As soon as Emily entered the auditorium, she could hear people murmuring.
“Emily! Here you are!”
Neriel waved when she found Emily, who arrived one step late. Emily went to the auditorium and headed to a crowd of students.
“The list is out.”
Emily opened her eyes wide at Neriel’s words and could not hide her surprise.
“Already? I thought it would take at least a week.”
“I can tell without looking. I’m sure they picked it based on grades. Professor Dert is always shouting about our grades.”
“That’s true.”
Emily nodded her head with a serene face, as if to admit it. As Neriel said, if Professor Dert made the list based on their grades, then Emily is confirmed to be on the list.
Emily took her time to skim through the list on the blackboard. As expected, she found her name easily, that’s because she was at the top of the list.
But Emily’s expression quickly hardened. It was because she found the name Rowena just below her name.
“I knew it would be you. As expected … and Rowena was also chosen.”
Like Emily, Neriel’s expression darkened.
Rowena Haven. He was the youngest child of a family known for producing numerous high-ranking priests.
Rowena was very proud of her family. And her pride naturally led to contempt for other classmates. Rowena also disapproved of clergies from a family of commoners, perhaps that’s why she hated Emily.
The reason she believes that commoners should not be priests who worship God.
Neriel cautiously looked at Emily’s countenance. Rowena would be tolerable, but some of Rowena’s pack were also on the list. It was clear that they would swarm together and harass Emily.
“……Are you going to be okay?”
Emily, who took a deep breath at Neriel’s question, answered in a determined voice.
“Why should I not be okay? After all, we are all servants of Vishna.”
She tried to act determined, but Neriel couldn’t help but notice that Emily’s voice was full of sighs.
At that moment, a sharp voice came through.
“I don’t agree with that”
Emily slowly turned her head and looked in the direction in which she heard her voice.
Speak of the devil and he will appear. Rowena was like that. Emily swallowed her saliva, and bit the back of her lips with her teeth. She then asked Rowena after fixing her expression.
“What do you mean you can’t agree?”
“Are you asking because you don’t know? How can I be the same to a commoner like you? Trying to be like us who were born with nobility. This is an insult to the nobility.”
It was a word that Emily had heard countless times after entering the academy. Emily has so far reacted calmly, trying to ignore their ridicule and disregard. It was a waste of time to refute anyway. But today, that remark made her emotional. Normally, she’d just ignore it,
“That’s what you think. But isn’t that funny?”
Rowena’s straight brows crumpled up by Emily’s unusual reaction.
“What? What’s funny?”
“It’s funny. My sponsor said I was well qualified. Rowena, do you think you have such a great ability or divine power that you ignore my patron’s eye? But it’s very strange. If I wasn’t qualified as you said, how come my divinity score is so high? At least my divinity is twice as good as yours.”
Rowena’s face was stained with embarrassment when Emily, who was always calm, fought back. Rowena knew very well who Emily’s patron was. In fact, it was safe to say that most people in this academy already knew.
As she entered the academy in a carriage engraved with the patterns of the Grand Duchy of Hamilton, it was natural that rumors would circulate.
Still, Rowena looked down on Emily because she seemed reluctant to talk about her patron.
In Emily’s lukewarm attitude, Rowena thought that Emily and her patron were not very close. In fact, there were quite a few aristocrats who supported the commoners as a hobby. Emily also thought that was the case.
But now she’s talking about her sponsors?
Rowena looked at Emily with suspicious eyes. Rowena had no way of knowing whether this was just a poor defense of a cornered mouse or not. But the worry was not long. If she comes all the way here and just steps back, her family might lose face.
If Emily only mentioned her patron, she would have just backed off for once. But Emily looked down on her. At least that’s what Rowena thought.
How dare you ignore me when you’re a commoner?
Rowena’s young face was filled with anger that did not fit her age. Then Rowena’s hand soared high into the sky. But Rowena’s hand couldn’t reach Emily.
Emily had spent her life playing rough with her peers or adults in the countryside. It’s too easy to avoid the delicate hand of an aristocratic lady.
Tak!
