193: After the Exam
Something did happen.
By the time the three-day exam finished, Avril’s hands were full. Letters, notes, and invitations had all been pressed into them. Taking care not to drop them, she left the venue where the final exam had just ended.
Thankfully, the wind wasn’t strong that day.
“La-Lady Avril!?”
Grace, who had been waiting outside, ran up to Avril in surprise. Avril felt a sense of relief at seeing Grace’s face for the first time in three days.
“You came to pick me up! Thank you very much.”
“Um, what is all that?”
Avril answered Grace with a smile.
“These are the various invitations I received. They are letters asking I come visit once the exams are over.”
“!?”
Grace’s expression turned aghast from what she imagined. Then, a nobleman’s scion who had become acquainted with her during the exam called out from a little distance away.
“Ms. Avril, may I request a dance with you once the exam results are announced?”
“Pardon?”
“The announcement of the exam results and the appointment ceremony are held separately. During that time, a ball is traditionally held, and I would love to dance with you, the Villainess.”
“Oh, I am afraid not. I’m a villainess, after all. I- I don’t dance so easily.”
She gave him what she thought was a refreshing smile, but the young nobleman for some reason let out a loud, “Ahaha!” He then lightly waved his hand and walked away. It was a casual farewell between friends. Avril had never attended an academy or anything like a school, but she wondered if that was what this felt like.
Even though I took the exam as a villainess, it was still a world I didn’t know. It was so much fun, it became a wonderful experience!
As she was immersed within a sense of fulfillment, she felt a gaze. Turning around, she spotted Chris peeking out from behind Grace.
“What was that just now? Would you mind telling me all about what happened over the past three days? I need to report to my master, after all.”
Chris asked with a smile, but his expression was even more full of curiosity and amusement than his words.
Although she was already reporting to Chris, partway through, he said, “May I ask you to give a detailed report again in Lord Dylan’s presence?”
Avril asked him why, but all he would say was, “There’s no deep meaning. It’s merely a matter of my personal safety.”
Grace nodded from beside him, looking troubled.
So, on the very night exam ended, Avril came to Dylan’s room to report on the exam.
It was past midnight. In the room were Avril and Dylan, with Grace and Chris waiting behind them respectively.
This… I may have done something wrong…!
Avril admitted that she was slow when it came to human relationships. But what conduct exactly during the exam period could have brought about the tense atmosphere now drifting in the room?
At any rate, they should understand if I explain everything.
Having reached that conclusion, Avril began her report.
“The exam this time lasted three days. We were not allowed to leave building with the auditorium. During that time, we were accommodated in an adjacent lodging facility.”
“That’s just as I heard.”
“Yes, the contents of the exam, the format of the questions, and the general tendencies were all as I’d been told. Written exams were on the first and second days, while today, the final day, was an oral exam.”
“And so, how did it come to this?”
Within Dylan’s line of sight… were a great number of letters. I see, he must be asking about that.
“I won’t go into details because it would take too long, but… as the exam days progressed, various strange things started happening.”
“Strange things?”
“Yes. To start, someone discovered on the first day that their fountain pen had stopped working. I happened to glance over and realized that the pen didn’t seem like it could write anymore because it hadn’t been properly maintained. Thus, I took it.”
“You took it…?”
Dylan’s face twitched. Behind him, Chris tried to hold back his laughter. Avril, however, felt confident that she had properly conducted herself as a villainess in that moment and held her chest high.
“Yes. I said, ‘That fountain pen looks expensive, so give it to me,’ like a proper villainess and gave my own in exchange.
“…”
Avril cheerfully continued before Dylan who was staring off into the distance.
“After that, I repaired the fountain pen and brought it with me to the next exam. I was planning to throw it back, saying, ‘I’m bord of it now, so I’m returning it.’”
“But?”
“When I saw how obviously treasured that pen had been, I couldn’t bring myself to throw it, so I properly handed it over. For some reason, we became friends after that.”
“Avril… just now, you omitted something very important when you said you, ‘handed it over,’ didn’t you?”
At Dylan’s skeptical gaze, she instinctively looked away. Chris, who had heard this story earlier and knew the ending, was smiling for some reason.
Since he had to composure to do that, she really wished he would help her instead.
However, as he wasn’t helping her, there was nothing to be done about it. Chris was always on Dylan’s side.
“When I returned it to him, I also taught him how to care for it. It was… a very old, early-model fountain pen. As he didn’t know the proper method to care for it, he had been using it as it was, which lead to the ink clogging and it breaking.”
“I see. But how is it you know how to care of an old fountain pen in the first place, Avril?”
“It was my duty to take care of my father’s writing implements. I also remembered a scene in a story I once read where someone was maintaining an old fountain pen. I gave that young nobleman the title of the book so he could review it later as well.”
“I am convinced.”
Dylan looked as though his soul had left his body.
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