CICN 41

Chapter 41

When she first entered the dormitory, Irene had debated which of the two rooms to take.

She had opened the one with a better view of the garden, but the moment she did, she saw that the belongings distributed by the Academy were already placed inside.

‘My roommate must have arrived first.’

Just before she closed the door again, she caught sight of the clothes hanging on the wall.

They were absurdly small.

‘She must be smaller than me.’

That thought made Irene’s heart flutter.

Irene had a weakness for anything smaller than herself.

It had a lot to do with her being from the South.

Compared to the people from the Central region, where the capital was located, Southerners were generally taller and broader.

Even their children, though they might be born small, quickly grew tall before anyone realized.

That’s why, even at ten years old, Irene had appeared much taller and more mature than other kids her age when she arrived in the capital—most mistook her for at least thirteen.

In the South, being small equated to being young and fragile, someone to be looked after and protected.

Moreover, Irene was the youngest in her family.

Because of that, people treated her with great care—almost to the point of pampering her so she wouldn’t get hurt if the wind blew the wrong way.

That’s why Irene often felt stifled.

On the outside, she looked like someone too delicate to pluck a flower, with her beautiful and fragile appearance.

But inside, Irene was Southern to the bone.

She went crazy when she saw something small—overwhelmed by the urge to protect it.

But since she was the youngest, she was always the one being coddled and protected. She never got the chance to do the protecting herself.

Until now…

‘A roommate! Someone younger than me!’

If there hadn’t been other people around, she might have gasped with joy.

Just as she was trembling in delight, the girls beside her peered inside the room and raised their voices.

“Oh my, someone took the room before Miss Irene? Who could it be?”

“What? A student dared to choose her room before Miss Irene did?”

Their voices made Irene’s expression instantly chill over.

‘These girls are so annoying.’

Ever since coming to the capital, Irene had constantly been surrounded by people.

Especially during her stay at the townhouse while preparing for the Academy entrance, all sorts of people came claiming they were going to the Academy too and wanted to befriend her.

Naturally, they were all people trying to curry favor with the Terrins family.

‘If we were back in the South, none of them would even dare come close…’

It wasn’t because she was a noble’s daughter.

Southern kids were usually terrified of Irene.

They were rough and wild, but whenever Irene appeared, their faces would go pale and they’d flee.

That reputation largely stemmed from the time Irene had literally beaten up a boy from another noble family.

The day Irene sent a boy to the hospital, her father clutched his chest and shouted:

“Because of you, my wife collapsed!”

“Anyone hearing this would think I’m not your daughter.”

Irene brushed off her father’s words with a bored expression.

But her face stiffened at what he said next.

“Your sister was deeply disappointed to hear about this!”

“My sister?”

Even though they had different mothers, Irene’s sister was her favorite person in the world.

Also the person she feared most.

Just then, her sister entered the room.

“Irene. Tell me what happened. Why did you punch the second son of the Roman family? And why did you kick him between the legs?”

When her sister called her name softly, Irene lowered her head and mumbled,

“He kicked me first.”

“I see. So that’s why you punched him. But why did you kick him there? Now his parents are seriously worried.”

The Roman Viscount couple had wailed, wondering what they’d do if their son ended up impotent.

At that, Irene hesitated before forcing herself to speak.

“He tried to touch me without permission and lifted my skirt. I just wanted to make sure he never tried something like that again. He shouldn’t go around doing that to other kids either, right?”

Her father and sister’s expressions changed immediately.

“Well done.”

That was her father.

“…That son of a bitch did that to you?”

That was her sister, who had just been speaking gently a moment before.

Then the two of them huddled together and whispered in low voices.

“…Let’s go that route. Completely destroy him…”

“…Honestly, getting rid of a son like that might be a blessing for that family…”

Some rather dangerous conversation passed between her father and sister before they returned, smiling sweetly.

Her father spoke first.

“All right, Irene. Let’s set that aside for now. But you can’t deny that you’ve been getting into more trouble lately.”

“…”

Irene fell silent at that.

“The world is not your enemy. You need to learn how to get along with others.”

“I’m getting along fine. My etiquette tutor said there’s nothing more to teach me.”

“That’s only because you’ve perfectly memorized the outward forms. The tutor came to me separately and said your peer relationships are a disaster.”

“…”

As Irene stayed silent, her sister chimed in.

“That’s why we thought you needed a new environment. Here, look at this.”

“What is it? An Academy acceptance letter?”

Irene jumped up from her seat when she took the paper her sister handed her.

“Why would I go there?!”

“Because your scores qualified you. And I applied on your behalf.”

“You did?”

“Yes.”

Her sister looked at her seriously.

“You need friends.”

“…”

“And some connections in the capital too.”

“That’s the real reason, isn’t it?”

At Irene’s suspicious glare, her sister just laughed.

“They’re the same thing. Friends are connections. Anyway, go to the capital and attend the Academy. Make some friends before you graduate.”

At that, Irene burst into tears.

“You’re sending me off alone to the capital where I know no one? You’re abandoning me!”

Tears welled up on her silver eyelashes.

Her amethyst-colored eyes shimmered sadly, evoking pity in anyone who saw them.

But her sister was firm.

“Crying won’t work. You’re ten now. It’s time you act like someone from House Terrins.”

“Tch.”

Irene immediately wiped away her tears.

Being a member of House Terrins meant fulfilling your purpose.

Despite all the love in the family, it was a house that had risen to immense wealth and power through commerce.

That meant from childhood, your abilities, your place, and even your future duties were predetermined.

“And didn’t you say you didn’t want to be the crown prince’s bride? Well, rumors are already flying, so go and clear that up yourself.”

“Oh, that I have to do.”

Last year, when she’d made a brief appearance in the central social circles, rumors began that she wanted to marry the crown prince.

‘Who would want such a suffocating position?’

She didn’t want to become the crown princess.

‘I just want to be friends with the crown prince, isn’t that enough?’

And if that led to being close with whoever would become his partner, all the better.

So, to quiet the rumors and build her own connections, she came to the Academy.

But…

‘Southern kids were much more well-behaved.’

Irene was already fed up with the children who spent the whole day around her gossiping about which family was better and who was beneath them.

There was a social gap between nobles and commoners in the South too, but not like this.

Why were they acting so arrogant and stuck-up just because of their families and Academy acceptance?

But unlike back home, she couldn’t just tell them all to buzz off.

‘Hold it in. I have to hold it in.’

She needed to suppress her temper until she graduated from the Academy.

‘They say you can quit halfway and go home, but…’

She didn’t want to do that.

Her pride wouldn’t allow it.

Her father and sister were right. It was time to build new connections in the capital.

And she knew she was the perfect person to do it.

And besides…

‘I really do want a friend.’

That’s why she was looking forward to meeting her roommate.

Irene had so many things she wanted to do—go to classes together, eat meals, attend festivals…

Then, her roommate arrived.

She bowed politely and said her name was Evie Elden.

Irene nearly screamed, clamping her hands over her mouth.

‘She’s so tiny! And her name’s Evie! So cute!’