Chapter 155: Academy IF Side Story – The False Family (2)

Chapter 155: Academy IF Side Story – The False Family (2)

“H-haha. I think the food I ate earlier must have been bad. My eyes are a little stinging. Do you happen to know if onions are harmful to the eyes?”

“Uh.. Yeah. Mine are stinging a bit too..”

I looked at Meichen, who was rubbing her swollen eyes with a slightly awkward expression.

She had a very bright expression, should I say?

With a smile that was clearly forced, she smiled at me.

“R-right? As expected.. I should complain to the cafeteria later. To put something like that in food for our precious students.”

Meichen’s voice, which had been passionately ranting, grew a little quieter.

Perhaps she thought it was a bit much herself.

Or perhaps she was embarrassed about showing me her crying face.

She looked dejected, completely different from her first impression.

It would be polite to leave her alone at a time like this.

I glanced at the sink and then gave her a knowing smile.

“…Rinse your eyes with water. Crying so much because of onions, the kids will laugh if they see you.”

“Of course. I, Meichen Brown, would never make such a mistake?”

When I treated her normally, she also found her rhythm and let out her characteristic irritating voice.

Is this enough?

I waved goodbye to her and left the restroom.

And when I stood at the entrance.

“Hic.. Keuk..”

As if waiting, sobbing sounds began to be heard.

Honestly. She’s so weak-hearted yet so full of herself.

I let out a faint sigh and slowly left the scene.

Meichen Brown was an annoying and arrogant girl to me.

But I suddenly felt that her inner self might not be like that.

****

“Kyahahahat! Lucy is so strong!”

“Heehee, launching people!”

I chuckled and watched Lucy running around carrying two students.

She held one person in each hand, and another child was riding on her shoulders like a horse.

A week had passed since the incident.

Lucy seemed to have adapted quite well with her friends.

“Cecil Constantine. Are you eating alone again today? Haha! As expected, you can’t do without me, right? How about becoming mine soon?”

Meichen was still the same.

With a haughty expression, she sat down next to me with great momentum.

Despite her words, she picked up her spoon with a calm demeanor.

“You’re still the same today. Did you sleep well?”

“Of course! Sleeping and waking up well is a trait of the Brown family. I’m confident in managing my condition.”

“I envy that. I haven’t been sleeping well lately.”

“Oh? Why, why?”

As soon as I said something, Meichen’s eyes widened.

Her eyes were momentarily filled with concern, and her arrogant expression shattered instantly.

But when I glanced at her eyes.

She immediately raised the corners of her eyes and puffed out her chest.

“Hmm, ahem-ahem. F-failing to manage your condition. That’s not like a top student. Can you maintain your position like that?”

Then, she continued speaking with a subdued demeanor.

“B-but it’s a bit concerning that my rival’s condition is bad. You have to be in your best condition for me to enjoy taking your place! Uh.. I have an aroma candle I’m using.. Should I give you one..?”

Isn’t that just her saying she’s worried?

Her preamble was too long, but I’ve gotten used to her way of speaking now.

I chuckled and nodded.

“Yeah. I’d be grateful if you did.”

“H-huhu! Be even more grateful! If you get sick.. I’ll be worried..”

It was cute how she tried to hide her concern by acting otherwise.

I chuckled while looking at her and then happily swallowed the tomato soup.

While we were eating like that.

“Excuse me.. Cecil. Do you have a moment?”

Tap-tap-

Someone touched my shoulder.

Who is it? I turned my head with a puzzled expression.

There stood the bitches who were bad-mouthing Meichen a week ago.

At the same time, Meichen’s expression hardened.

Her previously haughty face visibly wilted.

I gently took her hand under the table and spoke.

“Why? Is it because of that performance evaluation from before?”

A few days ago, I happened to be in the same group as those bitches.

It was definitely a combined class with lower-tier students.

It was annoying how they stuck to me, but there wasn’t much time for group assignments.

In the end, we formed a group of three.

That was just three days ago.

“Uh, yeah.. That’s right. The professor asked us to discuss the score distribution.. so I don’t know what to do.”

“What? Didn’t we agree to divide it 1:1:1? Isn’t that settled?”

“Hehe.. Th-that’s.. we didn’t do much.. so I think we need to readjust the scores.”

Oh, I thought they were going to say they wanted more points.

