Chapter 82: The Mirror Between the Glass
Acrea added, folding the top of the bag. Enzhe sighed, her face contorted with disgust as if she had been reminded of something unpleasant.
“Ugh, I hate those things. Insects.”
Sue couldn’t keep up with the grand duke trio’s deep discussion about cockroaches.
Her mouth felt dry as she imagined a headless cockroach wriggling around, and she shook her head.
“Sue, sit here.”
Suddenly, Melaine stood up and patted an empty chair. There were only two chairs at the table in the gazebo, so Sue had been standing. It wasn’t like she had been standing for a long time, or that her legs hurt. She stared at Melaine, dumbfounded by her unexpected behavior.
“I said, sit.”
Melaine pulled out the chair, her voice laced with annoyance. Sue reluctantly sat down.
“Vava is so considerate.”
Fritz praised Melaine, as if she had done something amazing. Enzhe, sitting across from Sue, observed her silently. Sue averted her gaze.
She had been feeling a little uneasy since earlier. She had been caught chatting happily with Fritz and Acrea. She was expecting to be scolded.
“Sue, I’m glad you’re having fun.”
But Enzhe praised her sincerely, her voice devoid of any sarcasm or malice. It was natural for her to put on a show in front of Fritz, but this was different.
‘What is this?’
She felt a strange, unpleasant dissonance. But Sue couldn’t figure out what it was, and she spent the rest of her break with them, feeling like she was floating on a cloud.
***
[Come to the glass garden behind the sixth-year building at 7 a.m. on the day of the closing ceremony. I’ll tell you everything.]
Three days ago, Sue had received a letter. It was a folded piece of paper, without an envelope, delivered by a servant. The name ‘Raines Noel Delpheman’ was written at the top in a stiff, unadorned script. It was a suspicious letter, without a family seal, just like the one before.
Was it really from Noel?
Sue sat at her desk, staring at the single sentence for a long time. But it was strange that she was even wondering if it was really from Raines Noel. If it wasn’t him, then who would send such a prank letter?
“…Don’t tell me…”
Sue folded the letter again. And she folded away her meaningless speculation. She took a deep breath.
All she could do was either get swept away by this strange dissonance or meet with Raines Noel and listen to what he had to say.
She thought about what Noel had said at the Imperial Family Visit, then opened a drawer and took out a new piece of stationery. She picked up a quill and wrote a reply to Raines without hesitation.
[What the hell?]
It was the one question she had always wanted to ask him. She didn’t expect a reply. It was just a brief expression of her feelings.
“Miss, I brought you some cocoa.”
Nine knocked softly and entered the room. The scent of rich chocolate filled the air. As Nine was about to leave, placing the mug on the desk, Sue suddenly asked,
“Nine, do you know anything about the Noel count family?”
“The Noel count family?”
Nine raised an eyebrow and tilted her head, surprised by the sudden question. She couldn’t think of anything and muttered, clutching the tray,
“Um… Count Noel is the chief mage of the Imperial Magic Division. I know their family has a long history of healing magic… And a strong tradition. Ah, and there’s Sir Leo Noel and Sir Raines Noel, whom you’re acquainted with. But why do you ask?”
“It’s nothing.”
Sue picked up the mug with both hands. She felt a pleasant warmth, a welcome contrast to the cold winter air.
“Should I have someone investigate them?”
Sue hesitated at Nine’s words. Then, seeing her serious expression, she chuckled, her strength draining away. Investigating someone behind their back was something ‘Sue’ would do. She shook her head and replied,
“No, it’s not that important.”
People usually don’t secretly investigate their ‘friends’.
“…Sigh.”
To think I’m even thinking about this… I guess I still want to be ‘friends’ with him.
***
Sue bundled herself up in a thick navy blue coat and scarf and got into the carriage. The sky was overcast, and snowflakes fell from the heavy clouds. It was the first snow.
The winter in the water empire of Atlantis was no different from the winters she had experienced in her previous life. All life slumbered, and a white blanket covered the bare branches and dead leaves.
Sue ignored Ten’s protests and opened the carriage window. The frosted glass obscured the view, but she could see the world outside, covered in white snow. It was still very early in the morning, but the citizens of the capital were already bustling about.
