“Thank you, Grandma!” Lucy cried out, sobbing in tears.
The grandmother hugged Lucy tightly and patted her on the back. Lucy couldn’t stop crying for a long time in her grandmother’s arms.
Her father and mother watched them, slightly surprised, but soon exchanged looks with each other.
If this is what Lucy wanted, they couldn’t help but to comply. The smiles they secretly gave each other seemed to say so.
* * *
A few months later, it wasn’t only Colin that got into Baron Connor’s carriage that was off to the Capital, but Lucy as well. She waved to her family outside the window, brimming with excitement, just as she did on the trip to the Capital seven years ago.
I can’t believe it. I can’t believe I’m going to the Capital again and take the entrance exam for the most famous academy in the empire.
With Lucy’s dream in tow, the carriage sped toward the Capital.
“Wow! Colin, that’s the fountain we saw back then!” Lucy shouted as she looked at Bethel unfolding before her. She had finally return to the Capital after seven years.
“Colin! Colin! There’s even a dessert cafe here.”
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Unlike Lucy, who walked around excitedly reminiscing her fond memories, Colin stood still pretending to be unfazed. In fact, he had traveled to the Capital with the baron several times.
“Lucy, what’s the matter with you? Do you want people to know that you came from a village? Take it easy.”
Lucy gave the sharp-tongued Colin a quick glance, but she paid him no mind and went around the spacious Bethel square. Colin and Baron Connor looked at her with a smile in their eyes.
“Yes, Lucy, please relax. You have an exam to take.”
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Lucy, who had been running around, stopped walking at the Baron’s words. Her face turned pale as if she had lost all the strength from her body.
“Ah, the exam…”
Tomorrow was the Academy entrance exam, which could be the most important moment of her life. Lucy felt sick as if the food she had eaten was going to come up.
“Haha, I shouldn’t have said that.” The Baron smiled and patted Lucy on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, you’ve always done well on your previous mock test.”
Baron Connor’s words were true, but it didn’t help Lucy very much. Lucy knew very well that practice and the real thing were different. As soon as she came to the Capital, she felt her confidence, that she had accumulated for the past few years, collapsed at once.
“Hey, Lucy! You’ll be able to enter the academy, don’t worry too much,” Colin said, like an older brother who was rooting for his sister.
Lucy calmed her pounding her. This was a path she chose while carrying the concerns and expectations of her family at the same time. She never wanted to create a result that she would regret.
It would have been hard if I were alone.
At that moment, Colin, who came to take the test with her, and Baron Connor, who accompanied them as their guardian, were more reliable than anyone else. So, Lucy wanted to cheer up more.
The next day, before the examination, Baron Connor met up with Lucy and Collin. “Don’t be nervous. Just do what you usually do.”
Despite the Baron’s encouragement, Lucy could hardly relax. When Colin noticed her uneasiness, he patted Lucy on the back with a playful smile.
“Hey, Lucy! Why don’t you go to the bathroom again?”
“It’s not like that!”
Lucy took a deep breath after glancing at Colin, who was still joking.
Yes, I can do this.
She clenched her fists as if to give herself strength.
I must send the acceptance news to my family.
Then Lucy took a determined step toward the examination hall.
* * *
“I have a letter for Mr. Colin Connor and Miss Lucy Keenan,” The innkeeper said and placed the food they ordered on the table.
Lucy dropped the napkin she was holding and became lost in thought. It had been a week since they took the entrance examination.
Lucy, Colin, and Baron Connor were staying at an inn in the capital. The journey back to Brom was long and time-consuming, so they decided to remain in the capital until the results came out.
If she received a letter of acceptance from the Academy, she would have to enter the Academy dormitory immediately. If she failed, she’d leave with regrets and return to Brom.
“Well, it’s time.” Baron Conor accepted two letters with as much tension as Lucy.
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She could see the crest of the academy sealing the envelope. When she saw the clear eagle pattern, her heart beat like crazy.
