Chapter 268: Lonely Figure
The collective nobles batted their eyelids at each other. They were silently communicating and signaling to each other to make a move.
With no objections raised, the nobles all stepped forward and gave the female commoner student a hard push.
THUD!
The unaware female commoner student dropped her glasses amidst the impact. Her foot also stepped past the boundary line.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
In a matter of a second, the boundary line around her illuminated in red. A series of alarm sounds also resounded in the area.
"What’s going on?" One of the academy staff rushed over and asked in a somewhat annoyed tone.
Hadn’t they warned sternly not to step over the boundary line?
How could someone else still disregard their warning?
Did they think the Imperial Aldors Academy was a joke?
However, the staff was startled when they finally got a clearer look at the scene.
The one who crossed the boundary line was nearly in shambles. Their hands were scrambling to search for the glasses that they dropped.
Needless to say, the impact had already caused the old glasses to shatter.
With years of experience, the staff could tell the female student didn’t intentionally cross the boundary line. Instead, they were definitely pushed over.
’A commoner with imperfect vision.’ The staff sighed inwardly.
In the world of magic, imperfect vision was technically a rarity because it could be cured with healing magic.
"What is your name?" The staff asked coolly. Even though it was clear that they were innocent in the matter, rules were rules.
The students had been repeatedly warned not to cross the boundary line.
It didn’t matter what the process was. The result was that they had indeed broken the rule and crossed the boundary line.
"L-Lucy..." The female commoner student replied feebly. They resisted the tears from the corner of their eyes. To bawl her eyes out or explain in a hasty manner would only make her case worse.
After all, she was just a commoner.
She had no background or connection whatsoever.
Without any protection, she had to fend everything off alone and could only try her best to avoid the severest punishment.
"Lucy, you will receive 0 points for the compliance section." The staff informed her.
In the aptitude test, there were many sections to be examined. It wasn’t just about the student’s magic or combat power. It contained numerous things that were required for survivability.
Had this been a monster swarm or a war, what Lucy did was considered a major taboo. The failure to listen to superiors and follow orders was something no commander would want in their army.
Cruel?
Yes, but that was the harsh reality.
Each person was responsible for their own safety and surroundings.
If they couldn’t even maintain a certain amount of protection themselves.
How were others supposed to give them any responsibility to protect others?
"I-I understand." Lucy’s face was somewhat pale. To be granted a 0 point from the start meant that her future in the academy was very bleak.
At this moment, Leonard, who had watched the ordeal, felt the need to step in.
He believed this was an unfair circumstance.
In his mind, if the student who trespassed the boundary line was some high noble students, the academy staff wouldn’t have given them a 0 point so readily.
Just as he was about to take a step forward, a voice echoed from behind.
"If you plan on having a debate with them, I suggest you save your time and effort."
’Who?’ Leonard was startled. He turned around and nearly got a shock from the speaker.
They were in a wheelchair, but not a single student dared to look at her in disdain.
’When did she sneak up behind me?’ She was none other than Eleanor.
But Leonard remembered he was in disguise, so she shouldn’t have recognized him.
"I wasn’t planning on doing any of that, Miss." He scratched his head lightly.
Although he was informed that she was going to attend the academy, he never anticipated meeting her here.
Nevertheless, he must keep up with his presence and avoid exposing his identity.
"Wow, I never knew you were into such roleplay." Eleanor suddenly mused and moved forward. Without Albert by her side to do the pushing, she could only resort to the mechanism of the wheelchair.
As she approached him, she whispered. "The disguise is good, but you need to be more careful when you dismount."
"I’m confused."
"Still acting dumb? Do you think a carriage that hails from the Crown Prince wouldn’t be scrutinized? Worse, do you think any regular people could just board and dismount from there?
Leonard’s face flinched slightly. What she meant was that those who were eyeing his every move had long been notified of his disguise.
Not to mention, a little bit of investigation into this anomaly was enough for them to learn of his so-called disguise. In other words, he was a clown all along for pulling such a stunt.
"Does that mean the other Professors also knew?" He asked, indirectly admitting his identity.
"They sure do, but I doubt they would just come forth unless you desire to reveal yourself." Eleanor giggled and found him quite hilarious.
It honestly wasn’t a bad idea. The only problem was the execution and his lack of experience in how information works.
This false sense of security, followed by the silent agreement from the rest to keep quiet about Leonard’s disguise, would have been terrible if she allowed it to fester.
The professors’ intention wasn’t exactly bad. They probably wanted to avoid getting on his bad side, but it was precisely this mindset that would cause Leonard to face more trouble ahead.
Without anyone to properly warn him of the flaws and failures, he could easily fall into a trap.
’Looks like other than Spencer and a few individuals, nobody was courageous enough to remind the Crown Prince.’ Initially, Eleanor planned on watching from the sidelines to see what he was up to.
But as time went on, she realized Leonard was truly a lonely figure.
’Despite seemingly having so many people surrounding him, he barely has anyone who dares to tell him the truth or advise him otherwise.’ The situation was just like hers.