"Thank you, Grandma!"
She said in a cry-soaked voice.
Grandma faced Lucy, hugged her tightly and patted her on the back. Lucy was held in her grandmother's arms and couldn't stop crying for a long time.
Dad and Mom watched the scene with slightly startled faces, and then they exchanged glances.
If it's Lucy, there's nothing you can do about it.
The smiles they smiled while looking at each other seemed to say that.
* * *
So, a few months later, it was not only Colin, but Lucy, who boarded Baron Connor's carriage for the capital.
Just like she did on her trip to the capital seven years ago, Lucy waved to her family outside the window with excitement.
I couldn't believe it. You are going to the capital again. To take the entrance exam for the most famous academy in the empire.
With Lucy's swollen dreams, the carriage rushed towards the capital.
"Wow! Colin, that's the square fountain I saw back then!"
Lucy, returning to the capital after 7 years, looked at the image of Bethel unfolding before her eyes and shouted.
"Colin! Colin! There is even a dessert cafe here!"
Unlike Lucy, who roamed around and chatted as if recalling memories, Colin stood there pretending to be modest.
In fact, unlike Lucy, he made several more trips to the capital with the Baron and his wife.
"Lucy, why are you doing this? Do you have something to brag about all over town? Calm down."
It took a while for her to shed her eyes at Colin, who spoke eloquently, and Lucy was excited again and went around the spacious Bethel Square.
Colin and Baron Connor looked at it with delight.
"Yes, Lucy. Before you take the exam, feel free to relax."
Lucy, who was running towards them at the baron's words, stopped walking. I felt the strength draining from her shoulders, and her complexion quickly turned pale.
"Ah, the test… … ."
The academy entrance exam, which may be the most important moment of her life, was waiting for her tomorrow.
Lucy's stomach churned as if the food she ate would come up as it is.
"Haha, I was talking nonsense."
The baron smiled and patted Lucy on the shoulder.
"Don't worry. You always did well in your previous mock exams."
Baron Connor's words were true, but they didn't do much for Lucy. It was because Lucy was well aware that practice and practice were different.
When I got to the capital, I felt that the confidence I had built up over the years was collapsing all at once.
"Hey, Lucy! Who else would enter the academy if it weren't for you? Don't worry too much."
Colin spoke like an older brother cheering for his younger brother by his side.
Lucy calms her trembling heart and says, "Hup!" and energized it.
It was a path I chose by myself while carrying the concerns and expectations of my family at the same time. I never wanted to create a result that I would regret.
It must have been difficult if I was alone.
At that moment, Colin, who came to take the test together, and Baron Connor, who accompanied him as a guardian, were more reassuring than anyone else.
So Lucy wanted to be stronger.
The next day, Baron Connor said, seeing off Lucy and Colin as they finally entered the academy ahead of their exams.
"Don't be nervous, just do what you normally do."
Despite the baron's encouragement, Lucy could hardly relax. Colin saw this and patted Lucy on the back with a mischievous smile on his face.
"Hey, Lucy! How about going to the bathroom one more time?"
"It's not like that!"
After she rolled her eyes at Colin, who was joking up to this moment, Lucy took a deep breath.
yes you can
She clenched her fists tightly, as if she were energizing herself.
Be sure to send the news to your family.
Then, Lucy stepped forward vigorously towards the examination hall.
* * *
"A letter has been sent to Colin Connor and Miss Lucy Keenan."
The innkeeper, who was putting the ordered food down on the table, said as if adding to it. Lucy dropped the napkin she was holding and became contemplative.
It's been a week since the entrance exam.
Lucy, Colin, and Baron Connor were staying at an inn in the capital. The road back to Brom was long and time consuming, so they decided to remain in the capital until the test results were available.
If I received a letter of acceptance from the academy, I was going to go straight to the dormitory. If I was rejected, I would have to go back to Brom with regrets behind me.
"Come on, the time has come."
Baron Connor accepted the two letters with a look no less nervous than Lucy.
Lucy could see the crest of the Academy sealed the envelope. My heart raced like crazy when I saw the clear eagle print.
