Chapter 26 - They call me a special girl (2/2)
The girl that was about to stomp on the sweets mumbled with a blank look on her face.
I was very surprised, but the girls surrounding me seemed to be even more surprised. They were all staring while frozen stiff.
“What exactly do you all think you’re doing!?”
And so, when Katarina-sama raised a stern voice at them, they immediately turned pale.
Well, that’s to be expected. Katarina-sama, the daughter of Duke Claes, is not only the fiancee of the third prince of this country, Prince Jared, she’s also a person that’s very, very treasured by the members of the student council, and she also has many secret admirers due to her cheerful personality.
Due to that, if you displease Katarina-sama, it’s not just the school, it’s not unthinkable that there might not even be a place left for you in the entire country.
And so, almost as if it was a lie, the girls who had such a menacing atmosphere just earlier became obedient and -
“We’re very sorry!!”
They all lowered their heads to Katarina-sama and…… Almost as if it was a competition to get first place, they ran away with some amazing momentum.
Since the events happened too suddenly for me, I stood there blankly while stunned for a while, but…… Come to think of it, I just remembered that I was on my way to the student council room.
I had promised to bring my sweets to the student council…… Then, I just realized that I no longer had any more sweets to bring.
All the sweets that I had made were lying on the ground. Ahh, there’s no way I can bring these to the student council now……
I remembered that day again. Nobody ate the sweets I made, all my handmade sweets were left on their desks in such a lonely fashion…… It was useless no matter how hard I worked or how well I made them…… Nobody will eat them……
While I was standing still, Katarina-sama was picking up the fallen sweets and putting them into the basket for me.
And then, I panicked when I realized what was happening. Katarina-sama wasn’t doing anything like picking them up to put them back in the basket for me…… And, when I tried to speak up……
Katarina-sama was snapping up the sweets she picked up off the ground into her mouth. Then -
“……Delicious.”
As she said so, she was smiling.
Sweets that had been on the ground……
I was thinking that, just like that day, I would have to take care of them by myself, but -
Katarina-sama was smiling while saying it tasted delicious.
……It was too much of a shock for me, so I opened my eyes wide and just stared at Katarina-sama.
And so, after finishing all the sweets, Katarina-sama raised her face. Her clear light blue eyes met mine. Then -
“Uh, uhh, I got really carried away and ate all of them…… I’m really sorry!”
She suddenly lowered her head towards me. For some reason, she was apologizing about “eating” all of them.
“Ah, it’s okay. I don’t mind that, but…… Uh, but it’s something that’s fallen on the ground……”
To the confused me, Katarina-sama responded with a strangely proud face.
“Since they fell on the grass, it’s no problem at all since they barely got any dirt on them.”
She said so with such conviction, that I couldn’t find anything to say back and just returned a troubled smile to her.
“……Is, is that so.”
And so, even though I’ve never dreamed it could happen, Katarina-sama praised my sweets. It’s the first time that I’ve ever been praised like this, I was really happy and embarrassed, and my face became hot.
And then, from the direction of the school campus, Prince Jared, a member of the student council, arrived. Since I still hadn’t come to the student council meeting, he came looking for me.
Katarina-sama was holding my basket while squatting on the ground, and I was standing still with red cheeks, and to Prince Jared who was looking at us dubiously I told him “by coincidence, I met Katarina-sama here, and we had a little chat” as an explanation.
I don’t want unnecessary worrying about me if he found out that I was being bullied. And, paying attention to my feelings, Katarina-sama also agreed with my story.
Even while returning with Prince Jared to the student council room, the heat from my face still wouldn’t subside -
“That’s, you better be careful since there’s a dreadful harem.”
Prince Jared smiled profoundly as he said so…… I don’t really understand what he’s talking about.
From then on, I would bring handmade sweets to the student council on almost a daily basis, and Katarina-sama was always overjoyed every time.
Since Katarina-sama had protected me, the bullying had let down quite a bit as well, then it happened when I had completely let my guard down.
It happened during lunch break on a certain day.
Since a lot of nobles use it every day, the school cafeteria is a very large and grand structure. And so, many of the school’s students, all nobles, would eat their lunch here.
The school dorms were separated by social status, so the class separation carried over to the school cafeteria. While I’m a commoner, I’m still allowed to use the cafeteria normally, but…… Since there’s only one school cafeteria, many high-ranking nobles with great power used it as well.
Because of that, I would be embarrassed to use it as a commoner, so I couldn’t use it at all, and I would always make my own lunchbox in the dorm, and eat by myself somewhere in the garden.
And so, on the day, just like usual, on a small bench on the outskirts of the school garden, I was about to open up my lunchbox.
At that moment. Before I realized it, I got surrounded by some girls I’d never met before.
“Even though you’re just a no-good commoner, just because you have some light magic, and you got chosen to be on the student council, aren’t you getting too carried away!?”
“Just because you have light magic you get all this special treatment, and it’s really sad that the student council has no way but to put up with you!”
“That’s right! It’s probably that you got favorable treatment during the test anyways just because your magic is special!
As they surrounded me, they rained an unending torrent of verbal abuse on me. I kept silent like usual, and just waited for their anger to subside.
Their words…… Since coming here…… No, it’s what I’ve heard all my life……
“Because you have light magic.”
Ever since that day I activated my magic powers, those words had always, always been with me.
No matter how hard I myself worked…… People would always say that everything is because “I have light magic……”
If it’s possible to wish for, if it’s possible for me to have a romance with someone, even I want to be held happily by someone too……
Even though I don’t need such a thing…… I just……
While I was being shouted at by everyone and thinking of those things, that’s when it happened.
