Chapter 404

Chapter 27: Gazing into Each Other’s Eyes Part I

“…While the power of order may vary from person to person as a natural gift, it doesn’t mean that one can’t improve it through training later on. Even if our inherent affinity isn’t comparable to some powerful warriors, such as Baron Cuylafet, Miss Luciana, Knight Horsler, Mr. Reckert, who are well-known in Izenbel and familiar to all of you, we might not be able to match their talents, but with diligent practice over time, our precise control and application of the power of order could very well rival theirs…”

In the golden-orange stone classroom bathed in twilight, Professor Melville stood on the podium, explaining the basic theories and common knowledge about the power of order to the students below.

The lecture hall, which was already packed with students attending the mandatory Royal College course, was overflowing despite being the largest classroom in the college. Those who arrived late had no seats and ended up standing in two circles around the room, listening intently and occasionally lowering their heads to jot down key points in their leather-bound notebooks with quills.

Sarah, Daisy, and I sat in the back row, lifting our little heads and listening attentively. Even though many of the things Professor Melville said were things I already knew, I did not feel impatient.

Today was May 15th, the last day before the first rest day of the month.

During my days back at school, during my free time—especially at night—I would prepare enough peas and spend my time reading books in the library, mostly about miracles.

The pace of the Theology course at the academy was too slow for me. It wasn’t that I couldn’t understand; after all, it was designed for ordinary students over six years. Whether it’s Sarah, Sophia, Daisy, or any other student, these six years could be spent leisurely learning while enjoying the rich and prosperous cityscapes and the long-standing history and culture of the royal city, gradually consolidating and growing. In this towering green city, they could spend their colorful six years.

But I couldn’t.

For most people, whether it’s about order, miracles, or the abyss, the “knowledge” related to these topics just needs to be known and understood.

I, however, had to face them directly.

Especially after this incident, I felt an increasing sense of urgency. Sometimes, when I lay in bed at night and closed my eyes, Cardinal Nero’s figure still appeared in my mind, standing at the pinnacle of the sky. Sometimes, I would dream of the silver-haired girl with crimson eyes. These thoughts were like thorny vines deeply rooted in my heart, always pricking me unexpectedly, impossible to forget.

I didn’t know when I would encounter such enemies again.

Maybe it would be tomorrow.

Sarah found my diligence incredible, and she would occasionally ask, “Peiluo, are you trying to outshine us and become a top student?” But from her expression, I could guess that she probably knew something.

Sometimes, she would accompany me to the library, but she couldn’t sit still and usually couldn’t read for more than half an hour before becoming restless and starting to talk to me, asking questions like, “Are Papal Knights very hardworking?” “Did you come here on a secret mission?” “Have you ever killed bad people?” “Are you close with Her Majesty?” “Do you know Mr. Carlos?” “How old is Mr. Carlos this year?” “Is he handsome? Has he come to the royal city?” Buzzing and buzzing, like a curious little fly. Even if I responded indifferently and didn’t want to pay much attention to her, Sarah was always happy to keep talking.

Overall, she became much more active compared to the first few days.

This was something worth being happy about.

Since that life science class, I had looked up information about dragons, understanding that red dragons, white dragons, black dragons, and so on, which are traditionally depicted, are roughly equivalent to rank-and-file soldiers among giants, even by human standards. However, even this level is not something that can be matched by those with the power of order. To kill them, it would likely take someone like Carlos.

As for the giant dragons recorded in human history, such as Nidhogg, Agi Tahaqa, Fafnir, these were unimaginably powerful beings, but their numbers seemed extremely rare. There were not many with confirmed records. As for how powerful they were, I couldn’t imagine based solely on the fragmented descriptions in the documents.

“…It’s getting late. Let’s stop here today. After the rest day, our next class will be held in the training ground, where you will see the peak level of the power of order in this thousand-year-old city, the Order City.”

Professor Melville’s class ended amidst the cheers of the students.

Dusk had fallen, and outside the teaching building, the sun was setting. The three girls from Room 1504 walked through the crowd along a small path back to their dormitory. They quickly packed their things, had a simple dinner, and I asked the cafeteria aunt for a large bag of peas, which I put in my small backpack. Wearing a sun hat, I went out with Sarah and Daisy. I called a rhinoceros cart, and the three of us got into the carriage. Sarah rubbed her arms nervously.

“Damn, I’m a bit nervous…”

“What are you nervous about?”

I asked her, tossing a pea high and catching it with my mouth, crunching it.

“I’ve never been to the rich district… Do you think people will look down on us because of how we’re dressed?”

“Who has the time to care about you?”

I tossed another pea.

Bam bam.

