Chapter 126: We Still Don’t Know the Name of That Flower We Saw That Day
Dark’s expression froze, and it took him quite a while to react.
Silently, he stored the demoness beast back into the card. Only then did he continue examining the minotaur’s corpse.
The demoness beast didn’t need to remain hidden, but he didn’t want too many people knowing that it had evolved from his familiar. Familiars, though part of the mana spirit category, were extremely special and theoretically non-aggressive. To imbue them with offensive capabilities, one needed a “spell cage” mana spirit card.
A “spell cage” could temporarily seal familiars or constructs within a card, transforming them into mana spirit cards.
…
The minotaur’s body didn’t persist as Dark had imagined. After about three minutes, it gradually vanished like the frescoes before it. Unlike the frescoes, which left no trace upon vanishing, the minotaur left behind an extremely thick hair, though it was unclear from which part of its body it came.
Dark picked up the hair with two fingers and examined it closely, feeling somewhat exasperated. But having even this hair was better than nothing. He quickly accepted the fact and carefully stored the hair away.
Then, he turned to face everyone.
Wit and Robert had already recovered.
Emma leaned against the wall, flipping through her notes.
Diana and Rose giggled and whispered something.
Dark walked over and said, “Let’s go back. We have class tomorrow.”
So they all headed toward the exit of the secret passage.
Halfway there, a small imp, no bigger than a palm, came through the wall and approached them. This imp, clearly resembling Professor Lily in appearance, circled them twice before leading the way.
Diana chased after the imp like a cat chasing a dragonfly.
Dark and the others couldn’t help but quicken their pace.
They soon exited the secret passage.
Outside, many people were already on their way back to their dormitories.
The imps that led them out crowded densely in midair, their rapidly vibrating wings creating a buzzing noise.
Though each individual imp looked adorable, hundreds together only evoked a sense of terror.
Well, it truly was a piece of work by Professor Lily, wasn’t it?
Dark felt his scalp tingle.
…
Finally returning to the dormitory, he quickly bid Diana and Rose good night, locked the door, and went through his nightly routine—washing up, brushing his teeth, feeding his cat, watering his plants, and going to bed—all in one breath!
The holiday was finally over.
But tonight, sleep seemed unlikely.
…
The next morning at half past six.
Dark sat in the common room, watching the small imp beast return with a basket of food, feeling that life was finally back to normal.
Great!
This was what he really wanted after all!
Forget about the ball, the moon goddess, and the secret passages!
Feeling a sense of small satisfaction, Dark first took out breakfast from the basket and set it up. Then, he pulled out today’s edition of “The Wise One Daily.”
He sipped some milk, opened the newspaper, and glanced at it casually.
“Pfft!”
The milk almost sprayed out of his mouth.
Looking at the headline, he felt instantly uneasy.
-【Shocking! Duke’s Mansion May Marry into the Royal Family, Duke’s Son and Royal Princess Engaged on Halloween!】
Below was a picture of Dark dancing with someone.
In the photo, Dark wore the Night Prince Outfit and a half-mask of the black crow, exuding a mysterious yet handsome aura.
His dance partner, wearing the same outfit, was a so-called “little princess”—only seen from the back.
Wasn’t that Diana?
Could it be because the photo of him dancing with a bear wasn’t appealing enough, so they used this one as a substitute?
But what about journalistic integrity?
Dark felt powerless to comment.
He continued flipping through the pages and found that the newspaper made no mention of the moon goddess.
It was unclear whether the article was still being written or if someone had suppressed it.
Or perhaps they were saving it for a big reveal?
“I never realized ‘The Wise One Daily’ was such a sensationalist paper? Maybe I should consider switching to another one.”
Dark sighed, but he still read the entire report during breakfast.
“The Wise One Daily,” as the most widely circulated newspaper in the kingdom, often represented more than just the voice of the newspaper itself.
Regardless of its truthfulness, the top story had clear ulterior motives.
“Are they trying to tie the forces behind the second queen to the ship of the Big Princess?”
“But if this report is led by the dovish faction, wouldn’t it be redundant?”
“It can’t just be a purely entertaining piece, right?”
After several fruitless guesses, Dark put down the newspaper, closed his eyes briefly to calm himself, and began preparing for class.
…
The first lesson after Halloween was arithmetic class.
Professor Lily wrote a question on the blackboard: “How many imps did I release last night to catch you all?”
The classroom fell silent; no one could answer this obviously flawed question.
Then, Professor Lily wrote another question on the board: “How many students were late this morning?”
One student bravely raised their hand despite the risk.
“Emma Maltis, you come answer this.”
“Eight students were late, professor.”
“Very good. Maltis, add five points. Everyone who was late, subtract five points. All of you go stand at the back of the classroom!”
Thus, three students from the Noble Academy and five from the Knight Academy, totaling eight students, hung their heads dejectedly and stood in a line at the back of the classroom.
From the back row, Dark could easily see their embarrassment and frustration.
Despite repeated warnings, tardiness had been rampant since the start of the semester.
But to have eight students late at once was unprecedented.
Professor Lily probably hadn’t expected that a mere two-day break would make the students so lackadaisical.
Among the eight, Tudor from the Noble Academy suddenly raised his hand.
Professor Lily narrowed her eyes: “Tudor, do you have something to say?”
For the first time being late, Tudor clenched his teeth and said, “Professor, I wasn’t intentionally late.”
Professor Lily: “No one is ever intentionally late.”
Tudor: “This is different! I was late because I woke up feeling extremely fatigued…”
Professor Lily: “Enough, Tudor. I already know you were late because you overslept. So, keep quiet.”
Laughter erupted in the classroom.
Tudor immediately shut up.
The other latecomers also looked ashamed and remained silent.
No one noticed that several of them had faint marks on the back of their necks that were beginning to fade.
In any case…
After class, they received double the homework.
