Chapter 15
“Until the entrance ceremony at 2 o’clock, you have free time. You can have lunch in the school cafeteria, so please spend your time freely and come to the auditorium by 2. Then… I’ll take my leave now.”
After finishing the last bit of guidance, Ben quickly disappeared, afraid someone might stop him.
Watching him vanish at the speed of light, Mie glanced up at the clock tower. In fifteen minutes, it would be one o’clock.
“The time’s kind of awkward. What should we do?”
“Should we eat first? I’m starting to get hungry.”
“Yeah! Let’s do that!”
The two of them headed straight to the cafeteria. The campus was so large that it was a bit difficult to find their way, but thanks to the signs posted here and there, they managed without much trouble.
“Uh…”
When they finally arrived, they froze in surprise. The cafeteria was already packed with students.
“Wow, there are so many people.”
“It looks like we’ll have to wait at least an hour, right?”
“Yeah. What should we do?”
They were hungry but didn’t want to stand in that long line.
Just then, they spotted a few students carrying lunchboxes.
“Waiting in line is a pain and I’m starving anyway. Should we just get those?”
“Let’s do that. It’s not like we’re short on money.”
They changed their plan and headed toward the food stalls instead. Luckily, there weren’t many people there. They bought a few skewers and sandwiches and found an empty bench to sit on.
Selina placed the lightly salted skewers on thick paper, one by one, then put them inside a cage for Luna.
From within the white cloth came soft mewing sounds and the pleased noises Luna made whenever she ate something tasty.
“Ah! I forgot to buy a drink.”
Just as they laid out the food neatly, Selina realized they hadn’t bought anything to drink.
“I’ll go buy some. Wait here a bit.”
Mie quickly grabbed her wallet and ran back to the stall.
While waiting, Selina peeked into the cage to check on Luna. The little cat was eating furiously, bits of meat smeared around her mouth.
As Selina smiled at the sight, a voice caught her attention.
“Hey, that girl over there…”
“I’m not seeing things, right? That’s definitely…”
Not far away, someone was whispering about her.
Looking around, Selina spotted two unfamiliar girls sitting a bench away, glancing her way.
“Red hair like that isn’t common. I’m sure of it.”
“But what if she’s a noble? They say some nobles have red hair too.”
“The witch supposedly has red hair and purple eyes. We’ll know for sure if we see her eyes.”
They thought they were whispering quietly, but the area was silent enough that every word carried clearly.
Selina had known there might be people who recognized her as a witch—but she hadn’t expected it to happen this soon.
“Hey, can you see? What color are her eyes?”
“Shh! She’ll hear us!”
Their whispering grew noisy. With a sigh, Selina gave up on hiding and turned directly toward them.
The two girls’ faces went pale with shock.
Then, upon seeing Selina’s deep violet eyes, their expressions twisted into disgust and fear.
But that only lasted a moment. When they realized she was quietly watching them without saying a word, their faces flushed with embarrassment.
“She… she heard us, didn’t she?”
“Wh-what do we do?”
Realizing their mistake, the two hurriedly left.
Selina watched until they disappeared, and by then, Mie had returned.
“What are you looking at? Something over there?”
“No, nothing.”
“Hm, okay. I brought orange juice. They were squeezing it fresh from real oranges.”
“Sounds delicious.”
Selina slipped back into her calm demeanor as if nothing had happened.
“Mmm! This is amazing. What’s in this sandwich?”
After taking a bite, Mie exclaimed and began checking the filling.
Selina smiled faintly, watching her friend.
Mie was the only friend who had ever defended her—even when people called her a witch or avoided her.
Though Selina often teased or scolded her, deep down, she treasured Mie more than anyone.
That’s why she worried. She didn’t want Mie’s life at the academy to become difficult because of her.
When they were younger, Mie had been bullied just for being Selina’s friend.
But back then, Mie had stood up to them fearlessly.
“A witch is a demon? Don’t make me laugh! The real demons are you guys who bully Selina, you jerks!”
It hadn’t been a deep wound, but her words had left a strong mark on Selina’s heart. Even now, ten years later, she couldn’t forget that proud, defiant figure.
That was the day Selina realized Mie was one of the few truly genuine people in her life.
From that moment on, Mie had become precious to her.
If rumors about a witch spread around the academy and Mie suffered because of it…
“Mmm, it melts in my mouth!”
