You've Taken My Room
The opening ceremony at Roseria Imperial Academy was magnificent. Magical lights floated beneath the auditorium ceiling like constellations, and every white pillar bore the imperial laurel crest. Behind the main stage hung the temple’s silver cross, the magic tower’s blue crystal, and the swordsmanship department’s longsword banner in perfect alignment. In short, it was a scene that had cost a fortune. Every last piece of it was leased property.
“New students.”
The elderly dean stepped onto the podium and slowly spread his arms.
“Welcome to Roseria Imperial Academy. Here, you will be judged solely by talent and character, rising above family and status.”
I clapped. I meant it. They were fine words.
A noble student in the row ahead turned and snorted at me.
“Why is a scholarship student laughing?”
“Because the dean’s words are pleasant.”
“You believe them?”
“No.”
He frowned. I returned my attention to the stage. Good words and good buildings are alike. They shine from afar, but the closer you get, the more clearly you see the maintenance costs. Those magical lights alone required monthly mana stone upkeep, and the stage’s automatic sound amplification ran on a separate contract with the magic tower. Of course, the students knew none of that.
This was a romance-fantasy academy where love, talent, and family clashed. To them, the floor was something to walk on, the ceiling something to gaze at, and the pillars mere background. I was different. The floor had a stone replacement cycle. The ceiling had leak risks. The pillars were subjects for crack inspection. And the girl sitting up ahead, Clarissa Loengrin, had lost her smile quite splendidly after the central passage of the third main gate was sealed moments ago.
“One blocked corridor and her face looks like that?” the male student beside me whispered.
His uniform was worn. His brown hair was cut short and blunt. Ink stains marked his fingers. Sitting in the scholarship section suggested we were in similar circumstances. He extended a hand.
“Nicholas Bern. Scholarship student recommended by the regional merchant coalition.”
“Ethan Belcrown.”
“Belcrown? Where was that again?”
“Doesn’t matter. We’re nearly ruined.”
“Ah.”
Nicholas asked no further questions. He had the makings of a good friend.
The ceremony dragged on. The dean spoke of dignity. The chairman spoke of tradition. The student council president spoke of honor. The swordsmanship department head spoke of fighting spirit. The temple representative spoke of humility. The magic tower professor gave the most practical address, warning that anyone who ignored the timetable would lose laboratory access rights.
Finally, the dormitory assignments began.
“New students, please proceed to the dormitory indicated on your student ID. They are divided into the East Noble Wing, general dormitory, and scholarship dormitory. Check the specific room numbers at the student life office.”
East Noble Wing. General dormitory. Scholarship dormitory.
I tilted my head slightly. The trust contract made no such distinctions. The Roseria Academy dormitories were originally divided into four zones: east, west, south, and north. Assignment criteria were safe occupancy capacity, year, gender, department, health status, and practical training routes. Family rank had never been listed, not even as a reference.
Yet on the first day of admission, the term “East Noble Wing” had slipped out in an official announcement.
Second piece of evidence. I checked it off mentally.
When the ceremony ended, the students moved like a wave. Imperial family members and ducal heirs exited through the main doors under staff guidance. Nobles below the rank of count followed. Scholarship students were naturally herded toward the side exit. The side door was narrow. It wasn’t as blatant as the cargo door from earlier, but the intent was the same.
“Where are we supposed to go?” Nicholas asked, peering at his student ID.
“The student life office.”
“Where’s that?”
I pointed down the corridor. “That way.”
“I thought this was your first time here.”
“I like floor plans.”
“Unusual hobby.”
The truth was that I knew because it was my building. Since I could not say that, I simply smiled.
The area in front of the student life office was already chaotic. Noble students handed their bags to attendants while scholarship students stood dragging their own luggage. A dormitory assignment chart hung on the wall. I searched for my name.
Dormitory Assignment Record
Ethan Belcrown — North Annex, 4th Floor, Room 17
My hand stopped. The North Annex. That was not student housing. To be precise, it had served as temporary lodging until twelve years ago, when moisture and heating problems led to its decommissioning. Its current contractual purpose was storage and emergency isolation. No one was permitted to reside there permanently.
“Whoa.” Nicholas, standing beside me, widened his eyes at the chart. “What did you do?”
“I enrolled.”
“You get isolated just for enrolling?”
“Apparently.”
I scanned the lower part of the chart. Strange entries caught my eye.
Clarissa Loengrin — East Noble Wing, 2nd Floor, Room 1
Clarissa Loengrin Aide Waiting Room — East Noble Wing, 2nd Floor, Room 2
Clarissa Loengrin Wardrobe Storage — East Noble Wing, 2nd Floor, Room 3
Clarissa Loengrin Reception Room — East Noble Wing, 2nd Floor, Room 4
I closed my eyes, then opened them again. One student was using four rooms. Inside a dormitory. The academy truly excelled at creative decay.
