Episode 69
[A friend?]
Startled by the vigorous knocking and Artius’s question, Elonia quickly replied,
“Ah, yes, I think so.”
[Then go and see who it is. I’m fine.]
Artius smiled gently.
Elonia chuckled softly.
“I’ll call you again later. Good night, Dad.”
[Alright. Sweet dreams, Elonia.]
Elonia ended the call and hurried to open the door.
“Sorry, Dianne. I was talking to my dad.”
“It’s okay, I didn’t wait long.”
“What’s up?”
“I want to sleep over again!”
Dianne often slept over at Elonia’s room.
It was a common occurrence, so Elonia readily let her in.
Dianne sat down on the guest sofa, and Elonia joined her.
An awkward silence fell between them, a stark contrast to their usual comfortable banter. They hadn’t been spending much time together lately.
Dianne, as if reading her mind, spoke first.
“It feels like it’s been a while.”
“Yes, it has.”
“Sorry, I’ve been really busy lately.”
“It’s okay, you have your own life.”
Elonia smiled, but her lips were stiff and unnatural.
“How are the assignments?”
“They’re fine. A lot of work, but manageable.”
“You’re amazing, as expected of the top student.”
“It’s nothing.”
Another awkward silence followed her curt reply.
If they had tea, it would ease the tension, but there were no maids or servants to serve them in the dormitory.
Dianne, unable to bear the silence any longer, finally spoke.
“…Elonia, I have something to apologize for.”
Apologize?
Elonia’s eyes widened.
Dianne, her face filled with anguish, took Elonia’s hand and tears welled up in her eyes.
“The truth is, I’ve been avoiding you.”
“…!”
“It’s not your fault at all! …You’re so talented and intelligent, even though you’re younger than me. I was jealous. And when you pointed out my mistake, I was so ashamed of myself, I felt so pathetic, that I couldn’t face you. I’m so sorry.”
“Dianne…”
Elonia would be lying if she said she didn’t feel betrayed.
But her guilt and concern for Dianne far outweighed her sense of betrayal.
“I’m truly sorry. It’s all because I’m so jealous, I…”
Dianne sobbed, tears streaming down her face.
Elonia, as always, was weak against a child’s tears.
They reminded her of Olivia and Simon when they were younger.
She wiped away Dianne’s tears with a handkerchief.
“Dianne, don’t cry.”
“Elonia…?”
Dianne looked up at her, her eyes filled with tears.
Elonia wasn’t good with words.
So she tried her best to express her feelings.
“I was worried too. I thought you were avoiding me, that I had embarrassed you… I’m sorry too. And thank you for apologizing, Dianne.”
“Elonia…”
“I want to stay friends with you.”
“Sob, Elonia!”
Dianne burst into tears, hugging Elonia tightly.
Elonia hugged her back, patting her back gently.
Dianne had indeed been avoiding her.
But she had apologized.
And that was enough for Elonia.
Dianne was a good friend after all.
Alberich and Llewellyn had been mistaken.
They hugged each other for a long time.
Elonia comforted Dianne, who was still crying, and they finally calmed down.
They raided the pantry for snacks and chatted, their comfortable banter restored.
As the night deepened, they got ready for bed.
Even after they were tucked into bed, they continued to chat, a small candle illuminating their faces.
“And then he said the only one who could stop him was His Majesty the Emperor! It was so funny.”
“Ahahaha, typical teenage boy.”
“You sound like an old woman, Elonia.”
“…I hear that a lot.”
Elonia chuckled awkwardly, knowing that she wasn’t exactly a child on the inside.
But it was getting late, and her eyelids were growing heavy.
Dianne, noticing her yawn, said softly,
“…Elonia.”
“Yes?”
“Even if it wasn’t Princess Olivia’s fault that the war happened, she’s still being mean to you. How can you not be angry at her?”
Elonia’s hand twitched at her question.
Dianne’s hand, holding hers, tightened, trembling slightly.
Elonia replied quietly,
“If we hate each other, the tragedy will only repeat itself.”
“Is that all?”
Dianne’s blue eyes, reflecting the candlelight, were sharp and intense.
She had thought revenge was satisfying when she killed Dolce.
She had understood the world’s reaction to Chelon Heilan’s death.
But children were innocent.
They deserved to grow up in peace.
Elonia revealed a secret she had kept hidden deep within her heart.
“…Actually, I like Princess Olivia.”
“What?”
Dianne was shocked.
Elonia smiled faintly, as if expecting her reaction.
“How can you say that? She’s the princess of the enemy nation. Heilan tried to kill you, even after losing the war.”
“Not anymore.”
“But still!”
“And we learned in Imperial History that while it’s true that Heilan attacked the palace after the war, they signed a treaty. But it’s practically a slave contract.”
Dianne fell silent.
Elonia closed her eyes and murmured,
“Princess Olivia didn’t do anything wrong. It’s not her fault that the war happened, that I almost died.”
“I don’t understand.”
“She’s just lashing out because she’s scared. I would probably do the same if I were sent to the enemy nation as a hostage… And she’s the only girl among all those hostages. She must be lonely, with no one to rely on.”
Right, that must be it.
When Olivia was very young,
In that country where women were treated worse than dogs, Olivia and Chelon, united by their shared status as princesses, had been each other’s only solace.
Elonia still remembered the warmth of those days.
Dianne, who had initially looked confused, gradually seemed to understand.
“I see. You’re so thoughtful, Elonia.”
“Stop overestimating me.”
“No, I mean it.”
Dianne smiled brightly.
Elonia, embarrassed, hid her blushing face under the blanket.
“Let’s go to sleep.”
“Huh? Are you shy?”
“I said, let’s go to sleep.”
“You have a childish side too?”
