Eudeline Castelle,
Castelle Manor, Bourlucon, Perilet
Kingdom of Elysienne
Dear Miss Eudeline Castelle,
Congratulations, esteemed scholar. You are formally invited to attend and become the first generation of Chauventon Royal Academy. Through your family name and honor, we have found you worthy and capable. From your previous educators, you have proven to be a student that The Chauventon Academy would like to recognize and further your educational efforts.
Esteemed scholar, we would like to inform you of a few things before the school year starts. Chauventon Royal Academy is owned and operated by the royal family. Rest assured that all the best scientists, inventors, and educators are invited to teach at Chaventons. The campus is located at Casir, Elysienne, and we acknowledge that our esteemed guests come from far and beyond which is why we have decided to introduce to you our dormitories.
Our scholars residing in the dormitories are offered their quarters and may bring at most one attendant with them. These quarters are complete with two rooms both with bathrooms, a living area, and a kitchen. Scholars may choose to leave or stay in the dormitories at the end of the month when they are allowed to go home and visit family.
If Miss Castelle is interested in residing in the dormitories, please send us a letter as soon as possible.
Kind regards,
Grants and Scholarship Committee
The Chauventon Academy
"Miss Eudeline!" Anne yelled.
Eudeline jolts up from bed, her hair still a tangled mess. "Huh? Anne? What is it?" Eudeline hurriedly grabbed a brush and started untangling her hair.
Anne, Eudeline's maid, sighs and points at the window. "Miss Eudeline, it's the first day at Chauventons, have you forgotten? Just yesterday, you were so excited and couldn't sleep because you kept thinking about it." Anne grabs Eudeline's brush from her hand and starts untangling her hair herself. "You even woke me up because you wanted to go see Miss Beleron in the middle of the night!"
"Oh... right," Eudeline laughed awkwardly.
Anne got Eudeline ready. She fixed her hair, helped her dress, and led her to the kitchen where a meal was waiting for Eudeline. Eudeline noticed the single meal and glanced confusedly at Anne.
"Where's your meal?"
"Meal?"
Eudeline hummed. She gestured at the other chair at the table. "I don't like being the only one eating when it's just the two of us here."
Anne shook her head vigorously, "Miss, oh no, I'm not supposed to eat with you. It's improper."
With hands-on her hips and pursed lips, Eudeline huffed. "I don't care, just grab your share and eat with me."
Anne was flabbergasted but hesitantly complied. In all of Anne's years of serving young miss Eudeline, this is the first she has ever seen her like this. Well, to be fair, Eudeline has been acting strange ever since she suffered a stroke about two months ago. The moment she woke up, she got up and started running all over the place yelling "I can move!" before passing out at the sight of her father.
That wasn't the only case of Eudeline acting strange. After recovering from her stroke, it's like she forgot everything she ever learned from her tutors. Her stepmother, Avina Castelle, found out and grilled her for forgetting basic knowledge she has been taught ever since she could read. After that encounter, Eudeline was heard in her chambers sobbing, which was puzzling for all the attendants that tend to young miss Eudeline. Nevertheless, she tried her best to regain what she had lost which is when she was formally invited to Chauventon Royal Academy.
It's strange what a stroke can do to a person, Anne thought.
They just finished eating breakfast when a knock was heard. Anne went to get it but Eudeline got to the door first. When she opened the door, she was greeted by the sight of a black-haired, glasses-wearing young lady.
"Evelyn!" Eudeline went out to hug her. Evelyn didn't react fast enough and was trapped in a soul-crushing hug. At this sight, Anne nearly spat out blood. Anne immediately coughs and whispers Eudeline a warning.
"Eu-Eudeline." Evelyn croaked out.
Remembering where they are, Eudeline lets go of Evelyn and laughs awkwardly. Evelyn fixes her dress and glasses before coughing. "Good morning, Eudeline, it seems like you're ready to go."
Eudeline beamed as she nodded her head. She ushered Anne back inside as she got ready to leave with Evelyn.
