125 – An Uncertain Proposal -1-
Academy women’s dormitory.
In a place full of dreams and hopes, the sound of a girl’s laughter filled with excitement could be heard.
“Wow…”
The girl lying on the bed with a trembling heart.
The girl with pink hair was the protagonist of “The Strongest Ones in the Academy Like Me,” Yuria.
Yuria, feeling good from the morning, lay in bed and looked at the sealed letter.
[Sender: Ricardo]
With a red stamp and the scent of lilac perfume, Yuria held the letter close to her chest and smiled in the morning sunlight.
It was the first letter she received from Ricardo. She had never received a letter even when she was attending the academy.
She didn’t know what it contained, but Yuria thought it wouldn’t be something formal.
Today’s letter was starting from a different point than before.
It was still awkward and there was a lingering sense of unease between them, but starting from the point of being “friends” felt different to Yuria.
What should I say? Should I call it an exciting feeling?
Yuria was feeling an emotion that she had never felt with anyone else just from a single letter.
Although it was still awkward with Ricardo, Yuria had hope in her heart that someday they could approach each other like before.
She didn’t want to dwell on their past mistakes forever. It would take a long time, but someday… Yuria smiled shyly and held the letter tightly once again.
“Sigh… It’s nice.”
What could be written in the letter?
Surely it would start with a greeting, expressing concern for her health in the cold weather. “The weather in Hamel is very cold. I’m worried you might catch a cold in the cold winter,” something like that.
And then, it seemed like it would start with some trivial stories.
Light everyday stories.
What she ate today.
Casually written about interesting things that I don’t know.
And maybe that I miss him…
“What am I saying…”
My face burned with the thought of being the main character.
I wanted to cherish and savor it like a sausage side dish I wanted to save. Even though he was someone I clearly disliked, I couldn’t help but feel excited and unable to wipe the smile off my face, like an innocent person.
Yuria wanted to savor this feeling a little more. Something… because this exciting moment was nice.
“I don’t know…”
Yuria liked Ricardo.
Although she was shy and embarrassed, Yuria was more objective in the field of love.
She admitted that she liked men with red hair and a fiery personality.
She didn’t know exactly when or where she fell for him, but Ricardo started appearing in her dreams, and she liked having Ricardo sit next to her while she ate alone.
No matter what others said.
Even if she heard ridicule about how they were a couple of lowlifes, Yuria loved Ricardo’s smile that always gave her a warm smile.
And it made sense.
Because there was no one by her side.
Now she had her friends Mikhail and Lune by her side, but since they weren’t there during the difficult times, Yuria felt more reliant on and fond of Ricardo.
Yuria closed her eyes with an excited smile.
She kept thinking about it.
The casual appearance of Ricardo approaching her when she was crying at the recycling center keeps flashing before her eyes.
His casual voice asking, “Why are you crying here?” as he quietly approached her when she was being chased away, seemed to echo vividly when she closed her eyes.
Maybe I slowly opened up my heart to Ricardo, little by little.
Of course, it was because Ricardo had a face that perfectly matched her ideal type, but she also felt a masculinity that she couldn’t find in Lune and Mikhail.
Although they were all the same friends, the weight she felt was different. When they weren’t close, Lune, Mikhail, and the Crown Prince were merely bystanders.
So, I must have been greatly disappointed in Ricardo.
From the moment Ricardo grew cold towards me, I felt even more despair.
And.
I seemed to feel a greater sense of guilt for stabbing Ricardo with my own hands. I was hated for something I didn’t even do and criticized for the courage I mustered.
What should I say? Uriah couldn’t find the answer.
Taking a deep breath, Uriah opened the letter with trembling hands.
A letter received from Ricardo.
Uriah couldn’t know what words Ricardo had written.
So, the anticipation grew stronger.
It felt tense.
-Swish…
Swoosh. Uriah took out the letter from the envelope and tightly closed her eyes with excitement.
In her heart, she counted to three.
One.
Two.
Three.
Indeed…
What words could be contained?
With a fluttering heart, Uriah opened her eyes, and the first word she uttered was an exclamation filled with complex emotions.
