8. Dark Jealousy (3)
“We’ve now taken some time to inspect each other’s magic circuits. Moving forward in the curriculum, I hope this becomes an opportunity for mutual growth where you understand and respect each other’s magic. And by the way, you don’t need to tell the Western Division, and you shouldn’t. Everyone knows it’s not really a good thing, right?”
Looking at the students nodding their heads, Albina smiled in satisfaction.
“Well, that’s all for now. It’s lunch time, so everyone dig in. We’ll meet again in the afternoon. I’ll also introduce the upcoming curriculum then, so don’t be late. That’s it!”
No sooner had Albina stepped out of the classroom than Karla sprang to her feet.
It wasn’t as though she was particularly hungry—it was simply that she didn’t want to stay in this classroom.
The perfect magic circuit she had seen in Ivan would not erase from her mind.
Why did that peasant, that devilish individual, manifest such a perfect, ideal circuit that any mage could dream of? It was incomprehensible. Now, she couldn’t even deny that she was gripped by jealousy, a dark and turbid emotion overwhelming her.
Karla stormed out of the classroom.
“Karla!”
She deliberately ignored the voice calling after her and quickened her pace.
Was he really her friend? No, she didn’t consider him a friend, but this dense fool evidently thought of her as one and now persisted in clinging to her annoyingly.
“Karla, let’s eat together.”
Damn it.
Karla muttered a curse under her breath.
She’d grown shorter—due to that, her stride had also shortened.
Though she quickened her steps, Ivan caught up instantly, showing no sign of breathlessness. In fact, it was only now, standing side by side, that she realized her height barely reached Ivan’s shoulder. Before this, she had even been taller than him.
To make matters worse, her chest swayed with every step, an uncomfortably grotesque sensation. She began to wonder if the cotton bandage she had wrapped around her chest had loosened.
“Huh? Karla, let’s eat together.”
Karla stopped abruptly and glared at Ivan. A powerful urge to punch his carefree, wide-grinning face surged within her, but she knew lashing out wouldn’t help. She suppressed the impulse, clamped her mouth shut, and resumed walking.
“Karla, come on. Let’s talk while eating. Yeah? I have so many questions—I want to talk about your magic circuit, why you’ve been hiding your gender, how you’ve spent the last ten years.”
Ivan planted himself in front of her path, arms spread wide. He wouldn’t budge unless he received a positive response, which made Karla sigh deeply.
“…Ivan. Ivan Kontadino.”
“Yeah? Did you change your mind about eating together?”
“No, not at all. I’ve only come to the conclusion that I shouldn’t eat with you.”
“What… why?”
He was a commoner, a peasant. He didn’t understand the world of the nobility.
“This is the Academy, Ivan. If we talk about my magic circuit or my family here, some people might just enjoy it too much, don’t you think? Haven’t you ever considered that?”
“Ah…”
Faced with Karla’s furrowed expression, Ivan had no answer. The common sense of the nobility truly was alien to a commoner like him.
“So, move aside.”
Karla tried to push Ivan out of the way by shoving his shoulder but failed. Due to her reduced height, she ended up slapping his upper arm instead. Then, with hurried strides, she distanced herself.
“Sorry, Karla! I was really stupid!”
As she heard his shout, Karla exhaled a long sigh.
What an idiot, such a foolish person.
Thanks to the pleasant weather, Ivan settled into an outdoor seat with Emil and Regina. The academy lived up to its reputation with high-quality ingredients, high-end plates, and fine dining utensils.
“Hey, Ivan.”
“Yeah?”
Regina tapped her plate silently with her fork as she addressed Ivan.
“What was the conversation you had with Karla earlier?”
“Earlier?”
“Uh huh. When we were heading out to eat.”
“Oh, that.”
Ivan shoveled a mouthful of risotto before turning his head and responding.
“Well, I just thought Karla had changed too much from before. I figured maybe something had happened, so I wanted to chat over lunch. But I got rejected.”
“You got rejected?”
“Yeah. She said talking about such things here would make the other nobles very amused.”
