CIRN 45

Chapter 45

Magic stones imbued with mana were always treated as rare and precious.

So when nobles acquired a new magic stone, they would often throw a party just to show it off.

And yet, someone had sent such a thing as a gift.

A gift to celebrate the entrance of a child who was only seven years old into the gifted program.

“A magic stone? Isn’t that ridiculously expensive?”

“Right? I went to an auction with my father recently, and even the smaller stones were insanely priced.”

“What the heck? Does that kid have some amazing sponsor or something?”

The murmuring among the crowd shifted in tone.

Amidst them, Ebi looked down at the warm stone in her hands.

A magic stone, huh.

She had heard of them before, but had no idea just how special they were.

In the city of Elam, you couldn’t even see a magic stone, let alone touch one.

It’s amazing.

How could a stone be this warm—and even emit light?

As Ebi hugged the magic stone to her chest, students began to gather around.

“Uh, hey. Would it be okay if I just touched it once?”

“I’ll just look! Oh, I’m Emil. We had foreign language class together, remember?”

“Hi. I’m Julia. I live on the same floor as you. I’ve been meaning to introduce myself…”

They all gazed back and forth between Ebi and the magic stone with sparkling eyes.

From a step away, others whispered.

“She’s Irene’s roommate, right?”

“Everyone laughed when we heard a commoner was assigned, but maybe there was a reason. I mean, having a sponsor who sends her a magic stone like that? That’s huge.”

At that moment, Izriella shouted.

“What are you all talking about? There’s no way that’s a real magic stone!”

This wasn’t the situation she had wanted.

Everyone was supposed to laugh at the pathetic gift a commoner had received.

That way, she could mock Irene too, for sharing a room with someone of such low standing.

But instead, people were now looking at that commoner with wide eyes—and even trying to befriend her.

Some were even whispering that it made sense Irene was her roommate.

Izriella knew just how rare and expensive magic stones were.

Her father had a display case in his study filled with stones he had bought at auction.

He was so proud of them, he wouldn’t even let her touch them.

There was no way someone would give a magic stone bigger than those as a gift to a mere commoner.

Izriella glared at Ebi, who stood confused among the crowd.

That innocent look on her face made her feel all the more irritated.

“Hey. Let me see that. I’ll tell you if it’s real or fake. My father has a lot of magic stones, so I can tell the difference.”

She emphasized the word “a lot.”

“As you all know, there are plenty of fakes. In the capital, there are shady merchants who sell fake stones that look real.”

The gathered kids fell silent.

What she said wasn’t wrong.

Because magic stones were so rare, many people tried to pass off ordinary rocks as the real thing, using superficial enchantments.

It’ll probably flash a few times, then fizzle out.

It was a common scam—casting a weak spell on a normal rock to make it look like a real magic stone.

Those who had gotten excited at the mention of a magic stone now backed away, remembering those tricks.

“Now that you mention it… it does look a little different from the ones I’ve seen.”

“Yeah. Up close, it kinda looks like one of those things from the market.”

Those who had kept quiet before now jumped at the chance to speak.

They, too, had doubts about a commoner receiving such a large magic stone.

When Izriella suggested it might be fake, it gave them the excuse to believe what they already wanted to believe.

That it was fake.

Their gazes toward Ebi grew sharper.

“We were feeling sorry for her because she’s just a kid, but turns out she’s a liar.”

“I heard she’s from an orphanage. You know what kids from places like that are like.”

“She already lied before, saying she got special treatment because of the Emperor.”

Their words grew more and more venomous.

As she listened, Ebi hugged the stone even tighter.

Even if it’s fake, I don’t care.

Someone had sent her a gift, just for her.

That alone made her so happy she could cry.

“What are you doing? Hand it over already!”

Before she realized it, Izriella was standing right in front of her, hand outstretched.

Ebi knew from experience that in moments like this, it was better to just obey.

But even knowing that, she didn’t want to give away this gift.

This is mine.

Ebi thought of Professor Cyan.

The person who had been crying alone in front of a quiet grave.

The person who had become her guardian for no reason at all—and had now sent something so warm and shining in return for just a handkerchief.

Whether it was a real magic stone or not didn’t matter.

Ebi wanted to cherish this first gift she had ever received.

“Hurry up and give it here!”

When Ebi didn’t comply, Izriella grabbed her thin wrist.

Ebi held the stone tighter with all her might.

But she wouldn’t let go.

Izriella snapped.

“Where did you learn to be this stubborn? No wonder your parents abandoned you!”

“…!”

At those words, the strength in Ebi’s hands faded.

Izriella took the chance to shove her.

As Ebi’s small frame staggered and was about to hit the floor, someone caught her from behind.

“That’s enough, Izriella. What do you think you’re doing?”

It was Irene.

She snatched the stone from Izriella’s hand and returned it to Ebi.

“This is a real magic stone.”

“Lies! Who would give a commoner something that size?!”

“You don’t believe me? Did you forget I’m from the Terrins family?”

Of course, no one had forgotten. The Terrins family controlled the wealth of the southern provinces.

“Our family deals in goods from all over the world—including magic stones. You do know most of the stones that appear at imperial auctions were sourced and sold by us, right?”

“…!”

At Irene’s confident declaration, Izriella bit her lip.

“I can tell whether a stone is real or fake without even touching it. So, Lady Izriella…”

Irene crossed her arms and lifted her chin.

“You owe her an apology for your rudeness.”

“W-what?”

“You tore into someone else’s gift without permission, and accused a perfectly fine magic stone of being fake without even knowing better. Just how poor is your judgment? And what did you say? Something about her parents? That’s crossing a line…”

Irene took a deep breath and paused.

Each word was heavy with fury.

The raw emotion in her voice left Izriella stunned and flushed red with embarrassment.

If it had been any other object, she could have sneered about merchants.

But magic stones were part of the core curriculum in the gifted program—and a basic element of noble knowledge.

That’s why nobles flaunted them whenever they got new ones.

To fail to recognize one and call it a fake… was basically admitting she lacked refinement.

“Lady Irene, are you saying I should apologize to a commoner?”

The other students nodded at Izriella’s protest.

It was one thing to apologize to Irene.

But to apologize to a commoner?

That was unthinkable.

Izriella bit her lip.

Things had gone too far now to back down.

If she was going to lose face, she would rather go head-to-head with Irene now.

I still have to make my name in society.

If Irene kept siding with a commoner like this, the other students wouldn’t look kindly on her either.

Just as she predicted, students were now glancing at Irene with discomfort.

No matter the situation, a noble bowing to a commoner was outrageous.

Surely Irene, who needed noble connections for her social ambitions, would yield.

But instead, Irene walked over to Ebi, still holding the magic stone, and raised her voice for all to hear.

“Whether she’s a commoner or a noble, it would be wise to apologize for your rudeness to my roommate, Izriella.”