A light tap on the door woke me the next morning. "My lady, may I come in?" Oh, it's the maid. "Come in." As she entered to prepare my bath, I couldn't help but ask, "What's your name?" The maid looked at me, surprised. I couldn't blame her; I hadn't bothered to ask during the entire week she had been working for me. "My name is Sasha, my lady," she replied, then went straight back to work. After preparing my bath, setting out my clothes, dressing my bed, and helping me get ready, she excused herself and left as usual.
I was curious about her and wanted to know more, but I couldn't be bothered. Knowing her backstory does nothing for me; I shouldn't concern myself with useless things. I made my way to class and entered the grand hall. The fact that this school was founded by the previous emperor meant it was purely based on merit to maintain the prestige of the royal family. Here, knowledge is power. The rules are strict, and the punishment for breaking them is expulsion. So no one dared to act out; being expelled from the top school for nobles brings dishonor to the family of the unfortunate student. Anyone from a lord to the crown prince can get in with money, but graduating is the hardest part. There is a special scholarship for genius commoners that admits fifty each year based on an exam. If a commoner can make it through and graduate, they are granted the title of noble. However, commoners are bullied to the point where suicide becomes a daily occurrence at the school.
To prevent this, commoners are dressed as nobles, given fake backgrounds, and mages disguise them by altering their eye color. However, if a commoner is a half-noble, they are denied this "privilege." What am I getting at? Because I entered the school as a lord's daughter, I have to walk around with my blue eyes, making me a target for bullies—a plaything for rich and bored nobles. I wish I had known this before gaining admission as a lord's daughter. I found out too late. Damn it all, I thought to myself as I walked into class. The moment I entered, I could feel people's eyes on me like a tiger stalking its prey. I purposely dressed in bold colors today; if people are going to stare at me anyway, I might as well make a good impression and let them know I'm not to be trifled with.
I took a seat near the exit, but almost immediately, everyone within a ten-mile radius got up and left, leaving me confused. Once again, I'm being isolated. But this time, it doesn’t even make sense; being a half-commoner is not enough to trigger such a dramatic reaction. Something isn't right here, I thought, feeling uneasy. The teacher walked in and asked the new students to stand up and introduce themselves. When it got to my turn, however, he skipped me and started the lesson before I could even get a word in. "What the heck?" I muttered under my breath before sitting back down. Now I'm certain something's definitely off.
After class, I waited for everyone to leave before getting up to return to my dorm. On my way back, I could feel many eyes on me. People avoided being near me, and I could hear whispers from every corner; this made me feel nauseous. My head was spinning. Did you know this is what I would experience, Mother? Is that why you didn’t protest? I expected it to be bad, but not to this extent. As I walked down the stairs, I saw my sister Eleste, surrounded by a small crowd who admired her and chatted away. I must have stared for too long because she noticed me. We locked eyes for a moment, making the people around her notice me too.
"Who's that?" "Must be a new student; not that it matters," one of the girls said, smirking. "What? Why?" "Look at her eyes. That hideous shade of blue will be her downfall," she stated, glaring at me as she laughed.
I remained silent as I processed what she had just said. I then shifted my gaze from her to Eleste, wanting to see her reaction. She remained poker-faced for a while, then glared at me. "What are you looking at?" she said, her expression suggesting she wanted me dead. I looked away, unable to hide my smirk. That’s right, Eleste, remain like this and don’t change. I walked down the stairs with my head held high. When I reached the bottom, I flashed Eleste and her friends a smile. They looked appalled, especially Eleste. I couldn't help but laugh a little. Thank you, Eleste, for reminding me why I’m doing all this.
