🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 11
“Think positively! Because of you, all of us have become members of the After-School Scripture Copying Club.”
At that moment, Owen spoke with a playful grin.
“Just be quiet.”
Genevieve replied in a tired voice.
As if proving that blood wasn’t always thicker than water, Owen disappeared immediately afterward. Unlike him, James and Blanca accompanied Genevieve all the way to the building that housed Thompson’s office. The old two-story building, located not far from the temple, was covered in ivy.
“I absolutely can’t go inside. My hair isn’t tied up right now…”
“My tie is the problem.”
“The fact that you came this far is already enough. Hurry and leave before Thompson sees you.”
All of them had been victims of Thompson’s dress code rules, which weren’t even written in the school regulations. Thompson expected students to somehow figure out his vague standards on their own and follow them.
“Your hair came loose.”
Blanca fixed Genevieve’s hair with her own hairpin.
“Just remember that everything Tommy says is complete nonsense~”
“Got it.”
Leaving her friends behind, Genevieve entered the building and checked her reflection in the window once more. It was her final inspection before entering the office.
This should be enough.
On the first day, she had worn her hair half-tied, but Thompson had criticized even that as untidy.
Since then, Genevieve had tried several hairstyles, but each one had only earned her more than thirty minutes of nagging. Today she had chosen a neat ponytail, so she believed that even Thompson wouldn’t be able to find fault with it.
She brushed the dust off her flats and straightened her crooked tie. After checking the condition of her uniform one last time, she opened the door to Thompson’s office.
“O Goddess Isis, please save this ignorant and foolish lamb.”
The moment she opened the door, she was greeted by the strong scent of incense and Thompson’s sigh.
The instant he saw Genevieve, he began reciting what he called a “prayer for ignorant sheep.”
“…Hello.”
Even greeting him politely felt exhausting. Thinking that she only had to endure a few more days, Genevieve opened the scripture prepared for her.
Over the past three days, she had copied more than a hundred pages without making a single mistake.
Thompson didn’t even blink.
“A student without humility. Tsk, tsk.”
He muttered loudly enough for her to hear.
It would be nice if he’d just quietly do his own work.
Thompson constantly watched Genevieve, always searching for something to criticize.
“That’s quite a flashy hair accessory.”
He sneered.
“…”
She had worn a similar hairpin a few days ago. He hadn’t said anything then.
Genevieve silently apologized and removed the hairpin, stuffing it into her pocket just as he wanted.
Tommy? No. Dungson suits him better.
Genevieve continued cursing him in her mind.
Only two more days.
She did her best to let everything Thompson said go in one ear and out the other.
I’m dying…
Genevieve rubbed her cramped right hand.
Feeling somewhat proud, she showed her completed work to Thompson.
As usual, he simply told her to come back tomorrow.
“Day four of scripture copying! How do you feel?”
The moment Genevieve arrived at the dormitory, Owen asked.
“…It’s the worst.”
The students who had finished dinner were busy with their own activities in the lounge.
Unlike the weekend, when everyone mostly played around, weekdays had a much more studious atmosphere.
“But what are you doing?”
“We’re going to Myon Academy next month, right? Professor Sally asked me to organize the list of participants.”
“It’s already May…”
The five schools belonging to the Pine Tree Circle each hosted one event to encourage interaction between students.
Saint John’s College’s Autumn Hunting Competition.
Myon Academy’s Summer Sports Festival.
Presvan Academy’s Academic Conference.
Relta Military Academy’s Spring Hunting Competition.
Wood College’s Winter Sports Festival.
Among them, the most popular were Saint John’s College’s hunting competition and Myon Academy’s summer festival.
Since they were famous throughout the continent, they were also rare opportunities to build connections with nobles from many different regions.
Myon Academy hosted its summer festival in May.
Rowing, tennis, fencing, archery, yachting, and polo.
The competition consisted of six events and lasted for an entire week.
Unlike the hunting competition, which was equally popular, the sports festival was especially beloved because of summer itself.
Myon Academy was famous for its magical summer skies, always clear and free of clouds.
“Are you competing again this year?”
“No. I’ll just be cheering this time.”
Genevieve wasn’t participating because of the injury she had suffered after falling from her horse during last year’s competition.
She hadn’t planned on becoming an athlete anyway, so she didn’t feel much disappointment.
The truly exhausting part had been persuading her parents not to ban her from horseback riding.
Polo remained one of her favorite hobbies.
“What about you guys? You’re going too, right?”
“I’m participating in rowing.”
James answered simply.
