Chapter 37

Chapter 37

“Now then. If you’re all ready, shall we head out?” Kallen asked. He commented on how lovely I looked as we walked toward our carriage.

“See you later, Jade!” I waved as I looked back.

“Take care, my lady,” Sion said, bowing.

I nodded and hopped into the carriage. Once everyone was on board, the carriage lurched forward.

“How many students will there be at the school?” I asked Kallen, but it was Marianne who replied.

“I can’t say for certain, but probably around thirty to forty.”

My eyes widened in disbelief. Isn’t that how many students are usually in a single class? Is this even a real school?

“Tuition is expensive, and admission is highly competitive. They consider factors such as family background, you see,” Marianne added.

“Will I be able to adjust to such a school?” I asked worriedly.

Marianne glanced at Kallen, who looked back apathetically. Eventually, he peered down at me.

“Why do you ask?”

“Because the girl’s nervous, of course!” Marianne snapped. “Goodness, Kallen. I understand that you want the best for Leticia, but there were plenty of other more comfortable, moderate schools to consider.”

“Why would I settle for anything less than the best? My daughter is brilliant, so she is to attend the most reputable school there is.”

“Like speaking to a brick wall, as always.”

“Is the curriculum really so difficult?” I asked.

Maybe their educational standards are very high. Marianne shook her head.

“No, no. You won’t have to worry about the curriculum, my dear. The school has its own set of teaching methods.”

“Will there be any male students there?”

“Aristocratic schools, with the exception of the academy, are either all-boys or all-girls. To attend the academy, you must first graduate from an aristocratic school.”

Feeling the cage rattle to a halt, I looked out the window and saw a marble building gleaming in the sunlight. It looked like a beautiful manor. Are we here?

“Madam Poline is the king’s distant relative,” Marianne continued.

I whipped my head around. “P-pardon?”

“Which means that the school’s students are all, well…”

The carriage door flung open. Kallen stepped out first, then reached out and grabbed my hand. After climbing down, I returned my attention to Marianne.

“The students are all members of the royal family or the kingdom’s highest-ranking houses.”

The weight on my shoulders grew heavier. Am I really allowed to attend such a prestigious school? Upon entering the building, Kallen and Marianne led me toward the head teacher’s office to meet Madam Poline.

“Madam Poline,” Kallen greeted. He shot the king’s relative—a member of the royal family—with a poised but haughty look.

“Welcome, Your Grace.” Madam Poline greeted us with a bow and a gentle smile. The madam’s dress left not an inch of skin uncovered—from neck to toe.

Kallen nodded. “I shall be frank, Madam. I believe that my daughter here is the ideal child.”

Madam Poline’s eyebrows rose. “So I see. It appears that the rumors that Your Grace has changed must be true.”

“D-Dad…” I whined, my cheeks growing hot.

Kallen clutched my shoulders and nudged me in front of him. “That being the case, I expect that she will receive the best possible care here. Only the most special treatment.”

“Would you like us to show her blatant favoritism, Your Grace?”

“I would like you to show her unparalleled care and consideration. I trust you catch my meaning.”

Madam Poline narrowed her eyes and gave me a once-over.

I hitched up my dress skirt and curtsied gently. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Madam. My name is Leticia.”

She eyed me intently before lightly nodding to the duke. “She is indeed an adorable and lovely young lady. I believe she will get along just fine with the other students.”

I sighed inwardly, relief sinking in.

“She will be assigned a tutor before the end of the day. Luckily, she arrived just in time for tea. We shall take her to her designated classroom where she can introduce herself to the other students.” Madam Poline gracefully curtsied. It looked like something out of a textbook for etiquette. “It was an honor to meet with you again, Your Holiness.”

Marianne bent her knee and bowed in response, her demeanor far more mature than I was accustomed to seeing. She radiated self-confidence. “It was also an honor to meet with such a valuable royal family member after so long. I shall take my leave now.”

“Thank you for traveling all this way. Please rest assured that we will take excellent care of Lady Leticia.” Madam Poline strolled gracefully past us, and I stared in awe.

So that’s the elegance of a noblewoman…

“Have you realized that the head teacher was born as a man?” Marianne then whispered in my ear.

“What?” I said, a hand flying to my mouth.

A man?

Marianne chuckled.

Then Madam Poline called from outside the office. “I shall escort you to your classroom, Lady Leticia.”

“Ah, then we shall make ourselves scarce,” Kallen said. “I’ll return to retrieve you later.”

“Okay, Dad. See you later, Marianne!” I waved, then turned to follow Madam Poline.

And then I was on my own. The corridor was long, the walls decorated with paintings and lined with stone statues along both sides.

“The class we’re headed to is composed of other young ladies your age. If everything goes well, you will most likely graduate with them.”

“I see,” I said, nodding shyly.

We paused, and Madam Poline reached for the knob on the classroom door.

Inside, there will be other kids my age… They will probably be quite unlike the children I grew up with on the streets, but I hope we can be friends.

As soon as we entered the room, Madam Poline introduced me to the class. “I present your new classmate, the daughter of Duke Lewelton.”

I curtsied as the head teacher instructed. “Hello. My name is Leticia Lewelton,” I said. I could feel countless gazes boring into me.

“There will be no additional classes today, so you can enjoy your teatime and then be on your way,” Madam Poline said to me warmly.

A suffocating silence washed over the room in her absence after the madam left.

One, two… six people. There were six other young ladies in the room, and I was the smallest of them.

