Chapter 27
We’ll Meet Soon
“I feel so sorry!”
A mansion owned by the Roadwick family, located in Hwangdo.
Anna, who came there following Riche, who will be starting school tomorrow, shivered with sorrow.
It was because Riche, who turned 10 this year, could pull off any clothes as if they were her own.
“Mrs. Trapp sent a closet full of clothes, and I have to wear them all? Why does the Royal Academy have uniforms?”
“That’s true. Mrs. Trapp prepared them so diligently.”
Riche said with a hint of regret in her laughter.
During Madame Michelle’s class, Riche became accustomed to speaking casually to those below her.
At first, she wanted to use honorifics to those older than her, but…
“It’s embarrassing to think about the feelings of those below you, but that’s also noble etiquette. Unless you want to offend Lord Roadwick, get used to it.”
She changed her mind after Michelle warned her that her actions might be a flaw to Blake.
“You’ll be going in tomorrow, huh…”
Anna looked at Riche, who was holding the fabric in her hands.
Seeing her nose twitch, Zed, who was beside her, muttered with a chuckle.
“Aren’t you upset that you can’t go to the academy with the lady? Anna?”
“Shh. Zed Treant.”
Anna glanced at Zed.
As all students of the Royal Academy were nobles, it was allowed to bring an attendant to assist.
People from the Roadwick family secretly expected one of the Treant siblings, who were close to Riche, to go with her.
But Riche had already chosen someone else.
“Ah, Miss! I’m sorry for being late! The carriage wheel came off midway…”
At that moment, a young knight hurriedly opening the door caught the attention of Riche and the Treant siblings.
Zed approached the knight, clucking his tongue.
“Philip, can’t you be more punctual? Is it going to be like this at the academy too?”
“Ugh. Mr. Zed. Of course not…!”
“I’m worried. How can a child like you serve as the lady’s attendant?”
“I can do it! Please believe me, miss!”
Riche smiled slightly, her eyes filled with injustice and determination.
“Believe him, Philip.”
Philip, who entered the academy with Riche, was her attendant.
He was the one accused of the clinic raid incident.
—
So, three years ago.
After consuming Python’s consciousness and returning Python, Hikencar proposed two conditions to Riche instead.
“This knight? He’ll wake up soon. But, Rhetiom. I quite like this body, so I don’t want to discard it yet.”
One of them was to release Philip from prison and place him in the Roadwick Duchy.
Riche went to Blake and said she had testimony about the imprisoned knight.
Philip chasing after Riche in the hallway was to ensure her safety after the villain escaped. Or so he said.
Of course, Blake didn’t immediately believe him.
“Let’s talk after Philip wakes up.”
Not long after, Philip regained consciousness. Hikencar possessed Philip’s body several times more. It was to coordinate his testimony with Riche’s.
With Philip’s testimony corroborating Riche’s, he was acquitted and released.
During that process, Philip, who was mentally wavering due to Hikencar’s possession, pledged his loyalty to her when she saved him and was appointed as her knight.
“Huh? If you’re going in as the lady’s knight, you should get yourself together.”
“Help! Mr. Zed, save me!”
“Ugh, stop it, both of you.”
Zed put his arm around Philip’s neck, playfully threatening him. It was clear from his raised arms that he wasn’t actually choking Philip.
Philip played along with the act, and Anna intervened to stop them. Riche laughed at the situation.
But inwardly, she had different thoughts.
‘Finally, it’s time for enrollment.’
Three years ago, another condition Hikencar demanded.
Riche recalled her conversation with Hikencar at the Roadwick Duchy’s prison.
“There’s someone I feel like I’m going to die if I don’t save him.”
“Who is it?”
“Iandwayne Gerwer.”
“…How?”
Gerwer. Riche’s heart fluttered at the unexpected name.
“Well, you’d know better than me, wouldn’t you? You know the future.”
His gold ring reflected Riche on his right.
Those eyes that seem to know everything. Riche bit her lip hesitantly.
“Give me time to think.”
Sure thing. Hikencar readily accepted Riche’s words. Then, while tapping on the possessed Philip’s abdomen, he spoke.
“But listen. Remember when I said the glass bottle separates the worlds? The human realm and the world inside the glass bottle are different. It’s a world I created, a world only I can interfere with. Unless I withdraw, Python’s consciousness cannot be extracted.”
A threat that even splitting Philip’s stomach wouldn’t save Python.
She never intended to do such a dreadful act anyway.
But since there was no other way, Riche accepted Hikencar’s conditions.
But saving Iandwayne. The incident where Duke Gerwer confessed to killing his son was when Riche was 15 years old.
Eight years without seeing Python was too long.
“Make sure Python is okay in the meantime. You also make sure to confirm the life and death of the hostage takers.”
“…Does that come with another condition?”
“I’ll do it.”
“Fine. Rhetiom. Then enroll in the Royal Academy. I’ll let you meet Python then. There are no more concessions.”
With that, Hikencar disappeared that day.
