Chapter 03
The clear, high-pitched voice, like the song of an oriole, spread distinctly throughout the area.
“Where did that voice come from?”
“Over there!”
The freshmen’s gazes converged on one spot.
A few rows behind Daisy.
A girl with glossy, wavy pink hair was sitting there.
She had her legs crossed, resting one arm on top of them and propping her chin up with her hand. Her eyes were a clear sky blue.
Slightly upturned eyes, a well-defined nose, and delicate red lips.
The freshmen were briefly amazed by her pretty face before someone suddenly shouted.
“That’s Lydia Penmarch!”
“Oh my, the only daughter of the Marquis of Penmarch?”
“Wow, she’s beautiful……!”
The freshmen murmured in admiration.
“But didn’t she just say ‘Daisy Sableheart’?”
“Sableheart? Where?”
The freshmen craned their necks and followed Lydia’s gaze.
Then they gave a short nod with slightly disappointed expressions.
Compared to Lydia’s intense and glamorous features, Daisy’s gentle impression looked pretty, but somewhat plain.
On top of that, her platinum-blonde hair had become disheveled as she removed her hood, partially covering her features.
Those who met her emerald eyes were somewhat surprised, but most simply passed by without giving her much thought.
And Lydia watched the scene with satisfaction.
That was exactly the level Daisy Sableheart should be at.
“How did she even get admitted here?”
The girl to Lydia’s left asked without bothering to hide her mockery.
“There must have been some kind of error.”
The girl to Lydia’s right answered confidently.
“Honestly, I bet even the academy didn’t know. Who would’ve guessed that Kaylen Oppa’s younger sister would be such a hopeless idiot?”
“That’s true. Both Kaylen Oppa and Chester Oppa are so talented.”
“What do you call something like that?”
“Hmm… a mutation?”
“Pfft, exactly!”
The girls on either side of Lydia burst into laughter.
Lydia said nothing.
She merely sat between them with a faint smile on her face.
Even that smile was beautiful enough to draw admiration, and several freshmen blushed.
“That’s enough, everyone. You’re making Daisy embarrassed.”
Lydia spoke in a bright voice completely devoid of malice.
At that, several freshmen leaned over, hoping to see Daisy’s embarrassed face.
What would happen next was obvious.
The bright-red-faced Daisy Sableheart would wave her hands and say she was fine, only to knock something over or hit someone else.
People would look at Daisy irritably, and the even more withdrawn Daisy would eventually do something even stranger before disappearing.
“……”
But strangely, Daisy didn’t react at all today.
‘She must be trying to maintain her dignity because it’s the entrance ceremony.’
Thinking this, Lydia lowered her smooth pink eyebrows as if she felt sorry for her and said,
“Anyway, Count Sableheart must have been quite worried because of Daisy. Even if he sent her to the academy… he must be concerned, right?”
“That is true. She isn’t good at anything.”
Lydia’s right-hand girl quickly answered.
“Unlike you, Lydia. You’ve been destined to attend Eldvane since the day you were born.”
Lydia’s left-hand girl added without losing out.
“You’ll probably be assigned to the Hall of the Raven before you even put on the helmet.”
Lydia seemed quite pleased by that, letting out a small laugh.
“By the way, I wonder where Daisy will go?”
Of course, it was obvious that she wasn’t genuinely asking because she didn’t know.
“Maybe it’ll tell her to ‘get out’ the moment she puts on the helmet.”
“That’s too much.”
The girls burst into loud laughter at the left-hand girl’s joke.
They laughed and laughed, until—
“What? Why isn’t she turning around?”
The right-hand girl muttered with a baffled expression.
“Did she not hear us?”
“……”
Ha ha. She’s deliberately not turning around!
Daisy kept her gaze fixed on the stage as she thought.
‘Where should I go if I want to stay unnoticed?’
The Hall of the Raven was absolutely out of the question.
And the Tower of the Tiger had that mosquito bastard……
〔The Garden of the Bee!〕
That was when it happened.
A frail-looking boy was assigned to the Garden of the Bee.
He lowered his eyebrows and looked somewhat disappointed about being assigned there.
Meanwhile, Daisy’s face brightened as though she had found the answer.
Yes, this was it.
The Garden of the Bee!
A dormitory where she could simply sit safely at a desk without undergoing horrible training or life-threatening practical exercises?
God, this is it.
Did you hear me? This is the one.
“Hey, hey!”
“Can’t you hear us?!”
Next, the vice principal called out, “Monica Raoli.”
The name somehow sounded familiar, but Daisy couldn’t remember where she had seen it in the original story.
Well, she was probably just an extra.
Daisy looked at the girl with long, straight purple hair flowing down to her waist, then fell into thought again.
Come to think of it, how do I get assigned to the Garden of the Bee?
Do office workers get bonus points?
I’m a diligent employee who has never been late even once!
“Daisy! Hey!”
