I Became an Outcast in the Academy

9. Branch (1)

When was it? I can’t even remember much now.

Her earliest memory was of rolling around in her dirty back alley, something that even people of low status in her empire were extremely reluctant to do.

A place that can be said to be the dirtiest and lowest place in the world.

A space where vivid human desires live and breathe, and where such ugly emotions are conveyed in their raw form.

In that place, she was abandoned as soon as she was born.

And as if it was only natural, there was neither father nor mother around her.

But since she couldn’t have fallen from thin air or occurred naturally, there was only one conclusion that could be drawn in the end.

She was abandoned. From the moment she was born, her life was completely miserable, with no one blessing her.

Luckily, she was able to survive and grow up in such a dirty back alley for several years.

… No, she didn’t know that she was actually unlucky.

It would have been better if she had died as a newborn, when she could not perceive anything, because she could have died quickly and without feeling any pain.

‘She’ had no name. Because no one was nerdy enough to give a name like that to a b*tch rolling down her alley.

Not having a name meant that they were not registered as subjects of the empire, and not being registered as subjects of the empire meant that they were not people.

She was clearly a sub-human being, and in fact, she had lived her life being treated as such.

That is why it may have been a kind of inevitability that she died miserably and lonely one cold winter day.

‘I’m dying here.’

She was only seven years old at most, but she realized that she was dying.

Death itself was not scary. Because in these dirty back alleys, people dying was an everyday occurrence.

In fact, people passing by could only glance at her dying form and did not provide any help.

A little girl dying in a back alley is such a common occurrence and not a big deal.

So her death will also not be a big deal.

However, she could not bear the thought of her own death being reduced to such a trivial and common occurrence.

She wanted to live like a human just once.

That was her last wish, which she had kept hidden in her own heart until now.

It was a truly trivial sentiment. But… Dreaming might not be such a bad thing.

“……”

Look up at the sky. When I looked up at the sky, snow was falling.

She inadvertently stretched her own hand towards the sky.

‘It would have been better if I had never been born.’

My eyelids are heavy. My vision slowly begins to darken. Just as she was about to put her miserable life in order and face her death quietly.

“… Ah?”

As she stretched out her hand toward the sky, there was someone holding her.

“… “What on earth is a child doing here?”

The person who said that was also a boy who was not much different from her on the outside.

“Are you Mia? Have you ever lost your parents? Or a guardian?”

The boy was saying this while casually holding her dirty and kinky hand.

She was so embarrassed that the boy was touching her hand like that, and she wanted to quickly shake off her hand, but she couldn’t because she had no strength in her body.

When she was unable to answer until the end, her boy looked at her blankly and opened her mouth.

“… Okay, maybe I asked a very stupid question. “For a tiny little boy like this to be lying dead in her alley can only mean one thing.”

In her blurred vision, she saw the boy sigh and take something of hers out of his arms.

“… “Potion?”

She knew what that item was because she had seen her gangsters in her back alley carrying it around, saying it was her extra life.

And how expensive it is, and at the same time, the fact that it is too valuable to be used by a mere back alley girl.

But the boy poured the potion into her mouth without any hesitation.

“… Ah.”

Vitality returns to the body. A warmth blooms, and I feel my dark vision becoming bright again.

But the emotion that possessed her was not her relief that she had survived her death, but her wonder towards her boy.

“… Why why?”

I am a person of no value, and no one will be sad if I die, so why are they using precious items such as potions to save me?

In response to the girl’s meaningful question, the boy just smiled bitterly.

“Well… Why? I don’t know either. If I had to give a reason, it would just be… I wanted to do that. “No matter how expensive a potion is, it won’t cost more than a person’s life.”

“…..”

In a moment, she realized.

For the rest of her life, she will never be able to forget this scene.

When I stretched out my hand, like now, you miraculously stretched out my hand… Because it just feels so warm.

“My name is Sian. “What is your name?”

As she shakes her head at the lack of her name, her cyan scratches her own head helplessly.

“If you don’t have a name, I’ll have no choice but to give you one temporarily. Then your name is… “

****

“Except for me, the other three are now planning to harm Xian in earnest. So please act carefully from now on.”

At her words, Cartesia slightly furrowed her eyebrows.

“Now those girls are slowly starting to show their true colors. Well, should I say that I have endured it for a long time. “It was inevitable that she would turn a blind eye to her own trivial gains, so as long as she thought that her ideas were a hindrance to her own future, it was inevitable that she would turn out that way.”

“In some ways, things may be going as they should. Otherwise, it’s fate.”

“… It’s natural, and it’s fate… “

Cartesia seemed to be displeased with the words she muttered without thinking.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t believe in that. “Isn’t the reason we’re here now in the first place is to struggle to reverse that damn fate?”

“I don’t believe in that either. However, there is nothing wrong with being careful. Because a cornered rat can show enough strength to bite a cat.”

As she said that, she gently clenched her fists and let out a sigh.

“Thanks to her Xian unlocking his powers on us, we were able to successfully push them into a corner. But keep in mind: The game isn’t over yet. “I’m sure you know very well that they are not so easy that they will die obediently to us just because everything is over.”

“… I know, I know very well. Because I still clearly remember how much the empire sacrificed thanks to those three people. “You can never let down your guard.”

“Although right now I am leading the story in the direction of all four of us gathering together and making a plan… That too has its limits. “If they get further into a corner in the future, they will start acting on their own, and if that happens, I won’t be able to stop them anymore.”

“I would feel better if I took the loss and killed those three now.”

When Cartesia mutters that, she shakes her head.

“I’m sorry, but don’t forget that there are ‘restrictions’ on us. “That’s the whole reason why we go through such an obvious play and move things around in circles.”

“I know. Just… This is something I did once out of frustration. “I made a certain determination and worked hard to get this far, but now there’s no way I can ruin it by being influenced by a mere whim.”

“Of course it should be so. Don’t forget that for the sake of my wish, Your Highness must succeed.”

When the word ‘hope’ came out of her mouth, Cartesia inadvertently looked at her face.

Although this is something she has confirmed dozens of times, Cartesia asks her question again as she is still wondering what to do.

“I’m sorry for saying the same thing again, but your wish… “Has there still been no change?”

“… Your Majesty is also quite persistent. I should have made it clear from the beginning. “There is only one reason why I am cooperating with Your Majesty here.”

As she said that, she quietly opened her mouth with her eyes showing something sad about her.

“Meeting death by the hands of Xian…” “I’m standing here right now just for that.”