Chapter 22
“There are quite a few stories about that.”
Kira shook her head as if troubled.
“First, when he first entered school, some nobles who were bullying him told him to get a limited edition, high-end brand fountain pen that commoners couldn’t afford. But as it happened, the Dean was using that very pen.”
“No way…”
“Yes. That crazy guy went to the Dean and asked to borrow the fountain pen. The Dean, who strongly dislikes class discrimination, was furious, and the school was turned upside down.”
“Did the bullying stop after that?”
“No. It got worse. Those guys were worked up about getting revenge after being punished by the Dean.”
“…So what happened?”
The thought of Raven being bullied like that made my head feel cold.
So this is what it feels like when they say your blood runs cold.
“He created a Student Human Rights Alliance at school. Thanks to that, students who were resentful of the class system gathered and protested. The Dean was moved by the argument that the behavior of those bullies and some nobles didn’t align with the school’s founding principles, and eventually, those guys were officially suspended.”
“…Huh?”
Why is the story suddenly taking this turn?
If these were the reasons, even I might become the Dean’s loyal dog. Couldn’t he be considered a benefactor?
From Raven’s perspective, the nickname ‘Dean’s loyal dog’ must feel quite unfair.
On the other hand, hearing the circumstances made me feel at ease. As expected of my brother. He’s amazing.
While I was feeling proud, Kira took out her pocket watch, checked the time, and was surprised.
“Eek! Senior, it’s almost time. I’ll be going now. We’ll talk about the rest later.”
Kira greeted me and walked away. I returned her greeting and checked the time.
8:50 PM. It would soon be 9 PM.
The lobby was full of female students gathered to return to their dorm rooms. This was because the curfew for the girls’ dormitory was 9 PM.
So I was hiding under the stairs, watching the lobby.
Before long, there was no one left in the lobby. And the time was exactly 9 PM.
I could see the empty lobby.
I saw the dorm supervisor coming out of her office. She seemed about to turn off the lights and start her rounds.
Since the dormitory had seven floors, it would take quite some time to patrol all of them.
‘It’s about time for Blackie to show up.’
Strangely, no one appeared in front of the first-floor lobby elevator.
Neither Raven nor Eastern was in sight, and Blackie wasn’t visible either.
Instead of the people I was waiting for, unexpected figures appeared.
‘Huh? Erica?’
The first-floor lobby elevator opened, and Lady Sutherland and Erica came out.
Lady Sutherland, her red hair fluttering, tapped Erica’s shoulder as soon as she got off the elevator.
“Go ahead and prove it.”
Erica glared at her with an upset face.
“Prove what?”
“Prove that Lady Ayrose’s dropout wasn’t because of you.”
Since they were in private, unlike before, they were talking very comfortably. The two seemed even closer than I had thought.
‘Ayrose…’
That name came up when Lady Sutherland’s group was surrounding and provoking Erica.
Is this related to what they said about Erica doing ‘that thing’ to Lady Ayrose last semester?
‘When will Raven come? Why can’t I see Blackie?’
I fidgeted anxiously.
I was worried about Erica too, but the thought of Raven coming made it difficult to focus entirely on her.
Ghosts were floating around in the lobby. They started gathering around me with curious faces.
‘Ah, no. Why is this happening?’
The ghosts circled me as if excited. Because of the ghosts, I couldn’t see Erica and Lady Sutherland clearly.
Above all, I ignored these guys as much as possible because if I acknowledged the ghosts, it would really cause a commotion.
I can’t see anything. I can’t see anything at all.
“Before Lady Ayrose ended up like that, she had asked you for help, didn’t she? I don’t know what kind of help she requested, but you ignored Lady Ayrose’s words. So it’s all your fault that she dropped out.”
Lady Sutherland glared at Erica with resentful, fierce eyes.
It seems Lady Sutherland cared a lot for Lady Ayrose, who had dropped out.
Erica was still keeping her mouth tightly shut.
“What kind of help did Lady Ayrose ask for? It’s about time you told us, isn’t it?”
Squeezed between the ghosts, I listened intently to their conversation.
After hesitating for a while, Erica carefully opened her mouth.
“…She said she could see ghosts. In this dormitory building.”
