Episode 84
Elonia hurried towards the voices, worried that something might have happened, but she quickly hid as she recognized the figure.
It was someone she hadn’t expected to see here, a boy wearing the red-embroidered cape of Heilan.
‘Lucius!’
Lucius, his usually composed demeanor gone, was shouting at someone.
Had Olivia hit him again?
Elonia quickly scanned the area, looking for Olivia, but there was no one around him.
Relieved that Olivia hadn’t resorted to violence again, she wondered,
‘…Who is he shouting at?’
She hesitated, wondering if she should continue observing him, then shook her head.
Lucius was the same age as Llewellyn.
Fifteen was a sensitive age.
She should probably give him some privacy.
…But she couldn’t bring herself to leave.
He looked like he was on the verge of a breakdown.
Lucius, oblivious to Elonia’s presence, continued to shout at the empty air, his voice filled with anguish.
“No, I won’t. I always choose the path of survival, don’t I? I said stop it! I don’t want to hear it!”
Unlike the typical rebellious behavior of teenagers, Lucius’s voice was laced with fear.
Elonia was shocked.
‘He’s lost it.’
Talking to himself? He had clearly gone mad.
She hoped it was just rehearsal for a play, but the academy festival was still months away.
‘He always seemed so mature for his age…’
His mature demeanor, unlike that of Llewellyn, who was the same age, must have been an act.
He must have been deeply traumatized by being taken hostage at such a young age.
There was nothing good about a child acting like an adult.
Elonia, feeling sorry for him, decided to reveal her presence and calm him down.
But his next words stopped her in her tracks.
“You know what happened to Dianne Rossi, or Noah Anglores, after she failed her mission! If I only choose the righteous path, I’ll end up like her! How can you say such things…!”
Elonia couldn’t believe her ears.
Lucius had mentioned Dianne Rossi.
No, he had corrected himself, calling her Noah Anglores.
She had heard that name before.
But it wasn’t a Ravanta name.
She finally remembered, and she was speechless.
‘House Anglores of the Delan Kingdom.’
Delan, Heilan’s ally, and House Anglores, now absorbed into Heilan.
They had been one of the most loyal families to Heilan.
Elonia held her breath, her lavender eyes wide with shock and confusion.
‘…Dianne Rossi is Noah Anglores? What does that mean? Could it be that a Heilan citizen infiltrated Ravanta?’
That was impossible.
Even Heilan, which had resorted to desperate measures during the war, had failed to plant a spy in Ravanta.
And now they had succeeded?
It was too far-fetched, even for a child’s imagination.
‘Maybe he’s not talking to himself. I have to tell Dad—’
Her premonitions were always accurate, so Elonia turned to leave.
But then,
“Your Highness.”
“…!”
Lucius was staring at her.
He must have sensed her presence while she was lost in thought.
His usually languid eyes were wide open, his gaze fixed on her.
He approached her, his posture composed and steady, as if he had never lost control.
Step, step.
His footsteps echoed in the quiet hallway.
He stopped just a few steps away from her, close enough to grab her arm if she tried to run.
“…”
“…”
A tense silence hung between them.
Gulp.
Elonia swallowed nervously, and Lucius asked, his voice low and steady,
“Did you hear everything?”
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
Meanwhile, in the Academic Department Building #2,
Olivia almost raised her voice at the pink-haired boy.
She had been annoyed by the unexpected encounter, and now he was provoking her?
Llewellyn, his face flushed with anger, retorted,
“Listen to me when I’m talking to you! Just because Elonia is nice to you doesn’t mean you’re equals. Do you know how upset she’s been because of you lately?”
“Ha, and? Should I go comfort her?”
Olivia scoffed, exasperated.
She was also uncomfortable distancing herself from Elonia, her first friend.
But it was for Elonia’s own good.
Besides, she still disliked the Ravanta people, especially the men, even if she was now friends with Elonia.
Especially spoiled brats like Llewellyn.
She had tolerated his glares in the hallway because he was Elonia’s cousin.
‘He has no sense of propriety, lecturing me like that.’
And it was almost dinner time.
She would have been annoyed even if she wasn’t hungry.
Olivia, her hand on her hip, glared down at Llewellyn, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
“You’re the one who humiliated Lucius for being a hostage. And now you want your cousin to befriend a hostage?”
“H-how dare you! I still don’t want my sister associating with Heilan people!”
