Sincerely, Vanessa [EN]: Chapter 23

To Teacher, From Vanessa 23

“…Gid?”

“Vanessa.”

Gid, in his uniform, looked tired. His cheeks were slightly sunken, and the handsome corners of his eyes were dark.

Vanessa wanted to ask what brought him here and why he looked so exhausted.

But as soon as she opened her mouth, tears streamed down her cheeks.

“…Hic.”

“Vanessa?”

Unaware of Gid’s flustered reaction, Vanessa began to sob.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

“I… I’m sorry. I suddenly burst into tears.”

The cafe owner, startled by the crying, rushed out and stuttered, speechless at the sight of Gid’s face.

As this was a common occurrence, Gid naturally asked the owner for some time to talk with Vanessa and ordered warm tea and a simple dessert.

“Are you done crying?”

Gid took the handkerchief from Vanessa’s hand and gently dabbed at her eyes. Her eyes were red and swollen from her rough wiping.

Vanessa hiccuped, short of breath.

“Why are you crying?”

Unlike his gentle touch, Gid asked bluntly. Vanessa managed to catch her breath and said,

“I think I was too mean to someone I really respect. They were just saying it out of concern for me, but I… I didn’t even reply to their letter… and suddenly felt so inadequate and depressed…”

Vanessa bit her lip, feeling tears welling up again.

Hornir, who had been vacant [unavailable] for weeks, came to mind. The porcelain-like Hornir was even coveted by Lina.

Gid sighed softly.

“Then why don’t you reply to them now?”

“But, I… I want to stop doing what they dislike and then explain… but that’s not something I can do right away…”

Vanessa’s words were rambling, and Gid blinked slowly. His beautiful golden eyes were hidden and revealed again by his thick eyelashes.

“If it’s someone Vanessa respects, they must care for Vanessa very much. They’re probably waiting anxiously for your reply. Explain the situation.”

“I’m nothing to them. They’re a very precious person. What if they don’t even want to receive my letters anymore!”

Vanessa retorted sharply, and Gid finally chuckled. Seeing his laughter, Vanessa huffed even more.

Why are you laughing? I’m so serious here!

“I think you’re talking about the patron who sent you to Jenian’s Home. There’s no way that’s the case. Vanessa, where did the courage you had to stir up the forest behind Jenian’s Home go? You even snuck into the forbidden library that the notorious wizard told you not to enter.”

“I, I don’t have a family. Or anyone to send letters to.”

Vanessa whispered dejectedly, and Gid’s expression turned strange.

“So, I thought of my patron as family. I was so happy to receive my first reply. But a senior I met at the gathering said they never even encountered their patron after graduation.”

“Vanessa’s case will be different.”

“But I don’t plan on receiving support after graduation either. I’ve already received too much. But it feels like cold water has been poured on me. It’s like suddenly waking up from a dream.”

“Isn’t that silly? They weren’t family to begin with. I guess I wanted a family.”

As Vanessa mumbled, Gid paused, then reached out and lifted Vanessa’s chin. Beneath his dark eyebrows, blue eyes, wet with tears, looked up at him.

“You look so out of place when you’re downcast like this.”

Vanessa, annoyed, raised her eyebrows and glared at him. Gid smiled, his eyes crinkling.

“That suits you better. If that’s the reason you suddenly became depressed, you should tell your teacher about it too.”

“They’ll think I’m being presumptuous. I don’t want to.”

“Vanet.”

Vanessa’s wet eyes widened at the sudden use of her nickname. Gid whispered gently,

“Write a letter soon.”

Vanessa stared at him for a moment, then nodded. Gid smiled faintly.

Such a face and such a smile are unfair. Vanessa grumbled inwardly.

“But what brings you here?”

“I had someone I wanted to see. I was worried because I couldn’t reach them.”

“Then you should go. Go on! I made you cry for nothing.”

“I’ve already seen you, so it’s fine.”

Was he on his way back? But he seemed to be coming from the portal. Does he know someone in Seogote…?

Vanessa tilted her head. Gid packed up a bunch of desserts, handed them to Vanessa, and stood up.

“Where are you going?”

“I have to go to work. Vanessa, don’t cry and go back and write a letter right away.”

The man turned and left immediately.

Vanessa waved enthusiastically until his large figure faded away. Then, she cleaned up her seat and began taking orders from the cafe customers.

She felt like she could write a letter to her teacher now.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

To Teacher,

I haven’t written in a while. I’m sorry. I didn’t know what to write.

Usually, I write letters in one go. When I’m too busy, I write about my day in bits and pieces over several days.

But today, I couldn’t even write the introduction, so I’ve already crumpled up the paper three times.

I’m still working at the cafe, but I told them I’m quitting next week for the upcoming exams.

I don’t think my decision is wrong. My feet shouldn’t leave the ground, and I shouldn’t fly around holding onto a balloon of excessive imagination.

It’s a lie that being positive is helpful in life. Rather, my personality of preparing for many things is essential for living. I don’t want to be hurt by swelling up with excessive expectations.

As you know, it’s more helpful for an orphan to imagine the negative and prepare for all possibilities than to imagine the positive.

