First impression? A single edelweiss.
Her neatly flowing white hair and elegant face were akin to a flower itself.
A short while ago, Iinel had handed her a magic circle under the pretense of testing her professorial qualities.
Even in that brief gesture as she traced the now-perfect magic circle, an understated grace emanated from her.
“The Yurt family, was it….”
Even the moment when she sipped the tea brought by Iinel’s secretary exuded the poise of a young lady from a count’s house.
It was evident she had been educated in the refined manners of nobility.
Her not overly elaborate attire also pleased him.
Neither too flashy nor overbearing, it was modest yet charmingly beautiful.
However, within that beautiful exterior lay a prodigy who could make a train soar through the skies instead of the ground.
Based on Iinel’s judgment, this girl had already reached at least the Fourth Tier, leading him to readily accept her into Premus.
“There’s a curriculum left behind by the previous professor, so please refer to it if you wish.”
Of course, there would be some resistance.
To those who hadn’t witnessed the graceful flow of mana crafted by the girl, she was just a young child.
Hence, Iinel requested Orpheon, the ancient dragon standing nearby, to lend his name for support.
For now, the only name this girl carried was that of the Yurt family.
“If this child is under the protection of Lord Orpheon, no one will dare underestimate her, right?”
“Hmph….”
After a brief contemplation, the ancient dragon finally gazed intently at the girl beside him.
In response to the dragon’s gaze, her calm eyes remained steady.
“…I’ll follow your wishes, Elder.”
“And what makes you think I know how to handle this?”
“Because you won’t listen to me anyway.”
“You know me well.”
“………”
Iinel couldn’t help but feel slightly surprised at the unexpectedly close relationship between the ancient dragon and the girl.
After all, they were beings from entirely different eras.
‘But then again, with a girl like this, even an ancient dragon would find it hard not to cherish her.’
Iinel merely guessed it was due to the girl’s remarkable talent.
Regardless, it was the first time an ancient dragon had shown such care for a human child.
A moment later, the ancient dragon, who had been glaring slightly at the girl, gave a faint smile and said:
“When a professor’s authority diminishes, so does the weight of their teachings.”
With that, he accepted Iinel’s request.
Subsequently, the residence where the girl and her sister Isabelle Yurt would stay was arranged.
“If you have any questions about life at Premus, you can ask the caretaker Jade.”
Iinel smiled slightly as he bid farewell to his guests outside the dean’s office.
Once the sound of footsteps faded down the corridor, he let out a deep sigh.
‘This is going to get noisy for a while.’
From the start, the recent attack incident was no trivial matter.
Despite maintaining composure in front of the ancient dragon, Iinel himself would normally have been extremely busy.
Since the victims were students of Premus,
who were closely tied to key forces within the empire,
this was far beyond the scope of a simple robbery.
However, more than anything else,
the presence of the noble bloodline “Princess Irina Ardenia” aboard the train made Iinel feel a chill.
‘Had anything happened to that girl, what consequences would we have faced…?’
This attack was a form of terrorism.
Or perhaps, a challenge to the empire.
Especially since the palace was already on edge due to the eccentricities of the First Princess ‘Lilian Ardenia’.
The fact that there were no casualties in the Premus-bound train attack was nothing short of miraculous.
“…We were lucky.”
*
Ruling from the highest place and governing all, the divine bloodline of Casar Ardenia.
One of the successors to this sacred existence, Irina Ardenia.
Today, she walked through the long corridors of Premus, which she had finally returned to.
Yet, her thoughts remained unresolved.
‘Who could they have been…?’
The sudden attack.
The men who stormed into Princess Irina’s first-class cabin.
Though protected by her escort knights, preventing harm to the divine bloodline, the true identity of the person who resolved the deeper danger remains unknown.
All she could recall were the countless flows of mana circulating outside the train.
Among the small protective magic circles safeguarding the passengers, the first person that came to mind was the Grand Magician of the capital.
However, since his name wasn’t on the passenger list,
Princess Irina’s doubts persisted.
“At least I’d like to express my gratitude…”
Lost in thought about the events during the train ride, she found herself at the dormitory before she realized it.
“Ah, news has spread already, I see…”
Although she wanted to lie down on the soft bed immediately,
a few letters awaited her reply.
-Swoosh-
The first letter opened was from the First Princess, Lilian.
Mostly concerned with the Premus-bound train attack, it suddenly delved into extreme changes in her brother preference.
“I’m curious who saved my precious younger sister. Irina, if you happen to know the benefactor’s name, could you let me know—”
“Sorry, sister. Nothing has been revealed yet.”
At least, no one in the first-class cabin where Princess Irina was located could be identified.
Still, rejecting the recent rumors of the First Princess’ eccentricity outright was impossible.
-Swoosh. Swoosh-
“Letters claiming the headmaster hired mercenaries, or secret train functions exist. I’ll inform you once the details are clear—”
She wrote her reply in the softest tone possible.
After reading her own reply a couple of times, she picked up the second letter.