Why are these bitches doing something nice for a change?

The Academy’s performance evaluations are conducted in a rather unique way.

While the performance evaluation itself is the same, the students distribute the scores themselves.

That means those who do nothing can legally be removed from the group project.

Of course, students who are unfairly deprived of points can appeal to the professor.

It’s a fair system where those who truly do the work get more.

True equality.

“Really? Then we should go adjust it right away. Meichen, I’ll talk to these guys for a bit. I guess I’ll have to eat alone today.”

“Oh? Uh.. Of course! I can eat alone too.”

“Yeah. See you later.”

Hehe, good points.

I stood up with a beaming smile and followed them.

I might have to skip lunch or get it again.

But so what?

Thus, I took 80% of the performance evaluation points and was able to die of happiness.

Without even noticing Meichen, who was left alone, leaving the dining hall.

****

“Oh, Meichen. Aren’t you eating together today?”

“Huh? Well.. I don’t have an appetite today.”

Meichen has been acting strange lately.

“Meichen. Want to eat this together?”

“I have a stomachache today..”

“Then won’t you go to the library with me today?”

“S-study is something one does alone! Are you going to show your back to your rival?”

Whenever I suggest doing something together, she makes strange excuses and leaves.

I scratched my head and looked at Meichen, who seemed to be avoiding me.

Why is she acting like this all of a sudden?

Normally, she’d be bothering me with ‘Ha! Cecil Constantine!’

The more I see her, the more I can’t figure her out.

‘I don’t really have any friends either..’

I wanted to hang out with her, but it’s getting a bit awkward.

Surprisingly, Meichen had many enemies.

It seems the Brown family is currently in decline.

Perhaps that’s why.

Meichen often showed un-aristocratic behavior.

Like not spending money on unnecessary snacks.

Or having many old belongings.

Or using relatively cheap or inherited items.

Not everyone in this Academy is a noble, but these were very noticeable characteristics.

‘Did I do something wrong lately..?’

I tilted my head and thought about my actions up to now.

No matter how much I thought about it, I hadn’t done anything wrong.

Why is she acting like this?

While walking down the hallway with this question in mind.

“Unnie!”

Lucy, surrounded by her tiny friends, spotted me and waved.

At the same time, her friends rushed towards me.

This Academy boasts an enormous range of grades, from 8 to 20 years old, totaling 12 grades.

Well, Korea also has 12 years if you combine elementary, middle, and high school.

Lucy’s class is the 3rd grade.

So, they are 10-year-old little kids.

“Senior! Hello!!”

The cute little kids ran up and immediately greeted me.

They are polite despite their small size.

I suppressed the feeling of my heart exploding from the overwhelming cuteness and patted the little kids’ heads.

“Yes, yes. Cute ones. It’s good that you’re polite. Are you getting along well with Lucy?”

“Yes! Lucy is very strong and smart, so she’s very popular!”

“Oh, really? Well.. our Lucy is cute and pretty.”

Lucy seemed to be fully enjoying her Academy life.

Lucy giggled shyly at the children’s words.

“Um.. guys. Can you go back to the classroom for a bit? I have something to talk to Unnie about..”

“Really? Okay! Have a good talk!!”

“Then we’ll go first!”

“Do the horse ride thing again later!”

The children, at Lucy’s words, ran off giggling.

They looked like baby golden retrievers.

Cute.

I savored the remnants of the 3rd graders who had passed by like a storm and made eye contact with Lucy.

“Your friends are really cute. But what do you need to talk about? Did something happen?”

“Un.. it’s not that. You know the friend you hang out with? I overheard it before..”

“Huh? Meichen? Why her?”

I didn’t expect Lucy to mention Meichen.

I widened my eyes and tilted my head.

“Um.. Unnie. Do people dislike that Unnie?”

“Her? Hmm.. she has many grudges, though not intentional ones.”

“You know, people she’s been hanging out with for performance evaluations lately..”

“Huh? Lucy, how do you know that?”

“One of my friends is their younger sibling. Anyway, the important thing isn’t that.. I heard that those people are trying to separate Meichen Unnie and you.”

“What..?”

What on earth is she talking about?

I wore a puzzled expression at the incomprehensible words.

Certainly, I’ve been called by them a lot since that incident.

Was it because of that?

“I didn’t hear the details.. but they said it was funny how she ended up alone, pretending to be friendly with you under the guise of performance evaluations.”

