Chapter 266 - Eating At The Canteen (2/2)

”...” Aernest turned to Eugene and blinked, ”I'll just bring my friends over.”

”....” Fine.

Only Eugene and Aernest were eating with commoners in the canteen of the first years. Aernest's friends were commoners and Eugene's friend was also a commoner which made everyone in the canteen uncomfortable. It was the first time anyone had ever seen nobles and commoners eating at the same table, and no one had ever seen or experienced anything like it before.

But no one dared say anything out loud and just ate their meals in silence.

Eugene's table was silent for a minute, but it didn't take long before everyone warmed up to each other. Aernest livened up the atmosphere at the dining table and allowed everyone to introduce themselves and get to know each other.

It was the first time Eugene truly communicated with Camille and she found out many things about her. Such as her dislike for tomatoes, and that she had run away from home to enroll in school. No one asked her why she ran away but asked if she regretted it yet. It was weird to Eugene because she didn't think there would be anyone who would willingly run away from home to enroll in the academy. In Camille's defense, she said that so far, everything was great and that she had no regrets because it was her first time meeting and seeing so many people!

Her response gave Eugene answers. It was no wonder that Camille did not understand the atmosphere and social cues. Because she had not met many people in her life and wasn't taught about social customs.

Social customs were as follows. Whoever leads the pack, everyone unconditionally follows. In the case earlier on in the day, no commoners spoke and they remained quiet. There may have been a commoner who had wanted to talk to a commoner however didn't dare to because if they did not follow the majority then, they may have been shunned or become an outcast in the future. Because the majority of the commoners had chosen to stay quiet, all the other commoners followed.

The only exception was Camille. And this was the reason why Eugene had noticed Camille because she was the odd one out. The only reason why she picked Camille as a roommate was because she felt comfortable with Camille who didn't follow social cues. She felt that Camille was the only one 'normal' in the bunch. Of course, she would be curious to meet people her age! So because Camille had yet to be influenced by the social cues, Eugene found her relatable even though it had only been 3 hours since they'd met and spoken to each other.

When they finished eating, Eugene and Camille, together with Aernest and his friends, walked around the academy to give themselves a little tour. School begins in a week, and the nobility will hold an orientation week for themselves. Well, according to the poster Eugene received anyway. It was an odd poster that went against the school's policy of treating all students equally, regardless of their socioeconomic status.

”I can't go to the orientation?” Asked Camille.

The moment Camille said that Eugene froze and stopped walking. She turned towards Camille slowly as realization hit her. Though she did not plan on going to the orientation anyway and did not care about it, Camille's words shocked her to the core. She realized how wrong the poster was and realized what this poster sets on the students. She also realized how wrong it was for her to simply ignore it and was shocked at herself who did it without a second of hesitation.

Eugene didn't say this to Camille and instead turned to the office in front of her. The administration office. She turned back to Camille again and answered her. ”No, you won't be able to go.”

Eugene walked forward, kneeled down, and slid the paper through the door. When she got up, she finished the rest of her sentence,

”Because there will be no such orientation.” The corner of Eugene's lips pursed and she continued to walk forward.

”... You sure you want to do this sister?” Asked Aernest who looked at her worriedly. Eugene turned to Aernest and stared at him with a serious look in her eyes.

”We are soldiers.” Her voice was deep but it wasn't her words that brought chills down Aernest's spine, but her three words. There were many meanings behind these three words and it was only now that he realized the severity of the poster.

He was ignorant and he realized that just now.

His comrades were commoners and he was a noble, this is a fact.. What if instead of Camille, his comrades were the ones who got shunned and excluded because of their social status? There was no way he wasn't going to ignore it.