Chapter 151

The term “student council fee” was an unfamiliar concept to the students of the academy despite its name.

In the past, when the student council had been composed of nobles, the costs for student welfare and events were covered out of pocket by the council members themselves.

This was considered a matter of pride and dignity as nobles.

However, this time, the student council had been completely replaced.

Naturally, the new council members, who were of commoner background, lacked the means to cover operating costs, and thus began collecting money from the students.

That’s why Jacqueline found it puzzling.

“We already paid the student council fee last week.”

That had happened right after the new student council was launched.

There had been significant backlash among students at the time, but given the symbolic meaning of it being the first commoner-led council in the academy’s history, people had grudgingly accepted it.

But now, not even a week later, they were being asked to pay again?

“We ran into budget shortages while running the council.”

One of the seniors from the student council shrugged and said.

“You know about the Harvest Festival in the second semester, right? School festivals are supposed to cost money. Especially in times like these, shouldn’t everyone chip in and help out? You wouldn’t want to graduate without ever experiencing the academy’s famous festival, would you?”

“Well, that’s true…”

Jacqueline answered hesitantly.

“How much do we have to pay?”

“For first-years, it’s 80 blanc per person.”

“That much?!”

Students at the magic department received a basic monthly stipend known as a dignity allowance of just 10 blanc.

Of course, top students received more as an incentive, but that didn’t apply to Jacqueline, who had narrowly avoided last place in the midterms.

The senior explained,

“It’s because we’re collecting four years’ worth all at once. That’s 20 blanc per year. So for second-years, it’s 60 blanc, and for third-years, it’s 40.”

“If you pay now, you won’t have to worry about student council fees until graduation. And honestly, paying now might be the smart move. There’s a good chance the fee will double in the future.”

Jacqueline lowered her head.

“Even so… I don’t have that kind of money…”

“What do you mean, you don’t have money? Didn’t the academy give you an award the other day? You didn’t get a scholarship or something?”

“No. Not a single coin.”

“This is seriously messed up. I thought you had some cash, but you’re totally broke?”

The atmosphere was turning hostile, and Jacqueline’s mouth went dry.

“Hey, are you really sure you don’t have any money?”

“I-I told you, I don’t.”

“If you don’t pay the student council fee, you might get penalized when applying for scholarships. You might not even be able to use your locker. And if everyone else pays and you’re the only one freeloading? Good luck surviving at the academy.”

Hearing that made her nervous…. it was hard not to be.

But Jacqueline truly wasn’t in a position to pay that much money.

“Did everyone else really pay the 80 blanc?”

“Yeah. So you’d better write home and ask your family to send money, or borrow from a friend. Just don’t come crying later.”

“……”

“We’ll keep checking in until you pay, so let’s not make this harder than it needs to be. Got it?”

With that, the upperclassmen turned and walked away.

Seeing them approach other students with the same payment notice made it clear… it wasn’t just Jacqueline they were pressuring.

Jacqueline was deep in thought.

What do I do?

Her family wasn’t wealthy enough for her to just ask for money whenever she wanted.

And borrowing from friends? That was something she wanted to avoid even more.

It had all come so suddenly that her mind couldn’t keep up.

Just a moment ago, she’d been focused on her exams. And now, out of nowhere, it was all about money.

When Jacqueline returned to the reading room, she wanted to tell Shannon and Rita about what she had just experienced, but both were absorbed in their own work. So she quietly sat back down.

Yeah. For now, let’s focus on the exams. Everything else can be dealt with later.

But as the saying goes, when it rains, it pours.

Jacqueline didn’t realize that what had just happened was only the beginning of a string of misfortunes heading her way.

***

The next morning, Jacqueline made her way to the exam hall.

The effort she had poured in up to this point gave her confidence.

But it didn’t last long.

Jacqueline’s carefully crafted exam strategy refined through a month of intense preparation began to unravel from the very first test.

Huh? We never learned this…

Question 4 on the Magical Flow Control Theory exam.

It was worth the most points on the entire test, and the question covered something she had never seen before.

Completely thrown off, Jacqueline froze.

In the end, she wasn’t able to write anything down for that question, and just like that, all those points were gone.

Right after the exam, she checked her textbook. But sure enough, the topic from Question 4 wasn’t in there.

Jacqueline immediately went to speak with the professor.

“Professor Martin, I think there was a mistake in the exam.”

“What do you mean by that, student?”

The professor didn’t bother hiding his irritation, but Jacqueline stood her ground.

“Question 4. You never taught us how to form a magical vortex in class.”

“That’s part of the advanced material. It’s covered in this book here.”

He held up a needlessly thick book.

Jacqueline glanced at the cover. Professor Martin’s name was listed as the author.

“I showed this book during class and told everyone to read it at least once, didn’t I? A self-motivated student who takes the initiative to study on their own would have been able to answer that question.”

“But Professor, that book is way too expensive. I just couldn’t afford to buy it…”

“It should be available at the academy library, shouldn’t it?”

It was.

The problem was that there was only one copy and it was always checked out.

Who would have thought an exam question would come from that book?

Jacqueline made her case point by point, but Professor Martin only looked increasingly displeased and refused to acknowledge her complaint.

His reasoning was that if every student scored too high, the test would lose its ability to differentiate them, so he had no choice but to include material from the advanced section.

“Still, isn’t this a bit unfair?”

