/
Early in the morning, I stopped walking to class.
Rany with a calm face was talking to someone.
I couldn’t see the face of the male student with his back to me, but their conversation looked quite serious.
Who’s that?
Because we were always together, it was impossible for me to not know people she knew.
He, who turned as though the conversation had ended, had a normal impression.
Rany came closer to me, who was about to ask about his identity, and beat me to speak first.
“I think the magic tower is in some sort of agreement with the imperial family.”
“With the imperial family?”
“Zen is a young talent sent by the magic tower, and such a talent of the magic tower teaching the academy students means the magic tower is cooperating in fostering ‘personal’ mages they have been opposing desperately so far, right?”
The mages fostered in the magic tower belonged to the magic tower.
Even the high ranking nobles and imperial family couldn’t keep him tied except with a free contract.
Just as how the mages fostered in the academy couldn’t receive support from the magic tower, their experience and knowhow was lacking compared to those of the magic tower.
The magic tower that treated mages from the academy as ‘half mage’ sending someone to teach had a big meaning.
“Did Bertin tell you?”
Rany smiled brightly as she shook her head.
“He shut his mouth tight to keep his loyalty, so I also beat him as much as I touched by that loyalty.”
“You should have just left him be if he’s going to say nothing.”
Rany turned her head and looked at me with defiant eyes while slightly raising the tips of her lips.
“There’s no reason for me to turn down the chance to beat him.”
“That . . .”
“It’s fine. I compensated him enough.”
I didn’t ask what and how she compensated him.
One thing I was sure of was that the level of her violence wasn’t simply a light tap or two.
She fell down with a tired face.
“My whole body’s in pain because I used it after a while . . .”
As soon as she said that, there was a small disturbance from behind.
When I turned my head, I saw Abigail trip.
The female student in front of her who seemed like bumped against her glared as if she was annoyed while grimacing her face.
Abigail shut her mouth with a calm expression.
And as expected, there was no apology from the other person who moved past her fast.
I had already expected it, but it seemed like she was enduring the academy life that was tougher than I thought.
“She has to graduate considering her family’s situation. So she had no choice other than endure.”
Rany spoke with her chin propped. Then, she added,
“I don’t really pity her. She’s insulted now because she has fallen down, but at one time, she was in the position of insulting others like that.”
I nodded without saying a word.
It was obvious that Rany really hated aristocratic people, but I also had seen enough the arrogance of people screaming about their ‘pure-blood deep with history’.
Someone from the knight department reached out to her.
“Let me help you, Young Lady.”
Abigail rose to her feet alone without looking at the hand he reached out.
The male student who reached out his hand smiled awkwardly, but his gaze looking at her back as she left was intense.
“There are always bastards who do that kind of useless trick. He seems to think that he won’t have a problem even if he touches her.”
There was another key role pointed out as heresy.
Her family was only charged with a monetary penalty.
Just because he was kicked out from the noble faction, it didn’t mean Count Frey lost the authority he had.
“That’s why she is pestered with flies.”
Rany grimaced.
“Even though they’re staying low because they are wary of the Vatican for now, it doesn’t mean their long history and influence disappear. He must be trying to target her while her family is weak and then swallow it down.”
She had been holding out well so far, but I saw Abigail’s hands trembling as she stood up.
I could clearly see she was near her limit.
Before that happened, she had to decide her standing whether on the neutral side or wherever.
I sighed as I stopped looking at her.
“Well, I’m not in the position to worry about others.”
“Why?”
“My mom is coming back.”
Along with Lord Duke.
Raynia ahed and nodded.
“But why does that disturb you?”
“That’s what I’m saying. Why does it feel so weird?”
Even though it was very normal for Lord Duke to return to his mansion, strangely, I felt like welcoming a guest visiting my mansion.
Glancing at me who was disturbed in mind, Rany said as if comforting me.
“It’s fine. Nothing big happens, doesn’t it? Nothing happened except making an academy crumble, bringing in the second prince, who you became fond of after being chased together by monsters in the hunting ground, to the mansion while they were absent.”
“. . .”
Yeah. Nothing much had happened.
Was it only my feelings that my heart was somewhat turned uneasy the more I heard words spoken out by her?