15 — Chapter 15

I arrived at the dining hall a little late, as a lady should, and found quite a crowd of students already there.

I guess everyone’s starving, I thought, but the atmosphere felt off. Everyone was wearing the same grey uniform, yet something was different.

Ah—everyone else’s uniforms fit them perfectly. Mine is an altered hand-me-down. Mary took in the shoulders, hemmed the skirt, and shortened the sleeves, but she left it a bit big on purpose since I’ll eventually grow into it.

I see; if you have money, you get to have a just-right fit. You just buy a new one when you grow. Plus, their fabric looks higher-end. Money really does matter.

Why were these high-and-mighty students still here? I figured it out immediately. Beds, parlor sets, and study desks—the ones I saw being unloaded earlier—were being carried from the stairs down to the basement. Their rooms were undergoing a massive renovation. You’d think they’d have done that beforehand… but I kept that to myself.

Apparently, the dining hall is self-service. I grabbed a tray and joined the line. I’m perfectly fine with waiting in line, but I figured there’d be at least one idiot to complain about it. Sure enough, a commotion started.

“What? You mean I have to carry it myself?”

“Am I expected to stand in this line?”

I’ll stay far away from people like that. By the look of them, they aren’t freshmen; they’re all over 170 cm. I’d laugh if they turned out to be ten years old. They must be upperclassmen, but they’re such children. Hmph!

“It’s certainly different from the Academy’s High Hall (Salon).”

Oho, so the Academy has a “High Hall.” It wasn’t in the dorm regulations, but it might be in the general school rules. It sounds like something that costs extra, so it has nothing to do with me. This Royal Academy offers free tuition and room and board.

Well, there are still uniforms and miscellaneous expenses. I managed thanks to my Household Magic, but it’s quite a burden for a poor noble. And the dorm has something called “Special Suites” that require a surcharge. Again, nothing to do with me. I don’t have that kind of money, and I’m perfectly satisfied with Room 205.

Finally, it was my turn. The food looked delicious. I was practically salivating, but that’s unladylike.

I tried to hand over my tray as gracefully as possible, but someone cut right in front of me.

You… I’ll kill you! I glared at them, but they ignored me completely.

“Hey, don’t cut the line!”

The male student standing behind me snapped.

“What? This is for Prince Keith—”

Suddenly, everyone felt a surge of pressure and looked back. Standing there was a student with blonde hair, blue eyes, and an aura of pure intimidation.

“Do you intend to curry favor by spoiling Keith? Our Father put us in the dormitory because he wanted us to become independent. Do you intend to go against his will?”

It appeared to be Prince Richard. His “pressure” was incredibly strong. At fifteen, he must be a senior. I’ll make sure to avoid him all year, I thought. And yet…

“Keith, come here and apologize to this lady.”

No, no, I’m fine! I don’t want to be involved! I felt like running away, but it didn’t seem like I’d be allowed to.

“Brother, I didn’t ask for this. This guy just did it on his own—”

Ah, saying that is just pouring oil on the fire.

The pressure intensified—is this some kind of magic? The student who cut in and Prince Keith both dropped to their knees. Is there a spell for “Intimidation”? I’ll have to look it up later.

I want to escape before they notice me!

Taking advantage of my small stature, I sneakily handed over my tray, grabbed the plates they set on it, and quickly fled the scene.

I set my tray on a table in a vacant corner of the dining hall and sat down.

Sigh. Being royalty seems tough. I definitely want nothing to do with them.

I felt like the original Patience was grumbling something about me running away from a Prince, but I didn’t want to get dragged into a terrifying sibling spat. So that Prince Keith is a classmate… I hope he’s in a different section.

Despite the lovely, thick stew, I couldn’t even enjoy the taste because of that fight. I hurried through my meal and escaped back to my room.

Rumor had it that after Prince Richard’s anger cooled and he tried to make Prince Keith apologize, the girl was nowhere to be found.