“One student occupying four rooms,” I remarked.
A voice flew in from behind me. “That is a necessary courtesy befitting Her Grace’s dignity.”
When I turned, a female student with neatly braided silver hair stood there. The student council armband suggested she was the dormitory supervisor. Her name tag read Lydia Harpen. She looked me up and down.
“Scholarship students usually cooperate with space allocation. The academy’s resources are not infinite.”
“Yet those resources are currently being used by Her Grace across four separate rooms.”
The surroundings fell silent. Lydia’s smile stiffened slightly.
“Lady Loengrin is the daughter of one of the empire’s major sponsoring families.”
“And I am a student.”
“Who doesn’t know that?”
“Is it strange for a student to use student housing?”
Lydia took a step closer. She smelled of perfume. Expensive rose. The scent of someone who had never once experienced the hot-water restrictions in the East Noble Wing’s shared bathrooms.
“Belcrown student.” She deliberately read my name slowly. “The academy is not run by regulations alone. There is tradition, precedent, and proper courtesy between families.”
“What does the contract say?”
“Pardon?”
“The dormitory lease contract. Does it state that one student may use four rooms?”
Lydia’s eyes narrowed. “A scholarship student has no need to know such things.”
“Then please change my room. The North Annex is not designated for residential use.”
“Assignments are finalized.”
“And the objection procedure?”
“There is none.”
There was. Specifically, Chapter 8, Article 12 of the Student Life Regulations. If a significant safety defect existed in a dormitory assignment or if the assignment conflicted with the contractual purpose, a student could immediately demand reexamination.
I studied Lydia for a moment. She believed I knew nothing. Not the regulations. Not the contract. Not the owner of the very floor she stood on.
“Understood.” I nodded.
The corner of Lydia’s mouth lifted. “Wise choice.”
“My room is North Annex, 4th Floor, Room 17. Correct?”
“Yes.”
“Confirmed.”
I pulled my trunk and stepped back. Nicholas followed me.
“Hey, you’re just leaving like that?”
“Yes.”
“You’re really going to sleep there?”
“No.”
“Then?”
I walked toward the end of the corridor. “I’m going to inspect it.”
The North Annex was exactly as expected. A thin layer of dust coated the hallway, and dried moisture stains marked the windowsills. The wallpaper was peeling, and the old heating pipes felt icy to the touch. The stairs to the fourth floor creaked. When I opened the door to Room 17, a musty smell rolled out. One bed. One desk. One chair with a broken backrest. A water stain spread across the ceiling corner.
Nicholas pinched his nose. “If someone sleeps here they’ll catch something.”
“Which is why it isn’t student housing.”
I opened the window. It resisted. After two firm pushes it let out a shriek and cracked open. The academy garden came into view below. Servants were already carrying luggage into the East Noble Wing. Clarissa Loengrin’s attendants divided boxes among four rooms—clothing chests, tea sets, mirrors, folding screens, personal carpets. Clarissa herself walked gracefully through the chaos. The same hand that had pointed me toward the cargo door now indicated her reception room.
I took a silver seal from my pocket. Nicholas blinked.
“What’s that?”
“Family property.”
“Looks expensive.”
“Even a ruined house has a few things left.”
An old management call panel was mounted on one wall. It was an outdated magical device installed before the North Annex had been removed from residential use. I pressed the seal against it. Blue letters rose.
OWNER CONFIRMED.
Nicholas’s mouth fell open. “Huh?”
I brought a finger to my lips. “Secret.”
A moment later, Ines’s voice flowed from beyond the panel.
“What is it this time?”
“Dormitory assignment.”
“Don’t tell me it’s the North Annex.”
“Fourth floor, Room 17.”
The sound of paper shuffling on the other side stopped.
“That area is not designated for student housing.”
“I know.”
“Who was the dormitory supervisor?”
“Lydia Harpen. Student council dormitory manager. Assigned four rooms in the East Noble Wing to Lady Loengrin. Spoke of scholarship students cooperating with space usage. Falsely informed that no objection procedure exists.”
“Level of action?”
I looked at the water stain on the ceiling. A single drop fell and beaded on the desk. Good. This would not be easy to overlook.
“Immediate suspension of residential use in the North Annex. Issue a safety inspection order. Reassign all students previously assigned to that annex.”
“And the East Noble Wing?”
