CH 33

“Damn, I’m late!”

It was because Riett studied until late yesterday. She pushed herself too hard knowing that the exam was a month away.

She did hear Jane, the maid, waking her up earlier, but she thought it was just a dream.

Riett, who jumped out of bed, hastily pulled out clothes without calling the maid and quickly dressed. She roughly tied her messy hair up high.

When Riett arrived at school, she got off the carriage and ran at full speed. She hoped to arrive on time if she hurried as much as possible. Her red hair fluttered as she rushed.

At that moment,

“Uh…!”

Riett stumbled on a rock and staggered, but someone held onto her waist to prevent her from falling.

“Be careful.”

When she turned to look, there stood someone with platinum-colored hair that seemed to be bathed in sunlight.

“Thank you, Lucas.”

“Good morning, Riett.”

Is this guy also late?

But he casually greeted her, looking much more relaxed than herself.

“The teacher hasn’t arrived yet. You can take it easy and go in.”

There was a reason.

“Why were you standing here?”

“When I noticed Riett was not in the classroom, I looked out the window and saw a red-haired person running far away. So, I came to greet you.”

While listening to Lucas’ words, Riett realized that her relationship with this guy had developed a lot.

Over time, there was one thing that changed as surely as the seasons: the relationships at school.

Once a one-way street, Riett’s school life had become increasingly diverse. She had become closer to her classmates, especially with the few girls at school. The same was true for Samuel, and she could even say that she was especially close to Lucas.

The more she got to know Lucas, the more she found him to be a good kid. He seemed to have grown up in a harmonious family environment, as he had a kind personality and was quick-witted, often providing small but helpful assistance like now.

“You stayed up late studying yesterday?”

“Yeah, I was studying.”

As Riett climbed the stairs, she replied and tidied her hair that had been fluttering in the wind.

“I thought so. You rarely ever come late.”

Lucas shrugged his shoulders and asked.

“How’s your exam preparation going?”

“It’s not going well, but I have to make it go well. If I make even a single mistake, Evan will surpass me as the sole first-place student.”

Up until now, Riett and Evan had been tied for the top spot.

She believed that there was nothing that couldn’t be achieved with effort, and she even received an A grade on the last swordsmanship test. Thanks to that, she maintained her first-place position even after the dance party where she received a bonus of 50 points. 

Unless the sky fell, Evan would also get a perfect score, so she couldn’t afford to make any mistakes.

“Both of you are like monsters, seriously.”

Lucas shook his head in disbelief.

In truth, Riett didn’t agree with Lucas’ words. She had to put in several times more effort than Evan just to barely stand on the same level. She knew this better than anyone else, so she couldn’t afford to be lazy with her efforts.

So, to be precise, Evan was the real monster.

“Are you going to study at the school library again today?”

“Yeah, I have to.”

During the exam period, Riett almost lived in the school library.

Yesterday was the same. She studied in the school library until it turned into a pitch-black night, then went home and continued studying until dawn before finally falling asleep.

“Why, are you doing it too?” 

Lucas didn’t immediately answer Riett’s question; he stood still on the stairs for a moment. There was something stiff about his expression.

“Lucas?”

“It’s nothing. I’ll do it at home.”

Lucas smiled as usual and patted Riett’s shoulder a couple of times.

“Stay strong today, Riett.”

***

After all the classes were over, Riett, who had been engrossed in reading books at the library, suddenly raised her head. As expected, there was no one left around.

‘I guess I should go soon.’

Since the exam was still a month away, she needed to manage her stamina, and she felt tired from staying up late yesterday. Tapping the stack of books on the desk, and neatly arranging them, Riett picked up her belongings and walked outside.

As soon as she came out, her eyes caught sight of a giant clock tower. The clock hands pointed to a time earlier than she had expected.

‘Huh…? It’s not even eight yet?’

Judging by the darkened view outside the window, it felt more like nine o’clock. Feeling something strange, Riett took out her pocket watch to check the exact time.

‘Oh, what…? It really is nine o’clock.’

Riett stared at the clock tower with a momentary surprise.

The clock tower was one of the symbols of the school, with its huge clock on all four sides and its tall tower. Perhaps it was meant to teach the importance of time management.

‘But they didn’t manage it well at all.’

To this day, she almost mistook the time because of that broken clock tower. There were too many facilities in the school that were either malfunctioning or in a deteriorated state, like the incident with the Grand Hall fire that happened before, and it was frustrating.

As Riett complained and moved her steps, a black silhouette suddenly dashed out from the side street.

Wham!

Before she could avoid it, the unidentified silhouette collided with Riett. Losing her balance, Riett fell to the ground with a thud, hitting her tailbone.

Annoyed, Riett raised her head towards the person in front of her.

