“Why did you come so late!”
As I ran to the front door with the drink, Allen made a fuss. Normally she would have complained that she was losing her temper for no reason, but she had no choice but to understand now. This is because Lucio was standing behind Allen.
‘I must have been anxious to see the Academy as soon as possible.’
Moreover, Lucio, a celebrity from the Academy, is enough, as well as Allen and Diana, who have just arrived in the capital. As the three members of the Elad family were standing together, not only the academy students but also people on the street were busy looking at them.
“Sorry. You’ve been waiting a long time, right? Please eat this first.”
I quickly bowed down and covered Allen’s mouth with the drink.
“Delicious!”
I laughed at the honest exclamation that immediately came out and glanced at Lucio. Today he was wearing a blue school uniform with the academy’s emblem on the chest. He was a sight I missed and thought I would never see again.
“You should try it too, Mr. “It’s very refreshing.”
I offered a drink to Lucio, who looked upset, probably displeased with being a spectacle. Instead of accepting the drink, Lucio looked at me, then turned and entered the academy. I looked at him with a blank expression and muttered sullenly.
“This is really delicious…”
Of course, it may seem insignificant in Lucio’s eyes, but it was the first thing I bought with the money I worked hard to save when I returned to the past. It always bothered me how many times I received alms in the past and never got anything in return, so I wanted to repay them in some small way. For some reason, I felt sad.
“I’ll eat it all.”
At that time, Jack next to me took a drink from my hand.
‘Still holding on to what I gave you.’
I smiled brightly as I watched Jack calmly comforting me. And he said.
“If you eat all that, you’ll get a stomachache.”
* * *
The academy was already crowded with numerous visitors. Although most of the students were families, there were also quite a few tourists who wanted to take a look inside the tall walls. And it was my first time entering the academy, so I couldn’t hide my excitement. The statue of the first emperor standing tall at the entrance, which was always seen only from the outside, was even more majestic when seen up close, and the wide streets and huge buildings that showed great care in landscaping also caught the eye. But what excited me more than anything else was none other than the magic barrier that surrounded the entire academy. Since it is a place full of valuable research materials for students and professors who are the future of the empire, it was natural that a protective spell was applied. However, considering that the Academy’s site was extremely large, it was impossible to calculate how much magic stones would be poured into maintaining this barrier.
“Sister, what is this?”
At that time, Diana, who was watching with Allen, looked around with her head excited and asked me. I glanced at the pocket I was carrying and said.
“It’s nothing special, it’s like a bracelet or necklace.”
In fact, I was a little late to buy this, so I bowed down to Allen. After looking at the fountain, I was waiting for my drink to come out, and I happened to find a stall selling accessories right next to it. I was already looking for just this kind of item, so I thought it was right and happily bought bracelets and necklaces with lots of precious stones. In fact, it was so dull in color and rough-looking that it was difficult to call it a gem, but it was a gem, even though it was the cheap type. I remembered Jack looking at me with a puzzled look on his face as I swept up everything that was lying around on the stall, completely emptying out the salary pockets I had saved so far.
“What, this looks so cheap.”
At that time, Allen looked at a bracelet sticking out of his pocket and frowned.
“I bought a lot. Even if you buy just one, buy something a little better.”
It was a noble and rich remark, but I actually agreed with it. But I couldn’t help it.
“Right now, I’m trying to compete with quantity rather than quality.”
When I said that, Allen seemed to think I was a very vain person, but this was something that could not be helped.
‘This is all the basis for my business!’
He asked as Allen shyly took what was in her hand.
“Did you like this?”
“…Yes. They like it.”
If I said no, I couldn’t explain why I bought so much, so I nodded, feeling embarrassed. And he held up the most brilliant-looking dog among the dogs to Diana, who was watching with her eyes shining brightly.
“Miss, would you like me to do this for your wrist?”
“Huh? This is my sister’s…”
I really loved Diana, who shared everything she had with me without any sign of wasting it, but wasn’t greedy for what was hers. I opened the loop of the flimsy bracelet and put it on Diana’s wrist, telling myself that later, when I had a lot of money, I would buy her something really nice.
Toad!
At that moment, the thin thread, perhaps because it was cheap, suddenly burst and the jewels that were attached to it fell to the floor.
‘No, my money!’
