Chapter 127: At the Academy (9)
“Um, senior. Are you alright?”
At the worried voice, I suddenly snapped back to my senses.
Sunlight poured in through the window, and a pleasantly cool breeze drifted in.
Even so, the atmosphere in the hospital room remained oddly stiff and subdued.
No need to look far for the reason—it was me.
“You don't look so well.”
At Lancia’s words, I set down the fruit knife I was holding.
Before I realized it, my hands, which had been peeling fruit, had stopped.
“I’m fine. It’s nothing.”
I replied calmly, but both of their gazes were fixed on me.
Yuran didn’t say anything, but her eyes seemed to pierce right through me.
“…Actually, there was something on my mind.”
After a brief hesitation, I let out a sigh and spoke.
“It’s a family matter.”
At that, Yuran nodded slightly and averted her gaze.
It was as if she were saying it wasn’t her place to get involved.
“Uh…”
On the other hand, Lancia, who knew a bit about my family circumstances, reacted a little differently.
She flinched slightly and seemed to be gauging my expression.
Her eyes were filled with concern, but she didn’t press me further.
“Mm, it’s not anything serious. I was just caught off guard because it was something I hadn’t considered at all.”
I added with a faint smile.
I didn’t want to worry the two of them, especially when they had come all this way to visit me.
I moved my hand holding the fruit knife once more.
But then, Yuran threw out a comment like a joke, forcing me to stop again.
“Don’t tell me it’s a marriage issue.”
The moment I flinched, Yuran studied my expression with a puzzled look.
“Is it really true?”
“Gasp…! Senior, are you getting married?”
Then Lancia, equally surprised, inhaled sharply with wide eyes.
I looked at Yuran with an incredulous expression.
“…Marriage, all of a sudden?”
“I wouldn’t call it sudden. Marriage is a major event in anyone’s life. Especially for a noble like you. Producing an heir is a noble’s duty.”
Yuran continued speaking nonchalantly.
“I’ve heard that nobles usually have a fiancé, even if they’re not married yet.”
“…Yuran, it might not seem like it, but I am a priest.”
“Still…”
Lancia added quietly.
“Th-The Holy Sun Church doesn’t forbid all marriage or romantic relationships. Maybe in the past, but now some denominations even encourage it…”
Before I knew it, the conversation had snowballed into me definitely getting married or having a formal courtship.
I let out a dry chuckle.
“Phew, it’s really nothing like that.”
And in that moment, I felt the stiff air in the hospital room lighten just a little.
I moved my once-stilled hand again and brought up the topic gently.
“Still, I’m really glad. That both of you… recovered without any lasting effects.”
At those words, Yuran shrugged.
“You’re right. I’m just deeply grateful I didn’t die.”
Lancia gave a wry smile and murmured,
“Yeah, definitely… It really is a relief that I’m well enough to have visitors like this… truly.”
They spoke as if it were nothing, but I knew well that the pain they had endured had been far from minor.
Yuran had collapsed because she’d forcibly wrung out all the energy in her body, nearly scraping it dry, resulting in a severe backlash.
She was speaking lightly about it now, but honestly, if things had gone even slightly wrong, she could’ve ended up crippled for life.
In Lancia’s case, unlike Yuran, it had been purely physical injuries—but the one who inflicted those wounds was a Dragon.
Her condition had been… and I know it sounds terrible to say this about a person… but she had literally been in tatters.
Even if the causes were different, both of them had brushed dangerously close to death.
That they recovered without incident was truly…
There were no words to express how relieved I was.
‘Really… I’m so glad…’
Once again, I couldn’t help but let out a breath of relief.
I had come to realize just how dangerous the recent events had been.
‘Anyway, with this, most of the major obstacles have been taken care of.’
The Dungeon Collapse Incident, the chain of attacks.
And the issues surrounding Cecilia and Allen as well.
All that was left now were a few major events.
But I wasn’t worried like before.
It wasn’t arrogance.
It was just that I had already done everything I possibly could.
All that remained was to wait for Amaruah.
‘And above all else…’
Cecilia and Allen—these two had grown far beyond my expectations.
At the very least, I no longer had to worry about anything related to the two of them.
‘Honestly, those two were the biggest hurdle.’
As for the others, there wasn’t really a need for me to intervene.
Not that I had been particularly close with them to begin with.
Yuran and Lancia weren’t the same age as me, and though the twin prince and princess were in the same grade, being royalty meant we hardly even spoke.
And the last one… wasn’t even at the Academy at this time.
‘Yeah.’
Now, all that was left was to wait quietly.
Clink.
At that moment, the clinking sound of something stirred me from my thoughts.
