Chapter 256

Chapter 57: Chasing Tails (4)

5.

Meanwhile, at that moment.

Fertisha, having parted ways with Ulan and the rest, arrived at the accommodation set up on the west side of the Academy.

It was now a place that felt as comfortable as home.

However, Fertisha’s expression was anything but relaxed. In fact, her face was as rigid as stone, with a strange tension lingering in the air.

“……”

The reason was simple.

It was the brown-haired knight seated directly across on the sofa.

Rimer Yen Lapis.

One of the Five Swords of the Empire and the one tasked with guarding Fertisha. She was the one who had just brought Fertisha back to the Academy.

“Um, um…”

Since arriving at the accommodation, Fertisha attempted to break the awkward silence by moving her lips.

But Rimer’s words came out quicker.

“……Your Highness.”

“Y-Yes?”

“Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been?”

Her voice flowed out in a monotone.

But her eyes were anything but calm. They blazed like angry flames. Without realizing it, Fertisha swallowed hard.

And at that moment,

an angry roar burst forth.

“Why on earth did you leave the group without permission?! If you had just stuck with the other students, I wouldn’t have worried this much!”

“C-Calm down, please.”

As Rimer’s tone escalated, Fertisha frantically waved her hands. After which, as Rimer momentarily fell silent, she carefully explained the situation.

“First of all, to answer Lady Lapis’s question, I thought it would be much safer to do what I did at the time. So I just went for it.”

“No, how could that possibly be safe?!”

Rimer retorted in disbelief.

It was a natural reaction.

What Fertisha chose was not to flee but to face the monsters head-on. However, Fertisha had a point of her own.

“Well, Ulan was there, after all.”

Ulan Bator.

A monster who reached Master level at the age of seventeen and took down two of the Empire’s Five Swords.

Mentioning Ulan, Fertisha countered with Rimer’s own previous words.

“You said it yourself, didn’t you? That if something dangerous happened, I should stay with Ulan.”

“That was…!”

Rimer suddenly fell silent.

It was true she had said that.

However, it was only because she had heard from Marquis Gorphant that Ulan had made a contract with the Empire, suggesting that it would be a good insurance policy.

‘But who would have guessed…’

She never expected Ulan, who had agreed to collaborate with the Empire, would voluntarily jump into the battlefield of another country.

Thus, momentarily struck speechless, Rimer soon composed herself and shouted.

“Still, you should have assessed the situation carefully!”

“I did assess it! It wasn’t just Ulan with me, but also Delia, and Ivella and Noa were with us too!”

The names rolled off her tongue, one after the other.

Names well-known to all. Since taking on her duty to protect Fertisha, Rimer had made sure to remember everyone surrounding her.

‘Delia Arpen.’

The fifth princess of the Arpen Duchy.

She was the second most notable figure in the Academy after Ulan, known as a genius mage adored by mana.

Recently, it had been confirmed that she reached the level of High Mage, making her one of the Empire’s individuals of interest.

‘Ivella Elea’ad.’

A girl with outstanding talent in swordsmanship.

By the time of her enrollment, she was merely at the level of a low-ranking knight, but in less than a year, she became an Expert.

This was an incredible achievement, one even Rimer had not attained as the first woman to become a Master. Hence, she too was under the Empire’s watch.

‘Noa Darshen.’

A barbarian girl who enrolled alongside Ulan.

While not as remarkable as the previously mentioned individuals, it was said that she had drawn a tie against Delia in a past mock selection match.

Moreover, according to Marquis Gorphant, she had made significant contributions when the Abyssal Rift opened at the Source of Magic.

All three were well-known strong figures.

With Ulan’s presence as well, it was likely that Fertisha determined it was safer to stick with him than to evacuate with the other students.

‘I understand, but…’

It was still a rash decision.

Because as soon as news broke that Fertisha went to confront monsters, the Imperial Castle of the Rubens Empire was thrown into chaos.

Just then, Rimer sighed.

Fertisha suddenly wore a triumphant expression. Seeing Rimer’s silence, it seemed she thought she had been rendered speechless.

“Ahem! And looking at the outcome, I returned safely, didn’t I? So there shouldn’t be any real issue, right?”

“……”

“Oh, is that not right?”

Rimer, witnessing Fertisha’s awkward face, let out a bemused chuckle.

“Let me fill you in on what happened.”

She began explaining the events that had unfolded right after news of Fertisha’s situation reached the castle.

How Crown Prince Chartang was enraged.

How he had tried to dispatch knights and soldiers to the Eastern Jungle in hopes of rescuing Fertisha, among other various incidents.

“If the contact from Plume Academy had come just a tad later, Marquis Gorphant and I would have been dispatched to the Eastern Jungle.”

As Rimer spoke in a calm tone, the significant events from that time rolled off her tongue. She concluded with her opinion.

“So we must meet with His Majesty and reassure him as soon as possible.”

“……Yes, I suppose we should.”

Fertisha nodded with a darkened expression, as if finally realizing just how serious the situation had become.

A moment later, as she chewed nervously on her lips, she suddenly seemed to remember something and cautiously spoke up.

“Um, Lady Lapis.”

“What is it?”

“I hope my brother doesn’t call me back to the palace entirely?”

Her eyes trembled ever so slightly.

At that moment, Rimer understood what Fertisha was worried about.

She was likely concerned that the permission granted to attend the Academy might be revoked and she would be confined back within the castle.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know.”

But Rimer couldn’t give a definitive answer.

That was ultimately a decision made by her lord, Chartang, not by Rimer herself.

“……I see.”

Fertisha’s face fell, her mood visibly darkening.

