Odalisque - Chapter 117

Clemence Boarding School was the only achievement in her life that Liv could boast of. Upon entering, Liv was confident that her life would be better once she graduated from Clemence.

Therefore, she persevered. To keep up with the expectations of her parents, who supported her education at boarding school, and to keep up with the level of her diverse and extraordinary classmates at school.

“Requirements?”

“Someone who’s not an aristocrat, has no pride, looks just right, and has good grades.”

Liv smiled faintly as she listed the requirements.

“The school needs some poor, hardworking commoner student to showcase every year.”

“I didn’t expect that appearance and pride would be part of the requirements.”

“We have to look nice because we have to walk around saying thank you for taking pity on us at school events, and we have to have a low self-esteem to withstand the possible scorn from some classmates.”

The hardest time was right after school started. The maliciousness of young children is pure and unrefined.

Inside the small world of school, status and family were quickly made known. It was the first factor that determined the starting line for new students.

But that was not the end of it. Before that starting line, commoner students were once again filtered. They had to become scholarship recipients and to sing praises for the school’s name at events large and small.

Getting a lot of her tuition fees deducted by giving conventional thanks; Liv had no reason to pass it up.

As a result, she was envied and ridiculed by both her commoner and noble classmates upon entering school, but… After a few years facing it, she got used to the school life and made good friends regardless of their status.

“The scholarships given to commoner students are part of the donations that noble students pay for admission, and those donors like to see their generosity validated.”

“Were you discriminated against for not being able to make a donation?”

“I don’t think it was discrimination. At the time, I had a much better education than my peers in my neighborhood, and it was all thanks to Clemence’s scholarship program. I’m making money now because of it. How can I say I was discriminated against? I was just doing what I was supposed to do in my position.”

The days at boarding school were long, and Liv saw a small caste system in it. She learned where those with power and those without stood and what their roles were.

Knowing your place has been the first rule of survival for the weak.

“You have an uncanny awareness of your place.”

“I wouldn’t be able to survive if I didn’t.”

“Do you know anyone who couldn’t survive because they couldn’t figure out their places?”

Liv’s once casual expression stiffened subtly. Even though he must have seen the change, the Marquis continued bluntly.

“Your parents?”

“I’m not sure what you’re referring to, my Lord.”

She had already assumed that he had run a background check on her. He probably went deeper than she expected. However, she was sure the results would not have included anything about “parents who dreamed of rising up their status.”

Liv calmed her stirring insides and gave an awkward smile.

“As you probably know from digging around, my parents died in an unfortunate accident.”

“I heard they were famous handicraft artisans. Even if they died suddenly, it’s hard to imagine how the daughters they left behind would struggle to make ends meet.”

“It’s just… a combination of overlapping circumstances.”

Liv, who finally graduated from Clemence, took care of the sick Coryda’s medication, and things got a little rough in their household. And… the decrease in the amount of orders for crafts around that time, probably contributed to her forgetting about the extra money. The death of her parents before she could regain her footing was the catalyst.

Anyway, it was all in the past, and there was no point in recounting it back. Liv couldn’t wait to escape this uncomfortable topic.

The Marquis, however, seemed to have a different opinion.

“I heard there was a lot of talk about you when you were in school. You also had a bad reputation when you were a live-in tutor.”

Liv averted her gaze with a burning face. The Marquis didn’t seem to care and continued.

“My aide suspected you of coveting a position as a nobleman’s mistress.”

“If I aimed for such a place—!”

“You would have already settled in somewhere; I replied that to him.”

The Marquis said what Liv was about to say.

He was still sitting impassively, staring at Liv. Silence settled in the greenhouse as he shut his mouth. Even that common insect sound couldn’t be found now.

It was as if everything had disappeared, leaving only her and the Marquis.

The beautiful, huge greenhouse felt like an unreal space just for the two of them.

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