Episode 61
Elonia knew about Dolce’s violent tendencies.
She asked, her expression unreadable.
Lucius, after a moment of silence, replied,
“Why should I answer such a humiliating question?”
Elonia didn’t miss the slight flinch of his shoulders.
That was all the answer she needed.
“But!”
“Let me be frank. It’s hypocritical of you, the princess of Ravanta, to be concerned about the Heilan hostages.”
“…!”
Lucius’s red eyes turned icy cold.
This time, it was Elonia who flinched.
He quickly lowered his head, seemingly realizing his transgression.
“I apologize for my insolence, Your Highness. But this is none of your concern. It’s just a minor squabble between hostages.”
Now, if you’ll excuse me.
Lucius, just like before, left without another word.
His retreating figure almost looked like he was fleeing.
But his words lingered in Elonia’s mind.
‘Hypocritical.’
He wasn’t wrong.
It was hypocritical, both as Chelon and as Elonia.
She knew it, but hearing it from him, the boy she had once helped, was a harsh blow.
***
Elonia trudged towards her classroom in the Academic Department building.
She couldn’t focus on the lecture, the lecture she had been looking forward to, her mind preoccupied with her encounter with Lucius.
The class ended in a blur, and as Elonia was about to head back to the dormitory,
“…Dianne?”
“Elonia!”
Dianne was waiting for her in front of the Academic Department building.
Elonia hurried over to her and asked,
“What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to walk back with you!”
Dianne had gone to attend her Theology elective.
While the Theology Department building wasn’t too far from the Academic Department building, the academy grounds were vast, so it was still quite a distance.
Elonia was touched that Dianne had gone through the trouble of meeting her.
“Dianne… Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. We’re friends!”
Come on, let’s go.
Dianne beamed, holding out her hand, and Elonia took it, a shy smile on her face.
Dianne’s chattiness was enough to distract Elonia from her worries, and she almost forgot about her encounter with Lucius.
After a hearty dinner with Dianne, they returned to their respective dormitories.
As soon as Elonia entered her room, she remembered something she had forgotten.
“Ah, right. I almost forgot again.”
She hurried to her bedroom and picked up the communication crystal on the table.
She had fallen asleep without contacting home yesterday, and those crybabies were probably worried sick, unable to eat properly.
Elonia sat down on her bed with the crystal and contacted Sarah first.
The crystal glowed, and a moment later, as expected, a frantic voice filled the room.
[Your Highness!]
“Sarah!”
Elonia greeted her warmly.
Seeing Sarah’s face calmed her nerves.
She had only been away for a day, but she already missed her.
“I’m sorry for calling so late. I was tired and fell asleep early yesterday.”
[Don’t worry, Your Highness. It’s only natural to rest when you’re tired!]
Sarah, dismissing Elonia’s apology, bombarded her with questions.
[How’s the academy? Is your bed comfortable? How’s the food? Is it inconvenient without us?]
“Ahahaha! Slow down, Sarah, I can’t breathe. Don’t worry, everything’s fine. The academy is fun, and I’m doing well on my own. Oh, and guess what? I made a friend!”
[Oh my god! You made a friend! Is it a girl?]
“Of course, it’s a girl. It’s my first female friend.”
Sarah, overwhelmed with emotion, covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes glistening with tears.
The room suddenly became noisy, and two large figures appeared beside Sarah, their faces beaming with joy.
She missed them too.
“Rica, Ethan!”
[Your Highness! You made a friend? Really?!]
[Your Highness, how are you? It feels like forever since we last saw you…!]
“I miss you guys too.”
[Wait, you really made a friend? You’re not threatening her or anything, right?]
“Rica, you wanna die? Sarah and Ethan are worried sick, and you’re saying that?”
[Ugh, I knew you were doing fine, Your Highness. I didn’t even need to see you.]
Sarah and Ethan glared at Ricardo, who quickly retreated, his hands raised in surrender.
[Anyway, I’m glad you’re doing well.]
“I told you not to worry.”
Elonia chuckled, then flopped onto her bed.