“Oh… seriously, why aren’t you looking where you’re going?”

Standing in front of her was a boy with freckles on his pale face. Even after pushing Riett away, he seemed to be looking elsewhere, not paying attention to who fell.

“Hey, if you pushed someone, you should apologize…”

“What should I do about my assignment?!”

Ignoring Riett’s words, the boy stomped his foot in frustration.

Only then did Riett also look in the direction that the boy, who seemed like he would burst into tears any moment, was looking.

There, a shattered statue lay in a pitiful state, with pieces scattered around.

“I worked so hard on it for a month…”

The boy said that and looked up at Riett.

But… wait, look at this guy. His gaze is quite fierce.

“How are you going to take responsibility?!”

The boy shouted at Riett with resentment. Surprised by his absurd reaction, Riett let out a sigh and blew a futile breath.

“Why should I take responsibility? You ran without looking and crashed into me.”

“Because you were standing there absentmindedly on the street!”

He wasn’t someone she could reason with. He suddenly rushed at her like a bull, slamming into her and knocking her to the ground. Instead of apologizing, he started accusing her of breaking his sculpture and demanded that she take responsibility.

By this point, any intention of accepting an apology had vanished. Riett concluded that it would be better to go home early and take some time to relax and regain her composure rather than dealing with someone so out of their mind.

As she tried to pass by without further confrontation, the boy shouted, 

“You’re Riett Marren, right? Are you worried that I’ll get better grades than you?”

Oh, seriously… Should she just hit him once?

Riett felt her patience reaching its limit. However, she held back her frustration and retorted, 

“I don’t know who you are, and I don’t care if you get better or worse grades than me.”

“Then why did you make my assignment like this?”

“I already told you, it was you who ran into a person standing still!”

In the end, Riett couldn’t hold back and raised her voice. But the boy, seemingly unable to accept it, narrowed his eyes.

“I’m sure I saw it. I bumped into you, but you deliberately knocked over my sculpture.”

She should stop talking.

As she tried to ignore the forced accusations and continue walking, she heard the boy’s voice again from behind.

“Just wait! I won’t let it slide.”

***

And the very next day, Riett encountered that insane guy’s story again.

“What happened with Henry Larris yesterday?”

Lucas asked Riett, who remained silent, thinking to herself.

‘Henry Larris… Who is that? Do I know him?’

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t recall his face. Riett placed her chin on her hand and asked, 

“Who is Henry Larris?”

“You know, the guy with very pale skin and lots of freckles. Brown hair.”

Suddenly, the face that had left a strong impression on her yesterday appeared in her mind.

“With slanted eyes and a somewhat angular face?”

“Yeah.”

The impression matched perfectly. That weird guy’s name was Henry Larris.

“He had something going on. I realized that there are plenty of strange people in this world.”

When Riett admitted it, Lucas sighed.

“He was talking about you.”

“What did he say?”

“He said that you ruined his assignment for a grade.”

Saying that he wouldn’t let it slide and spreading such a third-rate novel-like rumor.

As Riett’s expression filled with annoyance, Lucas asked, 

“What happened?”

“It’s nothing. I was walking home, and he suddenly ran at me and collided with me, knocking over the sculpture he was holding. Then he blamed me for ruining his assignment. So I just ignored him and continued on my way.”

As Riett explained, Lucas rubbed his forehead.

“Of all people, it had to be that guy, Riett.”

“Why? Is he someone famous?”

“He ranked fourth this time, surpassing Samuel. He’s someone who stakes his life on his grades. He has many siblings, so the only way for him to receive recognition is to place in the top three here.”

If he wants to excel in academics, he should manage his assignments well.

As Riett exhaled deeply, she stood up from her seat. She had to confront that guy right away.

“Riett Marren.”

As soon as she thought that, the voice she had heard yesterday came flying in. Just when she was about to go find him, he conveniently appeared first.

“Did you sleep well, stretching your legs yesterday? I couldn’t sleep well because I was so angry.”

“If it’s so precious to you, you should have managed your assignments properly.”

Riett crossed her arms and looked at Henry. After experiencing it once yesterday, she no longer felt flustered by his barking.

“So, this is your secret to getting good grades? You like it when you disrupt others and take first place with such cheap and despicable methods?”

“Save that nonsense for your pet dog.”

She simply laughed.

“You have a tremendous delusion. I don’t consider you my competitor. I only learned about your existence yesterday.”

“W-What?”

Henry’s face turned red and blue at Riett’s mockery. Riett lightly smiled as she observed his reaction.

“So, instead of indulging in your excessive victim mentality, wouldn’t it be more beneficial for you to read even a single word?”

And with a smile, she offered her final piece of advice.