Chapter 44

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Translated by Sylph

Read only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net.

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Inside was the handkerchief she had handed to Professor Sian.

‘It really was sent by him!’

Only then could she believe that this was truly a gift sent to her. Evi carefully folded the handkerchief, put it in her pocket, and then hugged the gift box tightly to her chest.

‘I should go to my room and open it.’

The ribbon was made of a beautifully colored fabric.

If she untied it neatly, she could use it later to tie her hair.

The wrapping paper was the same.

It was a fragrant red paper with a beautiful pattern that she felt she wouldn’t get tired of even if she looked at it all day.

She planned to tear this off carefully, fold it well, and keep it.

Evi headed up the stairs, unable to hide her joy.

‘What could he have sent?’

Anything was fine. She felt she would be happy even if it contained just a single piece of paper.

She was already happy enough just by the fact that someone had thought of her and sent something so beautifully packaged.

Just as she was about to hurry up to her room.

“Hey, you there.”

Someone blocked Evi’s path.

When she looked up, several students with luxurious shawls over their school uniforms were standing in front of Evi.

Were they around 13 or 14 years old?

Anyone could see they were daughters of wealthy and high-ranking families.

At their unkind gazes directed toward her, Evi hurriedly lowered her head.

Among them, a student with red hair spoke up, raising her eyebrows.

“Did that gift really come for you?”

“Pardon?”

At the unexpected question, Evi’s eyes widened, and the student spoke again.

“I’m just asking, just in case. It’s fascinating that a child from an orphanage has a guardian and even receives such a decent-looking gift. I was wondering if a gift meant for someone else was delivered incorrectly. If not that…”

The girl let out a scoffing laugh.

“It might be that you’re pretending to receive one out of shame for not having a gift.”

Evi couldn’t understand what on earth she was saying.

Then, another female student standing next to her chimed in.

“Miss Ezriella is right. Honestly, I thought it was strange from the moment that child’s name was called.”

“I thought so too, didn’t I?”

Ezriella.

The moment she learned the name of the student who had stopped her, Evi froze.

Just as Arcel and Ruska were famous among the male students, there were those who were particularly envied among the female students.

The first was, of course, Irene.

Because of that, didn’t the female students follow Irene around like a cloud wherever she went?

But Irene wasn’t the only popular one.

‘I heard Miss Ezriella’s name every day too.’

She was said to be the granddaughter of a long-standing high noble with a fief in the central region.

Wasn’t her family one that had existed since the founding of the country and possessed the most prosperous fief in the central region?

For such a person to suddenly stop her and ask if the gift was hers…

It was by no means a good situation.

Ezriella looked at the startled and frozen Evi with a sneer.

‘So this is Irene’s roommate.’

Irene. As she thought of that name, the corners of Ezriella’s mouth twisted.

Until last year, she was the flower of the young social circles in the capital.

However, the moment Irene, who was said to have come from the south for a visit, appeared, all the attention she had received until then was snatched away.

Since then, people only talked about Irene.

Even her parents, instead of comforting the upset Ezriella, repeatedly told her that she must get along with Irene.

It was the same when she entered the Gifted Center this year.

“Make sure to get close to Miss Irene. I’m telling you to lower yourself and go in.”

So when she first met Irene, she greeted her first and acted glad to see her.

But her twisted heart wouldn’t easily unravel.

So when she heard about Irene’s roommate, she sneered while pretending to be worried.

“I heard a lowly child became your roommate. Aren’t you worried? What if she goes into your room and takes things as she pleases when you’re not there, Miss Irene?”

She had seen Irene’s eyes sharpen fiercely at those words.

Up to that point, she felt refreshed, but from the next day, Irene openly ignored Ezriella.

“Miss Ezriella, that ribbon…”

“Oh. You have an eye for things. This is a gift I received from my older brother this time. Isn’t it pretty?”

“Ah, I see.”

