Chapter 81

“Tia. Are you embarrassed to hold hands with your mother…?”

“……”

As Julia’s pupils slowly relaxed and turned into lifeless eyes, Tia was struck by a strange sense of fear and instinctively took a step back.

She truly loved her mother, but there were times, like this, when her blank stares made her feel scared.

She would return to normal soon.

For that time, Tia decided to step away for a moment.

“Crack!”

“Mmm?!”

At that moment, Tia felt something thud against her back.

It was a decent impact, but Tia didn’t budge from that spot.

When she turned around, she saw only a blond boy rubbing his forehead while lying on the ground.

Tia extended her hand with a worried gaze.

“Are you okay? Does it hurt a lot?”

“You little brat! Why are you standing in my way?!”

“What?”

Tia twisted her expression and withdrew her hand.

What an ill-mannered brat.

That was Tia’s first impression of Prince Nikolai.

“Apologize right now!”

“Why should I? You were the one who bumped into me!”

“When I give you a chance, apologize! You’ll regret it!”

“Apologies are for those who have done wrong! My mom said so! You apologize!”

“Do you know whose presence you’re being rude in?!”

“I don’t care!”

“I’ll make you pay!”

“Go ahead!”

“Grrr…!”

Tia suppressed the urge to grab that curly blond hair.

She had to hold back.

Mom had told her never to fight, no matter what.

’Huh? Leo told me to fight, didn’t he?’

The leopard had said that if someone picked a fight, don’t hesitate to punch them in the face.

That way, school life would be easier…

Whose advice should she follow?

Tia got confused and didn’t know what to do.

“Oh dear…”

Julia, who had rushed over after hearing Tia’s voice, pressed her hand to her temple, feeling a severe headache.

She couldn’t believe Tia was quarreling with a prince.

At first, she was shocked enough to faint, but as she quietly listened to the content, it didn’t seem as serious as she’d thought.

Julia let out a sigh of relief and approached Tia, gently gripping her shoulder.

“Tia. You can’t cause a commotion here.”

“You, you are…!”

“Yes, Prince. It’s an honor to see you again.”

“Why are you here?!”

“I came to celebrate my daughter’s entrance ceremony.”

“Daughter? Daughter?! That ill-mannered brat is the little girl in that photo?!”

“……”

Though she found it hard to agree with the ‘ill-mannered brat’ comment, Julia nodded slowly.

Nikolai’s mouth dropped open, and he trembled for a moment before shouting.

“When was that picture taken?! She’s grown way too big! I didn’t recognize her!”

“Grown too big?! That’s rude to a girl!”

“Shut up! The girl Julia showed in the picture was definitely small and cute! This is a scam!”

“What are you talking about?!”

“……”

Amidst the shouts between Tia and Nikolai, Julia silently pulled out a pendant from her clothes and opened the lid.

It revealed Tia’s face, sparkling with bright eyes, which had been drawn by the duke.

At that moment, Tia turned around, bewildered, and their eyes met.

Julia’s eyes brimmed with tears as she briefly looked between current Tia and the Tia in the picture.

“She has indeed become quite…something.”

“Yeah, right!”

“Mom?!”

Tia trembled in betrayal.

That she had become something.

She never thought her mother thought that way.

She felt a bit hurt.

“By the way, huh. Hmm. So this was the daughter you talked about…”

Nikolai crossed his arms in dissatisfaction but kept stealing glances at Tia.

Although she wasn’t exactly the petite girl that was usually his type, he couldn’t deny that she was quite pretty.

‘Ill-mannered, but at least she looks… passable.’

Her puffy cheeks, as if sulking, were quite cute, and he wondered how beautiful she would look when she smiled.

Nikolai suddenly shook his head vigorously.

Before he knew it, his face was flushed.

Just seeing Tia’s sparkling blue eyes made his face heat up.

Of course, he couldn’t overlook the fact that he hadn’t shown due respect to royalty.

“Don’t think being a little cute will earn you forgiveness! Apologize!”

“What? You think I find you cute?!”

“Be quiet! If you bump into royalty, it doesn’t matter whose fault it is; you should kneel down! Isn’t that right, Karl?”

“……”

Nikolai looked up sharply, asking.

However, his attendant, Karl, pretended not to hear and simply stared straight ahead.

“You’re the one who should apologize! What does status have to do with it! Right, Mom?”

“……”

Tia turned around, seemingly frustrated, but Julia was also sweating profusely and had no response.

“You brat! Do you even know who I am?!”

“How would I know! Are you some kind of idol?!”

“Idol? What’s that?”

“Don’t you know that either? You’re so dumb!”

“You ill-mannered brat…!”

Soon, the two children began to growl at each other again, as if they were about to devour one another.

Watching the scene with their eyes shut tight, the two guardians moved aside slightly to shake hands.

“It’s been a long time, Julia.”

“I didn’t expect to see you here, Karl.”

They had seen each other many times while tutoring the prince.

