Chapter 10

<PAST>

Lucy staggered out of the restroom, her face deathly pale. Charlotte quickly wrapped an arm around her shoulders, steadying her.

“Are you okay?”

Lucy gave a weak nod.

“I’m fine… I just got a little startled, that’s all.”

Lucy was a diligent student. Even when Charlotte urged her to rest, she refused, saying she couldn’t afford to miss class.

In the end, Charlotte had no choice but to carry both her own books and Lucy’s with one arm while using the other to support her.

As they walked down the hallway, people who saw them first reacted with surprise, then quickly approached with concern.

“Are you alright?”

“I think she’s just a bit tired,” Charlotte answered for her. “Thank you for worrying.”

Hearing this, they nodded hesitantly and left, reminding Lucy not to push herself too hard.

But Charlotte could feel it.

Lucy’s trembling was getting worse.

Her grip on Lucy tightened, but the shaking only grew stronger.

And then, Charlotte felt it—Lucy’s weight shifting completely onto her arm.

Wait, this is—

She gritted her teeth, trying to keep Lucy upright, but it was no use. Lucy’s body slipped from her grasp, tipping toward the floor.

Thud.

“Careful.”

Someone caught Lucy’s shoulders from behind.

Charlotte whirled around, relief washing over her as she shouted,

“David!”

“Hey.”

David helped Lucy stand upright again, flashing a small smile. But it quickly faded as he frowned, echoing what everyone else had asked earlier.

“Lucy, why do you look so pale? Are you sick?”

But this time, Lucy’s answer was different.

“A little…”

She turned and buried her face against David’s chest.

He held her close, gently patting her back. Then, he leaned down and pressed a small kiss to the top of her head.

Charlotte scowled immediately.

“Can you not do that right in front of me?”

Charlotte shoved aside her guilt and concern for Lucy, replacing them with sheer irritation. Are they trying to rub it in my face?

Her annoyance flared so hot that she felt her temperature rise. She nearly turned on her heel to walk away.

“Ah, wait, Charlotte…!”

Lucy grabbed her arm in a panic.

That’s more like it. That’s my friend.

Satisfied with exactly the reaction she had expected, Charlotte smirked and stopped in her tracks.

“Why don’t we just let her go?”

David teased, pulling Lucy closer to him.

Charlotte’s irritation hit its peak. She yanked Lucy right out of his arms, shooting him a disgusted glare.

“Let’s go, Lucy. Stop hanging around with guys like him.”

She grabbed Lucy’s arm and marched off, dragging her along.

Lucy let out a confused “Uh—” while glancing back and forth between the two of them.

David simply chuckled, following after them and slinging his arms around both their shoulders.

The sudden weight made Charlotte let out an undignified ugh!

This bastard—!

She immediately checked on Lucy, but she seemed perfectly fine.

David had been careful, keeping his touch light on Lucy, but Charlotte? He had dumped his entire weight on her instead.

It was nice that he was treating Lucy gently, but that only made Charlotte even angrier. Without hesitation, she pinched his side as hard as she could.

“Ow! That hurts, you crazy woman!”

“Crazy woman?! Did you just call me that?!”

“Yeah, I did! You’re seriously violent, you know that?!”

“Ha! Mind your own damn business! Lucy, break up with this asshole right now! How can you date someone who calls women that? I’ll find you a better man!”

“Oh, please, like you even know any decent men.”

“You wanna die, right now?!”

Charlotte and David shouted over each other, neither willing to back down.

How should I kill this guy so that people say he deserved it?

Her eyes darted around, searching for something she could use as a weapon.

Just as things seemed ready to escalate further, Lucy slipped between them.

Both of them flinched and instinctively took a step back.

“Are you really going to introduce me to someone else?”

Charlotte’s face lit up immediately.

“Of course! Just say the word! I’ll find someone a hundred—no, a thousand times better than him!”

“L-Lucy! You’re joking, right? Right?!”

David’s face turned ashen as he grabbed Lucy’s arm in a panic. Meanwhile, Lucy grinned mischievously at Charlotte and said,

“Then introduce me to one of your brothers.”

Charlotte’s expression instantly mirrored David’s horror-stricken face.

“You’re joking, right, Lucy?” she asked, her voice filled with pure disbelief.

Lucy tilted her head innocently.

“Nope. I’m serious. Both of your brothers are incredibly handsome.”

Charlotte let out a strangled scream.

“Absolutely not! Those creatures are barely human!”

“Lucy, are you seriously thinking about dating someone else?!” David nearly shouted.

“If he’s a good guy, of course I should at least give it a chance. Don’t you think?”

At Lucy’s words, the two of them locked eyes.

David’s expression was a mess of confusion, frustration, and overwhelming despair.

Charlotte studied him for a moment before thinking, Ugh, as much as I hate to admit it, he’s still better than those losers at home.

That realization brought her an odd sense of peace.

“Just… just keep dating David, Lucy. That’s the better option.”

“Really?”

As if nothing had happened, Lucy turned to David, looped her arm through his, and smiled sweetly at both of them.

