Chapter 67 - Inspection

Chapter 67: Chapter 67 - Inspection

Afternoon classes resumed, but the dynamic inside the lecture hall was... awkward to say the least.

With Vincent absent, still locked in place outdoors, Maelle sat in her seat looking colder, more detached, and more isolated than ever before. A forbidding aura radiated from her, warning everyone to stay far away.

Ava, however, refused to give up.

Attempt 1: Advanced Mana Theory Class.

Sitting one desk over, Ava spent the entire lecture covertly sliding dramatically illustrated notes onto Maelle’s desk in order to get a reaction.

The first note featured a stick-figure drawing of Vincent with gigantic, cartoonish tears streaming down his face, labeled: "I’m literally dying of sadness outside right now!! Please help me, Princess!!"

Maelle picked up the slip of paper, got up, and walked up to throw it in the trash before returning to her seat and staring blankly back at the professor.

Attempt 2: Alchemy & Reagent Lab.

During hands-on potion brewing, Ava secretly swapped Maelle’s reagent tray while her back was turned, replacing her materials with a shimmering glass vial labeled: "Apology Potion / Anti-Grudge Elixir."

Maelle coldly snatched her original tray back, her hand visibly trembling with restrained frustration as she threw the liquid down the basin and completely ignored Ava’s stares.

Attempt 3: Beastology & Tactics Lecture.

While the professor lectured on magical beasts, Ava used a faint trick of illusion magic beneath her desk, creating two tiny, floating puppets shaped like Vincent and Maelle reenacting an overly dramatic, tragic romance scene – complete with the miniature Vincent kneeling in despair and miniature Maelle hugging him in forgiveness.

As the same with the rest of her responses, Maelle grabbed Ava’s finger tightly to shatter the illusion puppets into harmless blue sparks before turning her back to her for the rest of the period.

........

During their final lecture of the day, Maelle deliberately chose a seat in the back corner by the high glass windows just to get away from the demon’s relentless pestering.

As the professor droned on, she involuntarily found her eyes drifting out the window, staring down at the courtyard below.

From her high vantage point, she could clearly see him.

Vincent was still standing down there in the exact same spot. He looked visibly drained and dejected, unable to leave if he wanted to. Other students stole curious, whispered glances as they passed him, leaving a wide, awkward space around his frozen body.

Maelle’s chest tightened with regret.

"I know our lineages were enemies in the past. The Heroes party and the Tyrant King... they fought a terrible war. But look at us now! You and me... we can work together. We can prove to everyone that times have changed, and that the past doesn’t control our future."

She knew it all along. She didn’t need Ava to tell her that he hadn’t been looking at her with judgment or disgust when he revealed his origin. He had looked at her with genuine care.

But that was not what she was upset about.

...

Ding~ Dong~ Ding~ Dong~

The final bell of the day chimed, signaling the end of classes.

Down in the courtyard, Ava came sprinting out of the main building. Her shoulders slumped in tragic defeat as she trotted her way up to Vincent for the last few steps.

"Mission failed..." she bumped her head against his arm. "I tried everything. Begging, notes, potions, puppets, annoying her! But she’s totally unshakeable! I’m sorry..."

She looked up at him, offering a sympathetic pat. "Don’t worry, though. If it comes down to it, I’ll sleep out here with you tonight!"

"Ava..."

tap... tap... tap...

Slow, measured footsteps echoed softly against the stone.

Ava and Vincent both looked up.

Maelle was walking toward them, looking somewhat exhausted.

She stopped ten feet away, keeping her eyes fixed firmly on him. She stood in silence for a long moment before speaking, "You may move freely, Vincent."

Just like that, the physical tension holding his body vanished into thin air. Warmth flooded back into his stiff legs, and he naturally walked forward to bridge the gap between them.

Ava let out a big sigh of relief and gave the two space.

"Maelle... why did you freak out like that? Did I hurt you? Is it really because of who we are... who our families were in the past? The Hero and the Tyrant King?"

"It has nothing to do with that... Vincent, do you actually want–"

CLICK. CLACK. CLICK. CLACK.

The sharp crunch of heavy leather boots against the stone walkway interrupted her mid-sentence.

Walking briskly down toward them were two figures: the Student Council President, and beside her, the furious looking butler of house Elsa.

"There you are!" the butler barked, stepping into the courtyard with a sneer. "It is late afternoon, Princess of Ebonspire, and the sun is only a couple of hours away from setting!"

"It is time for the official inspection of Lady Lucianne, Princess Maelle."

The unresolved emotional tension between Vincent and Maelle hung suspended in the air as they were forced to bury their lingering words, shifting their focus toward the shadows of the sewer shack.

...

At the front gates of the Academy, five bred horses stood ready.

Ava, Maelle, the butler and the President mounted their steeds with practiced ease. Vincent, however, stood beside his assigned stallion, staring at it with a look of helpless confusion.

"Is there an issue, Vincent?" The President asked as she adjusted her reins.

