39. The Consolation of First Place is Hypocrisy to the Second (4)
Indeed, it was a long night.
Ivan tossed and turned, unable to find any sleep.
Karla, lying beside him, was breathing softly in slumber, but Ivan, the rightful owner of the bed, couldn’t rest a wink. Their roles were reversed this night.
Ivan would lie flat on his back, then roll onto one side, then onto the other, gaze at Karla, and then hastily readjust himself.
“…Sigh.”
Perhaps he should have a drink of water.
Ivan carefully got out of bed to avoid waking Karla.
Beside the head of the bed, on a small side table, was a kettle. Ivan drank a cup of water from it and then looked at Karla while still holding the cup.
The moonlight streamed through the uncovered window, its cold silver glow scattering across the room. This pale light revealed the emptiness of Karla’s sleeve.
“Is there truly no way to do something about her arm?”
Ivan’s knowledge was limited. Though he had absorbed a fair amount of knowledge about magic from Albina, he knew he lacked in other areas.
Especially in the privileged knowledge of the upper class, one could say he had none of it.
“Is there nothing I can do to help?”
Ivan sat on the edge of the bed, lightly touching Karla’s left sleeve. It should have had a wrist, and a hand should have protruded from the sleeve—but it no longer did.
“Karla…”
The moonlight held a strange kind of power. Even an ordinary woman from the marketplace would appear beautiful under such cool, silvery light. Let alone someone as beautiful as Karla.
Without realizing it, Ivan’s hand slowly reached out.
When his fingertips grazed Karla’s cheek, he felt a warm, smooth sensation.
The touch of Karla’s cheek, her straight nose, her slightly flushed cheeks… her lips, her chin, her neckline…
At that moment, an indescribable anxiety and impulse surged in his heart, dark and smoky.
“…Karla.”
A deep voice seemed to echo.
When Ivan regained his senses, his hand was already on Karla’s neck.
“Ah!”
As if waking from a dream, Ivan hastily withdrew his hand from her neck, startled.
“This is strange, strange…”
Without realizing, he had clutched her neck. If he had applied a little more force, Karla surely would have been unable to breathe.
Ivan sighed repeatedly, fidgeting with his hand that he had hastily pulled back.
Just as on the carriage, and now, why did he feel so strange around Karla? It felt as though someone else, not his will, was controlling him, as if he wanted to harm Karla—
“This must just be my imagination…”
Ivan quietly climbed back into bed. Tomorrow was another day of classes, and though the bed was uncomfortable, he needed to rest.
As expected, when Ivan woke to the morning light, Karla was still asleep.
It was too early to call it sunlight, merely the first rays of the sun peeking over the eastern hills, but Ivan always woke around this time.
It was still too early to go to the Academy, but Ivan, who had rested on the edge of the bed, stretched his stiff body and changed clothes.
“Well, let’s go.”
Ivan slapped his cheeks a couple of times and left the room.
Every morning, he would run ten laps around the field in front of the Academy dormitories under the rising sun.
Although the field was large, and Ivan would be drenched in sweat after those ten laps, today he loosened up his body while running just as he always did.
“Hey, Ivan!”
As Ivan was catching his breath after finishing his tenth lap, a voice called out to him.
“Oh, Emil. Hello. You’re up early?”
A young man with brown hair who hadn’t fully shed his youthful charm yet—Emil. Their friendship had grown since their first meeting.
Emil approached with a cheerful smile.
“Yeah, I woke up early. What were you doing, Ivan?”
“Me? I was just warming up a bit while running—”
“Wow, you’re really diligent, Ivan.”
“That’s not true. Don’t exaggerate it.”
Ivan awkwardly waved his hand to cut Emil off.
Even though Ivan appeared casual, Emil was the son of Aufstich, one of the four pillars.
After all, a grand aristocrat, yet Emil mingled freely with Ivan, a commoner, which felt somewhat inappropriate.
“Shall we go have breakfast early?”
Emil’s invitation wasn’t bad. The cafeteria opened early, and they had bumped into each other there a few times already, so it wasn’t odd for him to suggest going together.
But Ivan couldn’t accept the invitation.
There was an uninvited guest in his room—a certain someone who had taken over the bed and was sleeping soundly.
“I think that won’t be possible. You go ahead, Emil.”
“Why? Is something wrong?”
“No, I think Karla should go as well.”