Then again, asking the captain of the rowing club whether he was going was practically asking a question with an obvious answer.
“I’m finally going home, so there’s no reason to refuse. Last time I almost died because I missed the application deadline.”
Blanca immediately spoke up after James finished.
Because the event was so popular, students could attend Myon Academy as spectators simply by applying.
“…That was a close one.”
Genevieve recalled the incident.
“If it weren’t for you, I would’ve been stuck here at the college all alone. My friend, thanks to you, I survived. By the way, you probably never got to properly enjoy it because you were always busy competing.”
Blanca smoothly slipped into Myon language between her sentences before suddenly realizing something important.
Saint John’s College’s women’s polo club was famous for its outstanding performance.
As a result, whenever Genevieve went to Myon Academy, she usually competed until the final day.
“It’s a good thing you can finally enjoy it now. You can just wander around with me.”
Blanca confidently declared that she would show Genevieve everything she had missed in Myon over the years.
When club activity time arrived, the friends split up.
James left for rowing practice.
Blanca and Owen went to their club room to finish the school newspaper.
Settling into a corner of the dormitory lounge, Genevieve looked through the fencing participant list.
“…Edward isn’t here.”
She muttered while examining the list.
In the novel, Edward had shown exceptional talent in fencing.
Because of his independent personality, he shined more in individual events than team competitions.
After winning his first fencing championship, he had suddenly become a rising star.
At first, Genevieve wondered if he had simply been eliminated during the preliminary rounds because his skills weren’t good enough in the past.
However, since his name wasn’t even on the fencing club roster, it seemed he had only joined during his third year.
Until his second year, he had probably been unable to participate because of the bullying.
Only after being named Crown Prince had he finally been able to show his talent.
The scene where he gave the heroine the award was memorable too.
To comfort the heroine, who was suffering from obvious bullying, Edward publicly gave her the brooch he had received for winning the championship.
To the heroine, it felt like kindness.
In reality, it had been a subtle warning to the male lead that the heroine belonged to him and should not be touched.
There had been a time when Genevieve loved scenes like that while reading.
The real villain might actually be him.
Genevieve thought while looking at the printed portrait of Charles Collins.
Even if Charles acts like a third-rate villain… isn’t Edward worse when it comes to personality?
A sigh escaped her lips.
Would things have been different if she had learned Edward’s identity sooner?
Genevieve repeatedly bumped her head against the wall she was leaning on.
“…?”
Then suddenly, the hard wall became soft.
Surprised by the unfamiliar sensation, she looked up.
Edward was standing there.
He had placed his hand between her head and the wall.
“You’ll get hurt if you do that.”
Edward gently moved Genevieve’s head away from the wall.
“Did something happen?”
Something certainly had happened.
It was standing right in front of her.
She just couldn’t say it.
“Nothing happened.”
“…”
Sometimes Edward stared at Genevieve so intently that she couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
Just like now.
Until recently, Genevieve had comfortably lived her life believing she was less important than a fallen leaf on the side of the road.
Whenever Edward looked at her like this, she felt as if she had become one of the novel’s main characters.
Alarm bells rang loudly in her head.
“…Do you want to sit down? I’ll move these.”
Feeling embarrassed, Genevieve quickly gathered the participant lists scattered across the table.
Edward obediently sat in the space she made for him.
“What is this?”
“The fencing participant list. We’re going to Myon Academy next month, right? A professor asked me to organize it.”
“Are you going too, Senior?”
“Me? Of course. Just as a spectator this time. What about you?”
Edward, who had been placing the books he brought onto the table, hesitated briefly.
Then he shook his head.
“…I missed the application deadline.”
“Ah…”
A short sigh escaped Genevieve.
She wanted to ask whether he had ever participated in any of the other events.
But she barely managed to stop herself.
There was no reason to make the atmosphere awkward.
“Do you want to go?”
“…What?”
“The summer festival.”
Genevieve asked with a surprisingly serious expression.
Edward hesitated for a moment before quietly answering.
“…Yes.”
“Then there’s a way.”
She flipped through several pages of the documents she was holding.
For team events, the teams had already been finalized at the beginning of the year, so new members couldn’t be added.
However, for individual events, participant lists could be changed freely until departure.
Furthermore, school representatives were automatically registered through Saint John’s College, even without submitting a separate application to the Myon Empire.
For individual events especially, there was no application deadline because participants could be changed at any time.
It was one of the few loopholes that existed at Saint John’s College.
“Edward.”
“Yes?”
“Edward, do you know how to fence?”
And so, Genevieve asked a question she already knew the answer to.
