Chapter 125

The Academy Girls' Dormitory.

In this place brimming with dreams and hope, the delighted laughter of a certain girl could be heard.

"Wow..."

The girl lay on her bed, clutching her fluttering heart.

The girl with pink hair was Yuria, the heroine of "The Strongest Ones at the Academy Like Me."

In high spirits from the morning, Yuria lay in bed gazing at a sealed letter.

[From: Ricardo]

Yuria hugged the letter-marked with a red seal and carrying the scent of lilac perfume-tightly to her chest and smiled contentedly in the morning sunlight.

It was the first letter she'd ever received from Ricardo. A letter she hadn't received even while attending the academy.

She didn't know what it might contain, but Yuria thought it surely wouldn't be stiff and formal.

This letter had started from a different point than before.

Though things were still awkward between them and some resentment lingered in their hearts, the fact that they'd started from the point of being "friends" felt like a distinctly different distance to Yuria.

How should she put it? A fluttering feeling, perhaps.

From this simple letter, Yuria felt an emotion she hadn't experienced with anyone else.

Though things were still very awkward with Ricardo, the hope remained in Yuria's heart that someday she could approach him like before.

She didn't want to keep bringing up their past bad blood forever. It would take a lot of time, but someday... wouldn't the day come when their stalled relationship could progress? Yuria hugged the letter tightly once more, wearing a shy smile.

"Ah... this is nice."

What could the letter contain?

It would surely start with a greeting concerned about her health in the cold weather. Something like, "The weather in Hamel is quite cold. I'm worried you might have caught a cold in this winter chill."

And the next line would probably start with some trivial story.

Light everyday talk.

About what he ate today.

Casually written notes about interesting things she didn't know about.

And that he missed her...

"What am I even thinking..."

Her face burned at such foolish thoughts.

She wanted to savor it like side dish sausages she wanted to save and treasure. He was definitely someone she'd disliked, yet like someone without sense, her heart kept fluttering and the smile wouldn't leave her lips.

Yuria wanted to enjoy this feeling a little longer. Because... she liked this fluttering time.

"I don't know..."

Yuria liked Ricardo.

Though she was very shy and bashful, when it came to the subject of love alone, she was quick at self-objectification.

Yuria acknowledged that she liked men with red hair, cold looks, and fiery personalities.

She didn't know the exact time and date she fell for him, but at some point Ricardo started appearing in her dreams, and she liked the Ricardo who sat beside her when she ate alone.

Whatever people around them said.

Even if she heard sneers about "lowborns flocking together," Yuria liked Ricardo's kind smile.

And for good reason.

Because no one else had been by her side.

Though Mikhail and Ruin, now her close friends, were beside her now, they hadn't been there during her difficult times, so she seemed to rely on and like him more.

Yuria smiled with excitement and slowly closed her eyes.

She kept thinking about him.

The image of Ricardo's nonchalant expression as he casually approached and talked to her when she was crying at the recycling area flickered before her eyes.

When she closed her eyes, she could vividly hear Ricardo's calm voice as he quietly approached her when she was being ostracized and asked, "Why are you crying here?"

Perhaps she had slowly, very gradually, opened her heart to Ricardo.

Of course, a big part was being attracted because Ricardo matched her ideal type, but she seemed to have felt a masculinity in him that she couldn't find in Ruin and Mikhail.

Though they were all equally friends, the weight she felt was different. When they weren't close, Ruin, Mikhail, and even the Crown Prince had been nothing more than bystanders.

That's why she'd been so disappointed in Ricardo.

And why she'd despaired even more at Ricardo's actions when he suddenly turned cold.

And.

She seemed to feel even greater guilt about stabbing Ricardo with her own hands. Because she'd made him receive hatred for something he didn't do and be condemned for something he'd done courageously.

What words should she say? Yuria couldn't find the answer.

Yuria exhaled and opened the envelope with trembling hands.

A letter from Ricardo.

Yuria had no idea what Ricardo might have written.

That's why it was even more exciting.

And nerve-wracking.

- Riiip...

Swish. As Yuria pulled the letter paper from inside the envelope, she squeezed her eyes shut with an excited heart.

She counted to three in her mind.

One.

Two.

Three.

So then...

What could it say?

With an excited heart, Yuria opened her eyes, and the first words she uttered were an exclamation filled with complicated emotions.

