Can I cry now? - CICN Chapter 016 - DarkStar Translations

Once all the students had gathered, the staff began moving the gifted academy students again.

Ivy, too, moved along, blending in with the crowd.

Rimora, who had been sticking close and acting friendly until just a moment ago, still hadn’t returned.

Instead, she was whispering busily with students who seemed close to her, glancing repeatedly at Ivy.

‘What are they talking about?’

Although she couldn’t hear them, it was clear that they were talking about her.

So Ivy deliberately hid herself among the crowd.

When she was out of sight, the children who were with Rimora got annoyed.

“Ugh! She’s gone again. She’s so small that once you lose her, it’s hard to find her.”

“But that’s the girl you said is connected to His Majesty the Emperor, right?”

“Uh, well… Oh my, we should hurry, or we’ll lose her.”

Rimora mumbled an unclear response and quickly pushed past her friends.

‘What should I do? I thought this was a good opportunity…’

She bit her lip.

Before entering the gifted academy, she had heard that there was a child personally chosen by the Emperor.

And it was said that the narrow-minded nobles were quite displeased about it.

Until now, the Emperor had never personally chosen anyone.

Even the famous Arcel and Ruska hadn’t met the Emperor except when entering the palace with their parents.

‘So there’s no way they would choose a child who had nothing to do with him.’

At the very least, the child might be an illegitimate child of someone close to the Emperor.

‘Irene Terrence might be difficult, but that small girl should be no problem.’

In truth, the person she most wanted to befriend was Irene, but she was too hard to approach.

Especially with the noble students, it was as if they were warning her not to even think about getting close, with their cold stares.

No matter how confident Rimora was, she didn’t have the courage to push past the others and approach Irene.

Besides, Irene seemed completely uninterested, even though students from prestigious families were trying hard to befriend her.

So, Rimora decided to target Ivy Alden, who was easier to get close to.

That’s why she pretended to be friendly and approached her.

She thought that if she brought up the Emperor, Ivy would happily spill everything she knew…

‘But she said it was nothing.’

At this rate, her friends would scold her for acting like she knew something she didn’t.

‘What should I do? I need to say that she’s lying…’

While Rimora was worrying, everyone arrived at the gate leading into the imperial palace.

Seeing the guards standing watch so sternly, the chattering students grew silent.

Someone murmured as they saw the massive white building beyond the gate.

“It’s really the Imperial Palace…”

Hearing this, Ivy nodded.

The gifted academy was within the palace grounds, but it’s a separate institution.

It wasn’t included in what people referred to as the Imperial Palace proper.

The staff counted the students and handed a list with their names to the guards.

Only after the guards checked each name did they step aside to let the students enter.

As they passed through the gate, the students couldn’t hide their awe.

“I’m really inside the Imperial Palace.”

“It’s even more impressive up close.”

“We would never be allowed in here otherwise.”

The students were overwhelmed by the honor of entering the most prestigious place in the empire.

Of course, not all of them felt that way.

Some students sneered at those who were overcome with emotion.

“It must be fascinating for commoners.”

“Exactly. I’ve been here before with my parents for the New Year’s banquet.”

“Same. I entered with special permission when my father attended the monthly council meeting.”

The students from noble families shrugged, acting like they were already familiar with the palace.

Their bragging quickly made the other students, who had been in awe, straighten their expressions. They felt like they’d be laughed at if they kept looking around in amazement.

Meanwhile, the noble students continued boasting about how many times they had been inside or when they had last visited.

Ivy stood among the crowd, gazing at the Imperial Palace.

It was said to be the most beautiful and grandest structure in the empire.

Though she could see the top of the building from the academy, this was the first time she had seen the entire structure.

‘It’s really impressive.’

It was so big that the entire population of Elam City, where she used to live, could fit inside.

Then she noticed a dark stain on one side of the otherwise perfect building.

Other students seemed to have noticed it too, as puzzled expressions spread among them.

As everyone stared, one of the academy staff smiled and began to explain.

“The building in front of you is the main palace. As you can see, there are five more buildings connected to it in the back.”

As the staff member started walking, the students followed closely, eager to learn more, especially those who had never been inside the palace.

Ivy was no different.

“And that stain you’re all curious about is a mark left from the fires during the succession war. As you may know, the imperial palace suffered significant damage at that time.”

The students nodded in response, and Ivy also remembered hearing about it.

Large parts of the vast Imperial Palace were said to have been burned. Fortunately, the main palace only suffered minor damage, but many other areas were completely destroyed.

The gifted academy was also damaged and had to close for a while, and many areas had been repainted.

Whenever Ivy saw a particularly clean, freshly painted area, she thought, ‘That must have been burned and repainted after the fire.’

Just then, a boy standing near Ivy asked with a confused expression, “Why is there still a mark like that in such a noble place? The streets of the capital have all been restored.”

The staff member, as if expecting the question, answered quickly.

“That’s because His Majesty prioritized the restoration of the city over the imperial palace. Many of you probably saw how the broken bridges and harbors were repaired first. The budget was also allocated to external facilities before the palace.”

As the conversation continued, Ivy reflected.

‘I’ve heard this before.’

When she was at the orphanage, there were times when the director would return with a bright smile.

When asked what had happened, she would pat Ivy’s head and say, “His Majesty ordered the lords to prioritize the orphanages in the budget. Thanks to that, we were able to buy enough food again this time without any problems.”

After the war, the empire was in ruins. Many things were broken, and others had completely disappeared.

People were too busy taking care of themselves to worry about others.

In such circumstances, who would care for the children in the orphanages?

If it hadn’t been for the Emperor’s orders, the orphanages would have been the last thing people thought about when it came to distributing food.

‘Thanks to that, we were able to survive the winter.’

Whether it was true or not, the Emperor’s orders seemed to have made a difference. When the cold became severe, the lord personally delivered extra provisions to the orphanage.

Because of that, they never starved through the winters.

Last year, they even received new blankets.

The director had mentioned it casually while boiling potatoes in the kitchen.

“Truly, we owe so much gratitude to His Majesty. Thanks to him ending the war quickly, fewer people died, and he’s even looked out for those at the very bottom…”

The director had also mentioned that, in the past, under a different emperor, they hardly received any money at all.

But as Ivy chewed on the freshly boiled potato, she had thought to herself, ‘The lord of Elam City only took care of the people after he had fully restored his own castle and fixed the bridges. So, His Majesty must have taken care of his own matters before helping us.’

However, seeing the state of the palace now, Ivy realized she had been wrong.

The academy was fully restored, yet the repairs on the Emperor’s main palace were still unfinished.

“Alright, let’s keep moving. I’ll explain more as we go. Today, you’ll get to see not only the Jewel Hall but also the History Hall, which hasn’t officially opened yet.”

The staff member clapped briefly and began leading the students.

Everyone had been eager to see the grandeur of the Imperial Palace, not the war-torn remnants of the building, so they quickly followed her.

“Are we really allowed to go inside?”

“It’s usually closed during banquets, so this will be my first time going in!”

“I heard even palace staff can’t go in whenever they want.”

Excited at the prospect of entering such a restricted area, the students eagerly followed the staff member.

In the midst of it all, Ivy took one last look at the marks of war on the palace walls and bowed her head slightly toward the main palace.

“Thank you. Because of you, we made it through the winter.”

Of course, she didn’t expect the Emperor to see her.

But she wanted to express her gratitude in some way.

When Ivy lifted her head again, she saw something.

“Huh…?”