Chapter 84
“Mission accomplished.”
“…Yeah. We definitely caught him.”
“But you don’t seem pleased?”
“Hmmm.”
Yuria’s question made my expression tighten slightly.
The mission went well.
There were no casualties among the students, we captured Vice Principal Randgar Bayel, and our identities weren’t exposed.
Yet, something felt off.
“Why? Is something bothering you?”
“Why was Randgar there?”
“Maybe Principal Vinuar sensed something suspicious and stopped him early?”
Yuria replied calmly, sipping her tea.
Given the fierce signs of battle between the two, her explanation made perfect sense.
It seemed logical that Principal Vinuar sensed something off about Randgar Bayel and intercepted him early.
As a result, Randgar never made it to the banquet hall where the students were gathered.
It was a perfectly reasonable deduction.
‘But something doesn’t feel right.’
After all, I was the one who saw Randgar at the scene.
Randgar had been standing idly in front of the collapsed Principal Vinuar.
He looked like someone who had completed his task and was basking in satisfaction.
“Hmmm. Is that so?”
“That’s likely the case. And luckily, you arrived just in time.”
Nod—
Erica, sitting nearby, nodded in agreement with Yuria’s words.
With both of them saying this, it did seem like everything was wrapped up well.
“But something keeps nagging at me.”
“Well, I’m sure we’ll uncover more as we investigate. Randgar Bayel has been securely handed over to the Empire.”
“Right, and the Principal himself testified, so it’s undoubtedly solid.”
Yuria and Erica continued to reassure me, as if to say I shouldn’t worry.
Cassis Sinclair had handled the situation better than expected.
He took Randgar Bayel from me, conducted a thorough investigation of the surroundings, and even found the collapsed Principal Vinuar.
He didn’t ignore my instructions or give Randgar a chance to escape.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“Hmmm. By the way, about that student, Elaine.”
“Elaine?”
“She’s adorable, isn’t she? She was so genuinely worried about you.”
“She did seem concerned.”
“Exactly. You seem to be doing well in academy life, huh?”
“Well, I disappeared suddenly, so it’s understandable they’d worry. Probably everyone was concerned. Cynthia, knowing my identity, might have worried less, though.”
“Hmmm.”
Yuria grinned mischievously before continuing.
“Emily didn’t seem that worried, though.”
“Emily was… Well, you were with her, so that’s— Wait, speaking of Emily, what’s your relationship with her? You said you’d tell me after the mission.”
I suddenly remembered.
Before everything went down, I had noticed something unusual between Yuria and Emily and had asked about it several times, only to have her postpone answering.
This time, however, Yuria didn’t avoid the question.
“Hehe. Emily is my niece. My sister’s daughter.”
“Oh, really? Then why didn’t you tell me earlier? I could have looked out for her more…”
Emily is her niece? No wonder she seemed particularly attentive.
But then, I froze mid-thought.
If Emily is Yuria’s niece and her sister’s daughter…
“Wait, what?”
Yuria smiled and took another sip of tea.
If Emily is Yuria’s niece, that means she’s also from the same family.
“Yuria, she’s your niece?”
“Yes. Emily Prisis. Apparently, she entered the academy under a different surname.”
“What?!”
I had assumed they had some kind of personal history, but I never imagined they were related by blood.
“Seriously?”
“Yes, seriously.”
“Well, that explains why she’s so smart…”
“Emily has always been bright since she was young. Though, her personality doesn’t suit combat much.”
“Still, what could have happened for her to change her name and join the academy? Who deliberately hides their identity as a member of the Six Great Houses?”
“Well, a lot must have happened.”
Yuria’s voice carried a tinge of bitterness as she said this.
It seemed there truly had been significant events.
“It’s a family matter. The Prisis Family isn’t as happy as it might appear. Then again, which family really is?”
“Even so, the family allowed it?”
“Hehe. Apparently.”
Yuria smiled wryly and set down her teacup.
Emily Franz wasn’t her real name; it was Emily Prisis.
Knowing she came from the Prisis Family made Emily’s brilliance much clearer.
Despite her introverted personality, she ranked in the top seven during the entrance exam and performed well in the first round of the competition.
‘Talent truly does run in these families.’
The Six Great Houses weren’t renowned for nothing, it seemed.
Both Elaine and Emily were proof of that.
“She’s my niece, so please take good care of her?”
“Of course. Though, I’m not sure there’s much I can do for her.”
“Hehe. Then, I’ll take my leave now.”
“Heading home?”
“No, I’m going to see Randgar. Now that we’ve caught him, we need to extract information as quickly as possible.”
“Ah, I see.”
