Surviving
Winter (4) Winter had finally arrived on Mt. Orn, and it was full of bare tree branches, with only bones remaining.
Thanks to the sporadic evergreen trees, the color of the vegetation was not completely gone, but mostly only the pure white hue of the dazzling snow field was visible.
I brushed off the snow that had accumulated on the flat rock on the side of Mt. Oron. After confirming that the moisture had dried to some extent, Anise and I sat down on it.
“It’s not a very big mountain, but a mountain is a mountain anyway. There are a lot of dangerous areas, and the times are bad, so if a student slips on a snowy road, he or she could get seriously injured. I need to keep my head straight when supervising, right?”
Anise had her gray-brown hair tied up in a neat bun. After entering the mountain, the back of his neck felt cold and he untied the strap.
Her hair, which falls down to her shoulders, is moderately wavy and bouncy. As I brushed it off with my hands, the faint scent of scented candles wafted in.
“Ugh… It’s hard… Ed doesn’t look like he’s having any difficulties, does he?”
“It’s time to take a break. Let’s get some rest.”
There are no crowds on the hillside. The timing is too bad, and there are no students worthy of taking the initiative to get to this point in the first place.
The food duck stand is completely quiet except for the sound of birds chirping and the sound of snow crunching underfoot. The wind occasionally blew and exposed the snow-covered grass, but it wasn’t enough to break the silence.
“Thank you, Ed. Ed has good physical strength. He’s been late with work for no reason… but he’s also considerate…”
Anise lowered her gaze as if she was embarrassed as she played with the tips of her fingers.
“I… I guess I had a lot of misunderstandings about Ed.”
Anise glanced up as if embarrassed, then avoided her gaze again as if she was embarrassed.
“misunderstanding?”
“Ed knew to some extent, right? Well… I’m best friends with Yenika… So I was worried about what might happen if Yenika hung out with a bad person… I think that’s why I acted colder to Ed. ..”
When I thought about why Anis was so cold to me, I realized it wasn’t such a big deal.
Occasionally, when we encountered each other, all we did was look with cold eyes or walk away.
Well, my academic reputation was ruined during the first semester, so I completely understand that. Not only Anise, but most of the bachelor’s students avoided me, so Anise wasn’t particularly worse.
In the first place, I didn’t really care because I was looking for a way to live.
“It’s okay. I don’t really care. I’m sure you had your own circumstances. I understand.”
I said that roughly and took a quick look at the field visit checklist prepared by Assistant Professor Claire.
Starting near the halfway point, you should check flat areas where you can place horse engineering supplies, check for potentially dangerous cliffs, and prepare safety devices. And it’s quite cumbersome since you have to check all the way to the top where the altar is… but if you hurry, you might be able to finish before the sun sets.
And since I had a lot of work to do when I returned to camp, I wanted to get it done as quickly as possible.
But that doesn’t mean I can’t drag Anis around because she doesn’t have enough stamina. Also, I am also careful not to overwork myself, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take frequent breaks.
“Ed… he’s more honest and conscientious than I thought.”
Anise spoke as if she were embarrassed, rubbing the end of her hair. And then he slowly focused his sights on me again.
“I’m really relieved to have someone like Ed coming to the lab. It was hard to work as a senior assistant on my own… I know Ed, but Assistant Professor Claire can be a bit clumsy in some ways. Although she’s a very promising scholar. …”
“That’s right. You must have had a hard time too.”
“Yeah, that’s right, but… it’s okay.”
Anise smiled broadly and lightly grabbed my forearm.
“Ed is here.”
“We haven’t done anything properly yet…”
“I’ll help you from now on. Look, the field trip is almost finished.”
Anise quickly stood up from her seat and came in front of me to face me, keeping a quick glance.
“Of course, the other two people are very helpful, but for me, having Ed come is a great help.”
“…?”
“Ed… I’m sorry if this sounds hurtful, but… you’ve been excommunicated from the family, right?”