“I can’t believe you’re using violence because you have nothing to say. Your noble name is a waste.”
“ugh!”
As soon as Rowena’s face turned red, Professor Dert entered the auditorium.
“Stop it!”
Rowena quickly shook Emily’s hand at the appearance of Dert, and immediately wept.
“Professor, I…!”
“We will hear your excuses through a letter of apology. How dare you act so violent in an academy where you should be pursuing learning is unacceptable. Both of you, please come to the teachers’ room.”
Dert turned around with a cold face. Rowena clenched her teeth and stared silently at Emily.
“Because of you!”
You were the one who started first.
The two followed after Derte with heavy strides, blaming each other.
“Rowena, Emily.”
“Yes, professor.”
“…Yes.”
Dert sighed at the two students, each expressing their resentment.
“You have to play an important role in this selcred. If two people who are supposed to work together make this noise, I have no choice but to reconsider.”
This meant that their names could be omitted from the list of selected. The faces of the two girls, who understood this at once, hardened.
“Professor! I think that’s too unreasonable! I must participate in this selcred! Otherwise, my family….”
“The family doesn’t matter. You don’t need a family background to assist the guardian of the torch.”
The resolute words of Dert made Rowena’s mouth shut up.
“If you do not reflect, I will reverse my decision.”
Eventually, Emily and Rowena were forced to make a temporary truce.
“…I will reflect.”
“I will also reflect.”
“Nobody can do that. I’ll give you five sheets of paper, so please write down in detail what you did wrong and where you were angry with each other. After that, you will exchange what we wrote and read it 10 times.”
Rowena and Emily nodded, closing their eyes tightly. There was a faint smile around Dert’s mouth.
“Write it down before class tomorrow morning.”
***
Theo sat on the throne and looked at the servants who bowed their heads.
Perhaps because they were all quite used in politics, they were so calm that they could not be seen as those who were about to make a major announcement.
Maybe they are already convinced.
The guardian of the torch will be Hestine Valkyr.
I’m looking forward to seeing their reaction when I announce who will be the guardian of the torch.
Theo opened his mouth; they calmly raised their heads when they heard his voice.
“It feels so good to see the faces of the lords here after a long time.”
Theo’s words made the nobles smile. As if they were saying yes.
“Today is the day to make an important announcement. As you know, Selcred is not far away. It’s an annual festival, but it’ll be even more special this time.”
Now that a saint and a prophet have appeared.
At Theo’s words, the nobles glanced at Duke Valkyr and Grand Duke Hamilton.
“This year, I have chosen the guardian of the torch. Unlike previous years, there have been many changes, so I agonized over it for a long time.”
At that moment, Theo and Duke Valkyr’s eyes met.
The emperor’s gaze was arrogant and seemed to have something in store. Duke Valkyr frowned upon it. He had noticed that something was wrong.
“I’d like to leave it to Viscount Yurpheon to protect the torch.”
The hall was in turmoil at the shocking remarks. It was only then that Duke Valkyr realized the meaning of the smile on the emperor’s lips.
…you were planning to do this from the start.
Giorgio kept his face expressionless, conscious of the numerous eyes looking at him.
Don’t be swayed. The emperor just wanted to see me agitated. I can’t give what the emperor wants.
“It’s an unexpected decision, but I can’t dare challenge it because I can feel your consideration.”
“Oh, is that so? I was worried that you might be unhappy.”
Theo’s eyebrows went up and down. He looked down at Duke Valkyr with interest.
Giorgio continued with a decent smile in his eyes.
“But… I think we should listen to the reason. I don’t understand why you chose Viscount Yurpheon as the guardian. Maybe other people here have similar questions.”
Giorgio looked at the nobles with his eyes narrowed as if he were filling them. The nobles, who received the gaze, sighed and affirmed his words.
“That’s right. Of course, I don’t dispute your opinion but… I’d like to hear the reason.”
“I agree. Until last year, anyone who was faithful could have been a guardian, but this year there is a saint. Who can be more faithful than the saint?”
It was an expected backlash. Theo looked at Duke Valkyr and his faction with amusement.
Then the emperor’s lips moved slowly.
