Chapter Ninety-Seven: Royal Academy
I woke up very early that day.
Carlos had told me last night that the Royal Academy would be sending someone over early in the morning and that I should pack my things and not oversleep.
In fact, I was quite looking forward to it. How could I possibly oversleep… Long before dawn, I had already opened my eyes and tossed and turned in bed for quite some time. Finally feeling that the time was right, I crawled out of bed on all fours, removed my sleeping gown, and opened the wardrobe to take out a brand new, pure white dress with a cake-cut design that I had bought the previous day. I then put on a pair of light blue leather boots, and proceeded to open the drawer of my vanity table, taking out one of the two necklaces that I hadn’t taken off since last night.
After tilting my head in thought, I put back the necklace with the symbol of the Pope’s Knight and only wore the Winter Moon Heart that Lady had given me. I ran to the large mirror in the corner of the room… uh, my hair was a mess.
At this moment, there was a knock on the door of the bedroom, and Carlos’s voice came from outside.
“Little Hill, are you awake?”
“I’m awake, I’m awake. I’m packing, almost done.”
“Hurry up, the people from the academy will be here soon.”
“Oh!”
I shouted in response to the door and quickly went to wash up. I sat back down at the vanity table and carefully combed my hair using a small mirror, trying to arrange a nice hairstyle, but after much effort, I couldn’t get it to look presentable. Frustrated, I wanted to pull all my hair out…
There was no help for it; I had to let my long black hair fall freely over my shoulders, reaching down to my waist. I took out a bow tie from the wardrobe and tied it behind my head, then put on the bracelet that Pasifal had given me, and ran back to the mirror again.
Looking at the reflection of myself in the metal surface, unadorned yet as delicate as a doll, I nodded in satisfaction.
Then, frowning, I realized something wasn’t right.
I was just going to register at the academy, why did I have to dress up like I was going on a date?
… Forget it, I’ll leave it like this.
Tap tap tap.
“Little Hill, how long does it take you to get ready? They’re already at the door.”
“I’m coming, I’m coming!”
I slung the small Scottish-style satchel I had bought yesterday over my shoulder, put the key inside, and opened the door.
“Are you packed?” Carlos yawned as he asked from outside.
I nodded at him.
“Yes, let’s go.”
We arrived at the iron gate and saw a magnificent white and blue unicorn carriage parked in front of the mansion. The wooden body of the carriage was intricately carved with beautiful patterns, adorned with the image of a roaring lion.
In front of the unicorn carriage stood an elderly man with white hair and a long beard. As soon as he saw us, he approached with a smile.
The old man appeared to be around sixty years old, but he was full of energy and walked briskly, smiling and giving us a slight bow from a few steps away.
“Mr. Carlos, long time no see.”
“Long time no see, Professor Melville.”
Carlos smiled and returned the greeting. It was clear that they weren’t meeting for the first time. Hearing his title, I immediately understood that this must be a teacher from the academy. I quickly lifted my skirt with both hands, slightly bent my knees, and performed a proper lady’s curtsey.
… Wait, what did Carlos call him just now?
“… Professor, good day.”
“Good day, lovely little miss.” The old man looked at me with a broad smile. “So you are the genius of the Frost Order that Her Majesty mentioned? Miss Peylo from the Valen Empire?”
Upon hearing this, I tilted my head obediently and blinked at him.
“Yes, Professor.
…
The old man had a kind and benevolent smile on his face, but clearly regarded me as a young girl, which made me somewhat unhappy. But he was my senior, and it was natural for him to view me this way at his age; I couldn’t really say anything about it.
Although I didn’t know what subject he taught, leaving a good impression on the teacher was always beneficial.
The old man stretched out his rough, large hand and patted my head… Why does everyone like to pat my head?
“What a charming little girl… The boys from the Royal Academy will definitely be stirred up now!”
“Haha, please bear with us, Teacher.” Carlos smiled and glanced at me, “This girl isn’t someone easy to deal with.”
“I understand, I understand. Queen herself instructed me, Mr. Carlos doesn’t need to be so formal… Shall we set off?”
“Alright.”
The carriage moved forward.
It drove through dense marketplaces, across a clear river teeming with boats, over a magnificent stone bridge towering above the water, and finally stopped in front of a massive castle gate.
Stepping down from the carriage, I looked up at the ancient castle before me, reminiscent of a fantasy world. The grayish-white walls were slightly weathered and covered with white roses and dark green vines. The distant, towering blue tower reminded me of Schenkel Castle far away in the empire… Both in scale and design, they were inferior compared to this one.
In terms of architectural standards, no country could match Isenbell.
Today was the first day of enrollment at the academy. In front of the huge fortress gate, people crowded together, forming long lines stretching almost a hundred meters to the stone bridge. Many guards were maintaining order. At the front of the line, sparks of lightning occasionally appeared — this was the interview stage for the Royal Academy’s admissions.
Whether noble or commoner, their children had to undergo strict testing before entering the academy. This initial interview tested for the presence of Order Force; only children with innate affinity could proceed to further tests.
This was what Professor Melville told me on the way — he was a respected teacher at the Royal Academy, teaching Advanced Order Studies, and would also be my teacher.
And of course, I didn’t need to go through these cumbersome tests. I directly entered the castle, and Melville led us all the way to the highest tower, climbing spiral stairs to reach the top, and pushed open the principal’s office door.
“Principal Bertha, Mr. Carlos and Miss Peylo have arrived.”
The elderly woman sitting at the large mahogany desk looked up.
Her face was full of wrinkles, her eyes had an elderly person’s dullness, and she wore a high academic cap. She glanced at us indifferently and said slowly, “Oh, please take a seat first.”
We sat down on the chairs beside her, watching her write busily with a quill pen. After a long time, she raised her head again.
“Um… Miss Pethro, right?”
“Cough cough… Principal Bertha, it’s Miss Peylo.” Melville reminded awkwardly.
“Oh. I’m getting old, my memory isn’t very good, please forgive me.” She rubbed her cloudy eyes, her voice dry and slow, “Miss Peloro, your situation, little Vicky has already informed me. You came here to systematically learn about Order Force, correct?”
