The Gloomy and Timid Princess Heads to the Academy – Chapter 35

Chapter 35: Dream

Before me stood a younger version of myself, seated beside my mother in a mist-shrouded pavilion overlooking a serene lake. The two of them were engaged in conversation.

Ah, a dream.

I didn’t feel a strong desire to wake up. After all, my best friend wasn’t likely to betray me here, and even if it was just a dream, I could see my mother’s face again.

Even though I could communicate with her through my diary, seeing her in person felt entirely different. The distance between us spurred me to walk closer to them.

Being a dream, I found I could walk on the water without any special effort. It felt odd, but then again, it was my dream—why not?

Sliding across the water as if skating was amusing, so I played around for a bit before eventually reaching the pavilion where my younger self and my mother were.

“My child, I want to ask you something. What do you think life is?”

“…What life… is?”

Her words were clear, yet young me stammered slightly in response, speaking neither fluently nor awkwardly—likely around thirteen years old, or thereabouts.

It made sense. After all, I’d spent nearly four years rigorously correcting my speech. It had been tedious at the time, but looking back now, I understood that Father had taught me so diligently out of love.

…Still, I wouldn’t want to return to those days. Repeating his words like a parrot and answering sudden, unexpected questions correctly—it had all been exhausting.

“Um…”

My mother had always posed difficult questions when we were alone.

Could humanity survive without gods? Was it right to sacrifice a few to save the many? Was aging truly part of a living being’s natural order?

At first, I’d wracked my brain trying to come up with plausible answers, but at some point, I started escaping with a playful, Baby doesn’t know that routine.

It wasn’t that I disliked my mother—just the convoluted problems she posed. And it didn’t help that I wasn’t smart enough to provide the answers she sought.

But this particular question—what life is—I didn’t recall her asking before. It felt too vivid to dismiss as just a dream.

“…Life is… something infinitely precious and, uh, valuable… isn’t it?”

That was the best answer my younger self could muster. Such a generic response would never satisfy my mother.

Sure enough, she appeared unimpressed, mulling over my words.

“Infinitely precious and valuable, you say.”

As she repeated the words, she gestured with her hand, and something began to take shape in midair.

It was a skeleton—unmistakably the frame of a fish. Bit by bit, veins, a heart, internal organs, muscles, and skin layered themselves onto the bones.

The fish was alive, moving on its own. With another wave of her hand, the fish, which had been suspended in the air, dropped into the water with a splash and disappeared.

“So, is the act of creating life with my gestures also something infinitely precious and valuable?”

“Uh…?”

Though I now know how remarkable my mother was, as a child, I hadn’t grasped that yet. Hence the dumbfounded expression on my younger self’s face.

Still, this scene felt oddly familiar, like I’d seen it somewhere before. It was too detailed for a dream.

…Ah, that’s right. This isn’t a dream—it’s a memory. For some reason, I’d forgotten it until now.

“Well, of course, Mother is precious too, but… uh, this is… kind of a different sort of preciousness… isn’t it?”

Young me looked pale, visibly overwhelmed. If the memory had been this impactful, how could I have forgotten it?

“You think so? Then let me ask you another question. What do you think humans are?”

“…Huh?”

My mother smiled playfully and raised her hand. The young me, already pushed beyond her limit, fainted on the spot.

“Perhaps I went too far. Very well—forget what happened today. When the time is right, you’ll remember.”

She cradled my unconscious self in her lap, stroking my hair gently. Witnessing this scene now, I understood. She must have erased the memory to protect me from trauma.

When she’d raised her hand just then, I’d genuinely thought she might create a human out of thin air, and the thought terrified me.

Even now, seeing something like that would be a shock. Just as I was trembling at the thought of what hadn’t even happened, I felt something strange.

My mother was looking directly at me.

…What? How?

How could a memory of her be looking at me?

“…And you, my child, listening from over there. Why don’t you consider it, too? What is a human?”

I froze, stunned, as my mother continued.

“Go on now. You must finish what you started, mustn’t you?”

