Chapter 62

* * *

“Lilith, do you like Gerard?”

“Huh? No.”

“Then why did you give him juice?”

After finishing my meal and patting my slightly fuller stomach, I came out to find Alicia asking me with an excited look on her face.

Diane and Michelle were also there, their eyes sparkling.

“Um, just because.”

“Come on, just because? You don’t have to be embarrassed. Half the girls here probably like Gerard, right?”

“Why? Is he popular?”

“He’s the best. He’s so handsome.”

“Yeah, he’s so handsome.”

“He’s like a prince….”

The cute nine-year-old girls clasped their hands together and opened their mouths wide, looking like little angels.

“Cheshire is even more handsome.”

My words were met with silence.

After a moment of hesitation, Alicia poked my shoulder.

“Hey, Lilith. What’s your relationship with Cheshire? You two seem really close.”

“Yeah, Cheshire….”

I started to speak but then clamped my mouth shut.

I remembered the words Cheshire had entrusted me with last night.

“Don’t tell anyone that I’m your guardian and that I live at your house.”

“Why? You should spread your dad’s name around. It’ll make it easier to live in this strange place.”

“Please, Lilith.”

“What, what?”

“I’m asking you. Can’t you do it for me?”

I understood why Cheshire wanted to keep it a secret.

He probably didn’t want to cause trouble for his father.

At first, I had no intention of agreeing, but when Cheshire said “please,” my mind went blank….

‘Sigh.’

I shrugged and tried to deflect.

“Yeah, we’re close. We entered together.”

“But a commoner….”

When Alicia tilted her head, Diane, with a slightly flushed face, poked her side.

“He is handsome. I want to talk to him too.”

“Yeah, yeah. Honestly, I think he’s a bit more attractive than Gerard. He’s much taller than us.”

Michelle agreed with Diane.

Seeing the girls fall for Cheshire’s good looks, I nodded in satisfaction.

This, this. Already drawing attention from the girls.

I didn’t think I’d have to worry about Cheshire’s romance later.

“Oh, Lilith! Look over there! Isn’t he waiting for you? Huh?”

Suddenly, Alicia started jumping around.

Looking over, I saw Gerard leaning against a tree on the path.

He smiled and walked over when he saw me.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

“Here.”

Gerard handed me a grape-flavored juice.

“I’ll drink the one you gave me.”

He shook the apple-flavored juice I had given him and smiled warmly.

“Wow.”

“Huh.”

Gerard’s refreshing smile made my roommates, who were hiding behind me, make strange noises.

I stared at Gerard’s handsome face.

‘Hmm, I don’t see any major personality issues right now. I hope he still has a chance for redemption….’

I took the grape juice, inserted a straw, and then offered it to Gerard with a smile.

“Let’s cheers!?”

“Ahaha. Sure.”

Gerard, with his eyes curved into half-moons, smiled and clinked his juice pack against mine.

Well, that’s good.

Let’s see how this goes.

* * *

9:00 AM.

I arrived at the classroom.

Special entrants had to complete basic education before they could join the regular classes.

“Cheshire!”

I took the seat next to Cheshire and, while taking out my notebook and bear pencil case, asked him.

“Did Bruce not bully you today?”

“Yeah.”

“Rom? Did Rom not bully you either?”

“Yeah.”

“How was your sleep last night? The bed was softer than you thought, right? I overslept today.”

“It was fine.”

“Will there be snacks today? Honestly, the snack discrimination is ridiculous. Do you want to meet me during snack time? We can share mine.”

“Okay.”

I pouted.

Something seemed off about Cheshire’s reaction.

“Is something bothering you?”

“No.”

“Is there?”

“Why do you think that?”

“You’re being too short. It seems like you don’t want to talk to me.”

“I’m always short.”

“No, something’s different. Something… very subtly different.”

“…”

Cheshire didn’t respond and just stared straight ahead.

I poked his side.

“Be honest. Did someone bully you?”

“No.”

“Then what’s wrong!”

“You….”

Cheshire started to speak.

There’s definitely something.

“Yeah.”

“…No.”

“Ahh! I’m so frustrated!”