Should I say that the facial expressions are diverse? Even the same smile is very different.
The smile he gave me while looking at me gently seemed to be holding back some pain rather than feeling cheerful this time.
With a bitter smile and a sly look, he puts his back and bows slightly. As if he wanted to see my expression.
“I know very well that having to stand alone in such a splendid school is really not easy.”
It is strangely different from coquettishness. It simultaneously stimulates adult charm and a sense of kinship as peers.
He lightly approached me, glanced at my arm, and continued talking without erasing his bitter smile.
“I was like that too. My family was in trouble as soon as I entered the school, so I still wanted to go to this school… so I endured it alone.”
“That must have been difficult.”
“Yeah. It was hard.”
Anise looked blankly at the sky with dim eyes and seemed to be reminiscing about the past times she had endured alone.
“I felt like I was flying alone through a long winter.”
There was definitely an impression that he had a strong vitality. It was proof that they had solved everything on their own, whether it was economic or other aspects.
“I guess that’s why I felt a sense of kinship with Ed. I’m sure Ed… life as a bachelor wasn’t easy. Not only that, there were a lot of bad rumors going around.”
“Once I got used to it, it got better. Don’t be too upset. You’re handling it well enough.”
“Ahaha. Thank you. We… have a lot in common.”
Since I was saying sentimental things for no reason, I offered appropriate words of comfort and sympathy.
For some reason… I wonder if he had this kind of image. Wasn’t he a more cool-headed and realistic personality rather than this emotional one?
We weren’t that close, so I’m not sure… but anyway, it was strangely different from the image I had before. They say that you only know when you are fooling a person.
“As expected, Ed has a really strong heart. I’m really glad that I was able to clear up the misunderstanding with Ed. Umm.. Ugh.. I guess it’s because you said something so sentimental.. I’m getting heated for no reason…”
Anise said again. He kneaded his fingers and then quickly turned around, making a fuss.
“Ah.. Anyway, it’s a bit embarrassing! Anyway, I’ve had enough rest, so let’s head to the top quickly! We have to finish quickly! Be careful not to fall! There are a lot of rocks around here!”
As soon as she finished speaking, Anise fell over. By chance, it slipped towards me and was quickly sucked into my arms.
“Uwaaaaah!”
Anise made a fuss again, pushed her arms across my chest and quickly got out.
“I’m sorry! I tripped on a rock and fell!”
“be careful.”
I looked around the bottom to see if there were any dangerous rocks, so I looked around the bottom to remove them, but I couldn’t see any rocks of any kind. Did I just slip on the snow?
Anise quickly began fanning her hands to cool off the heat in her face. It was definitely an embarrassing situation, so I waited for her to slowly compose herself.
“Wait a minute… I… Why do I have such a fever… I’ll calm down soon…! Just sit here and wait…! I’ll be right back…!!”
Then, flapping his hand fan, he quickly goes behind a distant old tree and hides himself.
I sat down on a flat rock and exhaled again. I stared blankly as the breath spread, and when I looked up, Ornsan, dressed in pure white, came into view.
It was quite a spectacular view.
“It’s vague.”
Anise sat down on the roots of an old tree that had come up through the ground, contemplating her expression.
“On the outside, you really seem upright and honest… Are you cowardly…? Because you know that I am Yenika’s best friend…?”
Anis tilted her head, scanned her chin, and was deeply troubled. The reaction itself is definitely not cool.
The policy itself was perfectly adhered to.
Although he appears capable, if you look inside, he is secretly weak and looks like he needs to be protected.
A comrade who has endured a difficult academic life. Forming that kind of consensus.
I wasn’t sure if I liked adult-like things or youthful and cute things, so I went with the feeling of combining the two to a certain extent, and we threw in a few subtle skinships, and in the end, we pretended to have an accident and overlapped each other in a heated manner.