If she had been heading home, I could have transported her via Spatial Movement.
Yuria stood up, looking quite refreshed, likely from capturing Randgar and resolving things with Emily.
“Great work today, everyone. Erica, especially.”
“… Just leave already.”
“See you next time?”
“…”
As Yuria left, Erica heaved a sigh and flopped onto the sofa.
“Thanks to you earlier, we caught Randgar.”
“Ah, don’t try to force a compliment. I’m feeling down today.”
“…What?”
“Haa. These prodigies, seriously.”
Erica’s face was scrunched in displeasure, clearly brimming with frustration.
“What is it?”
“Never mind. You’re one of the talented ones, so you wouldn’t understand.”
“What?”
“I want to leave. Take me home. You know where I live, right?”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Let’s go. And don’t forget to transfer my bonus once everything’s sorted.”
Erica abruptly got up from the sofa and extended her hand toward me.
I didn’t know why she was acting this way, but I just let it slide.
I had seen Erica like this many times before.
The best thing to do in such situations was to avoid provoking her.
“Fine, fine. I’ll tell Addy to make it a hefty bonus.”
I nodded, taking Erica’s hand, which was now back to her usual silver-haired state after removing the black dye.
Better to get her home quickly before she said anything else.
‘Well, the mission’s done anyway.’
Even though the uneasy feeling lingered, as Yuria had said, the objective was accomplished.
***
Clench.
Elaine grabbed the sword resting in its stand the moment she returned home.
Her hands trembled as she gripped it tightly, but only for a moment.
“Haaaa.”
Elaine let out a deep sigh and set the sword back down.
From now on, no matter what happened, she would never leave the house without her sword.
If she had it today, she could have moved around more confidently.
The absence of a weapon to protect herself had been more crippling than she’d anticipated.
“My lady! Oh my, what happened to this beautiful dress?”
“Sigh.”
Elaine silently watched as her maid, Maria, gasped in shock, dusting off the dirt and stains from the dress.
Her outfit was a mess, a consequence of running frantically around to find Ryu Yeong.
“Please, take it off immediately, my lady.”
“…Alright.”
‘I’m never wearing this kind of dress again.’
Elaine didn’t say this aloud, fearing it would spark an argument with Maria.
“What on earth happened to you?”
Maria muttered as she untied the back of Elaine’s dress, clearly giving her subtle scolding under the guise of talking to herself.
Elaine ignored her.
“All done. Please take it off now.”
Slide.
Elaine quickly shrugged off the cumbersome dress, as if shedding a burden.
Once the dress was off, it felt significantly easier to move.
Yes, from now on, she’d rather carry a sword in undergarments than wear a dress.
“Shall I prepare a bath?”
“Yes, please.”
“Then wait just a moment.”
Maria left the room, arms full of the voluminous dress.
Elaine thought about putting on some comfortable clothes but decided against it, planning to bathe soon anyway.
Instead, she jumped onto her bed.
Flop.
“Haaa.”
The soft blankets enveloped her, and the tension in her body melted away.
At the same time, embarrassment surged.
“Ughhhhhh!”
Her frantic running around to find Ryu Yeong.
Her half-angry words to Cynthia and Amilion Stappen.
Her inability to control her emotions upon finding Ryu Yeong.
All of it was utterly mortifying.
Had there been another time in recent years when she’d felt so humiliated?
Just thinking about it made her face burn.
It wasn’t just her face—her whole body felt hot with shame.
“Eeeeeeek…”
Elaine gripped the blankets tightly, almost as if she wanted to tear them apart, and stomped her feet.
She felt like she was going to lose her mind from embarrassment.
Especially Ryu Yeong’s expression at the end, smiling as he told her he liked how casually she spoke.
Thump, thump.
Her stomping grew stronger.
‘Haa, how could I lose control like that in front of everyone?’
The more she thought about it, the more vividly the faces of everyone came to mind.
Yuria Prisis, smiling sweetly.
Cynthia and Emily, both looking flustered.
Ryu Yeong, smirking with one side of his mouth raised.
Boom.
‘Haa, I must have lost it!!’
“My lady?”
“Ahhh!”
“A-about the bath…”
Elaine screamed in surprise at the sudden voice behind her.
She hadn’t even heard the door open, but Maria was already inside.
“The bathwater is…ready. I-I’ll be going now.”
“Ah…”
Thud.
Before Elaine could say anything, Maria hurriedly closed the door and left.
“Huuuu…”
Elaine buried her face in the blanket.
This was the worst.
To top it all off, she’d just shown her maid the sight of her stomping around in her underwear.
Elaine seriously considered running away for a few days.
—
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