“Karla? Is Karla staying at the dormitory?”
Emil’s eyes widened.
Only after seeing Emil’s reaction did Ivan realize his mistake, but the damage was done.
“Karla stayed over last night since she had some business.”
“Ah… I see. That makes sense. I’ll go ahead then. See you later. Have a good rest.”
With a bright smile and a wave, Emil walked away. Watching him go, Ivan sighed again and returned to the dormitory.
“…Phew.”
Seeing Karla half-lying on the bed made Ivan sigh.
Strangely, last night when he had seen her, somehow half-undressed and wandering out of the bathroom, it had startled him so much.
But now, looking at her with half his shirt rolled up and even his underwear exposed, showing pale belly, it felt like seeing some kind of dried fish.
“Karla, wake up. It’s morning. We need to go have breakfast. Karla, Karla!”
No matter how many times he shook her, Karla showed no sign of waking. Her chest rose and fell steadily, confirming that she was indeed asleep.
“Karla!”
Ivan suddenly shouted and violently pulled off the blanket, waking Karla with a start.
“Get up, it’s morning. Let’s go have breakfast.”
“Bring me some… I’ll eat here today…”
“There’s nothing to bring you. This isn’t a mansion; it’s my room.”
Hearing that, Karla blinked repeatedly. After a few blinks, she finally opened her eyes fully and attempted to get up—
“Can you help me up?”
Ivan helped Karla up as her arm prevented her from getting up properly. Only after being helped did she yawn widely.
“Oh, yeah… I’ll go clean up first. Get my clothes out.”
With that, Karla disappeared into the bathroom.
Ivan was perplexed.
“Where are my clothes supposed to be for you to get them out?”
With no clothes available, Ivan ultimately had no choice but to borrow an extra uniform from the dormitory supervisor.
The supervisor, already concerned about causing trouble for the young lady from Cascata, immediately provided a uniform upon Ivan’s request, and Ivan had managed to prepare it before Karla finished her bath.
“My top feels a bit tight.”
That should be because your bust is too big, Ivan wanted to say, but the words were impossible to utter.
He thought it might be inappropriate—
‘Maybe because I thought she was a guy before? Not quite sure about the boundaries of jokes…’
Ivan waited by the door, ready to head to the cafeteria when Karla exited the dressing room. Instead of heading towards the door, she made her way back to the living room.
“Where are you going?”
“Where are you going? Come here and brush my hair for me.”
“Why should I do something like that…”
“You’re qualified to do it. And it’s a rare honor for a commoner to attend to a noble.”
Karla grinned and demonstratively shook her hair.
This was ridiculous.
With a sigh of resignation, Ivan picked up the comb.
“It’s hardly an honor.”
“Still, try to do a good job.”
Even so, Ivan meticulously combed Karla’s hair with care. It flowed smoothly without a single snag, thanks to its fine quality.
“More importantly, this comb’s bristles are too stiff. Do you have a finer one?”
“…There’s no way I would, right? It’s already amazing that I have a comb.”
“Ugh, fine. Anyway, you’re quite skilled, for a commoner.”
As Karla inspected the braid Ivan had made, she chuckled with satisfaction.
No one else would know, but Ivan understood the meaning behind that smile—it was undeniably a look of satisfaction.
“I don’t know whether that’s a compliment or not.”
“It’s a compliment. Isn’t it obvious?”
“Yeah… I’ll take it that way.”
Satisfied with Ivan’s response, Karla sprang up.
Today, she appeared more composed and confident than yesterday, prompting Ivan to follow her to the cafeteria with thoughts that whatever was good must be good enough.
“Ah, and who do we have here? Karla von Scha… no, isn’t it Karla della Cascata? You were quite the savior last night, weren’t you?”
Upon entering the cafeteria, Karla’s face contorted in fury at the person she met.
On the contrary, though, Lucas simply grinned, showing little concern for her expression.
“Still sore from yesterday’s beating? Want another one?”
“Your fall yesterday was nothing short of impressive. Karla della Cascata, surely you now see that the illustrious scion of your great house is weaker than me.”
Lucas advanced with a sly smirk on his face.
“Yes, I understand that plainly. Karla della Cascata knows you are stronger than her.”
Lucas jeered as he strode closer to Karla.
Unable to deny his words, Karla gritted her teeth, brimming with rage. Just then, Ivan stepped in front of Karla.
“That’s enough, Lucas.”
