Chapter 246
Chapter 246: Inferiority Complex
The other students gaped, their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.
Even the Professor who had been staring absently at the hourglass was so startled that his glasses nearly slid off.
He stepped down from the lectern and approached Auréliane, picking up her exam paper from the desk and flipping through it rapidly.
Reading through the answers with focused attention, he became visibly absorbed, his expression shifting into one of pure astonishment:
"This! Hssss…"
"Your Highness, this final question—how did you…ah, no, forgive me, I've overstepped."
Before the Professor could finish his question, he immediately caught himself—he was in the middle of an examination hall—and hurriedly suppressed the eager scholarly impulse rising within him.
The other students were even more stunned, watching the Professor's expression with wide eyes.
Could it be… the Princess had answered everything correctly?
In just those few short minutes?
The exam had barely even started!
Auréliane responded with a graceful, composed smile:
"It's quite all right, Professor Gaia."
"May I leave first? I'd like to go see my teacher."
Professor Gaia came back to his senses and nodded repeatedly:
"Oh—oh! Of course, Your Highness, you are free to go."
With his permission granted, Auréliane rose calmly from her seat, gave the Professor a polite bow, then turned and made her unhurried exit.
Only after Auréliane had vanished through the door did the other students manage to shake themselves out of their stupor.
Holy—wait, right!
Her Highness the Princess's teacher was—
Professor Viktor!
***
In a flash of cold blue light, the Teleportation Formation activated, and Auréliane stepped out of the ancient Mage Tower.
The heart of the new student assessment was to measure students' depth of understanding of Magic.
The difficulty level was not particularly high—after all, if even an entrance exam for new students was already grueling, then those capable of truly becoming Mages would be even fewer in number.
For Auréliane, this kind of examination was little more than a routine formality.
Perhaps she simply wanted to prove something.
In any case, she hadn't come primarily for the exam itself.
Walking along the Academy's path, Auréliane took in the scenery around her. Most of the new students were still inside the Mage Towers, and the returning students had not yet come back—this left the Academy feeling tranquil and serene.
She drifted through the breeze, curiously taking in the sight of the newly reconstructed buildings.
Her last visit had been to attend Teacher Viktor's lecture. This time, she decided to explore more carefully.
With that thought settled in her mind, Auréliane's steps quickened noticeably.
Before long, she found herself standing at the edge of a vast lake.
Sunlight scattered across the lake's surface, making it shimmer and sparkle as though it had been scattered with diamonds.
Mages came here regularly to perform cleaning maintenance, so the water remained perfectly clear.
As a memorial to Viktor's extraordinary contribution during the Demon battle, the Principal had specifically ordered this site preserved, as a reminder and a warning to the Academy.
Auréliane stood at the water's edge, tranquilly absorbed in the dancing play of light on the surface beneath the sun.
Then, on the far side of the lake, she noticed a mysterious figure.
The person was wrapped in loose, wide-cut robes, their silhouette vaguely visible beneath the fabric.
There was something strange about their back—an inexplicable, pronounced bulge seemed to jut out from it.
Who was that person?
Why would there be anyone else at the Academy at this hour?
A ripple of unease stirred within her. Auréliane fixed her gaze warily on the figure.
The person seemed to sense her stare and turned their head—revealing a pair of eyes like emerald serpent pupils.
The moment her gaze met those green serpent eyes, Auréliane felt her heartbeat spike, and she froze in place like a carved statue.
Something about them felt… strangely familiar.
But in the blink of an eye, the figure on the far side of the lake simply vanished from Auréliane's sight.
She blinked, coming back to herself in a daze, mind full of confusion:
Where did they go?
"What are you looking at?"
At that moment, Viktor's voice came from behind her.
Auréliane's eyes lit up immediately, and she spun around to look at him with an expression full of undisguised anticipation:
"Teacher!"
In the breeze, Viktor's black Coat billowed softly. The One-eyed Crow on his shoulder was methodically preening its feathers, entirely indifferent to everything around it.
Viktor's expression remained as calm as ever. He looked at Auréliane and said plainly:
"Not bad. It seems those exam questions were no challenge for you."
After all, with Auréliane's magical aptitude, such simple questions were child's play to her.
Auréliane possessed the ability to learn any spell by sight after a single demonstration—a gift that had already set her on a path of power far exceeding anyone her age.
This year's top-ranked freshman was, without question, going to be Auréliane.
Hearing Viktor's praise, Auréliane couldn't suppress the sweet smile that broke across her face.
She asked curiously:
"Teacher, where are you headed?"
Viktor glanced at her without concealing anything:
"Back to the office."
