Chapter 7

The Price is Everything Chapter 7. Are you taking this class too? (7/302)

Chapter 7. Are you taking this class too?

2023.04.25.

If it had been any other freshman, they would have been startled, but to Neris, who had already faced life and death, it was merely annoying, as there was no sense of hostility.

She looked up at Cledwin with her indifferent purple eyes. A moment later, interest flickered in Cledwin’s eyes.

“So, you’re Zain. An illegitimate child of the Elantria family, I presume?”

Given that Cledwin was the Duke of Maindland, he should have known about Zain of the Elantria family. Neris smiled coldly.

“You mean, I’m supposed to be Nelvysion’s sibling?”

“Planning to deny it?”

Just like during the time with Ren, she wanted to avoid such misunderstandings.

She never wanted to be Nelvysion’s little sister again.

“Absolutely not.”

It seemed he didn’t know that a distant daughter of the family had given birth to Zain’s child. After all, even within the Elantria family, her existence had only been known for a short time.

Suddenly, she felt that this argument was meaningless. Neris looked straight at Cledwin and said commandingly,

“Put that away, Cledwin Maindland.”

Students were prohibited from attacking each other. Since students from rival families could end up in the same class, without such rules, many parents would refuse to send their children to the academy.

Yet, he had drawn his sword just to ask a name. While Neris wasn’t surprised, it would have left a deep scar on any other freshman.

In the next moment, the sword returned to the scabbard at Cledwin’s waist. Neris slowly stood up.

Standing tall before the older boy, Neris straightened her skirt. Watching her neat movements, Cledwin smiled.

It was a slight, mocking smile that seemed to tease the observer.

“So, you knew who I was. Now, tell me your name. It’s only fair.”

“No. I know your name because I’m good, so you should find out mine on your own.”

Cledwin’s eyes narrowed slightly at Neris’s provocative answer. He thought for a moment, then gestured to her.

“Go on.”

“Why? I don’t understand.”

“I’ll call you by your name the next time we meet.”

His voice carried an inexplicable confidence and decisiveness. Neris left without hurrying.

It was a pointless provocation. She knew that.

It wouldn’t be wise to offend a person in power, yet something in his eyes made her feel like a child.

Under the clear summer sky, the cold face that filled her vision lingered in Neris’s mind for a long time.

***

On one side of the vast campus of the Kartak College, near the stone wall dividing Aine College and Kartak College, stood the ancient Sizer Hall, which gave a glimpse of the academy’s early scale.

Built in the frugal style of Princess Catarina’s era, the building had undergone several renovations and expansions over the years but still retained its historical value.

Neris ascended to the second floor, known as the C-Level in the academy system, without even glancing at the artifacts, tapestries, or speeches by distinguished graduates displayed in the lobby.

Among the tall male students filling the corridor, the small and slender Neris stood out.

“Is there a first-year basic magic class here? I haven’t heard of it.”

“Hey, kid, this is Kartak College. Lost your way? Need someone to show you around?”

Confused upperclassmen’s voices poured out around her, but Neris pretended not to hear.

“Which family are you from?”

The boys exchanged glances, trying to identify her.

Even before their formal debut in society, children from good families usually interacted from a young age. However, none of the students present had ever seen this blonde girl.

It was a strange occurrence. With her platinum blonde hair, noble Zain, impeccable posture, and intelligent gaze, she was undoubtedly from a prestigious family, yet no one there should be related to her.

“Ah.”

Then someone pretended to recognize her.

The surrounding boys flinched at his unusual pink hair. Ren Phayel, from the Theology Department, was the brother of the former Pope and was once a popular figure, but now he was like a broken kite.

Theology Department? A connection to Ren? The upperclassmen’s minds quickly calculated and speculated.

Ignoring their reactions, Ren approached Neris and asked,

“What are you doing here?”

Neris turned around at the sound of Ren’s voice. Seeing her calm, composed eyes, he raised an eyebrow.

“Lost your way again?”

Neris, who hadn’t expected to run into him again, looked annoyed.

“I’ve never been lost.”

“You were lost before.”

“I didn’t say I was lost. I said I stumbled in by chance.”

“It’s the same thing.”

“Not at all. If I were lost, I wouldn’t have reached my destination, but that was a shortcut to my destination.”

Ren looked bewildered.

“Is this a shortcut too?”

“I have a class here. Berlenese 3.”

“Already?”

Berlenese was an elective foreign language, so few students took advanced classes. Therefore, students from various grades and majors attended the same class.

Ren, who had lived in the Papal States and interacted with diplomats from various countries, had an interest in relatively unusual languages. However, it was unusual for a freshman to take such a class.

“What class are you here for?”

“Berlenese 3.”

Neris, who hadn’t expected him to take the same class, raised an eyebrow, unsure if he was joking or serious.

However, Ren seemed pleased. If it were a joke, he would have just laughed, so it must be true.

No one had ever been happy to take the same class as her. They usually grumbled about their bad luck.

