Chapter 88: The Theft of the Relic
“Xi, Silvya?!”
Old Man Melville just showered me with his tea like a fireworks display, almost painting me in hot liquid! Luckily, I reacted faster than a caffeinated squirrel, pushing my chair back and scooting almost a meter away to escape the splash zone.
“Cough, cough, cough! Oh dear, my old heart…”
Melville, bless him, was turning as red as a tomato, coughing and hitting his chest with all the strength of a limp noodle: “Oh no, oh… I’m getting old, getting old…”
“This old guy really can’t handle even a little surprise.” I muttered.
“Teacher, are you alright?”
Seeing him wheezing like a kid who just ran a marathon, I hopped up, circled around, and gently patted his back: “Seriously, take it easy on the tea! You can’t just chug it like it’s water; next time, you better watch out—health is important!”
“Hey, you little rascal…”
“I almost thought I was seeing things…”
Once he finally calmed down, I plopped back down, blinking at him. My brain was still trying to figure out how to kick off this conversation when Melville, sitting across from me, slowly said, “So, how long has it been since…?”
His tone seemed to hum with nostalgia.
“About two years?” I replied. “Two years and a bit?”
“Two years, huh…”
Melville’s gaze drifted, and for a moment, it felt like he was staring at a ghost behind me.
“Never before has any student dared to skip two whole years of class like you.”
“Cough.”
This time, I choked on my own spit: “Melville!”
“Ha ha ha!”
He seemed amused, pleased even, as he chuckled at my predicament: “Well, it’s good to have you back, good to have you back.”
And that was it. Just those two sentences.
Melville must have already been privy to a lot of information…
“Are you here to catch up on classes?”
He teased, “The Valen Empire’s princess, single-handedly quelling the Royal War in the north and south, annihilating the Fourth Knights Order with her army of thousands—now Miss Silvya is turning her nose up at our little Royal Academy?”
“I’m pretty sure the teachers here, plus me as the principal, wouldn’t stand a chance against you.”
“……”
Sounds like you were able to take us on back in the day!
“Teacher, quit kidding around.”
I sighed, then noticed his previous words and couldn’t help but ask, “So, a lot of people already know I’ve come back?”
“A lot of people?”
He raised an eyebrow, then waved his hand dismissively: “Not many, not many. Other places might know more, but in Ethanbel, just a handful of folks in the council know, and they only recognize the name Peilo Guniver Winter Moon.”
“Oh…”
I nodded. Makes sense.
“Teacher, I’ve actually come with a request.”
Maybe Melville’s easygoing attitude made me think of the old days in the academy. I stared at him, deciding to skip the small talk.
“Here, please take a look at this.”
I pulled out the letter Viki gave me and placed it on the table.
“Oh?”
Melville’s eyebrows shot up as he recognized Viki’s handwriting: “A personal letter from Her Majesty the Queen?”
He carefully unfolded the letter and began to read it, and I just sat there waiting in silence.
After a while, he finally looked up at me.
His eyes, a bit cloudy, flickered with a mix of surprise and unexpected resignation.
“You’re asking for the divine words of the Ancient Deity, that Divine Reliquary?”
“Uh-huh.” I nodded.
“You’re planning to get involved with the Holy Wall situation?” His expression became serious, like when a cat spots a cucumber.
Before I could answer, he added, “Given your personality, you surely wouldn’t just sit back and let things unfold without getting involved. Her Majesty noticed that a long time ago.”
?
How did we end up talking about her? Did Viki say something?
I was about to ask when Melville cut me off: “Unfortunately, your timing is a bit off.”
He rubbed his forehead and said, “It’s not about who can hand over the relic to you anymore. To be honest, we were in the middle of a rather frantic investigation and discussion when you arrived, trying to figure out who would report this to Her Majesty…”
He hesitated, glancing between me and the captain of the guards. I caught his drift and waved the man off.
Once the door creaked shut, Melville let out a heavy sigh.
“The ancient divine words have been stolen.”
He stated: “The robbery likely happened last night, around early morning.”
…………
Outside the tower, several students were buzzing around the war chariot parked at the door, and the crowd seemed to be growing by the second.
Before long, Sara and Daisy arrived in a flurry.
The two girls weren’t just here to gawk; at least, that’s what Sara thought. She had heard the latest scoop about the Valen Empire’s “heroic princess” from Peter. Apparently, the princess had secretly arrived in the royal city yesterday morning, escorted by the guards led by her father.
But Peter hadn’t told her the princess’s “real identity,” namely her name.
It was said to be one of those well-guarded secrets among the upper-class circles—who knows if it came straight from the Queen, but at least Peter had been warned by his father to keep mum on the subject and not to pry about it ever again.
Sara felt a little disappointed.
But to her, she had already caught wind of the “heroic princess” title from Sophia back in the day.
And she knew that the newly bestowed princess was the youngest daughter of the new Emperor Skarlij.
That’s what Sophia had told her.
They had both pretty much convinced themselves back then that this “town-protecting” princess was likely Peilo.
Deep down, they were convinced it couldn’t be wrong.
Even though their conviction had no real basis.
They had no idea how many daughters Skarlij had, nor if the new emperor’s youngest daughter even went by the name Peilo.
In truth…
They were also wary of believing in the “rebirth” situation.
Sara didn’t believe it.
Sophia didn’t either.
They firmly believed that they wanted to believe it.
That was all.
Nevertheless—
At least there remained a tiny flicker of hope in their hearts. Isn’t that nice?
Maybe…
Just maybe, she really is.
Maybe today, or maybe shortly, that charming little girl they remembered would pop up before them, saying, “Long time no see!” and drag them off to the dining hall to snatch the freshly roasted lamb leg.
If only that were true, how wonderful would that be?
“Daisy, over here, over here!”
Sara, feeling a bit impatient, tugged Daisy’s hand and forcefully wove her way through the crowd, wanting to get closer to that war chariot—before long, she spotted the gorgeous royal carriage being heavily guarded with golden accents.
