Chapter 423

Chapter 46 Time Flies, Day and Night Pass

After the May Day Festival, the weather in the royal city was clear for about six or seven days, then turned overcast again. Gray clouds covered the sun, the evening wind was humid, and soon after, heavy rain poured down.

This rain lasted for several days. The Saber River swelled, its water turning murky and turbulent. Strong winds toppled small trees by the riverbank, swirling leaves falling onto the surface and drifting away with the waves. A few fishing boats returned empty-handed amidst the storm, and the entire city was shrouded in rain. The streets were flooded almost up to the ankles, trade markets nearly paralyzed, and people found it difficult to travel. It was said that even the reconstruction of houses in the southern part of the city had halted. The once bustling royal city became desolate under the storm, and most citizens stayed indoors praying for the rain to stop.

The Royal Academy, due to its high elevation and well-developed drainage system, was not greatly affected. Classes continued as usual, albeit with some minor changes such as shorter daily class times and increased course schedules. Libraries and training grounds were included in the timed考核 system to encourage students’ post-class self-study. Supposedly, new textbooks were also being printed—these changes had nothing to do with the rain.

Sarah sometimes complained about this.

“The classes have been so full lately! First, body training, then theology, followed by the abyss… I’m so tired… I can hardly breathe, my head feels like it’s splitting…”

But despite her complaints, the girl woke up early every morning to practice sword fighting at the training ground.

Ever since my battle with Reckert, rumors about me seemed to multiply and become more outrageous.

Besides the increasing claims that I am Miss Silvage, there were also unfounded rumors saying that I am actually the emperor Valen’s illegitimate daughter, the third princess of the royal family, and the crown heir of Isenbelle. My mother is said to be the late empress’s sister, making me a cousin to Queen Elizabeth.

Some even claimed that I dared to hit others’ noses, including Reckert’s, because I was protected by powerful forces behind me. Some thought Alex was already dead because he had offended me, got his nose broken, and was later thrown into the Saber River by someone seeking revenge, but his body has yet to be recovered…

All sorts of good and bad rumors spread throughout the academy and among the four towers, causing endless debates. In some corners, fights broke out over these rumors. I heard most of these stories from Sarah.

She said that the one who claimed I had thrown Alex into the river was a third-year female student from the plain tower of Emi. She had a secret crush on Alex. Now that Alex no longer came to the academy, she felt heartbroken and blamed everything on me. She couldn’t stand seeing me liked and admired by so many people, so she fabricated lies to smear me—she even claimed that the person she loved was thrown into the river. I couldn’t understand how her mind worked.

When I learned about this, the female student spreading the rumor had already been called out by Sophia. She had her hair cut short and a “liar” sign stuck on her forehead, parading back to the tower. She didn’t appear for many days afterward.

I didn’t know when Sophia did this; I hadn’t heard a single word about it.

Sarah asked me not to tell Sophia that I knew and not to think Sophia went too far, as she would have gone to confront the other person if Sophia hadn’t acted first.

I just nodded.

Though I didn’t approve of such actions, since it had already happened, I didn’t say much more, only reminding her to consult me next time before doing anything.

Sarah thought about it and agreed.

Actually, I didn’t pay much attention to these rumors, whether good or bad. If Sarah hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have known about many things and didn’t care to know. My thoughts weren’t on meaningless matters.

For me, the current situation was much quieter than before. Fewer people bothered me, and they mostly gossiped behind my back. Few dared to challenge me openly. That girl who spread negative rumors could be dealt with by Sophia, so she probably wouldn’t dare approach me. Therefore, it didn’t affect me much and didn’t ruin my mood.

The only male student who often appeared in front of me without any qualms was Beaudet.

This annoying fellow, I don’t know if he’s brave enough, but he kept getting closer to me recently. He would come find me for no reason, sit with me in class, and even follow me to the library at night. The worst part was that he talked too much; sometimes I really wanted to punch him in the nose.

However…

He often brought me delicious food, which was different every time we met, even during heavy rain. While he chattered nonsense in my ear, he occasionally shared knowledge about theology and faith power, telling me interesting stories about the holy city and the dragon bones he had seen… Beaudet was well-informed and wasn’t a spoiled noble. Apart from talking too much, he was quite decent. Many things he mentioned couldn’t be learned in class, so…

He was a useful fellow.

If he liked following me, let him be… Having such a friend wasn’t a bad thing.

On the evening of May 21st, the goat cheese bird returned.

This increasingly black and plump bird suddenly flapped its wings and flew to the window of room 1504 when the girls were bathing and changing clothes, pecking the window frame fiercely, startling everyone.

Once they realized it was my raven, they eagerly let it in, gathered around the table to play with it and feed it breadcrumbs. However, the goat cheese bird remained aloof, refusing to speak or scold, holding its neck high and showing indifference, which disappointed the three girls and made them angry, feeling belittled by a bird, which was embarrassing.

The goat cheese bird brought a reply letter from Shanter Castle.

