future.
Fortunately, Irene didn't particularly distance herself from them.
But she didn't act friendly either.
Yesterday, she had told them to go to the cafeteria first, but when they got there, she quietly listened to their chatter without saying much.
'She must be nervous. No matter how great a noble she is from the South, she ended up coming here alone.'
'She must be lonely because she's not familiar with the capital. This is the time to become her closest friend.'
Everyone knocked on Irene's door with their own ambitions.
Soon, the door opened. Irene, neatly dressed in her uniform, bowed slightly to the students.
"Hello, Lady Irene! Good morning!"
"You must have had a hard time preparing alone since morning... Lady Irene, would you like to secretly use a commoner child as a maid? I heard that Lady Izriella had her Retainer's child admitted with her to use as a maid."
"Oh my, I should have done that too. Should I find one now? Come to think of it, that commoner we chased away earlier might be good at doing maid work."
At that moment, Irene's eyes narrowed as she listened to their chatter with a blank expression.
"You chased her away?"
"Yes. She didn't know her place and was trying to knock on Lady Irene's door. I think she was going to try to greet you first."
"So we scolded her and sent her away. If she has any sense, she won't bother Lady Irene again."
They were proud of their actions, as if they were triumphant.
Because of that, they didn't notice that Irene's eyes, which were looking at them, had become sharp.
Irene muttered with a cold expression.
"If I hadn't promised my sister..."
One of the female students, with a completely different expression than when she was dealing with Ibi, smiled brightly and said.
"Yes? What did you say, Lady Irene?"
Irene didn't even look at the student and started walking.
"Let's go down quickly. There's not much time left."
Irene immediately passed by them and went down alone.
The students looked at each other at the cold-hearted behavior that anyone could see.
"Did we... do something wrong?"
"W, well?"
They really had no idea what they had done wrong, so they hurriedly chased after Irene.
