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Valentia went to the station to rent a carriage.
Normally, one’s family would send a carriage to receive them in front of the Academy, but the Baron never did. Valentia always needed to rent one at the station.
What did I just do?
But she made a serious mess. One so terrible she couldn’t stop thinking about it.
She knew she should’ve put up with it. She was mad, but she should’ve just endured it. What she should’ve done was calmly hand over the handkerchief, passing it over to the Prince and turned away without reacting in the slightest to his words.
Just like she always did, calmly tuning out the words of those around her.
[ Valentia ] “How has your day been?”
Once she came within view of the station, a small puppy ran up to her. It was a little dog with golden fur, jumping up around her feet. The dog welcomed Valentia with such a vigorous tail wag, it was like it might fall off.
[ Valentia ] “You like dog food, don’t you?”
[ Dog ] “Bark—!”
Understanding aside, the dark barked at Valentia’s words all the same. Even as the dog wagged his tail like crazy, Valentia did not go to pat his head.
Instead, she smiled a little, patting down her skirt as she knelt down next to him. When she set out some of the food she brough, the dog immediately threw his head down and started digging in.
[ Valentia ] “Eat slowly.”
But the dog, unable to understand the language of humans, continued to eat frantically.
This was a stray puppy that lived near the station. His mother used to be around as well, and she was also a stray who lived in this area. Valentia always paid close attention to the sight of a dog carrying around her small, newly born pup.
It happened one day.
As she was renting out a carriage to return home, she heard a sound. A thumping sound.
The dog’s mother had been run over by one of the carriages as it was departing, and she was left there even after the carriage had gone. The remainder of her life was not long, and she died shortly thereafter. Next to her was her baby, left to cry.
And from then on, Valentia provided the puppy with food.
She wanted to take him home with her, but she couldn’t.
That was why she did not give this dog a name, and though he looked up at her with such dark and tearful eyes, she did not pet him even once.
[ Valentia ] “You and I are the same.”
No mother and no place to go.
[ Valentia ] “What do I do?”
She wasn’t sure if she’d be expelled at this rate.
Obviously slapping a male student was not cause for expulsion, but that was only the case when the man in question wasn’t the Prince.
At the time, she merely passed it off as a conflict between students, but no matter how the Academy liked to act, his existence and status was an avoidable thing, even to Valentia. They had to be cautious of the Imperial family.
She needed to graduate, but now she’d invited trouble into her life. She didn’t regret hitting him even a little bit, but this was a difficult time for things to get out of hand.
And it likely wouldn’t end with simple discipline.
That arrogant, cold, and dirty Prince wouldn’t be satisfied with ending it there. Her head was already spinning thinking of this story somehow reaching the Baron’s ears.
If this turned into a big deal and the Imperial family got involved, the Baron would just kick her out in order to solve the problem quickly. The Academy might even expel her and what use would her role as the top student be then?
Having finished his meal, the dog hopped up, struggling to his feet.
[ Valentia ] “Are you done?”
[ Dog ] “Bark, bark—!”
[ Valentia ] “Then, I will see you tomorrow.”
Though the dog was clearly asking for pats, Valentia stood up from her place, leaving the dog behind. He ran along with her, and she coldly told him not to follow her, quickly entering the carriage.
The whole ride back to the barony, her heart was incredibly heavy.
She paid the coachman and then got off once they reached the main gate of the mansion. They were not the family carriage and they could not go past this point, so Valentia had to pass through the garden from here to enter the mansion.
[ Selina ] “I really like today’s dress.”
[ Baroness ] “Do you like it that much?”
[ Selina ] “Yes!”
[ Baroness ] “I should have bought you some shoes and gloves to match, then.”
[ Selina ] “Let’s go out again tomorrow!”
[ Baroness ] “Alright. Let’s do that.”
There was an innocent and bright voice, mixing in with cuteness that was filled with joy. Arriving just in time, she ran into the Baron’s wife and her second sibling, who were returning to the mansion by carriage.
The expressions of the Baroness and her half-sister Selina as they got off the carriage immediately stiffened when they saw her. Anyone seeing them now would think they had an awful day.
[ Valentia ] “I have returned. I welcome you home, as well.”
Valentia bowed her head to say hello, but naturally there was no response coming back. She held the name of Syner, but she was not a part of this house. She was never a true member of their family.
Baron Syner, her father, was not happy when she was born. He clicked his tongue, loudly complaining that she wasn’t a man. Though to be perfectly honest, she wasn’t sure he’d be happy even if she were.
In fact, things were probably better for her since she was a woman. Had she been born male, there was a large chance she would have been killed by now to prevent her from threatening her first sibling, Edward’s position.
[ Valentia ] “Did you go shopping?”
[ Selina ] “Why are you talking to me? Gross.”
[ Baroness ] “Selina.”
[ Selina ] “Yes, mother.”
[ Baroness ] “A lady should not speak to herself like this.”
When Selina cut back to her in a voice filled with displeasure, the Baroness quietly pushed her along. But her words were no kinder. It was just that, rather than clear disdain, they were words that wrote off Valentia’s entire existence.
It would’ve been nice if she could live in the dormitory, but unfortunately, those were meant only for the commoner students. Otherwise, she would not be here right now.