Though both had only exchanged formalities back then, it felt pleasantly surprising to reunite in such a chaotic situation.

“His Highness is so arrogant; it’s a problem. I barely got permission from the Emperor to send him to school, hoping someone would humble him.”

“Ah. But why specifically St. Sophia?”

“If I send him to a conservative school, he’ll act like a king there. If I’m looking for someone to humble him, St. Sophia would be perfect.”

“Hahaha… I hope His Highness matures…”

Julia laughed awkwardly.

Wishing someone would humble the prince, Julia felt the same way.

If Nikolai grew up like that, it would be dark days for the future of the country.

Still, she prayed it wouldn’t be Tia who ended up being that person.

Everyone knew how overly doting the Emperor was towards his late child.

If any bad rumors reached the Emperor’s ears…

‘Ugh. I don’t even want to imagine.’

Just imagining it made Julia’s knees tremble.

At least until the Emperor died, she needed to keep Tia in line.

Julia made her determination firmly.

“It’s the prince! The emperor’s son! Don’t you feel like apologizing yet?!”

“Hmph! I’m my mother’s daughter!”

“So what?!”

“What about you?!”

“Grrr…!”

“The entrance ceremony is about to start, Your Highness.”

“Let’s go, Tia.”

It seemed those two didn’t tire out, as they continued to fight, their faces still flushed.

Karl and Julia sighed heavily as they pulled the children apart and entered the building.

They nearly arrived late for the entrance ceremony.

After seating Tia, Julia returned to the audience area with the other parents and sat quietly.

‘This is boring…’

The entrance ceremony, tedious enough to make her yawn, began.

It didn’t seem very different from entrance ceremonies in middle and high schools in the original world.

Just because it was a fantasy world didn’t mean the entrance ceremony had to be unusual.

Considering the loosely written settings by the original author so far, it wasn’t that surprising.

“Next, we have a speech from the Director.”

“……?”

It was the final part of the entrance ceremony.

As the headmaster left the podium, a flickering sound came, and a small light flew in.

Frowning, Julia squinted and realized it was taking the shape of a person.

So there were even tiny fairy-like races.

However, that fairy stood before the microphone, looking terrified and simply fidgeting.

“Ahk?!”

Looking around at the new students, Lara met Tia’s eyes and screamed.

Tia, excited and panting, glared at Lara.

It was that cute firefly she had seen earlier.

She didn’t care who the director was; she just wanted to grab that little creature and play with it.

However, Lara, faced with Tia’s gaze, felt extreme fear.

Despite being a great spirit far beyond human magic development ability, Tia was her perfect natural enemy.

“Director Lara here…! Everyone, please be welcome? St. Sophia is… umm… what was it? Anyway, it’s an awesome school, so feel proud! That’s it! Hyaaaaaak!”

“……?”

Lara couldn’t even read half of her prepared script and fled in panic.

Throughout every entrance ceremony, Lara had always shown her dignity as a great spirit, earning everyone’s respect…

“She’s cute.”

“Totally adorable.”

“Isn’t she more of a mascot than a director?”

Suddenly, she became the target of everyone’s affection.

On the other hand, Tia swallowed hard as she watched Lara disappear backstage.

A talking firefly.

She definitely wanted to capture one someday.

“Is it over now…?”

Julia shivered, still feeling sore.

The entrance ceremony was finally winding down.

Thinking of the gathering as a place where everyone of some standing would assemble, she had felt nervous, but it turned out there was less fuss than she expected.

Though there was an unexpected situation with the prince, she managed to brush it aside thanks to her acquaintance with him.

Only now did Julia feel her tension completely dissipate, allowing a smile to grace her lips.

“The first day of school is next week…”

“Uh, huh?!”

“What is that?”

It was just as the headmaster was about to wrap up the entrance ceremony.

With a fluttering sound, a red shape suddenly flew in through an open window.

Colorful feathers, broad wings, and a sturdy, sharp beak.

Those fierce eyes made everyone flinch and tremble.

‘A divine beast?!’

The creature, flying with its flames flickering at the tips of its wings, landed firmly on the podium with its gigantic claws.

The shocked headmaster fell backward, landing with a thud.

A phoenix.

It looked just like the divine beast from legends.

If that legend were true, this creature could roast every person gathered in the auditorium in an instant.

“Everyone, please don’t panic! Divine beasts tend to threaten first but won’t attack if we stay calm! So, everyone remain calm and evacuate in an orderly fashion…”

“Zizi!!!”

“……?”

While everyone was silent in fear, a bold voice erupted.

In an instant, all attention turned to Tia, who stood proudly in the middle of the auditorium.

Tia, smiling pleasantly, pointed at the red beast.

Julia, flabbergasted, stood there with her mouth open, unable to say anything.

“Ziiick!”

“What…?”

The beast responded loudly, as if it recognized her…

People alternated their gazes between the phoenix and Tia, unable to hide their confusion.

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