Chapter 17 : Knight Fiction
The first light of dawn filtered through the small window of the servant dorm, softly illuminating Ailiya’s face and the dust motes floating in the air.
She struggled to sit up, stretching like a languid cat, then shuffled to the washstand.
Cold water splashed on her face, jolting her awake.
Staring at her sleepy reflection in the mirror, she lightly slapped her cheeks to muster some energy.
“Alright, today’s another day to push forward!”
She cheered herself on, beginning her daily dressing ritual, a rare source of calm in this new world.
Slipping into a soft white blouse, she savored the cotton’s gentle touch, tying the small navy-blue bow at her collar with care.
From the chair, she took a pair of new black thigh-high stockings, sitting on the bed to ease one foot in, feeling the smooth fabric hug her skin as it slid up her calf, past her knee, to her thigh.
She smoothed every crease, ensuring the tops were perfectly aligned.
Next came the navy-blue knee-length dress with white lace trim, its skirt swaying with a girlish charm as she moved.
Finally, she stepped into polished black shoes, twirled before the mirror to confirm her flawless appearance, and headed out.
Opening the dorm door, she nearly bumped into Aurora, also heading to class.
The servant dorms were close to the noble students’ residences, so they often met in the mornings.
“Morning, Ailiya!”
Aurora was brimming with energy, clutching a thick magic book in one hand and a flyer in the other.
“Morning, Aurora.”
Aurora eagerly unfolded the flyer, revealing ornate text and tempting dessert images.
“Listen, West Street’s new patisserie has a ‘Molten Chocolate Heart’ so good it’d make an elf cry! And East Street’s old shop has limited-edition ‘Cloud Soufflés’ this weekend—melts like eating a cloud!”
“R-really…?”
Ailiya swallowed hard at the sight of the art-like desserts, but her face fell at the thought of the prices, waving her hands frantically.
“They must be crazy expensive… I can’t, I’m broke, totally broke.”
“Oh, come on, looking’s free!” Aurora laughed, tucking the flyer away. “When I become top student and snag the highest scholarship, I’ll treat you to every dessert in the capital!”
Chatting, they headed toward the academic building.
On the way, they passed Isabella’s trio.
“Morning, Isabella!”
Ailiya waved habitually.
But Isabella ignored her, brushing past with a venomous glare—not her usual disdain but raw, hateful loathing, as if Ailiya were something vile.
Ailiya’s raised hand froze, then slowly dropped as Isabella’s cold back receded.
What’s… her deal? Bad breakfast?
Normally dismissive, Isabella had never looked at her with such murderous intent.
The atmosphere felt off today.
As they neared the academic building, more students’ gazes locked onto Ailiya like spotlights, their whispers growing louder, more chaotic.
“Look, it’s her…”
“How does she have the nerve to show up?”
“What a disgrace to St. Freya…”
This wasn’t the curiosity about her commoner roots or the envy of her role as Liliane’s maid—it was pure disgust, as if she were something filthy.
Ailiya, clueless about her offense, grabbed Aurora’s sleeve, her steps slowing.
A group of girls in another class’s uniforms blocked their path aggressively, the leader pointing a finger nearly at Ailiya’s nose.
“You shameless woman! How dare you show your face here! You don’t deserve St. Freya!”
…Shameless? Me? What did I do?
Ailiya was baffled.
“What do you want?” Aurora stepped forward, swatting the girl’s hand away with a sharp glare. “Picking a fight in the academy? Want a demerit?”
Intimidated, the group backed off, muttering curses.
Aurora pulled the dazed Ailiya along.
At the courtyard’s massive magic bulletin board, students scattered at Ailiya’s approach, their faces twisted with disgust.
Ailiya slowly neared the board and saw the glowing magical text at its center—a “notice” about her.
It listed her details—name, age, birthplace, even her debt-dodging parents’ names—followed by shocking accusations.
It claimed she led a scandalous life in her hometown, entangled with multiple men; that she blackmailed Liliane to enter St. Freya; that she was a two-faced hypocrite, badmouthing noble classmates.
Each charge was a grave sin in this honor-bound academy.
…What is this?
Her mind went blank.
She reached to tear it down, but her hand passed through the glowing text, touching only cold stone. The magic bulletin board’s contents couldn’t be removed without the caster’s dispelling.
Why… why is this happening…
“This…” Aurora, stunned, steadied the trembling Ailiya. “Calm down! Deep breaths… settle yourself.”
She paused, asking seriously: “Is any of this true?”
“The personal info… is true,” Ailiya’s voice cracked. “But the rumors… all lies! I never did those things!”
Half-truths mixed with vicious lies—a despicable tactic.
Ailiya’s head throbbed, finally understanding Isabella’s venomous glare, the hateful looks, the insults.
Dizziness overwhelmed her when a familiar figure approached—Liliane.
“Lady Liliane…”
Ailiya looked at her like a lifeline.
Liliane’s eyes coldly scanned the board, then fell on Ailiya’s pale, helpless face.
She said nothing, turned, and walked past.
“Wait!” Ailiya reached for her arm, but Liliane sidestepped effortlessly.
“Lady Liliane! It’s not true!”
Her cries met a resolute, unyielding back as Liliane vanished around the corner.
Ailiya couldn’t attend class today.
At the classroom door, the teacher politely stopped her, her face a mix of reluctance and pity.
She explained that the bulletin board incident had caused a severe stir among students. For Ailiya’s “safety” and to “calm the others,” the academy decided to suspend her classes.
