Alive || 86: Eighty-Six [ vers. ENG ]

the days before

"Ah, Charlize, you're just in time. Do you have time to chat with me?"

The second I walked out of the living room, I met Ernst. The owner of this big house had just come home.

"Of course," I replied, curious as to what he wanted to discuss.

So I went back the way I came. As soon as I opened the door again, Frederica glanced behind her. A puzzled look came on her face.

"Thou art back already? I thought that thou wert going upstairs to rest?"

I didn't have time to answer when Ersnt spoke up.

"Frederica, are you still watching TV at this hour?"

The little girl squealed in surprise. She didn't expect him to come back so soon. Usually, the sun was already down when he came home.

"Ah... No! It's just..."

Hesitation could be heard in her voice.

"Actually, I'm the one who was watching TV," I answered without thinking too much. "I forgot to turn it off before I left..."

Ernst looked at each of us. He didn't believe that lie for a second. Even I wouldn't have believed it. From the look on Frederica's face which could also meant "I'm guilty" to my smile that was cracking with each passing second; you had to be pretty gullible to believe us.

The Acting President of the Federacy finally sighed.

"Well... Frederica, you can go on watching your cartoon."

I winked at the red-eyed girl. She smiled back at me and then went back to her cartoon about ... magical girls ?

"As for what I wanted to tell you..." Ersnt began.

I sat down on the couch while he sat on a chair.

"I have two pieces of news to share with you. First, I still haven't been able to get a positive answer regarding your family here."

"Oh? You can forget it. That's fine."

The surprise immediately shows on his face.

"The last letter you gave me did contain the Kaslan family seal, but it's slightly different from the one my grandparents use... And if none of the people you sent there in person have been able to get any further than the entrance, that means someone is blocking all contact with my grandparents... But you already knew that, right?"

"... Well," he sighed. "Since a year ago contacted with the Kaslan family have been difficult. Your uncle is now the one who's appearing at every important gathering. There might be a way to contact the right person but it might take more time."

"Thank you very much, but I'm fine with this situation," I replied at once. "And then,,, There are only a few days left before we leave for the Special Officers Academy."

"Then that's fine. It's your decision after all," he said. "But if you change your mind, I'll personally see to it that you meet your grandparents."

"I'll be sure to do that."

"Now, there's something else I wanted to talk to you about..."

"What's her problem?"

An hour later, when everyone had returned home. A strange gathering had taken place in the living room.

Every time someone came in, they had the same reaction when they saw me lying like a dead corpse on the carpet, staring at the ceiling.

Then, since I didn't give any answer to their question, they would simply decide to go sit on the couch, an armchair or a chair further away.

Even though I could still feel their gaze on me, I had neither the desire nor the strength to answer them.

Frederica end up answering for me since she was the only person present when I was talking to Ernst earlier. But instead of using words she handed the person closest to her – Raiden – two sheets of paper. On them was a list of names in two columns. On the first page were Kurena's, Anju's and of course mine. The second page was for Shin, Raiden and Theo.

"Ah, is this the list of the dormitory pairings?" Anju said after a quick look at it.

"Is it because we're all separated that you're like this, Charlize?" Kurena asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Our rooms are next to each other so there's no need to react like that," Anju continued. "Come on, get up off the floor."

"If you ask her nicely she's never going to do it," Theo remarked.

The boy walked to me, crouched down and flicked me on the forehead.

I got up immediately.

"Are you crazy?!"

"Done."

Before an argument could break out, Raiden came between us.

"Please, just let me hit his head!" I said, while trying t.

"How do you go from a flick of the forehead to a punch on the head?" Raiden asked, looking puzzled.

"You see, I'm just a frail young and defenseless girl so if I hit him with my little fists... it's like a flick!"

"Well, if you think about it, it's not with her little arms that she's likely to hurt anyone," Theo answered with a mocking laugh.

"Then please come forward..."

"Hm...I don't want to."

"You guys... Stop now."

"Who's Marguerite Kaslan?"

Shin's interruption put an end to this ridiculous argument. Everyone's attention returned to the list that was now in his hands.

"Oh... I didn't see Charlize's roommate's last name," Anju remarked after rereading. "So that's why you're sulking?"

"It's not just that... I wanted to at least be with one of you..." I mumbled softly.

According to Ernst, this Marguerite was my cousin. Personally I had never met her. So I didn't know anything about her... but what I did know was that it didn't bode well. According to what I had been told, the Special Officers Academy was a way to quickly train soldiers and send them to the front. Logically, it was strange that a family with no major financial problems would want to send their child there. If my uncle wanted to send her into the military, there were better ways...

So... why was her name on the list?