“We have another exam coming up, so please leave now. Let’s end the conversation here.”

“Professor!”

Jacqueline stayed in her seat with a frustrated look, but then whispers started rising behind her.

“Who does she think she is, making a scene like that?”

“That’s her, right? The one who clings to that international student to get by easily here.”

“Didn’t she get an award recently? The first-years all went to the same volunteer event, but she made it sound like she was the only one who helped the local community.”

“And now she’s arguing with the professor over her test score?”

“Just how greedy can one person be?”

Jacqueline had a vague sense that ever since she started spending time with Shannon and getting more attention, some people had started resenting her.

But this was the first time she’d actually heard the gossip with her own ears.

Shocked, Jacqueline turned around. But at that moment, the bell signaling the start of the next exam rang out.

Professor Martin gestured toward her.

“Please leave before I have to consider this cheating.”

Forced out into the hallway, Jacqueline let out a sigh and wiped her face with her hands.

Her cheeks were burning.

“It’s already over. Forget it and focus on the next test.”

Jacqueline had been getting a lot of help preparing for finals from her friends Rita and Shannon.

She didn’t want to let them down.

Since the cafeteria had just opened, she figured she’d grab lunch and do some last-minute reviewing at the afternoon exam hall.

But just as Jacqueline picked up her meal ticket and got in line at the cafeteria, someone approached her.

It was the student council members who had stopped her in the library the day before.

They pulled her aside and asked if she had the student council fee ready.

The two upperclassmen must have known full well that there was no way Jacqueline could have come up with the money in just one day. So this was nothing more than a ploy to harass her.

In the end, Jacqueline was only let go after lunchtime was already over. By the time she made it to the cafeteria, the doors were shut.

Her unused meal ticket ended up in the trash.

She went to take the afternoon exam on an empty stomach, but the growling in her belly made it hard to focus.

Jacqueline suddenly felt like everything in her life was falling apart.

Still, stay calm. It’s only the first day of exams. I’ve got to pull myself together and do well on the rest.

With that resolve, Jacqueline headed to the library to prepare for tomorrow’s test only to find her belongings piled outside her locker.

“What? You want me to clear out my stuff?”

“There was an order to reclaim lockers from anyone who hasn’t paid the student fee.”

“But there are so many empty lockers right next to mine…”

“Sorry. The directive came from the student council, so there’s nothing we can do.”

Forget studying…. now she had to carry all her heavy things.

Arms full of textbooks and notebooks, Jacqueline made her way back to the dorm.

They say misfortunes come all at once and today seemed to prove it.

Plop. Plop. Plop-plop-plop…

To top it all off, a sudden downpour began.

Jacqueline broke into a run, trying to get back to the dorm before her notebooks got soaked.

Looking back, it was the kind of day where nothing good comes from rushing.

Maybe she tripped over a rock, maybe her legs tangled up, or maybe she was just too hungry to move properly.

Whatever the reason, Jacqueline fell and her notebooks scattered across the ground.

The rain kept pouring down, the ink on the pages started to smear, and Jacqueline stood there, frozen, as if under a curse.

“Ah.”

Tears suddenly welled up in her eyes.

“Why is this happening to me?”

To Jacqueline, the academy had been a place of dreams and hope.

She thought herself lucky that instead of spending her life helping out on a farm in the countryside and eventually marrying wherever fate took her, she had been able to come to the capital and learn magic.

That was why she tried not to complain.

No matter how hard or unfair things became, no matter how different academy life was from what she had imagined, Jacqueline told herself not to complain and to endure it bravely.

But sometimes, it seemed, she couldn’t help but break down.

“I was just trying my best.”

The words her classmates had once said came back to her.

She couldn’t understand why they hated her.

“What’s so wrong about working hard…?”

All of a sudden, she hated everything.

Should I just quit the academy altogether?

Maybe she had never belonged in a place like this to begin with.

As the raindrops grew heavier, the negative thoughts swirling in her head only grew louder.

Her hair was starting to get wet, but Jacqueline didn’t bother stopping it.

Wanting to sink right where she was, she crouched down by the roadside and buried her face in her hands.

Today truly felt like a day cursed with bad luck.

Especially since, even at a moment like this, she could hear footsteps coming up behind her.

Step. Step. Step.

The footsteps drew closer to where Jacqueline was, and she silently hoped the person would just pass by.

But of course, today was a day when everything went against her wishes.

The footsteps stopped right beside her and at the same time, the rain that had been beating down on her back suddenly ceased.

It hadn’t stopped raining.

Someone had simply held an umbrella over her.

When she lifted her head, she saw a long black coat.

And golden blond hair just as long as the hem of the coat.

Professor Winslet was standing there, holding an umbrella.

“Why are you here, Professor…?”

“I’m on my way home after work.”

Jacqueline looked up, and the professor looked down at her.

Silence lingered between them for a while.

What are you doing here?

Why are you crying like this?

Don’t block the road. Move aside.

And so on.

Jacqueline half expected Professor Winslet to toss out some unpleasant remark, the way he usually did, but he remained silent.

What was the meaning of that gaze, looking down at her wordlessly as she sat there in such a humiliating state?

Cold emotions seeped in through the cracks of her shattered pride, and Jacqueline drew in on herself.

Then Professor Winslet let out a sigh and spoke.

“Come with me.”