"...Huh?"

Yuria let out a confused sound upon seeing the letter's contents.

And for good reason.

"What did he even write?"

Because she couldn't read it.

Ricardo had warned her that his handwriting was terrible, but she hadn't expected it to be this bad.

Yuria frowned and tried hard to read the letter.

"He...llo..."

For the first time, Yuria was glad she'd taken those boring ancient language classes. She'd thought it was useless studying, but now the time had come to use it.

It helped her read Ricardo's letter, so Yuria praised her past self. "Good job sticking with it and learning."

Yuria squinted and tried, and tried again, to read the letter.

It was precious.

Even with such terrible handwriting.

Having grasped the thread of her first love, Yuria was happy.

*

A bright morning at the estate.

After a long while, the two pathetic souls sat on the bed with the Young Lady, gazing outside and sipping warm tea, savoring the joy of success.

"Slurp... Mm... It has quite a heavy taste."

"Right... Bitter yet substantial."

The Young Lady, who'd been drinking nothing but cheap green tea all this time, was now sampling expensive black tea and spouting sophisticated vocabulary. The way she hooked her finger through the teacup handle and went "slurp," feeling the cold breeze and taking another "slurp"-she looked exactly like a noble.

They say the position makes the person. But it seems like for the Young Lady and me, it's money that makes us into people.

Drinking tea crafted by an artisan's hand, the Young Lady and I exchanged refined smiles as we looked at each other.

Our hearts seemed to be in sync.

What we both wanted, that is.

"I have no idea what this tastes like."

"Yeah. It used to be delicious, but now it's bland and tasteless."

The Young Lady set down her teacup and offered a wise conclusion. Her palate had been trained on cheap food, so she wasn't ready for such refined black tea.

Of course, I felt exactly the same.

It was definitely delicious, but something felt lacking. I wasn't particularly interested in tea, so I couldn't say for sure, but one thing was certain-it wasn't my taste.

Frowning with genuine displeasure, the Young Lady stuck out her tongue and said to me.

"I want cocoa."

"I'll make two cups, including mine."

"Put marshmallows in mine."

"No, you'll get fat."

The Young Lady hung her head glumly, then nodded at the butler's firm words.

"Then chocolate."

"That's even worse."

"You're no fun."

The Young Lady's extras cost more than the main dish.

Just as I was heading downstairs with the teacup still containing black tea.

The Young Lady, who'd been staring blankly out the window, saw Gomtangi let loose in the courtyard and shouted.

- Grooooar!

"Shut up!"

- Grooooar!

"I said shut up!"

"Just leave her. She's probably excited."

"But she's still loud."

The Young Lady pulled out a piece of jerky from her treasure pouch and threw it at Gomtangi, telling her to be quiet. Being a precious child from a wealthy family, she made sure to give proper compensation-I nodded approvingly at that.

But.

Why is Gomtangi barking?

Gomtangi rarely barks.

If Gomtangi's barking, that means a guest has arrived at the estate, but my firm belief was that no guests would ever come to this estate.

We'd paid off all our debts, so there was no reason for debtors to visit.

I tilted my head and walked toward the Young Lady.

"Didn't you hear some kind of noise?"

The Young Lady rested her chin on the window and said with an unconcerned expression.

"No."

"Is that so?"

Suddenly. A man's shout came from the window.

- Let go...!

At the strangely familiar male voice, I raised a question mark over my head and looked at the Young Lady.

"I don't think that's nothing?"

- Let go! You bear cub!

- Grom.

- I said let go!

- Grom grom!

- Before I roast you with fire...!

- Grooooooar!

"Young Lady?"

Even hearing the man's screams from outside the window, the Young Lady pretended not to notice. With a calm expression, staring blankly.

She just gazed out the window as if it were curious, then told me as if it were nothing.

"Gomtangi's playing with some grass."

"Grass?"

"Yeah... A toy that looks like green algae came by."

I slowly looked out the window.

I could see Gomtangi holding someone's pants in her mouth, traversing the courtyard.

"Ah."

I turned and headed down to the kitchen.

"It's nothing after all."

I was startled thinking it was a guest, but what a relief.

That's not a guest.

I cheered for Gomtangi, hoping she'd thoroughly clean the courtyard.