How much farther was the dormitory, Neris wondered, as she passed through a section of houses with relatively low walls, allowing her to see into the courtyards.
Some of these houses were homes to the residents of Caten, while others were used for educational purposes. A few were even used as dormitories for wealthy students.
One such house, with a courtyard full of white lilies, caught her attention. A boy was sitting in a small gazebo in the first-floor garden.
The boy, who looked to be under seventeen, had bright pink hair that was slightly curly and fell across his forehead. His soft, peach-colored cheeks and long eyelashes made him look young, but his face, with a leaf in his mouth and a scowl, seemed to be a mix of boredom and anger.
"What's up?" he asked, noticing Neris staring at him from across the wall.
"You're staring at me," Neris replied.
"Who are you?" the boy asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm a new student," Neris said.
"How did you know about this path?" the boy asked, his tone a bit rough.
"I stumbled upon it," Neris lied, without batting an eyelash.
The boy snorted. "Well, you stumbled upon it, so stumble out of here. Why are you staring?"
Neris had to admit, it was a fair point. She wouldn't have paid attention to the boy if it weren't for the leaf in his mouth and the faint red line between his lips.
"Isn't that a prohibited item?" Neris asked, her tone a bit sharp.
The boy's eyes widened at her question.
There were countless types of dirty items used by people in the social circle. The majority of noble families handled powerful, inherited potions that were passed down only to their direct descendants.
However, the only item that came to mind, given what the young boy was chewing on, was a type of herb that produced a reddish liquid when chewed.
Pezalcho.
Named after the Pezal region where it was grown, this herb was famous for its strong sedative effects. Even when consumed raw, it had a significant impact.
The boy's eyes seemed to gleam with amusement, and he smiled, showing off his teeth.
Foreign doctors sometimes prescribed it, but imperial doctors rarely used pezalcho.
"Because it's poisonous," they would say.
Additionally, it was also addictive, making it a controlled substance.
The boy's eyes sparkled with amusement, and he smiled, showing off his teeth.
"You, how... No, never mind. What's it to you? You don't even know who I am."
"You're Ren Peynel," Neris said.
The boy's face turned red at her words, and his brow furrowed in annoyance. He spat out the leaf and glared at Neris.
"How do you know me? I've never seen you before. Wait."
Ren narrowed his eyes.
"You're a Ja-an? The second child of the Elantria family? Nellucian's sibling?"
"A distant relative," Neris replied, trying to maintain her composure despite feeling a surge of anger at being referred to as Nellucian's sibling.
Ren snorted.
"There's going to be a riot. The Ja-an in the main house of Elantria has been gone for a long time."
In fact, the most recent Ja-an depicted in the portraits in the Elantria family's main house was a duke from over a hundred years ago.
However, Ren seemed to know more than he let on, as this was a fact not widely known outside of the Elantria family and the imperial family.
Ren finally looked away from Neris and muttered to himself as he stood up.
"Damn it, you made me waste a valuable thing."
Neris quickly spoke up before Ren turned away.
"It's a shame to die from pezalcho addiction at a young age. You'll have better days if you live a healthy life."
Neris had heard the story of Ren Peynel, the younger brother of the previous Pope, being expelled from school and dying from pezalcho addiction after living a life of debauchery.
According to rumors in the social circle, he had become weak and frail from his excessive lifestyle and was eventually found dead, looking very gaunt.
Pezalcho was a substance that only a select few licensed doctors could handle. It was unlikely that a young boy like Ren could easily obtain it.
As of the year Neris entered school, the newly appointed Pope, Omnitus III, would have wanted to erase the remnants of his predecessor, his enemy.
This boy, known for being debauched and arrogant, was actually a victim of the adults' politics.
However, as an enemy of Omnitus III, Ren was not an unwelcome target for Neris. After all, the enemy of one's enemy could become an ally.
"Don't interfere," Ren said.
As expected, Ren, who had recently lost his family and allies in the temple, didn't seem to be in the mood to be moved by kind words.
Neris sighed. Ren looked at her strangely.
"You're a little kid, but you sigh like an adult."
"As a returning student, being at school on the day of the new students' entrance ceremony means you don't have a home to return to for summer break. You must be having a hard time, but don't hurt yourself. You should seek revenge."
Ren stood still, his eyes fixed on Neris. He seemed to be frozen in place, his eyes suspiciously gazing at her.
His pretty eyes were trembling, not just because of the herb or suspicion. Neris met his gaze without flinching.
After a moment, he turned around abruptly.
"Don't interfere," he repeated.
However, his voice sounded weaker than before.
Ren walked quickly into the house, and Neris watched him go before continuing on her way.
***
The Noble Academy was broadly divided into the Theology Department and the General Department.
The Theology Department was where priests, led by the Pope, directly taught students to cultivate the next generation of excellent clergy. The General Department, on the other hand, was where the imperial family and nobles' children studied the necessary subjects for their future lives under the guidance of their chosen teachers.
As a result, even within the same academy, the Theology Department and the General Department had completely different curricula and atmospheres.
On the first day of classes, the students gathered in the same classroom as Neris were all from the General Department. Unless there were any changes, they would likely be together until graduation.
Neris knew everyone in the classroom, except for Diane. The rest were familiar faces.
Diane naturally sat down in the seat to Neris's right, while the other students introduced themselves to each other, exchanging cautious greetings.
"Neris?"