Mie beamed, sauce smeared on her lips, completely content.
If that smile ever faded, Selina swore she wouldn’t forgive whoever caused it.
Resolving silently, she smiled faintly as Mie handed her a skewer.
“Mmm, that was a great meal.”
“Yeah. I think we’ll be eating there often.”
After finishing their short lunch, Selina and Mie walked leisurely, patting their full stomachs.
“That must be the auditorium.”
Following Mie’s pointing finger, Selina saw an enormous building reminiscent of a temple.
As the entrance ceremony time drew near, crowds had already gathered in front of it.
“Let’s go inside and grab a good seat.”
“Yeah, let’s.”
They hurried—any longer, and all the good seats would be gone. But near the entrance, a group of students was gathered in a crowd.
“What are they doing? Why aren’t they going in?”
“Looks like something’s posted.”
There were so many people that they couldn’t see clearly what it was.
“Hey, what class are you in? I’m in Class 2.”
“I’m in Class 3. Too bad, we’re not together.”
Two male students came out of the crowd chatting.
“Looks like they’ve posted class assignments.”
“Perfect, I was wondering which class I’d be in.”
The girls pushed through the crowd to check.
“Excuse me!”
“Coming through, sorry.”
Holding Luna’s cage tightly to her chest, Selina managed to peek out from between people. On the large board covered in student names, she looked for hers.
Next to each name was a student ID number. Selina took out her admission paper and checked:
Student ID 322001 – Name: Selina.
Muttering the number and name, she scanned until she found a match.
“Class 1…”
As she nodded to herself, she suddenly felt a prickling gaze on her cheek. Turning her head, she found a boy staring at her in shock.
The distance between them was so close that if someone had pushed, their lips might’ve touched.
That was because Selina’s head was right above his shoulder.
Startled by the soft blue eyes filling her view, she quickly pulled back, and the boy looked just as startled.
He was strikingly handsome, with silver-blond hair that gleamed like sunlight and clear blue eyes like the sky.
Selina noticed the red tie he wore—marking him as a new student like herself.
Their eyes met.
It lasted only a moment, but during that brief time, it felt as though the world around them had vanished. Only the two of them remained.
“Selina! Where are you?”
Mie’s voice snapped her back to reality. Selina quickly looked away. She already knew her class—there was no reason to stay.
“Excuse me.”
The boy frowned faintly but gave a curt nod. Selina hurried off through the crowd again, feeling his gaze lingering on her back.
“Selina! Did you find out what class you’re in? I’m in Class 5!”
“I’m in Class 1.”
“What?! That’s so far! I was hoping we’d at least be close.”
Mie pouted, clearly unhappy about being separated.
While comforting her as usual, Selina suddenly remembered something.
“Oh, that guy…”
“Huh? What guy?”
“No, nothing.”
She quickly brushed off her mutter. The boy she’d just met—she’d seen him before. Two weeks ago, while shopping, she’d spotted him with the noble lady she’d helped.
He looked different now—his hair no longer covered his forehead—so she hadn’t recognized him at first.
Who would’ve thought they’d meet again?
“Well, it’s not like it matters to me.”
Even if it was a strange coincidence, there was no reason they’d cross paths again.
Selina easily swept the thought of him from her mind.
“What was that just now?”
Sylvester stared at the retreating figure with bright red hair, vivid as spilled blood.
A moment ago, he had felt something press onto his shoulder—and realized someone had rested their face there.
Normally, he would’ve been furious at such boldness, but the girl’s calm, unbothered expression had caught him off guard.
He hadn’t even realized she was leaning on him until she pulled away.
“Come to think of it… her eyes were purple.”
He had met many people in his life, but never anyone with such mysterious eyes.
“Brother, did you find out what class we’re in?”
Lost in thought, Sylvester blinked and turned toward the clear, bell-like voice.
His cold expression softened instantly. He reached out and patted the head of his little sister, Sylvia.
“We’re in the same class. Both of us—Class 1.”
“Really? That’s great! I’m so happy we’ll be together!”
Sylvia smiled radiantly, drawing everyone’s attention around them.
“I look forward to studying with you this year, brother.”
With a graceful smile like a crescent moon, Sylvia tightened her grip on the cage in her hands.
Inside was a pure white cat—its fur untouched, like fresh snow
