Chapter 63 - - 63: Albert Carson

Chapter 63: Chapter - 63: Albert Carson

The next morning arrived more peacefully than I had expected.

After everything that had happened at the academy the previous day, I had half expected the entire campus to remain in chaos throughout the night, but by morning the medical room had already become considerably quieter, and most of the students who had suffered minor injuries had either returned to their dormitories or been discharged after receiving treatment.

As for me, the healer had kept me under observation until late morning, mostly because of the number of injuries I had received, but there was nothing seriously wrong with my body anymore, and with my bones completely intact, the healing magic had been able to deal with most of the damage considerably faster than I had expected.

There was still a bandage wrapped around my chest and shoulder and moving too quickly caused some discomfort in my ribs, but compared to yesterday, I felt almost completely fine.

I have already been discharged from the medical room by late in the morning, giving me several hours to rest before the time of the date, so I returned to my dormitory and spent most of that time doing exactly what the healer had told me to do, rest.

It wasn’t particularly difficult, considering that my body was still recovering, although my mind kept wandering toward everything that had happened yesterday.

There were still plenty of things I didn’t understand about the terrorists, but I deliberately pushed those thoughts aside because today wasn’t the day to investigate them.

Today was Elena’s day.

By the time we decided on arrived, I had changed into a clean set of clothes and checked myself several times to make sure that there wasn’t anything too obvious indicating that I had spent most of the previous day getting beaten around the academy.

Though the bandage around my chest makes it a little uncomfortable but I cannot remove it just for the sake of comfort.

I sighed before leaving the dormitory.

The academy grounds were considerably different from yesterday.

There were more guards stationed around the entrances, teachers were constantly moving between buildings, and several groups of royal soldiers could be seen patrolling the roads leading toward the city.

While the atmosphere remained tense enough that even ordinary students were speaking more quietly than usual.

Before meeting Elena, I decided to find Ralf first.

Yesterday had ended with far more surprises than I had expected, and although Ralf had arrived at the right moment with Albert, I had not properly thanked him for coming to our rescue.

I found him near one of the academy’s outer courtyards, where several students were still discussing yesterday’s attack while instructors and guards continued their work around the damaged sections of the academy.

"Ralf."

He turned around when he heard my voice and smiled.

"Kai. You’re looking much better than yesterday."

"I am feeling much better."

I walked over to him before giving him a small nod.

"Thanks for coming yesterday. If you and Teacher Albert hadn’t arrived when you did, things could have ended very differently."

Ralf waved his hand casually.

"You do not need to thank me. You asked for help, so I came."

"Even so, I appreciate it. I will definitely fulfill my end of the promise."

There was something else I wanted to ask, though, so I bring it up casually.

"By the way, how did you know that Teacher Albert was a Grand Mage?"

Ralf looked at me for a moment before answering as though the information wasn’t particularly important.

"Teacher Albert? He’s a distant cousin of my mother."

I froze.

"...What?"

"He is a distant cousin of my mother," Ralf repeated with a slightly puzzled expression. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

*There was never anything like this in the game.*

I had known Ralf’s route fairly well, and even there, I couldn’t remember a single mention of Albert being related to the Walker family.

Not even a minor detail.

"I just didn’t know that," I finally replied.

"There’s not much to know. Our families aren’t particularly close, and Teacher Albert has always preferred living quietly."

I nodded before deciding to probe a little further.

"I should probably thank Teacher Albert too, considering he saved our lives yesterday."

"You can do that later."

"Later?"

"He’s on holiday today, so he is not in the academy."

*Holiday? Is that is why he was not present during the incident in the game?*

That was certainly unexpected.

"I see."

I didn’t ask anything more, since continuing the conversation might make my curiosity too obvious.

"Anyway, I have somewhere to be."

Ralf smiled.

"Your date?"

"Yes."

"Then don’t keep Lady Elena waiting."

After bidding farewell to Ralf, I headed toward the academy gate while his words continued to occupy my thoughts.

*Albert is Ralf’s distant relative*

There was no such information in the game.

If Albert’s identity had really been hidden even from the routes, then there was probably much more about him that I did not know. But I could not think about it forever.

Today was Elena’s birthday.

And today was supposed to be our first date.

By the time I reached the academy gate, I pushed those thoughts aside and waited for her.

It was not long before I saw Elena approaching.

And for a moment, I simply forgot what I had been thinking about.

Her black hair had been styled differently from usual, arranged in a way that framed her face more elegantly, while the violet-colored dress she wore suited her perfectly without appearing overly extravagant.

Her black eyes were the same as always, and yet the combination of her familiar features with the unfamiliar dress and hairstyle made her appearance unexpectedly captivating.

I stared for a moment before realizing that someone was following behind her.

Maya.

She was carrying a few things while looking rather pleased with herself.

"I told her the hairstyle would suit her," Maya said with a satisfied expression.

Elena immediately looked slightly embarrassed.

"Kai..."

"You look beautiful."

The words came out before I could think about them.

Elena’s expression froze for a moment, and a faint blush appeared on her cheeks.

"Thank you."

I smiled before extending my hand toward her.

"Shall we?"

She looked at my hand for a second before placing hers in it.

"Yes."

Waiting outside the academy was the carriage I had arranged for the evening, and as expected, Dalas was sitting in the coachman’s seat.

"Lord Kai, Lady Elena."

"Dalas."

He smiled.

"Good to see you both looking well after yesterday."

Dalas had actually come to the academy with Maya after the attack to check on both of us, so it wasn’t surprising that he was still keeping an eye on our condition.

"We are fine now," I assured him.

Maya climbed onto the front box and sat beside Dalas.

"I’ll sit here."

She gave Elena a teasing smile.

"Do not worry, I will not interrupt your date."

Elena’s face became slightly red.

I opened the carriage door and allowed Elena to enter first before following her inside.

Dalas soon started the carriage, and the academy slowly disappeared behind us.

I sat beside Elena as the carriage slowly drifted off from the academy gate. Being mindful of my injuries, Dalas deliberately drives the carriage slow.

"Kai, how is your injury now?" Elena asked as looked at me, probably to detect if I am lying or saying the truth.

"It is much better. I do not even feel any pain anymore.... Elena your arm, is it good now?" I asked her as I looked at her left arm. She is wearing a full sleeves dress so I can’t see if there is any bandage or injury.

"It is good now." She lifted her arm as if to saw me that there is no problem.

"Do not overexert on it" I told her as I hold her arm gently.

"O-okay." She Said with a tint of redness on her cheeks.

I realized that I actually lean too close to her. I can even smell a faint scent of lavender from her.

As if to fight off the embarrassment, Elena suddenly changed the topic "...ah right. I heard that yesterday, Princess Kajol visited you in the medical room."