They also look somewhat embarrassed, but the feeling that they are rationally conscious is a bit ambiguous.
I wonder if I should watch it a little longer, but if it doesn’t go away even after this much, I wonder if it’s not a cheat.
“Hmm… maybe I was too immersed in it…”
Just to make sure, I did some method acting. As I lamented about my life as a bachelor, which was like a harsh winter, I wonder if my sincerity was implicitly mixed in a bit.
What can I do? Paradoxically, a perfect lie is created when a very small amount of sincerity is mixed in.
It seems like it has hit the mark to some extent, so if there is a response, it will be soon.
“Anyway… I didn’t see it that way, but you’re in better shape than I thought.”
Anise unfolds the palm that was just touching Ed’s chest, then folds and unfolds it again. It feels like it still has a harder texture than I expected.
He acts like a saenim and has better physical strength than expected. I thought he was a nobleman who grew up without knowing anything, but surprisingly, he has quite a bit of intelligence. I’m not at a level where I have to worry about appearance.
Indeed, a heavenly girl like Yenika who knows nothing might be taken aback if she saw it… but Anis has background knowledge.
In any case, he is a descendant of the high-handed Ross Taylor family, and his former notoriety does not disappear in an instant just because he has become a little quieter.
Just because physiognomy is a science, doubts about Ed’s behavior do not disappear. It is quite persuasive to think that he beat up women in this way.
For playboys who wear different masks and change women, this level of behavior would be a piece of cake. If Anis is an ambiguous and strange opponent even in the eyes of Anis, it is natural for an innocent girl like Yenika to fall for her.
“Yeah, that’s the way it is.”
Anise nodded and caught her breath.
A thick mask covers the surface of the skin.
*
The renovated Ofilis building looked much neater and more sophisticated than before.
Of course, there is no way Tanya, who has just entered Sylvania, would be able to tell the difference.
I was just amazed by the appearance, which seemed to be comparable to the Ross Taylor mansion. When I came to apply for admission in advance, I didn’t expect it to be this beautiful because it was still under construction.
“The maids have taken care of the luggage you sent. It’s in the second room in the back on the third floor.”
The daughter of the Rosstaylor family, the most powerful family on the continent, came. Naturally, Bel Maia, the chief officer of the Ofilis building, came out.
I greeted Tanya politely and guided her away, and Tanya shook her head gracefully.
“Please just complete the hiring process through the servants. I have a place to stop by before that.”
“all right.”
One by one, servants dressed in antique clothes get off Tanya’s magnificent carriage. They are all well-educated and stylish.
Accompanied by only the minimum number of employees, Tanya moved towards the living quarters.
I’m not very physically fit, but I like walking. I slowly looked around the campus, breathing in the cool air of a winter day.
Sylvania’s teaching building is, as expected, full of romance. It is a land of learning where noble and talented people refine themselves and become brilliant talents.
Just walking around among them made me feel like I had become a member, which lifted my spirits.
– ‘As a father, I am truly happy to hear your will. I really want to support that ambition.’
Crepin Rothtaylor, the benevolent and dignified Duke of the Cloel Empire.
The last conversation she had with her father, whom she respected the most, before leaving the Ross Taylor mansion, put more strength on Tanya’s shoulders.
Before leaving for Sylvania, the land of study, I conveyed two resolutions to my father.
In Sylvania, the land of learning where talented young people gather, I will definitely become the youngest student council president and raise the honor of my family.
And the shame of the Ross Taylor family that has not yet been completely resolved. I will completely erase Ed Rothtaylor’s existence from this glorious Sylvania.
Tanya’s ambition is determined solely for the glory of her family. Crepin seemed greatly impressed.
Tanya was so proud of that fact.
Due to the tragedy of the mysterious death of his eldest daughter, Arwen, and the excommunication of his eldest son, Ed, he somehow found himself in the position of the next head of the Ross Taylor family.
