CH 55

༺ The First Letter (55) ༻

The second year at the academy was known to be a vibrant period and it was thanks to that that I could have some leisure time after finishing school. 

In my first year, I was ignorant and was toughened by my encounters with some seniors. However, after a year or so, I had adjusted to life in the infamous academy, and I also didn’t have the responsibilities of those in the upper grades. 

It was the period of time where I focused on having fun. When I left my room, I saw a lot of friends who lived within 10 minutes of one another. It was obvious what these young men were doing. 

They were hanging out, drinking, planning trips, going downtown and relaxing.

Anyway, as long as it was fun, I would do anything. It was around this time that cliques would form from the frequent gatherings and that they would also partake in academy life in the future. 

That was why friendship was so important. Thus, the speed at which rumors spread between the second years was hastened.

Someone in the faculty said that the relationship between people who looked to be getting along well was actually awkward. 

At first glance, the information seemed trivial, but it was of utmost importance for the second-year students of the academy. One of the main reasons for attending the academy were connections.

While graduating ensured a stable job, connections would ensure success and honor. It was natural that an academy which gathered talented people from all over the country would produce the most outstanding people each year.

In order to properly utilize the framework of solid academic ties, it was most important to form personal connections.

Sometimes, there were students who were not particularly sociable, such as ‘Yurdina’s bastard’, but other than that, most of the academy students were socially active.

The monthly ball also consisted of such activities. The aristocrats recruited political allies and talented people while the commoners formed friendships with the aristocrats that they never could outside of the academy.

In order to secure the chain of such a complex human relationship, even trivial information couldn’t be missed. Although they were only students, they were not ignorant of the framework of society.

That was why there was a rumor that everyone in the second year of the academy knew about.

That the two popular girls of the Knight’s Faculty, Celine Haster and Seria Yurdina, were not on good terms.

The reason was obvious. Despite Celine’s beautiful appearance, she had never been in a relationship. Contrary to her lively personality and foxy tone, she was surprisingly single-minded.

It was also well-known who the target was. The protagonist of that romance was Ian Percus, a man who had recently emerged as the hottest topic in the academy.

There was a reason why Ian had a good appearance but never received a confession from Celine. It was because she didn’t feel the need to push for it, since she openly kept him in check.

Celine was as good in relationships as she was in her looks. There was no reason to oppose her, who had her own influence in the society of women.

This was the same for high-ranking aristocrats. Would a young lady from a high-ranking family mingle with a lower-ranking family to seduce a lower-ranking aristocrat?

Even if she did, she would be humiliated no matter what the result was. High-ranking aristocrats should only mingle with others on par with their status and Ian Percus wasn’t included in this rank until recently.

However, no matter how broad and tight the chains of human relationships were, exceptions would always exist.

‘Yurdina’s bastard’, Seria Yurdina was the exception. She was someone who did not form any human relationships in the first place. She had no idea about Celine and Ian’s relationship.

But even if she knew, there was a high likelihood she wouldn’t have cared much about it. After all, their relationship started from pure admiration.

But as time passed by, Seria began to follow Ian around, and it was natural that Celine’s judgment would be distorted.

Recently, Celine’s confrontations with Seria had become more obvious ever since the strange rumors between Seria and Ian spread.

Everyone would have no choice but to think like this if they saw the cold poker-faced woman standing in front of Ian and smiling brightly.

‘Oh, this is a massive problem.’

It was like having two butterflies share a flower. It was a common but also uncommon story, yet everyone already knew how it would end.

A cat fight was about to begin.

Celine and Seria, who were both in a close relationship with Ian, would start to feel uncomfortable because of the spread of those rumors.

The rumors about Delphine Yurdina and Ian Percus.

The rumors said that Ian had seen Delphine naked, but as with all widespread rumors, speculation about the situation varied.

Among them was the rumor about Ian being Delphine’s boytoy. It was the rumor that made Elsie Rinella get into trouble but there were a lot of people who supported that hypothesis for a singular reason.

As a noblewoman, it was assumed that she would try to find an excuse as it was a fatal disgrace.

Of course, it was just a rumor, but hearing that rumor would turn Celine and Seria’s faces cold.

Because of that, the second years of the Knight’s Faculty always felt like they were walking on thin ice.