“But I miss you, Sarah.”
[I miss you too, Your Highness. You have no idea how empty the palace feels without you.]
“I know, my godmother.”
Sarah blushed, chuckling at Elonia’s playful remark.
But Sarah was more than just her godmother.
She was another mother to Elonia, having been by her side for nine years.
And Sarah knew her better than anyone else.
[His Majesty is also worried.]
She knew something was bothering Elonia.
And she knew Elonia was trying to hide it.
Sarah’s attempt to pretend she didn’t know, her voice laced with concern, was so typical of her that Elonia couldn’t help but smile.
“Yes, that’s why I’m calling him now.”
[Alright, Your Highness. Get some rest and sweet dreams.]
“You too, Sarah.”
Elonia exchanged brief but affectionate farewells and ended the call.
Then, she contacted Artius.
A moment later, a handsome man with black hair appeared on the crystal screen.
[Elonia!]
“Dad, long time no see.”
Elonia waved, propping her chin on her hand as she looked at her father.
Artius seemed to be in the middle of work, judging from his office background.
[Why didn’t you call yesterday? How’s the academy? Did you sleep well?]
“Slow down, I can’t understand you.”
Their reactions were always the same.
Elonia chuckled, but seeing his silly, worried face, she felt a lump in her throat. She missed them.
Artius, even through the crystal screen, noticed her subdued demeanor and asked urgently,
[What’s wrong? You sound down. Did someone say something to you?]
“Ugh, are you even listening? I said slow down.”
Elonia teased him as usual, but she wondered if her mood had been that obvious. She quickly pushed aside her negative thoughts and said,
“I was tired yesterday and fell asleep early, so I couldn’t call. The dormitory is nice, the classes are interesting, everything’s good.”
[That’s good to hear, but…]
Artius, who had become surprisingly perceptive lately, remained suspicious.
Elonia decided to play her trump card.
“Oh, and the food is delicious. Even the pudding at the academy cafe. It tastes exactly like the one at the palace.”
[…]
Artius, his conscience pricked, remained silent.
Elonia sat up straight and smiled.
He was feeling guilty, just as she had planned.
“And the personal training ground? It seems the Magic Department students get their own training grounds too.”
[Elonia, that’s—]
“Dad.”
[Yes?]
Elonia stopped smiling and glared at him.
Then, she said firmly,
“Demolish it.”
[Elonia…!]
Artius tried to explain, but Elonia cut him off.
“It’s so embarrassing and ridiculous. Did you ever use a personal training ground at the academy? No, you didn’t. Imagine me using one. I’ll be the laughing stock of the academy. The other students might not say anything to my face because I’m the princess, but they’ll definitely be unhappy.”
[But…!]
“No buts! Are you a child? Demolish it!”
[But the taxpayers’ money—]
“It’s not tax money, it’s your personal funds. And if it was tax money, it would be even worse! Are you insane?”
Artius, defeated by her scolding, reluctantly nodded.
[But is Professor Caroline treating you well?]
He quickly changed the subject, trying to hide his embarrassment.
“Ugh, that old woman is so weird!”
Elonia launched into a rant about Caroline’s eccentricities.
Artius listened attentively, offering appropriate reactions.
She felt a little better after venting her frustrations, complaining about Caroline’s ridiculous behavior and how she had been treated unfairly.
But as she recounted her grievances, she remembered another incident.
Elonia stopped talking, then asked quietly,
“By the way, Dad, why didn’t you tell me that the Heilan prince and princess were both enrolling this year?”
Artius’s eyes widened.
He averted his gaze, then sighed, confessing,
[I thought it would only upset you. And it’s unlikely that you’ll encounter them.]
“But what if our classes overlap? I already signed up for an Academic Department elective.”
Artius was also worried about that.
But the Academic Department offered a wider variety of courses than any other department.
Even classes with the same name had different time slots.
It would be a miracle if they ended up in the same class.
“You should have told me. I would have been more careful when planning my schedule.”
[Besides, the academy has the authority to decide which classes a student takes, even if they’re a hostage…]
The academy was a neutral zone.
