“Just in case, I checked other sentences with a similar form. There seemed to be something about Edgar too.”
“Edgar Ramos?”
Illestia nodded. I quickly thought about what Keran Illestia and Edgar Ramos had in common.
First of all, their nationalities were different, and it was difficult to find a similarity in their appearances. Aside from being tall and muscular, their bodies were also different.
Illestia was slender, so his well-trained body wouldn’t show when he wore clothes, Ramos’ torso, on the other hand, was quite thick. And if his dull wheat-colored hair was also considered blond, that would be the only thing their looks had in common.
Come to think of it, they were both members of the student council. It meant they were both Rosemary Blossom’s men. Suddenly, Kaitlyn the Great, who had been hiding deep in my head and harassing me all the time, secretly increased her presence.
She said I wasn’t the ‘main character’. It was a whisper, like the wind blowing in my ears. Since Kaitlyn the Great was an outstanding person who realized the reason for the world, it was right to rule out the possibility that her secret whisper was meaningless.
The fact that I wasn’t the main character meant that someone else was the main character. Rosemary Blossom’s Fifth Grade was like a complete romance novel.
She also had abilities that only God would have. I couldn’t leave out the existence of her assistant, Kyle Villard. If Fitzsimmons Academy had what Kaitlyn the Great referred to as the ‘main character’, it was hard not to think of Blossom as it.
“And here’s my hypothesis.”
Illestia lowered his voice. He had a very serious expression.
“Have you ever taken a theology class?”
Instead of answering, I shook my head. The doctrine advocated by the Holy Church of the Illestia Empire served as the foundation for the continent’s theology.
According to Brianna, in Illestia, even the poor went to the monastery and memorized prayers so that they would not starve, so getting credits in theology class was no different than lying down and drinking soup for Illestian students.
Because of this, theology was one of the most difficult subjects to register for. Since I was only going to the academy to graduate, I didn’t even think about taking a class like theology that would cut my grade average.
“In Illestia’s Continental theology, human life is not theirs.”
“You mean ‘The Wheel of Fate’?”
“That’s right. Originally, it was known that the wheel of fate was only involved in human life and death, but that changed after my mother ascended the throne. My mother insisted that all our choices were the result of the spinning wheel of fate, based on the ‘reason’ she realized. I thought it was an extreme interpretation that my mother introduced to make a justification for dealing with her political opponents until now…”
It’s interesting to note that Keran Illestia had more crazy ideas than Professor Baldwin, who was suspended by the Illestian students.
“I think there is a possibility that <Patch Notes> is a book of prophecy.”
“Prophecy?”
“The <patch notes> contain information much further into the future than when they were written. And judging by the number of times my name is mentioned, the information is very diverse. At least it won’t only have the date of my death written on it.”
“Therefore, if, like the ‘reason’ that Kaitlyn the Great realized that even our dinner menus are predestined by fate, are you saying that the <patch notes> contain that?”
Illestia stared blankly at me. It was an expression of affirmation. My conclusions were similar but not the same. I fell deep into my thoughts.
Such a thing as a “main character” would definitely not appear in the book of prophecy. If the names of Keran Illestia and Edgar Ramos were used in <Patch Notes>, it would not be because they were the subject of some prophecy but because they were characters in a romance novel with Rosemary Blossom as the main character.
Therefore, what <Patch Notes> contained was a heart-shaped rug spun by the spinning wheel of fate. Embroidered with Blossom’s initials.
Suddenly, I wondered what role Ariel Dalton played in Rosemary Blossom’s romance novel, which brought her into this chaos. For a lead role, my appearance and background were too ordinary, and as a supporting role, I remembered too many things.
I’ve been thinking about this since Kaitlyn the Great came to the academy. It just took me quite a long time to admit that I was living to make someone else’s life shine.
“The Emperor must know something.”
So I made up my mind and said this. Kaitlyn the Great loved her son enough to weave an ugly sweater for him, and he was her only heir, so maybe she would pass on the ‘reason’ to him.
Keran Illestia, known for being straight to the point, said he had already sent a letter to the emperor. And there, it seemed, he had also written down that I had praised her outstanding knitting skills and her lively school days. My mind went blank.
Illesia, who had laughed out loud at me as I turned very pale at the sudden danger of being decapitated, suddenly pulled out a tin can full of cookies from a drawer on the table. A sweet smell wafted when he opened the lid.