So, what I’m apologizing for is not replying to your letter, even though I knew it came from a place of concern for me.

I’m sorry. Especially if you were waiting for a letter that never came.

Um, this is a secret, but… when you’ve been in an orphanage for a very long time, you often get strange requests. Especially if the child has a pretty face.

You hear things like a wealthy old man wanting a fifth wife who is just becoming an adult, or wanting a young girl who grew up struggling in an orphanage. It’s disgusting, right?

I wish you, my precious teacher, didn’t have to hear these stories, but I’m writing this so that the feelings I felt can be conveyed to you even a little bit.

Can you understand that a child who grew up in this environment has many worries and is not used to receiving people’s kindness?

So, I suddenly felt like I had to live more fiercely. Vanessa Rose of the orphanage was heavily armed with solid scars, but I thought you and my friends had made me too soft.

Anyway, I’m very sorry for not contacting you.

If you want to reduce or cut off the sponsorship, you can do so. What good is a sponsored person who doesn’t listen like me?

Besides, I’m impulsive and hasty.

With many bad adjectives,

Vanessa Rose, dreaming.

To the softened Vanessa Rose,

I have no intention of reducing or cutting off the sponsorship.

Thank you for honestly conveying what you are feeling. I understood what you were thinking when you started that job.

However, I think Vanessa also knows what I was worried about.

The Bamberg Academy has the most notorious curriculum on the continent.

Bam Banderlu, who created it, didn’t sleep more than 4 hours a day, so he wouldn’t know anything about the physical strength of ordinary people.

In fact, students at the academy are often carried out due to overwork.

Vanessa seems to be quite dismissive of herself. I hope you don’t forget that many people besides me have offered to sponsor Vanessa.

There are many people, including me, who are trying to protect Vanessa. There are also many who covet her skills.

But if Vanessa thinks she is alone, I must tell her that she has much more to learn.

From Teacher.

p.s I cherish and am very proud of Vanessa.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

Vanessa had reconciled with her teacher, learned that she should cherish herself, and quit her job at the cafe.

But if you think Vanessa has a lot of time, that’s definitely a big mistake.

After finishing class, Vanessa rested with her head on her desk for a moment.

How relative time is!

It seemed like only yesterday that Lina was complaining that the vacation was far away, but before she knew it, the end-of-semester exams were scheduled again.

Damn it. I’ll barely have time to eat, let alone sleep. I don’t even know how the exam will be conducted.

I want to show my teacher how much I’ve improved, but I don’t know if I can do better than last time.

“Vanessa.”

Chebati, who was packing her books with her small hands, carefully opened her mouth.

Vanessa slowly opened her eyes and looked at Chebati. Short bobbed hair and large glasses. She was cute enough to hug. So, she decided to do just that.

Vanessa jumped up and hugged Chebati tightly. Chebati, hugged by Vanessa, only blushed and didn’t resist.

Lina watched the scene with an absurd expression.

“Are you planning to go somewhere this vacation?”

“Oh, no… I couldn’t talk about it because of a slight disagreement with my teacher.”

Vanessa pondered for a moment. How should she start this letter? Her teacher didn’t seem particularly angry, but it felt awkward, like asking for reconciliation after a fight.

But do you usually fight with your patron teacher like this? There’s no one to ask.

“Then, can I invite you to my house? You can see a lot of interesting things. My house has a huge library, and there’s a lot that Vanessa will like!”

Chebati, with a flushed face, rattled off things that Vanessa would like.

Magical circuits designed directly by her family, a fountain where water spouts upside down, a library as big as someone’s house….

At that moment, Lina put on the brakes.

“Seriously, Chebati, you’re subtly cutting in line. If Vanessa is going to someone’s house, it’s going to be my house first.”

“Why? I was the first to sit next to her in class, wasn’t I?”

“No matter how jealous you are, we share the same room.”

Lina smiled, raising one corner of her mouth, and Chebati pouted.

“Is that important? Vanessa and I met like fate in class.”

“You little rascal.”

Lina and Chebati began to fight over the topic of ‘who Vanessa belongs to,’ but Vanessa was busy looking at the math formulas that the student next to her had brought.

“Vanessa! Aren’t you going to the next class?”

Evan, who had already completed , didn’t take this class. Instead, he took another elective, but he looked like he had just woken up from a nap.

“I have to go. Lina, Chebati! Get along well, and I’ll go to class. Let’s have dinner together!”

“Let’s eat out today.”

“Okay.”

Vanessa quickly left the room. Professor Conrad of the class never tolerated lateness.

“So, whose house are you going to?”

“You heard everything?”

“How loudly were they arguing? Everyone must be curious about the ending. Whether it’s the glamorous Delina mansion or the Milo Dottie mansion, which is united with all kinds of technology.”

Evan shrugged. Vanessa thought for a moment and opened her mouth.

“I want to go to both, but I’ll ask my teacher.”

“I’d rather you go to the Milo Dottie mansion.”

“Why?”

Evan smiled and said,

“It’s near my house. I’m going to hang out.”