“..Are you sure?”

“I heard that part clearly.”

Could it be that the reason she’s been keeping her distance from me lately is because of that?

Because she thinks I’m getting along well with the people who bad-mouthed her?

I felt a surge of anger, as if blood was rushing backwards.

Those bitches, they were sticking to me with sly smiles, but they had ulterior motives all along.

“..Thank you, Lucy. I almost missed it.”

“Yeah. What are you going to do?”

At Lucy’s innocent words, I stared blankly into the air.

The answer was obvious.

“I have to make sure they can’t do this again..”

“Tell me if it gets resolved. Since the short-haired person is my friend’s Unnie, please go easy on her.”

“Okay. I’ll try my best with her, though.”

“Yeah. Good luck!”

Lucy, with a bright smile, gave me a tight hug.

I patted Lucy’s head and smiled brightly.

How dare they try to play games in front of me?

Thinking about how to crush those bitches, I brainstormed methods in my head.

****

“Hoo..”

Meichen Brown sat on the cold stone steps and sighed.

This was the staircase to the warehouse in a secluded corner of the Academy.

It was a place with very few people, so she often came here to organize her thoughts when her mind was complicated.

Her usually haughty expression was significantly subdued.

She twisted her hair with her fingers, blinked her eyes open and closed.

Then, she clenched her fists tightly.

There was nothing to grasp. It was a meaningless gesture.

Gurgle-

Then, her stomach rumbled.

Perhaps it was because she skipped lunch today, her stomach was reacting.

However, she didn’t feel like eating anything.

She had given up on eating lunch because it didn’t go down well.

‘I wonder if Cecil is in the library right now..’

Suddenly, that thought crossed her mind.

Then, she shook her head vigorously.

She’s with someone else anyway, so it doesn’t matter anymore.

Meichen, with a blank expression, felt the cold spring breeze.

‘I really wanted to make friends when I entered the Academy.’

Suddenly, a melancholic thought made her nose tingle.

She didn’t know if it was because the weather was cold.

Or because she was uncharacteristically melancholic.

The Brown family.

In the past, it was a prestigious mage family, but it has become a tragic family that has fallen due to a long period of no talented individuals.

She remembered her mother’s words, “You are the hope of our family.”

Even though she was a failure who couldn’t even achieve the top position she so desperately wanted.

“Haha..”

It’s so hard to make just one friend.

Nobles point fingers at her as the child of a declining family.

Commoners avoid her because she’s a noble.

And now, she’s alone because she couldn’t hold onto the friend she finally made.

Swish-

Her eyes felt itchy again, so she rubbed her eyes.

Damn it. Why are my eyes so dry when it’s not even winter?

Still, Cecil Constantine.

When she was with her, her heart felt very at ease.

Nobles care a lot about family, whether it’s friends or lovers.

But Cecil was different.

Usually, people ask about family on the first meeting.

But she wasn’t interested in that at all.

It was a moment that made her arrogant act of pretending to be noble feel meaningless.

The experience of being a fool with confidence wasn’t a bad feeling.

It was enjoyable, albeit brief.

Drip, drop-

Suddenly, a few drops of water began to fall on the ground.

The sky was clear as hell, but it was raining.

She didn’t need an umbrella, but it felt terribly damp.

Yes. She knew it would turn out like this anyway.

The more she lied about not expecting anything, the harder the rain fell.

“..The weather is clear, but it’s raining cats and dogs.”

Footsteps approached, and a familiar scent wafted over.

Meichen lifted her head, her face covered in tears.

There stood Cecil, with a bitter smile.

“Kuh-hic. Sniff. Cecil..?”

“Why are you being so pathetic here? I’ve been looking for you for a while.”

Then Cecil’s hand wiped Meichen’s eyes.

She accepted the gentle touch without a word.

Then, she slowly spoke.

“…Why are you here?”

“Why else, idiot? Don’t you know I have no one else to eat with if I don’t have you?”

“Haha.. Y-you don’t have to worry about me.”

“Stop saying weird things and let’s go.”

Cecil patted Meichen’s shoulder and helped her up.

Meichen, looking flustered, got up from her seat.

“Uh.. where?”

A smile spread across Cecil’s lips.

She gently hugged Meichen.

“To get an apology.”

She said it in a bright voice.