Chapter 136
Chapter 136
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Dirt on Christina and Dorm Upgrade
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The Academy midterms were over, and I was living an ordinary life there without any unusual schedules.
Of course, compared to before, I had grown a bit closer to the club members.
I had become much friendlier even with Grace and Ivana, who had felt a little awkward to deal with until now, so this was definitely a good thing.
And through the Information Guild, I had gathered some intel on the Rose Family and Christina Rose.
"Hmm... Her private life is dirtier than I thought."
I had sent Lize on an errand, leaving me alone in the dormitory room.
While sprawled on the bed, I was going through the documents on Christina and the Roses by myself.
I had once told her younger sister Alexandra, after she came of age, to bring Christina down—something like that—but since I had nothing else to do anyway.
I just figured it wouldn't hurt to collect some information via the Information Guild.
"The nobles are always careful when digging up dirt on each other, so they probably didn't notice."
The information I obtained wasn't extremely sensitive or valuable.
It mostly consisted of details about Christina Rose's private life and her string of male lovers, that sort of thing.
Of course, there was also info on the various nobles, rich folks, and merchant guild leaders connected to her...
"Hmm... No matter how I look at it, Rozalin is way prettier."
Honestly, I couldn't understand why this woman had so many men around her.
Frankly speaking, compared to Rozalin—no, even to her younger sister Alexandra—she fell short in terms of looks, and her figure was the same.
On top of that, she was the oldest of the three sisters.
"Hmm."
I just didn't get it.
Why pass over someone younger, far prettier, and with a nicer personality...?
Of course, my current body wasn't male.
I probably couldn't think exactly like a man, but even so, I couldn't help finding it baffling.
"Hmm."
Anyway, I was reading through the material on Christina Rose.
Alexandra probably knew some of this already, but it was still good to familiarize myself with these details.
If I contacted Alexandra next time, I'd need to include some more substantial information.
"I got less on the Nordals but picked up this stuff instead... Profit?"
Hard to say.
In the end, neither was immediately essential, but personally, I preferred this over Ivana's info.
At least it didn't feel like a loss.
"Maybe next time I visit the Information Guild, I should buy something..."
I recalled that woman's reaction when I placed the request this time, and her somewhat precarious vibe worried me.
Handing over some snacks like chocolate should be fine.
"How can I bring her down..."
After reading all the documents, my thoughts naturally turned to that.
A few months had passed, but my hostility toward Christina Rose hadn't faded.
It didn't bother me that she looked down on Leonhardt and me, but her treatment of Rozalin and the fact that she'd tormented her all this time made me furious.
"Hmm... Should I just crush all her associates and cut off her funding?"
It would be tough, but in the long term, it might be possible.
Fortunately, none of them were from ducal or county-level powerhouse families, and they were all sleazy because of her dirty private life.
I figured I could manage somehow.
Not that I planned to act right away, of course.
"...Anyway, that's enough of this for now. Time to get to something else......"
It was time to move on to other tasks.
Lize was out, but I still needed to handle my business.
I got up from the bed, brushed my hair, and started preparing to change clothes.
It was something I could do without Lize, and even if she were here, she couldn't help with it anyway?
*
"Young Lady...? Why did you pull out all the documents like that?"
"Oh, Lize. You're back?"
After finishing a minor errand, I was preparing alone in the room when Lize returned.
She must have arrived late because she had handled everything I asked.
It was an errand, sure, but compared to my usual tasks for her, I'd piled on quite a bit.
"You took care of everything I asked?"
"Yes, all done. I placed orders at the furniture shop for the new furniture and wardrobe..."
"Good. Then we're set. We're moving rooms tomorrow."
"Ah... Is that why the room's such a mess?"
"Yeah."
The room did look a bit cluttered, enough for Lize to comment on it.
I'd emptied out all the drawers, left the wardrobe open, and so on.
Of course it would look that way.
"It's not like I could ask the staff to handle the documents, right?"
"That... makes sense."
Even Lize agreed it was that kind of sensitive material.
There were business papers and letters to others, so showing them casually to the staff wouldn't be ideal.
Especially since most involved the Nordals or Rose Family—stuff I couldn't let them see.
"Lize, could you pack the documents on the desk into the bag?"
"Right away. What about the clothes?"
"Isn't it best to use the same bags we brought them in last time?"
"Understood."
Lize had just returned from her errands, but I put her to work immediately.
Truth be told, these were tasks I'd been putting off for a while, so I was excited to finally prepare.
"While you were out, I stopped by the dormitory office."
"How high did the room grade go up?"
"B-grade..."
"Hmm... But didn't you score in the top ranks...?"
"Yep."
...I was eagerly preparing now, but it wasn't a big deal.
Just upgrading from a C-grade dormitory room to B-grade.
Still, it meant changing rooms and escaping this tiny single room.
For now, that was enough to satisfy me.
"They accumulate points based on grades for dormitory rankings, like you said before. So this time's scores got me a B-grade room, and a little more on the next exam gets me straight to A-grade."
"Ah..."
"They even said hardly anyone jumps to a higher dorm grade after just one exam."
I'd talked quite a bit about room grades at the dormitory office today.
Sure, the result was just a B-grade upgrade, but still.
Compared to when I first got this room and forgot to ask, I'd gotten a ton more info this time.
"Apparently, even average students take at least half a year to go from C to B."
I was a bit annoyed at first about only reaching B-grade, but after hearing the explanations, it felt okay.
Seeing the B-grade room before Lize got back and sorting documents had cooled my irritation too.
"B-grade is surprisingly nice. It's small, but it has a kitchen. Even a little balcony—pretty good."
"Oh..."
"Like it?"
"I'm just glad you like it, Young Lady."
"No, I mean, you've been using this room too and weren't thrilled with it, right? What do you think of switching to B-grade?"
I asked Lize again.
I could tell from her glance and subtle reaction earlier, but I wanted more details.
"...I like it."
"Hehe, thought so? Honestly, it's too cramped for two people."
"That part... wasn't a huge issue for me."
"Really?"
I'd felt it was too small for us both.
The room wasn't exactly spacious for daily life, which reinforced that.
Lize didn't seem to hate it that much, though.
"For me, even though it was small, I didn't hate sharing this room with you."
"Hmm... Fair enough. It's cramped, but it has its charms."
Of course, Lize's point wasn't incomprehensible.
Spending cozy time with her here had its appeal?
Maybe that's what she liked too.
Sleeping alone in a huge bed is nice, but hugging Lize like a pillow was great too?
If the bed weren't so small, I might not have.
"Anyway, we'll move by tomorrow. Prep the luggage, then let's go grab dinner."
"I've packed all the desk documents into the bag. For the clothes, should I bag everything except tomorrow's outfit?"
"Yeah, do that."
So, the dormitory room upgrade I'd been nagging Lize about since day one at the Academy was finally underway.
The class assignment exam not affecting dorms had been disappointing, but now I could live more comfortably.
And I hadn't liked making Lize, who'd followed me to the Academy from day one, endure this room.
She didn't complain much, but surely she felt some discomfort inside.
Compared to the massive Leonhardt Mansion and its rooms from months ago, this was tiny.
"Hehe..."
Thinking of sharing a bigger dormitory room with Lize definitely lifted my spirits.
Even after reading heaps of dirt on someone I despise before heading to the office, I found myself smiling without realizing it.