Neris smiled wryly to herself at the sound of her name being called in a friendly tone by the student to her left.
She had expected this from the moment the girl sat down beside her. Although she didn't remember exactly, their first meeting in her previous life was probably similar.
"Do you know me?"
But Neris reacted as if it was surprising that someone knew her.
The brown-haired girl to Neris's left looked at her with a shy expression.
"Are you Neris? I'm Angarad Nain. Do you remember me?"
How could she forget?
"We were never that close, so don't talk to me. The others will misunderstand."
But before Neris could respond, a commotion broke out.
"I saw it! It was Truede who did it! She's the thief you've been looking for! Unbelievable, and she's talking to me like that!"
Angarad Nain was the daughter of a noble who governed the territory adjacent to Neris's homeland.
When Neris's father, Lord Wilmoth, had hosted the Nain family at their castle, he had brought Neris along to play with Angarad, who was the same age. As a result, they had shared childhood memories.
So, when they first met at the Noble Academy, Angarad had approached Neris again. However, when Neris was falsely accused of a crime, Angarad had quickly changed her attitude.
Moreover, as an adult in the social circle, Angarad had been the one to spread rumors about Neris's background. Perhaps Megara had been involved in this as well.
The experience of being betrayed by someone she thought was a friend had been a huge shock to Neris when she was younger.
At the time, Neris hadn't realized it, but looking back, she thought that Angarad had been the one to create the atmosphere that led to the other kids bullying her.
Angarad must have wanted to avoid being the weakest in the class. Neris, who was only interested in books and didn't know how to read the atmosphere, and whose social status was relatively low, had been an easy target.
"Sorry, I don't remember well," Neris said.
The Nain baronetcy wasn't very wealthy. Compared to other baronetcies, their family was relatively weak.
Perhaps Angarad's parents had told her how important relationships were at the academy, and Angarad had expected something from Neris.
But Neris knew that if she wasn't the weakest in the class, Angarad would naturally become the target of everyone's bullying.
Angarad didn't give up and continued talking in a slightly smaller voice.
"We used to play together when we were kids..."
Yes, they had. To Neris, it was already over 20 years ago, but to Angarad, it might not have been that long ago.
The scenery of the Rohan forest, where they had played until the sun went down, and the golden fish scales that had broken off from the leaf boat they had floated on the stream, were still vivid in Neris's mind.
Her chest ached, and Neris hesitated for a moment.
What should she do?
Angarad hadn't done anything wrong yet.
And the bullying from her childhood didn't mean much to Neris now that she was an adult...
Just then, Neris noticed the kids sitting at the back of the classroom whispering to each other and glancing at her.
Her chest felt like it was being squeezed by someone's hand, and she felt a sense of suffocation. She knew what this feeling was.
Fear.
She feared every single gaze directed at her, every whisper behind her back. It had become her habit to be afraid of all those things.
The culprit who had created this habit over the years was the entire classroom.
Despite all those memories, Angarad had been the first to betray her.
How could she have thought that those incidents were insignificant?
The wounds from back then had grown with her.
'Did you think what I went through was nothing? Well, then... from now on, what you go through should be nothing to you either.'
Don't worry, nothing worse than what you did to me will happen to you.
It felt like flames were rising up inside her. Neris looked at Angarad with a calm expression, her eyes empty of emotion.
"Sorry, I'll ask my mom later."
"Okay... yeah."
It was a gentle refusal, leaving no room for further conversation.
Angarad looked around awkwardly, feeling embarrassed to say more, but the other kids were already engaged in their own conversations.
"Liz," Diane said, using Neris's nickname. Neris had no choice but to let her use it, as Diane had insisted on calling her 'Nel' if she didn't teach her a nickname.
Neris turned to Diane, who was now calling her nickname as if they had known each other for years, and asked nonchalantly.
"What?"
"Who's that? Do you know her?" Diane whispered in Neris's ear, her voice barely audible. Neris frowned and replied.
"I don't remember."
"It doesn't seem like it," Diane said, her eyes narrowing slightly.
If Neris really didn't remember, she would have asked how Diane knew Angarad, starting a conversation about their common acquaintances.
Diane was too perceptive, pointing out Neris's inconsistency. Neris cut her off coldly.
"I really don't remember."
"Okay," Diane said, backing off.
Neris's expression didn't change, but she felt a sense of relief wash over her.
Diane had already gained experience socializing with her peers within her own household and was born with good observational skills, which gave her more insight into human relationships than most of the students in the classroom.
From Diane's perspective, Neris had several good qualities as a friend.
Firstly, Neris was cool. Diane was used to the younger cousins of the McKenna family eyeing her possessions whenever they met, so Neris's indifferent attitude seemed noble to her.
Secondly, Neris was very elegant. Not only was her face pretty, but her speech, pronunciation, and demeanor were also flawless.
Diane assumed that there must be a reason behind Neris's adult-like and intelligent behavior. With that in mind, she looked towards the front of the classroom and widened her eyes unintentionally.
A boy with long silver hair was walking in. He had a balanced and handsome face like a marble sculpture, with a sharp nose and an energetic gait.
"Liz, look over there. Isn't that Nellucian of the Elantria family? He's your cousin."
Everyone in the first grade had seen him during the student council introduction on the entrance ceremony day, and it was well-known in the social circle that the Elantria siblings possessed dreamlike beauty, so Diane couldn't be mistaken.