I am Ela. I was left at an orphanage when I was still a baby. It is unknown who the people who left me were but I cannot understand how those who abandon others like me could be part of their own families. I would like to ask them or hear from them why they did it, out of what desperation. But this doesn't mean I hate the orphanage.
My memories there are always wonderful. Although, the boys tended to stay away from me. I was a very fiery child. My closest friend is Iris. Everyone can be friends with her. She is also very gentle. Even though she grew up in the orphanage, she maintained this kindness and is a bit shy because of it. Whenever someone said something to her, I would always defend her.
A child whose name I can't remember once used Iris's hair color as an excuse, claiming that she actually carried the blood of nobility and that she was abandoned because she was the illegitimate child of a noble family. People with white hair could be rare but that didn't mean they were all nobles. Nobles are just people too.
But one day, a noble family visited our orphanage. It was really rare for such people to visit places like this, and when we were kids, we were incredibly happy to hear that news.
When they came to the orphanage, we couldn't see that same happiness on their faces. They seemed as if they had come just to get some tedious task over with and when the son of the family approached me and Iris, I distinctly heard his father yelling at him.
"Don't touch those pests or you'll catch a disease."
From that moment on, I struggled to control myself, to prevent from punching those who thought nobles were just like us. They were like tyrants, controlling even people of their own blood. I didn't want to be under the control of such people. You can call this freedom or something else. I call it a life without chains.
I had always been curious about what life was like outside the city but now I was secretly working to find out how life was living out there. After years, the opportunity finally came to me and we orphans were asked to compete for a spot to study at the Academy.
The Academy could generally be entered in three ways. The easiest was to be a noble because you are born with the necessary money. Besides that, you could enter the Academy through a scholarship provided by an extremely wealthy group called the ritchi. Nell and Stefan, the first friends I made at the Academy, gained admission this way. The last route depended on whether we could take advantage of the privilege granted by the kingdom to orphans like us. We had to pass exams in many fields. Our minds and bodies were put to the test. Since I performed well physically, I just barely managed to win my place at the Academy. Iris got her ticket through her success in the tests.
This place really was as they said and even a week had already passed. It was far beyond what the orphanage tried to provide us in terms of education. I've never liked studying but I really loved it here. The bad thing was the possibility of being constantly side by side with those arrogant, controlling nobles. Luckily, Iris and I had made the right friends. Nell had mentioned that him father was a soldier and he seemed proud of it. Stefan wasn't like us. He hadn't grown up in the city, and I wanted to learn what kind of life he led. That's why I spent most of my time with Stefan.
Today was Tuesday, and my theoretical class was Survival in Nature. I hadn't seen many people actually attend this class. All the other nalias were taking it, just like me, but something felt off.
The reason for that absence was because there were actually seven of them but only six were in the class. All of them had deep worry on their faces. A few minutes later, a instructor entered the classroom without even knocking. It was obvious that him rushed here, and him looked out of breath.
"Why did you interrupt my lesson?"
Our teacher didn't like having their lesson disrupted, and they were hoping for a good excuse from the instructor.
"There's a very serious problem! Please come with me!"
What was really going on? What could be so urgent? Our teacher realized that the situation was indeed serious and went outside. The child sitting next to me asked what was happening. Of course, I told him I had no idea and sank into my thoughts.
I didn't think that this wave of seriousness would happen to the entire Academy within just a few minutes. Our classes were canceled for today.
"Do you know what happened to one of the nalias in Class 1-A?"
While returning to the dorm, someone from another class asked me this. What in the world was happening?
"No?"
"Really? They brutally murdered the poor girl. Her limbs were torn off and there was a huge butcher's knife stabbed into her head. And in her own room!"
"What!?!"
How? This was the Academy. I always found the security measures here to be absurd, but even those ridiculous checks couldn't prevent someone's death. I shouldn't be surprised by the worried expressions on the other nalias face. They must have been worried because their friends hadn't come to them. For a moment, I imagined Iris's body in my arms. At that moment, I felt a pang of sadness, anger, and hatred towards the person who did this to her. Those nalias must have felt the same way as I did. I asked the boy asking me questions:
"Do you know who the killer is, at least?"
"Huh... No, of course not! That crazy one probably would've killed me too if he had the chance. The entire Academy is already looking for the killer. And apparently, they'll interrogate all of us soon."
I didn't know who the killer was but I wanted to guess. I just hope they catch it.