Then, with a pitiful expression, she muttered as if for everyone to hear.

“It’s a color that has already gone out of style in the south…”

This was just the beginning.

Irene acted as if she had no interest in conversation.

However, whenever Ezriella tried to brag even a little during a conversation, Irene would immediately make that boastful item look shabby.

In the end, Ezriella fell out of the group that followed Irene.

Since then, Ezriella only thought of ways to embarrass Irene somehow.

But there seemed to be no way.

She couldn’t see any way for her to beat Irene in anything.

So she decided to target this, which Irene had reacted to most strongly.

‘Surely it’s embarrassing to have such a person as a roommate.’

That must be why she glared at me when I mentioned this brat.

She couldn’t attack Irene directly. So she had to scratch Irene’s nerves by poking at this easy target.

And just then, she saw Evi receiving a gift.

The guardian was an unknown professor whom no one had ever even seen.

Perhaps the staff at the Gifted Center, feeling sorry that the guardian position was empty, just put down a name.

‘It’s impossible. Who would bother sending a gift to an orphan like that?’

She was certain that Evi was pretending to have received it because she didn’t want to lose heart.

Of course, it didn’t matter if it wasn’t true.

Even if that were the case, what complaint could this child possibly make to her?

She could just move on by saying she was mistaken.

“You, if that’s really your gift, open it right here and now.”

“But…”

Evi was flustered by the command-like words.

It was the first gift ever meant only for herself.

She had intended to take it to her room and unwrap it as carefully as possible, but to be told to open it right here.

“What are you dawdling for? Are you lying about receiving a gift by putting anything inside?”

“I’m not!”

She had never even thought of doing such a thing.

“Then open it here. Let’s see what kind of great thing that person who calls himself your guardian sent.”

At Ezriella’s prodding words, Evi slowly put the box down.

‘It’ll be fine if I unwrap it as carefully as possible.’

Thinking that, Evi slowly untied the ribbon.

Meanwhile, children who heard the commotion gathered around.

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t really know. From what I heard, it might not be that child’s gift?”

As Evi was about to tear the rest of the paper packaging, Ezriella stepped forward as if frustrated.

“Why are you so slow? You could just bring it here and open it. Do I have to do even this myself?”

She roughly reached out her hand and snatched the gift that was in Evi’s arms.

“Give it back!”

But instead of listening to those words, Ezriella shoved Evi hard with her hand.

“Ah!”

The small body tumbled back helplessly.

*Rip!*

Ezriella roughly tore the packaging that Evi had been careful even to touch.

Then, Ezriella opened the wooden box inside and flipped it over.

*Thud!*

Then, the object wrapped in cloth that was inside the box popped out.

Revealing its form slightly outside the cloth, it looked like a bead made of opaque glass.

Ezriella picked it up.

It was a stone about the size of an adult’s fist.

“What is this?”

A smile hung on Ezriella’s face as she spoke.

“Just as I thought. To think you’d put a pebble like this inside and act as if you received a grand gift. How shameless.”

As she said that, Ezriella deliberately sneered toward Irene, who was watching with a stiff expression from among the children.

“Miss Irene. This child is your roommate, isn’t she? Honestly, how did you end up sharing a room with such a child… If it were me, I would strongly protest to the Gifted Center out of sheer displeasure.”

As she said that, she acted as if she didn’t even want to hold it anymore and tried to throw the stone away as if discarding it.

“No! Give it back!”

Evi hurriedly ran and caught the stone falling from her hand.

“…?”

Then, the moment she caught it, she felt something strange.

‘It’s warm?’

She thought it was just a cold stone when she saw it, but the moment she caught it, she suddenly felt warmth from the stone.

And then.

“Oh!”

Surprised voices erupted from among the students.

The stone held in Evi’s hand began to glow faintly.

“That… that’s a mana stone!”

At someone’s shout, the lobby was instantly thrown into a commotion.