"Uh... yeah. I don’t actually know how to ride a horse."

"Ah... Well, given the circumstances, you can simply ride behind your master, no?"

Vincent and Maelle sheepishly looked at each other. The emotional rift that had formed between them earlier still lingered, creating an awkward silence that everyone present could feel.

The butler scoffed loudly, clicking his tongue in disgust. "Must we waste time over a commoner’s lack of basic etiquette?! Mount up or run along!"

"Couldn’t you just fly?" the president asked Vincent pleasantly, ignoring the butler’s outburst.

"Fly?! What in b;azes are you talking about?!"

"I could," Vincent replied, also ignoring the butler’s outburst. "But I’d rather stay close. However, flying too close might garner unwanted attention."

"Then you may ride with me," she offered while patting the leather space behind her saddle.

"It’s fine." He walked past Maelle’s horse without looking up, stepping over to Ava’s mount instead. "Mind if I hop on with you, Ava?"

*Gasp!* "M-Me?! Eheh~ I’d be honored!" she squealed, scooting forward to make room.

From her saddle, Maelle’s posture stiffened. A subtle look of hurt flickered across her violet eyes, but she immediately buried it beneath a wall of stone.

Turning her face forward, her voice rang out flat and emotionless.

"Let’s go. Follow me."

The party rode out in silence.

As they traveled further from the Academy, the scenery gradually shifted – from the grand, sparkling mansions and houses of the upper district, down through the crowded markets of the middle class, and finally sinking into the dark, forgotten alleyways of the low-income slums and sewage pipes.

They dismounted near the canals, following the dark tunnel into the sewer network.

"Ugh! Disgusting!" the butler spat, covering his nose with a silk handkerchief as his polished leather boots sloshed through the grime. "Why is a noble lady of House Elsa being kept in such vile squalor?! This is utterly barbaric, Fourth Princess!"

Maelle cold-shouldered him.

She walked in a dignified manner, her cape swishing over her arm with every calm step. Her refusal to acknowledge his anger only made the butler’s face turn an even angrier shade of red.

Walking just a few paces behind her, Vincent kept a protective eye on Maelle’s profile. He couldn’t help but notice how alone she looked.

Behind them, Ava leaned over to Vincent, whispering quietly behind her hand to break the heavy tension. "Look at him whining... I bet his shoes cost more than some people’s houses, but he can’t handle a little sewage smell. What a big baby~"

Vincent let out a quiet breath of acknowledgment that he heard her, though his mind remained preoccupied with the girl leading the way.

Soon, they reached the wooden shack. Maelle unlocked the door and pushed it open to reveal the dim interior.

Inside, Lucianne sat bound to a chair. She looked disheveled and thinner. From the back of her wrists, Magic-suppression cuffs glinted.

The moment her eyes landed on the butler of her house and the Student Council President, her eyes widened in desperate relief. She began thrashing against her ropes, uttering frantic, muffled screams through her cloth gag.

"My Lady Lucianne! Hold on, I will–"

SWIPE!

Before he could move forward, Vincent’s arm shot out, snagging the front of the butler’s silk coat and stopping him dead in his tracks. The sudden deceleration nearly sent him tumbling flat onto his butt.

"You’re here to inspect. Not to release. So behave."

The president stepped smoothly past them, conducting her official examination with meticulous detail.

She checked Lucianne’s cuffs, felt her pulse, and scanned her body for injuries, confirming that while the young noble was deeply traumatized and imprisoned, she suffered no signs of physical torture or mutilation.

Her green eyes drifted over to a wooden shelf nearby, spotting several stacked cans of preserved food, clean bottled water, and rolls of fresh toilet paper.

"Lady Lucianne is alive and in physically stable condition," she announced, stepping back and turning toward the door.

"Her mental state is distressed, as expected of a captive, but she has been provided basic necessities. Princess Maelle has treated her within... reasonable humanitarian bounds."

She then looked at the trembling butler. "Our job here is complete. Let us depart."

"C-Complete?! You’re leaving one of the highest-ranking nobles in the Imperial City in a rat-infested sewer?! GRRGh! You truly are a monster, Fourth Princess! House Elsa will ensure your utter and total ruin for this outrage!"

"Whatever."

In response to his threat, Vincent stood in front of – and looked down at – the butler with malice brimming all over him.

"Listen to me very carefully. If you speak to Maelle like that again... I won’t care about rules. I won’t care about your noble titles. I will fly straight over to your precious House Elsa and blow it into a fucking smoking crater in one fell swoop. And every single drop of blood shed will be on your head. Do you understand me?"

The butler choked on his own breath, stumbling backward until his back hit the wooden wall. Even the president’s unreadable smile flickered into a look of genuine surprise as she felt the sheer terror exuding off of him.

"I... I’m sorry, Lady Lucianne... W-We will be leaving now..."

"MMMMFFF MMMMFFF MMMFFFF!!!"

SHUT!