The professors had abandoned their family names, using only their first names, and adhered to the academy’s educational philosophy.
Even the Emperor couldn’t interfere with the academy’s educational decisions.
“…Well, I guess if I had known before enrolling, I wouldn’t have been so naive and optimistic.”
[I’m sorry, Elonia.]
Elonia, who had been planning to scold him, softened, seeing his dejected expression.
She was always weak against those who loved her.
“It’s fine. You were just trying to protect me. And I wouldn’t be friends with the Heilan hostages anyway.”
Elonia chuckled, propping her chin on her hand and tapping the communication crystal.
“I know, I know. I’ve heard it all. I’ll try my best to avoid them.”
[…Alright.]
Artius, who had been looking troubled, smiled faintly.
Elonia, trying to lighten the mood, brought up Dianne.
“By the way, I made a friend.”
[Already? That’s amazing. I couldn’t even do that.]
Come to think of it, Artius hadn’t mentioned any friends besides Aaron in his stories about the academy.
She might have just won against him again.
Elonia, a mixture of mischievous glee and filial embarrassment, rubbed her cheeks.
Artius smiled fondly at her.
[Cherish the friends you make at the academy. True friends will be hard to find once you graduate and enter society, or the political arena.]
“I know, Dad. Stop nagging.”
[I’m just saying this for your own good.]
Elonia rolled her eyes, but when their eyes met, she couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Artius chuckled along with her.
“Well, Dad, good night. I’ll call you again.”
[Alright. Take care of yourself, and call me immediately if anything happens. I’ll always answer.]
“Okay.”
[Sweet dreams.]
“You too, Dad.”
Just as Elonia was about to end the call, she noticed that his nose was slightly red.
She had planned to ignore it, but Artius, unable to hold back his tears, sniffled before the connection even ended.
Elonia burst into laughter, and Artius, embarrassed, started making excuses, causing another commotion.
It had only been two days since she arrived at the academy, but she already missed them terribly.
***
The next morning,
[Good morning, proud saplings of Lucid. Rise and shine, and have a productive day.]
The wake-up call, which had initially excited her, now sounded dreadful.
‘It’s only day three…’
At the palace, she could always whine to Sarah and sleep in for a few more hours, but that wasn’t an option at the academy.
Elonia, who had packed her schedule with morning classes, grumbled as she got out of bed, washed up, and dressed in her uniform.
“Hmm.”
She might be tired of the wake-up call after just two days, but she never got tired of looking at herself in the Lucid Academy Magic Department uniform.
Elonia grinned at her reflection, then grabbed her books and left the dormitory.
Her first class was an Academic Department elective.
“Good morning, freshmen. I am Theodore, the professor who will be teaching you ‘Fundamentals of Political Science.'”
Ah, so he was the head of the Academic Department.
Elonia had unintentionally filled her schedule with classes taught by department heads.
She listened to Professor Theodore’s lecture, glancing around the classroom.
‘Olivia and Simon aren’t here.’
She was only taking two Academic Department electives: “The Definition of Nobility” yesterday and “Fundamentals of Political Science” today.
It seemed like their classes didn’t overlap, just as Artius had said.
‘Well, there are so many Academic Department electives. It would be a miracle if they ended up in the same two classes as me, especially both during the first period.’
The classroom was relatively empty, as most students seemed to dislike morning classes.
A few freshmen were already dozing off, and Professor Theodore, of course, wouldn’t tolerate such behavior.
“You there! If you’re going to sleep, go back to your dormitory!”
Thud!
The startled student slammed his head on the desk, earning snickers from the others.
Professor Theodore began taking attendance.
Elonia’s name was called soon enough.
“Magic Department, Elonia Ainar Ravanta.”
“Here.”
Elonia raised her hand, stretching her short arm as high as she could.
Even though it was a tiered lecture hall, she was still much smaller than the other freshmen.
Professor Theodore, after adjusting his glasses several times, finally spotted her and moved on to the next student.
“Academic Department, Olivia Heilan.”