CICN 40

Chapter 40

“Yaaawn…”

Evy rubbed her eyes and let out a small yawn.

She had stayed up late last night reviewing everything she had learned from Professor Malles.

Because of that, she was a bit tired, but she still felt good.

‘Yesterday was really fun.’

First of all, Professor Malles’ class had been incredibly enjoyable.

Contrary to his intimidating appearance, he kindly explained the parts Evy struggled with in great detail.

Even when she didn’t understand and asked again, he didn’t get angry. Instead, he’d laugh and say, “Oh dear, did I explain it too difficultly?” before explaining it once more.

‘He’s such a kind professor.’

She couldn’t believe she had the good fortune of meeting such a great teacher.

The second thing that made her happy was the conversation she had with Arcel and Ruska.

Until the next class started, the three of them had chatted the whole time.

Not only did they come back to talk to her, they also asked what classes she was taking and suggested taking them together.

Before they knew it, they were talking about all sorts of things.

It wasn’t anything special—just casual talk about life in the Academy, whether anything was hard, things like that.

Ruska sighed, saying he had already broken curfew twice and received a bunch of demerits.

Arcel smirked and teased that if Ruska got expelled, the Marquis of Ragselv would throw him into a pond.

‘He says they’re friends, but…’

Arcel nagged at Ruska a lot, but he still seemed very comfortable around him.

‘I envy that.’

It must be fun to go everywhere every day with a best friend like that.

Shortly after Evy stepped out and closed the door—

“…”

Irene quietly followed her out.

Evy headed to the garden first.

The gardeners were already up early preparing flowers to decorate various parts of the Academy.

When she entered, they greeted her warmly, as they had become accustomed to seeing her.

“Hello, Evy. Here for some flowers? We’ve prepared them for you.”

Now they handed her neatly arranged, fresh flowers.

In the beginning, they had given her leftover ones, but now the ones in Evy’s arms were all fresh and undamaged.

Realizing this, Evy bowed her head with a grateful smile.

“Thank you so much!”

After giving her thanks, Evy walked toward the dining hall, flowers in her arms.

As soon as she stepped inside, she was surrounded by the savory smell of freshly baked bread, along with the scents of vegetable soup and omelets.

A bright smile bloomed on Evy’s face again.

Ever since coming to the Academy, everything had been wonderful.

Clean, new clothes. Plenty of ink, notebooks, and pens.

And her very own bed—with a soft, warm mattress and blankets, not something stuffed with straw.

That alone made Evy feel like she had become a princess from a fairy tale.

But more than anything, what made her happiest was mealtime.

At the orphanage, meals were always divided fairly—but that meant they were always lacking.

Even if she ate every drop of the watery soup, her stomach would feel empty the moment she returned her tray.

On days she went to clean the upper-grade schools, the cafeteria workers there would give her all the leftover bread.

How many times had she agonized over whether to sneak a piece on her way back?

Of course, she always thought of her friends and never took a bite.

Sometimes, after playing excitedly with her friends, she’d eat dinner too quickly and feel incredibly hungry before bed.

On such nights, she had no choice but to drink water and go to sleep…

‘Here, I can eat as much as I want.’

There were dozens of kinds of bread. Just as many varieties of ham, cheese, salad, and even fruit.

Milk and juice were stacked high, and there were jams with the names of fruits she’d never even heard of. Dinner was even more extravagant.

‘There was so much meat.’

She remembered the first proper dinner she had at the Academy.

Not only soup and salad, but dishes she had never seen before filled the table.

And when she received a steak, Evy had just sat there staring blankly with a fork and knife in her hands.

‘I get to eat all of this by myself?’

At the orphanage, the only day they ever had meat was once a month, when the butcher brought over leftover scraps.

Even then, they couldn’t grill it—it was always made into stew.

After meals, the kids would brag about how many pieces of meat they got in their stew.

The most Evy had ever gotten was five.

She had bragged about it to the others for a whole month. But now, she could eat a huge steak all by herself.

And if she wasn’t full, they’d even give her more.

It wasn’t just meals. If she came to the dining hall between mealtimes, there were always tea and snacks laid out.

On the first day, she had learned she could eat as much as she wanted and ended up eating five cookies by herself—making her belly stick out.

“Evy, you’re here.”

“Good morning!”

“Mushroom omelet again today?”

“Yes, please!”

She greeted the staff she had grown familiar with and quickly began piling food onto her plate.

Toasted, crispy bread with butter and jam, ham and cheese, and a fluffy omelet filled with mushrooms and cheese.

She stacked so much on her tray that her arms trembled from the weight—plus she was still carrying the flowers.

Evy rushed to the nearest table and carefully set down the tray and flowers.

“Phew, so heavy.”

As she rubbed her sore arms, she looked around. Aside from the staff arranging the bread and food, there were hardly any other students around.

She had come out earlier than anyone else.

Not because she was particularly hungry. She had actually wanted to sleep in after studying late.

But Evy had a reason to come to the dining hall earlier than anyone else.

‘Everyone feels awkward around me.’

Whenever she entered the dining hall, students would whisper and glance at her.

They always looked wary, as if afraid she’d sit near them.

So Evy chose to either eat very early or be the last one to eat.

‘It’s better to eat early in the morning.’

That way she wouldn’t be late to class. On the other hand, she usually ate dinner at the very end.

It wasn’t particularly sad or upsetting.

‘I’m used to it.’

She had already experienced this before—so it didn’t really hurt anymore.

Still, when eating alone in the quiet dining hall, she sometimes felt a little lonely.

‘I miss my friends.’

She remembered the noisy mealtimes at the orphanage.

There wasn’t much food, but everyone ate together and chatted at the same time.

Just as she was reminiscing about those noisy, cheerful times and poking her omelet with a fork—

“Can I sit here?”

A sudden voice made her lift her head in surprise.

Her eyes widened.

It was Irene standing in front of her.

“A-Ah, Lady Irene…?”

Irene slightly furrowed her brow at that.

“I’d prefer if you just called me Irene. Anyway, is it okay if I sit here?”

“Ah, yes! Yes, please!”

Startled by her sharp tone, Evy quickly nodded and gestured for her to sit.

Irene sat gracefully, her posture elegant and quiet.

Evy looked at her nervously.

The delicious smell of bread that had made her mouth water earlier was now gone.

‘Why? Why is she here?’

Her mind was filled with question marks.

It was still early. Of course, there was no reason Irene couldn’t eat at this hour.

But choosing to sit right across from her in this huge dining hall… anyone could tell it was intentional.

Her hands trembled from the tension.

Why had Irene come here at this hour just to sit across from her?

‘Those two days we spent together were fun…’

But now, even though they shared a room, it was hard to even see her face. There wasn’t much Evy could do.

And if she, unfamiliar with noble etiquette, made a mistake—what would she do then?

So, Evy had simply placed the flowers she’d received that morning into the vase by the entrance.

On days with math class, she’d also bring one for the professor’s desk.

‘I haven’t done anything else…’

Maybe Irene had found that unpleasant?

Just then, Irene spoke.

“Aren’t you eating? Do you not like omelets?”

“N-no! I love them! Thank you for the meal!”

Evy quickly stuffed the omelet into her mouth.

Irene quietly watched her as she chewed.

Her eyes fixed on Evy’s small mouth as she nibbled on the food, and Irene bit her own lip.

Watching her, Irene thought:

‘She really is too small. And cute…’

She remembered the first time she ever saw Evy.