Until the storm passed, Ailiya was excused from attending.
“It’s… for your own good,” the teacher added before hurrying inside, closing the door as if Ailiya carried a plague.
The entrance exam, deciding her fate, was less than three days away.
This mess, at such a critical time, crushed Ailiya under its weight.
With a heavy heart, she returned to her dorm, skipping lunch, locking herself in her small, single-windowed room all morning.
Time seemed to freeze.
She sat on the bed, staring out the window, watching a cloud drift from left to right, wishing she could float away from this mess.
Then she lay down, counting nonexistent patterns on the plain ceiling lamp until her eyes stung.
She grabbed two rough cloth dolls from the bedside—one she’d sewn with white cotton-thread hair, the other a hand-me-down from a neighbor’s kid with golden yarn hair.
Sitting cross-legged on the carpet, she propped the dolls up for a silent, one-audience play.
“You shameless woman!” she squeaked, making the golden-haired doll point at the white-haired one.
“I didn’t! I’m not!” she replied in her own voice, shaking the white-haired doll’s head.
“You are! You villain! I’ll destroy you for Lady Liliane!” The golden doll punched and kicked the white one.
“I didn’t… I really didn’t…”
The venting game turned sour.
A nameless anger flared in her chest. She grabbed both dolls, hurled them at the wall, picked them up, threw them on the bed, covered them with a pillow, and pounded furiously.
“Why! Why won’t anyone believe me! Why!”
Like a furious beast, she unleashed her emotions in the tiny room.
Books were swept off the desk, pages scattering.
The blanket was kicked into a crumpled heap in the bed’s corner.
Her casual clothes, tossed on a chair, slid to the floor, mingling with the books.
As time passed, the sky darkened.
When Ailiya finally exhausted herself, her room looked like a typhoon’s aftermath.
She hung upside-down off the bed’s edge, her loose casual shirt bunched above her navel, exposing a sliver of pale skin, unnoticed in her daze.
Like a flower wilted by a storm, she radiated defeat.
She recalled the classmates’ disgusted glares, Liliane’s cold, unyielding back.
“Argh— so annoying!”
She ruffled her white hair into a bird’s nest.
Since childhood, when her hard-saved coins for a knight novel were confiscated by her parents and she was scolded, she hadn’t felt this wronged, this powerless.
“Grr—”
Her stomach growled, but she didn’t want to move.
Flopping over like a beached fish, she pressed her cheek to the cold floor, hoping its chill would cool her burning mind.
Then, a knock came at the door.
“Knock, knock, knock.”
Ailiya lifted her eyelids but stayed put, uninterested in answering.
The knocking stopped, and she thought the visitor had left.
But seconds later, it resumed: “Knock, knock, knock.”
It stopped, started, stopped, started again.
After several rounds, Ailiya couldn’t stand the grating noise. Sighing, she dragged herself up, shuffled to the door, and opened it.
It was Aurora, holding a pretty cake box, her face bright with her usual vibrant smile.
“You…”
Before the listless Ailiya could ask, Aurora raised the box.
“Found a new cake shop! Heard it’s amazing, so I got some to share!”
“I’m not in the mood…”
“Come on, let’s go in!”
Ignoring her protests, Aurora pushed her shoulders, guiding her into the messy room.
They sat at the only tidy spot—the desk. Aurora opened the box, releasing a sweet aroma.
Urged by Aurora, Ailiya listlessly scooped a small bite.
It was sweet, the cream melting instantly, rich with milky fragrance.
Delicious.
Aurora dug in heartily, asking through a mouthful:
“Ailiya, you okay with just giving up like this?”
Ailiya nibbled silently for a moment before whispering:
“It’s not about giving up… It’s just so sudden, I can’t process it. And with the entrance exam so close, everything’s piling up. I just… don’t have the energy.”
“I get it,” Aurora nodded, swallowing her cake.
She gazed at the darkening night outside, lights flickering on like the eyes of the dark.
Without looking at Ailiya, she said softly: “I’ve had times when the pressure felt like the sky was falling. Everything I did was wrong, even breathing felt exhausting.”
The room grew quiet, only the faint sounds of their eating breaking the silence.
Aurora took another big bite before continuing:
“But, Ailiya, if we do nothing, those bad things won’t just go away.”
You have to keep moving forward.
Ailiya’s hand, holding the fork, paused.
“…I know,” she murmured.
“If you really knew,” Aurora said bluntly, “you wouldn’t be wasting a whole day moping in your dorm.”
Ailiya didn’t reply.
Silently, they finished the entire cake.
As Aurora prepared to leave, she said:
“Oh, I got you a gift.”
From her bag, she pulled out a book and placed it gently on Ailiya’s desk.
It was an old copy of The Silver Griffin and the Last Princess.
Ailiya’s eyes widened.
This was the book she’d saved a whole year for as a child, only to lose the money to her parents.
“Today, I took a leave,” Aurora explained, seeing her shock. “Went to your hometown, looked into your story a bit. This is my gift to you.”
Ailiya touched the familiar, slightly yellowed cover, her voice trembling:
“…Why?”
“No reason,” Aurora shrugged, flashing a matter-of-fact smile. “We’re friends, aren’t we?”
At the door, she glanced back at the chaotic room, adding:
“By the way, clean up this mess soon, or the hygiene inspector will dock your points.”
With a wave, Aurora left.
Ailiya stood alone, clutching the long-delayed knight novel tightly.