As if waiting, I picked up a cookie that was baked in a round shape like a snail’s shell and tossed it into my mouth. The butter melted gently on the tip of the tongue.
“I heard Kyle throw himself into the battle ring for ‘Queen of the Banquet’.”
I remembered meeting Kyle in front of the bulletin board over the topic that Illestia brought up while organizing a stack of papers. As Fitzsimmons’ most popular person, his portrait was drawn more reassuringly than the real thing and was packed with recommendations.
One, in particular, was very wordy and was written by aspiring poet Kelly Ramirez. Kyle pointed at it and made a fuss about how it almost brought him to tears.
I told him patronizingly that I couldn’t hand over Lilu no matter how amazing he was; instead, I would hand over my favorite portrait of Lilu. It was an expression of gratitude.
Then Kyle smiled mischievously and put his elbow on my shoulder. ‘Well, if you and I get married, Lilu will be Villard anyway.’
Instead of replying, I kicked him hard in the shin. And I have no idea why he was suddenly bringing up marriage like Liz.
I had extremely vivid teenage fantasies about love and marriage. I didn’t want to be like Maverick, who shrugged his shoulders, saying that aristocratic marriage was originally like that.
Then, as if he were treated unfairly, Kyle asked, ‘Didn’t we promise to get married if we didn’t find suitable partners until we’re 40?’
Come to think of it, he even put a ring on my finger when we debuted. However, that didn’t change the fact that he deserved a kick in the shin.
‘There’s a chance that I won’t find a suitable man to marry, but that is not the case for you.’
Kyle responded lightly, like the wind, to the pin I threw. ‘Not really. If you don’t have a man to marry, I have to marry you.’
“I was envious. If it weren’t for the ‘King of the Banquet’, I would have also run.”
“What? Did you want to dress up as a girl too?”
I mangled cookies with my molars and tried putting a wig on my imaginary Keran Illestia. I decided not to make him wear a dress, thinking that he would definitely look prettier than me.
“No, I wanted to help you. You have no idea how diligently I have searched the school rules to find a way to get rid of your registered candidacy.”
“My God, this is really unexpected, but thank you. Shall I pat you on the head?”
“Yeah.”
When I told him jokingly, he rushed to me as if his life depended on it. As if spun and weaved with gold thread, his brilliant hair drew closer. Even his hair looked like it was crafted meticulously, it was neat and beautiful.
“You need to fix this habit.”
Since Illestia looked so serious, I put my hand between his forehead and temple. The locks that touched my fingers were so soft that I wondered about his hair routine.
If he had a secret recipe other than almond milk, egg whites, vine ashes, and licorice, Brianna Mosley would lay him a golden egg.
“What habit?”
He suddenly raised his head. His soft cheeks and sharp jawbone touched my palm. The blonde hair, which was cut short and covered the back of his neck, tickled my fingertips. It felt like the sun was licking my hand. ‘This habit!’ I shuddered in fright.
“Alright.”
Illestia answered very meekly. Then, he gently folded the corners of his eyes while wiping the cookie crumbs from my mouth with his thumb. It was clear he had no idea what I was talking about.
***
Marquis Bolton must have had as few friends as I, or perhaps fewer friends than I. I couldn’t understand why I had to spend my precious weekend accompanying Bolton on his pre-date reconnaissance. If he hadn’t just written a pledge not to attack my ribs in a duel, I would have been enjoying the feel of the spring blanket by now.
When I said that, he retorted with an air of arrogance. ‘If you hadn’t broken that bastard Walsh’s nose in the cafeteria, you’d have saved the weekend and you wouldn’t have been punished after school.’
His logic was not wrong, but I had enough injustice. Even if it had been Professor Humphreys sitting there instead of Ariel Dalton, she wouldn’t have been able to resist sticking her leg out to trip Wash as he passed by.
The restaurant Bolton had chosen after careful consideration for a satisfying date with Blossom was located on the outskirts, a short walk from the center of Finnigan Street.
First of all, it was commendable. The closer we got to the main street, the higher the price of food and the more lavish the buildings were. There were also cases where a clerk guarded the door, preventing low-status customers from entering. Bolton was trying to close the distance with Blossom, so it made sense to avoid those places, no matter how upscale his taste was.
You won’t believe how many fights we had before I convinced him that using gold coins or pressing with force was never a good thing. I pretended to wipe away invisible tears with the back of my hand.
“Your teacher was so proud of you.”
“What are you saying now…”
Bolton blushed and threw the napkin away.
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