Sincerely, Vanessa [EN]: Chapter 46

To my teacher,

Teacher, I am so sorry. Were you very worried? I’m sure you were.

I heard that the headmaster already contacted you about my disappearance! It was a natural measure since I don’t have any other guardians, but I’m worried that it might have made you worry even more.

(Oh, you know I’m not blaming you, right? I just mean I’m so grateful and happy that you’re worried about me. I just feel sorry that I’ve become a new headache for you.) Your Vanessa Rose has returned to the academy very healthy.

I’m not hurt at all. As you already know, the Special Forces Captain protected me very carefully.

The first people to greet me upon my return were Evan, Dalloise, and Moshwi, who I practiced with during the professor’s class.

Dalloise, who always has a smiling face, looked like he was about to cry, and Moshwi apparently lost some muscle. He said he was so shocked by the news of my disappearance that he couldn’t eat!

Evan looked really depressed. The three of them were just lazing around inside, not even knowing I was gone.

They blamed each other, saying it was their fault, until they got tired and just bought juice. Now that I’m back safe and sound, it doesn’t matter whose fault it was, right?

And as soon as I stepped into the dormitory, I was grabbed and shaken by Rina and Chevati….

They told me to try to ignore dangerous things. But how can I pretend I didn’t see something I saw?

Of course, I’m reflecting a lot on what I did…. I almost put other people in danger too.

I’ll make sure this never happens again. I’ll always be careful! So please don’t worry anymore.

Special Forces training has taken away half of my 5th grade first semester and half of the vacation. There’s barely a month left before the second semester starts.

I can’t believe it!

When I came to my senses,

I was already well past twenty,

From, Vanessa Rose.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

Vanessa put the letter into Honir [a magical communication device]. The pale yellow light flickered, and the letter disappeared.

I wrote it brightly on purpose so that the letter wouldn’t be filled with gloom, but it makes me seem so thoughtless, Vanessa thought, frowning for a moment.

She leaned weakly back in her chair. The sky outside the window was a pure blue, without a single cloud—unlike my heart.

At the edge of her wandering gaze, a letter caught her eye. On it, in perfect and elegant handwriting, was written, 「To Vanessa.」

It was from Gideon.

Vanessa couldn’t bring herself to open the letter. Just touching the seal made her heart clench, making it difficult to breathe.

Things that were so easy before I realized it were now terribly difficult.

How on earth did I exchange letters with him before? I have no idea what I said, or what answers I gave.

He probably sent it to make sure I arrived safely, and it probably says to take care of myself.

If I send a reply, my feelings might be revealed….

Her hesitant hand fled away from the letter again.

Vanessa remembered Chevati asking her if she had ever ‘liked someone.’ And she recalled her foolish answer.

Vanessa always tried. Knowing that she lacked experience, she participated in various gatherings and tried to learn indirectly through books.

But she realized that she couldn’t truly know ‘feelings’ that she hadn’t experienced firsthand.

Emotions were truly mysterious. They bloomed unilaterally but demanded someone’s attention.

And Vanessa had no intention of nurturing those feelings.

But whether she intended to nurture them or not, the feelings grew. It wasn’t something Vanessa could control.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

It had been a week since she returned to the academy. A book titled was open on her desk, but Vanessa was resting her chin on her hand, staring blankly out the window.

The sunlight pouring down on the trees in a yellow hue seemed to resemble someone.

Rina and Chevati were watching her intently. Chevati was sitting on Vanessa’s bed, swinging her legs to the beat. Knock, knock.

“Vanessa-ah.”

Rina called Vanessa’s name affectionately, but Vanessa was half out of her mind and didn’t hear her. Seeing this, Rina gestured to Chevati.

‘Look at this. She’s a little weird.’

‘I know.’

The two whispered and checked the calendar. There were still about two weeks left of vacation.

With this amount of time, it would be enough to visit Rina’s home in Aurelia Province.

Of course, it would be a little difficult to take Vanessa, who wasn’t in her right mind, but well, Rina’s parents both wanted to see Vanessa, so they could take the portal several times even if it cost a bit of money.

“Vanessa!”

Eventually, Rina shouted in Vanessa’s ear, and Vanessa was startled and turned her gaze to the two of them.

“D, don’t scare me like that.”

“Why are you so out of it these days?”

Rina narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Vanessa stammered and made excuses.

“W, well, it’s because something big happened.”

“Aha.”

Rina nodded with an expression that didn’t believe her at all. Chevati pushed up her slightly lowered glasses again. Vanessa said gloomily in the midst of the pouring suspicious gazes,

“I told you I’m okay…. But why are you doing this?”