“Is she for real?!”
Even as the sharp voices continued coming from behind her, Daisy ignored them without moving an inch.
Rule No. 2 for surviving a bleak story.
“Never feed the bait.”
Lydia Penmarch.
A villain who tormented Daisy endlessly from childhood, throughout her time at the academy, and even after she got married.
The reason she bullied Daisy was simple.
Just because.
She bullied Daisy because it was funny that Daisy never said anything no matter what was done to her, and because she found it ridiculous how desperately Daisy tried to be loved.
And the Daisy of the original story silently endured all of Lydia’s bullying.
Why?
Because Daisy was a crazy yes-man who would never say, ‘No, I don’t want to, stop it’……
“Hey! Hey!!”
“She seriously ignoring us?”
Well, at least she wasn’t completely oblivious.
〔……!〕
In the meantime, Monica Raoli’s dormitory name echoed from afar.
Daisy hadn’t heard it properly, but strangely, the surrounding area began to stir.
What was going on?
“She really is!”
At last, the left-hand girl couldn’t stand it anymore. Her face twisted as she abruptly stood up.
But she couldn’t approach Daisy.
“Lydia Penmarch!”
At that exact moment, the vice principal called Lydia’s name.
“Yes.”
Lydia answered in a melodious voice with a dazzling smile as she stood up.
Beyond the left-hand girl, who sat back down while huffing angrily, Daisy could hear the freshmen whispering.
“Penmarch is an imperial mage family that’s been around for generations, right?”
“Yeah, she probably already knows all the basic magic.”
“That’s amazing……”
“But isn’t advanced studying prohibited?”
“It’s only prohibited in name. Her father is an Imperial Mage. Do you really think she didn’t learn anything beforehand?”
Click, click.
With the students’ admiration serving as background music, Lydia gracefully walked onto the stage and put on the helmet.
And then—
〔The Hall of the Raven!〕
Lydia removed the helmet with an expression that seemed to say it was only natural. Her pink hair cascaded down like a waterfall.
“Heh.”
Her dazzling features shone against her well-maintained, pale skin.
Click, click.
After stepping down from the stage, Lydia immediately walked toward Daisy.
At a slightly faster pace than necessary.
Her intention was obvious.
Daisy sighed.
Kids, honestly……
Just as Daisy’s shoulder was about to collide with Lydia’s body—
“Oh my, my shoelace came undone.”
Daisy twisted her body and crouched down, pretending to tie her shoelace.
“Oh!”
Lydia’s body, suddenly losing its target, stumbled awkwardly.
“This……”
Lydia’s pretty face twisted once again.
Of course, Daisy ignored that too.
As a rule, never feeding the bait always wins.
The dormitory assignments were nearing their end.
Behind Daisy, Lydia’s group continued barking.
“What’s the point of assigning dormitories…? She’s going to get kicked out soon anyway. There’s no way the academy would just keep an idiot like her.”
“I’m sure she’s not even on the list.”
“Exactly. They haven’t called her yet.”
Heh heh, you guys.
Thanks for the blessing.
Whenever Daisy heard the name of the Hall of the Raven, she would raise her head and check the person’s face.
That guy stole Daisy’s assignments.
That guy ruined Daisy’s group project.
That guy did that to Daisy……
The more she saw the faces that made her blood pressure rise, the more convinced she became that she absolutely could not go to the Hall of the Raven.
She needed to know how the dormitory assignment worked so she could avoid it somehow……
As Daisy pondered this, she heard the freshmen who had just received their assignments exclaiming in admiration.
“Isn’t the assignment completely scientific?”
“I was seriously surprised. I didn’t know it would be this systematic!”
“I heard the name of my dormitory and immediately understood why!”
“The magic helmet is.”
“Science.”
“……”
What on earth did it do to assign them that they were praising it like this?
Just as Daisy stared suspiciously at the old helmet sitting on the stage—
“Felix Arderon!”
The entrance ceremony hall instantly fell silent.
What?
Daisy looked around in confusion.
Who was that?
At that moment, she sensed someone behind her.
Daisy turned her head and saw a boy.
He was tall, with pale skin and pitch-black hair.
Clear almond-shaped eyes sat deep within his eye sockets.
A nose bridge as high as a sheer cliff.
And perfectly shaped lips.
Even though his face was still youthful, his features were sharply defined.
The boy had a sculpted appearance, every feature perfectly placed.
Then, suddenly, he looked somewhere.
Right where Daisy was.
“……”
“……”
Their eyes met in midair.
His pupils, pitch black against irises of such a bright gray that they were almost indistinguishable from the whites of his eyes, contracted strangely.
And then—
The boy was the first to look away.
Whoosh.
He turned around and headed quickly toward the stage with his long legs.
Watching his back, which was at least a head taller than everyone else’s, Daisy frowned as a vague sense of déjà vu passed through her.
Gray eyes……
‘Who was that again?’
