43 - Can I Cry Now?
Episode 43
The quiet dormitory instantly became noisy.
At the news of the arrival of gifts, even the students who were still asleep rubbed their eyes, quickly dressed, and came outside.
As the children swarmed out, Irene quickly distanced herself from Ibi.
She was sure that if other students saw her with Ibi, they would say something to Ibi again.
Ibi looked at Irene, who was moving away, with a disappointed face.
'It can't be helped.'
Being with her would likely damage Irene's reputation.
'Still, she said I can talk to her inside the room.'
That alone was enough for now.
Ibi avoided the descending children, went up the side stairs to her room, left the flowers, and came back outside.
Ibi grabbed the railing, stood on her tiptoes, and looked down.
The lobby was filled with the dormitory's female students, with no room to set foot.
It seemed all the students in the dormitory had come out.
The students were delighted as they watched the gift boxes pile up in the lobby.
"It's finally here. I've actually been waiting since I enrolled."
"Me too! I was waiting so long, I almost broke my neck."
"My parents told me that the gifts from these patrons are really important."
Ibi listened to the students' conversations from below.
Thanks to that, she was able to learn a few things.
After enrolling in the Academy for the Gifted, once things settled down to some extent, the patrons would send gifts.
And because the gifts were proof of how great a person's patronage one was receiving, they took great care to send precious things.
'I probably won't get a gift.'
It wasn't as if Ibi had never received a gift in her life.
Once a year, the Headmaster of the Poorhouse gave the children gifts on the last day of the year.
They weren't in a position to receive what they wanted like ordinary children, so they all received the same thing.
It wasn't anything grand.
Always candy from the candy store where the children lined up.
Only three pieces per person, too.
But the children all received the candy from the Headmaster with happy faces.
They were happy to receive the sweet candy, but they were even happier that someone had given them a gift.
Ibi was the same.
When she stood in line to receive the candy, her heart would pound so much when it was her turn.
Of course, she had received gifts other than that.
Among the teachers at the upper school, there were teachers who felt sorry for her and gave her notebooks or pens.
When she went to help with kitchen work, the owner of the restaurant had wrapped up several large loaves of bread for her to take and share with the children.
But those were all gifts given by people who knew her circumstances.
'That person has no reason to give me a gift.'
Ibi thought of Professor Sian, whom she had met in the forest.
The person she had met on the day she first came here. The person who, despite being a tall adult man, hadn't scared her, which she found strange.
When she found out that he was her patron, she felt strange.
She felt happy, but also somehow overwhelmed.
It was like meeting someone she had been waiting for for a very long time.
'But that's probably just me.'
Ibi had learned about patrons in the book that explained life at the Academy for the Gifted.
To soothe the anxiety of children who were suddenly living apart from their families, they appointed patrons from among those who frequented the Imperial Palace, the Academy for the Gifted, or the academy and had friendships with them.
It also stated that if there was no one to act as a patron, a professor from the Academy for the Gifted would be arbitrarily assigned.
'Since there's no one to be my patron, he must have been forced to take it on.'
So he probably wouldn't bother sending a gift.
Besides, the gifts from patrons were said to be very precious and expensive.
Even though she thought there wouldn't be anything for her, Ibi couldn't go back to her room.
Seeing the happy faces of the students, she became curious about what kind of gifts were coming.
It didn't matter if she didn't receive one. Seeing other people happy made her happy too.
Before she knew it, all the gifts that had been on the carriage were piled up in the lobby.
"When your name is called, please come and claim your gift!"
The staff calmed the students who were crowding around the piled-up gifts and called out the names on the list.
"Elisha Lidia!"
"That's me!"
The first student called stepped forward, not knowing what to do.
The staff confirmed the student's name and the patron's name and handed over the gift box.
Having known in advance what gift she would receive, and having confidence in it, the first student to receive the gift returned to her friends and unwrapped it ostentatiously.
With hurried hands, the ribbon was roughly untied and the wrapping paper was torn.
After tearing off all the wrapping, a box with delicate craftsmanship appeared inside.
She shrugged and held the box in front of her friends, as if wanting as many people as possible to see it, and slowly opened it.
Then, a brooch with sparkling jewels appeared from inside the box.
The students' eyes shone with envy.
The student who received the gift shrugged and pinned it on her uniform.
Her friends stood by her side, admiring the patron's gift, saying things like, "It's so pretty," and "I'm so jealous."
The staff soon called another student's name.
The students who received the gifts that arrived for them in the order they were called showed off their gifts to each other, watching each other's reactions.
As more and more people gathered, the lobby became chaotic.
Meanwhile, some students who thought the gifts they received were more shabby than their friends' went to their rooms, saying they wanted to see them alone, and quickly carried them upstairs.
'I should go in too.'
Actually, she wanted to watch a little longer.
It was fun to look at the other students' gifts.
Ibi turned around, hiding her envy.
It was then.
"Ibi Elden! Is Ibi Elden here?"
The staff member's loud voice, looking for Ibi in the lobby, echoed.
At first, she doubted her ears, but the staff member was clearly calling Ibi's name.
Surprised, Ibi immediately turned around.
"I'm here!"
Why on earth was the staff member looking for her?
Ibi raised her heels and looked down, and the staff member waved a large box at Ibi, waving his hand.
"Please come and get it!"
Thinking it couldn't be true, Ibi hurried down the stairs.
Her small feet tapped quickly on the stone steps.
Having come down so hastily that she had to catch her breath, Ibi approached the staff member.
"Here, take this."
"Um... are you sure it's really for me?"
Usually, they wouldn't even bother with a gift for a child they were forced to take on, so what was going on?
As Ibi stood there with a puzzled look, the staff member asked back, just in case.
"Is your patron's name Sian Roshen?"
"Yes, it is."
"Then it's definitely the right one. Be careful carrying it."
The staff member handed Ibi the box.
She wondered what was inside.
Even though the box wasn't large, it was quite heavy, and her small body staggered.
Seeing Ibi like that, the students whispered.
"What, she had a patron too?"
"I heard that when commoners come in, there are people who aim for the patron positions. They used to trade money for them in the past. Isn't she something like that too?"
Ignoring the voices, Ibi came out from among the students.
Then, she looked at the gift she had received.
The shape of it clearly showed that it was a 'gift,' and Ibi's heart pounded.
'Did that person really send me a gift?'
Ibi thought of Professor Sian, whom she had seen in the forest.
He was someone who, even though she had met him for the first time, somehow felt familiar.
If it hadn't been evening, if there had been more time, she would have wanted to talk for a very long time.
Ibi struggled to hold the box with one arm and fiddled with the ribbon on the wrapping.
It was the first time in her life that she had received a gift that was wrapped like this.
A gift that made her heart flutter because she didn't know what was inside.
'Is it really a gift for me?'
She had confirmed the name of the sender with the staff member and checked several times that it was for her.
Even so, it was the first time she had received such a gift, so she kept feeling uneasy.
'What if it's someone else's?'
If she had unwrapped it carelessly and opened it, only to find that it was a gift meant for someone else...
Worried, Ibi only fiddled with it and couldn't bring herself to unwrap it.
Then, she discovered a small paper envelope attached to the side of the gift box.
"What's this?"
The moment Ibi lightly peeled off the envelope, which seemed to have been lightly glued on, and looked inside, her face brightened.