The first half of the letter was written by my mother. She wrote about everyday matters, telling me everything was fine in the Winter City and not to worry. This was typical of my mother, always wanting me not to worry, so she skipped over important matters—the letter didn’t mention my latest appearance in the gazette, probably because she hadn’t received the news yet.

What surprised me was that the second half of the letter was written by my father.

It seems he had already returned to Shanter Castle…

In the letter, my father told me that the war had begun and they had achieved阶段性 victories. The north would soon stabilize, with no further threats. He promised to end the dispute as soon as possible, which was what he had promised me and would do his best to fulfill.

He also mentioned establishing trade relations with the royal family of Isenbelle and praised me for being smart and forward-thinking.

Although breaking the contract with Flessk Castle and signing a support contract with Queen Elizabeth temporarily cost the central workshop some wealth, the abundant gold reserves in Eagle City after its capture filled the gap and even had surplus. My father then purchased a large amount of high-quality iron ore.

Eagle City was currently managed by Lafayette, but the shortage of manpower made things complicated, especially the issue of food, which would require considerable effort to solve. Overall, everything was progressing as expected.

My father asked me not to reply immediately because he might need to travel across much of the northern region for some time, and where and when he would be available was uncertain. My mother would also go to Erin Castle and the new city of Carie to discuss matters, making it inconvenient to send a reply.

So, I wouldn’t reply for now…

After reading the letter, I let the goat cheese bird fly outside to play.

That night, there were no dreams.

…………

By the end of May, the heavy rain finally stopped.

The sun rose in the east, and the royal city resumed its former prosperity. The Saber River receded, and markets started operating again. Citizens rushed out to buy grain, vendors hawked their goods from carts, fishermen returned to the riverbanks, and reconstruction work in the south of the city restarted. People believed that their prayers had been answered, thus deepening their faith.

Soon it was the day off.

That evening, I bade farewell to Sarah, Sophia, and Daisy, hurried out of the academy gate, and quickly headed home, worrying about the condition of the house—since Sharman was there, I didn’t worry about the house being flooded, but I wondered if the flowers and newly planted honey fruit saplings in the courtyard could withstand the prolonged heavy rain.

But when I truly returned to No. 3 residence, I was stunned by the massive changes before my eyes, speechless for a moment.

To put it simply, it could no longer be called No. 3 residence anymore.

It was now called the 2+3 residence.

Originally, there were two walls separating No. 2 residence and No. 3 residence,

There was nearly ten meters of gap between them. And now, all of these have been removed. Not only was the entire wall demolished and the fence taken down, but even the stone slabs on the ground were lifted up, as if they were planning to transform this area into a garden or something else. However, the walls in front of and behind the two houses had been perfectly connected, merging the courtyards into one larger courtyard.

The large iron gates of Houses 2 and 3 were also removed, and a bigger, more imposing black iron gate was built in the center of the new wall, right between the two small buildings — simply put, the courtyards of the two houses had been merged. From now on, whether going to House 2 or House 3, there would only be one entrance.

The new iron gate was wide open, and there was a commotion coming from the courtyard.

I walked in with a dazed look on my face, seeing many burly men sweating profusely as they used shovels to turn over the soil in the courtyard, their pants rolled up, their feet covered in mud. The maids were also busy moving things around, suggesting that they were planning to connect the lawns of both courtyards, and even the flower beds of House 3 were being moved.

When I found Schalman, she was still communicating her ideas with what seemed to be an older woman responsible for architecture or garden design.

“…Leave the pavilion, but expand it… There should be at least two people’s width for the passage here, everything else should be demolished… The path leading to the door should be wider, the fountain… the fountain can’t be moved, so make it symmetrical… Let’s talk about the stone sculptures later, we need to reserve a space to plant honey fruit trees…”

I stood not far away, stunned by her words, and waited until she finished before approaching and asking, “This is called… a minor adjustment?”

“Didn’t I say there would be changes?” Schalman replied without any expression.

I knew I had been deceived.

And looking at the progress, they might not have stopped working even during heavy rain… As if they were afraid that I would return and there would still be room for negotiation.

It was too late to say anything now.

The house had been completely renovated, so I could only let Schalman carry out her plan. When Victoria returns, I will think of a way to spank her again.

After all, Reckert said that the victory at the border of Flosk Castle was easy, and she would soon set out to return.

…………

At night, when everyone who was working left and the courtyard became quiet, I changed into my pajamas, sat at the desk in my bedroom, and started studying the handwritten book given to me by Grandma Bertha.

Earlier, while at the academy, I had already read through it twice, and this was my third time.

The book contained a vast amount of techniques for force application, stance, and response… among other very practical and ingenious content, not limited to swordsmanship, with illustrations, almost like a legendary secret manual from a story, which excited me greatly. That same night, I eagerly began to study it. Some of the content I understood immediately; after a bit of practice at the training ground, although I couldn’t master it instantly, I did it reasonably well. With continuous practice, day after day, I would become proficient.

