Downfall and Contempt

The rival she had always thought was one step ahead of her had suddenly collapsed.

The base joy that the valedictorian spot was now hers, the lingering discomfort of having surpassed her archrival not through skill but by a fluke… and, contempt.

Honestly, she thought it was pathetic. It isn’t much different now.

Whether it was Carla Daniel or Gloria Dusk, there might have been a difference in degree, but they were both living rock-bottom lives.

Achieving excellent grades at the Policy School through bone-grinding effort and getting commissioned was the only path to social advancement, the goal of a lifetime.

From the perspective of someone who had dedicated everything for that single thing, seeing it thrown away like an old shoe could never look pretty.

Something dark boiled up inside her. How dare she discuss her grades shamelessly from their school days in front of her?

It seemed she still had some lingering attachments. If that was the case, she shouldn’t have given up.

“Right, if you hadn’t dropped out, you might have become a patrol officer instead of me by now. You’re secretly thinking that, aren’t you? I understand. I occasionally have those thoughts too.”

“…”...