I Broke Off My Engagement and Got a Job at the Academy

76. Like a snail

Giselle sat alone in her room, sighing.

He revealed with his own mouth that he had tailed Eden and Vanessa last time.

How on earth can we explain this? Common sense tells us that it makes no sense for a child of a duke to spy on someone else.

Now, when I met Professor Eden Kainus, I didn’t even know what to say.

It’s a good thing today is a holiday, if it were a weekday I would have had to worry about class right away. Of course, I still have no idea how I’m going to meet him for class next week.

She continued to sigh deeply and lay down on the bed. Even sitting up felt like it was draining her of energy.

Snap. The necklace made a rattling sound. At the sound, Giselle picked up the necklace with her hand.

It was an item that was causing a stir in the world these days. It was an artifact of high-level magic that was said to be able to change the world if mass-produced.

…the thing he created. Giselle looked at the artifact, and sighed as Eden’s face came to mind again.

Normally I wouldn’t have cared about such things, but for some reason this time I kept caring about them.

… What should I do? Seriously, things seem to have gotten weird.

To be honest, Eden Kainus is not a very valuable person by her standards. His relationship with the royal family is near the worst, and his value is now an illusion that will disappear in an instant if the magic technique spreads.

Why do I care so much? I have always thought of everything in terms of practicality. But now, isn’t it clearly different?

Why is she so obsessed with Eden Cainus, why does she devote so much energy to him?

What if Vanessa and him meet secretly? What’s the big deal about that?

It’s not unusual for nobles to have such secret romantic relationships, nor is it something to be concerned about. So why does she feel offended?

If Eden Kainus pushes him away, so what? He has already achieved the level of Expert with his help, and has achieved his goal, so there is no need to become closer to him on a personal level.

But, but why on earth?

My head is complicated. I can’t stand the confusion. Giselle swept back her green hair.

She lay in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

And then, at that moment.

A servant employed by the academy knocked on the door of her room.

She got out of bed and opened the door.

Then the servant spoke to her.

“Ideline Youngae said she wanted to meet you. What should I do?”

Giselle frowned when she heard that.

“He just needs to come and tell me in person… Okay, I understand. Where should I go?”

“He said he would meet me at the fountain in the shopping district.”

A fountain. Giselle nodded, hmm. Yeah, well. I guess I’ll have to change my mood.

She checked her outfit one by one.

Giselle, who had changed her clothes, met with several friends, including Idelin Youngae. Idelin Youngae not only came from a wealthy family, but also had the brains to make use of it, and the others were all ‘useful’ people in Giselle’s eyes.

“Why did you call me?”

Giselle spoke to them. Then Ideline Youngae smiled at Giselle and said.

“It’s a precious holiday, but I feel it’s a shame for Giselle to stay in the dorm. The weather is nice, and on a day like this, wouldn’t it be nice to enjoy yourself at the shopping district?”

Then Giselle nodded and said.

“Okay. So where should we go from here? I don’t have any particular place in mind right now, so I’ll leave it up to you guys.”

Then the young ladies, laughing, led her here and there. Giselle was not in a good mood, but thinking of their friendship, she went around saying things that would please them.

Then suddenly, Giselle thought to herself.

‘Why am I coming out to change my mood and try to please other people?’

She knows that hanging out with other people now could help her in the future, but is that really the right thing to do?

Is this bright future, where we restrict all our actions and control ourselves according to our needs, really the best?

Associating with capable people, developing the family, marrying a man chosen by her father, and being embraced by him… Is that really a happy life?

Well, I don’t know. It’s just that it’s always been that way, and it’s still that way. Her mood isn’t one that fits with other people.

He thought his ambition was everything to him. He thought that reaching higher, becoming a greater person, and associating with better people was everything in life.

But why do I feel this way now? … Perhaps it is because ambition is not everything in life.

She doesn’t know anything about life. The flag she thought was her life’s goal is just a halfway point, or maybe even worse, and she has no idea where she should be heading.

When I think about where that point is, for some reason, the warmth I felt in my hand in the past comes back to me.

The warmth in my hand, which was somehow very warm. I couldn’t figure out what that warmth was or what it meant, but the feeling of longing remained.

That’s probably why she’s wandering around like this now.

“Giselle?”

At the sound of Ideline Youngae’s voice, Giselle woke up from her reverie. Giselle looked at Ideline Youngae and said with an expression that nothing was wrong.

“huh?”

Idelin Youngae smiled at Giselle and said.

“I was wondering if you were uncomfortable somewhere. Your expression didn’t look too good.”

“Oh, no. Nothing much. I was just thinking about something.”

At those words, Idelin Youngae nodded coolly, and Giselle sighed inwardly.

Yes. First, you need to come to your senses and get along with the other young ladies. No matter how Giselle feels, it doesn’t really change anything.

And then, something troubling came to Giselle’s ears.

“Professor Eden Kainus, don’t you think you’ve been too noisy lately?”

Hmm. Giselle listened intently to hear what he meant.

“I tried to meet you once last time, but you didn’t even respond. Common sense dictates that you should reject someone, but you don’t even respond. How can you ignore the rules of aristocracy just because your price has gone up?”

“Well, after the family fell, it seems like they abandoned the pride of the great family and the manners. It’s not strange. The family fell in an instant, so how could they be okay?”

When Giselle heard that, she opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it again, because she didn’t know what to say.

Should I give a shout-out here? Rationally speaking, it would be right. Unlike Eden and Cainus, the young ladies here are likely to be of help to Giselle. There was no need to create an awkward atmosphere.

But, strangely, she felt bad. For some reason, she felt offended by those words.

The young ladies started to curse Professor Eden, and Giselle just listened to them with her mouth shut.

And then, Giselle, who had been listening to the young ladies for a while, opened her mouth.

“Well, maybe it’s a misunderstanding?”

All eyes were on her. Giselle continued, thinking to herself why she was doing something so pointless.

“Why, you were away from your desk last time, saying you were on an outside business trip or something. You must have been busy since then. I also bought this from Professor Eden and received it.”

Giselle said, showing off a simple but neat necklace.

“I’m talking about the artifact. Wasn’t it because he was busy making it after returning from his field trip? I know Professor Eden, and he wouldn’t do something like that on purpose. He just tries to keep some manners in check.”

The meaning of what Giselle tried to say indirectly was simple.

It was a command to shut up because you didn’t want to hear it. And, at least in this group, there was no one stupid enough to not understand its meaning.

They understood Giselle’s words and laughed and agreed.

“Oh, really? Well, he was the successor to the Duke’s family, so there’s no way he would intentionally disregard etiquette.”

“Hearing what Giselle said, I feel ashamed for misunderstanding. Haha.”

“Yeah. Then how about going there next time?”

“Oh, yes. It’s hot outside. Should I buy something to drink?”

Will you shut up?

yes.

Okay, let’s do it well.

The conversation ended smoothly with Giselle’s permission, and only then did Giselle feel a little better.

After meeting the other young ladies, Giselle suddenly remembered a place.

The lake where Professor Eden and Vanessa Delphias met. The sight of it gave her a strange sense of discomfort, but she remembered the scenery as being quite beautiful.

“…Let’s go there sometime.”

Since it’s come to this, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take a breather and change the mood. She started walking.