Can I cry now? - CICN Chapter 012
The next morning,
Ding! Ding! Ding!
At the consecutive ringing of the bell, Ivy put down the textbook she had been reading and looked outside.
On the distant clock tower, the clock hands pointed to 8 o’clock.
It was the wake-up time for the Gifted Academy. Of course, Ivy had been up for a long time, already washed and dressed.
‘They said we needed to be down in the lobby by 8:30 in our uniforms.’
Today marked the official start of life at the Gifted Academy. Taking into account the fact that it would take time to get used to the new environment, the academy planned to spend this week guiding the new students around the premises and giving brief explanations about the classes.
Standing in front of the mirror, Ivy checked her appearance before opening the door to her room.
The entrance hall she shared with Irene was filled with morning sunlight.
Ivy opened the window, basking in the warm sunlight. A slightly chilly morning breeze blew in.
Despite the chill, the freshness that drove out the stale air made Ivy stretch and smile.
‘I wonder how everyone is doing.’
All her friends at the orphanage struggled to get up in the morning.
When the headmaster’s voice grew louder, urging them to come down for breakfast, Ivy would open the windows wide.
Then the cold wind would wake up the children who had been trying to go back to sleep, making them rub their eyes and finally get out of bed.
Of course, there were friends who would plead with Ivy to close the window again.
Friends…
Thinking of her friends at the orphanage, Ivy’s shoulders drooped, even though she had been smiling.
‘I wanted to make friends here.’
Just as the other students had been surprised, Ivy too was astonished to learn that her roommate was the daughter of an incredibly prestigious family.
She had heard that roommates were assigned randomly, but she didn’t believe it would actually be true.
‘I thought my roommate would be a commoner like me.’
Then maybe they could become friends. They could eat together, go to classes together, study together, and sometimes chat in each other’s rooms.
Before coming to the capital, Ivy had read an essay about life at the Gifted Academy in the advanced school library.
The author of the book described in detail how they spent time with their friends at the academy.
Reading it had made Ivy dream of her own future, but her roommate turned out to be someone so extraordinary that Ivy couldn’t even imagine speaking to her.
‘But as for Lady Irene…’
Because of all the errands she had run, Ivy had become somewhat adept at reading people’s moods.
So she could tell.
Unlike the other students, Irene didn’t dislike her. What she saw in Irene’s eyes was surprise and anger.
Even that anger disappeared when Ivy defended the headmaster.
Ding!
Lost in thought, Ivy was brought back to reality by a short ring of the bell.
The clock tower bell chimed the exact number of times for the hour.
Once at one o’clock.
Twice at two o’clock.
And it also rang briefly once every fifteen minutes.
Ivy turned to look at the clock tower. The hands now pointed to 8:15.
‘I should go down soon.’
Though she thought so, she couldn’t bring herself to leave the room.
The reason was Irene.
‘If I leave now, I won’t be late.’
Everyone had been instructed to be at the entrance hall by 8:30.
It was the first official schedule at the academy. She should be on time, but…
‘What if she’s still sleeping?’
In that case, she needed to wake Irene quickly.
Just as Ivy was about to carefully knock on the door, there was a knock on the hallway door.
When Ivy opened it, she saw the girls from yesterday.
They frowned at her and waved her away.
“Still not out yet? Don’t commoners usually hurry?”
“Exactly. And you, were you loitering around Lady Irene’s room? You wouldn’t dare knock on the door first, would you?”
Ivy stepped back, unable to respond to their piercing glares.
“Just so you know, Lady Irene is not someone you can casually talk to. Don’t offend her, and stay out of sight.”
“Right. She’s from a major noble family in the South. It’s a mistake that you were placed in the same room as her. She’ll probably move to a new one soon. Don’t cause any trouble.”
“She chooses her friends carefully. Only those from our kind of families can be around her. Now, get out!”
They waved their hands dismissively at Ivy, as if shooing away a bug, and slammed the door shut.
Left outside, Ivy stared at the door for a moment before turning away.
‘Of course, she already has many friends.’
It made sense. Nobles were said to hold informal social gatherings from a young age to make close friends.
Though Irene was from the far south, she had likely made many close friends this way.
‘Still…’
Ivy recalled Irene slightly bowing her head towards her.
‘I hope I can at least say hello.’
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After Ivy left, the students inside the room looked at each other.
“Did you see that girl?”
“Yes. She was about to knock on Irene’s door.”
“What would have happened if we had been even a little late?”
They sighed with relief.
The news that Irene Terrence would be entering the Gifted Academy was only announced a week ago.
Hearing this, all the noble girls’ eyes lit up. Befriending Arcel or Ruska was a given.
But since they were boys, they stayed in a different dorm and often had separate classes, especially for physical activities like swordsmanship.
But Irene was different.
Among the new female students at the academy, she was the only one who could be called a queen.
Because of her independent and private nature, typical of those from the South, she rarely attended the Empire’s social events.
The only event she attended was the Guardian Saint’s Festival a year ago.
On that day, Irene captivated everyone with her stunning appearance and elegant dress.
Even though she was young, her beauty, which hinted at her future potential, dazzled both boys her age and other girls.
Although it was uncertain who would become the Emperor’s successor, everyone speculated it would be either Arcel or Ruska.
In that case, Irene Terrence was a perfect imperial consort candidate.
‘That’s why we must befriend her now.’
Being friends with the daughter of the Terrence family alone would bring many benefits.
But a future imperial consort?
No matter what, they had to befriend her.
So they sought Irene out as soon as she arrived in the capital.
They introduced themselves, mentioned the letters they had sent, and endlessly chatted about how they hoped to get along in the future.
Fortunately, Irene didn’t push them away. However, she didn’t act friendly either.
Even yesterday, when they invited her to the cafeteria, she quietly listened to their chatter without saying much.
‘She must be nervous. No matter how noble she is in the South, she’s still here alone.’
‘She must feel lonely in the unfamiliar capital. This is our chance to become her closest friends.’
Each harboring their own ambitions, they knocked on Irene’s door.
Soon, the door opened. Irene, dressed neatly in her uniform, bowed slightly and greeted them.
“Good morning, Lady Irene! Did you have a good night?”
“You must have had a hard time getting ready all by yourself… Would you like to secretly use that commoner girl as a maid? I heard Izriella is using a servant’s child as her maid.”
“Oh, I should do that too. Shall we try to find one even now? Come to think of it, that commoner we just chased away might do well as a maid.”
Irene, who had been listening to their chatter with a blank expression, narrowed her eyes.
“Chased away?”
“Yes. She had the audacity to try and knock on your door, not knowing her place. She must have been trying to introduce herself first.”
“So we scolded her sharply and sent her away. If she had any sense, she wouldn’t dare bother you again.”
They looked proud of their actions, oblivious to the sharpness in Irene’s eyes.
With a cold expression, Irene muttered.
“If I hadn’t promised my sister… these girls…”
One of the girls, noticing the difference in Irene’s expression compared to when she was with Ivy, smiled brightly and asked.
“Pardon? What did you say, Lady Irene?”
Without looking at her, Irene started walking.
“Let’s head down now. There’s not much time left.”
Irene brushed past them and went down alone.
Her actions were so cold that the other students looked at each other in confusion.
“Did we do something wrong?”
“I… I don’t know?”
Completely clueless, they hurriedly followed Irene down.