Feeling a strange sensation, Neris walked stiffly. Ren walked beside her casually and asked,

“Did the freshmen take their exams? How did you do?”

“I did as well as I could.”

“You must have done pretty well. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be taking an elective foreign language.”

“Why are you taking Berlenese? It’s not a common choice for Theology students.”

“What don’t you know?”

Ren blinked his round eyes. Neris didn’t answer.

As they approached Room 4C, where the class was held, and Neris remained silent, Ren grumbled,

“My uncle is in Berlen. I already know a bit, so I want to learn properly. It would be good to be able to visit him occasionally.”

Neris’s previous life knew that Ren’s uncle, the brother of the former Pope, had been a collaborator with Pope Omnitus III, who was later implicated in the Pope’s corruption and died taking the blame.

But he didn’t deserve much sympathy. He was a villain who deserved his fate, especially since he was involved in the incident that had tripped up Neris when she tried to pull the Elantria family into the Pope’s camp.

In no way would he be helpful to Ren. It would be fortunate if he didn’t immediately kill the last surviving member of the Phayel family.

Neris sighed inwardly. It wasn’t her concern how Ren turned out, but she didn’t want to do anything that would benefit Omnitus III.

“Are you close to your uncle?”

“Not really.”

“I figured.”

“Are you picking a fight?”

Ren’s pretty face turned fierce.

Neris looked at him sharply. Just as he was about to snap, he closed his mouth, surprised by his own reaction. He felt embarrassed that a child’s gaze could affect him so much.

“If my uncle had cared, things wouldn’t be like this. I don’t know much about the situation when Pope Tactitus VI passed away, but I know it was chaotic. If he cared, he would have sent me to a safe place long ago.”

Ren’s face paled, preparing to snap back, but Neris’s words were true. If his uncle had cared, even just to avoid public criticism, he would have protected Ren better.

But he had left Ren to fend for himself, likely to curry favor with Omnitus III.

Ren had never thought he would be welcomed in Berlen. He was just a child, struggling, and wanted to believe he had a place to turn to.

Ren fell silent, lost in thought, while Neris entered the classroom without hesitation.

Inside, about a dozen students were present, mostly upperclassmen, but one was her age.

A few upperclassmen and Megara were chatting amicably. She seemed as natural as a youngest daughter among doting family members.

With her charming manner and unblemished smile, and the fact that she was already taking classes with upperclassmen, she had already made a good impression on her peers. She turned to the newly arrived Neris and smiled angelically.

“Neris, you’re taking this class too? I didn’t know.”

Of course, she didn’t. Neris knew Megara wasn’t skilled enough to take this class yet.

The other freshmen were supposed to be taking mandatory foreign language classes at this time, choosing between the two most widely used languages on the continent, besides the imperial language: Common Rundian and Diamish.

Neris had scored full marks in both mandatory foreign language exams and had written a note at the end of the test paper in Berlenese, expressing her desire to take advanced classes and willingness to take additional exams if necessary. This allowed her to join the advanced class despite being a freshman.

She was the only one who had scored full marks in both mandatory foreign language exams in the recent academic assessment.

Predictable. She must have used the influence of the Lykandros Viscount’s family to force her way into the advanced class, to prove she wasn’t inferior to Neris.

“Meg, are you friends?”

An upperclassman, sensing the tension between the two, asked Megara.

Neris recognized him as a distant relative of the Lykandros family, the Ennim family, and one of Megara’s lifelong admirers from her previous life.

“She’s a freshman, big brother. Everyone knows Neris is smart.”

The expression on Megara’s face when she said “smart” conveyed to everyone in the room that Neris was boastful and overbearing.

The slightly hostile gazes in the room made Ren raise an eyebrow, but Neris’s expression remained unchanged. She spoke gently to Megara,

“Thanks for saying that, Megara. I was worried about being the only freshman in this class, but now I feel more confident. But isn’t this mandatory foreign language time?”

Megara’s expression turned slightly haughty.

“Mrs. Hoffman said I don’t need to take it.”

It was as if she had added, “like you.”

It was a pointless provocation. Neris smiled genuinely.

One could force their way into a higher-level class, but the Noble Academy’s classes weren’t easy.

There were systems in place to prevent teaching what students already knew and to demote those who couldn’t keep up to lower-level classes.

“Is that so? I look forward to it. I hope we can learn well together, Megara. Um, I wanted to sit with you, but…”

“I already promised to sit with Mahladi.”

Mahladi Ennim’s expression suggested the statement was a lie, but Neris smiled.

Megara, thinking she had answered calmly, showed a defensive expression before Neris even finished speaking.

Neris spoke generously, though she had no intention of sitting with her anyway.

“Well, if you’ve already made a promise, there’s nothing I can do.”

Language classes usually had students sit in pairs. Megara, assuming Neris would sit alone, frowned when Ren Phayel naturally took the seat next to her, unnoticed by others.

Hmph, the outcasts sticking together.