“…Huh?”
Yuria, upon reading the contents of the letter, was taken aback. Well, that’s to be expected. “What did he write?” she wondered. Since she couldn’t read it, she couldn’t help but think that Ricardo’s handwriting must be terrible. Yuria furrowed her brow and struggled to read the letter. “H-hello…how are y-you?” Yuria was grateful that she had taken that boring ancient language class. She had thought it was a useless subject, but now she found it quite handy. She praised her past self for learning it. “You did well to study it,” she said. Yuria furrowed her brow and exerted herself to read the letter. It was precious, even with the terrible handwriting. Yuria was happy to have found a clue about her first love.
*
A sunny morning at the mansion. The two misfits sat on the bed, enjoying the warmth of the tea and admiring the view outside. “Sip…hmm…it has a very rich taste.” “Yes…bitter yet robust.” The young lady, who had always been drinking cheap green tea, spoke with refined vocabulary after tasting the expensive black tea. As she held the handle of the teacup with her fingers, she sipped and savored the cold breeze, resembling a true noble. They say that the surroundings shape a person. It seems that the lady and I are being shaped by money.
The lady and I, sipping tea brewed by the hands of a craftsman, gazed at each other with sophisticated smiles.
It felt as if our hearts were connected.
What we desired was evident.
“I have no idea what it tastes like.”
“Yeah. It used to be delicious, but now it’s bland and tasteless.”
The lady put down her teacup and gave a wise response. Having developed a taste for cheap food, she wasn’t prepared to drink such sophisticated tea.
Of course, I had the same thought.
It was definitely tasty, but something was missing. I didn’t have much interest in tea, so I couldn’t say for sure, but it certainly wasn’t to my liking.
With a crease between her brows, the lady extended her tongue and said to me:
“Do you want to have some cocoa?”
“I’ll brew two cups for us.”
“And put marshmallows in mine.”
“You’ll gain weight.”
The lady, dejectedly lowering her head, nodded at the firm words of the housekeeper.
“Well, then, chocolate.”
“That’s not allowed either.”
“How boring.”
She was a lady with a bigger appetite than her stomach.
Just as she was about to leave, holding the remaining cup of tea.
The lady, who had been absentmindedly looking out the window, screamed upon seeing the beef soup that had been set free in the yard.
-Goooong!
“Quiet!”
-Goooong!
“It’s so noisy!”
“Just leave it be. Isn’t it because they’re excited?”
“But it’s still loud.”
The young lady threw a piece of beef jerky from her treasure bag and told Gomtang to hush. Seeing her generous reward, I nodded approvingly.
But…
Why is Gomtang barking?
Gomtang rarely barks.
Gomtang barking means that a guest has arrived at the mansion, but according to my investigation, there are no guests coming to this mansion.
I’ve paid off all my debts, so there’s no chance of a debt collector coming either.
I tilted my head and walked towards the young lady.
“Did you not hear anything?”
The young lady leaned against the window, wearing a nonchalant expression.
“No.”
“Really?”
Suddenly, a man’s scream came from the window.
– Let me go…!
The oddly familiar voice made me raise an eyebrow and look at the young lady.
“It doesn’t seem like it, does it?”
– Let go! You little bear cub!
-Bear.
– Let go!
From Noble mtl dot com
-Bear bear!
– Let go before I burn you to a crisp…!
-Grrrrrrr!
“Miss?”
The young lady pretended not to hear the man’s scream coming from outside the window. She had a calm expression as she absentmindedly stared outside.
Just as if it was nothing, the young lady, who seemed fascinated, told me:
“The bear is playing with grass.”
“Grass?”
“Yeah… a toy that looks like seaweed came.”
I slowly looked out the window.
I could see Bear Tang biting someone’s pants and strutting around the yard.
“Ah.”
I turned and went down to the kitchen.
“It’s nothing.”
I was startled, thinking it was a customer, but thankfully not.
Because that’s not a customer.
I cheered for Gomtang as they diligently cleaned the yard.
………
Luin is just swaying grass