I’m still growing, but… I looked around. They were all young, but they were all sporting extravagant gowns and ornate jewelry. Everyone here must be wealthy.

Suddenly, one of the young ladies approached me. She had curly blonde hair and eyes as bright blue as a doll’s. “You’re Duke Lewelton’s adopted daughter?” she asked.

“Oh, um, yes,” I said with a nod. The corners of her lips curled up.

“I’m Lavine.”

“Hello. It’s nice to meet you.” I smiled at her, but she merely stared at me, her eyes cold and sly.

“Do you know what class this is?” she finally asked.

“I’m not sure.”

“It’s a class for the highest-ranking nobles, aged eight to fourteen. And more than a quarter of the ladies here have royal blood. That means we are extremely valuable students.”

More than a quarter… Doesn’t she mean a third? That means only two are from the royal family. Since there are just six of them. I chose not to make an unnecessary comment and instead simply raised an eyebrow.

“Is that so?” I asked.

“It is,” Lavine said. “So why is someone like you here?”

I blinked, slightly taken aback, but I could detect neither malice nor warmth in her voice. She simply sounded curious.

“It was the adults’ decision. If you really want to know, I can inquire for you,” I replied, grinning.

Lavine’s cheeks suddenly flushed, almost as if she were embarrassed. It was an unexpected reaction. “All right then. Since Duke Lewelton placed you here, we can’t chase you away. We don’t have the right to do such a thing. But be aware of this! We ladies are to become the future leaders of high society. Unlike you, we are true nobles, born and bred.”

Wow. The children in the back alleys were vicious, but nobles have their own brand of wickedness. I wasn’t angry with them for it—I understood their position entirely. After all, the appearance of a rival from another world will always be strange and frightening.

“Oh, I see,” I said numbly. “The future leaders of high society, you say? How astonishing.”

Lavine’s cheeks reddened even more. She cleared her throat loudly and straightened her spine, as if playing make-believe as a grown-up.

“Ahem… Right. Now I’ll kindly tell you this. We’ve elected to perform a play on the eve of the year-end festival that will be held at the royal palace.”

“I see,” I said. I had no interest because I had no context for what she was talking about.

Lavine stiffened. “Surely you are entirely ignorant of the importance of such a play, but let me tell you! Every year, the actors who are given the main roles are sure to become successful members of high society. My mother told me so.”

So this is the kind of wisdom that noble mothers give their children…

“I’m trying to tell you that you won’t have a part in the play because you joined the class too late. Even the understudy positions have been filled.”

“Mm-hm…”

When Lavine saw my indifferent response, she shook the script in front of my face. “I mean, I’m not even sure if someone with your background can read.”

I took the script and glanced over it. “All right. I won’t be in the play,” I said.

She’s probably on edge because she’s worried I’ll take her leading role, right? But I don’t know anything about this play, and I surely don’t care enough to steal a role.

“Wh-what?” Lavine asked, her eyes wide with shock. “What are you going to do while everyone else is rehearsing?”

“Can I be the script editor?”

“The script… editor?”

The other children began to murmur amongst themselves. While Lavine stared at me, gaping, the poised, brown-haired girl beside her spoke up.

“What’s a script editor?”

“Angela!” Lavine yelled. “Don’t ask such a question. You’ll appear weak!”

You already appear weak, Lavine.

“See? Take a look at this line right here,” I said, pointing at the script. “‘You are like lavender in May, a goddess reminiscent of a rose…’”

The children all stared at me in silence.

“Isn’t it a bit strange? People don’t like wordy, complicated lines like these. Why don’t we simplify it?” I glanced up in thought. “For example, ‘You, who are more beautiful than a flower, have made my heart bloom.’”

To be honest, this was a line from a novel I had read in my previous life. Please forgive me for cheating, though I can’t remember the novel very clearly.

“A-a reinterpretation of a classic…” one of the ladies muttered in shock, her fingers resting on her parted lips.

“A what?” another asked.

“I’m not certain, but it’s something only academy scholars can do. You know, retelling a classic text in modern language!”

“Ahem,” I coughed. “Actually, I was recently deemed gifted in languages. I’m not interested in playing a character, but I believe I can be of help as a script editor. Besides, if we tell the adults that we worked on it together, they will praise us profusely.”

This I’m confident about. I’m terrible at poetry, but I’m good at remembering the words I’ve stored in my mind. I just need to add a few lines here and there to the script. What better role could I hope for?

“Don’t you also need someone to review your acting?” I asked. “While watching the play from the sidelines, I mean. I can help with that.”

“Sh-she wants to be our stage director?”

“What’s a stage director?”

“Only a higher position than that of the actors!”

The young ladies whispered to one another.

Meanwhile, Lavine’s eyes were darting around frantically. Her cool, confident expression was slipping. “Give us a moment to discuss this.”

The ladies quickly huddled together and murmured amongst themselves.

“Did you hear her? She’s gifted!”

“I’ve never met a gifted child before.”

“Does that mean she’s a genius?”

“This is not good. We’re in trouble now. She may appear kind and quite cute, but keep in mind that she’s a commoner invading our territory.”

“What does being cute have to do with this? You dunce.”

“You dare call me a dunce?!”

“This is all your fault, Lavine. You said that the duke’s adopted daughter was a commoner and that we should shun her because she would stink.”

“And you all agreed, so why are you blaming me?!” Lavine bellowed.

I sighed. I could hear everything.