“Dianne!”
Dianne burst into laughter.
Her cheerful laughter slowly faded as she lay down.
“Good night, Elonia.”
“Good night, Dianne.”
Dianne blew out the candle.
Elonia felt like she would have sweet dreams tonight.
She closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep, oblivious to Dianne’s lingering gaze.
Monday arrived.
Elonia, feeling closer to Dianne than ever before, walked towards her classroom with a light heart, but when had the world ever cooperated with her?
“Apologize!”
“You should be the one apologizing! You bumped into me, and now you’re demanding an apology? How dare you!”
The moment she opened the classroom door, she was greeted by chaos.
Dianne’s friend was arguing with a red-haired girl.
The red-haired girl, who seemed to have started the fight, was covered in dirt, having been thrown to the ground several times.
The Lucid Academy uniform, unfortunately, was white and impractical, making the dirt even more noticeable.
The girl, unfazed, shouted,
“You were the one who insulted me! And you still— gasp…!”
“What? Why are you stopping, huh?”
The two girls froze, their gazes fixed on Elonia, who had just entered the classroom.
Elonia was the one who was flustered.
“Can’t you fight in front of me?”
She walked briskly towards them, stepping between them.
The red-haired girl, her eyes wide with panic, shook her head.
“T-that’s not it, Your Highness.”
“…Tsk.”
“H-hey, where are you going? Stop right there!”
Dianne’s friend, ignoring the red-haired girl’s shouts, returned to her seat.
Elonia sighed, then asked the red-haired girl,
“Are you okay?”
She reached out to dust off her dirty clothes, but the girl flinched, backing away.
“D-don’t touch me! You’ll get dirty!”
“…What?”
“I-I mean, not you, Your Highness, but my clothes… They’re dirty…”
“What does that matter—”
“Elonia!”
Dianne interrupted as the red-haired girl stammered out excuses.
“Elonia, are you hurt?”
“I’m fine, but she…”
“…!”
The red-haired girl flinched under Elonia’s gaze.
Dianne smirked, as if understanding the situation.
“Garnethia, what’s with this disgraceful behavior in front of Elonia?”
“…!”
The girl, addressed as Garnethia, blushed, her face as red as a tomato.
“Elonia, let’s go.”
“But her clothes…”
“Come on. It’s not worth our time.”
Dianne grabbed Elonia’s wrist and dragged her to their seats.
An awkward silence fell upon the classroom.
And to make matters worse, Caroline entered the room earlier than usual.
“Hmm? Why is the atmosphere so tense? Take your seats, everyone.”
Garnethia, her face buried in her hands, scurried back to her seat, looking like she was about to cry.
Elonia stared at Garnethia and Dianne’s friend.
‘Why were they fighting?’
It was the first time she had seen Magic Department students fighting like that.
And it seemed like it had escalated into a physical altercation.
It was an unsettling and ominous start to the week.
Ever since that day, Elonia had been receiving strange looks wherever she went in the academy.
She was used to being stared at.
But the nature of those stares had changed.
‘Why are they looking at me like that?’
People used to avoid her, but now they were looking at her with curiosity, as if they wanted to ask her something.
They would linger, observing her, then quickly look away when she turned around.
‘This is making me nervous.’
The subtle shift in their behavior bothered her.
And it wasn’t just the stares.
It had happened two days ago, during her Academic Department class with Olivia.
Elonia had frozen the moment she entered the classroom.
‘…Everyone was keeping their distance from Olivia.’
It was common for Ravanta students to avoid the Heilan hostages.
But they had never been so blatant about it before.
They weren’t just avoiding Olivia as if she were carrying a disease, they were also whispering about her behind her back.
‘And they stopped talking the moment I entered… Ugh, this is pissing me off. What are they trying to do?’
Elonia scribbled furiously on her parchment, her frustration growing.
The only solace was that she didn’t have to deal with those uncomfortable stares in her upperclassmen major classes.
The upperclassmen in the Magic Department tended to be more individualistic, and they were too busy focusing on the lectures to care about anything else.
That was why Elonia found “Fundamentals of Magic” and “Ancient Magic” to be the most comfortable classes.
But just as she was thinking that,
“That concludes today’s lecture. Here’s your assignment. Read ‘What is Magic?’ and ‘The Limits of Magic,’ which are listed in the syllabus, and write a five-page report for each book. Due next week. Handwritten, typed, or magically transcribed, it doesn’t matter. Just make sure it’s five pages.”
“…”
She had just submitted an assignment, and now she had two more.
Caroline, ignoring the students’ deadpan stares, grinned mischievously and asked,
“No response? Is it too little? Too boring?”
“No, Professor. Thank you very much.”
The students quickly replied, afraid of receiving even more homework.
The seventh-years were especially desperate.
“Then I’ll see you next week. Good work, everyone.”
Caroline left the classroom with a devilish smile.
The students, their spirits crushed, remained slumped over their desks, unable to move.
Elonia, forgetting about her previous annoyance, felt drained by the sheer volume of homework.
‘I guess I’m stuck with homework again this weekend…’
She enjoyed the classes, but she hated the assignments.
Elonia sighed.
‘I guess I’m not going home this week either.’
Just as she was thinking about contacting Artius, her stomach grumbled.
She thought about the dinner menu.
‘It’s lamb steak tonight. I can’t wait.’
She would enjoy her dinner, then buy a ton of pudding from the academy cafe and eat it while working on her assignments.
And next week, she would finally go home.
Elonia, her resolve renewed, left the classroom.
The upperclassmen, still slumped over their desks, watched her leave, their envy growing. They were no longer just envious of her youth and intelligence, but also of her stamina. They rummaged through their bags for snacks, munching listlessly.