Translator: Nox

42 - Can I Cry Now?

Chapter 42

The self-control I had desperately honed thankfully reined in the words threatening to burst out.

I wanted to hug her and rub my cheek against hers right away, but the other person wasn't an animal, but my roommate.

'I can't ruin my image as soon as we meet.'

So, Irene calmed herself and examined Ibi.

Then, she saw her small height and body, and her emaciated wrists.

The youngest age at the Academy for the Gifted is seven.

But to anyone who looked, Ibi seemed to be only about five years old.

The moment she realized that, her eyes went wild.

What? What is it? Where on earth did this child come from to be so thin?

I wondered if this was the abuse I had only heard about, and I almost picked her up and went straight to the constabulary.

No, should I take her to the South where I used to live and fatten her up?

Anyway, this was clearly not normal.

Then, she heard the students next to her talking. That she was a commoner and from the Poorhouse.

Irene knew very well what the Poorhouse was like.

There were many well-run places, but many directors embezzled funds and abused the children.

It was said to have gotten worse, especially after the war, when so many orphans were created.

So, Irene thought that Ibi was from such a Poorhouse.

"Your hair, your skin, your body. It's all a mess. Do they starve the children in the Poorhouse you're in?"

As she asked, grinding her teeth in her heart that she wouldn't let such a place get away with it, Ibi jumped up, saying no.

Hearing her shout that the place she was in wasn't like that, I examined her.

She was certainly small and thin, but there were no scars or bruises on her face or body.

Irene quickly realized her mistake.

So, she was about to apologize for her speculation, but the other students were berating Ibi.

I wanted to shout, 'Shut up! Can't you see Ibi can't speak!', but I remembered the promises I had made with my sister before leaving.

Anyway, I had to live quietly here for at least a few years, so I couldn't act like I did in the South to the students.

So, she took them out of the room. Because that would be better for Ibi.

'I need to face her properly and apologize separately.'

But she didn't see Ibi again that evening, and the next morning, other students who came to find her sent Ibi out on their own.

I felt like crying.

'This isn't it! Why did I say such a thing! Do I have to fix my tone from the start, like my sister said!'

I shouldn't have spoken carelessly from the beginning. But it was too late to regret it.

So, I was looking for a chance to apologize, but I missed Ibi because the team split up when we went to the museum.

And I couldn't find Ibi until night, and it was a mess.

Irene couldn't lift her face because of the self-reproach that she hadn't taken care of her roommate properly.

So, from the next day, I stayed by Ibi's side, but I couldn't bring myself to talk to her.

'That damn Ruska Ragselb!'

Whenever I tried to sneak in a word, Ruska always intervened.

So, Irene couldn't talk to her easily. Besides, Ibi seemed to be wary of me for some reason.

It was the same when I saw her from the outside.

I wanted to run to Ibi when I saw her eating alone in the distance, but the children next to me found Ibi and their expressions hardened as if they didn't like her.

So, Irene couldn't approach Ibi.

If I went now, Ibi would be bitten again because of me.

'If some time passes, won't she at least say hello in the room……?'

So, I was going to wait for Ibi to let her guard down after some more time passed…….

'Ruska and Arcel came to play with her again?'

The moment I heard the students run up to her and say that Ibi had become friends with Arcel and Ruska, I felt my patience cracking.

'You thieves! She's my roommate!'

But they became friends with Ibi before me.

Finally, today, Irene couldn't stand it and followed Ibi early in the morning.

It's only just dawn.

When I came out and looked at the dormitory, there were no lights on in any of the rooms.

Irene was also sleepy, but she continued to follow Ibi.

'Where on earth are you going so early in the morning?'

Then, she suddenly headed to the garden. I wondered why she was going there at this early hour.

She went into the greenhouse and came out with flowers from the gardeners there.

In that moment, Irene thought of the vase in the shared entryway that she used with Ibi.

I definitely didn't see the vase on the day I first came in, but there was a small vase from some point on, and the flowers were changed every day.

I naturally thought that the Academy for the Gifted was doing it.

The decorating sense was a bit lacking, but I thought it was enough to be able to smell good flowers in the morning.

But now that I see it, it seems that Ibi has been changing the flowers every day.

