Chapter 156: Theo and Alice
The morning courtyard of the royal academy was perfectly calm. The sun was already high in the sky, wild birds chirped from the hedges, and the splashing of the central fountain added a soothing melody to the breeze.
Alice sat comfortably on a shaded bench, resting her chin between both palms as she watched a pair of fluffy squirrels chase each other across the lawn, smiling as she soaked in the kind of peace she had almost forgotten existed.
This same silence would have been impossible months ago with arrogant advances from Eren Volsver and dodging Reinhardt’s relentlessly suffocating, self-centered chivalry.
Now everything flipped.
Reinhardt was madly trying to reclaim his fiancée he had so carelessly discarded. At the same time, Eren had pulled off a complete, baffling personality change, but seeing him helping Violet made it impossible for Alice to truly resent him anymore.
"Hey there, gorgeous lady. Looking a little lonely over here—mind if a handsome guy keeps you company?"
A bright, carefree voice broke the silence that Alice recognized immediately.
Tilting her head, she found the cheerful white-haired royal practically radiated golden-retriever energy.
"Good morning, Your Highness," Alice greeted him with a soft laugh.
"Morning, Alice," Prince Theo beamed, sitting right beside her. He leaned back against the backrest, letting out a sigh of exhaustion.
Alice narrowed her bright eyes at him, crossing her arms. "And just where has the elusive Prince Theo been hiding for the past two days? You completely vanished from the academy."
"Ah, don’t remind me," Theo groaned, rubbing the back of his neck. "Things at the Palace have been heavy... I couldn’t even escape back to the dorms."
The prince casually brought out his cigarette box, plucked out a thin cigarette, and held it between his lips.
But before he could light it, the Saintess-in-training snatched the cigarette straight from his mouth, tossed it onto the ground, and violently crushed it under her boot.
"Hey! That was a premium imported leaf, Alice!" Theo protested loudly, flailing his arms like a toddler who had just been denied candy.
"How many times do I have to tell you?" Alice grumbled, puffing out her cheeks in annoyance. "No smoking, especially not right in front of my face!"
"I only smoke for your convenience, you know!" Theo argued, crossing his arms with a pout.
Alice leaned in close, an inch away from his face with the gaze of a strictly protective guardian.
"Did I ask you to do it?"
Theo immediately shrank back, squeaking like a puppy under the authority of his favorite girl.
Alice huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Alright, enough whining about crushed tobacco. What happened to that underground apothecary I asked you to investigate?"
Theo’s cheerful expression instantly collapsed into a defeated pout as he slumped back.
"Don’t even get me started," Theo groaned, rubbing his temples. "Before my division could even start the operation, my terrifying older sister beat us to the punch. Seraphina personally raided the black-market warehouse and confiscated the exact shipment you described."
Alice’s eyes widened in confusion. "Wait... what? How could Princess Seraphina know about that specific location?"
She turned her gaze onto him, her brows furrowing with suspicion. "Theo... did you accidentally leak our investigation to the Princess?"
"Never! I swear on my honor!" Theo yelped defensively, throwing both hands up like a suspect. "You know Sera would hang me by my ankles if she found out I was running unauthorized ops. It was like someone gave her tips before we could even move."
Alice bit her lip as she tightly gripped the uniform skirt. "So... we lost the trail completely?"
"Well... not entirely," Theo murmured with a proud grin. "A prince deserves at least a little praise for going against his terrifying sister, doesn’t he?"
Reaching into his inner coat pocket, Theo pulled out a glass vial.
Inside the vial was a dark liquid that seemed to unnaturally swallow the surrounding sunlight.
Alice’s voice hitched at the moment her eyes landed on it. Her hands shook as a wave of sheer, paralyzing dread washed over her gentle face.
"Alice...?" Theo blinked, baffled by the sudden horror on her face. "What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost."
"The Substance..." Alice whispered in a rasp.
"The Substance?" Theo repeated, scratching his head. "What is that? Some kind of alchemical drug?"
Instead of answering, the Saintess snatched the vial straight from his hand, opened the bottle, and tipped the glass directly against her lips, swallowing the contents before he could even blink.
"ALICE, ARE YOU INSANE?!" Theo shrieked in terror, lunging forward to violently slap the vial away, but it was already too late. "That’s an unidentified black-market compound! It could be a lethal poison!"
Alice didn’t hear his frantic shouts. She snapped her eyes shut, her slender body instantly locking up as the viscous liquid slid down her throat.
A violent, icy pressure seized her mana circuits, threatening to clamp down on her core. But before the darkness could spread, a brilliant, blinding pulse of celestial holy light detonated right over her chest. The radiant light flared through her veins with sizzling warmth, dismantling the toxin on a molecular level and purifying every toxic drop into harmless steam that evaporated from her skin.
Theo sat entirely frozen, his jaw practically touching the ground as he watched the miraculous holy flare. "By the gods... Alice... what on earth was that thing?"
Alice slowly opened her eyes, letting out a steady breath before wiping a trace of liquid from her lip.
"I had to verify its composition myself," Alice murmured, turning her gaze toward the panicked royal. She gave him a warm, deeply relieved smile. "You did an exceptional job, Theo. You really found it."
Theo stared down at the remaining black liquid swirling inside the retrieved vial, still trembling from the adrenaline. "So... this is the exact thing you’ve been desperately searching for for two months?"
"Yes," Alice replied, eyes turning back toward the lawn."We had to stop it before Violet could find it."
Her eyes narrowed with unyielding resolve as she watched a tiny squirrel dart up a tree. The terrifying memories of another timeline burned in her mind.
Shifting her focus back to the present, Alice tilted her head. "And what about Reinhardt? Where is he now?"
"You don’t need to stress over that fool anymore," Theo sighed, waving a hand. "He was back at his main estate to face the elders after the engagement scandal. My spies are monitoring his every move. He won’t be bothering you anytime soon."
*******
The next day, on the indoor arena grounds, most of the senior students were scattered around at seating areas, waiting for their names to be called for the combat registry.
And there was Eren too, covering his left eye with one hand. His face was stern, yet contemplative as he muttered:
"I should rethink my choices from next time. Fuck myself."