Chapter 260
Chapter 260: Where's My Teacher?
Today's sunlight was exceptionally bright, and the Royal Magic Academy was buzzing with noise from early morning.
Students gathered from all directions, filling every path on the Academy grounds to the brim—yet every face was lit with eager anticipation.
Today was the Royal Magic Academy's opening ceremony.
The Academy's new student assessment had concluded.
This year's new student examination had been more stringent and demanding than ever before.
So much so that the number of students admitted this year was less than a third of previous years.
Inside the spacious Lecture Hall, a podium stood upon a wooden platform, flanked on both sides by towering pillars draped in crimson curtains.
The thick, pleated curtains hung from either side and drew together toward the center.
Below the stage, not a single seat was left empty. Professors and students packed the entire Lecture Hall, their gazes fixed upon the Top-Ranked Freshman at the podium—Auréliane.
She had not only achieved a perfect score in the written examination, but had also placed first in the live-combat assessment.
Inside the Dungeon as well, Auréliane's performance had been exceptional.
As Top-Ranked Freshman, Auréliane now stood before the podium, addressing the audience below with composure and ease.
Her bearing, so far beyond that of ordinary people, left the crowd in silent awe.
The students seated below looked up at Auréliane with open admiration.
"……Lastly, I wish to express my gratitude to my teacher, Count Viktor Clavena."
As she spoke those words, a dense wave of Magic Power radiated gently from Auréliane's body.
Like rolling waves, it began to ripple throughout the entire Lecture Hall, washing over everyone present.
The air inside the hall grew restless, currents swirling ceaselessly through the great chamber, lifting the two enormous curtains behind the podium as though a pair of giant hands were sweeping them through the air.
"This is….."
The Professors, Lecturers, and students below felt that dense surge of Magic Power and froze in their seats, eyes wide.
A 2nd-Tier Mage.
The entire Lecture Hall erupted into chaos. Countless people nearly could not stay in their seats, crying out their discovery to those around them.
"Her Highness the Princess—is already a 2nd-Tier Mage??"
"Am I dreaming? A 2nd-Tier Mage? A 2nd-Tier Mage on the very first day of enrollment?"
"The Princess is only fifteen and she's already a 2nd-Tier Mage? I really am a complete waste!"
This level of talent was nearly catching up to Viktor's at the same age.
The youngest 2nd-Tier Mage in the Academy had changed—from Erika to Her Highness the Princess.
Many students, beyond their shock, felt the weight on their shoulders grow heavier.
Erika hadn't been 2nd-Tier when she first enrolled either.
How was the Princess somehow even more outrageous?
Year after year, things only got more outrageous. How were ordinary Magic Apprentices like them supposed to survive?
Auréliane stood at the podium, one hand placed over her chest, and bowed toward Viktor in the audience below—a deep, respectful bow.
Below the stage, Viktor gave Auréliane a slight smile and a nod of acknowledgment.
"Thank you, Teacher, for your devoted guidance."
The audience rose to their feet, gazes fixed on Auréliane in silent, reverent awe.
Thunderous applause broke out, as though celebrating Auréliane's achievement.
***
After the opening ceremony concluded, the Academy grounds remained lively with students.
The cobblestone paths lay dappled in the shifting shadows of leaves, scattered footsteps treading through patches of filtered sunlight as students gathered together, animatedly discussing the amusing moments from the assessment and the spectacular scene they had just witnessed.
Auréliane strolled along one of these cobblestone paths, stepping through the alternating bands of light and shadow.
Each time a student passed by, they would steal a glance her way.
After all—she was royalty.
And it was difficult for anyone not to notice Auréliane.
Because she was the only student who came to school with a personal guard.
Cilia followed close behind Auréliane, watching over her at all times.
As they walked, Auréliane spoke:
"Cilia."
"Your Highness, please give your instruction."
Cilia bowed respectfully and replied.
Auréliane turned toward her and asked:
"Have you seen my teacher?"
After three days of the Dungeon assessment, Auréliane was in high spirits.
Her performance inside the Dungeon had been outstanding—both her written scores and her live-combat results had placed her first in the entire Academy.
Auréliane desperately wanted to tell Viktor this in person, face to face, and alone.
But earlier, after all, had been inside the Lecture Hall. As Top-Ranked Freshman, Auréliane had been required to take the stage and deliver her address.
Even with Viktor right there in the audience before her, she had had no way to speak to her teacher.
So the moment she was outside, she was anxious to find him.
Auréliane wanted to know—had Teacher Viktor been watching her this whole time?
Though all she wanted was his praise and acknowledgment, that alone was already enough to fill her with indescribable anticipation.
Hearing the Princess's question, Cilia paused briefly to think.
That scoundrel Viktor?
She had just caught a glimpse of someone in a Coat, flashy as ever, slipping out of the Lecture Hall in a hurry.
He was the only idiot who'd wear a full Coat in the heat of summer.
So after a moment's recollection, Cilia replied to Auréliane:
"I just saw him leave through the main gate."
The moment Auréliane received this news, without a second thought, she broke into a quick run toward the main gate.
Having undergone professional training, Auréliane's physical stamina was considerably stronger than most Mages.
By the time Auréliane came running up to the main gate, she had barely broken a sweat.
She turned her head, scanning in every direction for Viktor's figure.
The next instant, Auréliane spotted that unmistakable Carriage—the one with no horse to pull it.
A man dressed in a black Coat was walking toward it.
"Teacher!"
Viktor had only just reached the Carriage when he heard that familiar voice and slowly turned his head.
Their eyes met directly:
"Your Highness."
"Students are not normally permitted to come and go freely at this hour."
Outside of midday and evening, the Academy was essentially closed to movement.