“Let’s go to my house and rest until the end of the vacation. Do you know how much my mom and dad want to see you? My younger sister, Lyla, is curious about you and Chevati too. Lyla is about the same age as Chevati.”

Vanessa hesitated for a moment. It seemed better to go to Rina’s house than to be moping around here like this.

I was afraid that if I was alone, I would keep thinking about Gideon….

In fact, even when she wasn’t alone, she was constantly thinking about Gideon. She held onto a faint hope, then recalled his receding figure and only bit her lip.

At times like that, she was afraid that Rina would notice, so she burrowed into the blanket and calmed her disordered breathing.

Vanessa carefully opened her mouth.

“I really want to visit your house.”

“Then let’s go!”

“But I was planning to visit Nimrod during the last week, would that be okay?”

Vanessa sighed. She missed Jenian, but she couldn’t say that it was because she first met Gideon in Nimrod.

“I’m really… crazy.”

She omitted all explanations, but her tone was very serious. At Vanessa’s words, Chevati bit into a candy and laughed.

“I guess so. You’ve been a little strange since you came back. Vanessa hasn’t been replaced by a monster, has she?”

“What use would a monster be if it just sat there blankly? Ugh, never mind. Pack your bags.”

Rina started throwing Vanessa’s luggage into her bag as she pleased. The dormitory room quickly turned into a mess. Vanessa didn’t have the energy to stop her.

The three took the portal a total of two times. This was thanks to Rina’s parents sending a separate amount of money to invite Vanessa and Chevati.

Aurelia Province in the south was famous for its orange trees. In the past, it was famous for agriculture, but these days it was even more famous for commerce and tourism. It was that peaceful and beautiful.

“It’s a shame. It’s even more beautiful if you come in the summer and fall! You can only admire the sight of green leaves and deep orange fruits hanging together.”

Rina chattered and explained the beautiful scenery of Aurelia Province.

Vanessa tried to hide her gloomy mood while seeing and hearing him directly. Gideon’s letter, which she couldn’t even open and brought with her, felt heavy.

The three sat on chairs in front of the portal with their large luggage, admiring the clear sky.

They didn’t have to wait long. It was thanks to the carriage that came running from the Delina family, who knew that ‘Miss’ Rina had arrived.

The Delina family’s mansion was as splendid as its fame. It was a place where anyone could see why Rina liked pink so much.

“That place is really….”

“I think you can tell that’s the Delina mansion as soon as you see it.”

At those words, Rina, who was leaning out of the carriage window, giggled. It was a place where even the gloomy Vanessa’s eyes widened.

The house, surrounded by orange trees, was a blend of deep pink and white, like a scene from a fairy tale illustration.

As Rina said, I thought that its beauty would be maximized in the summer in contrast to the green. The glass windows with rounded tops were dyed in various colors, emitting colorful light.

As soon as Vanessa and Chevati got out in front of Rina’s house, they received a tremendous welcome.

Rina’s parents and Rina’s younger sister, Lyla, seemed unable to bear not showing off the beauty of Aurelia.

Everything that was given sparkled and shone, making me afraid to touch it.

The dining room, which we entered in the evening, was decorated with pink flowers, and the tableware was all silver and sparkling.

The servants, dressed in pure white, repeatedly went back and forth, serving food.

“That’s really enough.”

“This has the right flavor. Have just one more bite!”

Vanessa was only able to stop eating after saying that she couldn’t eat anymore more than five times.

But Rina’s parents looked at Vanessa’s slender arms and said firmly that she should eat twice as much.

They said they would prepare Vanessa’s favorite lemon tart tomorrow, and they watched Chevati munching on food with a happy smile.

Vanessa and Chevati received pajamas with fancy beads and crawled up to the guest room. They were sleepy from eating too much.

Vanessa, who had been washing for a while, lay face down on the bed without saying a word.

“Ah, I can see why the Delina family’s mansion and Milo Dottie’s mansion were compared.”

Chevati, who entered the room, said while carefully looking at the subtly sparkling silk wallpaper.

“My family members like practical things. This place is really different from us. Our mansion has a lot of straight lines.”

“Well, your house is beautiful too. Because it’s the work of the famous Soslan Milo Dottie. But it’s a different kind! The composition of our mansion is based on a ballet dollhouse, so there are many curves.”

Rina said boastfully, then kicked off her fluffy white fur slippers and threw herself onto the bed where Vanessa was lying face down.

The high bed accepted Rina without a single shake. But Vanessa didn’t lift her head while lying face down.

“Vanessa. Did you eat something wrong for dinner? What’s wrong?”

Rina stopped when she tried to forcibly turn Vanessa’s shoulder.

For a moment, only silence flowed in the bedroom. It was thanks to the small sobbing sound.