Chapter 235

“Due to personal circumstances, Teacher Daniel will be taking a temporary leave of absence from the academy. I’ll be taking over his classes for the time being.”

A new instructor had come to introduce himself in Daniel’s place. It was a sudden change, but no one seemed particularly bothered. No one was curious about Daniel’s personal circumstances, either.

“Yaaawn.”

Ceres was no exception. As usual, she finished her morning classes, grabbed a quick lunch, and headed for a secluded spot.

She had already picked out the storage room as a place to nap when the weather turned cold. Once inside, she settled onto the exercise mat in the corner.

Nice.

It was a little dusty, but otherwise, it wasn’t bad.

It even brings back some memories.

Though she wasn’t sure she could really call them memories. This was where that guy, Feik, had once dragged her.

Come to think of it...

...Does that mean Veilks was the one who killed Aria?

Aria was attacked by a monster and died in her own home. By now, it was clear that Veilks was behind the killings in the small black forests. He must have been the one who killed Aria too.

“Tsk.”

Realizing that most of the events unfolding around her, whether she knew it or not, seemed to be connected to Veilks left a foul taste in her mouth.

Even what happened this time.

The Holy Spring was connected to him as well. Just in case, she had shown Byron’s corpse to Elliet.

[It’s the same curse.]

His dead body bore the same curse as the one found on the Knight Commander. The curse that killed its victim if they revealed the mastermind...

It’s unsettling.

She still couldn’t figure out what he was after, and that left her uneasy. There must be something at the end of all this.

Bang!

“Let go of me!”

“......?”

Not long after, someone interrupted Ceres’s peaceful nap. The warehouse door was flung open, and a sharp female voice rang out.

That voice...?

Two people entered the warehouse. One of them was someone Ceres knew well, Princess Nailia.

“How rude.”

“Rude? That’s a bit much considering we’re about to be engaged. Is it really rude to ask for a little conversation?”

...What on earth is going on here?

Come to think of it...

Why do I always end up seeing something like this whenever I take a nap?

Ceres let out a silent sigh.

“Engaged? Nothing’s been decided yet.”

“You know as well as I do, Your Highness. His Majesty already made up his mind in favor of my family.”

“......”

Princess Nailia frowned, unable to find a reply. Vetrin, the son of Count Rainje, was telling the truth.

“Don’t be so stiff.”

“...What?”

Vetrin stepped closer and lowered his voice.

“The rumors are already out, you know.”

“Rumors?”

“About how your friend stole your man and made a fool of you.”

“......”

“I’m only willing to take you in because it’s me.”

Vetrin stepped back, smirking as he watched Princess Nailia’s face stiffen.

“So let’s keep things pleasant.”

He casually rested his hand on her shoulder. Her expression hardened, and she clenched her fists.

“What? Thinking of hitting me? Go ahead. You know better than anyone how my father would react—”

Thwack!

“Gah!”

Vetrin never finished. Something came flying through the air and struck him squarely in the back of the head, sending him crashing to the floor.

“Oops, my hand slipped. Sorry.”

A calm voice followed. Despite the apology, there wasn’t a hint of regret in her tone.

“...Ceres?”

Princess Nailia stared at her in surprise.

“Huh? Did he pass out?”

Ceres clicked her tongue as she looked at Vetrin, who was already unconscious. Her apology had been wasted on him.

“Who faints from getting hit by a rubber ball?”

“...The ball burst, though.”

“......”

Ceres scratched her cheek as she looked at the ball. It had burst and torn apart like scraps of paper. She had thought she’d thrown it gently.

“What are you doing here?”

“That’s what I’d like to ask you.”

Ceres tilted her head while glancing at the unconscious Vetrin. Princess Nailia had seemed unlike herself just moments ago.

Wasn’t she the type to say whatever she wanted?

She was the one who had openly told Ceres she disliked her the moment they first met. Honestly, that was one of the reasons Ceres rather liked her.

I prefer people who say things to my face rather than badmouth me behind my back.

Yet just moments ago, Princess Nailia had seemed to be holding back everything she wanted to say and do.

Why?

“Haaah.”

Princess Nailia let out a long sigh as she rubbed her face. Irritation crept across her face when she looked at Vetrin lying on the floor.

“Because he’s going to be my fiancé soon.”

“You don’t like him?”

“You saw him.”

...I certainly did. If he’d treated me like that, I would’ve hung him from the roof of the academy’s tallest building on the spot.

“Then don’t marry him.”

Ceres didn’t know Emperor Devrica all that well, but from what she’d seen, he didn’t seem like the type to force his daughter into an unwanted marriage.

And considering how he treated Cheion, wasn’t he pretty easygoing with his children?

“It’s because of the mine.”

“The mine?”

Why were they suddenly talking about a mine? What did a mine have to do with marriage? Ceres frowned slightly.

What is it?

Did the emperor agree to receive a mine in exchange for the marriage?

Ceres clicked her tongue at the cliché. It was the sort of thing that always came up in stories about royal marriages.

“Father wants to marry me off quickly.”

“Why?”

“He heard the rumors.”

“Rumors?”

“About me, Tonio... and Aria.”

“.......”

It wasn’t exactly an unusual story. The man you liked getting together with the friend you thought was closest to you. Wasn’t that the sort of thing you saw all the time in third-rate novels?

The problem was that the person at the center of the story was a princess. If the rumors had reached the emperor’s ears, that meant there wasn’t anyone left who didn’t know about them...

...Is this partly my fault?

Didn’t she make quite a spectacle of trying to expose Aria? She wondered if she’d also played a part in how widely the rumors had spread through high society.

“But even so, why him?”

No matter how bad the rumors were, wasn’t that a little too careless for the imperial princess’s future husband? She’d only seen him for a moment, but even that was enough to know he belonged in the trash.

“As I said, it’s because of the mine.”

“What mine would make the emperor go so far as to offer his own daughter to get it?”

Wasn’t that a little excessive?

“An iron mine.”

“.....”

...Never mind. That wasn’t excessive at all.

At the mere mention of an iron mine, Ceres immediately understood Emperor Devrica’s decision.

It was something she’d only learned recently as well, through a conversation between the three dukes and Harua.

Apparently, there was a serious iron shortage not just in the empire, but across the entire continent. Production at the iron mines had been falling rapidly. There were even fears that the supply could run out completely within a few years.

If someone with a new iron mine appeared at a time like this?

From the emperor’s perspective, he’d have to use every means available to secure it, including his daughter’s marriage.

“Even so, why him?”

An iron mine was one thing, but the man had to be at least somewhat decent. Why would anyone marry someone who expected her to be grateful just because he was willing to take her?