But this rule clearly did not apply to Auréliane.
She was a Princess, after all—and no one could stop a Princess from going wherever she pleased, nor would anyone dare try.
Auréliane clasped both hands over her chest and looked at Viktor with eager anticipation.
"Teacher, I……"
She so badly wanted to come right out and tell him that she had placed first among the new students—she wanted his praise and recognition more than anything.
She wanted to hear it from Viktor's own lips.
Auréliane, you are my finest student.
But standing before Teacher Viktor now, the eager words she had rehearsed in her heart simply refused to come out.
"I……"
Viktor met her gaze evenly and said, offhandedly:
"If there's nothing else, I'll be heading back."
With that, he turned and stepped up into the Carriage.
Auréliane watched Viktor take his seat in the Carriage, a hollow sense of loss settling over her.
She reached out one hand, just about to say something—to call him back.
Then Viktor, already inside the Carriage, leaned his head out and gave her a slight smile.
"The final 'task'—well done."
"Keep it up."
With that, the Carriage curtain was drawn shut. Auréliane stood motionless, watching the Carriage wheels begin to slowly turn before it departed from the Academy gate.
Cilia stepped up beside her and said warmly:
"That's wonderful, Your Highness."
"Your teacher did praise you, after all."
Cilia had expected Auréliane to be even happier—but in reality, she showed very little reaction at all.
Even her expression gradually grew still, as though stripped of any emotion.
Seeing this, Cilia felt a wave of confusion.
Her Highness the Princess—didn't seem very happy?
Auréliane watched the direction in which the Carriage had disappeared, and said quietly:
"He doesn't seem to be my teacher."
She was referring to the Viktor who had just stepped into the Carriage.
To the Viktor who had been seated in the audience of the Lecture Hall, listening to her speech.
"He didn't have that Crow on him."
Cilia found this somewhat difficult to follow—and more than a little puzzling.
True, everyone knew that Viktor always had a pet Crow perched on him.
But surely that couldn't be a reliable way to determine whether someone was actually Viktor himself, could it?
Cilia felt the Princess was being too hasty in her judgment.
Of course, it wasn't only this one thing.
There were other reasons—reasons Auréliane had not said aloud.
After the Dungeon assessment concluded, she had felt her own Magic Power increase.
Following confirmation by the palace Mages, the current Auréliane was now a 2nd-Tier Mage in every sense of the word.
This, she had not told Viktor.
Because she had wanted it to be a surprise—she wanted to see the look of astonishment on her teacher's face when he saw her.
But……her teacher had shown no reaction whatsoever.
The real teacher would never be like that.
Auréliane felt that the Viktor who had just departed lacked the very quality that made her teacher her teacher.
That elegance and nobility uniquely her teacher's own—it was like a memory etched into his very bones.
He was cold, yes—but he would never make another person feel overlooked.
That person, on the other hand, felt as though he had been deliberately mimicking him.
And so Auréliane was certain.
The Viktor who had just left was definitely not her real teacher.
Then……where had her teacher gone?
Auréliane didn't know.
She could only turn back into the Academy grounds, head lowered, taking a rather dejected stroll.
The students around her were animatedly discussing the newly opened courses, and their conversation happened to drift into Auréliane's ears.
"I heard Associate Professor Heni's classes are really good—I'm thinking of signing up."
"Oh, isn't that the pretty young Associate Professor? She used to be Professor Viktor's Teaching Assistant, I think."
At that, Auréliane gave a slight start and turned her head toward those students.
Just now—she thought she had heard a very familiar name.
The students' chatter continued.
"Associate Professor Heni's classes have been fully booked for a while now—and anyway, you won't find her around at the moment."
"Why not?"
"Haven't you heard? Associate Professor Heni took a few days off—apparently she's gone on a trip somewhere with Professor Viktor."
Almost the instant those words fell, it was as though a shadow had descended upon the backs of those students.
"Excuse me."
The students turned around. Her Highness the Princess, not particularly tall, was looking at them with a smile on her face.
But that smile appeared somewhat unsettling—rigid, fixed on her face.
And her open eyes betrayed a faint, burning fervor.
"Could you repeat what you just said?"
***
The Carriage continued on its way, and before long arrived at the front of the Clavena Manor.
Viktor slowly pushed open the Carriage door and stepped down. The servants, seeing the Master of the house return, respectfully opened the main gate.
"Master."
Viktor gave a nod and walked inside.
Entering the grounds, he did not head directly to the Manor.
Instead, he wandered around the area where the servants worked, making several full rounds.
All along the way, the many servants who caught sight of him would bow with great deference.
Every time this happened, Viktor would nod in return.
As though thoroughly enjoying the feeling of being shown such respect.
At that moment, Leah appeared at his side—when she had arrived, he hadn't noticed.
She stood at the corner of the wall, arms folded across her chest, and watched the Viktor before her with cool indifference.
"Marei Dim."
"Viktor told you to take on his appearance—not to flaunt the Master of the house's standing."
Viktor turned his head, his face wearing an expression of exceedingly rich amusement.
The real Viktor, however, had never once made an expression like that.
"Oh, dear little Leah, don't worry—I was simply looking to experience it for a moment."
"Being the Master of the house, possessing a position like this—and yet Viktor doesn't know to make use of it. Wouldn't that be a waste?"
Leah rolled her eyes and shrugged.
"Suit yourself."
"When Viktor comes back, I hope you can deliver that same speech to him."
Viktor's body grew gradually transparent, then his features and face began to shift and distort—as though scrambled and then divided anew—his form dispersing piece by piece toward different parts of his body.
"But of course."
"He will understand the care that went into my intentions."