Evelyn Beleron, Eudeline's childhood friend. She's the first and only friend Eudeline has ever had. Evelyn came from the Marquis family of Beleron, a close family friend of the Castelles. Ever since they could walk and talk, they've been together. Though usually, it's more of Evelyn taking care and looking after Eudeline. Whenever Evelyn was invited to a social gathering, she would often drag Eudeline with her. Eudeline, however, would refuse to talk and make friends of other young nobles.
The dormitory halls were long since each quarters were big. The walls were decorated with paintings of previous and current Elysienne rulers. Evelyn noticed Eudeline whispering the names of the rulers as they walked past them. "What are you doing, Eudeline?"
Surprised and embarassed, Eudeline muttered, "Nothing."
The two noble girls soon reached the garden that connects the main building and the dormitories. In that garden, they noticed four figures. One of which was a tall silver-haired girl facing the direction of the three other girls.
"Funny how a common girl gets invited to Chauventons. I wonder what your father did to get you an invitation," one of the girls said condescendingly. The other girls snickered as the silver-haired girl glared.
"Mind your own business, princess." The silver-haired girl turned around and took off, bumping into Eudeline in the process.
"Ugh!" She exclaimed. "Watch where you're going!"
Eudeline, who was on the ground, stared at the shrinking figure of the silver-haired girl and glared. Snickers were heard again as the three noble girls walked past them.
Evelyn helped Eudeline up and fixed her dress for her.
"Evelyn, who was that?" Eudeline asked.
Evelyn slowly looked up to meet Eudeline's gaze. "It's best if we stay clear out of their way. Don't get involved with Elianora."
"Elianora? Who's that?"
But Evelyn refused to say more. She grabbed Eudeline by the hand and personally led her to the room where their first class is held. Evelyn and Eudeline were fortunate enough to be in the same class. God knows what would have happened if they were separated. Eudeline would have probably not attended class at all.
The classroom was what you would expect from the royal family. It was filled with four tables with four chairs each. It was a relatively small class compared to the average public school class. After all, only the elite of the elite were invited to this prestigious school.
When they enetered the classroom, whispers from all around the room were heard. Eudeline sat down and got curious, "Hello, my name is Eudeline Castelle, of the Castelle family. What're all the whispers about?"
Two young men turned to look at Eudeline and were a bit surprised. One of them, a red-headed young gentleman, replied, "Pleasure to meet you, Miss Castelle. I'm Norman Aboumox, from the Aboumox family."
The son of the Duke! Eudeline thought. She then glanced at the other young man at the table. He looks awfully familiar, Eudeline thought. The other young man had reddish blond hair. There was something weird about how he was acting. It was almost as if he was avoiding Eudeline's eyes.
"I, uh, didn't expect Miss Castelle to talk when Miss Castelle and Miss Beleron sat down at our table," Norman laughed awkwardly. Evelyn shot Norman a glare and coughed. "I'm sure Young Master Aboumox meant no offense, Eudeline," Evelyn remarked.
Norman immediately realized what he said and apologized. Eudeline waved him off and asked about the fuzz going on a while ago.
"Miss Castelle doesn't know? They say our professor today is Professor Lowis Albemond."
"Professor Albemond?"
Norman nodded. "They say that Lowis Albemond has a reputation for dabbling in unspeakable experiments in the name of science. Honestly, I don't know how he's managed to keep his position in the palace with such a blackened reputation." Norman shook his head disapprovingly.
The young man next to him nudged him with his elbow which Norman responded with an ouch. He then coughed and looked away.
"Of course, all of these are rumors... haha..." Norman added.
Eudeline turned to Evelyn to whisper, "Who is he?" as she leans towards Evelyn. Evelyn stared blankly at Eudeline and sighed. "That's Nicholas Aboumox. You two met at a party once."
And that's when Eudeline's memories come flooding her head. About half a year ago, Eudeline got invited to a party celebrating the prince's birthday. When it was time to dance, Eudeline was pressured and asked a random guy to dance with her. She then proceeded to dance as if she had two left feet, embarrassing not only herself but her partner as well. That partner is Nicholas Aboumox.