“I see…”
Regina chewed her risotto thoughtfully. The fact that Karla rejected Ivan was a bit… satisfying. Still, she couldn’t wrap her head around how two people who were once so close ended up so estranged over the past ten years. Therefore, Regina continued eating, with a subtle expression on her face.
“Anyway, it’s pretty clear that Karla doesn’t like me.”
“…You’re just realizing this now?”
Regina turned to Ivan incredulously. Even just by watching from afar, it was clear—every glance Karla gave Ivan, every word she said, was laced with dislike. And yet, Ivan seemed to have just noticed this now. Well, this sort of denseness could also be considered part of his charm.
“Still, if we all just get to know each other…”
Before Regina finished her sentence, Ivan pointed his spoon toward the dining hall.
The spoon pointed to a brown-skinned youth with a bear-like physique who was awkwardly looking around. His short blonde hair made him look like a tourist visiting the empire.
“Oh, isn’t that Liam?”
“Yeah.”
“Eh—Hey! Li-am! Liam!”
Regina and Emil immediately ducked their heads.
While Ivan might be socially open, shouting someone’s name like that in the dining hall drew attention from everyone. All the diners were now staring at them.
“Come over and eat with us!”
Liam looked somewhat reluctant when he heard the call.
Of course, this was expected.
And Karla was watching as well.
Seeing Liam reluctantly approach after Ivan urged him and the four friends happily sitting together for lunch was something Karla couldn’t ignore.
She picked up her spoon.
She didn’t feel particularly hungry—her emotions were tangled—but she still had to eat. She had to if she wanted to concentrate on the afternoon class.
“Ah, isn’t this the noble Lady Cascata?”
Karla sighed deeply and placed her spoon back down as she scooped risotto into her mouth.
Everything about his presence was grating on her nerves, making her blood boil.
“…Lucas, just leave me alone.”
“Such foul language from a lady.”
“Spare me the ‘lady’ nonsense.”
It was Lucas.
With his usual impertinent attitude, even as other students from the Western Division tried to dissuade him, Lucas paid them no heed.
“Just go away, or I won’t say another word.”
“Tsk, seems like Lady Cascata is in quite a foul mood?”
Lucas plopped himself on the corner of Karla’s table and sneered.
The other students from the Western Division appeared quite uneasy, but, as Lucas came from a Great Noble family, there wasn’t much they could do.
“Isn’t it obvious? Lady Cascata here was supposed to be the center of attention, but everyone’s been cozying up to some random peasant. Of course she’s furious.”
Karla slammed her plate aside and closed her eyes.
This was pure irritation. No doubt about it.
The discomfort, the unease, plus the residue of dark, heavy emotions left over from Ivan’s behavior—these merged into something black and thick, an emotion so dirty it was revolting.
Karla took a small deep breath.
This was just a worthless vermin, wasn’t it? When she had been Carlo, she didn’t even think much of him. She could treat this as nothing more than vermin barking and move on.
But it wasn’t that simple.
“Anyway, what to do when one loses to such a vulgar peasant?”
This was crossing the line.
Or perhaps her personal threshold had been lowered.
Fine.
She didn’t need any of it.
Karla slowly stood up.
“Lucas.”
“Aaaaah?”
His leering, obnoxious face and demeanor were disgusting. She barely remembered noticing him when she was a boy, but now, standing up, she could clearly feel him sizing her up from top to bottom. It made her shiver in revulsion, like he was worse than vermin.
“I have two things to say to you.”
“Two? That many?” Lucas mocked. “The great Carlo has revealed his true self and is now so merciful?”
“One thing is this.”
Karla retrieved a white glove from her pocket.
“We’re already Academy students—starting a fight here will likely result in nothing more than a reprimand.”
“…What are you talking about?”
Lucas’s eyes narrowed. Sensing Karla’s intent, he subtly began to form a hand seal.
“The other thing is…just because I returned in this form doesn’t mean…”
Karla threw the white glove straight into Lucas’s face, a clear challenge to a duel.
As soon as the glove hit his face—
“You’ve surpassed me in strength.”
—Pow!
Karla’s fist struck Lucas square in the face.