“The nobles…aren’t there a lot of rules? Pei Luo, what should we do if we see Sophia’s parents later? Should we bow first? Call them uncle and aunt, or something else?”

“Whatever you like.”

The third pea slipped through my fingers, hitting my nose and falling under the seat. I pursed my lips and hesitated for a moment… thinking it was better not to pick it up.

“Sarah, the more you think about it, the more nervous you’ll get. Relax…”

Daisy, who sat upright, couldn’t hold back and chimed in. Sarah frowned at her words.

“But what if I make a mistake and cause an awkward situation? I only know the knight’s salute… would it be strange to do that?”

“…very strange.”

“That’s right…”

The girl looked worried, her round face tightening with concern.

A few days ago, Sarah had been worried that Sophia hadn’t returned and might have encountered some trouble, so she went to pester Professor Melville, persistently demanding Sophia’s address. The three of them discussed it and decided to visit her today, partly to confirm she was fine, and partly to show their concern.

But at the last minute, Sarah became timid and anxious. She was nervous all the way, worrying about this and that, asking questions nonstop, which made me fumble with the peas several times. When we arrived, we found the slightly old-fashioned small building bustling with activity. Servants in uniforms were carrying furniture and tables to carts outside, while a butler in formal attire directed everything. We asked around and learned that they were in the middle of moving.

“The Gasclyns are moving to Wisk Street near the palace. The master isn’t here… why, are you friends of Miss Sophia from the academy?”

“Yeah… she’s not here either?”

Despite the butler’s composed demeanor, Sarah still seemed tense. He noticed this and smiled even more warmly: “Miss is actually here. Please wait a moment, I’ll inform her.”

He turned and entered the building. Soon after, Sophia came out in a long dress.

“Why are you here?” The girl looked surprised.

She seemed to have been busy just now, her forehead sweating, and her hands wet as if she had just washed them. After the initial surprise, Sophia invited us into her home—actually, most of the small building had been emptied, leaving little space to sit and talk. We wandered around, chatting casually.

Sophia told us that her family was being rewarded by Her Majesty and would be moving to a place south of the palace. Her father had been very busy lately. Although the city had calmed down, many follow-up tasks were even more complicated. She had been running around with her father every day, leaving no time to inform us about the academy. She smiled apologetically.

“I’m fine. Once things settle down a bit, I’ll go back. Don’t worry about me~”

Her smile was serene and calm, no longer domineering, making her appear more approachable.

It felt like she had matured a lot.

Yet, inadvertently, when our eyes met, her face would become slightly unnatural, her gaze flickering. She probably wanted to say something to me, but with Sarah and Daisy present, she hesitated. After chatting for a while,趁着黛西和莎拉一起去洗手间的时候，她这才把我拉到一边。

“佩伊洛小姐……”

只剩我们两人后，她居然变得紧张起来，脑袋轻垂，双手不停地搓着裙角，说话也变得吞吞吐吐——以前我从未见过索菲亚如此缺乏自信。

“那个……很多事情，我都听女王陛下说了……上个月特意召见过我，我当时受伤，陛下还派人探望……你是、你是教宗骑士希尔维嘉小姐，这个我知道了……还有关于我看到的事情……那些异教徒……我、我都不会说出去的，我签了保密协议……你、你就放心好了，女王陛下都对我叮嘱过……希尔维嘉小姐——”

女孩说得磕磕绊绊，声音轻微颤抖。我把竖起的手指放在她薄薄的嘴唇上，她随即有些震惊，不明所以地朝我眨眨眼睛，接着我的手捏住了她的脸颊。

“叫我，佩伊洛。”

“唔……嗯？”

“叫我佩伊洛，就好。”

如此说道，聪明的女孩就明白了我的意思，呆愣片刻之后，肩膀放松了，笑容明媚起来。

“嗯。”

“忙完，快点回来。”

“好。”

她还是不敢直视我的眼睛。

不一会儿，莎拉和黛西回来了，我们又聊了些有的没的。等到外面天色渐暗，夜幕降临，索菲亚说她要去父亲那边参加晚宴，问我们要不要去，她可以偷偷带我们进去。莎拉有些心动，但想了想，还是摇了摇头。

“不去啦，不习惯那种地方……我们打算晚上在街道逛一逛。今天是五朔节，外面可热闹着呢。”

我倒是有些想去。

晚餐没吃饱，而宴会上肯定有很多甜点……可是街上也有很多好吃的，本来我就为今晚的逛吃留足了肚子，不管怎样，街上的小吃种类都要比晚宴丰富得多。

于是，在一番权衡之后，我还是决定和莎拉她们一起。

不久之后，我们告别了索菲亚，三人结伴穿过住宅区，向繁华的闹市走去。