Episode 78
Elonia was genuinely surprised.
Caroline? Admiring her?
Caroline, seemingly accustomed to such reactions, let out a hearty laugh.
“I understand your surprise. But her magic was extraordinary, wouldn’t you agree? If she had been born in Ravanta, she would have been a revered Archmage.”
“…That’s impossible.”
Elonia murmured, her expression troubled.
What difference would it have made if she had been born in Ravanta?
It was the first time she had heard such a sentiment, and it didn’t sit well with her.
She had been born in Heilan, and she had died as a Heilan citizen.
“What ifs” were pointless.
But Caroline, her gaze fixed on the distant sky, continued, her voice filled with longing,
“If she had been born in Ravanta, I would have sought her out and taken her as my disciple. Of course, she would have surpassed me eventually.”
“…”
“It’s just a hypothetical scenario. I seem to have interrupted your training.”
Caroline, looking down at Elonia, rummaged through her robe pocket and pulled out a handful of candies, offering them to Elonia.
“Train hard.”
“…Thank you, Professor.”
Caroline ruffled Elonia’s hair playfully, then smiled and left.
Elonia, fixing her messy hair, stared at the candies in her hand.
“What a strange old woman.”
But she didn’t dislike the gesture.
She unwrapped a candy and popped it into her mouth.
Elonia walked towards the training grounds, the candy crunching between her teeth.
She took off her robe, tossing it aside, and started swinging her sword.
She was no longer practicing the standard swordsmanship techniques for the exam. Her movements resembled a sword dance.
The sword dance Lady Asta had taught her suited her surprisingly well. Whenever she swung her sword without thinking, it naturally flowed into the dance.
It was a good sign, a sign that she was finally shedding Chelon’s fighting style.
As she finished the dance, she heard applause.
“!”
Elonia turned towards the source of the sound.
A girl with braided red hair, wearing the Magic Department robe, was clapping.
Elonia remembered her name from the previous incident.
Garnethia.
Garnethia, who had been so bold just moments ago, flinched when their eyes met and frantically looked for a place to hide.
“It’s too late to hide now, isn’t it?”
Elonia, still wary of people after the Dianne incident, placed a hand on her hip and spoke curtly.
Garnethia, flustered, pulled her robe over her head, hiding her face.
Elonia was taken aback.
‘What is she doing?’
She had never seen anyone hide their face with their clothes, no matter how embarrassed they were.
Garnethia, seeing Elonia’s speechless reaction, peeked out from under her robe.
But she quickly hid again when their eyes met.
Now that Elonia thought about it, Garnethia had been the one who had thrown the first punch during the classroom fight.
She seemed like a strange girl.
Elonia marched towards her and pulled down her robe.
“Gasp…!”
“What are you doing? Why were you staring at me like that?”
“I-I…”
“Are you crying?”
Garnethia’s large pink eyes were filled with tears.
Elonia, who hadn’t done anything, was flustered.
“Why are you crying? Stop it!”
“I-I’m not crying…!”
Garnethia insisted, but her tomato-red face betrayed her.
Elonia led her to a bench and sat down beside her.
“Y-you’re too close…”
“You called me dirty before. Am I a disease carrier now?”
“N-no, that’s not what I meant! I was the dirty one back then! I had just been rolling around on the ground! And now, I’m just… honored…!”
Her voice was surprisingly loud, considering her timid appearance.
Elonia, remembering the previous incident, asked,
“You’re Garnethia, right? The one who started the fight in the classroom?”
“Y-you remember my name? Oh my god, I’m so honored… I should mark this day on my calendar…”
She was definitely strange.
Statistically, there were a lot of eccentric students in the Magic Department.
She must be one of them.
Garnethia, stealing glances at Elonia, spoke in a barely audible voice,
“Y-yes, my name is Garnethia Bereta.”
Bereta. That was a marquis family, and they were close to House Archer, Aaron’s family.
‘At least she won’t betray me.’
She had learned her lesson with Dianne.
Elonia wasn’t going to be fooled again.
“I’m Elonia.”
“I-I know! You’re the top student of the Magic Department… and you’re always so amazing in class…”
“So why are you at the swordsmanship training grounds when you’re a Magic Department student?”
“I-I saw you entering with a sword… and I just wanted to watch for a bit… and then I…”
“You were spying on me?”
That wasn’t exactly true.
Even though the training grounds had been built for Elonia, she had made it public, so it was open to everyone.
But Garnethia, startled, jumped up and apologized profusely.
“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to spy on you!”
“I’m kidding. Sit down.”
“N-no! You must be going through a lot because of the recent rumor, and I was being insensitive… towards the fairy…!”
“Fairy?”
Elonia, who had been about to tease her, was taken aback by her strange choice of words.
Garnethia’s face turned even redder, as if she was about to explode.
She was truly a human tomato.
“Hey, I’m the one who should be embarrassed, not you!”