Later, when he possessed Philip again, he asked to let him meet Python sooner for Blake’s purification.
But Hikencar always refused. After Philip was released, he even completely hid his presence.
Since the star detection couldn’t be used, there was no way to find out if Hikencar possessed someone.
Riche was cornered without Python, which happened two years ago.
“Riche, stand tall and walk. You are Roadwick. That will be your shield.”
Around that time, Blake suddenly started giving Riche advice about the future.
Riche understood the reason. It seemed Blake’s resentment towards her had reached its limit.
It was slightly faster than the two years Python mentioned.
When she thought she couldn’t delay any longer, Riche risked her life and purified Blake.
An impossible task with no chance of survival.
It succeeded because of the star fragment Python retrieved from the library.
“Look at this! It must be a regeneration ability! Isn’t there a healing ability? If it’s intermediate strength, it should have at least two abilities.”
Python’s words about abilities other than regeneration in the star fragment.
Riche believed those words and experimented with the star fragment, discovering other abilities it possessed.
The healing ability. She couldn’t find it initially because the ability was weak.
Riche solely relied on that ability and plunged into the gamble of purifying Blake.
Although she faced a life-threatening situation, fortunately, she didn’t die.
“Miss Riche, please stop Mr. Zed…”
“Philip, cheer up.”
“Did you hear our miss? Cheer up, Philip.”
“Miss Anna…?”
“Cheer up.”
“Really, everyone is doing too much. No one here is on my side…”
Choosing Philip as the academy attendant was because the promised day was approaching.
Since she didn’t know when Hikencar would possess Philip’s body.
“Tomorrow is the academy enrollment.”
The day of reunion was approaching.
I will definitely save you, Python.
With a resolute heart, Riche packed her bags.
—
Roksha Royal Academy.
Second-year classroom.
“Wow, did you hear that?”
The large classroom, filled with about 80 students gathered for integrated lessons, was bustling with noise.
Although it wasn’t particularly quiet on regular days, today the classroom was especially noisy.
It was because of the freshman enrollment ceremony happening in the auditorium by now.
“I heard there’s a Deerkadian senior’s sibling among the freshmen.”
“That commoner?”
“Can we call them a commoner? They’re still a noble. The Roadwick family is intimidating, though.”
“Don’t worry. Deerkadian seniors won’t care. They might even dislike it.”
“How do you know?”
“Listen up. A few days ago, I happened to see another senior asking Deerkadian senior about their sibling in the corridor.”
The student furrowed his brows, imitating Deon.
“And Deerkadian senior answered with a stern face, asking why they were asking.”
“Well, I’d do the same. How would you feel if a commoner, completely unrelated, suddenly comes to your house saying they’re your sibling?”
A male student sitting opposite raised his arm, shivering. Then, a thought came to his mind.
“My father said that commoner completely turned their life around. Even the talented have short lives, so someday that commoner will become the head of the Roadwick family-”
“Hey, hey.”
The girl sitting next to him tapped him on the arm.
She signaled discreetly. There was a boy sitting alone by the window, quietly staring outside.
His blond hair shimmered in the sunlight coming through the window. His profile, quietly staring out the window, was beautiful.
“Iandwayne is here.”
“Oh.”
Right, I forget sometimes since he’s so quiet.
To the extent that his prominent appearance becomes unnoticeable.
The students whispered, lowering their voices as they watched him.
“But, is Iandwayne also a talented individual? I’ve never seen him use any abilities.”
“He’s talented. A peer of mine said they manifested as a Gerwer talent. I saw it during a hunting trip with my father a while back. Do you know about it? No lies can pass in front of Gerwer.”
“Really? Last time, I believed everything he told me about the exam range being different… Could it be that Iandwayne has a twin brother? Maybe the talented one is at home-”
“Shh. The lesson is starting.”
The conversation among students quickly subsided with the arrival of the professor at the front.
In the quiet classroom, the professor called out each student’s name one by one to take attendance.
“Zeckbert Serdia.”
“….”
“Zeckbert?”
Then, a name of a student came out with no response.
The professor swept the wide classroom with stern purple eyes.
There was no sign of Zeckbert, who always sat at the back, buried in his desk.
“Where did he go?”
The professor’s question made the students glance at each other.
“Class president?”
The second-year class president, pointed out by the professor, stuttered as he opened his mouth.
“To meet a friend… He said he was going out.”
“So he skipped class because of that?”
Zeckbert was the one who missed the class, so why did he feel like he was the one being scolded?
The class president teared up, recalling Zeckbert’s face, whose thoughts he could never understand.
“I warned that my class should never be skipped.”
“That’s… for Zeckbert.”
“Pass it on to Zeckbert.”
The professor scribbled on the attendance sheet next to Zeckbert’s name with a red pen.
“Don’t even think about grades above B.”
Indeed. The witch with those violet eyes spared no mercy, even to the noble’s talented individuals.
Zeckbert. He must have gone out of the ship.
The students swallowed in the tense atmosphere.
