16

I stood in front of the gates of the academy and thought that I still have the opportunity to turn back. I will return to the estate and wait for others to win the right to life for me. I wonder if Augusta Reed was ever afraid? Or was she not only unaware of this feeling, but of the word itself? Would she despise me for my cowardice? I squeezed the pocket in which the artifact ring lay and headed to the dean's office.

There were not so many people in the courtyard, most likely, many aristocrats had gone home for the weekend.

When I reached the dean's office, I knocked decisively. There is no way back. She pushed open the heavy door and entered. The secretary's desk was empty, so I decided to sit on the sofa. With every minute my resolve melted away, and the ring with incredible force pulled the pocket to the ground. The door, over which hung a sign with the dean's name, opened, and a woman stepped out. She went to the secretary's place and only then looked up at me with narrowed eyes.