Finding Stardust

Wasn't that a sign that she had started loving her husband? She was sure Therius would love to hear from Emma that she loved him too.

Ahh ... it's too late now, Emma thought.

She decided to call Therius tomorrow and talk longer after her husband arrived back at the palace and was not busy with state affairs.

She finally went back to organizing her personal belongings in her room. Then, she ate lunch from the lunch box she brought from the hotel earlier.

After resting for a bit, she washed up in the bathroom and changed clothes to be ready for the banquet to welcome new students.

Since Emma was used to not having a lot of stuff, the unpacking work was done very quickly. Emma was pleased to see that the items her maids prepared all looked so simple, very much according to her taste.

In fact, Emma had so many fancy clothes, jewelry, and various other expensive items that Therius gave. However, she left all of them at the palace. She was not at all attached to any of those material things.

For her, clothes were clothes, either they were expensive or cheap. Especially now with her current status disguised as an ordinary girl, of course, she couldn't wear expensive or luxurious things.

After Emma finished washing up and dressed in simple black clothes, she made tea and decided to sit down on her balcony and enjoy the view out.

The banquet was still several hours away. She felt the need to find something to do to relax her mind while waiting.

SQUEAK SQUEAK

Emma looked back when she heard a loud squeak. She found a lovely golden bird perched on a branch of a plant she had just grown earlier.

It was the size of a fist with a long tail with feathers that reminded Emma of a peacock's tail.

"Hey ... you're so beautiful," said Emma, ​​raising her hand to caress the bird. She didn't expect the beautiful bird didn't fly away and instead rubbed his head against Emma's hand.

"Gosh ... you're so timid," said Emma. She admired the beautiful bird for a moment and then wondered if she had some bread or other food to give to it. "Wait a minute. I think I have some bread for you."

She entered her room and took a food box containing several slices of bread. She cut one into small pieces before giving it to the beautiful bird.

It was a great comfort for Emma to see the bird peck at the food casually. Ahh ... she just saw how the animals here seem to roam freely. They didn't seem to be afraid of humans either.

"Do you have a name?" Emma asked the bird. "Ahh ... what am I talking about? Why did I ask his name? I can't talk to birds. Tsk."

Hmm ... by the way, Emma hoped Marlowe won't be a shitty teacher. He was the only person in the Academy, apart from Dean Anrankin, who knew that she was Therius' 'girlfriend'. Emma didn't like to attract people's attention to her if her schoolmates knew she was in a relationship with one of the famous alumnus.

"All right, I'll call you Alex Chu," said Emma with a chuckle. This little bird reminded her of her friend on earth, the kind, bubbly, and talkative Alex Chu.

Emma continued drinking tea on her balcony, accompanied by Alex Chu, who was enjoying the bread crumbs on the table. The atmosphere that afternoon was very peaceful. Emma immediately felt at home at the Academy.

She just hoped that her school mates wouldn't be annoying.

***

When Emma came out of her room to go to the Blue Tower banquet hall, she met Ulla in the hallway. She also just came out of her room. With a bright face, the blue-haired girl immediately approached Emma. She took her hand to walk together towards the elevator.

"Did you like your room?" asked Ulla in her usual cheerful voice.

Emma nodded, "I like it. How about you?"

However, Ulla's expression suddenly looked very depressed. "Ah, the room in this dorm is SO TINY. That reminded me of our broom closet."

Emma furrowed her brows to hear Ulla's complaint. "Tiny? We get a proper bed, space to study, ensuite bathroom, even a balcony to relax in."

Emma thought her room was very pleasant, and it met all her needs. It reminded her of the mini-studio apartment units on earth. Her room in the orphanage was much smaller than this, and she had to share it with another child.

Ulla shook her head in frustration. "I could get claustrophobia (the phobia of closed/narrow spaces). The room is simply too small. My room at home is so much bigger."

"..."

Emma concluded that Ulla must be the daughter of a wealthy family, so she had a huge room.

"Unfortunately, we can only move to a bigger room when we are in the final year," said Ulla. "This Academy is funded by the government, and made free for students, that's why the facilities are so so. In fact, my family doesn't mind having to pay high fees to get me a nicer room. I am sure many other families are the same."

"Paying for what?" asked Emma. "Isn't this school free?"

"Yes, precisely because this school is free, the facilities are poor. No members of the royal family have ever been here, so they don't know how we feel. They are used to living comfortably," said Ulla. "If they studied here, I am sure they will see that the accommodation provided is too modest."

Emma hiccuped when she heard Ulla's words. The king of Akkadia did study here, and she never once heard him complain about anything.

"They should start charging money to enter this school and use the money to improve existing facilities. Students who can afford expensive tuition fees will get better facilities. Let students who can't afford it receive scholarships. I'm sure they will be satisfied with small rooms like what we have now."

Emma frowned in surprise. "Why are you so unhappy with this Academy? Isn't it nice that the government has provided a free school for mages? Why should you complain?"

Ulla shook her head. She wanted to retort but decided against it when she saw Emma's attitude. Emma became curious about what was really on Ulla's mind. She finally read the girl's mind to know what her new friend was thinking.

'Ahh... I should shut up. I think Lee comes from a poor family. Hence, for her, a room in this dorm is good enough. Never mind, I better not talk too much about my family's wealth. She will feel inferior,' Ulla thought to herself. 'Lee seems like a nice girl. Poor, but nice. I hope she can get a decent husband who is rich enough to make her appreciate finer things in life.'

Emma rolled her eyes and took a deep breath. Ulla actually didn't mean bad things with her words, but she was too ignorant. She didn't understand the difficulties faced by other people. A typical rich kid who grew up with a silver spoon.

Come to think of it, Ulla was actually very wrong. Emma did not come from a poor family. Her mother was a princess, and her father was a great general. In fact, she was now married to the king of Akkadia, the most powerful man on the planet.

However, all these luxuries didn't keep Emma attached. She didn't care about wealth, because for her, whether they were expensive or cheap, as long as they could fulfill their function, that was enough.

Even so, Emma understood that the view she had was not shared by everyone. Therefore, she tried to ignore Ulla's complaints and pretend not to hear her.

When the two of them arrived at the front of the elevator, Emma and Ulla met two girls who were also waiting for the elevator to go down.

She remembered seeing them at the hall earlier today, so she assumed they must be new students like her and Ulla.

.

.

\u003e\u003e\u003e\u003e\u003e

From the author: