CICN 44

Chapter 44

Inside the box was the handkerchief I had given to Professor Sian.

‘It really was from him!’

Only then could I truly believe that the gift was meant for me. Carefully folding the handkerchief, Ibi tucked it into her pocket and hugged the gift box tightly to her chest.

‘I need to open it in my room.’

The ribbon was made of a beautifully colored fabric.

If she untied it gently, she could probably use it to tie her hair later.

The wrapping paper was just as lovely.

Red paper with patterns so pretty and fragrant that she felt she could stare at it all day and never get tired.

She would carefully remove that too, fold it nicely, and keep it.

Unable to contain her joy, Ibi climbed the stairs.

‘I wonder what he sent me?’

Anything would have been fine. Even if it were just a single sheet of paper, she would have been delighted.

The simple fact that someone had thought of her and sent her something in such a beautiful wrapping was already more than enough to make her happy.

She was about to hurry up to her room when—

“Hey, you there.”

Someone blocked Ibi’s path.

When she looked up, a few students stood in front of her, wearing luxurious shawls over their school uniforms.

They looked to be around 13 or 14 years old.

It was obvious to anyone that they were daughters of wealthy and noble families.

Feeling their unfriendly stares, Ibi quickly bowed her head.

One of the girls, with red hair, lifted her chin and spoke.

“That gift—are you sure it was really meant for you?”

“What?”

Ibi blinked, startled by the unexpected question, and the girl continued.

“I was just wondering, you see. It’s curious that a girl from an orphanage with a guardian would receive such a nice gift. It made me think, maybe it was meant for someone else and got delivered to you by mistake. Or maybe…”

The girl gave a soft, mocking laugh.

“Maybe you’re just pretending to have received something out of embarrassment because no one gave you anything.”

Ibi couldn’t even understand what they were talking about.

Then another girl standing beside her chimed in.

“Lady Izriella is right. Honestly, I thought it was strange too when her name was called.”

“Right? I thought the same.”

Izriella.

At the mention of the name, Ibi froze.

Just like Arsel and Lusca were famous among the boys, there were girls who were highly admired among the female students.

First and foremost, of course, was Irene.

Girls flocked to her like clouds wherever she went.

But Irene wasn’t the only popular one.

‘I’ve heard Lady Izriella’s name every day too.’

She was said to be the granddaughter of an ancient noble family with an estate in the central region.

A family that had existed since the founding of the kingdom and possessed the most fertile lands in the center.

For someone like that to suddenly stop her and question whether the gift was really hers—it was not a good situation.

Izriella sneered at the frozen Ibi.

‘So this is Irene’s roommate.’

At the thought of Irene, the corners of Izriella’s lips twisted.

Until last year, she had been the darling of the young social scene in the capital.

But ever since Irene arrived from the South for a short visit, all the attention had shifted to her.

Since then, everyone talked only about Irene.

Even her own parents, instead of comforting the disappointed Izriella, urged her to befriend Irene.

It had been the same when she entered the gifted academy this year.

“Make sure to get along with Lady Irene. You need to lower yourself to her.”

So when she first met Irene, she acted friendly and greeted her warmly.

But her twisted feelings never really went away.

So when she heard about Irene’s roommate, she feigned concern but mocked her behind her back.

“Her roommate is some lowborn girl, right? Aren’t you worried? What if she sneaks into the room when Lady Irene isn’t there and steals something?”

She had seen Irene’s eyes narrow sharply at those words.

That moment had been satisfying.

But from the next day on, Irene openly ignored Izriella.

“Lady Izriella, that ribbon…”

“Oh, you have good eyes. It’s a gift from my brother. Isn’t it lovely?”

“I see…”

And then, as if to be heard by everyone around, Irene muttered with a pitying expression:

“That color went out of fashion in the South ages ago…”

That had only been the beginning.

Irene acted as if she weren’t interested in conversation at all.

But whenever Izriella tried to boast about something, Irene would always turn it into something trivial.

Eventually, Izriella withdrew from Irene’s circle.

Since then, all she could think about was how to humiliate Irene.

But she couldn’t find a way.

There was nothing—no avenue by which she could outdo Irene.

So she decided to target the one thing that Irene had reacted most strongly to.

‘This kid must be the reason Irene felt ashamed.’

That must be why she glared when I mentioned the girl.

She couldn’t attack Irene directly. So she would annoy her by targeting someone weaker.

And just then, she saw Ibi receiving a gift.

Her so-called guardian was an unknown professor no one had even seen.

Probably just a name the academy staff filled in out of pity.

‘Ridiculous. Who would bother sending a gift to a nobody orphan like her?’

She was sure the girl was pretending to have received a gift so she wouldn’t feel left out.

Even if that wasn’t the case, it didn’t matter.

What could this girl possibly say to her?

At worst, she would just mutter something like “It’s mine” and that would be the end of it.

“If that gift is really yours, then open it here and now.”

“But…”

Ibi hesitated at the commanding tone.

This was the first gift that had been meant just for her.

She wanted to take it to her room and open it carefully.

Now they wanted her to open it right here?

“What’s the delay? Are you lying and pretending you got something?”

“No, I’m not!”

The thought had never even crossed her mind.

“Then open it here. Let’s see what this ‘guardian’ of yours sent that’s so impressive.”

Pushed by Izriella’s words, Ibi slowly set the box down.

‘It’ll be okay if I unwrap it carefully.’

Thinking that, Ibi gently began untying the ribbon.

By then, the commotion had drawn a crowd of students.

“What’s going on?”

“I’m not sure. I think that gift might not actually be hers?”

As Ibi reached for the wrapping paper, Izriella stepped forward impatiently.

“Why are you taking so long? Just give it here. Do I have to do everything myself?”

She roughly snatched the gift Ibi had been hugging.

“Give it back!”

But Izriella ignored her and shoved Ibi hard.

“Ah!”

Ibi’s small body toppled backward without resistance.

Rip!

Izriella tore open the wrapping paper that Ibi had treated so carefully.

Then she opened the wooden box inside and flipped it over.

Thunk!

A wrapped item tumbled out, the cloth peeling slightly to reveal something.

It looked like a sphere made of opaque glass.

Izriella picked it up.

It was the size of a grown adult’s fist.

“What is this?”

She said with a sneer.

“Just as I thought. Stuffed a rock in a box and pretended it was something special. How shameless.”

Then, deliberately, she looked toward Irene, who was watching with a stiff expression.

“Lady Irene, this girl is your roommate, isn’t she? Honestly, how could you end up in the same room with someone like this… If it were me, I’d file a formal complaint with the academy.”

Then, as if even holding the rock disgusted her, she prepared to throw it away.

“No! Please give it back!”

Ibi rushed forward and caught the stone just as it was about to fall from her hand.

“…?”

But the moment she caught it, she felt something strange.

‘It’s warm?’

She had thought it was just a cold stone, but the moment she touched it, warmth spread through her hands.

And then—

“Oh!”

A surprised voice rose from the crowd.

The stone in Ibi’s hands had begun to emit a faint glow.

“That’s a mana stone!”

Someone shouted, and the lobby instantly erupted into chaos.