The classes in the ladies’ course of study were pretty much just a review of the things Lady Aurelia had already taught me. The same went for the general education classes. In some ways, it was reassuring to know I wouldn’t have a problem with the coursework and could just relax. I hadn’t made any good friends yet, but I felt that would probably come naturally as time went on.
“Excuse me, you’re Lady Merellis, aren’t you?” I was relaxing with some tea in the parlor when someone came up to me. I thought the voice sounded familiar, and I saw Lady Sharia standing there. Her full name was Sharia Lulu Telrose, and she was one of the noble girls that I had saved after being kidnapped in the capital.
“Yes, that’s right. You’re Lady Sharia, am I right?”
“I’m honored you remember me. May I join you until the next class?”
“Of course.”
Sharia sat down across from me. She had actually tried to talk to me several times during our general education classes. Under normal circumstances, one of a lower rank must never speak to someone of a higher rank unless first spoken to, but not here at the academy. Otherwise, no one would ever be able to develop any friendships here. I was wondering when she would come talk to me, but I had let her do it at her own pace.
Also, since she knew me as Mer, I was afraid to approach her for fear of having my secret exposed.
“Lady Merellis, I’ve wanted to thank you for some time but haven’t been able to… Please forgive me.”
“Thank me?”
“Yes. Your bodyguard saved my life. Do you remember the kidnappings in the capital several years ago? I was actually one of the girls who was kidnapped…”
Although everyone was aware of the incident, the victims’ names had never been made public. It was to protect the girls from unwanted attention. That was probably why none of them had ever spoken about it outside of their families either.
I wasn’t sure whether the fact that she revealed the truth so easily to me was because she wondered if Mer and I were one and the same, or whether she was just that bold and strong a person.
“Is that right? Mer did tell me all about the incident. I’m glad you’re safe.”
“What? Y-yes, that’s right. That’s all because of Mer. Thank you so much.”
“No need for thanks, she was just doing her duty. But I know she would feel extremely honored to hear that someone she saved expressed their gratitude to me.”
“Lady Merellis…” She began to say something but then thought better of it.
“Yes?”
“Nothing. It’s just… I’m so glad to finally meet you, and I’d love it if we could become friends.”
“Of course. I feel the same way.” I answered without hesitation. As we talked with each other, I did think I’d like to be friends with her. I appreciated the way she didn’t put on airs.
I had always liked her, in fact. So much so that I had wanted to tell her right away that I wished we could be friends.
“Thank you so much for protecting us. We’re all safe. We couldn’t possibly thank you enough.”
“How can we ever thank you for doing that for us? Thank you so much!”
Even now, I treasured the words she said after I saved them. I was overjoyed that someone else had validated the path I was going down and relieved that I had saved their families from the same fate as I’d suffered. In fact, she was the one who had saved me.
“I’m looking forward to becoming close friends with you, Lady Sharia.”