The carriage rattled along, its wheels crunching on the snow. Sue arrived at the academy, tightened her scarf, and accepted a pair of fur gloves from Ten.
It was the day of the closing ceremony, but it was so early that the area around the carriage was deserted.
Sue turned towards the glass garden, leaving Ten and the coachman behind. She exhaled, her breath forming a white cloud. Her nose tingled from the cold, and she buried her face in her scarf. She shoved her hands into her coat pockets and walked towards the glass garden.
The sidewalks had been cleared of snow, but the grass was covered in a thick layer of white. Sue hesitated for a moment, then stepped onto the grass.
“…Haha.”
The crunching sound of snow under her feet, the sensation, traveled up her legs. She felt a warmth spreading through her chest. Sue realized that she might be as childish as Fritz.
She continued walking, leaving her footprints in the snow.
“Lady Byron.”
A voice suddenly called out her name. She looked up and saw a figure she hadn’t seen in a while, staring at her impassively.
“Lady Vercia.”
Sue’s gaze fell on Vercia’s hair. Her long, curly hair had been cut short, barely reaching her shoulders. And her usually flawless face was flushed red from the cold.
“You’re here early.”
“Yes, well…”
Sue stepped off the grass and replied curtly.
“You’re here early too.”
Vercia smiled and retorted,
“I have things to do. As a Skia of the empire.”
She said it matter-of-factly, without a hint of arrogance. She was much calmer than when she had openly hated Sue. It was as if her hatred had completely vanished.
Sue averted her gaze and nodded, trying to appear indifferent. She was glad that half her face was hidden by her scarf.
“Where are you going, Lady Byron?”
Sue was a little puzzled. She should be the one asking that question. Because it was Vercia who was walking away from the sixth-year building.
“I’m going to the classroom.”
She didn’t question her and just gave a vague answer, laced with a lie. But Vercia smiled, a hint of mockery in her eyes.
“I see. I hope to see you in the classroom later.”
She left those words behind and walked past Sue, disappearing into the fog.
Sue stood there for a moment, catching her breath. The wind picked up, sending snowflakes swirling around her. Her hands tingled inside her pockets.
***
There was a small alley behind the glass garden, awkwardly sandwiched between the sixth-year building and the greenhouse. Sue arrived at the designated spot and squatted down, waiting for Noel. It was even colder here, without the sunlight.
She wrapped her arms around herself and slowly opened the door to her forgotten memories.
‘Sue’ had hated Raines Noel Delpheman. Because she had been annoyed by the fact that he was popular with the other students, even though he was just ‘the son of a mere count’. It had been unbearable to see him being the only one in the Black Eagle Class who was respected as a Skia.
Someone like him needs to be taught a lesson by Lady Enzhe.
She had thought that many times. He wasn’t a particularly diligent person, but he wasn’t the type to slack off to the point of jeopardizing his promotion. He had only started skipping the academy and Knights training after the spring semester of their sixth year.
But she had just been annoyed by him, nothing more. So that was all she remembered about him, and even those memories were vague.
Ironically, even now, after becoming his ‘friend’, she didn’t really know anything about him. No, she knew even less. All she knew was that he was good at studying, he was skilled at swordsmanship, and he liked trees.
But there were so many things she was curious about.
Why he had lied about liking Enzhe, why he hadn’t condemned her for beating up Vercia, why he had told her not to meet Leo, what his relationship with the Lopetrefer family was.
But then, she thought,
Do I really want to hear ‘everything’ from Noel?
Am I even curious about those things?
Why was she so entangled with Raines Noel Delpheman? Because of Leo? Because of Enzhe? Or was there a more fundamental reason? Or was it because she had greeted him at Lake Libra that day?
Why had she decided to talk to him when she had run into him at the park? Why had she wanted to cheer him on, even though he liked Enzhe?
In the end, it was Sue Byron who was pathetic.
She just wanted to maintain her ‘friendship’ with Noel, somehow.
Even though he knew what she had done.
She had regretted lashing out at him because she had been afraid that he would never speak to her again.
She shouldn’t have parted ways with Leo like that either.
She should have just kept pretending to be a good person, hiding her true self.
Sue Byron craved kindness.
That was why she had come, no matter who the sender of the letter was.