But there were also extremely advanced techniques that, no matter how carefully I read, I couldn’t grasp the essence, and my limbs struggled to coordinate. Without guidance, I couldn’t learn them in a short period.

However, once mastered, those techniques would be peerless skills, not inferior to “Moon Step.”

So on rest days, I hardly did anything else except eat, read the book, practice, and think. I wanted to ask Victoria about the moves I didn’t understand or couldn’t perform when she returned.

During this time, Angel came to find me once.

There wasn’t anything important; he just asked about my health and what I needed him for that day. He then told me that with his support in the Empire, some heretics had escaped during the defense battle on the west coast, but the blood beads they intercepted were recovered by the church’s people.

He seemed very busy and was about to leave soon.

“…Oh, there’s something strange.”

As he was leaving, Angel suddenly remembered something and turned back to tell me.

“The matter is small, but… Although Teresa has died, due to her high reputation among the people, Saint Zayeli set up a memorial hall for her, allowing citizens to pay their respects. Little Black Charcoal, you know about this, right?”

“Mm-hm.”

“There’s no ashes, no tombstone, just her old cross and Gospel book placed there… Who would steal such items?”

“…Steal?”

“Yeah, the items disappeared. On the day you went to the church… Did you see anything strange that day?”

I tilted my head and thought for a moment, then shook my head.

“No.”

That day, besides the monks and nuns, I only saw Ellie, and I paid no attention to anyone else.

Perhaps someone who was fanatically devoted to Teresa secretly took them…

This matter didn’t interest me much.

On the last day of my rest, I visited Grandma Bertha.

This was my second time visiting her.

The first time, I asked Melville for her address and found out that it was not far from Longdor Street, taking less than half an hour to walk there.

That day, I applied for permission to leave the academy, partly because I had some questions and wanted to visit Grandma while asking her about some parts of the book.

But when I arrived at the small building and met Grandma, I couldn’t bring myself to ask those questions…

Because Grandma held my hand and repeated almost everything she had told me before — she didn’t remember meeting me earlier. Her emaciated body leaned against the bed, her eyes scattered as she looked at my face, mumbling, “Little Olivia… We treat her like a daughter… She was injured so badly… Her life ruined… She wanted to die but never regretted it… She inherited that fire… She’s a good child…”

“Xia… The notes left by Lane… are about swordsmanship… I intended to give them to you, but I couldn’t find them… I copied them anew for you… Take them… Show them to little Vikki… If I made a mistake… I fear I might have made a mistake… But she can tell…”

“Grandma’s body… is very healthy… Don’t tell Grandpa Sword Saint… Don’t affect… his work…”

When I left the small building, I held a brand-new handwritten notebook. Opening it, I saw Grandma’s shaky handwriting and drawings, with the ink on the last few pages still wet. Given her condition, I wondered how many nights she spent writing and drawing to complete this task, and the content matched almost exactly with what the Sword Saint wrote.

I felt touched.

At the time, I thought I would come again in a few days… I must visit Grandma often.

Regarding Grandma Bertha’s illness, despite the helplessness of the many doctors in the small building, I also asked Angel if there was a miracle. Angel was silent for a moment, then told me that even the greatest healing miracles could not stop the aging process.

I couldn’t save her.

No one could.

Grandma was just old, tired, her mind confused, her body gradually wasting away, many things she didn’t remember, but she understood one thing — her life was nearing its end.

So she became very talkative.

I could see that Grandma particularly enjoyed, even savored, the feeling of confiding in others. Since I couldn’t cure her illness, I decided to spend more time talking with her, doing something for the elderly.

With this thought, when I saw Grandma Bertha again, she could barely speak anymore.

The old lady lay in bed, her hair messy, covered by a thin blanket, emitting a faint stench of decay. Half of her face was paralyzed, her mouth crooked, her tongue stiff. When she saw me, her eyes seemed to show happiness, but she could only make sounds like “Ugh, ugh…” as if in a groan.

Grandma was no longer elegant.

But she still remembered who I was.

“Guh… Xia… Guh… Ah…”

The elderly woman held my hand, her pale eyes straining to look to one side, as if trying to indicate something to me.

Following her gaze, I noticed a wrinkled, yellowed book on the care table next to her, beside some bottles and jars of medicine.

I froze.

In that instant, I felt a sudden sting in my nose, my eyes moistening.

I guessed what it was.

Slowly walking to the table, I picked up the thin book with trembling hands, flipping through the pages with crooked and blurred ink, yet the content matched the previous notebook. I couldn’t hold back my sobs, tears falling “plop, plop,” wetting the crumpled pages, like raindrops.

This notebook, Grandma Bertha only completed the first half.

She could no longer hold a pen.

Grandma seemed to feel regretful about this.

“Ahh… Xia… Ji… Min… Ugh… Need… You…”

These were the last words Grandma said to me.

This was also the last time I saw her.