Free Web Novel"Aha! Found you!"
The voice came from behind.
Clear, rising, and filled with an unabashed joy.
Natasha turned around.
A girl was walking toward her, carrying a tray.
No, not toward her.
Toward Pavela.
Her dark long hair shimmered with a warm brownish-red glow under the amber light, like the color of the last autumn leaf yet to fall when sunlight shines through it.
The ends of her hair curled slightly, swaying gently with her steps.
Her eyes were golden-brown, like honey warmed by a hearth, radiating warmth from within.
She wore the same deep blue school uniform as everyone else, yet on her, it felt entirely different.
Her stride was larger than most girls', her skirt flaring wide with every step, moving with a confident, unwavering rhythm. ƒгeewebnovёl.com
Her shoulders were pulled back slightly and her chin was tilted up, carrying a sense of confidence that needed no justification.
It took Natasha's brain about a second and a half to complete the identification.
Dark long hair.
Golden-brown eyes.
Eileen von Schwartz.
Pavela's older sister.
And half a step behind Eileen followed another person.
Like light, like mist.
Platinum-blonde hair cascaded from the top of her head, winding down her back.
Her skin was so pale it was almost transparent, with faint blue veins visible beneath her temples.
Purple eyes.
She wore the standard school uniform with a large gray cloak draped over it, the hood pulled down to cover nearly half her face.
She held her tray steadily, but her gaze didn't land on anything specific.
She was looking, yet seemed not to be looking.
As if observing the world through a layer of something.
Two people.
One like a burning fireplace, the other like snow drifting in from a window.
Carrying trays, they walked over.
Pavela looked up, half a piece of black bread still in her mouth.
"Mmph."
She gave a muffled greeting, then struggled to swallow the bread.
"Eileen, good evening."
"You're actually in the cafeteria!" freёwebnoѵel.com
Eileen's voice held the excitement of someone who had "discovered a rare species."
She practically jogged over, the soup on her tray nearly spilling.
"I went to your dorm to find you, the door was locked; then I went to the infirmary, they said you were discharged; then I went to Sister's place, and she said you returned to the academy—"
She finished the whole string of words in one breath, without any sign of pausing for air.
Then she saw Natasha.
Her golden-brown eyes blinked.
"Ah, hello!"
Her tone was as natural as if she were greeting a neighbor she'd known for ten years.
"You're Pavela's roommate, right? Natasha? Pavela mentioned you."
Before Natasha could respond, Eileen had already set her tray on the table and plopped down next to Pavela.
The long bench gave a protesting creak.
The girl with platinum-blonde hair sat down quietly opposite Eileen, which was right next to Natasha.
There were only two things on her tray.
A bowl of soup.
And three puddings.
Natasha glanced at the three puddings, then at the girl's face.
The girl didn't look at her at all.
Her purple eyes were fixed on one of the puddings with intense focus.
The noise in the cafeteria hit a brief, almost imperceptible lull.
Almost everyone lowered their voices and turned their gaze in the same direction.
Eileen von Schwartz, the second daughter of the Marquis Schwartz Family, had just sat down in the commoner area on the right side of the cafeteria with her tray.
And at the very back.
The commoner-est part of the commoner area.
With her was that weirdo with platinum-blonde hair.
No one knew her background; they only knew she often came to the cafeteria and ate almost nothing but pudding.
And Pavela von Schwartz.
The adopted daughter of the Schwartz Family who had subdued two geniuses the day before school started.
Plus a commoner scholarship student who was first in her grade.
Four people.
Four completely different temperaments.
Sitting at one table having dinner.
People in the noble area whispered, their gazes jumping back and forth among «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» the four.
People in the commoner area were also watching, but in a different way—more with confusion and a hint of wariness.
Natasha could feel those gazes.
Like tiny needles pricking her back.
“—So you're really back for classes this time?”
Eileen had already started eating.
She spoke while cutting her pork chop; her movements with the knife and fork were standard noble etiquette, creating a strange contrast with her way of speaking.
"Yes," Pavela said.
"That's great! You have no idea this past month—oh, is your arm better? Last time I saw you, you couldn't move your right hand—"
"It's better."
"Completely better?"
"Completely."
Pavela moved her right wrist, rotating it a couple of times to show her.
"Wonderful!"
Eileen's eyes lit up. "It's good you can come to class. You know, Professor Vasily's Mecha Dynamics is super boring but the exams are hard, and Professor Klein's Imperial War History—he'll suddenly call on people to answer questions during lectures, and if you can't, you have to stand as punishment—"
"Wait, wait," Pavela interrupted. "I'm not taking those classes."
"Huh?"
"I'm taking General Education, the Literacy Class."
Eileen's knife and fork stopped mid-air.
Her golden-brown eyes blinked twice.
"...Literacy Class?"
"Yes."
"The one that... teaches you how to read?"
"Yes."
Eileen's expression went through a transformation process almost identical to Natasha's just now.
Then she put down her cutlery, cupped Pavela's face in both hands, and turned her head toward herself.
"Why didn't you say so earlier!"
"You didn't ask."
"I can teach you!"
"No need—"
"I'll teach you! Starting today! Every night!"
Pavela's face was slightly deformed from being squeezed, her lips pressed into a strange shape.
Under Eileen's enthusiastic assault, a visible retreat appeared in her eyes.
"...Really, no need."
"No, this is not open for discussion."
Eileen's tone was resolute, exactly like her sister's at certain moments.
"You're my sister!"
It wasn't until Pavela struggled to nod in Eileen's hands that Eileen reluctantly let go.
Pavela lowered her head and continued eating her pork chop.
The tips of her ears began to turn a little red.
"Is your pudding good?"
A voice came from beside Natasha.
So light it felt as though it had drifted from far away.
Natasha turned her head.
The girl with platinum-blonde hair was looking at her tray.
To be precise, she was looking at the untouched pudding on her tray.
In her purple eyes was a pure curiosity, untainted by any social intent.
"...I haven't eaten it yet," Natasha said.
"Oh."
The girl withdrew her gaze and looked down to scoop a spoonful of her own pudding.
The spoon went into her mouth.
Then a second spoonful, noticeably faster than the first.
"Alicia only eats pudding every time she comes to the cafeteria," Eileen had seamlessly switched from the topic of "teaching her sister to read." "Last time I counted, she could eat five in one meal."
"Only four," Alicia corrected.
"It was clearly five. The fifth one was from my plate; you reached over and took it."
"That doesn't count. That was yours."
"It's yours once you eat it."
"Doesn't count, doesn't count. What's on your plate is yours."