"Then let's check the results individually."
The baron handed out the letter. Lucy accepted the letter with trembling hands.
Contrary to how seldom she could open the envelope, there was a creaking sound from the side of the paper and the tearing of the paper. It was the sound of Colin opening the envelope without hesitation.
He immediately opened the folded letter and read it.
"I passed!"
Colin immediately exclaimed.
As soon as she heard those words, Lucy's body began to tremble. I didn't even think of congratulating Colin.
What if it doesn't match?
What if I have to break up with Colin and go back to Brom? What should I say to my grandmother? What about Dad and Mom?
"Lucy, come on!"
Next to him, Colin urged him as if he was more curious about the success of Lucy than his own results.
After making up her mind, Lucy opened the envelope with trembling hands. Like Colin, once folded the paper came out.
I didn't have the courage to check it out. She closed her eyes and unfolded the paper. The moment I slowly opened my eyes to check the result.
Lucy's body shook violently back and forth along with a huge cheer that her eardrums were about to burst.
"Aww!"
When she opened her eyes, she saw Colin's face right in front of her. He grabbed his shoulder and shook it frantically.
Colin's voice, louder and louder than ever, echoed in Lucy's ear.
"Passed, passed! Lucy! What a senior pass!"
Even the baron, who would normally have scolded his son for his behavior, quickly took the letter from Lucy's hand and brought it right in front of his eyes.
The baron, who read the letter and confirmed that Colin was true, grabbed Lucy's shoulder and shook it. Lucy was unconscious.
"Passed, senior pass!"
In the midst of the frenzy, only Colin's words could be heard clearly.
it's pass
Only after the true rich Connor let Lucy go, she finally read her acceptance letter.
I'm a senior at Xenomium Academy!
I couldn't believe it even after reading the letter over and over again. Everything was so unreal that it felt like a dream.
At that moment, the first people that came to mind were my family.
Dad and mom, who cared for her more than she did and always supported her. and grandma.
If we had been here now, we would have congratulated her on passing with more joy than Connor's.
It was very disappointing that I could not see the happy face of the grandmother who heard the news right away.
"Lucy! look at this! It's a scholarship certificate!"
Colin pulled another piece of paper from Lucy's envelope and fluttered.
The paper was a scholarship certificate stating that when entering Xenomium Academy, all tuition for the first semester was reduced.
Lucy's mouth was wide open as she looked at the scholarship certificate. It was an amazing moment more than ever. The tuition fees that I had been so worried about had been resolved neatly.
Lucy immediately wrote a letter to her family with this good news. After she left the house, she didn't want her family to wait for one more moment, waiting for the news.
Especially when she imagined how happy her grandmother would be to hear this news, Lucy smiled automatically. I shrugged as if I had become a proud granddaughter for the first time.
And a few days later, Lucy received an unexpected news from Colin. Because of that, Lucy had to be very nervous before even entering the school.
"Lucy, Lucy! Senior students take the oath of freshmanship as a representative at the entrance ceremony!"
"What?"
Lucy's eyes widened like a startled rabbit.
"You are going to stand on the podium as the representative and take the oath!"
Excited, Colin explained, as if he had made it to the podium.
"me… … I can't do that!"
"Why not! you can do it!"
An oath taken with hundreds of people staring at you.
Lucy's eyes widened just by imagining it.
"Your grandma will love it! You will be proud of it!"
At Colin's words, Lucy came to her senses.
okay… … Grandma will love it!
Maybe Grandma will always brag about that moment to people.
Thinking like that, Lucy's eyes shone brightly.
If I could present a happy moment to my grandmother, I thought I would be brave enough to take an oath in front of hundreds of people.
* * *
"I really don't like it."
on the day of the entrance ceremony. Colin said with his arms crossed and annoyed. Rarely, he was sitting in a crooked posture, revealing his bad feelings openly.
He stared at a male student who was climbing up the podium with a bitter look in his eyes.
"You're the senior in admission, so why is he taking the freshman oath?"
Colin's eyes grew more and more fierce. It was as if he was ready to pierce the back of a boy named Eric Roman with just his eyes.