“B-but…! You looked like a fairy during the entrance ceremony…!”
“Stop saying embarrassing things!”
“I’m sorry!”
Elonia’s face was burning now.
A fairy?
She had never been called that before.
It was a stark contrast to her previous nicknames.
‘Sarah calls me her angel, but… a fairy…?’
It was a word rarely used outside of fairy tales, so it felt surreal.
Elonia cringed inwardly and quickly changed the subject.
“So, you still dared to approach me after hearing that rumor?”
“Huh?”
“You know what happened to Dianne, right? No one even dares to look at me now.”
Despite her young age, small stature, and cute appearance, Elonia wasn’t approachable.
She rarely smiled.
Most people felt a wall around her and kept their distance.
And after Dianne’s expulsion for insulting royalty, no one even dared to look at her anymore.
‘Well, it’s not like anyone was approaching me before, either.’
She had thought some students might try to flatter her because she was the princess, but even that hadn’t happened.
She ate alone, attended classes alone, and it felt like she was all alone at the academy, which made her feel a little lonely.
Garnethia, clutching her braided hair, spoke bravely,
“B-but you’re not a bad person! It was Dianne who instigated everything…!”
“You didn’t believe the rumor?”
“Of course not! Uncle Aaron always talks about how kind and righteous you are!”
“Uncle?”
“Huh? Y-yes…”
Elonia had known they were from close families, but she hadn’t known they were related as uncle and niece.
Come to think of it, Aaron had mentioned having a niece.
“…So it was you.”
Now that she looked closer, they did have some similarities.
Their tendency to cry, their quiet demeanor.
She hadn’t noticed before because their conversations had always revolved around Artius.
‘He praises me behind my back?’
That was cute.
Garnethia, clutching her hair tightly, continued, her words tumbling out in a rush,
“I told them not to slander you, but they didn’t even listen… I mean, they didn’t listen, and they spread that ridiculous rumor… And then she started spreading rumors about me, and those brats, I mean, those kids started ostracizing me…”
“…”
She was definitely Aaron’s niece.
Aaron also had a habit of saying everything he wanted to say, even while crying.
Garnethia’s tone was a bit harsher, but still.
“…Is that why you punched her?”
“…Yes.”
“Hmm… well, you still believed in me and tried to defend me. Thank you.”
Elonia scratched her cheek, expressing her gratitude.
Garnethia had been the only one who hadn’t believed the rumor.
Elonia knew how much courage that required.
She had thought Garnethia was a bit strange, but she seemed like a good person.
Garnethia’s face turned red again.
“Y-you’re welcome! I didn’t say it for your gratitude… I mean…”
“Do you have any friends right now?”
Maybe she could trust her again.
Elonia leaned closer and asked.
Garnethia’s pink eyes widened in surprise.
“N-no… Do you mean…?”
“Do you want to have lunch with me tomorrow?”
Garnethia gasped, then froze.
Elonia, worried that she might faint again, called out to her,
“Garnethia?”
“M-me, with Your Highness…?”
That hadn’t been a good idea.
Garnethia hadn’t been particularly impressed when Aaron had praised Elonia.
But seeing her in person had evoked an inexplicable sense of awe.
She even resented her uncle for not showing her a portrait or something.
‘The fairy… asked me to have lunch with her…’
Elonia would probably never understand how she felt.
“Hey!”
Garnethia fainted.
She decided to keep the fact that Elonia’s voice was the last thing she heard before losing consciousness a secret.
The storm had passed.
Elonia, after dragging Garnethia to the infirmary, sighed and closed the door behind her.
“What a hassle.”
Did Garnethia hate having lunch with her that much?
She had briefly considered that possibility, but Garnethia’s expression hadn’t been one of disgust.
Elonia, wondering what had caused her to faint, was about to leave the main building when,
“…Prince Simon?”
“Y-your Highness.”
What was Simon doing in the main building?
Elonia instantly regretted calling out to him.
She had run into Olivia a few times since the incident and had even had lunch with her occasionally.
Of course, Olivia would always refuse at first, and Elonia would have to plead with her, but they had become closer than before.
But she was still awkward around Simon.
“Um… I’ll be going now.”
Elonia, feeling awkward, tried to leave.
But Simon stopped her.
“Your Highness…!”
“…What is it?”
Elonia was weak against both Olivia and Simon.
Especially Simon, who had always been bullied by Dolce when they were younger.
Even though he was now older and taller than her, he still felt like her little brother.
Simon, his eyebrows drooping, spoke,
“…Thank you for what you did before.”
“I didn’t do anything to deserve your thanks.”
“But you helped Sister Olivia.”
“She was the one who helped me first.”
“Ah…”
Simon, embarrassed, lowered his head, his gaze darting around.
“I’ll really be going now.”
Elonia, having nothing more to say, finally left.
Simon, however, remained standing there, watching her leave, a strange look in his eyes.
It wasn’t the look Elonia remembered from her little brother.