“Full investigation into any occupancy exceeding one room per student. Suspend all personal reception rooms, wardrobes, and aide waiting rooms that deviate from contractual use until approval is granted.”
“Including Lady Loengrin’s four rooms?”
“When a student uses four rooms, she is no longer a student. She is a tenant.”
“Shall I bill her for additional usage fees?”
I thought for a moment. Hitting them with charges immediately would be too blatant. There was no need to bite hard on the first day. People talked the most when they believed their privileges stood above the rules. I needed to collect a few more of those words.
“Hold off for now. Instead, seal every door.”
“Reason?”
“Use outside designated purpose.”
Ines let out a short breath on the other side. It almost sounded like a laugh.
“I will handle it.”
The panel’s light faded. Nicholas stared at me blankly.
“You… who exactly are you?”
“A fallen noble scholarship student.”
“What you just did isn’t something a fallen noble scholarship student can do.”
“Our family went bankrupt in a rather unusual way.”
“Unusual enough to let you shut down an academy annex?”
I gave no answer. Instead I picked up my trunk again.
“Let’s go. This place will be closed soon.”
“Hey. It’s really getting closed?”
“Probably.”
Ten minutes after we left the North Annex, a bell rang across the entire academy. Low and long. It was the facility command bell, distinct from fire or attack signals. Students looked out windows. Staff ran down corridors. Soon a new notice appeared on the dormitory bulletin board.
North Annex residential use suspended immediately.
Student access prohibited until safety inspection is complete.
All previously assigned students to be temporarily reassigned.
Dormitory excess occupancy investigation underway.
Unauthorized reception rooms, wardrobe storage, and aide waiting rooms to be sealed until further notice.
A scream erupted from the East Noble Wing. A real scream.
I stood with Nicholas in front of the bulletin board. In the distance, Clarissa Loengrin approached at a brisk pace, her attendants trailing after her in confusion. White sealing strips now lined the second-floor corridor of the East Noble Wing. Room 2. Room 3. Room 4. Reception room, wardrobe, aide waiting room. All closed.
Clarissa’s face was paler than before.
“Who issued this order?”
Lydia Harpen stammered in front of the student life office. “Th-the Facility Management Bureau…”
“The Facility Management Bureau dares to seal a Loengrin room?”
“It was ruled use outside contractual purpose…”
“Contract?” Clarissa’s voice sharpened. “Since when does academy housing move on something as trivial as a contract?”
I listened quietly. It was a good sentence. Academy housing moves on something as trivial as a contract. That definitely needed to be recorded.
While Clarissa pressed Lydia, she suddenly noticed me. I was standing in front of the bulletin board, examining the new assignment sheet.
New Assignment
Ethan Belcrown — West General Dormitory, 2nd Floor, Room 9
It was an ordinary room. One permitted for residential use, with working heat, windows that opened, and no water stains on the ceiling.
Clarissa’s eyes darted between my name and the new sheet.
“You.”
I looked up. “Yes.”
“Why has your room changed?”
“They say the North Annex is not for residential use.”
“Who doesn’t know that?”
Quite a few people nearby had apparently not known it until moments ago. I saw no need to point it out.
Clarissa took a step closer. “Did you file a complaint?”
“I was told there is no objection procedure.”
Lydia’s face hardened. Clarissa’s gaze flicked to Lydia, then back to me. Her suspicion was still shallow. Anger was stronger.
“Do you find this amusing?”
“No.” I answered sincerely. “It is a safety issue.”
“Safety?”
“Assigning a student to a non-residential annex is dangerous.”
Clarissa was momentarily speechless. I looked past her at the sealed doors.
“And it is also strange for one student to use four rooms.”
Sharp inhales sounded around us. Red rose in Clarissa’s cheeks.
“Belcrown student.” She bit out my name. “Do not mistake your place.”
I smiled quietly. That was a good line too. Place. A very precise word. Only she still had our respective positions reversed.
“I will keep it in mind.” I bowed my head.
At that moment the student life office door opened and a Facility Management Bureau employee in a black uniform emerged. He carried sealing documents. And for the briefest instant, truly the briefest instant, he bowed toward me.
Clarissa did not see it. Lydia did not see it. Only Nicholas did. His expression grew even stranger.
“What the hell are you really?”
I picked up my new student ID. “A fallen noble scholarship student.”
“You’re going to keep saying that?”
“Yes.”
I walked toward the West General Dormitory. It was the morning of the first day of the new term. One main gate had been closed, one annex had been shut down, and three of a duchess’s rooms had been sealed. The academy had grown a little noisy, but no one had solved the puzzle yet. It was only natural. They were looking at the scholarship student. They had not yet seen the building owner.