Celine showed off that she was in a bad mood. She would still look cheerful during a conversation, but that was all.

It was clear from the gloomy atmosphere that she was depressed.

Seria was also the same. She still maintained an expressionless face, but her brilliant aquamarine eyes began to change.

Her cold eyes and the way she silently wielded her sword was to the point where not even a slight hint of life could be seen. Everyone could see that Seria’s mood seemed to be the worst.

Celine and Seria were now ticking time bombs that could burst at any moment.

It was only a matter of who would light the spark and everyone in the second year of the Knight’s Faculty agreed that one of them would explode.

Then that day came.

Unlike the ‘Knight Training’ and ‘Knight Practice’ lectures that were joined by the second and third years, it was a mandatory lecture prepared only for the second years.

It was created so the second years could complete a definite amount of training, while for third years, allowed for more autonomy.

It was a mandatory course for the second grade of the Knight’s Faculty. Therefore, the two flowers of the Knight’s Faculty would inevitably encounter one another.

Celine and Seria, those two time bombs.

All the students who knew the situation held their breath upon their encounter. They seemed worried about the provocation that may occur between the two. However, the class was unexpectedly quiet.

Celine and Seria stared at each other. Celine snorted coldly and averted her eyes when their eyes met. Seria also glanced at Celine with indifferent eyes, then swung her sword again.

If things had continued like that, their encounter would have been without incident.

Then, a wooden sword landed next to Seria. It was a sword that came out of nowhere.

The atmosphere became chilly at once. Seria’s cold eyes turned to the stationary wooden sword. There was a woman standing with a pale complexion.

It looked like the sword bounced off while she was messing around, but still, it was a mistake even if it was unintentional. The person who made that mistake was also a problem.

She was one of the lower nobles who had humiliated Seria’s mother in the past, and one of the women who had stopped being threatened by Thean. 

“……So-Sorry! It slipped!”

Seeing Seria’s icy gaze, the woman cried out, wondering if she would be stabbed.

Even if she didn’t get hit, Seria was sensitive at the moment. There was a possibility she would become furious, especially because of what she had done in the past.

I heard someone swallowing dryly. The bystanders looked on nervously in fear that the bomb would finally explode. Seria glared at the woman for a moment without saying anything.

But after a moment, Seria let out an annoyed sigh.

“…..Apologize.”

“Wh-What?”

At Seria’s cold voice, the woman asked blankly. Then Seria’s eyes became even colder.

“If you’ve done something wrong, you should apologize.”

The woman’s body trembled hearing that stern tone as if she had been electrocuted. Her head began to nod strongly. From a glance, she looked servile.

However, it was an inevitable choice for her as she didn’t have the confidence to deal with Seria openly. It was a suicidal act to face Seria, who had both skills as well as the background of the Yurdina family.

Even more so when she was not in a good mood like now.

“Y-You’re right! I-I’m sorry… I’m a little bit clumsy……”

The woman approached Seria hesitantly, carefully picking up her wooden sword while looking into Seria’s eyes. Seria watched the woman as if she were a wolf glaring at a sheep with cold eyes.

After retrieving the wooden sword, the woman hurried away from Seria. Only then did Seria’s cold gaze stop. She turned back her gaze as if she wasn’t interested.

The woman let out a sigh of relief and the bystanders also did the same. The difference was that the latter contained dissatisfaction. 

It was a situation where someone should light a fire to end it. If it had to explode, at least it wasn’t them who caused it. It was a situation where they didn’t have a choice but to regret that the victim disappeared.

Still, it was a relief the situation could pass this smoothly. The bomb would explode someday, but today was not that day.

Everyone turned their attention back, when, at that moment.

“……off.”

Seria stopped swinging her sword. Her dark blue eyes slowly turned back.

There stood a beautiful girl who was holding a canteen and drinking water. Her black hair was neatly arranged behind her back and yellowish-brown eyes. 

Only then did the bystanders recall the existence of a bomb they had forgotten about. Right, there was more than one bomb. 

Celine Haster. She poured water from the canteen into her mouth a few more times, then spoke with a faint smile.

“Cool off… It was a mistake, why are you so bothered?”

She was also one of the leaders of a group of lower aristocrats in the second year.

That group happened to include the woman who had made a mistake involving Seria.