Slowly, one of the girls was raising her hands. There was a red flame flickering on her hands.
Up to now, I’ve been slapped on the face countlessly, and even been bullied by people stepping on me…… This is the first time that someone’s used magic like this on me……
As if the bright red flame wasn’t real, I just stared at it blankly like I was in another world altogether.
And so, when that girl with the flame began approaching me, that’s when it happened.
I think I heard that dignified voice once again, and the girl who was approaching me with the flame tripped and fell on her butt right before me.
And so, before I realized it, that dignified back was once again standing before me.
“Exactly what are you all doing!! In the first place, saying that there was favoritism during the test just because she has light magic, don’t accuse people without evidence! This school is a meritocracy with no place for favoritism! And what’s more, I know just how hard Maria-chan is working! Her test scores are the result of hard work!”
Katarina-sama said so as she stood in front of me just like before as if to protect me.
That’s right, just as Katarina-sama is saying now, I’ve always, always been working hard. I’ve never done something like cheat on a test…… I just desperately worked as hard as I could……
But, nobody’s ever noticed this before…… I thought nobody ever would…… Even so…… This person, Katarina-sama noticed it……
I stared at Katarina-sama’s dignified back with my eyes opened wide. And so, while I was still in a daze, Katarina-sama continued.
“What’s more, everyone in the student council, as well as me, we’re not together with Maria-chan just because she has light magic! Because she’s a hard worker, because she tries her best at everything, because we like her, that’s why we’re together!”
At those words, the corners of my eyes became hot, and tears started dripping down my cheeks……
Ever since that day when I used light magic, everyone started calling me special, and I was treated differently from everyone else.
No matter how hard I worked, the result was always the same, it’s an obvious result because of your special power, or you must have cheated, is what people always said……
Everyone saw me as “the special girl with light magic……” Nobody saw me as a person called Maria Campbell……
Yet…… Katarina-sama - she noticed how hard I was working…… Not because I’m a girl with light magic, she’s saying that she likes Maria Campbell…… She’s saying that she wants to be with me……
It was almost as if a dam had broken inside me, and all the tears that had been pooling up flowed out from me.
Katarina-sama approached me as I kept crying uncontrollably, and rubbed my back gently. The warmth of her gentle hand completely swept away any remaining doubts I had.
“……Uh, Claes-sama…… My name……”
Katarina-sama had always called me “Campbell-san.” But, just earlier, she had kept calling me by my first name, “Maria-chan.”
“Uh, uhh, I’m sorry. I called you something that you’re not used to so suddenly……”
At the way Katarina-sama seemed to be panicking, I shook my head vigorously.
“No, I don’t mind at all. In fact, you don’t need to add ‘-chan’ either. Please just call me Maria.”
As I requested, the gentle Katarina-sama called me so with a smile.
“Thank you, Maria.”
At hearing my name being called in such a dignified voice, I summoned my courage.
“Uh, well…… If, if it’s alright with you…… Uh, would it be alright if I called you ‘Katarina-sama’ just like everyone else in the student council does?”
When I gave it everything I had and confessed my wish to her, Katarina-sama had a blank look for a moment, and then -
“Of course, it’s fine to call me whatever you want. After all, we’re already friends, aren’t we?”
and was smiling gently as she said so.
She’s saying that she’ll be friends with me, a commoner, even though our social statuses are so far apart…… My tears that had just begun settling down started to flood out again.
Anyone is fine…… Anyone is fine, so, someone…… Look at me…… Only look at Maria Campbell…… That’s always been my wish……
I worked even harder…… I entered magic school…… My long-held dream was shattered into pieces…… I thought that my wish might not come true anymore……
While Katarina-sama’s warm hand patted my back, my tears kept flowing. I was so happy at having my long-awaited dream come true -
After a while, when my tears calmed down again, Keith-sama came to pick up Katarina-sama, and the three of us headed to the cafeteria together.
I held out my hand to Katarina-sama, and seeing how my face turned red involuntarily, Keith-sama said “unbelievable, it happened again, exactly how many people are going to enter this harem……” and was talking to himself under his breath in stupefaction. I wonder what on earth he’s talking about.
From then on, even outside of the student council, I got a lot closer to Katarina-sama and her friends. Today as well, we received our homework together, and were heading for the student council room.
And so, Katarina-sama was very pleased at the sweets I had made for the student council. I was so happy as well that involuntarily, I diverted my eyes a little in embarrassment.
However, when I looked around me, all the other members of the student council were also looking at Katarina-sama with loving eyes, and were laughing happily as well.
Of course this included Prince Jared, and even Nico who usually didn’t change his expression at all.
And so, I checked out all the members of the student council…… Huh? ……
Somehow, I had an ominous feeling, and looked at that person again.
Then, that person smiled softly just like usual.
……Was it just my imagination……
For a moment, I felt like that person had a very cold look when I looked at them……
But, when I looked at that person again, they had a very gentle expression like usual once again.
So, I decided that I must have made a mistake.
I mean, that person is always so kind, for that person to have such a cold expression…… To be glaring at Katarina-sama…… It’s impossible……
“Maria, these sweets are so delicious!”
While I was wondering why I had been thinking such strange things, Katarina-sama began talking to me with a big smile on her face.
Once again, I became so happy that all those thoughts disappeared from my mind.
In order to see this smile again tomorrow, I’m going to improve my skills and make even better sweets!
Ten years after I got the power of light magic, after working hard - I was finally able to realize my dream of spending my days happily.