“What? What kind of nonsense is that?”
“I thought you’d react like that. I had the same reaction when Lady Ayrose first told me.”
“…Well, I’m just surprised because it’s something I never expected to hear.”
“You don’t think I would have reacted differently?”
“Are you saying the rumor is true that Lady Ayrose was the one who wrote about the elevator ghost story on the student bulletin board?”
“…Yes.”
Could the elevator ghost story and Lady Ayrose’s dropout be related?
That’s why Erica investigated the ghost story incident so thoroughly. It wasn’t just because she was an enthusiast for ghost stories.
From what I could gather from their conversation, it seems Lady Ayrose who dropped out, Erica, and Lady Sutherland were all friends.
But last semester, Lady Ayrose suddenly resented her roommate Erica for no reason and dropped out.
Erica didn’t explain why, and Lady Sutherland has hated Erica ever since.
‘There was a story between these two.’
Moreover, it’s surprising to hear that Erica originally had a different roommate.
At that moment, Lady Sutherland shouted in a fierce voice.
“I don’t believe it! Are you making up stories because you’re cornered? How can there be such things as ghosts in this world?”
But why are these two having this conversation in the first-floor lobby at this time? It’s against school rules to be out after 9 PM.
“That’s why I called you here. Let’s check it out together. If that bulletin board ghost story is true, something should appear now that it’s past 9 PM.”
Erica rolled up her sleeve and checked the time on her wristwatch.
‘A wristwatch. The Queensbury family must be incredibly rich. Nobles are really different.’
I had such useless thoughts while eavesdropping on their conversation.
“It’s so ridiculous, it’s laughable. Ghosts. Elevator ghost stories.”
Lady Sutherland continued to mock Erica.
When ‘ghosts’ were mentioned, all the ghosts that had been crowding around me like puppies turned to look at Lady Sutherland.
They seem to know when people are talking about them like ghosts.
‘Well, they are ghosts, after all.’
I took out my pocket watch and checked the time again. It was already 9:10 PM.
The promised time had already passed.
‘Could Raven and Eastern have fed false information to Leonard?’
That’s quite possible. The relationship between the disciplinary committee and the student council didn’t seem very good.
I looked back at Erica and Lady Sutherland. They were arguing in front of the first-floor lobby elevator when the strange phenomenon occurred.
Rattle. Creak—
Suddenly, the elevator’s double doors opened by themselves.
The elevator requires passengers to manually open the sliding metal door and then the swinging wooden door to board.
So it’s impossible for the elevator doors to open on their own without any passengers.
“Wh-what’s going on?”
Lady Sutherland’s sharp voice could be heard.
Heeeng—
The ghosts went wild.
They floated around, making a fuss, and tugged at my uniform. It looked as if they were trying to drag me out of the building.
Could this be…
Are they telling me to run away?
The ghosts’ signals seemed a bit ominous, so I stood up.
I was about to alert Erica and Lady Sutherland about this.
“Erica…”
As I took a step forward, calling Erica’s name, my view suddenly changed.
I was certainly crouching under the stairs, staking out and watching Erica and Lady Sutherland.
But as soon as I stood up, I found myself standing inside the elevator.
And there were two more people who suddenly found themselves inside the elevator with me. It was Lady Sutherland and Erica.
“Huh? What’s this?”
“When did we get in here? Melody? What are you doing here?”
Erica looks at me with surprised eyes.
Lady Sutherland, seeming confused, frantically looked around and tried to pull the elevator lever to open the door.
Click. Click.
“I think this is broken.”
As she said, the doors wouldn’t open even when pulling down the lever. It was the same when pressing the floor buttons.
“I think we’re trapped in the elevator.”
“That’s impossible!”
Lady Sutherland, in disbelief, banged on the elevator doors. But it was of no use.
Giving up, Lady Sutherland turned towards us and was startled.
“How on earth… Ah! Wh-who are you?”
She approached Erica and me with a pale face and clung to us.
‘What did she see that scared her?’
As I turned my head in the direction Lady Sutherland had shouted, I saw that there was one more female student in the corner of the elevator beside us.
“…Huh? There was definitely no one else here before.”
🐈⬛
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