-Thud-
“Oh, photos included… Huh, looks like the breads were really delicious. Everyone’s smiling.”
The letter from the orphanage she secretly supported contained pictures of the children.
The content was filled with heartfelt gratitude from the young orphanage director ‘Carian’ for Princess Irina’s support.
“The children are truly grateful. Especially Erit, who knitted a scarf for the benefactor… Ah, it’s supposed to be a secret, so please pretend you don’t know—”
“A scarf, huh? Looking forward to it.”
A moment later, after glancing at a photo of the children and Carian having dinner together, she wrote her reply.
Princess Irina’s concise update on the day’s events was accurately transmitted to a certain orphanage outside the city.
-Swoosh-
The letter Princess Irina had just written was picked up by a slightly lean man.
With a generally tidy appearance and round glasses, the man returned to the principal’s office and silently began reading Princess Irina’s letter.
And almost simultaneously, knock-knock.
The wooden door of the principal’s office sounded twice.
“Big Brother Carian! Can I come in?”
“Ah, yes. Come in, Rone.”
As soon as the door opened, a young girl dashed in and hugged the man.
Excitedly recounting the magical event she had just experienced, the girl asked Carian for his opinion.
“The stars twinkled in the sky and swooshed down! What do you think it was?”
“Hmm… Probably a shooting star, isn’t it?”
“Yes, a shooting star! I saw a real shooting star!”
“Wow, impressive, Rone. I haven’t seen one myself yet.”
As always, the man’s expression bore a kind smile.
The little girl continued talking excitedly for quite a while, leaving nothing unsaid.
Time passed, and the blue sky gradually turned yellow as evening approached.
Finally letting go of the little girl in his arms, the man excused himself to buy groceries for the evening meal.
“Uh… Excuse me, could you shave it down a bit?”
“What, are we digging up the earth for business here?”
“The kids are growing fast. I want them to eat heartily for dinner.”
“You said that last week too, buddy.”
“Ahaha. Did I?”
Thus, bargaining with the market vendor for various ingredients proceeded as usual.
Only when the man’s shadow fell on a grocery store in an alley did things turn unusual.
“Hmm, without salt, the flavor drops off.”
Stopping momentarily, the man muttered to himself towards empty space.
Then, placing the groceries he was carrying on the ground briefly,
-Thud-
-Thud-
he shifted his steps toward the alleyway to the left instead of the grocery store ahead.
“Who might you be? Haven’t seen your faces before.”
Still addressing the empty air, the man spoke.
Simultaneously, new shadows gradually appeared, encircling him.
“Carian, you weren’t supposed to kill Zirna.”
“Ever since you started upheaving everything beneath the shadows years ago, our sight is completely blocked.”
“…Did you think you could survive killing the boss?”
Pure hostility.
Everything aimed at the man from the surrounding shadows were sharp blades.
Just because the reddish sunset was gradually disappearing below the horizon,
“…Pain gets cranky when hungry. Are you planning to soothe it for me?”
“Know what? Die─!!”
-Whizz!
-Thud, thud, thud….
“…Keh…”
Countless sword marks carved and re-carved around the man.
The two daggers heard somewhere nearby.
The unseen blade and enemy vanished without a trace once again.
Just as mirages disappear.
-Slash─!
The vision of everyone standing on two legs was instantly split in half.
The sound of the man’s retreating footsteps echoed through the alley.
Moments later, the man adjusted his slightly disheveled round glasses and wore a troubled expression.
After all, the grocery store was already closed.
“Tonight’s meal will be bland.”
Embarrassedly scratching the back of his head, the man bent down to gather the groceries he had set aside moments earlier.
Simultaneously, a letter slipped out from his embrace.
The letter from Princess Irina, which he had read halfway earlier, made him pause momentarily as he contemplated, then unfolded the folded letter to continue reading.
His gaze froze momentarily upon the various discussions Princess Irina wrote at the end of the letter regarding the Premus-bound train attack.
“Apparently, the Ancient Dragon Orpheon was also on the train. Of course, I don’t sympathize with the attackers, but what unlucky people.”
“An ancient dragon… at the academy?”
A strange intuition hit him.
An odd yet uneasy feeling that something shouldn’t be overlooked.
“Aritha.”
The first disciple of the Sage ‘Carian Dezard’ summoned his trusted subordinate.
The request conveyed to the woman who emerged from the elongated shadows was simple.
“Could you investigate what’s happening at Premus?”
No answer came.
The woman, after nodding to Carian, dissolved back into the shadows.
Without further ado, Carian resumed his steady walk back to the orphanage beyond.
There was less than 10 minutes until the orphanage’s evening meal.
“Salt, salt, salt… Hmm, next time, I should buy it in bulk.”
![[TS] Became a Peach Saint](https://i0.wp.com/cdn.novelupdates.com/images/2024/12/TS-Became-a-Peach-Saint.png?resize=151,215 "[TS] Became a Peach Saint")