“Well, let’s see your results,” the baron said, handing out the letters, and Lucy accepted it with her hands trembling.
The sound of paper crackling contrasted sharply with her struggle to open the envelope. It was the sound of Colin opening his letter without hesitation. He immediately unfolded the paper inside and read it.
“I passed!” Colin cried immediately.
As soon as she heard it, Lucy began to tremble all over. She didn’t even feel the need to congratulate Colin.
What if I failed? What if I’m the only one who has to go back to Brom? What would I say to grandma? What about mom and dad?
“Lucy, come on!” Next to her, Colin urged Lucy.He was more curious about her result than his own.
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Lucy opened the envelope with her hands shaking after making up her mind. Like Colin’s, there was a folded piece of paper inside.
She didn’t have the courage to check. She unfolded the paper with her eyes closed, and she slowly opened her eyes to see the results. Suddenly, her body shook back and forth, and there was a tremendous cheer that almost shattered her eardrums.
“Ouch!”
Lucy opened her eyes in surprise, and saw Colin’s face right in front of her. He held her shoulder and shook it wildly. His voice, louder than ever, rang in her ears.
“You passed! You made it! Lucy! You’re the top student!”
Even the Baron, who would have criticized his son’s behavior, quickly took the letter from Lucy’s hand and read it. Once he confirmed that Colin was tellign the truth, he also grabbed her shoulder and shook it. Lucy was utterly dumbfounded.
“You passed. You passed!”
In the midst of the chaos, only Colin’s words were heard clearly.
What do you mean, “Pass?”
Finally, after Baron Connor and his son let Lucy go, she finally read her acceptance letter. She couldn’t believe she got accepted at Xenomium Academy! She read the letter again and again. It was so unrealistic that everything felt like a dream.
At that moment, the first people that came to her mind were her family. Her mom and dad, who always cared about her more than she did and always supported her and also her grandmother.
If they were here with her now, they would have congratulated her with more enthusiasm that could rival Baron Connor and Colin. It was such a pity that she could not see the happy face of her grandmother when she heard that she passed immediately.
“Lucy! Look at this! It’s a certificate of scholarship!” Colin pulled another piece of paper out of Lucy’s envelope.
The paper was a certificate of scholarship stating that upon admission to the Xenomium Academy, all tuition fees for the first semester would be reduced.
Lucy’s mouth opened wide looking at the certificate. It was a more surprising moment than ever. The tuition problem, which she was so worried about, was solved.
Lucy immediately wrote to her family, relaying the good news. After she left home, she didn’t want to keep her family waiting for the news. She laughed when she imagined how happy they would be to hear it. She was elated; she was now a granddaughter her grandmother could be proud of.
A few days later, Lucy heard something unexpected from Colin. Because of this, Lucy became very nervous before entering the school.
“Lucy, Lucy! The top student will take the oath as a freshman representative at the entrance ceremony!”
“What?” Lucy eyes opened wide, much like a startled rabbit.
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“You will take the oath on the podium as the representative!” Colin explained excitedly as if he was the one who’d be on the podium.
“I… I can’t do that!”
“Why? You can do it!”
An oath taken with hundreds of people staring at you. Lucy’s eyes widened just imagining it.
“Your grandmother will love it! I’m sure she’ll be proud!” Colin’s words brought Lucy to her senses.
Yes… Grandma will like it!
Perhaps her grandmother will brag about it to the villagers. Lucy’s eyes sparkled at the thought.
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If this would make her grandmother happy, she thought she could take the oath in front of hundreds of people without fear.
* * *
“I really don’t like it,” Colin said on the day of the entrance ceremony. His arms folded and he looked displeased. He sat with his back hunched, clearly expressing his displeasure with the situation, and stared dagger at the boy on the podium. “You’re the top student to enter the school, but why is he taking the oath?”
Colin’s glare grew sharper. He was ready to pierce the back of the boy named Eric Roman with just his eyes.
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