Ch 58: Money Money
Melissa stood before the counter of the dining hall where, in front of her, a glass display case stretched along the length of the counter, filled with desserts of every color imaginable, each one looking so impossibly delicious that she had to actively stop herself from drooling.
Behind the glass counter stood attendants dressed in crisp white uniforms with white aprons tied neatly at their fronts, and at the wall ahead of her hung a long list of food items alongside their prices. Some were cheap, costing only a few bronze coins, and there was even one free dish, nothing extraordinary at first glance, plain rice with some vegetables and a few meatballs. Nothing extraordinary, that was, until she reminded herself that a dish like that, plain rice with vegetables and meatballs, would have been considered extraordinary back in her village. Yet seeing everything else on the menu made it pale so terribly in comparison that she could not bring herself to choose the free dish, not when she had more than enough money sitting inside her dimensional ring. Yesterday, along with her uniform and other necessities, she had been given money. Plenty of it.
She could buy any food she wanted, even the ones priced in gold coins, which was something she could never have dreamed of before, or rather, there had never been such a dream to begin with, the dream of spending gold coins on food. Because a single gold coin was the equivalent of one hundred silver coins, and a single silver coin was equal to one hundred bronze coins. Back home, her family would never spend more than a couple of silver coins in an entire month, so dreaming of gold had been nothing short of foolishness. But things were different now. And what made it even more wonderful was that Lucien's attendant had told her she could ask for more money if what she had been given ran out or proved insufficient. So even if she spent every last coin in a day, she could simply ask again, but she was not that kind of girl. She would not trouble Lucien, who was already doing so much for her, by burning through her money carelessly and coming back to him again and again with her hand outstretched. She would be conservative. She would spend wisely.
Well, perhaps a little less wisely today, because the girls she had tagged along with were choosing dishes priced in gold coins, and just as that particular realization settled over her, the princess turned toward her with an easy smile. "Eleena and I are choosing the same dish," the princess said. "Would you like the same?"
Melissa nodded.
"Three ramen noodles with egg, and three pancake desserts with the blue ice drink," the princess told the woman behind the counter. "Here is the money for all three of us."
"No, I can pay for myself." Melissa hurried to pull out her coins, counting out three gold pieces and wincing inwardly as she pressed them toward the princess. "Take this."
The princess stood with an expression that quietly questioned how Melissa, a village girl of all people, had come to possess gold coins. Before Melissa could scramble to explain that Lucien had given them to her, Eleena stepped in smoothly, her arms folded across her chest. "Lucien is sponsoring her," Eleena said simply.
"Huh?" Amber stared at Melissa with an almost bewildered expression. "Why didn't you tell me Lucien was sponsoring you? I thought the academy was providing you a scholarship."
"I did not think it was something worth mentioning," Melissa answered, her voice a little strained. It was not entirely honest. She had deliberately avoided bringing it up, reasoning that if other students found out, it would invite all manner of ugly rumors, and she had already experienced enough of that when the yellow-haired boy had called her Lucien’s property. She shuddered to imagine what others might say if they learned that Lucien was sponsoring her, that he had taken on not only her academy fees but was also personally supplying her with money and everything else she needed. That sort of thing had a way of growing into something terrible when passed through enough mouths.
The princess's lips twitched as though she had been about to say something but thought better of it at the last moment. "Never mind," she said instead, and pressed the three gold coins back into Melissa's hand.
"Today is on me," the princess declared, and handed nine gold coins to the woman behind the counter, who accepted them with a gracious nod.
Melissa stood quietly at Amber's side with her gold coins placed back in her dimensional ring. Her gaze drifted over to Eleena as a question turned slowly in her mind. How had Eleena known that Lucien was sponsoring her? Had Lucien told her himself? The moment the thought surfaced, she dismissed it.
Melissa had seen enough of how Lucien behaved around the princess and Eleena, the way he had practically made a point of targeting the two of them ever since they had followed him through the hallway on the first day. And more than anything, the way his fingers had trembled when Eleena had appeared before him, meant that there were some old grievances and a history between both of them. So, It was not possible that Lucien would have gone to Eleena of all people to confide that he was sponsoring a village girl's education. So, the question remained, quietly stubborn, sitting at the back of her thoughts without a satisfying answer.
Before Melissa could dwell on it further, the princess turned toward her and held out a tray. Melissa took it, and her attention was immediately drawn to what sat upon it. A wide, deep bowl filled with noodles, a perfectly boiled egg gleaming golden on one side. So this is what ramen looks like. It did not look like something worth gold coins, not to her eyes, but then again, she was hearing the word for the first time and seeing it for the first time as well, so perhaps she was not the most qualified judge. Beside the bowl sat a dessert, something called a pancake, and that, at least, made her mouth fill with water the moment she looked at it properly. And on the other side of the tray was a tall cup of ice blue drink in which little bubbles were popping cheerfully at the surface, which, much like the ramen, did not seem to justify the price.
The princess and Eleena, who had been standing nearest to the counter, collected their own trays without assistance, and it was only then, holding her tray with both hands, that Melissa wanted to press her palm to her forehead.
Why did I allow the princess to hand me the tray? Melissa could have reached over and taken it herself. And what was worse, Amber was a princess, and if other students saw that even a princess was helping out Melissa, would they not start to wonder whether Melissa was some high-profile figure hiding her identity? And, it would certainly answer the question of why both Lucien and a princess were going out of their way for her. Uggh, she felt her skin turning up just imagining the kind of rumours that might start.
But, before she could linger any longer into her thoughts, the princess and Eleena turned on their heel and started walking with the princess nudging her to follow along.
Melissa nodded and likewise turned on her heel and fell into step behind the princess and Eleena, more than content to trail at a distance where she hoped to disappear behind them.
The dining hall was enormous, so enormous that she struggled to find words adequate enough to describe it. Sunlight poured in through tall windows that lined both walls from end to end, filling the entire space with a warm and generous brightness. Rows upon rows of tables filled the floor, each one surrounded by chairs, and students were seated everywhere, most of them already halfway through their meals while others had long since finished eating and remained at the table simply to keep talking with companions who were apparently slower to finish.
And, just as Melissa had feared, heads were turning. Some students looked directly, openly curious, while others watched through the corners of their eyes, their gazes drifting between the princess, Eleena, and Melissa, lingering longest on Melissa with expressions that quietly asked who was Melissa, why someone who was a commoner was walking through the dining hall in the company of two high nobles.
Melissa tilted her head back and stared at the white ceiling and could not help but curse her fate inwardly, because just moments ago she had hoped the day might pass quietly and without incident, only for every eye in the room to find her.
***
On Patreon, you can read 50 chapters ahead. Your support would greatly help me continue working toward completing the story.
Patreon link: /imissmysun