It was the sound of Yuran picking up a necklace that had been placed on the table.
It was the very necklace Airos had given each of us as a gesture of apology.
“Hm…”
Yuran looked at the necklace in silence.
She rolled it lightly with her fingertips as she stared at it.
Her gaze was not particularly welcoming—it was rather disapproving.
“…”
The same went for Lancia.
Though she had politely accepted the necklace, she had left it sitting off to the side.
As if she had deliberately placed it just barely within her peripheral vision.
‘Well…’
Strictly speaking, they had barely survived death, and the person who had nearly thrown them into the jaws of death had suddenly handed over this item—practically forced it on them—as a token of apology.
It would’ve been stranger if they actually liked it.
“Here you go.”
I handed the plate of freshly prepared fruit to the two of them.
“I’ll get you something to drink, too. Is tea alright?”
Yuran, her cheeks puffed out with fruit, silently nodded.
Lancia, who had been nibbling on an apple, also gave a small nod as if to ask for the same.
“……”
To prepare the tea, I started boiling water.
And then something rustled in my inner pocket.
It was a letter I had received at the dormitory just before coming to visit the hospital room.
‘Right, there was still one more left.’
A letter from my second brother, Artiac.
It said he would be attending the Departure Festival.
‘If history had gone as it originally did, Second Brother wouldn’t have attended the Departure Festival at all. He would’ve remained by the First Imperial Prince’s side at the Imperial Palace.’
But the letter clearly stated that he would be attending the festival.
Even if only temporarily, as Princess Velita’s attendant.
‘What in the world is he thinking?’
What kind of scheme is that woman plotting?
The way she was deliberately prodding at us made my mood flare for a moment—but it passed just as quickly.
What came next was a strange sense of doubt.
Why go this far?
For what reason?
‘…I can’t make any sense of it.’
That she was scheming something against me or my brother was certain.
But it wasn’t the kind of sinister plot that would aim to harm or endanger us.
If that had been her intention, she would have acted far more discreetly, not this overtly.
If anything, this felt more like…
Yes, more like an invitation.
‘She wants to talk…’
She wanted to have a conversation with me.
She had openly conveyed that intention.
It could be an invitation, a provocation, or perhaps yet another test.
“……”
Yeah, I couldn’t avoid it forever.
Since Dungeon Class, she had persistently hovered around me in an odd way.
In fact, it was almost strange that she was only now approaching me directly.
‘Doesn’t seem to be related to the Brand… then what exactly is she after?’
I pondered for a moment before shaking my head.
I’d find out soon enough once I faced her.
‘If possible, I’d rather she lost interest in me.’
For the sake of what’s to come.
…Yes, what’s to come.
That phrase suddenly stuck in my mind.
And along with it, another thought.
Beep—
Before I knew it, the water had come to a boil.
As ripples stirred within me, I reached for the kettle in silence, pushing those thoughts aside.
“Um, Miss Yuran. Are you alright?”
Lancia’s concerned voice came from behind me.
When I turned around to look, Yuran’s complexion seemed off.
“Yuran?”
“Mm…”
She waved her hand as if to say she was fine, though her face was pale.
Beads of cold sweat had gathered on her forehead—she didn’t look fine at all.
“Should I call someone?”
“No, don’t.”
Yuran waved her hand again.
Her gesture seemed somewhat desperate.
“Just, the flowerpot. I mean, the flowers… Hoo.”
She let out a deep sigh and rose from her seat.
“I’ll just go to the restroom for a moment.”
“Shall I help you?”
“I’m fine. I appreciate the thought.”
With that, Yuran stood and, though staggering slightly, hurriedly left the hospital room.
Swshhh—
Yuran held her hands under the pouring stream of water, splashing cold water onto her face repeatedly as if washing it.
Even so, the cold sweat wouldn’t stop, and her pounding heart showed no sign of calming.
“Ugh…”
She groaned, barely managing to catch her breath.
Her whole body felt like it was burning up.
If she could, she would’ve thrown herself into a bath of ice water.
Gripping her burning chest in agony, she tried to steady herself.
What on earth was happening?
She had been through countless ordeals, yet the symptoms and pain she was now experiencing were completely foreign.
All she could do was keep dousing her feverish body with cold water in hopes of cooling it down.
“…Huh?”
Then suddenly, as if by accident, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror—and let out a dazed sound.
Her eyes.
Her pupils.
Her once jet-black eyes, dark as the night sky…
Had completely vanished.
“Th-This…”
She reached out to the mirror in disbelief.
The woman reflected back at her, with her black hair—
Her eyes had turned red.
Like the eyes of the very demons she had loathed and hunted all her life.