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Chapter 87
Arcel spoke calmly, but in truth, Irene’s heart was pounding.
“Ruska, that guy… he’s surprisingly good at a lot of things.”
Ruska was always saying, like a habit, that he wasn’t as good as Arcel.
But once exams drew near, he stopped saying that entirely and studied with a very serious attitude.
Seeing him like that made Irene uneasy, so she threw herself into studying even harder.
“Come to think of it… this idiot is still a student of the Academy for Gifted Students, right?”
So, of course, he couldn’t be truly stupid. But somehow, she always naturally thought of him as hopeless.
Well, with the way he acted, it couldn’t be helped.
“Even being ranked lower than Ruska would hurt my pride… but I must get into the top 35.”
When she checked the rulebook, she saw that starting from the second semester, many classes and activities would be split into groups of 35, based on ranking.
So if she fell below 35th place, she’d definitely end up separated from Evie.
“That’s a no! I’m keeping my roommate!”
Strangely, lately Ruska had been clinging closely to Evie.
And Evie also seemed to be getting along better with Ruska than before.
“It’s already painful enough dealing with Arcel.”
Arcel often handed books to Evie.
Irene herself had no problem ordering books from her family whenever she wanted.
But Arcel had a knack for choosing exactly the kinds of books Evie would love and gifting them at just the right moment.
If Irene were left out alone in such a situation…!
She glared at the envelope with her report card sitting on the table.
No matter what.
She would absolutely not fall below 35th place.
When the three of them solemnly placed their envelopes on the table, Evie too carefully took hers out and put it down.
Evie and Irene had just received their report cards from the girls’ dormitory and brought them to the cafeteria.
They had considered opening them right away, but their hearts were pounding too much. Instead, they agreed to eat breakfast first and open them afterward.
“I wonder what my rank is…”
Honestly, Evie wasn’t confident about this exam.
Right before the test, there had been the whole situation with Izriella, and then people’s attitudes toward her suddenly changed so drastically that it left her unsettled.
Placing her envelope down, Evie glanced around.
These days, everywhere she went, she felt people’s eyes on her. On purpose, she had chosen a seat in the corner of the cafeteria.
Even though there were sunny, pleasant seats open elsewhere, the surrounding tables were crowded with people.
They were all sneaking glances at the four envelopes on the table, straining to catch even a glimpse.
Whenever Evie made eye contact, some would give her an awkward smile… while others shamelessly waved.
Of course, all this change was because the news had spread that her guardian was the Emperor himself.
“I thought it would be fun if everyone welcomed me and liked me…”
But now that it was actually happening, it was only exhausting.
“I think I understand now why Irene always seemed unhappy when other students crowded around her.”
No matter where she went, people would come up to her, and it was more tiring than she’d imagined.
And since everyone was approaching with goodwill, she couldn’t simply push them away.
When someone particularly persistent caught her, it was a struggle just to cut the conversation short and leave.
“Still… at least when I’m with everyone else, people don’t approach recklessly.”
Perhaps because Irene and Arcel were intimidating, when the four of them were together, others seemed hesitant.
As Evie hesitated and glanced around, Arcel turned his head.
Immediately, those who had been staring at their table whipped their heads away as if they’d seen a ghost.
It was almost as if Arcel’s sharp gaze was saying, “Mind your own business.”
And today, Ruska joined in.
“Hey, isn’t it way too noisy around here? Weren’t the tables farther apart than this before?”
Speaking loudly enough for nearby students to hear, Ruska looked around.
Those who had deliberately dragged their tables and chairs closer reluctantly shuffled back to their original spots.
Now, being seated in the corner, their table was far enough away that no one else could peek at them.
Satisfied, both Ruska and Arcel turned their attention back to the table.
Finally, Ruska placed his envelope down and said,
“Alright, on three, let’s open them all at once. If anyone doesn’t want to, speak up now.”
The remaining three glanced at each other.
“Like hell! Why would I refuse?”
“Ruska, why is he so confident all of a sudden?”
Irene and Arcel both disliked how smug Ruska seemed, but neither was willing to back down.
“I’m fine with it,” Evie said brightly. For her, it was the first time comparing report cards with friends like this, so she was simply excited.
The others nodded in agreement.
They each picked up their envelopes, exchanging glances.
“One, two, three!”
At once, all four pulled out their report cards and laid them on the table.
“Oh my.”
“Wow!”
“Hm.”
“Yes!!”
Each let out a different exclamation, reflecting their own feelings.
Evie looked at her final ranking.
[Overall Rank: 2nd Place]
“That high! Same as when I entered!”
She had been so nervous, since people said the Academy’s tests would reveal one’s true ability.
Of course, she didn’t want to be separated from her friends, but she also had another reason to aim for high grades.
“I need to think about work after graduation too.”
She remembered again—just as she had during the charity gifts incident—why she came here in the first place.
To lighten the burden on the orphanage, even a little, and after graduating, to get a good job that would help support it.
To earn well, she needed excellent grades.
“Thank goodness.”
She had met so many kind people here, even caring professors. If her grades had been poor, she would have feared for her future.
“I can do this!”
Evie clenched her fist in determination.
Then curiosity about the others’ grades began to grow.
Before she could look, Irene—who sat beside her—suddenly hugged her tightly.
“Success! We’ll be able to keep taking classes together in the second semester!”
She pointed to her own report card on the table.
[Overall Rank: 16th Place]
An impressively high ranking among so many students.
Perhaps it was even higher than she’d expected, because Irene kept hugging Evie and rubbing her cheek against hers for quite some time.
Only after a while was Evie able to escape, her hair a mess—though Irene quickly pulled out a small comb from her bag and tidied it.
“No one’s curious about mine, I see,” Arcel said with a smile.
Evie stretched from her seat to look at his report card.
[Overall Rank: 1st Place]
It was the most natural result possible.
That left only one person.
The one who had been the most excited all along—Ruska.
“Hehehe…”
Ruska crossed his arms, leaned back with one leg over the other, and raised his chin smugly.
“Behold, the result of my genius.”
He spoke in an exaggeratedly boastful voice, as if completely drunk on his own self-importance.
“Seriously? The way you’re acting, people might think you’re first place,” Irene said, though her chest tightened with unease. Could this guy really have scored higher than her?
All three turned their eyes to his report card.
Bold letters marked the bottom:
[Overall Rank: 35th Place]
Just barely safe—one rank lower, and he would have been separated from the others next semester.
Seeing his results, Irene flipped her hair back proudly, mimicking his smugness.
“Well, in the end, I still beat you.”
That was all that mattered.
It would have been a disgrace to the Terrins family name if she had lost to this fool who spent all his time kicking balls around.
“Who cares. What matters is that I won’t be left out, and we’ll still be together. I need to send this report card home right away—my brothers will look up to me, saying the Terrins family has birthed a genius!”
Unable to hide his joy, Ruska slipped the report card back into its envelope, chuckling.
Then he turned to Evie.
“It’s all thanks to your help. So, since exams are over and vacation’s coming up soon… how about visiting my house?”