In fact, it was difficult to shake off the feeling of entitlement that I might have received an honor that did not fit the topic.
When she passed Sylvania and felt this recognition… Tanya became motivated again. I wanted to quickly take the freshman placement test so that my abilities could be recognized.
Among the freshmen, I was probably the first to enter the dormitory.
Considering the student council president election, there is not much time. I wanted to meet as many key figures within the academy as possible, stamp their faces, and recruit them to my side.
A first-year student council president who has never existed in the history of Sylvania. That position was Tanya’s primary goal.
– ‘There are many ‘big names’ within the academy. ‘It is important to persuade each student, but if you ultimately want to become student president, it is important to recruit key figures who lead public opinion as your allies.’
Golden advice from Father Crepin. And help.
– ‘There are quite a few ‘big names’ within the academy with whom I am acquainted. ‘I have some work to take care of, so represent me and show them your face and make various suggestions to expand your position.’
Even as she walked, Tanya was out of breath.
Although she lived in the Ross Taylor mansion and was raised as a daughter, she was raised like a golden jade leaf… but she certainly never took the initiative to accomplish anything.
He was only proudly carried by the family’s majesty, but did not actually do anything for the family.
This is truly an opportunity. She is in the position of representing her father, but before that, she is establishing her own position as Tanya Rosstaylor.
“That’s it.”
Tanya finished her story with a grin.
His own ambition to become student council president. The will to erase the trashy Ed Rothtaylor and completely restore the family’s glory.
And what you can do when you support yourself. What can you promise?
I brushed those things off and smiled elegantly again.
She is like a rose that has just bloomed. Seeing the new student’s ambitious appearance, the ‘big name’ who was facing Tanya across a table sat quietly.
“Anyway, the student council president election is far away, and there is a lot of work to be done as a freshman before then, so this is just a light promise. Anyway, if you support me, I can actively reflect your opinion in the academic regulations proposal that will have an impact even within the dormitory. Senior. Besides that, someone like you would know much better what it means to have the student council president as an ally.”
And add it naturally.
“Senior, there isn’t much you need to do. Just support me during the student council president election, and other than that… just give me a little help to put an end to Ed Ross Taylor. The academic department’s handling of things is still not very trustworthy. “The more certain we are, the better, so I want to get as much help as possible.”
Tanya continued speaking in a relaxed manner and pondered again what Crepin had said.
– ‘Sylvania will treat you with the utmost respect appropriate to your status, but in any case, it is essentially a land of academics. Even the princess treats professors with respect as teachers when it comes to academics, so don’t be rude because of your noble status. Everyone who is in a higher grade than you is a senior.’
Grade before status. Of course, the other person would treat Tanya with respect commensurate with her status, but that did not mean she had the heart to act arrogantly.
Tanya had already heard a lot of rumors about Sylvania’s seniors who had brilliant talents.
I welcomed the ‘tycoon’, one of the owners of those rumors, before my eyes. The problem of identity transfer. It is a matter of ‘achievement’ and ‘competence’.
No matter how lowly a person is, no one can belittle his proven ability. And isn’t this someone who even veterans who have experienced all kinds of hardships acknowledge and bow their heads? The opponent is a large lion that has eaten many ‘big names’.
The elegance that radiates is no different from that of nobles. Without the glory of Ross Taylor, it would have been difficult to have the honor of meeting these great figures in person.
– ‘Keep this in mind when you meet the person I will introduce to you. You must respect the other person. Especially when it comes to negotiations and transactions, he is someone you can never take lightly.’
– ‘She and I… are the ones who opened up about the wise man’s seal business plan. There is still some negotiation agenda left, so you can take care of it as my representative. It will definitely be a good experience, but… hmm… no. Cheer up, Tanya.’
Lortel Kecheln was looking at the new student who was looking at him with bright eyes.
“….”
After listening to the story to the end, Lortel gently closed his eyes and opened them… and smiled elegantly.
“…It’s fun.”