Eudeline remembers him hastily leaving after the party. In a sense, it was funny since she was also leaving at that time. Neither enjoyed that night and Eudeline sitting by him in class may just be the worst thing that could have happened.
Eudeline coughed and glanced at Nicholas. He was looking away, embarrassed. She then initiated, "Young master Nicholas Aboumox."
Nicholas looks as if he ate something bitter and turned to meet Eudeline's eyes. Eudeline then stood up and bowed, "I deeply apologize for asking you to dance with me." Nicholas looked at her bitterly and sighed. "It doesn't really matter anymore, Miss Castelle," he said, avoiding her gaze once again.
Ah... Eudeline was rejected. Well, as he said, it didn't really matter anymore, right?
"Miss Castelle did remember that night!" Norman exclaimed. Evelyn shot him another glare. Norman pretended not to notice.
Eudeline blushed and looked away. Norman and Nicholas are brothers, of course, Norman would have been there. Hell, Eudeline thinks everyone in that room was there. Evelyn notices Eudeline's embarrassment and grabs her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Stop thinking about it, Eudeline. Let it go, it's all in the past."
Eudeline sighed and squeezed Evelyn's hand back. She looked at Evelyn and smiled. "I'm okay."
Eudeline then whispered to Norman, "Tell me more about Professor Albemond." She winked at him once and he grinned.
"Lowis Albemond is a high-ranking royal head scientist. He has been the fastest and youngest to ever climb the position of royal scientist. He managed to cure several uncurable ailments and diseases that no one in Elysienne has ever managed to cure. He also coined many inventions that we use today. He made soap, which was very hard to create before, but now with his help, we are able to produce all kinds of soap as an export in trade." Norman explained.
"As you can see, he had many contributions to the development of Elysienne. But where does his blackened reputation come from? Well, people from the palace say that he has this magical glass that lets him see what inventions and cures he could conjure up in this world, making people believe that he's been using witchcraft to rise to the top." Norman continued
"Magic?" Eudeline asked. Norman nodded, "Some people even say that he isn't from this world. When he was first brought to the palace, he couldn't answer some of the questions the king asked him, such as where he came from."
Eudeline gulped. Norman snickered, "They even say that he used his inventions to gain control of all of Elysienne–"
"What nonsense," Nicholas interjected as he hit Norman on the head. "You've met Professor Albemond before. You know he isn't like that."
Norman rubbed the part of his head that was hit, "Yeah, but look at Eudeline, she's become so tense." That earned him another smack to the head by Nicholas. The two boys then started to bicker like little kids with Norman threatening to tell their father how much pain he has inflicted on him and Nicholas telling him how their father would side with him since he's been spouting nothing but nonsense.
Eudeline releases the breath she didn't know she was holding and turns to look at Evelyn. "Evelyn?"
"Hm? What is it?" Evelyn wasn't really interested in the topic so been zoning out.
"What's Professor Albemond like–"
Eudeline was interrupted by Professor Lowis Albemond walking in. They immediately tidy up and greet him. The class starts and goes by without a hitch, much to Norman's dismay. The second, third, and fourth classes go by as well. It was not long until the end of the day has arrived and the little group of four has to part ways.
"You don't live in the dormitories?" Eudeline questioned Norman. They've been getting along since early morning and both wanted to walk back together.
"We don't live in the dormitories, no. Our manor is in Casir so we don't really need to stay here," Norman explained as he step foot in their carriage. "You two take care, we'll be going now."
They wave the two young masters goodbye and once again, it's just Eudeline and Evelyn. They agreed to walk back to the dorms together when Eudeline spots the silver-haired girl from earlier. One part of her wants to talk to her but another part makes her want to run away. She was extremely rude earlier, so why should she bother?
Eudeline didn't need to bother though because the silver-haired girl caught her staring. The girl then glared, huffed, and walked away.
Huh, how rude, Eudeline thought.