It Seems Like The Infamous Trash Can is Right Here! - Chapter 222
I shot Halid a slight glare for having not even a shred of flexibility, but of course, his expression did not change at all.
Unlike me, it was not curiosity about the academy but the hope that she could rest comfortably.
“Sasha, won’t you sleep with me for just one night?”
Vivian grabbed my hand with a desperate expression.
“You mean share a room?”
“Yes, please… just the two of us….”
‘Well, Vivian has had a tough time lately.’
She had the weakest stamina in our group, and the tension between Ardin and Dantère must have given her plenty of mental strain.
Dantère, after all, was going through a serious period of confusion.
‘It was bound to happen.’
The man who almost never returned to a woman after one night had been sleeping only with Vivian. From the outside it was obvious… but he clearly did not want to admit it.
That love had finally found its way into his life.
‘If he stays in denial too long, he’ll only make things harder for himself.’
Ardin had already begun walking the path of karma-repayment quite diligently. Judging from how he treated Vivian these days, his devotion was no joke.
And since he had been mixing truth and lies to fool the Imperial Family when replying to the information Felix requested, it was natural that Dantère would feel increasingly anxious watching him.
“No.”
Lionel swiftly pulled Vivian away from me.
“I cannot entrust Sasha’s safety to you, Vivian.”
Vivian looked pitiful glaring at Lionel with teary eyes, but this could not be helped. Safety came first.
Not just for me, but for Vivian as well.
Vivian surely knew that too, but she must have been too exhausted.
“…I will arrange things so that you can sleep comfortably for at least a night. Hold on just a little longer.”
“……!”
“……!”
Vivian and I stared at him with the same startled eyes.
Lionel, of all people, was saying something kind for Vivian.
‘Yes, it’s better if they get along.’
Even with souls switched, they would remain siblings for life.
I wasn’t the only one who missed a soft bed; everyone hurried through the packing so we could enter the city as soon as possible.
Just before I climbed into the carriage, I heard Dantère chattering excitedly.
“No one knows Cordeluc better than I do. Leave the guiding to me, Vivian.”
He must have thought he finally had a chance to win her favor again.
Well… who knew.
I suspected Dantère only knew the nightlife parts of the city.
Even Lionel snorted at his words.
“Serenia, I have at least fifty years more academy experience than that little marquis.”
After the carriage departed, Lionel said to me:
“My knowledge is far beyond that of the Marquis.”
“Compared to that little marquis, my knowledge cannot even be placed on the same scale.”
I studied his expression closely. Was he… bragging right now?
“Wow, that’s amazing!”
I clapped my hands, eyes sparkling.
“You’ll show me around the academy too, right?”
Seeing the anticipation on my face, he nodded.
“If you wish, of course.”
He appeared calm at a glance, yet I could tell he was secretly very pleased.
“I happen to have business at the academy, so let us go together.”
“Great!”
As I pictured the academy in my head, I finally brought up the question I had been hesitating over.
“By any chance, there isn’t… a Sorting Hat for the dormitories, is there?”
Lionel looked at me with a puzzled expression before answering.
“A hat, you say?”
Judging by his reaction, there wasn’t one after all.
Well, even if there were, it would probably be a problem. It would feel too much like plagiarism.
“The most important factors in dormitory assignment are, first, money, and second, grades.”
Lionel continued.
“If you donate as much as I do, you can use the best room available.”
…So reality was different from fantasy after all.
I could almost hear the sound of the dreams and illusions I’d built up while reading academy-genre stories shattering to pieces.
Well, money is important everywhere.
It was lucky Lionel had plenty of it.
While I unwillingly listened to the rotten reality of the academy city, the carriage moved without pause, and we arrived in Cordeluc before sunset.