Most of them fell on the spot, but a few were seen rolling away in the distance. To me, they looked like gold coins and I couldn’t miss a single one, so I was rushing to pick them up.
Chin.
The jewel, which was rolling endlessly, stopped when it touched someone’s feet. White, long fingers picked up the jewel. I raised my head, squinted slightly against the backlight, and finally made eye contact with someone and gasped in surprise. A handsome boy with thick, bright blonde hair and thin, fine lines, as if sprinkled with sparkling gold dust, was looking down at me. Golden eyelashes flickered over the droopy puppy-like eyes and transparent emerald eyes.
‘What kind of person sparkles like that?’
“Is this yours?”
Even his voice was soft and kind, like that of an angel. I felt like I was being purified just by listening to it. I nodded absentmindedly and he asked as he carefully placed the jewel on my palm.
“You look young, a gifted student?”
As I shook my head, the boy smiled faintly.
“Then it looks like you came here for a festival. Do you have family at the academy?”
I was somehow entranced by the kind eyes and kind words, and quickly tried to shake my head saying no.
“Ascart.”
However, the boy first took his eyes off me when he heard a voice coming from behind him. I turned my head after him and saw Lucio standing there with a scary face.
* * *
“I knew it would be like this! I thought there would be an uproar when I saw Askal’s face!”
The identity of the handsome boy whose eyes seemed to have opened was, as expected, Askart Belus, the Grand Duke of the Principality of Belus.
‘Honestly, even if you said he was handsome, I was half expecting and half doubting how great he would be.’
After seeing it in person, he realized that the reputation was not an exaggeration at all.
“Handsome! really really!”
Even in Diana’s eyes, Ascarte’s appearance seems to be exceptional. When Diana, who always boasted that her brother was the most handsome in the world, even clapped her hands in approval, Allen said, “Diana!” She couldn’t hold back her anger and jumped up.
“Haha. Well, thank you.”
Although he must have been tired of receiving compliments on his appearance throughout his life, Askart blushed and blushed. As he smiled shyly, flowers seemed to bloom around him.
“…”
It was a face that naturally exuded admiration, but for some reason, I felt strange. I’ve definitely never met Ascarte in my previous life, but I feel like I miss him so much. It was the first time I felt this way when I saw someone.
‘Why am I like this?’
For some reason, my chest hurt, so I pressed my heart hard. Then I heard the sound of clicking one’s tongue next to me.
“Ascart. He usually stays in the library and doesn’t come out, but today he goes out for some reason.”
Lucio spoke in a very sharp tone. At first glance, one might have suspected that their relationship was not good, but from what I heard from Allen, the two were close friends, along with Prince Nicholas. Apparently, Lucio, like Allen, did not want to hear his younger sister, Diana, praising Ascarte.
“When I looked out the window, the sunlight was nice. I thought I’d take a walk for the first time in a while.”
Unlike Lucio, Ascarte answered with a gentle face. Now that I think about it, I wonder if it was a lie that he was only in the library, and the area under his eyes looked a little dark and tired. His face was so bright that I noticed it too late. At that time, Ascart looked at me, probably because he felt his gaze staring at me. Soon his drooping eyes softened. Even when Askart found out that I was the duke’s maid, he did not change his attitude towards me. On the contrary, he was still so kind and gentle that I was very saddened.
‘Well, I’m really sorry to compare you to Kenneth Pettier.’
Maybe it was because of his looks, but I somehow liked him even though it was my first time seeing him. In her previous life, I only heard that she graduated from the academy and returned to the principality, so I couldn’t tell what kind of person she was, but looking at me now, she didn’t seem like a bad person at all.
“If you’ve walked everything, why don’t you go now? “I thought you said you had no intention of going to the festival.”
As she and Ascarte were making eye contact, Lucio’s harsh voice was heard again. The atmosphere became cold at the words, which were almost like a blatant order to congratulate guests.
‘Lucio… I didn’t know, but her younger sister was seriously ill.’
Still, I looked at her sullenly, wondering if I was being too harsh on her friend, and we immediately made eye contact. I don’t know if my complaint was properly conveyed, but Lucio added quietly to Ascarte.
“You hate crowds of people.”
—————————————————————
Translator Note:
I’m back!!
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
Next post will be released on January, 20.
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