This year's new student assessment was slightly different from previous years—the Principal intended to hold an open live-combat examination, to further sort and classify the students' levels.
Viktor needed to prepare for it in advance.
Upon hearing this, a flicker of interest crossed Auréliane's eyes, and she asked with a hopeful look:
"Teacher, may I come with you?"
Viktor gave a nod, granting her request:
"If you want to come, keep up."
Auréliane dutifully fell in behind Viktor.
They passed through the Academy's courtyard, which was in full spring bloom, and arrived at the base of Viktor's personal Mage Tower.
Sensing Viktor's arrival, the Mage Tower announced in a warm, pleasant tone:
【Identity verification successful. Professor Viktor, welcome back to the Mage Tower.】
Viktor gave a slight nod and stepped onto the Teleportation Formation, which pulsed with flickering blue light.
His deep gaze turned toward Auréliane, indicating that she should board the Formation with him.
A flash of blue light swept over them, and a faint ripple of magical energy spread outward, enveloping them both in an instant.
The deep blue blur in front of her eyes gradually cleared, and Auréliane's vision returned to normal.
Auréliane looked around the office with curious eyes—books were stacked haphazardly across the floor, and a large wooden desk occupied the center of the room, similarly piled high with documents and thick volumes.
She murmured to herself:
"The Professor really is a dedicated person."
This modest office was thoroughly permeated with Viktor's presence, drifting now and then into Auréliane's senses and bringing with it a peculiar sense of calm.
Then, all at once, she froze.
Her gaze locked onto something not far away—she spotted a figure.
It was a woman. Her visibly full figure was concealed beneath wide-cut robes, and she seemed to be bent forward over something, her waist swaying and shifting in a subtly rhythmic way.
The moment Auréliane saw the woman before her, she went rigid.
She instinctively craned her neck to glance behind herself, as though silently asking whether she herself had a figure anything like that.
But the comparison did not go well for her. Auréliane's expression stiffened slightly.
She lost—completely and utterly.
At that moment, Heni emerged from behind the curtain, and the wide-cut robes slipped down around her as she moved, draping over her full figure and concealing it entirely.
The instant Auréliane saw Heni, a rush of memory came flooding back.
This person—wasn't she… wasn't she…!
The girl Teacher had patted on the head at his home!?
Auréliane still remembered it vividly.
The very first time she had gone to Viktor's house, she had seen this girl.
And now, how was she here—inside Teacher's office?
In that moment, a storm began to brew inside Auréliane's mind.
Young Auréliane couldn't help but think of a great many things—a great many things indeed.
Then, a calm voice cut through her reverie:
"Heni, my former Teaching Assistant."
Viktor stood beside Auréliane and said evenly:
"Now an Associate Professor at the Academy."
Heni also recognized Auréliane and quickly gave her a respectful bow:
"Your Highness the Princess."
Auréliane blinked—and as she watched the faint outline of Heni's chest shift slightly beneath the draping wide-cut robes, her expression stiffened almost imperceptibly.
But then, she came back to herself.
Heni?
She felt like she'd heard that name somewhere before.
Wasn't this the girl who had shattered her second elder brother's bone with a single punch?!
Her thoughts spiraled—and she suddenly stopped dead where she stood, her eyes wide with disbelief.
A girl who looked this soft and delicate had done something like that?
Though, as it happened, the incident hadn't been widely publicized, and the Empress's dramatic return around the same time had swept it off everyone's radar.
So the matter of the Second Prince's injury had been quietly suppressed without much fuss.
Now, seeing Heni in person, Auréliane couldn't shake a deeply surreal feeling.
Just as she was sinking deeper into thought, Viktor's voice broke through the silence:
"How are the preparations coming along?"
Heni composed herself and answered Viktor with a solemn expression:
"Professor, everything is ready!"
Auréliane was a little at a loss—she had no idea what the two of them had been preparing.
Then Viktor suddenly looked toward her and spoke plainly:
"Right then. Let Her Highness the Princess have a look first."
"Heni, open it."
Viktor's gaze fell on the black curtain draped over an enormous mirror.
Heni nodded, rose, and walked over, her hands gently gripping one corner of the fabric.
Under Auréliane's expectant gaze, Heni pulled the heavy black cloth aside with a firm sweep.
A colossal mirror was revealed before her—and upon its surface, 2 tightly shut eyes seemed to have grown, as though embedded within the glass itself.
Auréliane's reflection materialized in the mirror, and a peculiar sensation seemed to radiate outward from within the glass toward her.
Then Viktor's voice continued:
"This is today's open examination."
"I've given it a rather fitting name—"