I pulled at my hair.

“Tell me quickly, quickly!”

I grabbed Cheshire’s shoulders and shook him. He turned his head away and quietly asked,

“…Why did you give it to him?”

“Huh?”

What’s he talking about?

I tilted my head, and Cheshire looked at me again.

“This morning. The golden nameplate in our room, to him.”

“Huh?”

“…Why did you give him the juice?”

My mind froze for a moment.

The golden nameplate in Cheshire’s room referred to Gerard Schmidt.

“That!”

It was part of the plan to reform the character who was supposed to hinder the protagonist’s path!

Since Cheshire was the one who needed to get close to Gerard, I thought it was a good timing.

“That kid is the son of the Duke of Schmidt. I thought it wouldn’t be bad to get close to him.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Does he bully kids in your room?”

“No, he doesn’t.”

“Wow! That’s a relief. You might run into him often in the future. Don’t be so cold, and if he talks to you, respond… Anyway, try to get along with him! Got it?”

Cheshire stared at me for a long time.

Then he said,

“Do I need your permission to decide who I should be friends with?”

“Huh?”

“If I don’t want to be friends with someone, should I do it just because you want me to?”

“No, not really….”

“Then I’ll handle my own affairs. You want to be friends with him, not me.”

“Huh? No, wait. I just….”

At that moment, the classroom door opened, and two researchers in white coats entered.

I couldn’t continue and just watched Cheshire.

‘Why is he being so cold? Did Gerard Schmidt actually cause trouble?’

If that was the case, he might be annoyed at being told to be friends.

Cheshire wouldn’t admit to being bullied even if it happened.

‘Ugh. This isn’t easy.’

Feeling helpless as I looked at Cheshire’s stiff expression.

“Miss!”

A kind-looking female researcher approached me.

“Miss, would you please come this way?”

She pointed to a desk that was set apart.

I hesitated but moved to the indicated spot.

“I’m Bella Lemoff. I’ll be in charge of your basic education. I’ll give you a brief overview of the training program.”

“First, I’ll explain the training program.”

At that moment, I heard the same content but in a completely different tone from a male researcher.

I was surprised and turned to look at the commoner children, where Cheshire was.

‘Wow. I thought there were two teachers for a reason.’

The two had distinctly different attitudes.

“Alright, let’s start. If you have any questions, please ask immediately.”

“I won’t accept questions. Focus and follow the explanation without missing anything.”

The treatment was clearly different.

* * *

“The concept of supernatural power is called ‘mana.’ Those who possess mana in their bodies are called ‘ability holders.’”

Cheshire listened to the teacher’s explanation passively.

“The amount of mana each ability holder possesses varies, and their ‘rank’ is determined by the amount.”

I already knew this.

“The higher the rank of the parents, the higher the rank of the child tends to be. However, if the blood of a non-ability holder is mixed, the amount of mana drops significantly. For mixed-blood non-ability holders like you, 99% are 6th-rank Dièze.”

Cheshire glanced down at his white nameplate.

“In the rare 1% case, a different rank can be obtained, but it’s only 5th-rank Nuvo. There has never been a precedent for a mixed-blood to receive a rank other than 6th.”

A country where wealth, power, and status are determined by rank.

Cheshire would live in a completely different world from Lilith, even though they were from the same country.

Lilith, being a direct descendant of the Rubinstein family, which produces the most 1st-rank Dos.

“That kid is the son of the Duke of Schmidt. I thought it wouldn’t be bad to get close to him.”

So it was natural for Lilith to think that way.

As Lilith grows, the number of nobles of similar rank around her will increase, and she will naturally mix with them.

‘Why do I feel this way?’

Cheshire suppressed the inexplicable unpleasant feeling.

“Even though you’ve been fortunate enough to wear an ability holder badge, you must always be aware of your position.”

The teacher added, looking down on the commoner children in front of him.

“You are the lower class who live off the sacrifices of the high-ranking nobles. Therefore, you must learn to bow and show gratitude to them.”

The feeling sank to the bottom of his heart.

Even though he knew he would eventually drift away from Lilith….

Feeling it directly made the situation much more miserable than he thought.