Part 11

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Zoella sat back down and rested her chin on her hand.

"Ah, right. You will need to stay in the dorm. So, we will go in two days. Is that okay?"

Hayes asked calmly while picking up his teacup. Zoella felt like she didn't need to answer since the answer was obvious but she nodded anyway.

"Great. And by the way, your uniform will arrive soon."

Zoella was not even surprised anymore. She took a deep breath and stared at Hayes.

"And how did they know my size?"

"Your clothes. I mean, I asked a maid to get me your clothes for the measurements."

Hayes quickly revised his words when he saw Zoella's eye twitch.

"I'll go to my room."

He gave her a little wave as she stood up and leave. When Zoella was out of his sight, Hayes's expression turned serious.

He already knew that Zoella will need to adapt herself to a society where rumors were circling with lies and truths. With her personality, he believed that she wouldn't be swayed by them. But he made a mistake.

He did not calculate where Zoella was the subject of the rumor. Of course, he was relieved that she didn't really mind them and was only annoyed by them. But there's a possibility that she would break down because of them.

"Bert, can you talk to the child?"

"Of course, sir."

Bert walked away leaving his master alone. During her stay in the mansion, Zoella was close to the servants. And naturally, Bert was close to her too. She would greet them or just have a small conversation with them.

Because of that the servants couldn't help but be affectionate toward Zoella.

Knock knock~

"May I come in, Lady?"

There was no answer from Zoella. Instead, the door was slightly opened. Bert opened the door and entered the room.

"Excuse me, Lady."

She was sitting on her bed with a sullen expression. Bert sat beside her while patting her on her shoulder.

"Was it hard, Zoe?"

Zoella couldn't help but stare at him when she heard Bert using her nickname. Bert always called her 'Lady' when he was on duty but when he talked to her as a grandfather, he would use her nickname.

"No, I was just annoyed."

"How about we go outside for a bit?"

Bert took Zoella to the backyard. Even though the mansion was not as spacious as the house she was in before, it was quite big to have some flowers planted in the backyard.

The two of them sat on the bench. The weather was bright today. Even though there were no clouds, the wind breeze was enough to make it cool.

Zoella closed her eyes for a bit as she took a deep breath. As expected, following Bert's advice was a good thing.

"Feeling better?"

"Yes. Thank you."

"It's no problem. Listen to me, Zoe. About those rumors, I know that it must be hard for you. But you don't need to listen to them. Rumors are bound to disappear after some time."

"I know. It's just I'm not comfortable about it."

"Well, just release it. You can shout or break something to relieve your stress. I'm sure Sir Castor wouldn't mind compensating them."

Zoella smiled at his advice.

"I'll do that."

The sun was starting to go up above the head. However, Zoella didn't want to go back inside yet. She leaned on the bench and closed her eyes again feeling the wind caress her cheeks.

Deep inside her heart, she wished that her time in the Academy won't be as tough as her old school.

***

"God must hate me."

Right now, Zoella was in front of the gate of her dorm with Hayes.

She didn't want Hayes to come along but he insisted. So she had no choice but to let him go with her. And that was a big mistake.

As soon as they arrived, all eyes were on them as if they had been waiting for this moment. Whispers could be heard from all directions.

Zoella's goal was to study in the Academy as an average student and not be noticed by anyone. But being Hayes's disciple had made it impossible.

"It's Sir Castor."

"Oh my, is she his disciple?"

"She looked quite ordinary don't you think?"

'Yes! Please agree with that. I'm not that special!'

"But why would he take her in if she's ordinary?"

"Well, you're right."

'NOOOOOO!'

Zoella was screaming internally. She couldn't believe all her plans were crumbling when she had not even begun.

At this point, she could only wish that she would be able to handle annoying things in the future.

"Zoe, there's something I want to give you."

Hayes took a bow from his servant. Zoella's eyes shined brightly and a wide smile appeared on her face.

She looked at the bow with an excited heart. The bow somewhat looked like it was made only for her. Well, it was made for her. A silver bow with a purple mana stone in the middle.

"It's a pity that you still choose the bow and not the sword. But that's not a problem. Here."

"I heard that mana stone was very expensive."

Zoella said as she received the bow. Hayes scoffed at her.

"Who do you think your teacher is, huh?"

Hayes answered in an arrogant tone. She rolled her eyes regretting that she even feel gratitude toward him just now.

"Now, off you go. Oh, I also stay in the teacher's dorm. See you later!"

Hayes left her before Zoella had a chance to react to what he said. Even if she reacted he would just brush it off like it was nothing. Well, it was nothing for him.

Zoella gripped her bow tightly as she tried to ignore the whispers around her. As expected, she was not comfortable. She walked inside hurriedly hoping she wouldn't need to hear those whispers anymore.

"Hey there, can I help you?"

The woman behind the desk gave her a warm smile.

"Uhm, I was looking for my room. My name is Zoella Rae."

"Okay, please wait a second."

She started to flip her book trying to find Zoella's name.

"Your room's number is 208. It is on the second floor and here's your key."

"Thank you."

Zoella received her key and walked away from the desk. She immediately searched her room on the second floor. Once she found it, she opened the door and entered.

The room was quite spacious considering it was a dorm. And luckily she didn't have to share a room with another student. She sat on her bed thinking about tomorrow.

Tomorrow was her first day and the entrance ceremony. She hoped that the speech won't take a long time. 

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