On the other hand, Rimer turned away with a neutral expression. As if there was no reason for her to stay here any longer now that everything had been said.

“That’s all I had to say. You must be tired from your long journey, so please rest well.”

Bowing her head, Rimer turned towards the hallway. Then, with the sound of the door closing, a crack appeared in her previously expressionless face.

“Huff.”

Rimer sighed as if feeling troubled, a strange sense of guilt creeping in due to Fertisha’s gloomy face.

‘It’s probably as the princess suspects.’

If Fertisha were to return to the castle this time, she would probably never return to the Academy again.

Such was Chartang’s strong obsession with Fertisha. Recalling this, Rimer subtly furrowed her brows.

‘Since when did it start?’

Was it since the incident was successful?

Or was it after she left for the Academy?

Chartang had become even more fixated on Fertisha than before. He wanted reports on her every move.

There were many reasons for this, but Rimer’s guess was slightly different from what was previously mentioned.

‘……D’muehl Ron Dermore.’

Commonly referred to as Count Dermore.

After meeting him, Chartang began to show different behavior. His obsession with Fertisha became blatantly obvious from that point onwards.

And one more thing.

There was something that made her on edge.

‘He was a somewhat unsettling character.’

Rimer couldn’t precisely outline why, but the Count exuded a bizarre aura that made her uncomfortable being in the same space as him.

With this fact in mind, Rimer could not shake off an inexplicable sense of foreboding.

‘Of course, as long as Saxen is protecting His Majesty, nothing should happen…’

Yet, she couldn’t shake off the nagging feeling in her gut. With another sigh, Rimer gazed in the direction of the imperial castle.

Thus, the night wore on.

6.

The next morning.

Though it was a bit early to be waking up, Noa left the dormitory to head to the Student Council Hall. She was there to help Iris with her election campaign.

It was then that she encountered a familiar face.

“Oh, Ulan.”

Ulan, who had also just come out of the dormitory.

As they walked toward the Student Council Hall together, she unexpectedly overheard something.

“Really? So does that mean Fertisha is also helping Senior Iris with her campaign?”

“Sort of.”

Last night, Ulan had talked with Fertisha through the Spirit of the Abyss, who had come to him out of the blue.

She had asked what had happened while she was gone and, in explaining that, the topic of the election campaign came up.

“As soon as I brought up Ivella and Delia, she immediately said she wanted to help.”

Well, the truth was, that’s what she said the moment he mentioned Ivella and Delia. However, Noa made a funny face at Ulan’s explanation.

She nodded, as if she had pieced together the situation.

Then, out of the blue, Noa seemed to remember something and raised a question.

“By the way, did anything happen yesterday?”

“I was worried and asked, but she said nothing special happened. However…”

“However?”

“She seemed a bit more haggard than usual.”

“Haggard, you say?”

“Yeah, as if she had something on her mind.”

Noa narrowed her eyes at that.

If Ulan sensed a change in her after what happened, it was clear that something special had been discussed between Fertisha and Rimer.

‘What could they have talked about?’

Noa began to deduce.

In fact, it wasn’t much of a deduction at all.

Every scenario pointed toward one person: Crown Prince Chartang. She probably received a message telling her to return to the palace.

Concluding her thoughts, Noa shared her supposition with Ulan. After a moment of contemplation, Ulan asked about Fertisha’s current situation.

“So does that mean she’s returning to the castle?”

“There’s a possibility of that.”

But that would be troublesome.

If Fertisha were to return to the palace, it would be difficult for her to come out again.

They had only just managed to gather all seven heroes, and if that happened, their plans would go awry again. So Noa turned to Ulan and said,

“Please ask for more specifics. It’s still just my guess.”

“Understood.”

They decided to revisit the issue once the situation with Fertisha was more concrete. Nodding in agreement, Noa turned away.

A little while later, Noa unexpectedly voiced her conclusion.

“Well, then I guess I’m not needed after all.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, come on. There are already four heroes here, so do you really need me to help with the campaign?”

Ulan, Delia, Ivella, Fertisha.

As long as two of them were involved, there would be no difficulty conducting Iris’s campaign and guarding her.

If all four of them were deployed for the mission, Noa wouldn’t even be necessary. It would be more efficient for her to do something else during that time.

So she continued,

“I happen to have other things to do.”

“Other things?”

Ulan suddenly faltered.

He soon seemed to recall something and asked, “Wait, is it about Count Dermore?”

“No. If it were that, I would have asked you to accompany me. If the Count really is an Abyss Worshipper, I wouldn’t be able to handle it alone.”

That was a reasonable answer.

Noa had always been cautious like that. Remembering this, Ulan nodded and looked puzzled.

“So what exactly is it you need to do?”

“It’s about the desert.”

Noa’s eyes sparkled like stars.

Of course, while there was still plenty of time before winter break started, that didn’t mean she could just sit around doing nothing.

‘The desert is an unexplored territory for me too.’

So the more information, the better.

Moreover, part of what she needed to do involved meeting someone related to the desert.

‘……Silfi Rudrik.’

Originally, she had hoped to bond with Silfi during the school trip, but the situation went sideways, and it failed.

‘This time, I absolutely must…’

Before heading into the desert, she planned to establish a friendship. Furthermore, her goal was to gather as much information as possible about the Desert Order.

Meanwhile, Ulan pondered for a moment before nodding, seeming to respect Noa’s intentions.

“I understand. Let’s go with that.”

“Yes, then see you later.”

With the Student Council Hall now just around the corner, Ulan and Noa exchanged brief farewells and turned in opposite directions, each set to pursue their own goals.

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