Chapter 41

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Translated by Sylph

Read only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net.
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When she first entered the dormitory, she had agonized over which of the two rooms to use.

So, the moment she opened the room that had a better view of the garden, she saw that the belongings distributed by the Gifted Center were already placed there.

‘The roommate arrived first.’

Before quickly closing the door, the clothes hanging on the wall caught her eye.

They were clothes that were absurdly small.

‘It seems they’re a smaller child than me.’

At that fact, Irene’s heart pounded.

Irene was very weak to things smaller than her.

That was largely due to her being a Southerner.

Southern people were much taller and bigger in stature compared to people from the central region where the capital was located.

Even children were born small at first, but they grew up rapidly as if they had never been so.

So even though Irene was 10 years old, when she came to the capital, everyone saw her as about 13 years old because she was much taller and had a more mature atmosphere tha children her age.

Therefore, in the South, small things were considered young and fragile, and were regarded as beings to be looked after and protected.

Furthermore, Irene was the youngest in her family.

Because of that, people cherished Irene very much. Hadn’t they raised her with extreme care, as if she might be injured if the wind blew?

So Irene felt even more stifled.

In appearance, she had looks with a splendor and fragility that made it seem like she wouldn’t even pluck a flower with her own hands.

But Irene was a Southerner to the bone.

It meant she didn’t know what to do when she saw something small and was crazy about wanting to protect it.

But since she was the youngest, far from cherishing and protecting something, she only ever received overprotection.

But finally…

‘A roommate! A child younger than me!’

If there had been no other people around, she would have panted with joy.

While Irene was trembling with joy, the female students who were next to her saw the inside and raised their voices.

“My goodness, to have occupied a room before Lady Irene. Just who is it?”

“Pardon? There’s a student who dared to decide their room before Lady Irene?”

At their voices, Irene’s expression cooled down again.

‘These people are annoying.’

Since coming to the capital, there were always many people by Irene’s side.

Especially when staying at the capital’s townhouse while preparing for admission to the Gifted Center, people flocked to her, saying they were also entering the Gifted Center and asking to be close.

Naturally, they were all people who came seeking friendship with the Terence family.

‘If it were the South, they wouldn’t even have been able to come near…’

It wasn’t because she was the daughter of a high noble.

Southern children generally feared Irene.

They were children who were second to none in terms of being rough, but they all used to turn pale and disappear quickly whenever Irene appeared.

The influence of the incident where Irene literally beat a child of a certain family like a dog was great in it becoming that way.

The day Irene sent a boy to the hospital, her father cried out while clutching his chest.

“Because of you, my wife collapsed!”

“Anyone hearing that would think I’m not your daughter.”

Irene dismissed her father’s words with an indifferent face.

But her expression hardened at the following words.

“Your sister heard the news and was greatly disappointed!”

“Sister was?”

Even if their mothers were different, the person Irene liked most in the world was her sister.

The person she feared most was also her sister.

At that moment, her sister happened to enter the room.

“Irene. Can you tell me once what happened? Why did you throw a punch at the face of the second son of the Roman family? Moreover, kicking him between the legs.”

When her sister called her name lowly, Irene hung her head low and spoke.

“That guy kicked me first.”

“Right. So you threw a punch. But why did you even keep stepping on his groin? Because of that… it seems his parents are in great anxiety.”

The Viscount Roman couple cried and shouted, asking what they should do if their child became a eunuch.

At those words, Irene hesitated even more and then spoke with difficulty.

“Because he tried to touch me as he pleased and pulled up my skirt. So I just tried to make him not even think of doing such a thing ever again. He shouldn’t go around doing that to other children either, right?”

At those words, the expressions of her father and sister changed.

“Well done.”

This was Irene’s father.

“…That son of a bitch did that to you?”

This was the voice of her sister, who had been speaking calmly until a moment ago.

The two left Irene alone and whispered something.

“…Let’s do that. It would be better to just grind him up…”

“…Wouldn’t it be better for that family if such a son of a bitch didn’t exist…”

Some dangerous conversation passed between her father and sister, and the two soon returned with bright smiles.

Her father spoke first.

“Fine, Irene. Even if that’s the case, we can’t deny that you’ve been causing quite a lot of trouble lately.”

“…”

Irene fell silent at those words.

“The world is not your enemy. So you must also learn how to get along well with others.”

“I’m getting along well. The etiquette teacher said he has nothing more to teach me.”

“That’s because you perfectly memorized only the parts that are shown. He came to find me separately and said your friendships are on the brink of ruin.”

“…”

When Irene fell silent, this time her sister spoke.

“So I thought you needed a bit of a new environment. Here, look at this.”

“What is this? An admission notice for the Gifted Center?”

Irene, who received the paper her sister handed her, jumped up from her chair in surprise.

“Why would I go here!”

“What do you mean why. Since your grades were sufficient, I applied. And I am the one who applied.”

“Sister did?”

“Yes.”

Irene’s sister spoke with a serious face.

“You need friends.”

“…”

“And you also need some connections in the center.”

“Actually, isn’t that the more important part?”

At Irene’s suspicious look, her sister replied while laughing.

“It’s the same thing. Aren’t friends soon connections? Anyway, go to the capital and enter the Gifted Center. Until you graduate from there, make some friends too.”

At her sister’s words, Irene burst into tears.

“To send me alone to the capital where there is no one! You’re abandoning me, right?”

Transparent tears formed on her silver eyelashes.

The sight of her amethyst-colored eyes sparkling with sadness had a piteousness that would make anyone feel sorry and want to soothe her.

But Irene’s sister was firm.

“I won’t be fooled even if you cry. And now you’re ten years old too, so you should act like a person of the Terence family.”

“Tch.”

Irene withdrew her tears immediately.

A person of the Terence family. Those words also meant that she should fulfill her usefulness.

Separate from being full of love, it was a family that had gained enormous wealth and authority through business.

Therefore, since childhood, one’s ability, position, and even the work to be done in the future were all a preordained fate.

“And you said you disliked things like being the Crown Princess. But rumors are circulating as if it’s already been decided, so you go and settle that matter yourself.”

“Ah, I should do that.”

After showing her face in the central social circles once last year, people had been blabbing that Irene wanted the position of Crown Princess.

‘Who would want such a stifling position.’

What she wanted was not the position of Crown Princess.

‘Isn’t it fine if I just become close with the Crown Prince?’

And friendship with the one who would become his companion was a bonus.

So it was good up to the point of coming to the Gifted Center for central connections and to calm down the rumors, but…

‘The Southern kids were on the polite side.’

Irene was completely fed up with the children who were by her side all day, talking about whose family was like what, and who lacked dignity.

They said there was a difference between nobles and commoners in the South too, but it wasn’t to this extent.

Just what were their families and passing the Gifted Center entrance that they were so high-spirited and haughty?

But she couldn’t tell them all to get lost as she had done in the South until now.

‘Let’s endure. I must endure.’

She had to suppress her temper until she graduated from the Gifted Center.

‘They say I can quit in the middle and return, but…’

She didn’t want to do that.

Her pride wouldn’t allow that.

As her father and sister had said, it was indeed time to make new connections in the center.

She also knew that she was the right person for that task.

And…

‘I want to make at least a friend too.’

So she had looked forward to her roommate.

There were many things Irene wanted to do. Attend classes together, eat together, go to festivals together…

At that moment, her roommate entered.

While bowing, she said her name was Evi Alden.

In an instant, Irene almost covered her mouth and screamed.

‘Why is she so small! Moreover, her name is Evi! Cute!’