Chapter 63
Chapter 63
The Country Girl and the Aristocratic Ruffian
What they grandly call a black market is in reality nothing more than a stall set up on one side of the dining hall.
The students of the Notos dorm gathered on the southern side of the cafeteria, and at one of the tables, a stall was placed to sell goods.
With the school’s official store finally opening, there had been concern that the black market might collapse. However, because the prices at the school store were so high, demand for the black market still remained.
Even now, as lunchtime arrived, the area was packed with students who had come to the black market in an effort to somehow force down their unappetizing meals.
“Remarkable.”
Marie was, quite literally, sincerely impressed by the resourcefulness of the Notos students.
Southerners were often stereotyped by imperial citizens as people who would sell their souls for money, but from Marie’s perspective, coming from a rural farming background, that same resourcefulness appeared as admirable business sense—urban, stylish, and sensitive to trends.
Even now, that was the case.
“Do they trade Aka coins?”
Marie asked Lorenzo while looking at the sign of the stall.
Lorenzo smiled and replied.
“Yes. The exchange rate at the official school store for Aka coins isn’t very favorable, you see.
We purchase Aka coins from students at a higher rate and sell them to those who need them at a lower price.”
The Aka coin exchange rate at the store was essentially designed to exploit the students. Lorenzo and the Notos students had taken advantage of that gap to trade Aka coins at a more favorable rate.
Students who had leftover Aka coins, or those who had received Aka coins from Magram and had some remaining, sold them to the Notos students at a cheaper-than-market rate. Then those same coins were resold at a lower price than the store to students who needed them, allowing the Notos group to profit in the process.
One might think of the idea as necessary in theory, but the fact that they had actually put it into practice was astonishing.
“Truly, the thinking of southerners is astonishing. It’s fresh and creative.”
“Hahaha. We’re often called money-obsessed maniacs, you know. Prince Karl of House Oxbach openly despises us southerners as shameless people who care only about money.”
“That’s far too harsh.”
Marie shook her head in surprise.
Coming from a poor farming background, she knew very well how important money was.
When a poor harvest struck or a cold wave came, the lives of poor farmers could hang by just a few coins. She had seen families sell their sons and daughters, leading to heartbreaking separations. While nobles and wealthy upper-class citizens might prioritize honor over money and call the pursuit of money vulgar, for those who had to sell even their family members for small sums just to survive, money meant far more than mere silver coins.
“If only everyone thought like you, Marie, that would be wonderful.”
Lorenzo said this when voices suddenly drifted over from near the black market.
Students from the Euros dorm, who had stopped by the market and cafeteria, were chatting idly, and their conversation naturally reached Marie and Lorenzo.
“Lady Idnia really is amazing, isn’t she?”
“Beautiful, noble… truly the heir of a prestigious house.”
“When our parents heard that Lady Idnia would be entering as a classmate this term, they told us to keep our distance.”
“Yours too? Ours said the same. They told us not to get close to her since the Principality of Betelgeuse is practically finished.”
“Ah, that’s it. So it was the same everywhere.”
The Euros students were speaking behind Idnia’s back in her absence.
Normally, gossip involves speaking ill of someone, but the Euros students had already been completely won over by Idnia. They could not dare to speak badly of her, even in her absence.
In truth, Idnia had no faults to speak of.
Beautiful appearance, outstanding magical ability and leadership, and even though her financial situation was not generous, she cared for all the Euros dorm students with great generosity and composure.
While other elector families also displayed excellent magic, martial prowess, and leadership, Idnia’s abilities stood out even among them.
She was a person who could not be believed to have lived the same length of life and had the same experiences as her peers.
“Even if the Principality of Betelgeuse may be in decline, the House of Betelgeuse itself will never fall. Lady Idnia is there.”
All the Euros students agreed.
Their parents, seeing the declining principality that had high status but little current wealth, likely advised them to keep their distance from Idnia. But that was only because they failed to recognize her true abilities and value.
Those who had seen her in person would come to believe that even if the Principality of Betelgeuse were a harsher wasteland than it already was, Idnia alone made its future worth anticipating.
“Come to think of it, Lady Idnia is one of the saint candidates, right?”
“Right. Who was the other one again? The other saint candidate?”
“Marie of Astraea.”
“Oh, that farmer girl. Isn’t the comparison completely unfair?”
“She’s like a lizard in front of a dragon.”
“Hilarious. Do you think she can even graduate? She seems completely hopeless at magic.”
“But she did manage to get decent marks, didn’t she? As a saint candidate, she has divine mana, and her mana itself is high.”
“Well, that’s to be expected. Without that level of ability, how could someone like that farmer even enter the academy? And with the lowest academic ranking in the year, no less. Can she even read and write? At that point, isn’t she more like a divine magic launcher than a saint?”
“Oh, that’s perfect. Hahaha!”
They continued making Marie a subject of ridicule while comparing her to Idnia.
In contrast to Idnia’s glamorous, aristocratic beauty—tall, slender, and elegant—Marie, with her small frame, timid appearance, and lack of assertiveness as a farm girl, inevitably invited comparisons.