Irene continued to chase Ibi. I thought she was going straight back to the dormitory, but this time she headed to the cafeteria.

'At this hour?'

There may be students who eat breakfast early, but even so, it was too early.

I followed her in, and as expected, Ibi was the only student inside.

Watching Ibi carry the meal that the staff had filled to the brim, Irene also hurried to get her meal.

Then, she deliberately sat in front of Ibi.

As expected, Ibi was greatly embarrassed and didn't know what to do.

The meal began, but the only sounds were the small sounds of forks and knives occasionally hitting the plates.

“……”

“……”

A quiet meal continued in an awkward atmosphere.

Ibi wanted to cry.

'Why is she doing this?'

After being warned by Irene's friends, I had been careful.

I tried to come out early and go in late so as not to be noticed as much as possible.

Even within the Academy for the Gifted, if I saw Irene in the distance, I deliberately went around.

Then Irene opened her mouth.

"The flowers in the entryway, have you been putting them there every day?"

"Y-yes!"

A loud answer came out because I was nervous.

'Was I not supposed to do that?'

I had a lot of flowers left over from the flowers I brought to make Professor Maless's classroom pretty, so I got a vase and put them in my room as well.

At first, I thought I would only put them in once, but the gardeners gave me more and more pretty flowers.

So, I changed them every day…….

"……If it was uncomfortable, I won't do it from tomorrow."

When Ibi made a troubled expression, Irene hurriedly shook her head.

"That's not it! I just asked because they're pretty!"

At those words, Ibi breathed a sigh of relief. Irene was the same.

'I can't keep going like this.'

If I hesitated, misunderstandings would only pile up.

"First of all, I'll apologize."

"Yes? For what……."

"I'm sorry that I misunderstood the situation of your Poorhouse last time. I had heard bad things before, so I thought about it on my own. I never meant to insult the people who took care of you."

Irene honestly told her about her mistake and apologized.

Ibi, who was listening to Irene's words, had a surprised expression on her face.

This kind of thing happened occasionally in Elam as well.

When people said that I was from the Poorhouse, they would unconditionally look at me with pity and sympathize with me.

Even if the director tried his best for the children, people didn't believe it and continued to believe that I was a 'poor child', so I couldn't help but feel upset even though I thought it couldn't be helped.

But Irene was the first person to apologize, saying that she had misunderstood me.

"I was just because you were so small……ah, that's not it."

Irene, who was muttering, realized that she had made another mistake and covered her face with both hands.

At that sight, Ibi made a small sound and laughed.

Whenever I had seen Irene until now, I had always thought of her as a princess in the fairy tales I had read.

Beautiful appearance, cold attitude. And even perfect etiquette.

But Irene, who is in front of me now, took a very comfortable attitude, unlike when she was with other people.

The atmosphere of the table was more relaxed than before.

\ \ *

After that, the meal ended in a comfortable atmosphere. We didn't have a great conversation, but at least the initial awkwardness had disappeared.

Besides…….

"Then is it okay to say hello in the morning?"

"Of course. You're my roommate. You can do it at night too."

Irene nodded as if it were natural.

Ibi's face brightened at that answer.

Then Irene said as if she had forgotten something.

"Ah, it's probably better not to talk to me when other people are around."

Irene's expression wasn't good as she said that.

'It can't be helped.'

The students who flock to my side will surely gossip about Ibi again if she talks to me.

But I couldn't push them all away. Wasn't my goal when I entered the Academy for the Gifted a successful entry into high society?

So, even if I didn't like them, I had to keep them by my side and pretend to be close to them.

That was what I had to do here as the daughter of the Terrence family.

'So, I'll pretend not to know her when they're around, and get along well when it's just the two of us in the room.'

"That's good for me and you."

"Yes, I'll be careful."

Listening to Ibi's regretful answer, Irene pondered.

I want to be friends with Ibi.

But I also have to build relationships with the nobles.

Then, what should I do if I have to choose one of the two?

Then, several carriages arrived in front of the dormitory.

Perhaps because of the commotion, the children, who would normally still be asleep, opened their windows and looked out to see what was going on.

Then someone shouted.

"The patrons' gifts have arrived!"