NOVEL NEXT Chapter 2
Staring at the steak didn’t change anything, but are people mere animals that move solely by reason? Even knowing it was futile, I found myself glaring at the food on my plate. It wasn’t that it tasted bad. Indeed, as expected of food from a noble academy, it was refined and brought out the flavors of the ingredients beautifully.
Comparing it to the food I used to eat at home, it didn’t fall short by much. It wasn’t filled with motherly love or anything like that, but the effort of the chef was definitely noticeable. So, what was the problem? My taste buds.
With my palate already accustomed to spices, I couldn’t fully enjoy the food. There was a notion that it tasted good, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that the stimulation on my tongue was weak. Compared to the violent spiciness of chili oil or the unique, rich flavors of spices, the food here felt lacking. And above all, there was no rice.
For a Korean who runs on the energy of rice, that was unthinkable. I didn’t have the courage to complain, but I couldn’t shake off the feeling of betrayal. How could a prestigious institution like this not even serve rice?
It was the very expectation that led to the sense of betrayal, and that thought flickered through my mind. Yet, isn’t it harder to not have any expectations at all? Even if it’s the reality, it’s a major stage in a novel. How could I not have expectations?
This was a place where the protagonist and the heroines laugh and frolic together; if the food was terrible, could it really be that they laughed like that? I didn’t think so.
…Perhaps the premise itself might be wrong. Maybe I was the only one who thought it tasted bad, and in fact, from the continent’s perspective, it could be considered delicacies. It could also be that my taste buds had gone haywire from eating generously spiced food every day.
When I tried those trending foods like tapioca or bizarre tteokbokki with my few friends, I was the only one who thought they tasted bad. Looking back, their reactions seemed pretty lukewarm; perhaps it was because I ruined the mood by declaring that the food was terrible?
…If everyone thought it was actually bad while I was the only oblivious one who said it was bad, ruining the atmosphere, what a horrifying speculation that was! But I shook those thoughts away. I must have made a sour face eating something bad.
It better be that way.
-Tsk.
Since becoming this body, hiding my emotions had become difficult. In the past, I might have shrugged things off even when I didn’t like them, but now, if I didn’t like something, my actions would reveal it immediately. My tail would wag, my ears would twitch, and I would subconsciously click my tongue. Each time that happened, I glanced around to see if anyone noticed, but until now, there hadn’t been any major issues.
At the very least, it hadn’t happened in front of my parents, and I was the Crown Princess back in my hometown, so there was no one to say anything. Except for my tutor. But here, things were different. At Amauros Academy, everyone was treated equally. Whether commoner or noble.
There were indeed princes and princesses in this academy, and those from the royal bloodline were present as well. All those kids were treated like any other student, so I wouldn’t be any different. Plus, I was a perfect outsider, being of a different race, so I had to be careful.
I didn’t know the exact method my father used to get me admitted here, but it probably wasn’t peaceful. There hadn’t been a moment of peace during the 19 years I spent on the Eastern Continent.
No matter how I thought about it, it didn’t seem like a proper method. Did I really have the right to complain about the school lunch after arriving like this?
I stared at the steak in front of me. As I cut off a piece and chewed, it was… lacking. The steak that had been warm moments ago was ambiguously cold now. It reminded me of the times in high school when I’d eat alone, enjoying my meal slowly only for it to go cold and end up in the trash.
…It felt gloomy. Eating with my family was so much more enjoyable, even when I ate slower than this.
That must have surely been because it matched my taste. That’s what it was.
In the first place, there wasn’t enough food on the plate, so it didn’t take long to finish it. As I stood up, I felt eyes following me, but I tried to ignore them and placed my utensils in the dish return area before heading to the snack stand. When it came to academy life, the snack stand was essential.
Thinking that made me feel a little relieved. Snacks. Heroine events. Dates!
I didn’t really know, but maybe there would be something. After all, with over 320 chapters, wouldn’t I encounter a socially awkward heroine at the snack stand and have some flirty interactions?
Just thinking about it made me frustrated. The protagonist just glides along while girls flock to him. Meanwhile, I walk in and get ostracized. Not that I was particularly good-looking. Well, I looked good, but in this world, I was average.
…Only I felt miserable the more I reflected on it. For now, I should just focus on the thought of eating lots of carbohydrates. Since becoming a girl, I didn’t need to eat much. Just one bowl of rice filled me up, and frankly, I felt satisfied with that. But could a Korean truly say they had a meal without any carbohydrates?
So, I thought I should at least eat some bread. Cream bread was delicious no matter which world it was from.
The girl whose eyes had met mine by chance hurriedly ran away, but I decided to ignore that.
I wished I could just go home right away, but I couldn’t. No matter how curious I was about the latter part of the novel or how much I wanted to take some small revenge on the author, I would stay in this academy.
But even “revenge” had me questioning what I could do to get back at the author. I once thought about burning this world down as revenge, but that would be absurd. The author wasn’t so despicable that I would destroy the world I’d live in just for petty revenge.
With those thoughts swirling in my head as I walked toward the snack stand, suddenly, some girl halted me. I wondered if I knew her and scanned her appearance, but she was a girl I didn’t recognize from my memories or knowledge. Who was she? Was she about to apply some pressure on me?
Finally, the sinister darkness of noble society was coming my way. While I lamented, feeling wronged to just accept it, I gathered my emotions and asked the girl.
–
“Who are you?”
Iris couldn’t understand why Stephanie asked her to do the questioning instead of addressing Baek Ho-yeon herself.
It was something she couldn’t rationalize, neither in her mind nor her heart. She had built a gentle relationship with her, and as a result, she could supply the specialty products of her territory to her business. She hadn’t done anything to be hated, so she wondered why she had been put in this role.
To ask about the current situation, especially when one of her family members had recently gotten involved in an unfortunate event in the White Empire—how could she even broach that topic? With what could she start the conversation? Spices? Or fabric?
Yet, as she stood in front of Ho-yeon, all those thoughts felt meaningless.
If someone were to ask her what it felt like to have your head shoved into the jaws of a beast, she could answer that right away.
The pressure was so overwhelming that she could barely breathe. Those golden eyes seemed to stare into the depth of her soul. A heavy animosity that wouldn’t allow her to move even a twitch.
She suddenly had a gut feeling that she might actually die. Was her heartbeat always this loud? As she asked herself that question, she forgot the question she had intended to ask, only to snap back to reality upon hearing Ho-yeon’s following words.
“If you have no business, I will take my leave.”
“I am Iris Stargazer!”
That she could at least introduce herself was thanks to Stephanie. She hated breaking promises.
Having promised to find out the current situation, she was desperate. But having blurted it out like that, she couldn’t find a way to keep the conversation going. What should she say to avoid offending her and keep her engaged? In that fleeting moment, she could come up with only one thing.
“Recently… from our country, I would like to apologize on behalf of my foolish uncle for the troubling matter…”
Even she thought it sounded crude, but for now, this was the best she could come up with.
“Stargazer… Star… Ah. Are you talking about that overly passionate missionary? That’s sufficient then. The blunder of an individual shouldn’t involve the family.”
In that instant, Iris’s complexion brightened slightly. While her oppressive aura hadn’t disappeared, at least it showed a willingness to engage in conversation. That was a good sign.
“If you wish to apologize, I will accept it. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
As she left with just one comment, Iris’s face, which had been tense, turned pale in an instant.
In that moment, what she saw and felt was the look that seemed to say not to speak to her again. The fear that had been suppressed by her sense of responsibility. The limited courage she had mustered was enough to make Iris feel faint.
Left behind, pitifully ignored, Ho-yeon only quickened her pace.