“Then what’s with this sudden change of heart? You used to glare at me every time I talked to Elonia. What’s going on?”
“That’s…!”
Llewellyn was speechless.
He regretted his past behavior.
“Olivia? Are you here?”
Someone cautiously opened the classroom door.
Olivia, recognizing the voice, was surprised.
“Garnethia?”
“Ah, you’re here…! And Young Master Llewellyn…”
Olivia sighed inwardly, thinking they were ganging up on her today.
She liked Garnethia.
She was a bit timid, but she was also outspoken and intelligent. And she had bravely defended Elonia during the rumor incident.
But if she started saying the same things as Llewellyn, Olivia would be disappointed.
Olivia, not wanting to be disappointed in Garnethia, decided to stop her before she could speak.
“Garnethia, if you’re going to say something useless—”
“But Olivia… weren’t you with Elonia…?”
“…Huh?”
Olivia, taken aback by her unexpected question, blurted out a stupid response.
Llewellyn was even more surprised.
“What? Elonia is missing?!”
“Y-yes…! She said she was going to the Academic Department building to see you, but she hasn’t returned yet… I thought she was with you, but she’s not here…?”
Llewellyn and Olivia exchanged glances.
Neither of them had seen Elonia in the Academic Department building.
And Elonia had never had a good experience wandering around the academy alone.
And just as they were starting to worry,
Boom!
An explosion echoed from Academic Department Building #1.
“Did you hear everything?”
“…”
Elonia hesitated, then shook her head.
“No.”
“…”
“…I-I’ll pretend I didn’t hear anything. Everyone has their moments… L-Llewellyn does that sometimes too.”
“…”
It was a lie. A blatant lie.
Elonia had never hated her acting skills more.
Lucius’s gaze, like a cat stalking its prey, was fixed on her.
His red eyes held neither the intense hatred she had seen during their first encounter nor the childlike innocence he had shown when talking about Chelon Heilan.
After a long silence,
Lucius pulled something out of his pocket.
It was something Elonia recognized.
‘The good luck charm…?’
The one Dianne, or rather, Noah Anglores, had given her.
He slowly held it out to her.
It had once been hers, but now she felt a sense of revulsion towards it.
Elonia instinctively took a step back.
Lucius, still holding out the charm, silently followed her.
He seemed to be urging her to take it.
Elonia’s back hit the wall.
There was nowhere left to run.
Did she have to take it?
‘It’s just a stone. I can just crush it. And then I’ll go back and tell Dad about Heilan’s plot—’
Just as she reluctantly reached for the charm,
“Y-Your Highness!”
Someone called out to her, running towards them.
Cat-like eyes, large green irises, and slightly curly hair.
Simon, his face filled with urgency, ran between them, as if trying to shield Elonia from Lucius.
“…Simon?”
Elonia cautiously called out his name.
Simon shook his head at her.
Then, he turned to Lucius and said desperately,
“Y-Young Master Allen, Her Highness was just here to see me. She’s my guest, so I’ll escort her back.”
“H-huh?”
“Right, Your Highness…?”
Simon looked at Elonia with pleading eyes.
“U-uh, yes, that’s right.”
Elonia quickly nodded and rummaged through her robe pocket, looking for the handkerchief.
Fortunately, it was still there.
Lucius, his eyes darting between Simon, Elonia, and the handkerchief in her hand, remained silent.
He had seemed like such a normal boy when talking about Chelon, and yet, he could turn so hostile in an instant.
It was unsettling.
She could run away if she wanted to.
‘But it’s too dangerous. He’s not in his right mind.’
She had to calm him down first.
And she wanted to get rid of that creepy stone. But how?
The first thing that came to mind was knocking him unconscious.
‘…I don’t want to attack a child, but I have no choice.’
She had boasted about her magic skills to the Asta brothers and Caroline, but she wasn’t sure if she could control her offensive magic now.
Even as Chelon, she had lost control a few times when she was younger, her power too strong for her to handle.
And she was even younger now than she had been when she first went to war.
There was no guarantee that she wouldn’t be consumed by her own power, but she had no other choice.
Elonia glared at the back of Lucius’s neck, gauging her strength.
‘As gently as possible…’
Lucius, oblivious to her thoughts, finally spoke,
“Your Highness.”
‘Now!’
Elonia, using what she considered the force of stepping on an ant, struck the back of his neck with all her might.
And then, boom!