Ch#87
Arcel said it calmly, but honestly, Airin's heart was pounding.
‘Ruska, that guy has a sneaky knack for being good at things.’
Ruska, who habitually said he couldn't match Arcel.
Yet leading up to the exams, he stopped saying that altogether and studied with an incredibly serious attitude.
Seeing that, Airin felt strangely uneasy and threw herself even harder into exam prep.
‘Come to think of it, this idiot is a Yeongjae Academy student too, right?’
So there was no way he was truly dumb, but somehow she'd naturally started thinking of him as pitifully hopeless.
It couldn't be helped given how he acted.
‘Even losing to Ruska would hurt my pride, but I have to stay in the top 35.’
Looking at the school rules book, from the second semester onward, classes and activities were divided into groups of 35 by grade ranking.
So falling outside the top 35 overall would mean moving separately from Ibi for sure.
‘No way! I'll protect my roommate myself!’
Lately, Ruska had been sticking unusually close to Ibi's side.
And Ibi seemed to be getting along with Ruska even better than before.
‘Arcel alone is already enough to make my stomach turn.’
Arcel frequently gave books to Ibi.
Airin could easily order books like that from her family too.
But Arcel picked out and gifted brand-new books that were perfect for Ibi's tastes, almost uncannily so.
In this situation, being the only one left out……!
Airin glared at the report card envelopes on the table.
Absolutely not.
She absolutely would not exceed 35th place.
As the three placed their envelopes on the table in an oddly solemn atmosphere, Ibi carefully took out hers and set it down as well.
Ibi and Airin had also received their report cards at the girls' dormitory and come to the cafeteria.
They had debated checking them right there but were too nervous, so they finished breakfast first and decided to open them together.
‘What rank am I?’
Honestly, Ibi wasn't confident about this exam.
The Izriella incident had happened right before, and the sudden change in how people treated her had led to a lot of bewildering situations.
After placing her envelope, Ibi looked around.
Lately, stares followed her everywhere, so they had deliberately taken seats in a secluded corner of the cafeteria.
Leaving the sunny, prime spots empty, people filled only the tables around them.
They eyed the four's report cards from afar, straining to see.
When their eyes met Ibi's, some smiled awkwardly, and now others brazenly waved in greeting.
All these changes had naturally come after it became known that her guardian was the emperor.
‘I thought it'd be fun if everyone welcomed and liked me…….’
But experiencing it, it just felt exhausting.
‘Now I get why Airin always looked uncomfortable when she was surrounded by other students before.’
Having people approach everywhere was more tiring than expected.
And since they all approached with goodwill, she couldn't push them away.
Getting caught by someone persistent meant having to extricate herself from the conversation to leave.
‘At least they don't swarm when I'm with everyone.’
Whether because Airin and Arcel scared them, when the four were together like this, people kept their distance.
As Ibi hesitated while looking around, Arcel turned his head.
Then those who had been staring at their table whipped their heads away like they'd seen a ghost.
It felt like Arcel was silently saying with his eyes, ‘Mind your own business.’
Today, Ruska had joined Arcel in that.
“Isn't it way too noisy around here? Were the tables always this close?”
Ruska said it loud enough to be heard while glancing around.
Then those who had forcibly pulled tables and chairs closer shuffled back to their original spots.
Now, in the corner, they were far enough that others couldn't peek at their table.
The two withdrew their gazes, seemingly satisfied, and looked at the table.
Ruska placed his report card last and said.
“On one, two, three, we all pull them out and show. If anyone doesn't want to show theirs, say so now.”
At that, the other three eyed each other.
‘As if! Why wouldn't I?’
‘Ruska. Why is that guy so hyped up?’
Airin and Arcel had no intention of backing down, irked by whatever gave Ruska such confidence.
“I'm good with it.”
Ibi was simply enjoying this first time comparing report cards with friends.
The other three nodded in agreement.
They each picked up their envelopes and looked at one another.
“One, two, three!”
At the word, all four pulled out their report cards and placed them on the table.
“Oh my.”
“Wow!”
“Hmm.”
“Yes!”
Each let out an exclamation reflecting their feelings.
Ibi checked her final ranking.
[Overall 2nd]
‘High! Same as when I got here!’
Other students had said Yeongjae Academy exams would reveal true abilities, so she'd been so tense.
She didn't want to separate from the three, but Ibi had a reason to aim for top scores.
‘I have to think about jobs after graduating here too.’
She'd recalled it again because of the orphanage gifts, but that was why she'd entered here.
To eat even a little less burden and to graduate and get a good job to help the orphanage.
Good grades were essential for landing a high-paying job.
‘Phew, good.’
Having come this far, met so many helpful people, and kind professors, low scores would have worried her future.
‘I can do it!’
Filled with confidence, Ibi clenched her fist.
Then she grew curious about the others' scores.
Before Ibi could turn, Airin sitting beside her hugged her tightly.
“Success! We can keep taking classes together next semester too!”
Airin said, pointing at her report card on the table.
Airin's overall rank was 16th.
An incredibly high rank among so many students.
Perhaps higher than expected, Airin rubbed her face against Ibi's for a good while longer.
Ibi finally escaped from Airin's arms with her hair a mess.
Of course, Airin immediately took a small comb from her bag and fixed it.
“Guess no one's curious about mine.”
Then Arcel said with a laugh. Only then did Ibi stand and lean over to see his.
[Overall 1st]
An utterly expected result.
That left just one person.
The most excited of the four. Ruska.
“Heh heh heh……”
Ruska crossed his arms arrogantly, legs crossed, chin raised.
“Behold, this body's scores.”
He shrugged smugly, reveling in self-satisfaction with a boastful voice.
“What? Anyone would think I got 1st.”
Even saying that, Airin felt uneasy. Did this guy beat me?
The three's gazes turned to Ruska's report card.
At the bottom, in bold letters:
[Overall 35th]
A precarious rank—one spot lower and he'd have been separated from the three starting next semester.
Airin saw it and swept back her hair in an attitude as haughty as Ruska's.
“Anyway, I won.”
That was enough.
Fine for Arcel and Ibi, but losing to this ball-kicking idiot would be a disgrace to the Terins family!
“Who cares. Point is, you won't be going off without me. Gotta send this report card home right away. My brothers will look up to me, saying a genius came from our house.”
Ruska couldn't hide his joy, chuckling as he slipped the card back into its envelope.
Then he said to Ibi.
“It's thanks to all your help, Ibi. So, exams are done and vacation's coming soon. Wanna come visit my house then?”