This cunning little fox.

Charlotte chuckled as she finally caught on to what Lucy had been doing.

David, too, exhaled in relief as he realized she hadn’t been serious.

Laughing and teasing each other, the three of them headed off to class.

After the lesson, Charlotte and Lucy managed to shake off David and wandered to the academy’s garden.

They found their way to the beech tree where Toby was buried and sat down beneath its shade.

A cool breeze swept through, ruffling Lucy’s red hair.

As soon as they arrived, Lucy’s cheerful demeanor faded, replaced by a quiet melancholy.

Charlotte said nothing. She simply took Lucy’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze before guiding it to the earth beneath them—where Toby rested.

Tears welled up in Lucy’s eyes.

For a long time, the two of them remained there in silence, sharing a moment of peaceful mourning.

Leaving the garden, they began making their way back to the dormitory.

To get there, they had to follow the academy’s outer wall, passing by the back gate.

Just as they were about to walk past, someone suddenly called out.

“Ah! Miss!”

“?”

The sudden sound of a child’s voice made Charlotte look around in confusion. A child? At the academy?

The two of them quickly spotted a young boy clutching the iron bars of the back gate with small, trembling hands.

“Did you call us?”

Lucy crouched down to meet his eyes, speaking to him gently.

The boy bit his lip before nodding hesitantly.

He was dressed in ragged, tattered clothes, stained with dirt and grime. Even his face bore smudges of something dark. He looked like a street orphan.

Thinking he might be begging, Charlotte reached into her pocket for a coin, but before she could pull anything out, Lucy retrieved a handkerchief from her own pocket and reached through the bars to wipe the boy’s face.

Though the iron gate made it difficult to clean him properly, it was enough to reveal more of his features.

“What’s wrong?”

At Lucy’s question, the boy hesitated, mumbling something under his breath while lowering his head.

His voice was so quiet that neither of them could hear.

Charlotte furrowed her brow and asked, “What was that?”

“…Sorry.”

“Hm?”

“I… I’m so sorry…”

Suddenly, the boy lifted his head, tears welling in his eyes.

“I’m sorry! I really didn’t mean to! I was just so hungry, I’m really, really sorry!”

“…”

“I didn’t know it belonged to someone…!”

The two of them finally recognized the boy.

He had been one of the children who had eaten Toby.

Charlotte couldn’t speak.

She was still angry.

Even though she had walked away that day because Lucy had stopped her, she had firmly believed that those children had done something wrong—and that wrongs deserved consequences.

…But now, things were different.

Her emotions had cooled. She was no longer looking at a group of children, but a single, frail boy.

And now, in the clear daylight—without the flickering glow of the alley’s firelight—the boy looked even smaller, thinner, more fragile than he had back then.

Charlotte twisted her lips bitterly.

He’s just a kid. He didn’t commit some great crime.

The real fault lay with them—Charlotte and Lucy—who had failed to protect Toby.

She glanced at Lucy out of the corner of her eye.

Lucy looked just as shaken as she felt.

For now, Charlotte gestured for the boy to step back, then pressed her weight against the heavy iron gate.

The door was stiff, its hinges rusted, and it only budged slightly—but it was enough for a small, malnourished child to slip through.

Even with the gate open, the boy hesitated, shifting nervously.

Charlotte could guess why.

He must have been chased away from the main entrance.

The academy guards were strict. A street orphan like him would have been scolded harshly and thrown out without a second thought.

He had wandered to the back gate, not knowing what else to do, desperate to apologize.

The back gate was much less guarded than the front. There were no stationed guards, and while the gate remained locked from the inside, the iron bars still allowed a view of people passing by. No one had come by to chase the boy away, telling him he didn’t belong there.

Since the day of the incident, the boy had returned here every single day, waiting for the owner of the little dog to pass by. Instead of begging for food or searching for a safe alley to sleep in, he had spent all his time lingering outside the academy’s gates.

He hadn’t eaten so much as a moldy scrap of bread. At night, he had shivered under the biting cold. His body had only grown weaker.

And yet, he couldn’t bring himself to stop waiting.

He was uneducated, an orphan with no name, wandering the streets like a stray. But even so, he had his own principles.

Even if he hadn’t known what he was doing, the fact remained: he had stolen something.

And that wasn’t something he could just ignore.

“Come inside,” Lucy said, her voice gentle as she beckoned him forward.

The boy hesitated, then slowly shuffled toward them.

Up close, he looked even smaller and thinner than before.

Charlotte and Lucy exchanged a glance in midair—silent but decisive.

Lucy retrieved her handkerchief once more and wiped the boy’s face properly this time.

Meanwhile, Charlotte dug hastily through her pockets for something—anything—he could eat.

A sandwich would have been ideal, but all she found were three slightly melted chocolates.

She carefully unwrapped one and placed it into his mouth.

The boy, startled, accepted it instinctively.

Then, as the taste hit him, his eyes went wide in amazement.

Charlotte, finding the sight unexpectedly endearing, smiled and pressed the other two chocolates into his small hands.