Ch#98
[Hello, Director. It's Ibi! I'm sorry for not writing for so long. I meant to send letters more often, but I kept falling asleep from exhaustion….
But it couldn't be helped! Airin's house has sooooo many fun things!
As I mentioned in my previous letter, I'm staying at Airin's house right now.
Everyone here is kind to me.
No one here dislikes me for being from the Orphanage.
Every morning, Amber, Vicky, and Cindy bring me new clothes.
They say they're all clothes Airin wore when she was little. I asked, and they said southerners grow tall quickly, so kids often outgrow their clothes fast.
They said no more young children will be born in the Terins family now, so I can have them all.
There are no holes or tears anywhere—they all look brand new.
I said the clothes were so clean, and Airin told me it's because the Terins family maids are so skilled.
Even rich people seem to cherish and reuse things like we do at the Orphanage.
I've received so many that I'll send the ones I won't wear. Please share them with my friends too.
Apparently, Airin was similar to me when she was young! The arm length, neck, legs—they fit me perfectly! Isn't it amazing?
These days, we always go around wearing the hairpins Madam Crevel gave us as gifts.
When we went to the market together, a passing lady called us pretty young ladies. It felt so great!
I'll be here another week. It's been a week already, so one more week here, then to Arcel's mansion. After that, to Ruska's mansion. Then back to Airin's house.
I got letters from Arcel and Ruska too.
They said they're looking forward to when I visit and to come have fun. When Airin saw the letters, she took me to the drawing room. (Airin's house has a separate room for drawing, a room for reading books, a room for listening to music, and even a changing room! Amazing, right?)
Then we drew pictures together with colored pencils that have 180 colors. She said there won't be anything like this at Arcel's or Ruska's houses.
So we'll draw a lot here.
I drew excitedly, and Airin praised me for drawing a really cool raccoon. It was a puppy….
Then Airin said kids at 7 can't draw well yet. She said she only got good at it at 10, and I'll get good at everything by 10 too.
When I turn 10, I'll draw a lot and give them all to you, Director. And….]
"Oh, out of paper."
Ibi, who had been writing nonstop, looked up upon reaching the end of the paper.
The page was filled to the brim. Holding her pen, she pondered briefly, then drew more lines over the parts she'd already crossed out.
They were the parts that might make the Director sad if she read them.
After striking through them multiple times to erase them completely, Ibi opened the desk drawer.
It was filled with scented stationery that smelled pleasant. Bringing a sheet close to her face let her inhale the nice fragrance.
'The Director will feel good receiving this paper too.'
She should write to have her friends smell it too.
Ibi picked up her pen again and quickly continued the letter.
It was the first week staying at Airin's house. Trying to write about everything made the letter endless.
'Too much to write about!'
From the moment she opened her eyes until lying back in bed with Airin and turning on the mana stone, there wasn't a single boring moment all day.
One day, they played so excitedly during the day that both got fevers and went limp.
That day, the maids said they had to nap in separate beds.
"If you're together, you'll chatter and not sleep—we know it well!"
The usually sweet maid sisters were scary that time, firmly blocking them.
Thanks to that, they slept deeply.
Just as Ibi finally finished her letter, a knock sounded at the door.
"Come in."
"Miss Ibi!"
The one who entered was Amber, the oldest of the three maids.
"It's lunchtime. Miss Airin will come soon now that her guest has left. Let's go down together."
Saying that, Amber extended her hand.
Ibi grabbed it eagerly, and Amber quietly clenched her other fist, trembling as she muttered, "Worth winning rock-paper-scissors…!"
'Miss.'
At first, hearing it had been so embarrassing. Her face turned red, and she said they didn't have to call her that, but the maids insisted on calling her Miss Ibi to the end.
"Wearing such pretty clothes makes you a miss."
"Sitting so primly makes you a miss."
"Being this cute makes you a miss!"
In the end, Ibi lost.
'But it feels good.'
It was embarrassing at first, but now it made her smile every time.
Entering the dining room, Airin, already seated, waved.
"Today's lunch is the fried chicken you like, Ibi!"
"Wow!"
At Airin's words, Ibi bounced excitedly before sitting in her spot.
"You like it that much?"
"Yes! Southern fried chicken is so delicious!"
She thought frying chicken was just frying chicken, but southern fried chicken was truly different.
The crispy batter was tasty, but the spicy-sweet sauce coated on top was so amazing she could eat it all day without getting tired.
Anticipating the food soon to come, Ibi noticed fatigue on Airin's properly seated face.
"Were you very tired today?"
"Huh? Oh… five people barged in at once talking nonstop about the Autumn Ball, so my ears hurt a bit."
"Autumn Ball?"
"Yeah. Autumn Balls will start popping up everywhere soon. You saw the book with Yeongjae Academy rules, right?"
Nod nod.
Ibi nodded, recalling what she remembered.
The Autumn Ball was the biggest of Yeongjae Academy's three major official events.
For other places, New Year's might be biggest, but at that time, Yeongjae Academy is on winter break.
Thus, the Autumn Ball, the festival during students' stay, was the grandest and most splendid.
'And guardians attend together then.'
She learned later that many become guardians just to attend the ball.
"His Majesty the Emperor will come this year too, so it'll be huge."
Airin pressed her forehead, already imagining the commotion.
"Will His Majesty come?"
Would the emperor move just to look after her at a Yeongjae Academy event?
As Ibi muttered worriedly, Airin scolded her as if she worried about everything.
"Not coming would be the real problem. Didn't you see the letter? He said how about sparing a week during break to visit the villa."
Airin recalled the emperor's letter that arrived on her second day home.
It was written in kind words, but summed up simply: 'Give me one week of your three.'
If it were from anyone else, she could say, "Oh my, what nonsense is this? Oops, my hand slipped and the letter caught fire? Hohoho!" and forget it ever came.
But not from the emperor.
No matter how great the Terins family, they knew who ruled the land they lived on.
He was the emperor who softened at the sight of Ibi now.
But he was also the one who had mercilessly slaughtered thousands of enemies and their vassals after the succession war.
The emperor who shed the most blood among all in imperial history to ascend the throne.
She must not forget that.
"Right. That villa sounds fun."
Unaware of Airin's inner turmoil over losing a week, Ibi smiled in anticipation.
"Come to think of it, who's your guardian, Airin?"
"My guardian? Countess Dershna Carmin. You know her, the one called the South's Tiger?"
Nod nod.
Ibi nodded vigorously.
Dershna Carmin was a border countess well over sixty, holding territory near the Dering Strait, called the barbaric sea.
That area faced four kingdoms across the sea, a place of constant past disputes.
It was the same during the succession war. The four kingdoms tried invading across the barbaric sea amid the empire's chaos.
But they couldn't set foot on imperial soil.
The border countess had smashed them in the barbaric sea.
She hadn't intervened in the succession war but was more sincere than anyone in defending the empire.
After the tiger she raised from cub died, she skinned it herself for a shoulder ornament she always wore, earning her the nickname South's Tiger.
Such a heroic figure was Airin's guardian.
"Then will she come too?"
"Yeah. She says she's gotten into fancy things lately, so she'll come shopping in the capital and attend the Autumn Ball. When the countess comes, let's go meet her too, Ibi."
"Wow!"
Excited at the thought of meeting a hero straight out of old tales, Ibi clapped.
It would surely be a fun Autumn Ball.