She wanted to leave this family after graduating from the Academy with high marks, but after what happened today, she might’ve accidentally forced her future to a grinding halt. And if she wasn’t lucky, she might’ve destroyed it entirely.
With a sigh, Valentia went to her room.
Everything there was small.
Unlike the Baroness and her two younger siblings who changed the furniture in their rooms every year, Valentia kept everything exactly the same from what she had when she was young.
They were all old and broken down, everything making some kind of squeaking noise.
The bed was no different. As Valentia laid down on the bed without getting changed, she tossed and turned, causing that annoying squeaking sound to touch her ears.
I have a headache.
Valentia closed her eyes, but she couldn’t sleep.
*
* * *
*
Normally she was very happy to go to the Academy.
She was alone either way, but it was better than being at the barony. The stinging eyes of others was a more comfortable feeling than the cold treatment she received from her family.
But today, her steps were heavy. As soon as she entered the lecture hall, she could feel the eyes being drawn to her. And before it could even begin, the professor’s assistant informed Valentia that classes had been canceled for the day.
[ Assistant ] “Miss Valentia. Please head to the office.”
After organizing her textbook and writing tools, Valentia stood up from her seat. To think it would take slapping someone just to enter the staff office. She wasn’t even allowed entry when she earned her scholarship.
Again, Valentia sighed.
Once she got there, she hesitated because she knew she could not enter recklessly, but unfortunately, the victim of this very incident was also waiting there. The Prince.
That smooth and handsome face was no different from usual. If she had held back or his face had at least a little swelling, things might’ve felt a little less unfair, but his face was just as clear and perfect as it always was.
When they made eye contact, they awkwardly looked at each other, and then bowed their heads slightly.
[ Lexus ] “You were called, too.”
[ Valentia ] “Yes.”
Valentia bit her lip slightly when the Prince was the first to speak.
She naturally thought he wouldn’t talk to her, so she casually ignored him when she walked in, but when he ended up saying something first, she felt a little lost.
[ Lexus ] “Shall we go in?”
She needed to apologize. She didn’t feel sorry at all, but she needed to apologize right this instant if she wanted this to come to a peaceful resolution.
Only then would she be allowed to graduate from the Academy without this problem getting any bigger.
But she wasn’t the only one who did something wrong. All she wanted to do was return the handkerchief she picked up by chance but then he started randomly spewing all these horrible words at her.
And so she didn’t feel sorry and she didn’t regret hitting him.
Deep inside herself, she really didn’t want to apologize, so in the end, her mouth wouldn’t open.
While Valentia was hesitating, the Prince turned his head back first. Then he knocked on the door to the office.
[ Principal ] “Come in.”
Once someone called out to them from within, the Prince opened the door and inside were the Principal and a few professors, gathered at a round table.
[ Principal ] “You’re coming in together. Just in time.”
Two chairs were set in between the professors, outside of the round table—perhaps because they unconsciously understood they couldn’t force the Prince to stand but they certainly could not have a member of the Imperial family seated at the round table.
[ Principal ] “Let’s sit down.”
On cue, everyone carefully sat down.
[ Principal ] “I’m sorry to have called the both of you so suddenly.”
[ Lexus ] “It’s fine.”
[ Principal ] “I trust you understand why you’re here? About yesterday.”
[ Valentia ] “Yes.”
[ Principal ] “The punishment for violent acts within the Academy
..”
The board meeting yesterday was intense.
Usually in cases like this, one would simply need to acknowledge their wrong doing, reflect on their actions, and apologize to the victim in question. Regardless of whether or not the apology was accepted, the culprit would then be asked to do some volunteer work within the Academy.
But the victim this time was the Prince.
This caused such an upset that they couldn’t move on from it so nicely. She was starting to regret her earlier silence. She should have apologized by the door, even if she had to pull the words out of thin air.
But there was nothing to be done. No matter how she thought about things, she really felt like she didn’t do anything wrong.
Moreover, the arrogant and rude Prince would never let this go, even if she apologized. Valentia had no choice but to argue her case, fighting against the Prince’s cruel and unreasonable language towards her. If she was going down, then by all means, she’d take him down with her.
The injustice would be enough to kill her if she were the only one getting expelled from this.
Valentia squeezed out a desperate voice.
[ Valentia ] “Yesterday was just a simple quarrel between students.”
[ Principal ] “But there was violence involved. Everyone saw you slap the Prince in the face, Miss Valentia.”
[ Valentia ] “But it seems unfair to treat us as if we were not equally involved in what happened.”
The professor that was usually sympathetic to Valentia nodded.
[ Professor Morit ] “But who was the one who got hit? Was it not one of the most noble men in the entirety of the Empire?”
Meanwhile, another professor proudly stuck up for Lexus.
He was the professor who was criticized during their earlier meeting for too plainly trying to take the side of the Imperial family. This was all just a big show, trying to make a clear impression on a royal.
[ Valentia ] “On that matter, yesterday, I confirmed that the person involved was also a student. Didn’t I?”
[ Professor Morit ] “Are you trying to force an answer out of the Prince right now?”
[ Valentia ] “Within the Academy, is he even a Prince
.”
It was right when Valentia was about to argue, that the Prince scoffed, only then speaking like he found this whole thing too absurd.
[ Lexus ] “What’s that supposed to mean?”