9
Yellow Sun
“Hey, hey, did you hear……..?”
“That’s right, it was Lemonfield’s family…”
“That’s disgusting, isn’t it?? I mean, to think that…”
“Eww! How horrible!”
“How can she walk with her nose so high even after…”
“People like them should just die, hahahahahahaha~!”
These were the kind of words and sentences Alice Lemonfield had to hear every day when she entered the dining hall, stepped into the classroom, or walked on the corridors of the dormitory floor. It was not something that rare to her anymore, to be honest. In fact, the sneering voices and gleeful faces of the other students had become such a normal occurrence to her, that she automatically ignored whatever they whispered.
But it did not mean that those words did not hurt her.
Even right now, when she sat on one of the long, wooden tables laid out in the dining hall, she had to block out the whispers of the group of four girls near her. Alice had chosen the spot at the other end of the table just for the fact that at least that way, she would not be in the crossfire of those insolent, rude gazes.
Those damn plebeians…………who do they think they are!? I am the sole heir of the esteemed Lemonfield family, which has strong connections to the royal family of Great-Britain! In fact, a hint of the royal blood runs even today in my blood! These lowlifes are nothing more than sons and daughters of second-class aristocrats and business-tycoons. They have no right to judge me with their backgrounds!
---------------- That was what she wanted to shout out to the whole dining hall. But refrained from doing so.
Instead, she brought the spoon to her mouth, and carefully tasted the soup that had been prepared as the main dish of today. The burning sensation on the tip of her tongue and her lips told her that it was far too hot to be eaten right away, and thus, she lowered the spoon back to the edge of the plate. Leaning her head on her hands, she opted to look from the window to the beautiful scenery of autumn colors outside. October was rolling along just fine, and little by little, the students started to get anxious, mostly because of the winter vacation, and the chance to go back home for few weeks.
But Alice knew that such joy would not be waiting for her.
Papa is too busy dealing with the press, and mother…well, although she might recover from the shock and get admitted out of that sanatorium, I don’t think her pride will be as lucky. Looks like I’ll be spending yet another year here in Tudor Island.
The thought of spending yet another winter here, in this cold and unfriendly place, filled her with gloom. After all, during the winter vacation, the yearly blizzard usually settled in, making it impossible to travel between the mainland and the island but during the very rare instances of days with clear skies.
I kind of hope that Mina stays here for Christmas too.
After that thought, she immediately felt guilty. She knew that Mina did not have the best situation at home either, but still, home was always home, no? Anyone who went to school on the Tudor Island would be overjoyed to find out that they were able to go home for a short while.
“Hoi Alice! Good morning!”
Turning her gaze back to the present, Alice found a cheerful face of a white-haired youth staring at her. Well, perhaps she was in no position to call Klara “youth”. After all, she was a year older than her. In any event, the girl in a maid-uniform was energetic and active enough to make anyone feel old and weary.
“…Morning”, Alice replied in a rather grumpy tone. “What is with the sudden “jump-to-my-face” greeting?”
“What do you mean? This is just my usual expression” Klara tilted her head, in a way that forced Alice to give up. There was no way one could argue with this person, at least when the subject was something as trivial like this. “So, so? Have you heard?”
“Heard what?” Alice asked, narrowing her eyes. She gave a meaningful glance at the students around them. “How they talk about me? How could I not hear it? Especially with that person fanning the flames, like some kind of smith forging a sword of slander.”
A light pan of sadness flashed on Klara’s face, but soon enough, she was grinning from ear to ear.
“No, no~” she waved her finger, in a way that began to annoy Alice greatly. The only reason that stopped her from swatting that hand away was that doing so, she would have looked like a cat, unable to resist a fast-moving thing. “I overheard two girls talking with each other this morning. And you know what? The other one said she had spotted a big, big shadow moving about the edges of the forest in northern part of the island. However, according to the girl, the shadow had disappeared into the mist before she could make out what it was.”
------------- Alice could not help but to frown at how inappropriate rumor it was.
“And you think it’s that……dog or whatever that occult-maniac has been going on about for a while, now?” she asked, even though she didn’t really want to know.
“That’s right~”, Klara giggled, and winked an eye at Alice. “If that big down decided to attack a lone student on a nightly walk outside, even a Iron Princess like you, Alice, would be eaten with a single bite.”
Alice snickered sarcastically, and tapped her tight, as if reminding Klara of something, or someone, who was not there at the moment. A dangerous glint had appeared to the girl’s blue eyes.
“Do not worry. Some mutt will find out that it would be the last mistake to attack me while I have Arondight with me”, Alice snickered in a way that sent a certain chill done Klara’s spine. “So ghost-stories or not, you do not have to worry about me.”
Klara stood there in a moment of silence…………before looking at Alice with a disturbingly serious look on her face.
“Alice. Don’t be stupid. No matter what kind of a human, supernatural is something we just cannot compete with. That’s why I try to stay out of it, and shut my ears from such rumors. I don’t want to end up like Miss Rosalund”, the maid spoke in a monotone. “So I’d suggest you’d take care too. This island is an unfortunate place enough even without you doing something reckless. So, even if these people keep playing with the festering corpse that is your family, ignore it.”
Crash! The glass of water fell to the floor and broke in to small pieces as Alice lung forward towards Klara, trying to catch slender neck of the girl between her fingers. Although it might have not been obvious because of her stature, Alice actually had quite a fearsome grip.
However, with a simple step back, Klara was able to avoid that hand. After all, there was a big, wooden table between her and the younger girl.
“You get what I’m saying, right? So try to behave ♫”, Klara simply said, unfazed by the sudden burst of anger, or the violent expression on the blonde girl’s face. And with that, the maid left, like nothing had ever happened.
Like a marionette with its strings cut, Alice slumped back to her chair. The whispering around her had grown even wilder, as a lot of people had seen what had happened between her and Klara. Grinding her teeth together, Alice brought some soup to her mouth with the spoon, and swallowed the stuff, not caring even if it burnt her mouth.
That bitch…!
And it was not just Klara.
Every single one of them. Every single student and teacher on this god-forsaken island. Every one of them…
At times like these, Alice just wanted to smash all their faces in.
Could it be?
Would you believe?
Tell me…
Is she a murderer?
EIGHT ARE LEFT
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Originally Posted by hero