In the original game, Idnia was a villainess who kept her distance from ordinary students and existed as an isolated figure among the highest class, so there was no basis for comparison with Marie. But unfortunately, in the present, both were saint candidates and roommates.
Comparison was unavoidable.
And people of the upper class were the sort who would feel restless if they were not exercising their mouths on someone else’s gossip.
“……”
Marie’s expression darkened as she overheard the gossip directed at her.
She had known, but the perceptions of other students were indeed poor.
Entering with the lowest academic scores had made her an easy target for disdain.
If she had been the only saint candidate, she might have been evaluated for her powerful divine magic. But with Idnia also being a saint candidate and demonstrating even greater achievements, others did not believe Marie could truly be a saint.
“They really don’t like me…”
At least Lady Idnia takes care of me, but…
Lady Idnia treats everyone kindly, not just me.
And for me to compete with her as a saint candidate might actually be a burden…
Idnia’s kindness only made Marie shrink further into herself.
At that moment, Lorenzo looked at Marie’s face with a gentle smile.
“Are you alright, Lady Marie?”
His voice was so gentle and soothing that it felt as though tears might well up just from hearing it.
Marie swallowed her emotions and tried her best to appear composed.
“Ah… yes, I’m fine. It’s simply my own shortcomings.”
“Shortcomings? What are you saying? I, Lorenzo Medici de Mazdari, firmly believe that you are the true saint.”
“Eh?”
Marie was taken aback by Lorenzo’s words.
A young noble of such high status, far beyond her own, was speaking in such a tender voice, comforting her and declaring without hesitation that he believed her to be a saint.
Even if he was not a true saint himself, he was the heir of the Principality of Mazdari. His words carried considerable weight, and for someone of such noble standing to console her like this…
“But what about me…? And Lady Idnia? She is also a saint candidate.”
“She is somewhat different. Rather than a saint, she seems more like a hero, wouldn’t you say?”
Lorenzo gave a wry smile.
“So, if it is not a burden… would you consider coming to our Principality of Mazdari after graduation?”
“Eh?”
Marie was startled by Lorenzo’s proposal.
“I am… someone everyone seems to dislike… yet this young lord, despite being from such a noble house, holds someone as insignificant as me in such high regard…
Is this what it feels like to be acknowledged by someone? It’s far more than I deserve…”
She felt happy.
However, someone poured cold water on that feeling.
“Astraea’s Marie. You should not accept that proposal.”
Isolde Polchen, the top student of the Zephyrus dorm and the academic first-place entrant of the year, had spoken.
Isolde had been following at a distance after seeing Lorenzo attempt to take Marie away.
Rather than intentionally following them, it was more that everyone had been heading toward the cafeteria anyway, and while her steps had momentarily fallen behind, other students had naturally crowded between her and Marie.
Thus, she had proceeded while remaining somewhat distant, yet attentive, and had overheard the Euros students gossiping.
“Hm. As expected, Lady Marie is being ostracized. She is certainly not someone to be underestimated. That divine mana… she is undoubtedly a saint. Still, those who have grown up sheltered in noble society are narrow-minded and petty. It seems they cannot go a moment without speaking ill of others.”
Isolde muttered to herself as she scanned the surroundings while listening to the conversation, searching for Marie.
Then she spotted her in an unexpected place.
“……”
Marie was seated at a table in the dining hall dominated by black market students.
And beside her, Lorenzo was seated, using his body to block the view of other students.
It seemed as though he was protecting her from others, but…
“He deliberately prevented others from finding Marie and forced her to overhear their gossip.”
Isolde clicked her tongue as she realized Lorenzo’s intent.
He was trying to win Marie over.
Indeed, Lorenzo had been attempting to soothe Marie with sweet words and suddenly proposed that she join Mazdari.
The maneuver was so transparent that Isolde could not remain silent and stepped in.
“Astraea’s Marie. You should not accept that proposal.”
Idnia had been speaking with the wavering Rudolf as she headed toward the cafeteria.
“Ah… dealing with adolescents really isn’t easy.”
Idnia felt bewildered that relationships were not progressing as smoothly as they had in the game.
In the game, no one had felt jealousy no matter how outstanding her achievements were. But now, people were showing jealousy, and even events that should have occurred much later had surfaced early, such as the curse attached to Rudolf being exposed sooner than expected.
“For a teenage boy, it must be especially difficult. Though he was born as the crown prince loved by all, he is not loved by his father… I’ve seen many like that. People who are not loved by their families yet cannot let go of them, devoting themselves to unreciprocated love and burning away their own futures…”
Ah, I’m in no position to speak.
Idnia gave a wry smile.
“I can only hope Rudolf overcomes that suffering. But… what is this?”
While she was focusing on Rudolf, it seemed the flames had now shifted toward Marie.
Lorenzo was actively trying to entice Marie.
“Things are progressing similarly to the original game. For an ambitious person like Lorenzo, a saint candidate like Marie is a valuable asset. However, in the original game, Marie sensed his intentions and remained cautious… she should be cautious now as well…”
Idnia felt uneasy.
“Is he trying to approach her at a time when Marie is mentally vulnerable? Should I step in and say something?”
As Idnia observed from within the crowd, Isolde appeared and intervened between Lorenzo and Marie.