How did she know that? I tried to speak, but my body wouldn’t move at all. What’s more, what did she mean by finish monitoring Dogeon?

Nothing made sense. Yet I could unmistakably hear Dogeon’s voice in my ears, calling out Exipri’s name.

“Why do I have to take remedial lessons?!”

“A good question, cadet. The reason is simple: magical beasts don’t spare women just because they’re women. In fact,” the instructor corrected himself with a wry grin, “they target women first. So you’ll need to work twice as hard, won’t you?”

Exipri desperately tried to escape the remedial class, but Georg, as if oblivious to her protests, firmly placed her in the extra session.

Not that the remedial group was large—it was just me and her. And since I was here for magic training, we barely had any overlap.

“Don’t take it too hard, Lady Exipri. I’m sure the professor has your best interests in mind.”

Of course, he didn’t. Honestly, just handing her some snacks would’ve improved her mood exponentially—there was no need for all this.

Still, something was better than nothing.

With Hoyeon asleep, there was no need to worry about any sharp stares either.

It seemed like the idea of not having friends was a sore spot for Exipri. After I’d made that remark earlier, she hadn’t uttered a single word.

I debated whether to apologize, feeling guilty that she might truly be upset. But approaching someone when they’re angry can often backfire, so I held back.

She struck me as someone who was both easy to handle and, at times, a bit of a handful—likely the type to sulk all over again if she saw me mingling with others.

After all, if she’d followed me all the way to the gym, it was probably because she was mad at me yet didn’t want to be apart—or worse, didn’t want me talking to anyone else.

I couldn’t know for sure until she told me herself.

“Ugh… I guess so…?”

“Yes, of course.”

All it took was a little bit of reassurance, and she brightened up instantly. Seeing her reaction, I couldn’t help but think she was much easier to deal with than Hoyeon.

Hoyeon wasn’t exactly difficult either—at least not when the word friend was involved. I guess having no friends at all until now made her value that word so deeply.

Thinking about it, it made sense why she’d been so elated to hear it, and why she’d gotten so upset when I trampled on it. It was understandable.

I’d stayed in touch with my first friend, even after falling into this world.

Once her anger cooled down, I’d make sure to sincerely apologize.

Meanwhile, after a bit of banter with Exipri, she quickly cheered up and started giving it her all in the training, declaring she’d overcome this challenge. Her determination was, frankly, adorable.

Today’s lesson wasn’t in a pocket dimension, just regular training in the gym.

She darted back and forth, dodging illusions of beasts, while I focused on countering Georg’s magic. Overall, the session was straightforward.

The main class earlier had been grueling, so I’d feared the remedial session would be worse. Surprisingly, it was manageable.

The spells he cast were basic enough to block with simple barriers or counter with opposing magic.

I figured today’s session was more about gauging our proficiency than anything else, like the assessments during the first class.

While cruising through the lesson, I suddenly felt an intense gaze boring into the back of my head. Turning cautiously, I saw Hoyeon staring at me.

…Since when?

If she’d just woken up, she wouldn’t be glaring at me so intently. Which meant she’d seen me interacting with Exipri.

The question was, how much had she witnessed?

If she’d been watching since the moment I first called Exipri by name, my crime was much greater.

So, she really did follow me because she couldn’t stand the idea of me talking to anyone else.

Lost in thought, I got hit by one of Georg’s spells.

“Where are you looking, Cadet Han Dogeon?”

“Apologies, sir.”

It felt like getting flicked on the forehead, only harder, leaving a stinging sensation.

There was no arguing with Georg—whatever he decided was final. Life at the academy felt like one long exercise in submission.

“Ah, so it’s that girl over there, isn’t it?”

“How did you…?”

Before I could ask, Georg carried on as if it were obvious.

“Go on. She’s waiting for you. That’s all for today.”

This wasn’t like him at all. A man who considered everyone but himself to be garbage, paying attention to someone else? Unbelievable.

Still, that was beside the point…

Right now, I had to go and apologize to the very angry Hoyeon.

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